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09.14.22

Camden’s 9 Month Update + Schedule

9 months, can you believe it! Wow, just wow. My little man is the absolute best and we just love him so much. He holds such a special place in my heart. Where I’m at in my life, career, parenthood, he just makes it all so much better. The way his smile lights up a room, how much he loves me, and how he giggles at everything Harper does. Ugh, he truly is the most special little guy. 

We spent a week in Black Butte in August and it was our first road trip as a family of 4. It was such a great family trip, but tough on Cam (and mom at times). He was very clingy and had a severe case of stranger danger. But, I also felt for him – so many new faces and living in a strange place, so I get it. But yeah, he basically only wanted mom, so it was all very exhausting for me. He also wouldn’t nap for more than 40 minutes during the day. Thankfully, he slept through the night every night, so everyone was able to start fresh each morning. We did find out he HATES the Slumber Pod. He would cry the second we’d put him in his crib and then when we took it down, he went straight to sleep. I’m glad we know, but there goes our sleeping in the same room for future travel plans, lol. On a few of the longer car rides he wouldn’t fall asleep and became overtired and just cried and screamed. We eventually had to pull over and I would nurse him. This worked both times as he ended up falling asleep once we got on the road again. Just call me a human pacifier! Cam was a champ, though. Tagging along on such a big family trip isn’t easy, so I’m very proud of him.

New at 9 Months

Baby boy sits really well now. He’s still not crawling, but he’s getting on his knees and rocking back and forth. He wants to be mobile so bad, I can see him getting frustrated in some situations. He’s so close, he just needs to put his arms and legs together now, lol. His head shape has changed so much. He used to have such a round head but the sides have flattened, really making him look like a big boy. Sleeping on his tummy has really helped his flat head, too. Cam and Harper are playing so well these days and it’s the best to watch. She makes him laugh so much. He’s so vocal now, babbling, sometimes screaming from excitement, saying “dadadadada.” He wants to constantly walk around holding our hands. Ugh, he’s growing up so fast.

Naps

This man has never been consistent with naps and sometimes I just want to pull my hair out. I’m type A, so always trying to figure out a solution, etc. I think I find a way to get him to nap longer and then it all goes out the window the next week. Right now he’s taking 2 naps, the morning nap is always short 30-40mins and then the afternoon nap is typically about 1.5. I can work with this, but sometimes the 2nd nap is short as well. It’s not the end of the world because Cam is perfectly content when he’s awake, it’s just nice to be able to get something done and I know he needs that sleep. Short naps mean we push up bedtime, which isn’t the worst thing, but fellow moms get it, you want your baby to nap. 

Feedings

We officially have a great eater! If you remember, we introduced Cam to solids and he was crying or vomiting. I thought something could be wrong, but nope, he just wasn’t ready. We started back up again at 8 months and he ate everything up. I started with pureeing at home and then realized I couldn’t give him everything he needs/variety with my schedule. We ended up ordering YUMI and it has been the best! So much variety and so many ingredients I would have never used. There’s definitely flavors he doesn’t love, but for the most part, he loves it. He’s also an expert chewer out of nowhere (could it be perks of starting food at 8 months?), so we started giving him soft small foods. He’s still working on his pincer grasp, so we spoon feed or help him. We’re currently feeding him solids after the first 3 feedings (more on this in the schedule below). And now that he’s eating solids regularly, we’re doing 4 nursing sessions/day instead of 5.

Awake Time

We are officially between 3 and 3.5 hours of awake time during the day, which means more time to get out of the house, yay! Cam also got spoiled this summer by having his sister home to play with. She just went back to school, so I’m sure he’ll be missing her a bit in the mornings. But, little man is playing up a storm. He gets all the good toys way earlier than Harper ever did, lol (perks of having a big sis). We try to give him as much floor time as possible to tire himself out. We’ll go on walks, fun outings as a family. He loves bubbles and playing with balls (just like his sister). We recently put him in the Doona trike and he loves that.

Bedtime

Now that Cam is awake longer between naps and bedtime, he was getting a lot more tired during our feed right before bed. If I wasn’t paying attention I think he would doze off, which backfired because he would be wide awake by the time I put him to bed (he thought he got his sleep while we nursed) and cry quite a bit before falling asleep. He’s always gone to bed really well, so I was like what is going on.  Now that I put it all together, I’m now nursing him in a louder room (with Harper and Mike), so that he can stay awake during that last feed of the night. This has worked like a charm. He’s back to falling asleep right away at bedtime. 

Eczema Update

Cam’s eczema is doing great! He had some flare ups on our trip to Black Butte (I’m guessing from the hot weather), but otherwise he’s doing great. We’re only using our concoction (more on this here) when necessary, otherwise it’s just Aquaphor after baths every other day.

Favorites at 9 Months

Toddlekind Floor Mat (color: clay) – We put the extra mats we had upstairs in the play room where Cam does a lot of his tummy time. Now that he’s more mobile, the mats have been awesome!

Halo Swaddle – This is the sleep sack we transitioned to. I like that it has sleeves and that it’s the most similar to the Merlin (in hopes for a smooth transition).

Stokke Steps High Chair – We used this high chair with Harper and continued to use it with Cam. We love it. It’s beautiful, well made, and has held up really well.

Nuna REVV Car Seat – We recently got this car seat and absolutely love it! The swivel feature to get Cam in and out of the car seat is a game changer!

Box with Tray Three Balls Montessori Toy – He loves the balls from this toy. They’re a great size where he can hold them, but can’t into his mouth.

9 Month Schedule


6:30am – wakes and plays in crib
7:00am – grab him, change his clothes/diaper, and nurse
7:30am – awake time, go for a walk
8:30am – solids
9:30am – Nap 1

10:30am – wake and nurse
11:00am – play
12:30pm  – solids/lunch
2:00pm – Nap 2

3:30pm – wake and nurse
4:00pm – play
5:00pm – solids/dinner
7:00pm – nurse and bedtime