9 Months
Ava:
Weight: 16.4 = 15%
Height: 26 3/4 = 30%
Head: 44 = 40%
Bettina:
Weight: 17.8 = 30%
Height: 27 3/4 = 60%
Head: 44 1/2 = 52%
Tina's height dictates that she needs to go into the new carseat, the Britex Marathon.
Eating:
Both are eating 3 meals/day with about 6 oz. each (1 1/2 Stage 2 jars)
Foods include: Apples, Avocado, Broccoli, Cantalope, Carrots, Green beans, Kiwi, Mixed Cereal, Oatmeal, Rice, Peaches, Pears, Peas, Potatoes, Prunes, Spinach, Squash, Yogurt
The pediatrician says to start proteins (meats) when we want to. Also, she noted that the Gerber style of puff veggies and fruits - the kind that melt like rice paper in the kids' mouths - is really just a gimmick. "It's like eating air," she says. We are switching to Cheerios.
Ava only has the one left bottom tooth that's still coming in. Tina's still gummy.
Sleep:
Both are sleeping through the night. Well, they will usually wake up - in various stages of "awake," but they are expected to put themselves back to sleep, which they do 99.99% of the time. Their "transitional objects," a little cow-shaped and horse-shaped blanket, help them do this really well and I'm glad I encouraged them to "bond" with them. Bedtime's at 7:30pm and they usually don't get up until 7:00 am. They're still taking 2 naps: an hour at 10am and usually an hour and a half (sometimes 2) at 3pm.
Play:
Their favorite toys are still their sterling rattles that Tracy & Addi game them. They will drop everything when they hear it's distinctive chime. They like their wooden toys by Haba (a horse and a set of twins in a wooden arc) which came from Grandma and me and love the balls that came with their Tiny Love elephant toy which Ava's godmother Lisa gave. They don't drop them into the elephant shape yet - they just like to shake the balls like rattles. They love, love, love to watch Baby Einsteins, which they do just between their baths and bedtime.
Developmentally:
Sitting up is a cinch and both now (instead of only Tina) prefer to stand clutching on to my fingers for support. Tina likes to test herself and will usually let go with one hand, and then both, to see if she can balance. She also likes to lean toward a table or the ottoman and shift her weight back and forth. This is probably her favorite game. They are both babbling with some coherent but still inadvertent words (mama, dada - which really sounds more like duh duh). Both will stand without assistance for a few seconds. It comes easier for Ava but Tina practices it more. They're using pincher grips, but usually, with finger foods, the objects are too small for them to get it to their mouths - most of the object is stuck in the thick parts of their fingers instead. Neither are crawling in the conventional way: Ava's creeping backwards when she's on her belly, doing donuts in the sitting position, and, like her sister, is tri-poding to reach things. Tina pulls herself up and is starting to "cruise."
