you are nine months old {dear beautiful little lady}

dear Ashlyn,

Nine months old...! It's a milestone age I think, a bit like when you turned three months and left the "newborn" days behind, or at six months where you marked half a year; nine months is that point where you have been out in the world as long as you were baking in my tummy. And much like that nine months that I was pregnant with you now seems like a distant memory, this first nine months with you has simply flown by. Nine months ago you came crashing into the world, a little bundle of tufty hair and big eyes. We waited for you to totally rock our worlds and turn everything upside down... but you just seamlessly slotted into our family and into our hearts like you were always supposed to be there.

After two months of trying, you have finally mastered crawling. We have had weeks and weeks of backwards crawling and sideways crawling, and right before you cracked it you were starting to get increasingly frustrated about the fact that you wanted to get places and that it didn't matter how much you stared in a forward direction you just never seemed to get there. But then you worked it out and you haven't looked back since, getting increasingly speedier with it. You often do an excited little laugh as you crawl, as if you're just so happy with yourself for doing it. It feels like a weird wake up call kind of moment for me; because I'm so pleased to see you meet another milestone, but at the same time it feels like such a big one and one that moves you further away from being a tiny little "baby".

Days after you mastered crawling you also worked out how to pull up onto your knees. So you can now happily move around the room and then rise up to your knees and grab the things Dylan and Everly have attempted to put out of your reach. Its actually been quite funny seeing how this one new skills has seemingly changed your so much. You have always been such a chilled out little thing and just pretty cool as a cucumber, but the possibility of grabbing toys that belong to your older siblings (or Mummy and Daddy's phones, or the television remotes) makes you ridiculously and giddily excited. You get this cheekily little giggle going as you go in for the kill which always gives the game away, but my goodness it's funny seeing you try.

With all these new milestones we decided that the time really had come to move you out of your bedside crib and into a cot. In all honesty, we probably kept you in that little crib a lot longer than we should have, but as you still fit in it and slept happily in it and hadn't attempted to get out of it, we had just decided not to rock the boat. But it was starting to make me nervous that you might sit up and pull up on the sides and fall, so it really was time. I was a little worried about the affect it might have on your sleep, considering you had slept in that crib every single night of your life and it was the only bed you'd ever known, but I needn't have been, as you've taken to your new cot (and the extra space it gives you) really well. 

The cot has definitely helped to improve your sleep a little, although your sleep can be a little... unpredictable. You've always been a really good sleeper, and still are on the most part, but lately things can go a little wrong one night, and then be brilliant again for a few, and then bad again for one, and good again for a few. Getting you down to bed at a reasonable time tends to be our biggest hurdle, and it's one we're working really hard on, but with two other children who need to be in bed for 7, it's really hard to get you down when you still need a last breastfeed before bed. Having the right amount of naps seems to have a big effect too, because the days you nap well you go to bed better than on those days when naps have been few and far between. But similarly your naps are often thrown out of sync by school runs and preschool runs and all the things the older two need. Honestly, it makes me feel really guilty, because I really want to get you into a routine that works for you, but at the same time the routine needs to work for all of us as a family and we still haven't quite found the perfect one. I should point out that you still remain happy and chilled out regardless, which is probably why we've just trundled along as we are for so long, and it seems like you quite like spending the entire evening sitting with us; but its also clear to see that you really need to be in bed, that you are getting overtired and that Daddy and I need some grown up time too. But we're working on it, and we'll get there, and I really can't complain about seeing your happy little face in the evenings. 

I would say that you've definitely reached a fascinating age where you seem to have more and more personality all the time. You suddenly seem a lot more like a little person than 'just a baby' and it's almost like we can get a feel of what you'll be like as a toddler and an older child now. You absolutely love to laugh, you love people smiling at you, and will do just about anything to get people looking your way and giving you a smile that you can then beam back at them. You also seem to have a real cheeky side and give some of the cheekiest grins and giggles that I've ever known. You know what you like now; bath time, the cats, and your siblings are obvious ones, but you also really like when I dance with my head shaking from side to side, and when Daddy plays peekaboo with a wide open mouth around the kitchen wall. You like playing with paper, baby wipes packets, an old television remote and the cats' bowls if we turn our backs for half a second. You love just about any fruit, except mango (but I can totally understand that one as I'm not a fan either) and get so excited that you actually shake when you see a malted milk biscuit. 

This past month you accompanied me to a conference and we had a little night away together on what I called our Mummy and Quinnt Adventure. You loved riding on the train, having me all to yourself for a couple of days, and all the smiles you got from the new friends you made. It was actually really lovely to get some real quality time with just you, and it really did highlight for me what I've always said about you anyway: that you are just the easiest baby ever. 

This past month has been a bit of a massive one. You seem to have crashed through a variety of different milestones lately, which makes me both super proud and excited for you, while also makes me kind of terrified at how quickly you are growing up. It doesn't feel at all like nine months have passed since you were born, and I still feel like I have to pinch myself that you are here at all, let alone that you are doing so much all of a sudden. It really is such a privilege to get to love you and see you grow. I spent nine months keeping you all to myself while you wriggled inside my belly, but now I've spent nine months sharing how amazing you are with the world, and I could not be prouder. You are just so delightful to be around, our little ray of sunshine.

I love you so much my little pickle.

mummy x x x

You can read her letters from months one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight by following the links.

A ninth month in photos...