Cruisin' and Eatin' and Sleepin' and Teethin'

I can't remember if I mentioned that LMW has learned how to crawl. He started at the beginning of the month and almost immediately after, began pulling up. And not long after that, he started cruising. All he wants to do it pull up. I put him in his crib and he immediately stands up. He looks at me with hope in his eyes, searching for approval. Already! So I clap my hands and shout, "Yay!" I shout "yay" a lot these days because he's learning so many new things. Every time we leave his room, he wants to turn the light switch off. He has just mastered the pincher grasp so his little index finger and thumb work in conjunction to find that light switch every time. Sometimes it takes him awhile to get it, but he always does. And I shout, "Yay, LMW (except I say his real name)!"

He had a cold that lasted about a week and I think he lost some weight in his face and belly. I just looked at some pictures that were taken before he got sick and his face is definitely bigger in those pictures. Poor little guy. He's much better but is still battling a snotty nose and a sometimes-rattly chest. 

He has had some texture issues when it comes to food but we've made some progress in the past few weeks. He can now feed himself puffs if I break them up. I also gave him some real banana and avocado in his mesh feeder yesterday night and he ate it up. I'm very happy that he's getting better with that. His gag reflex has had me worried but I'm slowly trying to introduce more foods that are a little thicker and chunkier so he can get acclimated to them without throwing up. 

Mmmmm, this spoon tastes good.

Nom nom

I recently put the pack'n play back in the living room because he gets into EVERYTHING if I leave the room for even 30 seconds. At first, he couldn't figure out how to pull up in there because it's a bit taller than his bed slats. But MK called me into the living room last night and said, "I just watched your son cruise around the whole pack'n play." Wow! He really is developing quite rapidly lately.

Oh, hai! I can stand up!

See?

He has hit the almost-9-month separation anxiety...whoa. I can leave the room and he starts whining. He sometimes stands at the end of his bed and just cries if I'm not in there. If I start out in his room and leave for any reason, say to go fill up his bath, he cries for me. Even if he's in the room with MK and I leave, he gets upset. I don't know how long that's supposed to last.

That also translates to some sleep issues. He went right to sleep tonight and last night, but the night before that, he fought it hard. He wanted to crawl around and pull up. I wasn't in the mood to hang out for an hour, waiting for him to get sleepy and he would NOT let me rock him. I have learned that you can't push this child. He will do it his way on his own time. I made the mistake of trying to force sleep upon him that night and he got so upset he threw up a little. I felt like a piece of crap. I will have to work on my patience. When he finally went to sleep (he finally gave in and let me rock him), I told MK that I deserved the mother-of-the-year award and he shook his head (as in, he agreed with me but without the sarcasm). He said, "You were very patient with him tonight." Wow, and I thought I was being a horrible mother but I guess it wasn't as bad as I imagined. I just felt horrible that he vomited because of me. We're still on a learning curve, I suppose. He definitely didn't hold a grudge the next morning because he woke up happy. Still, I never want that to happen again.

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Woo hoo! I got another toofie!

And last but not least, his seventh tooth came in. Bottom right lateral incisor. I can't believe he has seven teeth before he's even 9 months old.