Nine Months Old

Here's our beautiful nine-month-old boy.

At nine months, Isaac is really coming into his own. He plays by himself for long periods of time, he dances, understands humor and makes jokes, expresses his likes and dislikes. He's crawling all over the place now and has started to cruise along the furniture.

Likes:
Higgins, and especially crawling all over Higgins.
Uncle Matt. (The first two are more like loves.)
Dancing. He likes dancing the most when his dad sings the "Isaac Michael Vanberg" song he made up.
Eating what mom and dad eat.
Crawling over, under and through anything he can.
Baths and splashing in water.
Peak a boo, especially from behind the drapes.
Being outside.
Sweet potatoes.
Ice Cream. (Yes, we've given him ice cream!)
Spaghetti.
Saying, "At-ta!" which I prefer to think of as "What's that?!"
Chanting himself to sleep. Loudly.

Dislikes:
Diaper changes.
Spicy food.
Being kept away from things he wants. (And this may result in him biting you, so I found out today.)
Being made to hold still (like, for pictures or diaper changes).
Going to bed.

Of all of the developments this month, I think I enjoy his sense of humor the most. When Isaac makes us laugh, he will repeat the action over and over to highlight just how funny he is. He'll bonk his head against a door or bow again and again, endlessly. He is a character, our little guy.

And he is little, as it turns out. This month Isaac weighs 18 pounds and measures 28 inches. He's dropped off of his steady line on the growth chart, and we have to keep an eye on his nutrient intake for awhile. This is disheartening news. When Isaac starting sleeping through the night, my milk supply dropped significantly and since then I've had a tough time pumping to keep up with his needs at daycare. That combined with the fact that he just doesn't want to sit still long enough for a good feeding probably explains the stall in growth.

Now I'm pumping more often, taking supplements, eating more breast feeding-friendly foods and crossing my fingers that we don't have to supplement with formula. He has started to wake pretty frequently at night again, likely since he is too impatient to nurse during the day. Although I'm back to getting little sleep, I'd rather he wake to eat than sleep through and miss out on the extra calories. I know it may seem that I'm being a snood, but my personal preference is for Isaac to be strictly breastfed. But, just as pregnancy taught me--no, just as Isaac taught me before he was born--some things are beyond my control and I need to choose my battles wisely. What's more important here, making sure Isaac is strictly breastfed or making sure he continues to grow and develop as he should?

I'm giving myself the month before we have to return to the doctor for a weight check to work hard to revive my milk supply and bring Isaac's weight up a little without supplementing. Then, I'll re-assess, perhaps with the help of a lactation consultant.

Happy nine months, little man. A thousand head bump kisses to you. We love, love, love you.