9 Months Old

Wow the last month just flew by! Good thing to, because I'm so over summer and ready for the fall and it's cooler weather. It's hard to believe but Claire turned 9 months on the 16th (I swear eventually I'll actually remember to write about it on the actual 16th one of these months). She has started doing a lot of things over the last month. Milestones are always exciting for a parent but when your the parent of a preemie each milestone has so much meaning. The big things Claire is now doing is holding her own bottle, which is great because I can put her in her hoppy with her bottle and get an extra 15-20 minutes to myself (if your a new mom you'll see just what an exciting thing it is to get time to yourself ). She also picks up her sippy cup and drinks from it herself (thank you Tommee Tippee for yet another great product). We now have an army crawler and she is getting quick fast. And she is starting to eat small pieces of soft thing like Strawberries. Oh and she now has two teeth.  I can't wait to see what she does over the next month!


She likes broccoli & cauliflower, strawberries, taking baths in the "big" tub, crawling after my phone, the laptop, iPad, Xbox controller and the remotes.

She dislikes her reflux, mommy leaving the room (good ol separation anxiety), teething and not being able to reach things that she wants.

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Tummy Sensitive Bottles

I researched bottles for weeks before deciding on these. They are one of the most expensive bottles on the market right now, but they are like the BMW of bottles and in my book they are worth every penny. I use the sensitive tummy model of the Tommee Tippee since Claire has severe reflux and excessive spit up doesn't even describe it somedays. But there is a standard non sensitive tummy model.  

Pros

• They come in 5oz and 9oz sizes.
• For babies with excessive spit up and gas.
• Vent tube to reduce taking in air during feeding and discomfort after.
• The vent tube has a color changing heat sensing temperature strip that shows when milk is safe to drink. ( I love this feature, its been great for my husband to know when her bottles are the right temperature.)
• Vented nipples, the 5oz come with a size 1 and the 9 oz comes with a size 2. 
• Nipples mimic the natural feel and movement of the breast. Making transition between the breast and bottle easy. (Claire had no problem going between the two.)
• Wide neck nipple which makes latching easier. 
• You can buy different flow speed nipples.
• The shape of the actual bottle makes it easy for baby to learn to hold bottle on their own. 
• Bottles including the vent tube breaks down completely for cleaning.
• If you decide on formula or are unable to breastfeed Tommee Tippee makes Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Formula Dispensers that you can pre measure out the formula and the dispenser drops into the bottle for travel. This is a space saver in the diaper bag since you won't have to carry a formula container. 
• Tommee Tippee also makes an affordable bottle warmer for these bottles.

Cons

• The tummy sensitive bottles have extra parts, which means it takes a bit more time to clean bottles. 
• Since they are wide neck bottles, depending on the brand of breast pump you may not be able to pump directly into bottles unless you buy the pump converter (not to expensive), or use a Tommee Tippee pump.
• They are more expensive than other bottles. 

Baby Registry Musts

Registering for your baby shower can be overwhelming if you have never been into a Babies R Us or been around babies for longs periods of time. There are so many things they need or are just nice to have because they will make life much easier for you. I have worked with babies and children so I had a pretty good handle on everything we needed, but my husband had never really been around babies.

We finally had a weekend that we had time to go and register and when we sat down with one of their associates and went through the registry guide my husband immediately was overwhelmed. My first recommendation for registering is to do your research about the major items you will need i.e. bottles, monitor, glider and crib ect. My second recommendation, if your not sure about what something is or the difference between two products, go ahead and ask. The associates are actually very knowledgable.

I thought I'd share my favorite items that I use with Claire that I highly recommend. If you have any questions about an item feel free to ask. Also since I have worked in a child care center as a lead trainer I have used many different products, especially bottles so if your looking for more information on a particular kind chances are I have used it. .

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Sensitive Tummy Bottles: I cannot express how much I love these bottles. We have 10 9oz and 10 of the 5oz sensitive tummy bottles. Claire has horrible reflux and these have really worked wonders for her. I also love the shape of them, she is already holding her own bottles. They are easy to clean and very durable.The biggest reason I love these bottles is the nipples are just like a breast, Claire switches between the breast and the bottle with no problem.

 Motorola MBP33 Wireless Video Baby Monitor: Its worth every penny to have a video baby monitor. We have a 2200 sq ft 2 story house so we needed a monitor that would have plenty of range since Claire's room is upstairs on the opposite side of the house from our TV room. Its wonderful having a video monitor, babies make so many little noises when they are sleeping especially when they are brand new so it was nice to be able to look and see exactly what she is doing on the monitor. Its been very handy as well now that she is older and sometimes wakes up, I just look and see if I really need to go into her room or if she'll go back to sleep. The monitor also has a two way intercom which we have used quite a bit, it can play music and shows the rooms temperature.

Woombie: Most babies love to be swaddled. Its a calming effect for them, reminding them of the womb. Claire absolutely loves to be swaddled. After coming home from the NICU she would sometimes wake up at night because she broke out of her receiving blanket swaddle and we would go in her room and re-swaddle her and she would go right back to sleep. Then I found the Woombie, it swaddles the baby but the baby cannot break out of it and wake up from their startle reflex. Not only that, but Woombie also makes a convertible Woombie that has arms holes that you just unsnap so they baby can feel swaddled but have their arms out and it becomes more like a sleep sack. This was wonderful when Claire started to role over. We weened her to sleep arms out one arm at a time and it only took about a week. We are a firm believer in the swaddle especially since Claire slept through the night at about 2 months old.

Fisher Price Rainforest and Melodies Deluxe Gym: Claire absolutely loves this activity mat. She has used it for tummy time since we brought her home and the older and more curious she gets the more she uses it. It plays music or rain forest sounds, has lights that coordinate with the sounds, has multiple different toys, sounds and textures and you can add your own to it as well. Its also easy to clean.

  

Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Carseat: One of the best rated infant car seats. It has multiple safety features and its very user friendly.  You can also adjust straps as your baby grows, its easy to clean and you can buy a separate base as well for a second car. Read the whole manual it has several tips.

Chicco KeyFit Caddy:Our car seat (see above) has a coordinating travel system but I personally am not a fan of them. They are huge, don't fold down very small and the amount of time that you need to use a car seat on a stroller is not long. We used this caddy and loved it. You could open it with one had and the car seat just snapped right in. It has the under seat storage bin and a cup holder. It rode very smooth and collapsed pretty small, which is great for trunk space.

Chicco Liteway: We used our KeyFit Caddy until Claire was about 3 months old. Then I felt bad when she was awake and still in her car seat. So we switched to her Liteway. She loves it! It has a 5 point harness and you can add in head support if you want or need to. She was able to sit up and look out at everything and she never tires of being in this stroller. It fully reclines so she can nap or if I need to feed her on the go I can recline it to a better angle,  it has the under seat storage and a cup holder for me, it rides very smooth, and it folds up very small and takes up almost no space in our trunk.