Emerson's 9 Month Update!

I’ve thought about writing this update a million times, but just haven’t found the time to actually sit down and write it. Life has been busy lately as summer has hit and traveling has been in full swing. Sadly, Emerson is now closer to 10 months old than 9….time just never slows down! I was just telling Josh that this year has truly been the quickest of my life. This month marks 1 year since we've moved to Lizella and it just doesn't seem possible. Emerson is truly turning into a “toddler”, as opposed to, an infant right in front of my eyes. She has made so much progress with so many things and this month has been a blast watching her grow and learn. It blows my mind to think that in a little over 2 months, I will have two toddlers. How in the world?! I’m cherishing each moment with our sweet girl and loving each month that passes more and more!

Height and Weight: This month Emerson had her 9 month check-up, so we were finally able to see how her height and weight had progressed over the past 3 months. Emerson now weighs 16 lbs. 11 oz. and is 26.5 inches tall. She is in the 30^th percentile for both height and weight, so that was encouraging to see. She's gained almost 3 lbs. and grown 2 inches in the past 3 months. A few days after this, Emerson got her first ear infection. I could tell she wasn’t feeling well, but since we had just been to the doctor the day before I thought it may just be viral. Unfortunately, she woke up miserable the next morning and turns out it was a double ear infection. Thankfully, our doctor is open 7 days a week, so we had no problem getting her checked and getting the medicine she needed quickly even though it was a Saturday afternoon.

Eating: Overall, Emerson is an excellent eater! I am so thankful after having a picky eater the first time around. It’s really nice to have a kid who will eat just about anything (for now). There are days where she doesn’t want to eat as much, but she still eats a decent amount of solids each day. Emerson will shake her head back and forth to tell us “no” when she doesn’t want any more food. It’s actually kind of nice, as opposed to, her getting upset about it. Emerson still loves bread (loves sharing a peanut butter sandwich with Grayson) and also any type of soft and cooked veggies (lately she has loved cooked squash and peppers). She also loves beans, cheese, and meats (BBQ, taco, hot dog). She still likes grapes and blueberries and is back to eating chopped up pieces of banana. Today, she ate a piece of pizza (deconstructed). At this point, the only “puree” I feed her is yogurt. She hasn’t been as into eating puffs and yogurt bites lately. She does better with regular food. She eats what we eat just in smaller pieces and loves it! She likes to eat what mommy, daddy, and Grayson have….she wants to be just like the group! Emerson does okay with feeding herself, but at this point, I still feed her most everything myself. I try to give her opportunities to “self-feed”, but don’t do it too often…mostly because she isn’t great at it! Ha. Emerson is breastfeeding less and less. She breastfeeds every 4-5 hours and can go longer if needed. This is so bittersweet for me. For over 3 years now, I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding. There is a part of me that is ready for a break, but I also love breastfeeding my babies and feel very grateful that I've been able to do so for so long. I plan on weaning her at 12 months, but I know a part of me will miss it. Emerson has started biting at times during her feedings, so I won’t miss that! She has started drinking out of a sippy cup. She doesn’t fully understand it, but she is slowly getting the hang of it. Emerson loves stealing Grayson’s sippy cups and gets giddy with excitement each time she gets to hold one!

Sleep: Sleep has been okay this month. Emerson is all over the board. Sometimes she will sleep longer stretches at night (she slept 10 hours straight once this month!), but usually she wakes up once a night. And lately, it’s even been twice a night. She is pretty consistent about waking up once a night though and the time varies. Everything is the same, as far as, her sleep schedule goes. She is still napping twice a day and going to bed/waking up for the day around the same times. (8:30-9pm – 8-8:30am) She doesn't nap well if we aren't at home and just doesn't take super long naps in general. We have been out of town twice in the past two weeks and nights have been really rough for her. She goes to sleep fine in the pack ‘n’ play, but wakes up throughout the night. She did take some good naps while we were out of town from lack of sleep at night. At this point, I’ve gone almost 10 months without sleeping through the night, so I do get very tired sometimes. It’s discouraging for me to still have a baby that doesn’t sleep through the night (I always feel like I must be doing something wrong!), but I know that one day she will. Hopefully! Emerson has also been wanting us to rock her to sleep this month. She used to be better at putting herself to sleep, but this month, she has really wanted us to rock her to sleep each night and sometimes for naps. Sometimes it’s frustrating, but it’s also super sweet! She especially loves when daddy rocks her to bed. 

