ES(minus the P): 9 Months

It occurred to me today that my baby has spent as much time growing outside my body as she did inside!  As hard as it is to believe, Charlotte Jane is NINE months old!  Before too long, we will be celebrating her first birthday!  She is still a tiny little peanut, but we've seen good developmental strides this month.

Weight: 13 pounds (projected to be about 14.5 pounds at a year!)
Clothing Size: 6 months (even a few 3 month outfits still fit) 
Teeth: two - bottom front

EAT:  Charlotte is still nursing 6-8 times a day ... and through the night.  Just in the past month, she has taken a liking to solids ... but that has not helped our sleep problems.  She refuses to eat rice cereal or oatmeal, and I am guessing it's a texture issue ... based on the contorted faces she makes and my own past issues with texture.  At this point, her menu consists of apples, pears, bananas, prunes, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas.  If I had to name favorites, I would say apples and squash with carrots running a close third.  Charlotte also loves Mum-Mums which she self-feeds quite enthusiastically.  Sometimes she can even get a puff in her mouth - picking them up is not a problem.  I've introduced the sippy, but size is an issue here; can't seem to find a cup small enough for her to manage.  Perhaps she'll just have to grow into it :)

SLEEP:  Oh, this is a hard one for me to talk about.  Mainly because I am (and have been) so frustrated by her inability to sleep through the night.  And by "through the night" I mean for a stretch longer than three hours.  She is just not a good sleeper.  In fact, it's 3:15 am right now, and she's awake.  Has been since about 12:30.  Sometimes swaddling helps.  Sometimes it doesn't.  Seems ridiculous to swaddle a 9 month old, but I have literally tried everything.  I've read three different books ... none of which account for her size / slow weight gain or the fact that she doesn't really CRY - she fusses some, she pedals her legs, she talks to herself, ... she doesn't seem all that discontent.  However, I cannot sleep when she doesn't sleep.  And the sleep deprivation has really, really taken a toll on me.  It doesn't seem to bother her, but I worry that she is not getting enough of the rest that her brain and body need.  Charlotte takes two naps a day - one in the morning from about 9:00 to 10:30 and another from 1:30 to 4:00. Here's what a typical night looks like:

1. Bedtime is between 7:00-7:30; she gets a bath, a book, and a feed.
2. Sometime between 9:30-10:30 she wakes up and eats like she's starving.
3. Between midnight and 1:00 she is awake again.  Usually a pat and the binky put her back to sleep.
4. Some nights (like tonight) Charlotte is awake this entire stretch - for two to three hours.
5. It's time to eat again between 3:00 and 4:00.
6. Her internal alarm block wakes us up again at 6:30 - binky or feed.
7. And then we are out of bed by 7:30 at the latest.

Does it seem right for a nine month old to be waking up at least four times?

Well, it's been 30 minutes - it's now 3:45, and I can hear through the monitor that she's in her crib pedaling her legs and humming. 

I will save the P (poop and personality) and Milestones for another time ... did I mention that I am so ridiculously tired?!