Man oh man, this summer has flown by and somehow, our little baby is now eight months old! (Also, I promise I’m not intentionally trying to just post on Fridays now…it’s just the days have really been getting away from me this summer and a week will go by where I realize I haven’t posted at all and I want to get something up before the week is out!) I don’t know what it is, but for some reason eight months just sounds so old to me (I know, I know, tell me that when he’s 18) but I think it’s just that now he’s closer to being a year old and a toddler than a squishy baby and it’s kind of nuts. But at the same time, he seems to just get cuter and more fun every day so I’m just trying to enjoy every minute!
Health:
He is a super healthy boy and I’m so thankful for that! He still has pretty sensitive skin and every now and then he’ll get red bumps that almost look like little mosquito bites when we have him outside, but then they’ll go away really quickly too. It seemed like at the end of last month he was starting to spit up a lot less, but then at the beginning of this past month it seemed like he started spiting up a little more? But thankfully now it seems like it’s going down once again and it’s fairly infrequent, especially compared to when he was a newborn…but he’ll still surprise me every now and then. Other than that though, he’s the picture of health and hasn’t had any colds or anything like that. And now that he’s eating more solids, things are so much better in the diaper department. Before, it seemed like he would have blowout diapers literally every other day but that’s not happening anymore and it’s much easier on mama 🙂
Likes:
Henry turned eight months old on 8/8 and here’s what he’s been up to over the past month…
Stats:
I won’t know his exact weight/length until his 9 month appointment next month, but according to our bathroom scale, he’s around 20ish lbs. His hair is still really light compared to when he was born, although I’m not sure he’s going to be quite the bleach blonde we thought he might be as his hair seems to be turning more of a sandy color now. His eyes are still such a mix to me; in some lights they look more brown but then other times they look like they still have some blue around the edge and sometimes they look more green? Still not quite sure! Also, Henry still has no teeth and I keep feeling his gums but there’s no signs of anything so far. He’s still chewing on everything though and it seems like one could pop through any time. He’s also still in his infant car seat, but I have a feeling that won’t be the case much longer because he’s getting pretty heavy to lug around in that thing! He’s also not crawling yet, but he’s thisclose. He pushes up on his hands and knees all the time and acts like he’s going to but then changes his mind. I honestly think that part of the reason he might not be crawling yet is he’s just such a happy and content little guy that he’s not super motivated to crawl? We’ll try taking one of his toys and moving it out of his reach thinking he’ll try to go after it, but instead he just looks at us and smiles…ha!
Health:
He is a super healthy boy and I’m so thankful for that! He still has pretty sensitive skin and every now and then he’ll get red bumps that almost look like little mosquito bites when we have him outside, but then they’ll go away really quickly too. It seemed like at the end of last month he was starting to spit up a lot less, but then at the beginning of this past month it seemed like he started spiting up a little more? But thankfully now it seems like it’s going down once again and it’s fairly infrequent, especially compared to when he was a newborn…but he’ll still surprise me every now and then. Other than that though, he’s the picture of health and hasn’t had any colds or anything like that. And now that he’s eating more solids, things are so much better in the diaper department. Before, it seemed like he would have blowout diapers literally every other day but that’s not happening anymore and it’s much easier on mama 🙂
Likes:
Henry is at an age where he’s super curious about the world around him and he’s definitely developing preferences towards certain things. That said, he’s still a super happy baby and is in a pleasant mood that majority of the time. Some of his favorite things at the moment are riding in the front of the shopping cart, sitting in a high chair at restaurants, rolling his tongue and making all sorts of sounds, when Cam or I are brushing our teeth (so random but he loves it), bathtime, swimming in the pool, and when I show him videos of himself on my phone (seriously he loves this and laughs at all the same parts – I really need to take a video of him watching himself on video…ha!). He’s obsessed with Lola and they are starting to develop a really sweet relationship which is so cute. Also high on his likes list this month? He’s very into…exploring his anatomy when I change his diaper…ha. Seriously the second the diaper comes off, he’s sticking his hand down there (which is AWESOME if it’s a messy diaper…not) and he just smiles and laughs and it’s pretty hilarious 🙂
Dislikes:
Henry hates the sound of the blender/food processor/vacuum and will burst into tears at any of these things. He also still gets super upset if Lola starts howling, he looks so sad and starts crying pretty much instantly. He sometimes still cries a little bit when I leave the room after I put him down in his crib for naps or at night, but usually this is short lived. He also really doesn’t like if he’s in his high chair and we’re not feeding him his food fast enough.
Henry hates the sound of the blender/food processor/vacuum and will burst into tears at any of these things. He also still gets super upset if Lola starts howling, he looks so sad and starts crying pretty much instantly. He sometimes still cries a little bit when I leave the room after I put him down in his crib for naps or at night, but usually this is short lived. He also really doesn’t like if he’s in his high chair and we’re not feeding him his food fast enough.
Wears:
He’s still in either 9 month or 6-12 month depending on the brand, but he’s also wearing quite a few 12 month things as well. I’m constantly trying to go through his dresser/closet and take out things that are getting too small, but luckily he has quite a few cute summer things that fit him perfectly. Most days I dress him in some sort of one piece outfit that’s basically like a onesie with shorts, easy peasy. (Also, before he was born I was not a fan of shirts that say things like “Little Slugger” just because I thought they were kind of silly…and although they’re still not my favorite, whenever he’s wearing stuff like this I can’t help but think it’s really cute…ha!) I also just switched him to size 4 diapers over the past week or two because the size 3s seeemed like they were getting a little small…the size 4s still seem a little bit big, but I figure he’ll grow into them! (And we’re still loving the Honest Co. diapers and either WaterWipes or Seventh Generation Wipes)
He’s still in either 9 month or 6-12 month depending on the brand, but he’s also wearing quite a few 12 month things as well. I’m constantly trying to go through his dresser/closet and take out things that are getting too small, but luckily he has quite a few cute summer things that fit him perfectly. Most days I dress him in some sort of one piece outfit that’s basically like a onesie with shorts, easy peasy. (Also, before he was born I was not a fan of shirts that say things like “Little Slugger” just because I thought they were kind of silly…and although they’re still not my favorite, whenever he’s wearing stuff like this I can’t help but think it’s really cute…ha!) I also just switched him to size 4 diapers over the past week or two because the size 3s seeemed like they were getting a little small…the size 4s still seem a little bit big, but I figure he’ll grow into them! (And we’re still loving the Honest Co. diapers and either WaterWipes or Seventh Generation Wipes)
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| Umm can we talk about his expression here? He kills me with those dimples! |
Eats:
Henry is still nursing and things are going great! (In case you missed it, I posted a short novella about my experience with breastfeeding last week!) I really can’t even remember the last time he had a bottle and at this point it’s just so much easier to nurse him vs. trying to pump. He’s on a pretty consistent schedule where he nurses 4 times a day; when he wakes up in the morning, when he wakes up from his morning nap, either before or after his afternoon nap (depending on the day), and then before he goes to bed. In addition to nursing, over the past month we’ve started feeding him solids much more consistently and now he pretty much eats some sort of breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Basically I just try to put him in his high chair and feed him something when I’m eating 🙂 At this point, we’re doing a mix of purees and some baby-led weaning type solids and he seems to be doing well with everything. He seems to be over his aversion to avocados thankfully, although they’re still not his favorite. I’ve been making homemade veggie purees and he seems to like most things I’ve had him try, but he definitely loves fruit. He’s pretty good with eating small chunks of things like peaches or bananas, although he does have some trouble picking up the pieces from his high chair tray because they’re kind of slippery. We’ve let him try meat here and there if we’re having something he can chew on, and I do feed him greek yogurt sometimes. I’ve also tried feeding him some scrambled egg but he didn’t seem to be a fan of the texture, so I want to try to do them hard boiled soon. Oh, and his favorite thing right now is smoothies! I started making them recently and he lovesss them. I typically make one big smoothie that he and I will share and I always try to include spinach and an avocado in addition to fruit. I’ll usually just spoon-feed him some of the smoothie, but he’s just recently figured out how to drink out of a straw! And so it’s super convenient to just make a big smoothie, put it in a tumbler with a straw, and then he and I can both drink it while we’re out running errands. I still feed him those organic baby food pouches if we’re out during the day, although I try to pick ones that are more veggie heavy. He also loves chewing on teething wafers and I just recently got him some of those puffs, and he’s surprisingly great at picking them up and putting them in his mouth.
