The day began at 5am, with Asha shouting at me from her crib on the other side of the room. I wasn't thrilled about the hour, but her happy sounds and smiling face are always nice to wake up to. We headed downstairs where I tried to clean while she played on the floor (a short-lived attempt - after gagging herself on a toy kitchen knife and trying to climb into the dishwasher, she gave up and demanded to be held). After devouring a scrambled egg, half an avocado, some cereal, nursing, and being violently hugged by her sister, I thought for sure she would be ready for a nap. I put her upstairs, where she spends 20 minutes doing "laps" in her crib - crawling to one end, turning, crawling to the other end, repeat. No nap for Asha.
She was a ball of energy all day - scurrying all over the house, pulling up on anything she could reach, sometimes following me from room to room and sometimes flying in the opposite direction, making me chase her. We made up a new game, which involves me holding her upside down by her ankles and kissing her face (so many giggles). By the end of the day she was tired, wanting to snuggle, but still unwilling to put her head down or close her eyes for a second. Always afraid she'll miss something. We gave her the name Asha because it means "full of life," and I'll pat myself on the back for a second, because we nailed it. Her energy and sunny nature can't but make you smile.
At 9 months, Asha loves crawling over to where I'm sitting on the floor, using my leg to pull herself to her knees, and then grabbing my two fingers to pull up to a stand. She grins and laughs every single time, so proud of her accomplishment. She's spending more and more time on her knees, but will only shuffle a few inches before she flops back on her belly in order to get where she's going faster. Patience is not a virtue this daughter of mine possesses. We had to lower the crib, because she can pull up to stand now and is starting to cruise. She'll be walking before her first birthday, I know it, and I am SO not ready.
She loves her sister and wants to touch everything she touches, and I'm seeing the first sign of many MANY fights to come. But when Asha is exhausted, worn out after a long day of daycare, clingy and moody, her sister can still make her laugh when no one else can. Seeing their relationship blossom is a joy like no other.
Asha likes: Exploring the bathrooms, chewing on the remote controls, giving high-fives and kisses, shredding paper, playing Garage Band on my iPhone, trying to climb on things, giggling at her sister, singing, being thrown up in the air, and almost all food but especially avocados, sweet potatoes, and teething biscuits.
Asha dislikes: Being tired, nursing (hopefully its a phase, but maybe not?), being told "no," rice cereal, formula, having objects of interest taken away from her.
Sleeping: Right after she turned 8 months old, we did some sleep training with Asha. It wasn't so much a "decision" as it was me, lying in bed at 1am, listening to a crying baby and thinking that I just... can't. While I was trying to work up the will and energy to get out of bed, she wailed and wailed and... stopped, and went back to sleep. I decided then to stop feeding her at night. Now, that hasn't gone exactly as planned. At first I said that I wouldn't feed her before 5am, which quickly became 4am, and the other night I fed her at 11:30pm because I wasn't thinking clearly, so who knows? Bottom line, she's still up 2-3 times a night, and usually gets up for the day between 4:30 and 5:30 which is killing me. This too shall pass. (I wrote this a week ago - suddenly, she's sleeping in until past 6 again. Hallelujah.
Eating: If it's edible, Asha eats it (if it's NOT edible, Asha eats it, but that's another story). She eats a lot of purees because they're easier, but I'm trying to prep other stuff that she can eat during the week. She likes small pieces of food and is shockingly neat when it comes to getting it into her mouth. She shrieks like a banshee if she sees someone else eating in front of her, and will demand more food by banging her tray and yelling. Her breakfast is usually a scrambled egg and half an avocado, lunch is some cheerios, a banana, and some random pre-prepped veggies, and dinner is whatever we're eating - veggies, meat, potatoes, pasta, etc. - mashed or chopped up small. After going through the maelstrom of toddler and preschooler food rebellions, it is SO NICE to have a child who eats what is put in front of her without complaint.
I wish I was better about writing these monthly updates on Asha. I have enjoyed her babyhood immensely, and if I haven't been writing it's because I'm taking extra time to snuggle her and smell her head (and chase her around to keep her from destroying things).
Oh Asha. It's been the shortest, sweetest 9 months of my life, since you came into the world.
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