Eight Months. I know, I say it every month but I blink and suddenly you are a month older! This month brought about some new firsts for you, ranging from travels to food and sickness!
You continue to be a busy little boy. You have perfected going from your belly to finding a way to pull yourself back into a sitting position. You are ALL over the floor, moving all over the place. You spent a better part of the first half of the month bridging up and perfecting your almost crawling skills until 4-16-11 when Mommy was at work. Daddy called all excited and said "He just crawled three little paces!" Once I came home I had video and and living proof that if you want something, now you can go and get it! Since that time you have been getting faster and more coordinated,and in less than a week you are really taking off!
You are also starting to learn to pull yourself up. One of your favorite things to do at night is pull yourself up on your changing table and to reach for the light switch and turn it off. Such a smart little guy.
Mommy had your first parent/teacher conference at daycare. They sat down to show me all of your documented milestones and to discuss your development. Good news, you are right on track baby! "If not early" is what they said. I agree with this statement, and I don't mind if you take your time little one!
You continue to wear 6-9 month pants to make room for your "dunlap" belly, but you can still fit into 6 month onesies. That's my little shorty! When you wear 6-9 month shirts they swallow you up, but what can we do? Your feet are still tiny, you fit into your 0-3 month shoes. Mommy and Daddy went to buy you new 6-12 month socks because your 0-6 months were getting a little ragged. Every time you wear the bigger ones to daycare they say they last on your feet about an hour before you are either pulling or wiggling them off somehow because they are loose! You were weighed at 7 months, 3 weeks or so and you weighed 17 pounds and 15 ounces.
You are wearing a size 3 diaper during the day. Nighttime is a whole different story. We have had to try a few different things, as you seem to eat LARGE amount before bed and that coupled with being a stomach sleeper - you were peeing out of your diapers. So we tried a size 3 overnights. Still no avail. Lately we have been using a regular size 4 and that is currently doing the trick.
This month brought about your first trip out of the state. We went to Texas with Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma stayed with you at the hotel while Mommy, Daddy and Grandpa went to the Nascar race. You travelled in the car down and back like a dream, and you slept well in your pack and play. You handled the whole trip like a champ, we were so proud. One the way back, Grandma taught you how to slap hands. It is so cute, we can hold our hands out now and you reach to give us 'five' and flash us your adorable grin. Your personality is really coming through!
Your sleeping continues to improve. You sleep from about 9 hours at night (such an improvement for you!) and you nap about 2-3 hours a day. (3 is a rare exception!) Your naps have become more scheduled, you tend to go down for a nap at daycare around 830 and you take a nap in the afternoon around 2ish. No set times for these, but at times you have been sleeping for 2 and 3 hours straight sometimes!
You LOVE to eat solids. I don't think you will have any problem weaning from milk/the bottle. You fuss when we eat and you aren't getting any. You barely eat anything when you wake up at 530, you eat breakfast around 830 and its only about 1 ounce of food. From there at daycare they try to get you to eat another bottle around 1030-11 but it ranges from 1-3 ounces. Then at 1230 you eat lunch of 3 ounces of solids, and then they try and get one last bottle in around 230-3 before Mommy comes to pick you up, but again that is usually 1-3 ounces. Dinner you eat 4-5 ounces of food and in between there have about 5 ounces of milk. Then you go all out for a big snack of 'dessert' before bed. You have added some new flavors this month, you have had turkey meat, spinach, kiwi, tomato and yogurt. You have been doing well with much thicker consistencies and eating things off of our plates. We went to get some Tikki Masala the other day and you happily ate the rice and sauce off of my plate. (Daddy's would burn you out!)
At daycare they asked me to bring you little finger food snacks like puffs. When I questioned why it was the same story. You were on the floor while the bigger boys were sitting at their table in the afternoon for snacktime with their sippy cups and puffs. Guess who sat on the floor and made noises and fussed until he got to join the big boys? Yup, you know what you want baby! The very next day Mommy took your snacks/sippy to daycare and they said you were quite happy to join the "big boys"!
This month also brought about a different sickness for you. Drumroll.....an ear infection! The whole family finished getting over colds before going to Texas. By the Wednesday after you were starting to be fussier, I thought maybe you were just tired. Until Wednesday night, when you wouldn't lay down, and wouldn't stay asleep. You could be in a dead sleep, but once you were down you would wake up crying. So, Mommy stayed up with you and attempted to get you to sleep on her chest. It worked a little bit, but it was rough going. Mom and Dad debated on if we should take such an extremely fussy baby to daycare. And then, you acted fine for a while. You jumped in your jumperoo and drank some milk. We took you to daycare and called to check on you, and they said you were "a little fussy but he's playing fine and he just laid down for a nap". Mommy was thoroughly confused. Finally after conferencing with the nurses at the pediatrician's office, we decided it was worth to copay to have you checked. And we got our diagnosis, ear infection. You have been on antibiotics for your ears. Mommy is wondering if a few weeks ago when she was SURE you were teething, if the fussiness wasn't another ear infection.
You continue to LOVE bathtime and we cannot wait until summer time to take you swimming. You have a favorite bath toy that is starfish and you love to try and 'catch' the water coming out of the faucet. We love being present in your world and watching you experience and learn things for the first time. You are truly our pride and joy!
Love you so much!,
Mommy
