2009: Best Year Ever

While 2008 was the worst year of my life, 2009 brought the fulfillment of my most cherished dream: motherhood. 2009 was the year of Miran!

He is 9 1/2 months now and really changing into an older baby--physically and mentally. For one, he looks different, more like a toddler and less like an infant. For two, he has finally started babbling (just in the last few days), and that makes his "speech" sound so much more sophisticated. He also now seems to understand "no" -- when he's trying to put something into his mouth and you say no, he stops, looks at you, and even sometimes cries (whereas before he'd just look at you, confused, and keep trying to chew). His day generally comprises:
--waking up (between 6 and 7) and nursing
--happy play in his play area in the nursery, or in his Baby Bjorn playpen/crib, or with Mama and Daddy on the bed (today all three of us snuggled for almost an hour!), etc. He likes playing with toys, chewing things, looking at things, banging things, "reading" books, and so on. Out for a walk if it's not too cold. Sometimes a visit to or from someone, like Granny.
--bedtime between 7 and 8. Recently he's been waking up a lot in the middle of the night, but we're hoping he'll go back to sleeping through soon.

He still has one or, increasingly, two meals a day plus a fresh fruit snack.

He's a great baby. A curious, alert, sweet, smiling baby. He does get fussy, but only with a reason, and he's pretty easy to console when this happens. We just delight in him!

Merry Christmas, Miran!

Right now, you're in the other room loudly playing with Daddy (and waking the whole house up, I'm sure), while I'm in the bedroom pumping away. Merry, merry Christmas, my darling. Christmas is joyful to me again because you're here. We love you so much!

So let's see . . .

Miran is 9 months old now and is doing so well. He is strong and active and usually on the go. He crawls like a champ, pulls to standing on everything, cruises around, and stands for a few seconds at a time unsupported (he probably would be better at this if we gave him more practice--when we're away at Christmas, he'll have more opportunity for it). As for sleep, some nights are great, but other nights he's fretful and wakes every few hours. I can't seem to predict how it will be, so I'm not sure what causes the fussiness. I did buy a small humidifier for his room today, so maybe with better air in there he will sleep better.

In addition to the usual breastmilk, his diet now generally includes two square "meals" a day--quinoa porridge for breakfast and a protein (lentils, meat, egg yolk) for lunch/dinner. He had been rejecting veggies for a spell but I'm going to start reintroducing them. He still loves avocado and banana, both of which we often mash into some of his other food for added flavor, texture, and nutrients. And he very much enjoys raw fruit -- apple, pear, kiwi, cantaloupe -- in his mesh bag feeder as a snack.

But the big news is that we finally have consonants!! His talking now sounds more language-like and includes lots of "ba" and "wa" sounds, plus the occasional "da" or "ma." This morning he actually said "dad" (no meaning attached, of course), and Nana Meej said that the other day he said "ball." He's also just started to actually babble, with successions of consonants (like "ba-ba-wa"), though that's still infrequent.

Miran's gotten so tall that he's finally outgrown his old Graco Snugride carseat, so I went and bought him a new one today. This new one goes up to 80 lbs., so I hope it's the last carseat we buy for a long time. Speaking of infant products, I was shocked that the Amby Baby was recalled due to a couple infant suffocation deaths. Miran slept in that thing every night for months, and we loved it! How scary to think he may have been in danger all that time. Indeed, he slept in the exact position that the recall notice listed as posing the most danger. Goodness!

Right now he's in the other room being put to bed by Daddy, and resisting it by the sound of the things. I can't wait till we can enjoy his first Christmas . . . in fact, I am really glad that, on my first Christmas without either of my paternal grandparents, I at least have Miran to infuse joy into everything. I have lost my dear beloved grandfather this year, but I have also gained a new family member, a beautiful son.

Daddy's got Brian Eno on, and that's chilling Miran (and me) out . . . I'm off to bed . . .

Oh, and also . . .

--He has started learning to use a sippy cup (plain water) and seems to be enjoying it.
--His diet now includes quinoa, cantaloupe, and prunes. (Banana is still his favorite, though.)

Miran Stands!

He's just growing up so rapidly. Miran is now able to stand, unsupported, for up to 15 seconds at a time! And when holding on to furniture or to your hands, he will cruise/walk around now. He's definitely got the idea about being mobile on two feet--he just needs a little more balance and confidence, and he's off!