Conner's 9 month old check-up

Monday, October 26, 2009 at Monday, October 26, 2009
Today Conner had his 9-month wellness check-up. First, I can't believe he is already 9 months old! Time has flown (well at times it doesn't feel that way). So there we were, Conner, Mommy and Dr. Aggie (see previous post to know why we refer to him as Dr. Aggie :D). Now Dr. Aggie is incredibly nice. He answers my weird off-the-wall questions (and I can definitely bring the weird). But when he starts to question me about Conner's developmental milestones I feel...well for those of you that know me well, I am quite a competitive person. In fact, I have been referred to as "Monica" from Friends (despite the fact that I am nothing like her!). Ahem. Moving along, so he starts to ask if Conner is doing this, that and the other. And I find that for most of the questions my answer is "um, no, not yet". So now I feel like a loser. It must be my fault that Conner isn't pulling himself up to stand using the furniture. No, no, no, Mommy or Daddy have to stand him up, then he can hold himself up using the coffee table. Or that he isn't crawling, cruising, walking, riding a bike, composing music to make Mozart jealous (deep breath!). But I left there thinking that not all babies develop at the same pace and I am not a big ass loser (well at least not in this realm). But I met a good friend for a baby date at Austin's Children's Museum. They have "baby bloomer" day and OMG it was a blast! So there we are, cute babies and all, and over crawls this really beautiful little girl. So the mom and I start talking and when she informs me that her daughter is Conner's age that same feeling of loserhood comes back. Now I know not to compare babies...but damnit I can't help myself! Of course as soon as they started the sing-along and Conner looked at me with this "Mommy I love you and thank you for bringing me here" look (yes people...that was what he was thinking!)...all those feelings of loser-hood went away. Instead I just felt so blessed that I have a healthy little boy who will develop all of these milestones when he is good and ready!

So Moms...did you feel the competitive streak? Did you overcome it?

Learn! Baby! Learn!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at Wednesday, October 07, 2009
My brilliant father-in-law, Rich, sent me a fabulous e-mail asking if there were any books about what babies need to be taught on a month by month, then year by year basis. I have read "What's Going On In There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life" by Lise Eliot (and I highly highly recommend this book, even if you are not of a science persuasion). But this aforementioned book does not really go into great depths about what to teach an infant/toddler, based on what they can developmentally grasp. Instead Dr. Eliot simply, but accurately explains how the brain develops. However, I would love to know what are the best age appropriate toys/activities. I know that anyone can walk into Target and buy a toy based on age. However, I am not convinced that this is necessary. Some of the toys Conner has found to be entertaining (and I am sure educational) have been items from around the house (i.e. that our wooden cooking spoon, when banged against a tupperware container, makes a noise).

I have found a bunch of websites that basically just say talking and reading to your baby is the best thing to do. Does anyone know of a book that has great suggestions for how to stimulate and encourage age appropriate development? Any input would be very much appreciated.

Also, Conner has become a bit bored with his current selection of toys and we need to invest in more. Any suggestions for toys/activities we can buy that an almost 9 month old would love?

And if there are no books...hmm...I have always wanted to write a book...but must must must finish grad school first!

Conner Update

Saturday, October 3, 2009 at Saturday, October 03, 2009
Hi everyone!
Well I thought I would give a bit of an update on Conner. Ladies and gentlemen...(drum roll please)...we have a tooth! And boy oh boy is he not having any fun. Of course I can't blame him. If I had a hard object made up of calcium and phosphorus (and other mineral salts) ramming its way out of my gums, I don't think I would be too hot to trot either. But he is handling it like a little trooper. He has also started "backward" crawling. From what I gather, this precedes crawling forward. He also seems to be very very aware of his environment. He has always been a very curious, observant baby, but now it is as if he is going through a developmental stage and he is becoming more cognitively enhanced. So what that last sentence really means is...his sleeping is interrupted and WE ARE TIRED! But this is just an awesome journey and I love watching him learn and absorb the world!

My next blog entry will be more in line with neuronal/cognitive development. I am going to do an entry on spanking. So tune in...

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