9 months old

Carl

Carl was the first to get a tooth. The first one came in the middle at the bottom, closely followed by one more next to it and two in the middle at the top. So he is now a lethal weapon when fingers get too close.

Carl has had a difficult time of things recently. Since starting one day a week at nursery, he has seemed to get virus after virus. He's had a number of colds and coughs, gastroenteritis, infections in both lungs, eye infections and tonsillitis. What a tough little fella to battle all those one after another at such a young age. I can only hope that now his immune system will have become quite resilient. Twice he was sent to Wexham Park Hospital; the first time just for a few hours until he kept down some fluids and the second time overnight with me in a campbed beside him.

Over the weeks of illness he lost weight and looked very scrawny, especially in comparison to his rapidly growing little sister. Things are definitely changing now thankfully. He's starting to put on a bit of weight and isn't looking as skinny anymore. Still got a way to go but heading in the right direction. He was also put on a six week dairy free food trial as he was vomiting an awful lot after milk feeds and yoghurts etc. He now has a soy formula which he has shown no dislike to at all so it can't taste too different from the previous one. He stopped vomiting immediately so something seems to be working there.

During the weeks of illness, Carl was very quiet, clingy and a bit lifeless but he's making up for lost time now. We had forgotten just how much he likes to laugh and chuckle. He is reminding us of that constantly at the moment. One development however is that he seems to have become rather cheeky and dare I say mischievous? I think I am really going to have my work cut out with him. He plays little tricks on us and cracks up laughing. He is hilarious but very very cheeky.

Carl hasn't attended as many swimming lessons as Ella due to his illness and isn't as confident yet. He is doing underwater swims well but gets a bit clingy halfway through the lessons.

Developmentally he is very dexterous, using both hands very well to get exactly what he wants. He is getting better with his fingers to pick up smaller items and manipulate them. He is VERY active when well and thrusts himself around, twisting and turning when having his nappy changed etc. His legs are rarely still and he kicks a lot. He's not moving yet in any kind of deliberate way but all the kicking and thrusting means he's often moved a bit from the spot where he was placed. He's very close to being able to sit up by himself but still needs some support as he falls more often than not. This afternoon he seemed really chilled out lounging next to his sister.

Ella

Ella still has no teeth but can dribble for England. She has been showing signs of teething for months but nothing on the horizon. She loves her food and has taken well to solids. Her weight is increasing  and she looks nice and healthy now.
Ella has very recently began to try feeding herself with finger food. Perhaps watching her brother do it for quite a long time spurred her on.

She tends to use one hand at a time rather than both but is quite accurate with it. It can be hilarious to watch her sitting next to Carl and reaching over to take his dummy (which is attached to his clothing) and put it in her mouth despite already having her own one in her other hand.

Ella sits up by herself with confidence and doesn't fall over unless she's reaching too far behind herself. This has made life much more fun for her as she can now sit surrounded by toys and choose which ones she wants to play with.

She is doing very well at her swimming, going underwater and swimming to the surface. She kicks her legs well and goes after the toys ahead of her on the surface.

Life is full of smiles and chuckles these days.