Henry is still nursing and things are going great! (In case you missed it, I posted a short novella about my experience with breastfeeding last week!) I really can’t even remember the last time he had a bottle and at this point it’s just so much easier to nurse him vs. trying to pump. He’s on a pretty consistent schedule where he nurses 4 times a day; when he wakes up in the morning, when he wakes up from his morning nap, either before or after his afternoon nap (depending on the day), and then before he goes to bed. In addition to nursing, over the past month we’ve started feeding him solids much more consistently and now he pretty much eats some sort of breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Basically I just try to put him in his high chair and feed him something when I’m eating 🙂 At this point, we’re doing a mix of purees and some baby-led weaning type solids and he seems to be doing well with everything. He seems to be over his aversion to avocados thankfully, although they’re still not his favorite. I’ve been making homemade veggie purees and he seems to like most things I’ve had him try, but he definitely loves fruit. He’s pretty good with eating small chunks of things like peaches or bananas, although he does have some trouble picking up the pieces from his high chair tray because they’re kind of slippery. We’ve let him try meat here and there if we’re having something he can chew on, and I do feed him greek yogurt sometimes. I’ve also tried feeding him some scrambled egg but he didn’t seem to be a fan of the texture, so I want to try to do them hard boiled soon. Oh, and his favorite thing right now is smoothies! I started making them recently and he lovesss them. I typically make one big smoothie that he and I will share and I always try to include spinach and an avocado in addition to fruit. I’ll usually just spoon-feed him some of the smoothie, but he’s just recently figured out how to drink out of a straw! And so it’s super convenient to just make a big smoothie, put it in a tumbler with a straw, and then he and I can both drink it while we’re out running errands. I still feed him those organic baby food pouches if we’re out during the day, although I try to pick ones that are more veggie heavy. He also loves chewing on teething wafers and I just recently got him some of those puffs, and he’s surprisingly great at picking them up and putting them in his mouth.
Sleeps:
The beginning of this past month was a little rough in the sleep department. He did ok adjusting back to Pacific Time after our trip, but then all of the sudden he started really struggling going down at night. I’d nurse him and put him in his crib like normal and then he’d just cry and cry. Cam and I would take turns going in to try and calm him down, but eventually I’d just have to go in and nurse him again until he fell asleep. After a few nights of that, we realized that there really wasn’t anything wrong, he just wanted to be up with us and so we decided to let him cry it out for a night. It was not fun, but the next night he went to sleep much better. It only took a few days, but now he’s back to being a really great sleeper. I usually put him down between 8-9pm or so; honestly he could probably go to bed a little earlier, it’s just a tough to get him in bed before that because we try to enjoy some time together outside as a family once Cam gets home from work. Once I put him down, sometimes he’ll go right to sleep whereas other nights he’ll fuss a little in his crib before eventually nodding off. He typically sleeps solidly without waking up from 9pm until about 7-7:30am and I’m so happy that he’s not a super earlier riser 🙂 He usually goes down for a morning nap around 9:30am and he’ll usually sleep until around 11:30 or so. His afternoon nap is a little more hit or miss depending on what we’ve got going on that day. Ideally I’ll try to get him down around 2:30pm, but some days he doesn’t end up taking a nap until later. Sometimes he’ll just take short snooze for his afternoon nap, whereas other times he’ll take a solid 2+ hour nap. (And then there are also days where he just forgoes an afternoon nap altogether…) Overall though, he’s a great sleeper and the schedule he’s on works really well for us!
