9 month update

It's been way too long since I last posted, I used to be so good at blogging, what happened? I wish I could remember everything that has happened since my last post, I'll try and highlight again.

-We stayed with Amy & her family (Sean's sister) for a few nights, and left Kieran with a babysitter for almost an entire day so we could attend Dan & Emily's wedding (Sean's cousin).
Of course the milk I planned to bring for Kieran was left on our kitchen counter at home, all 16 oz of it. I almost cried. Luckily I had my breast pump and I pumped in overdrive so he had enough milk to last while I was away from him.

-We went to Vermont for a week so Kieran could meet all of our extended family. He was a trooper and did fairly well. Nights weren't the best and he ended up sleeping with Sean and I every night. He also seemed to want to be up at 6am (normally sleeps until 7) so lucky for us we just passed him on to Grammy to play.

-Grammy taught Kieran how to eat his toes.

-Kieran went to his first wedding. He looked really handsome in his shirt and tie, until he projectile vomited up sweet potatoes all over himself and me while he was in the Ergo. Luckily I was wearing a black dress and you couldn't tell (unless you smelled me).

-Flew back to Virginia for only a few nights and than Kieran and I went to Arizona to see Amie while Sean went to Florida to play golf with his Dad.

-Kieran did great in Arizona despite the 3 hour time difference. He did great flying and despite missing our connection flight on the way over, he was happy to see his Aunt Amie and meet his Uncle Jay for the first time, even though it was 1 am EST by the time we got to Phoenix.

-Kieran helped surprise Aunt Amie with Grammy at the airport in Phoenix.

-I kept him on East Coast time and was up every morning with him around 4 or 5 am.

-Kieran went to his 2nd baby shower. His first was in Concord, Massachusetts back in February when he was just 5 months old.

-Kieran sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time.

-We stopped using the swaddle at night while in Arizona.

-Kieran's sleeping got worse, and ended up in bed with us often, because we were exhausted getting up every hour and a half to 2 hours.

-June 15th, Kieran finally rolled back to belly.

-Kieran had his 9 month Dr.'s appt. 15 lbs 12 oz (lost weight this month, not good) and 25 3/4". With him being sick from day care he lost weight. I went to boob group a week before on his actual 9 month birthday and he was 15 lbs 9 oz, which was half a pound down from the month before.

-Dr. recommended that we keep an eye on his weight and re-weigh him in about 6 weeks to see if he's back on the growth curve. Currently he's in the 0.4% where last time I think he was in the 7%. The Dr. also recommended we start introducing meat into his diet to help with extra calories. We are still just doing one meal a day, which is what the Dr. recommended so that he doesn't choose to drink less milk from being full from food.

-Sean and I decided to start giving Kieran a bottle before bed so we can monitor his fluid in take. This means more pumping for me, but we want to make sure he's drinking enough. We also increased his bottles at daycare from 4 ounces to 5 ounces. He used to not even finish his bottles before, and now he gulps down 5 ounces in 5 minutes like someone is stealing it from him. We also offer breast & bottle after Kieran gets home from daycare and he's been taking 3-5 ounces than too.

-Within a matter of days, Kieran went from getting up every 2 hours to sleeping from 8 pm - 1 am and than back to sleep until I woke him up at 7:15. The next night he slept 8 pm - 5:00 am ate and than back to sleep until I woke him up at 7:15. The last few nights he's been sleeping until around 3-3:30 eating and than back to sleep.

-With the drastic change in sleep I can only believe he wasn't drinking enough while nursing. Since Kieran has started school and is taking the bottle all day he has become a very lazy nurser. He'll only nurse for a few minutes, just enough to get a little bit in his belly and than stop. With the bottle he's able to drink quickly without working for it and we are able to monitor what he's taking.

-Unfortunately he is currently drinking more than I can produce. I do have a freezer stash, but it is quickly disappearing. I really do want Kieran to exclusively have breast milk, and I really don't want him to have to have formula so I am doing my best, although unless his needs change or my supply changes soon, we are going to have to substitute formula in some of his bottles. I know many of my readers use formula, and I know it's not the end of the world, but too me, I feel like a failure if I have to use it. It's my own opinion and no one has to agree with me. I'm really hoping that Kieran is drinking so much now because he's playing catch up and that when he's back on track his needs will go down.

-Our little boy that used to not be able to roll back to belly is now rolling across rooms and is able to turn himself around to get toys. I predict he'll be crawling by the end of July.

-Kieran loves his pacifier and if he sees one he'll immediately put it in his mouth. His eyes have been known to roll back in pure joy upon placement of the paci.

-While in his crib he likes to run his pacifier along the rungs of the crib rails. Sean relates it to a prison inmate running his tin can along the jail cell.

-Kieran loves his bottle. Last night upon seeing the bottle he grabbed his pacifier pulled it out of his mouth, threw it on the floor and smiled.

-Kieran can hold the bottle by himself, remove it from his mouth and place back in his mouth.

-While nursing or drinking his bottle Kieran loves to twiddle my hair with his fingers, and likes to put his fingers in my mouth for me to nibble on.

I'd add some photos but it took me long enough just to get a chance to blog, and most of my readers see all of my photos on facebook. I'll try and do a better job about updating more frequently. Especially as we come around to more developmental milestones.

Thanks to all that actually read through this. Have a great weekend.