Clothes: Emerson is in a size 3 diaper, but she’s about to move up to a size 4. She is also in some 6-9 month clothing and some 9-12 month clothing. She is somewhat petite for her age, but the bigger clothes aren’t so big on her anymore and she can wear most of them!

Mood: Emerson’s personality is coming through more and more as time goes on and it’s so fun to see it develop! She has always been very laid back and happy with that little bit of fire and sass and that’s how I would continue to describe her! Overall, she is a very happy baby, always smiling and laughing at everyone. If for some reason she isn’t happy about something, she is becoming more vocal about letting you know that. She has also learned to “fight back” with Grayson. When Grayson takes a toy from her or something that she is enjoying playing with, she will put up a fight and won’t let him have the toy. Or she will scream very loudly about it. She is learning to stand up for herself, that’s for sure! She shakes her head “no” at me if she doesn’t want something and gets very upset if you take something that she has away. She has been very clingy to mama this month and doesn’t always want other people to hold her. If she sees me, then she cries until I come get her. If I am out of her sight, then she is usually content being held by others. She is doing much better in the church nursery and any setting where I have to leave her for a while. Emerson is a mama’s girl, but I’m not complaining. She also loves and recognizes daddy and Grayson immediately. She lights up when they enter the room. Grayson still gets the most laughs out of her, but she is also laughing a lot more at mommy and daddy! Emerson is still very curious. She is really checking everything out and wants to hold and touch everything. She is definitely entering that "getting into everything" phase including the trash cans and the little rocks in our fireplace (she loves to stick them in her mouth and I'm constantly having to get them out). She is still super sweet and loves to cuddle. She gives the sweetest little grins all the time and says “Dada” when her daddy is holding her. Emerson is becoming more and more vocal and is talking a lot these days! Baby talk that is! She doesn't really say any real words yet except "Dada", but she loves to say "Gah Gah" and "Baba". She is also getting better about repeating the sound that you say. She loves to explore and is very content crawling around the living room putting everything in her mouth! Emerson has also started getting her feelings hurt. If I have to get on to her or "scold" her, she immediately bursts into tears! She is definitely sensitive in that way. Emerson is full of sunshine and sweetness! I love the bond we have as mother and daughter. 

Milestones: This month Emerson started CRAWLING! It was such an exciting milestone for us because Grayson skipped crawling and went straight to walking. It’s so fun to have a “crawler”, but it’s also been a game changer (and has shown me how dirty my floors are!). Having two mobile kids is a whole new world! I have to watch Emerson like a hawk because I never know where she is going to go or what she is going to get into. But it’s so fun to see her crawl everywhere and finally get to where she wants to go all on her own! She has also started pulling up to her knees constantly. She hasn’t pulled up to her feet yet, but she’s very close. We need to lower her crib! Her mobility has really changed and majorly improved this month! Emerson can also give high 5’s and play "patty cake" which is really fun! She just laughs and giggles and smiles from ear to ear while we do "patty cake" together. 

Teeth: Still 4! But she has been more grumpy lately, so I’m hoping another tooth is on its way!

Loves: Waving at anyone and everyone, clapping along to music, splashing in the bath tub or pool, making friends wherever we go, riding in the shopping cart like a big girl, still loves all of Grayson’s toys instead of her "baby" toys, putting everything in her mouth, crawling everywhere, rolling a ball back and forth, patting/smacking everything, being tickled, giving high 5's and playing "patty cake", always finding shoes and attempting to chew on them (so sanitary!), getting up on her knees to explore, being rocked to sleep, still loves being held but wanting to get down and explore more and Emerson really loves her family (mommy, daddy, and Grayson). Emerson and Grayson have started to actually "play" with each other recently and Emerson just giggles and smiles the whole time! They love to crawl together all over the house...Grayson has reverted back to being a baby! Haha. 

Doesn’t Like: Getting strapped in the car, having to sit still for diaper and outfit changes, getting licked in the face by Cedric (overall, she isn’t nearly as into Cedric as Grayson was), taking away something she is playing with, gets overwhelmed by big crowds, standing on her feet (she immediately sits down when we try to stand her up) and she will cling on to me and refuse to let go when I try to put her down if she is in the mood to be carried. 