The beginning of this past month was a little rough in the sleep department. He did ok adjusting back to Pacific Time after our trip, but then all of the sudden he started really struggling going down at night. I’d nurse him and put him in his crib like normal and then he’d just cry and cry. Cam and I would take turns going in to try and calm him down, but eventually I’d just have to go in and nurse him again until he fell asleep. After a few nights of that, we realized that there really wasn’t anything wrong, he just wanted to be up with us and so we decided to let him cry it out for a night. It was not fun, but the next night he went to sleep much better. It only took a few days, but now he’s back to being a really great sleeper. I usually put him down between 8-9pm or so; honestly he could probably go to bed a little earlier, it’s just a tough to get him in bed before that because we try to enjoy some time together outside as a family once Cam gets home from work. Once I put him down, sometimes he’ll go right to sleep whereas other nights he’ll fuss a little in his crib before eventually nodding off. He typically sleeps solidly without waking up from 9pm until about 7-7:30am and I’m so happy that he’s not a super earlier riser 🙂 He usually goes down for a morning nap around 9:30am and he’ll usually sleep until around 11:30 or so. His afternoon nap is a little more hit or miss depending on what we’ve got going on that day. Ideally I’ll try to get him down around 2:30pm, but some days he doesn’t end up taking a nap until later. Sometimes he’ll just take short snooze for his afternoon nap, whereas other times he’ll take a solid 2+ hour nap. (And then there are also days where he just forgoes an afternoon nap altogether…) Overall though, he’s a great sleeper and the schedule he’s on works really well for us!
Favorite Things:
We finally got him a high chair after we got back from our trip and he seems to really like it! (And I love it because it’s super easy to clean and it was super budget friendly) He also seems to like playing with his ring stacking toy and this other toy I got that suction cups on to his high chair. (I’ll try to find links when I do his 6-9 month favorites, but I got both at Target!) He likes going for rides in the BOB Stroller, he’s still loving his door jumper, and he also seems to be enjoying books a lot more.
We finally got him a high chair after we got back from our trip and he seems to really like it! (And I love it because it’s super easy to clean and it was super budget friendly) He also seems to like playing with his ring stacking toy and this other toy I got that suction cups on to his high chair. (I’ll try to find links when I do his 6-9 month favorites, but I got both at Target!) He likes going for rides in the BOB Stroller, he’s still loving his door jumper, and he also seems to be enjoying books a lot more.
Milestones:
-He’s very solid in a seated position now and he’s starting to explore with how he can move in a seated position. He hasn’t quite figured out how to transition out of it yet, but he’s almost there.
-Still pushing up onto his knees constantly, but he’s still not really army crawling. He does arch back and roll around and move himself in a circle on his stomach and I’m amazed just how much he’s able to move without actually crawling.
-He learned how to drink out of a straw this month, which I thought was pretty cool!
-He took his first trip to Bend in Central Oregon 🙂
-He also went to the zoo for the first time (and then actually went again this past weekend)
-Spent a lot of time in the pool the past month and absolutely loves the water!
-He’s started to make a surprised face pretty often now and it’s adorable (like in this picture)
-He’s working his way through babbling various consonant sounds and still says “Dadadada” all the time. But of course, he still will not say “Mama!” Whenever I try to get him to say it, he just looks at me and smiles 🙂 Such a little stinker!
-When I carry him now, he’s much better about holding on to my body which is super helpful.
-He’s starting to try to climb a lot more, so if I’m holding him in my lap or sitting with him on the ground, he seems to want to try to climb up on me. He’s not pulling himself up on things yet, but I can’t imagine that’s too far off.
Cameron and I are so crazy about this little guy and he brings us so much joy each day. I am absolutely loving this age he’s at right now and am having the best time staying home with him. Can’t wait to see what the next month brings!