8 Months

Well, better late than never, right bud? You are 8 months old! 2/3 of a year! Sweet boy, this was another month of ups and downs. We'll get the downs out of the way first...this was another month where we battled a lot of sickness. You started this past month out with croup which then turned into a sinus infection, so you had to go back on antibiotics which was no fun. This also caused a little bit of a sleep regression which was tough on all of us, but fortunately we seemed to get that under control after a week or two. You still have a runny nose (4 weeks later...) but the doctor thinks that is all related to your teething.

On that note, you have a top tooth!!! The top right tooth officially popped through on January 2, 2012! Thank goodness - that was rough for a few days! I have a feeling the top left one isn't far behind because when I put Orajel on your little gums, you have ridges and bumps EVERYWHERE. The doctor thought he saw at least two more coming very soon, so we may not be out the woods teething-wise just yet.

So, let's talk schedule. You usually wake up between 7 and 7:30 and boy, you are hungry! You eat about 8 ounces of formula and then eat 7 ounce bottles after that at 11, 3, and bedtime. You eat solids three times a day - oatmeal and fruit in the morning, veggies and cheerios at lunch, and a meat/veggie combo and fruit (sometimes) at dinner. (You do NOT have a sweet tooth like your mommy and daddy and really don't like plain fruit other than pears.) Napwise, you typically take a short nap (30-45 minutes) around 9:30 and then take a long nap around 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon. After that, it's play, play, play until I pick you up at 4:30. You usually don't nap after 3ish unless we go for a car ride somewhere...those are your Kryptonite. You just can't stay awake, no matter how hard you try! We put you to bed around 7 and (usually!) you sleep until 7 the next morning. Unless you are sick or have teeth coming in, you are a ROCK STAR at sleeping and usually give us 11-12 hours. We LOVE you for that! :)

On the development front, you are killing it, little man! This month, you really took off with your little army crawl and we are starting to see signs that you will have a full-fledged, all fours crawl any day now! You do this crazy little downward dog move that cracks us up where you go from sitting to literally an inverted V on your hands and feet. Little gymnast?? :) You bounce on your knees, pat your hands, and flap your arms all the time and it cracks me up! You especially love to flap your arms and bounce when you are happy about something. You can pull up to standing at the coffee table now and we've seen you do it in my parents' crib, but you can't seem to figure it out in your home crib. (I'm okay with this!) You have also definitely started saying "mama" very clearly, but you sadly only say that when you're upset. You put absolutely EVERYTHING in your little mouth...including magazines, paper, dog toys (sick), and cords. You usually get upset when I have to take the paper away, but you rip off pieces with your teeth and try to swallow it. You actually choked on paper in a restaurant once so that is a big no-no now. Speaking of "no-no," you think the word no is hysterical and instantly smile when we say it. I think we are in trouble!!!

You are definitely slowing down on the weight gain front...we think you are right at 20 or 20.5 pounds now, and I'm expecting about 21 at your 9-month appointment next month. You definitely seem taller, but I have no idea how tall you are. You are still wearing some 6-9, and mostly 6-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers, so no changes there. We love you little man!