9 months

last week we had noah's nine month check-up, and it turned out to be a pretty terrible experience. noah cried the whole time, which is really bizarre for this kid who adores people and being out in public. and when we weighed him we found out that he only weighs 17 pounds! we put him on the scale three different times, and he weighed 17 pounds each time, which is less than he weighed at his 6 month check-up, and therefore kind of scary. he is definitely a tall and skinny little boy, but apparently this drop in weight and percentile (from 50th to 25th) is dangerous. so... we'll meet soon with a nutritionist and try to pack on the pounds. that said, it's only been in the past couple weeks that noah's been eating solid food, which he now devours, so it seems like the problem should resolve itself naturally. i hope.

but the whole experience had me feeling pretty bummed out. i felt inadequate as a food source--feeling suddenly that my milk wasn't enough for him, which i'd never felt before. and i felt frustrated at the whole medical system of "benchmarks" for babies--i.e. they should be doing this, weighing this, eating this by such-and-such an age. noah barnes bandstra does not fit neatly into this system, and never has. he's taken his time with sleeping through the night, eating solid foods, sitting up, babbling...and until recently i haven't really been concerned. he's laid-back, we'd say. he takes his time. he focuses more on observing things, watching people. he isn't a mover and a shaker. but it's hard to trust your gut about your baby's differences being okay when the system (including all the pamphlets, all the books, all the websites) tells you that your baby should be sitting up and eating by six months, crawling by nine months, walking by twelve, etc. this is just not my boy.

and i want to trust my gut that my boy is just fine (and in fact wonderful!) the way he is, but i also want to care for him well, to help him if he needs help, to encourage and teach and challenge him. have any of you mothers (or fathers!) out there dealt with these issues? and how do you resolve them? i'd love to hear any ideas for finding a positive middle ground.

for now i am trying not to live in worry and fear but to enjoy noah as he slowly (slowly!) changes and grows. this whole new solid food phenomenon is hilarious. he is such a little muncher now! he loves pears, sweet potato, applesauce and banana. he is not into peas, green beans, broccoli, etc. i hope this anti-green food thing doesn't last too long! but it's really fun eating meals together as a family, and letting him get really messy. when he has sweet potato in his hair, all over his face and all over his clothes (despite the bib), he really looks like a little boy, no longer a baby. and he's getting playful and really fun, doing this little head-bob dance move, laughing in a funny, chuckly sort of way, and indulging me and aaron in little jokes (like pacifier stealing back and forth). it's great. being noah's mom is pretty awesome.