Things I Want To Remember:

1^st Haircut (bangs) – I wouldn’t consider it her first real haircut, but Emerson had her bangs trimmed this month! She did great and didn’t even really notice what was happening. I don’t plan on a proper 1^st haircut for a while! She has a lot of really long baby hairs that she's had since birth. She never lost any of her hair and she was born with a lot. But I plan on letting it continue to grow out and then get it "shaped" when she's a little older. 

1^st Trip to the Beach – We went to Jekyll Island with Josh’s family for a few days and then went back to Jekyll Island for a few days this week for Josh’s work conference. Emerson loved the sand, but hated the ocean! She ate way too much sand for my liking, but she was not a fan of going in or near the water. She seemed a little overwhelmed at the beach with Josh’s family last week (17 people in one house). She was very clingy and more fussy. Emerson seemed happier this week at the beach with just Josh’s parents there with us. I think she may do better in smaller groups which is how I am too. Josh and Grayson are the extroverts of our family! That being said, she loves her cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents and had a lot of fun with them! Our nieces and nephews loved playing with Emerson and helping me take care of her while we were at the beach. 

                                                   

Mommy Update: Emotions have been all over the board this month in my world! Emerson is definitely my easier child right now, but having a challenging, moody, high energy and attention demanding two year old AND a mobile, breastfeeding, and more opinionated baby makes life a little more complicated. One minute we are all playing together and having a blast and the next, they are both crying and things are chaotic. Grayson and Emerson have a typical sibling relationship – they are best friends but also get irritated with each other. Grayson loves to pester Emerson, but then he gets sad when she goes away or he can’t play with her anymore. Emerson thinks Grayson is so funny, but she also cries a lot when he messes with her. She likes to smack him and pull his hair (in play) which never results in anything good. Recently, Emerson stuck her finger in Grayson’s mouth and then Grayson bit her. It was quite dramatic and pretty typical of their interactions lately. They want to be near each other all the time, but then they keep bugging each other. I’m having to adjust to dealing with their “sibling interactions” more and being a little like a referee. Grayson has started to get a little jealous of Emerson in the past month or two, so that has also been something I am learning to navigate as a mom of two. Grayson has been fighting sleep a lot lately and the tantrums have been rough, so this mama is tired! And tired mamas are emotionally mamas. Recently someone told me that they thought my kids were "always happy and always smiling and basically perfect" based on my social media posts. I couldn't help but laugh when I heard this because that is definitely not the case. I’m the first to admit that I am no expert at having two kids. We are almost 10 months in and I still feel like I struggle at times. A part of me feels embarrassed admitting that because most moms who have 2 kids appear to be rocking it and lots of other moms have more than 2 kids and are also rocking it. Two kids may not seem challenging to some, but where I am with an almost 2.5 year old and a 9 month old, it can be hard. Some days, I can get overwhelmed and discouraged and other days, I feel like things are great! I can be really, really hard on myself and think that I am not a very good mom on those challenging days. The same lessons that I learned the first year of being a mom with Grayson are lessons that I continually have to remind myself today. Don't compare yourself to other moms. Don't compare your kids to other kids. Give yourself grace. Stop being so hard on yourself! Remember that you are doing the best you can and that's all you can do. A bad moment in the day doesn't make it a bad day. Don't beat yourself up for mistakes you or your child makes. Don't let your worth as a mom depend on how your child behaves or hits certain milestones. Every child is different and each child has their own little mind and can make their own decisions. Having a 2 year old has taught me that it is my responsibility to teach my child right from wrong. They aren't going to naturally know and that's okay. It doesn't make them a bad kid. Being a mom has taught me so many things about myself and also made me question myself more than I ever have before. I will never claim to be the perfect mother, but I will always try my very hardest to be the best parent to my children. I will always pour everything I have into raising them even if I don't always see the fruit of that labor (yet). This season is amazing and wonderful and exhausting and straight up hard sometimes all wrapped up into one. Life as a mom is always busy and hectic, but like I say each month, I am trying to soak in every moment because I know I will miss these days. I share this not out of self-pity, but knowing that I'm not the only mama in these shoes. We all have those days and we are in this together!