Blake and his mom took Ben for his nine-month check up. His stats are:

• Height: 29.5″
• Weight: 19.6 lbs.
• Head circumference: 18″

According to this growth percentile calculator, Ben is in the following percentiles:

• Length = between percentile 75 and 90
• Weight = between percentile 25 and 50
• Head Circumference = in percentile 50

Meaning he’s taller than most, thinner than average, and has an average sized head – like usual.

His two bottom teeth are mostly in. And he has two top teeth that are breaking through – those things are big!

In terms of clothes, he’s now in 12 month stuff, 18 months if we’re talking onesies. I’m trying to predict what size he’ll be in when it gets cold in a couple months, and also on his birthday. I’m guessing 18 month stuff.

Below is a chart of milestones that Ben needs to be achieving. He’s doing well with the Mastered and Emerging skills and he’s working on the Advanced for a 9-month old. He can also do several of the tasks identified for older babies. He’ll figure it all out though… we all do!

One new thing we’ve started – he’s on the Your Baby Can Read program. He’s almost through his first month and while he’s not reading Shakespeare yet, he is babbling more and definitely at least showing an interest.

One of his favorite toys right now is actually a sippy cup. 🙂

Child’s Age	Mastered Skills (most kids can do)	Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)	Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
9 months	Stands while holding onto something Jabbers or combines syllables Understands object permanence	Cruises while holding onto furniture Drinks from a sippy cup Eats with fingers Bangs objects together	Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent
10 months	Waves goodbye Picks things up withpincer grasp Crawls well, with belly off the ground	Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent Indicates wants with gestures	Stands alone for a couple of seconds Puts objects into a container
11 months	Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Stands alone for a couple of seconds Cruises	Understands “no” and simple instructions Puts objects into a container	Says one word besides “mama” or “dada” Stoops from standing position
12 months	Imitates others’ activities Indicates wants with gestures	Takes a few steps Says one word besides “mama” or “dada”	Walks alone Scribbles with a crayon Says two words besides “mama” or “dada”

Ben is very talkative – long strings of mamamamama and dadadadada. And he spits/blows raspberries for no reason too. It’d be adorable if it weren’t so gross.

Ben and I play “Where’s the baby?” a lot: