Don't hate her because of her supermodel proportions.

Yesterday was Mae's 9-month "well baby" check. She's hitting all the right developmental milestones and is in excellent health. And she's built like a supermodel: 25th percentile for weight (17.4 lbs.) and 90th percentile for height (29 inches). Given the fact that she is crawling, standing, and cruising, and has her eyes on the prize of Walking By Ten Months Like Her Big Brother, I don't think we're going to see those ratios change anytime soon.

The other major topic of discussion was Mae's continued refusal to sleep through the night. She is still waking up at least twice a night--often three times--to nurse, and we need to undertake some steps to amend the situation. I blogged before about our resolve to engage in serious "sleep training" with the wee girl, but I confess that our ambitions fizzled. That was a few months ago, and I guess in the end I felt that she was just too little to be refusing her the breast. Now that she is older, and eating plenty of solid food and milk during the day, I think we're going to try again.

Nothing says "Happy Independence Day!" like refusing to breastfeed in the wee hours of morning. This should be a blast.

On Dr. T's recommendation, I am going to continue to nurse Mae at bedtime (of course), then wake her to nurse when I got to bed (10ish). Then when she wakes again (notice I did not say "if"), it will be Ted's turn to go to her. He'll do his best to reassure her and comfort her, but we have agreed that he definitely will NOT be breastfeeding her.

I expect at least three nights' worth of sobbing and shrieking, and I am steeling myself for it. I think I am being optimistic with the 3-night estimate--but I need optimism right now. This is not going to be easy.