8 Months

I truly cannot believe your first birthday is in 4 months.  I will blink and it will be here... and then gone.  Ack!  I'm not ready for that, sweet girl!  I honestly still feel some mommy guilt at times that the first 5+ months were such a struggle with your tummy, and that it calmed down exactly in conjunction with getting your tongue clipped.  I wish we could have enjoyed the relaxed you (and relaxed us) for longer than starting at 5.5 months, but we are making up for lost time now, right?  You are SO fun!!

Eight months pictures are to come, but here's a snapshot of "you" 2/3 of the way through your first year!

• wearing 3-6, 6, and 6-9/6-12 months clothes.  I said the same thing last month, but you definitely fill things out more this month.  You are getting longer, too!
• we have weighed you a couple times when we have gone into the doctor's office for a shot, and you continue to gain well!  Praise the Lord!!
• still wearing size 2 diapers with enough width, but I'm wondering (like last month) if we're on the verge of needing the rise of a size 3.  Maybe after the next growth spurt?
• for the most part, you leave your bows in your hair.  There is one larger bow we tried today that sagged a little under its own weight, and that led you to pull on it and hold it.  But all the rest you leave in--yea!
• The long, front part of your hair dried on its own into a big corkscrew curl after a bath last week.  We have seen two other curly tendrils reappear over and over.  Verrrrry interesting.... I'm excited to see if the curl stays as your hair gets longer and continues to fill in (but you do already have a lot of it!). :)
• YOU HAVE A TOOTH!  Actually, you have TWO teeth!  Number 2 was right on the heels of number 1.  You are still a little uncomfortable with the teething but hanging in there.  Today, for instance, the gum around your 2nd tooth swelled and covered back over it, and you were pretty upset about it by evening.
• We just had daylight savings and you are kind of a mess as a result.  Instead of wanting to "sleep in" like Asa, you started waking up an hour *earlier* than you had been!  Eek!  One or two times you have successfully gone back to sleep for a smidge longer after I feed you at 7 (6:00 to your body), but sometimes you are up for your first stretch then.  Today you went back to sleep... I am hoping to "reteach" you to wake at 7:30 or 8.  You go to bed around 6:45 or 7:00.
• You stay awake 1-1.5 hours after you wake up before your first nap and nap 1-1.5 hours then.  You are usually awake for 2 hour then, nap another 1.5 hours.  Awake again 2-3 or 3.5 hours.  If you wake up at 2, you often go back down at 4 for a 1 hour nap.  If you wake up after 2, it's too late to take a 3rd nap without disturbing bedtime.
• You sometimes eat a few puffs in the morning, you eat 2-3 cubes (tablespoons) of homemade baby food in the afternoon, and you eat finger foods while we eat dinner--green beans, cubed (steamed) sweet potatoes or squash, or baked fruit cubes like peaches and pears.
• You have tried and like: sweet potato, avocado, butternut squash, green beans, peaches, and pears.  I need to decide what we're trying next!! :)
• You usually wake anytime between 10 PM and 2 AM, and then you usually go another 4-5 hour stretch.  We've had a handful of nights waking at midnight and then not again til 7!!  Those were quite refreshing. :)
• You definitely still need your reflux meds.  We ran out, so I waited a day or two before calling in the refill to see if you still needed them.  By the second or third day without them, you were crying and arching your back halfway through feedings.  Not fun for either of us. :(  Back on the meds we went, and you were as good as new (until you started teething ;)).
• You are interacting with Asa in such sweet ways.  You GRIN at him when you see him after a nap or in the morning.  You are starting to try to "play" with him, too.  He LOVES it and snuggles up next to you on the floor, even letting you pull on his ears and touch all over his face.  He especially like to kiss your tummy and tickle your toes to make you laugh.
• The bottoms of your feet are ticklish!!
• You have the happiest, sweetest grin whenever you see your daddy come tell us good-bye in the  morning or come home from work.  You'll stop nursing in the morning when you see him and just BEAM at him.  Then you'll continue to stop and look for him after he leaves until you decide he really is gone and you can concentrate on eating once again. :)
• You have scootched--using your head to prop yourself up--one or two scootches worth.  You aren't really in a hurry to become mobile.  I'm okay with that. ;)
• You usually greet me with a HUGE grin when I come to get you from your crib.  That makes my day! :)
• You are babbling "Mama."  I'm inclined to think you know what you're saying. ;)