Grayson and Luke: Luke's 9 Month Portraits

Luke turned 9 months old yesterday. He continues to be a bit taller than average in the 75th percentile for height. He's in the 50th percentile for weight at 20 lbs. 3 oz. He's a bit of a go-getter in his quest for gross motor skills. Much to my dismay he already climbs the stairs and is, I'm afraid, fairly close to walking. On the other hand, though, he's a late bloomer in terms of feeding. He just started holding his own bottle this week, refuses a sippy cup, and spits out anything that has a texture coarser than applesauce. His daycare suggested that it was time for him to start on their regular menu now that he's 9 months old. I told them they were welcome to feed him anything on the menu and wished them luck! He is finally consistently sleeping in his crib, but he's waking up once each night for a bottle. This was the only "reprimand" I got from the pediatrician as he assured me that he didn't need a bottle in the middle of the night. He politely suggested that we just let him cry for a while as "you don't want to end up with another one like Grayson (who didn't sleep through the night until he was 15 months old and still regularly wakes)." So last night we did let him cry for almost a half hour. After that I went in and put a nuk in his mouth and rubbed his back for a minute and he did go back to sleep until almost 6:00. At that point we gave in and gave him a bottle and then I had to wake him at 7:00 to get ready for school. Luke is my snuggler. He likes to cuddle and loves his stuffed elephant. He loves blankets and all things soft - including Mack and Gabe who have been commendably tolerant of Luke's grabbing. He's a sweetheart and I'll have to admit that it melts my heart just a bit when cries if someone he doesn't know holds him. He definitely knows his mommy and daddy.