Nine months old

This is a few days late now, we've been travelling the country visiting relatives.

James is now three-quarters of the way to his first birthday. He's not quite mobile yet - if there's something really attractive he thinks forward really hard, bounces up and down and propels himself on his bum - but he hasn't quite figured out how he does it yet and can't do it at will. I'm in no rush for him to get mobile as it's very handy knowing he will stay where I put him. He enjoys shaking rattly toys (he uses both hands) but he is also enjoying the kind of toys with buttons to press and lights and irritating electronic noises. He holds his hands up to be picked up. He can't yet clap his hands, though has been known to clap his feet instead.

James now has two little teeth at the bottom. He likes to spend ages investigating my teeth with his finger, as if figuring out what these sharp pointy things are and whether everyone else has them.

I had James weighed a couple of weeks ago - he weighed 10.32kg, just over the 91st centile line. He is not a chubby baby - he seems to have grown length-wise recently. He's into nearly all 12-18 month clothes now. I've just bought a new sling which is rather more supportive than my old stretchy wrap sling.

We've been trying to cut out the feed in the early hours, but with limited success. He wakes up and is by no means desperate for milk, but it's how he knows how to go back to sleep. He keeps being awake for 1.5-2 hours at a time in the wee small hours, which is hard going. After about 10 days he finally did it and slept from 12-7 - but unfortunately it was only because he was coming down with a bug. He did that last time he was ill. Since then he has been ill, and then we have been away, so we haven't stuck to not feeding him between 12 and 7am. Oh well. Hopefully this month we'll be able to finally move him into his own room and at that point we will get tough.

James giggles at cats, dogs and guinea pigs. He is beginning to understand what 'No' and 'Gently' mean, but sometimes he forgets. He likes to pull people's hair and has recently discovered that he can pull his own hair. It looks painful.

We have been doing a baby signing course, but I am rubbish at doing the signs. Never mind, he enjoys the songs. I don't think we'll sign up again. We're about to start swimming lessons which should be fun.