Up and At 'Em!!!

A couple things happened since the last time I posted, but before Karsyn turned 9 months old.  First of all, on July 30th, Daddy decided to take the pacifier away from Karsyn.  What brought it all up was that a couple weeks prior, I had read in a magazine that the American Pediatric Association recommends that babies be broke from the pacifier by the time they are 6 months old.  We laughed about it because we had missed that recommendation!!  But, when I picked Karsyn up from daycare that afternoon, she had a raw spot beside her mouth.  Miss Debbie told me it was from where she just chewed and chewed on her pacifier all day, and was trapping the saliva between it and her skin causing a rash.  We knew she had basically stopped using the pacifier other than for teething purposes and to go to sleep, so since it was now causing visible problems, it was time to take it away.  I call that first weekend "The Pacifier Diaries"!!  It was a long, hard weekend for all 3 of us.  The first night went ok.  She was so exhausted, she fell right asleep.  The 2nd day was a whole different story!!  Naps were horrible, so needless to say, she didn't get much sleep that day.  There were a few moments where we thought about just giving it back to her, but we didn't fall victim to the cries!!!  So, since she barely slept during naps, she fell asleep no problem the 2nd night as well.  So, we both thought....we are home free....WRONG!!  The 3rd day, which was Sunday, thank goodness, was a little better during the day, but that night was the hardest thing I have had to do as a mother so far.  She cried, and cried, and screamed, and screamed even louder.  I went in trying to calm her down, and nothing I did helped.  I did not pick her up, and I know that is exactly what she wanted, so I had to just leave the room....it broke my heart.  I almost started crying too!!  Once I left the room, she screamed and cried for what seemed like forever, and then all of the sudden....SILENCE!!!  Did I dare go in and check on her and chance waking her up???  Of course, I had to....what if she hurt herself???  So, I crept in the room, and she had just plain passed out!!!  So, I moved her back to the middle of the bed, covered her up, and prayed that she sleep through the night!!  I just knew daycare was going to hate us!!  Off to bed I went, just in case I had to do it all over again in the middle of the night!!  I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock....not screams!!!  YAY!!  The next few days went better than I expected, then by the time the week was over....SUCCESS!!!  She doesn't even realize that she misses it anymore!!  She has completely forgotten about it, and did not figure out that her thumb could be a replacement (I was so worried that she would become a thumb sucker if we took it away too soon.)  For anybody out there who thinks they won't make it through this....I promise you will!!  It is definitely the hardest thing I have had to do, but well worth it in the end!! 

The other thing she started doing was pulling up!!  On Saturday, July 31st, we were all sitting in the living room just hanging out, and out of nowhere, she crawled up close to the ottoman, got on her knees, and reached up grabbing for dear life onto Mark's tray he uses for his laptop, and up she went!!  Thankfully, I had a camera close-by, so I actually got it!!!

On Saturday, August 7th, Karsyn turned 9 months old.  Man, where did all the time go??  It just keeps flying by, and I just can't believe it.  There are only 3 short months left of her being a "baby"....then, we reach toddlerhood.....BUT, we can't think of that right now.  There are way too many other things going on that need updating!!  We had a little mini photo-shoot in our living room on Saturday with Karsyn just being Karsyn....no dressing up, no headbands and bows....Just Karsyn!!  So, here is a look at a day in the life of Karsyn Gurley....

Up and At 'Em Early in the Morning

She got bored with her other toys, so we found her something new...

It's amazing what fun free stuff can be!!!!

Showin' her top 2 teeth off

Since we took the pacifier away on July 30th, she has found

other things to chew on.  Example:  Wooden Spoon

So happy with the small things in life!!!

Of course, she has to crawl all over Momma!!

AHHHHHHH!!!!!

Afternoon nap....arms and knees tucked

with her butt in the air.  This is how she prefers to sleep.

Bathtime!!!

See, I have a little bit of hair....I'm not COMPLETELY bald.

She absolutely LOVES the water.

Ummmm.....It's cold outside the bathtub!! 

GET SOME CLOTHES ON ME!!!

Daddy makes it all better by being funny!!!

Today, August 9th, we took her to the doctor for her 9 month check-up.  The visit was awesome cause there were no shots to be given!!!  The doctor said she is doing fantastic, and is healthy and happy, and there isn't anything better than that!!!!

A few stats:

• Weight - 18 pounds, 8 ounces - 50th percentile
• Height - 27 inches - 25th percentile
• Head Circumference - 17 1/4 inches - They didn't tell us what percentile this was, but we are absolutely sure she has doctor brains in this perfect head!!!!
• Diapers - Size 3
• Clothing - Size 3-6 month and 6-9 month
• Formula - 6 ounces in the morning, 5 ounces at lunch and dinner, and 8 ounces before bedtime.  Of course, we still have to match scoops of cereal with the scoops of formula so she doesn't spit it up everywhere.
• Food - Fruits and Veggies, and she gets Gerber Graduate Puffs for snacks.  The only tablefood she has gotten so far is a little bit of mashed potatoes. 
• Drink - We give her water from her sippy cup after her fruits and veggies, and we are going to start her on juices as soon as I can get to the grocery store. 
• Toys - Her favorite is still the seahorse, but a teething ring and her stuffed elephant with the rubber feet are almost taking the lead!!  Now that she is crawling everywhere, she loves cords and shoes.....why on earth would she want to chew on shoes???  That's just gross!!! 
• Sleeping - Everything is still the same except for bedtime.  She is still taking 3 naps a day most days, but sometimes, she will skip her morning nap....depends on if she decides she is missing her pacifier.  Bedtime has moved up to 8:30 now.  Some nights, she will just lay in bed and play for a little while, but she starts rubbing her eyes around 8:00, so we decided to move it up 30 minutes.  She still sleeps through the night, and I usually have to wake her up in the morning in time to get her ready for daycare.  On the weekends, she will sleep until 7:00 or 7:30. 
• Spitting Up - Most people don't consider this a stat, but with Karsyn, it is just another milestone in our eyes!!!  Of course, she still spits up.  I asked the dr. today when he thought it would stop.  Of course, he had no answer.  He said it would stop when her esophagus got long enough....UGH...I really don't want this to last much longer.  It is so hard with her crawling everywhere, and having to follow her with a burp cloth.  We feel we really can't take her anywhere because we just know that she will spit up on their carpet.  We can't just lay a blanket down anymore because she will crawl off it, and the moment her head is past the blanket....yep, you guessed it....spit up on the floor.  I can't imagine what it will be like if she is still spitting up when she starts walking, so I just keep praying that it will stop soon!!! 

I will leave you with a few pictures we took this morning before we ventured to the doctor. 

A Note to Karsyn:

You, baby girl, just brighten our day and make us smile and enjoy life a lot more!!!  We love you, and hope that we can give you the life you deserve!!!!