As of this morning, Daniel now weighs 20lbs (73%), has a head circumference of 17 3/4" (69%) and is 28.5" (78%) long.
This month sleep has really improved. Last month it was normal for him to get up 6+ times per night, and this month around 3 times a night on average is normal. Occasionally he will be up more but there are often nights where he is only up once! Its still all over the place and not at all predictable, but the general trend is toward less night waking.
Naps have been pretty good and fairly stable and predictable - at least the first two naps of the day. Generally he wakes for the day between 7 and 8, goes down for an hour between 9 and 10 and the second nap nearly always starts at 1pm. The second nap can last between 1-2 hours depending on the day. If its a one hour nap, he nearly always wants to have a 3rd nap from 5-5:30. But sometimes even if he sleeps for two hours in the afternoon, he will still want to take a 20 minute snooze starting at 5pm. So that 3rd nap doesn't always happen, but it often does. I have been nervous lots of times that a late nap will mean that he won't go to sleep readily at 8pm, but so far its never been an issue - knock on wood!
One thing that has really helped his sleep, is his attachment to the stuffed puppy that lives in his crib. Michael and I noticed early on, when he was about a month old, that he was easily soothed by rubbing anything with a soft, fuzzy texture, against his mouth and face. He will purse his lips and make a sucking motion into whatever fuzzy thing is there, and then fall asleep. When he was younger and not in his crib (so I could monitor him), I'd give him a rolled up blanket log that he could nestle against. Then one night about a month and a half ago, he found the puppy in his crib. Its a very soft, fuzzy, stuffed puppy and he immediately developed a love and dependency on it to fall asleep. So now anytime hes restless, or wakes in the night but isn't hungry, or whenever I transfer him back into his crib after nursing, I hand him the puppy and he goes right to sleep. In fact, I have to give it to him immediately, otherwise he will wake right up and start looking for it. Its really sweet to see him wrap his little arms around the puppy and drift off to sleep. I was hoping he would learn to love pacifiers like Nora did. That was the key to her sleeping well. Instead it seems hes found another soothing item, and one that won't hurt his teeth. That is a win-win!
The middle of the month was really tough. Daniel came down with some kind of virus (again! I tell ya- this kid has the worst immune system!) and had a low grade fever (99-101) and was super lethargic and just wanted to sit in my arms, not moving, all day for 2 straight days. Then for a week after that he was the fussiest he had ever been. Every single moment he was awake, he cried constantly. It just about made my head explode. He wanted me to hold him, but as soon as I picked him up, he fussed while attempting to barrel roll repeatedly, and also at the same time, wanted to stand and have me hold him while he jumped up and down in my arms - all while fussing. Then when I got tired of doing that I would put him down and he would start screaming again. Wash, rinse and repeat, ALLLLLLLL DAY. Ugh!
This whole thing was especially hard because Michael was in the middle of a busy period, and wasn't home until the kids went to bed most nights, and worked all weekend too. I never got a break and the crying was just so stressful. The ONLY thing that made it bearable, was that miraculously, he was actually sleeping fairly well at night. He was only waking 2-3 times each night instead of 6-8 times like on bad nights. So I was rested enough to have the patience (mostly) to deal with it. Day time naps were pretty bad unfortunately, but he took a lot of short naps (3-4) to make up for it. Fortunately after about a week and a half of misery, he woke up one morning acting normal again and sleeping normally and I couldn't have been more relieved!
At the end of the month he had a growth spurt fueled by an eating frenzy. Normally he would nurse 6-7 times during the day (9-10 times in a 24 hour period) and eat one pouch a day, during the dinner hour. But during the growth spurt he would have a pouch and a half for lunch, with some lunch foods that I was eating (like chicken curry). And at dinner again he would eat 1-2 pouches on top of bits of what we were eating for dinner. The other night we had breakfast for dinner and after he finished his two pouches, he ate 1/2 a scrambled egg, some sausage and some roasted red pepper! Then he nursed all night, apparently hungry *eye roll*
Speaking of nursing, he is still a great little nurser. Now that hes not currently actively teething, his tendency to bite has subsided. It also could be that my shrieks of pain have taught him caution. Whatever the case is, that was a most welcome development! Also he hasn't choked during let-down, in more than a month. So that is nice to not have to be on edge, waiting for him to pop off to cough, while my milk squirts everywhere. I guess his throat/mouth is finally large enough to handle my fast flow.
