At her 9 month appointment today, Allie weighed 19.7 pounds and was 27 inches long. We've definitely noticed that she's quite a bit longer and leaner these days. She's constantly on the go and I think that's really caused her to slim down. In the past day or so, her front top left tooth has finally pushed through. It's been REALLY close for about a week now and we were just able to feel it today. Her two little bottom teeth are getting bigger and are so adorable, if teeth can be such a thing.
She's wearing a mix of 6-12 and 12-18 month clothes. It's getting warmer, so we're not putting her in pjs at night any more. She can wear size 2 or 3 diapers.
Last week, we started giving Allie formula. I'm still attempting to nurse once in the morning and once at night but I'm not sure how long that will last. I was pulling from my freezer stash every day in addition to pumping 5 times a day just to get enough milk to send with Allie to daycare. I drank the tea, ate more food than I thought was possible, drank more water than I thought was possible, and in the end, it just wasn't enough. I have so many mixed emotions about formula. I don't know how much to give her and I don't know what kind to buy. Allie doesn't seem to mind one bit but I can't help but feel like my body failed me. Pregnancy, labor and recovery were such a breeze for me. I didn't think I would struggle with nursing once I got the hang of it. I never said it, but I always hoped I could make it to at least a year. Maybe I didn't try everything and I'm sure that will bother me for a while. Maybe I can do better the second time around. Either way, a part of me is glad to be done with the pump. Now we can move on to tackling sippy cups since I'm no longer cautious about wasting milk.
As far as solid food goes, Allie is over purees. She loves using her hands to feed herself and I'll admit, there have been days that I've let her do it with mashed potatoes. About 2 weeks ago, she just really started turning her nose up at a spoon. It has completely thrown me for a loop. Again, I feel like I really got purees. They were easy. We could cook the veggies, puree them, and toss them in the freezer for a later day. Now I feel like I need to plan Allie's meals. There have been a few times that we've gotten caught with really nothing to feed her. Also, I have no clue how MUCH to feed her. From what I read you're supposed to just listen to the baby's cues. I've never seen Allie refuse food. If it's in front of her, she'll eat it. I don't want to overfeed her but I don't know how much is enough.
Allie hates grass but loves playing with the dirt in the house plant pots. She loves playing with the dogs tails and if you act like you're interested in something, she wants to know what it is immediately. She took a hiatus from saying 'da-da' almost all month but just in the past couple of days started saying it again. She seems to understand when she's not supposed to do something/touch something/eat something because as soon as we start coming towards her, she "sprints" (crawls quickly) away. She can pull herself up on almost anything with ease these days. This month she also figured herself how to lower back down to the ground. She doesn't seem interested in walking yet and actually she even seems less interested in standing lately. She has gotten really, really good at crawling though. This month, she also learned how to transition from being on her belly to sitting up. Once she was able to pull herself up, one day she just sat backwards a little further and found herself sitting up! Needless to say, naptime is a lot different now. But she's a lot more pleasant when she wakes up from naps now because she just plays and entertains herself.
This past month, Allie was able to spend time with all 4 grandparents! Who knows that will happen again, so it was a pretty special month. We're getting ready to spend Easter in Texas in a couple of days and Allie will get to meet the rest of Carson's family. I'm a little nervous of flying with her again. We haven't done it since she was 2 months old and I know it will be a completely different experience this time. I'm really excited to see everyone though and for Allie to experience Texas for the first time! Hopefully there are bluebonnets left so we can take some pictures!
