Some things I want to remember from your eighth month...
You are crawling! One morning you woke up and could take three "steps": hand, knee, hand. Then you would stop, go down on your belly, get up on all fours again, and take three more steps.
The next day, you could take five "steps." And the next day, you could slowly, painstakingly, get across a room. You pretty much just crawl straight to wherever I am, then make cute/sad little noises until I pick you up! I am your primary goal.
But after crawling for a few weeks, you're slowly gaining speed and getting more adventurous. You have gone exploring many times now, even though you often still crawl straight to me. I've started to have to put things up high out of your reach, and tidy up the few things you could reach.
Now I'm trying to decide how much of a mess of (safe) things I want you to make. You have pulled folded cloth wipes and blankets down off a shelf, you like to empty the bin of extra toilet paper rolls in the bathroom, and you emptied our recycle trashcan all over the living room floor. You also can pull the dishwasher tray in and out, and spread a basket of laundry across a room. You found some exciting things under your Daddy's desk, and got into my costume jewelry which was on a low shelf.
Things that can hurt you, or things you can hurt, have been moved out of your reach. But everything else that just makes a mess, I'm still figuring out my plan for.
You're eating more solid food. Some favorites are rice, sweet potato, avocado, pumpkin, lentils, and soup. You like lentil soup, a spicy Indian soup, split pea soup, and chicken soup. Pretty much anything that has FLAVOR and is part of what the rest of us are eating, you enjoy the most. I was trying to feed you per "baby-led weaning," which recommends giving large pieces of food that baby can hold, and allowing baby to self-feed. I have pretty much stopped that, because it seemed the only result was you gagging and puking. I wasn't happy when a tiny chunk of apple on the back of your throat made you spit up several ounces of breast milk I worked hard to nurse into you. That is not the point of you eating food!
So we've gone back to making our own baby mashes and purees, and you are happy. You are eating more of it, and enjoying it more. You don't have any problem letting me know when you are done, because you just close your mouth and turn your head away.
You are mostly sleeping through the night. Your bedtime routine begins about 6:30 p.m., and you are asleep in your crib by 8:00 pm. You wake in the morning between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. During the night, you wake once or twice to nurse. Most days, I sleep the same hours as you, perhaps going to bed an hour after you.
You are "talking" so much! It has begun to feel like you are trying to talk to us, trying to communicate things with all your many sounds. The ones we can distinguish are ba-ba, ma-ma, da-da, ti-ta, gee, dee, goi, doi, ai-ai-ai (this is your Latino genes speaking).
Your Daddy has plenty of nick names for you. He calls you Cupid at bedtime when he is undressing you for your bath. We considered "dressing" you as Cupid for Halloween, and taking a photo with us as the starry-eyed lovers. But it was too much trouble just for a photo, since we weren't going out that night. But it was one of the few years it was actually warm enough on Halloween for you to have "worn" such a costume!
Your Daddy also likes to call you "Awesome Boy" and "Pokey Bear."
I tend to call you, "Little One," and "Kiddo."
In addition to "talking" more, you are also "singing!" It always makes me so happy to hear you humming and singing. You hum
and "sing" yourself to sleep in the car, and also at night when I'm
nursing you to sleep. Somehow you make singing sounds even while
latched on.
While you nurse to sleep, I've been putting mittens or socks on your hands. It was getting difficult for me, because for some reason, in the dark room while we cuddled and you nursed, you liked to pinch and scratch me. I know you were just playing with your hands, and the feel of my skin pinched in your fingers, but it was getting really uncomfortable for me. Your Daddy suggested I put mittens on you, and socks have also worked just as well. It is a good solution, and you don't seem to mind.
You got your first fever, and it came with a little rash on your tush that our naturopath said was a virus. We gave you a couple homeopathic remedies and your fever was reduced within thirty minutes, and gone by the morning!
You've grown so tall that we had to get you a new car seat. You LOVE this car seat so much more than your old one! I think it's more comfy for you, because you sleep in it easier and longer. It's also up higher, so you can see out the windows. You generally seem happier in the car since we've had it. It is a really big one, and is supposed to last you several years.
No teeth yet! But our pediatrician says some babies don't get their first tooth until 12 to 18 months old! Whew! I'll be happy, because as long as you don't have teeth, you can't bite when you're nursing.
You still have the most joyful personality. And you are also getting more handsome every time I look at you. I'm not one to talk much about physical appearance, because there's so much more to a person than the shape of their face. But I get complimented everywhere I go on how handsome you are, and how happy you are.
It gets more and more fun and exciting to be your Momma. You can communicate to me in so many ways, you can explore your world, and yet you still love to cuddle up with me.
This month has also been an explosion of your connection with your Daddy. You learned to say "da-da," and you know how to use it. You know which side of the bed he sleeps on, and you'll look over there and say his name. You found his glasses on the bedside table and said his name. He was playing with you yesterday, and had to set you down so he go could take a shower. You crawled to the closed bathroom door, and cried "da-da! da-da!" Even after I came to pick you up, you still called for him. When we put you to bed at night, and your Daddy hands you over to me to be nursed, he turns to walk out of the room. If you're not quite sleepy yet, you will fuss until he comes back to pick you up for one last hug and wiggle. You know he's your big playmate.
He even spent nearly the entire day Saturday taking care of you all by himself! He took you to the Apple store, gave you naps in the car and baby carrier, and fed you bottles of my milk. I was in a workshop all day, and didn't have to worry about you. At the end of the day, BOTH of you were still happy! In fact, when I came in the room, you didn't even come over to me right away like you missed me. You glanced up, smiled, and kept playing. Wow. You have the best Daddy ever, and you know it!
Every night when I put you to sleep, I pray for you to fall in love with Jesus at a young age, and serve Him with your whole life. I pray for protection over your body, mind, and spirit as you grow. I pray protection over your joyfulness, that it will not be stolen from you. I pray that your Daddy and I will have the wisdom we need to be the parents God wants for you.
We love you so much. Happy eight months earth side!
