Gwen: Nine months

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Gwen’s nine months old at last!  You’ve been out almost as long as you were in.

This month marks a new beginning in your relationship with us: you are now at a local daycare for three full days every week.  I’m starting back to work next week for two days per week.  You seem to love the new toys and the other children at daycare, and we’re eagerly awaiting the report on how your first day (today!) went.

happy with Daddy (on Flickr)

You are as sharp as a tack, a phrase which we’ll amend for this millennium when we don’t use tacks very frequently: you are as sharp as a chef’s knife!  You do so many clever things like tracking us through the house by our voices alone, remembering where we’ve put different objects (toys under other toys, for example), and crawling into our laps for a cuddle.

You have always been a pleasant child, but you’re particularly happy these days.  You don’t even cry when I change your diaper upon awakening, something that always used to create complaints.  You’re getting accustomed to the small wait between being placed in the highchair and beginning to eat your food.

cat food (on Flickr)

At this stage, you still fling food bowls around and can’t manage holding the spoon *and* getting the food into your mouth.  I see the older kids at daycare eat with spoons and I know this is in your future.  We’ll work together (through the huge messes) to give you more practice with spoons and bowls…maybe in a plastic-lined room, though.

Everything in the house has become a support or platform for you to stand up.  You’re doing a lot of this, but you haven’t started “cruising” (holding on to furniture while walking) yet – this could take another month or two.  It’s won’t be long from there until you’re walking on your own…

I’ve noticed that you’re becoming shy in new situations.  At coffee groups, you stay seated on the floor for several minutes until you’ve fully assessed the situation, and only then will you get mobile.  Last Friday you came into work with your dad to meet me at a social gathering, and you were definitely not happy with facing 15 adults in a small room!  You enjoyed yourself once the room emptied out, though.

sunshine girl (on Flickr)

You’re really babbling away now, making lots of sounds.  Most of them are variations on “da da”, though.  There’s still no progress toward “ma ma”.  You seem to understand some of what we say, though, so we’re making a real effort to speak to you like a person and not like a baby.  I’m trying NOT to use that cutesy third-person speech anymore (“Mummy will be right back” is replaced with “I’ll be right back”) – I wouldn’t talk that way to an adult, so I’m not talking to you that way either.

You’re a small human – and part of the time you’re someone else’s responsibility, which feels strange but is, of course, inevitable.  In just a few years you’ll be going to school!  I have two weekdays per week to enjoy with you for the next few months, though.

full smile (on Flickr)