9 Month Basti

Basti turned 9 months old this week.  YEY!  And he had his 9 month well-baby check-up:
- Weight: 18 pounds 11.5 ounces
- Length: 27 inches, which is shorter than a few weeks ago.  Very unlikely he shrank.
- Head circumference: 45 cm

Basti's poop consistency changed about a month ago.  He doesn't get the bubbly explosions anymore.  Now his face turns red or he cries out as he produces little quenelles.  They are stinkier, but at least not explosive and runny.  Also, when he does poop he often gets a bit of diaper rash between his butt cheeks, irritation from the new foods going through his system.  Doc said to give Basti water with his meals to make sure his poop stays soft.  And definitely up the water intake a bit on hot days, of which we have had several.

Of course, we discussed ECZEMA.  I told the Doc I had been on the elimination diet for 3 weeks with no visible improvement on Basti's rash.  So Doc said, "Ok, you tried it, now you can eat normal again."  From his experience, Basti's eczema is very mild and doesn't seem to bother him much.  It doesn't bother me either, but it does drive me nuts when other people comment on the rash and feel sorry for him.

A week or so ago, I asked a doctor friend to send me medical articles on baby eczema.  After sifting through the many many articles he sent, I found that there have been studies done with breastfeeding moms doing elimination diets and resulting in insignificant improvement on baby eczema.

SO...  I ate TWO chocolate chip cookies today.  And WOW were they good.

Basti's top two front teeth are about to make their appearance...  can see the white just a bit.

Of course, as soon as we leave the doctor's office, Basti starts coughing.  At first I thought it was just random coughing.  But then it was more frequent and forceful by night time.  Oy.  Is it the dry heat?  Friday morning he was at school and I asked his teacher if she noticed any coughing but she said no.  Hmmm...  but he has been coughing quite a bit all day, and it sometimes wakes him from sleep.  Continue to monitor the situation.

This morning when I went to get Basti out of his crib from his nap, I was SHOCKed to see him sitting!  He has figured out how to sit up on his own.  WOW!  During the day he showed us his new skill several times.

And this afternoon, Poppy was playing with Basti and got him to stand up!  WHAT?!?  Basti stood up on his own holding on to Poppy's shirt.   So many new developments!

Signed up Basti for Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) class, starting second week of June.  Yey fun!  Already got his swim diapers on order too.

It's allergy season...  which means runny nose, itchy eyes, and crazy sneezing for me.  And this year I've had massive nose bleeds, sometimes at 4 am when Basti wakes up.  And my nose is very dry and irritated.  Got a saline nose spray but doesn't seem to be doing much.  Tomorrow the temps are expected to cool off, with potential rain on Monday...  keeping my fingers crossed!