All of this nursing and eating and growing really took a toll on my ability to carry him around in his bucket seat. I waited as long as I could to switch him to a convertible car seat, because it was so convenient to be able to leave the house whenever I wanted, and have him just sleep in his seat while we were out and about. Eventually though I started to develop tennis elbow (of which I am still suffering a month later!), and the switch had to be made. It means we are trapped in the house during nap time, which is less than awesome, but there is not really a choice as he won't nap outside of his swing, bucket seat, or crib. The transition has been an interesting one. I think he likes it, generally speaking. He can see out the window better, and he can see the other kids better, especially Will, which he likes. However this new seat holds him in place more tightly than the other one did and he hates being strapped down. So he has a sort of love-hate relationship to it. I just hope my elbow starts to heal soon!
Finally this month Daniel finally perfected crawling, one month earlier than either Will or Nora. He was on his knees, rocking back and forth, since he was 6 months old. It took him two whole months to get the hang of it, but once he learned, he learned fast. Now he is unstoppable and loves to follow the kids around the house, and explore things on his own terms. He is so much happier to be on the move too. You could sense his frustration with his immobility, from the time he was a newborn. This kid was made to move and he is loving his new found freedom. Just in the past few days, he is also trying to stand constantly. If I am cooking in the kitchen, he will pull himself up on my legs. I find him standing against the ladder in the pantry, and hes climbed up to the second stair on the staircase (we've had to baby-proof the stairs as a result), and he does the downward dog pose in the middle of a room with nothing to hold onto, trying desperately to stand on his own. Will was cruising around the house at 9 months and I would not be surprised in the least if Daniel does the same. The kids are amused with his newfound ability and enjoy calling him to follow them in their antics.
When Daniel is feeling good, healthy and not in pain, he is the most pleasant little guy. He is quiet and content and just does his own thing, with minimal intervention on my part. When he is sick or in pain (like from teething for example), he is a holy terror. Pure misery in the flesh. Constant crying, screaming, arching his back, shaking his head sadly from side to side, the whole nine yards. We've had some VERY rough patches with him while sick or teething. And unfortunately, this kid seems to catch every bug and virus that comes our way. I've never had a kid get sick so often. But with two older siblings and us on the go so much, other than hand washing (which we do often) I guess there is not much we can do about it. So we cherish the good times and do our best to weather through the tough times. That about sums up parenthood, doesn't it?
As of this morning, Daniel now weighs 20lbs (73%), has a head circumference of 17 3/4" (69%) and is 28.5" (78%) long.
One thing that has really helped his sleep, is his attachment to the stuffed puppy that lives in his crib. Michael and I noticed early on, when he was about a month old, that he was easily soothed by rubbing anything with a soft, fuzzy texture, against his mouth and face. He will purse his lips and make a sucking motion into whatever fuzzy thing is there, and then fall asleep. When he was younger and not in his crib (so I could monitor him), I'd give him a rolled up blanket log that he could nestle against. Then one night about a month and a half ago, he found the puppy in his crib. Its a very soft, fuzzy, stuffed puppy and he immediately developed a love and dependency on it to fall asleep. So now anytime hes restless, or wakes in the night but isn't hungry, or whenever I transfer him back into his crib after nursing, I hand him the puppy and he goes right to sleep. In fact, I have to give it to him immediately, otherwise he will wake right up and start looking for it. Its really sweet to see him wrap his little arms around the puppy and drift off to sleep. I was hoping he would learn to love pacifiers like Nora did. That was the key to her sleeping well. Instead it seems hes found another soothing item, and one that won't hurt his teeth. That is a win-win! 
All of this nursing and eating and growing really took a toll on my ability to carry him around in his bucket seat. I waited as long as I could to switch him to a convertible car seat, because it was so convenient to be able to leave the house whenever I wanted, and have him just sleep in his seat while we were out and about. Eventually though I started to develop tennis elbow (of which I am still suffering a month later!), and the switch had to be made. It means we are trapped in the house during nap time, which is less than awesome, but there is not really a choice as he won't nap outside of his swing, bucket seat, or crib. The transition has been an interesting one. I think he likes it, generally speaking. He can see out the window better, and he can see the other kids better, especially Will, which he likes. However this new seat holds him in place more tightly than the other one did and he hates being strapped down. So he has a sort of love-hate relationship to it. I just hope my elbow starts to heal soon! 
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