Brianna and Kenneth

(Catching up, 8 month pictures)

8 months

I feel like I keep saying this, but this is my favorite age so far.

Sleep: Now that I'm home with X during the day, napping and sleeping have become more routine, and easier because of it. (YAY!!!!!) Plus, we're able to do more activities during the day now that X has dropped down to 2 naps. (Although why are so many things for moms and babies at 9am? That's the most common time [apparently] for babies to have their first nap, so this makes no sense to me.) The downside to falling into a routine is that now X barely naps if he falls asleep anywhere but in a crib. Usually, we can't get him to nap (or nap for long) in the car, in a stroller, or in our arms if we need to. Bummer. He's down to one wake-up per night most nights. Sometimes 2 if he's hungry at 10pm, sometimes 3 or more when he has a tooth cutting through.

Travel: So far this summer, we've spent a week at the beach, 2 weeks at my in-laws while we were waiting for our house to close, a long weekend in Vancouver visiting my mom, and 4 days days in Spokane. Spokane was tough, but X amazingly kept it together while getting very little sleep, being totally thrown off in terms of routine, and our unusual [for us now] sleeping arrangements (we co-slept in an RV bed for 3 days). He may have done so well because we were more generous in letting him use the pacifier than usual.

Visiting Kenneth's grandma in Spokane

It was hot in Spokane. I loved it, but X was sweaty and covered in sunblock the whole time.

The new house: The new house with a room just for X has been working out very well. All of us are sleeping better!!! We aren't co-sleeping ever any more, trips to Spokane aside. We are far from being child-proofed though, so the move has been really tricky in that regard. It's hard to live life, chase a very mobile baby, and unpack/paint/take care of a million other new house things. But it's been great to be able to make changes and make our home something that works well for all 4 of us-- Juniper included.

This poor baby has been abandoned on our front porch. Oh wait, that's just an unhappy Xavier.

Busy boy: X is more mobile now... holy smokes, does he take a lot of energy these days. Guess the newfound energy from sleeping more has to go somewhere. He's crawling very proficiently, pulling up, and walking if you hold his hands. He's cruising a little bit too. My mother-in-law keeps saying how her kids walked at 9 months, expecting X to do the same. I think we could still have a month before he walks... but it'll be cutting it close. He has been wanting to walk, trying to walk, and sort of walking (with lots of support) since he's been born-- that's not an exaggeration-- so once he figures out how to keep his balance, he'll be off and... well, not running, but walking.

He plays peek-a-boo with us now, and we're working on waving. He's also started occasionally signing "more", and he makes this funny panting type sound that means "I want that". We're still working on waving bye-bye and mama and daddy. He does not make the "m" sound yet.

We're also still slowly working on infant potty training ("elimination communication"). He did so well the 1st week, but since then it's been about a 20% success rate. We're increasing diaper free time just to try and help him a little... there's no rush (we still don't expect him to actually be potty trained until 2 years old or later), but I'm motivated more by the fact that it will be harder to get him to practice on the potty when it's colder and when he's even more mobile.

Personality: He's still so happy and playful. He can be very serious and observant if he's in a new environment, but once he feels comfortable he just wants to crawl around and get into everything... and put everything in his mouth. He loves to play and figure out how things work, what sounds they make, and how they taste. He's starting to cling more to me now because we're together so much-- it's a blessing and a curse sometimes. These days, he cries when he's left with my mother-in-law on the day she watches him so I can study. But, I know that soon enough he will not want his mama to be so close, so I'm trying to remember to enjoy his clinginess.

His favorite toys are Sophie, my necklaces, a toy musical instrument set, the dog's collar, the dog's leash, the dog, and shoes. Runners up are the pacifier, his socks/shoes, and whatever it is that you are holding and that he wants RIGHT NOW.

He has 9 teeth, and he's working on #10 now. I am SO happy to be almost done with teething. Can't wait to finish-- just 2 more after this one, until the 2 year molars.

Eating: He is eating SO. MUCH. I thought it was a growth spurt... but it seems like it was just him realizing that food is AWESOME because he hasn't stopped eating so much since then.

He nurses or gets a bottle 8 times a day, but he also eats real food 2 or 3 times a day now. We're mostly past the purees, (although I'll throw a baby puree pouch into the diaper bag sometimes since he likes them, and when we're not home, those can be easier). We keep puffs, freeze-dried fruit, and yogurt melts on hand so we have something that's baby friendly. But he'll eat anything it seems-- cheese, eggs, waffles, hummus, cooked vegetables, chicken, pizza [not my finest mothering moment, feeding my 8 month old Ikea pizza, but he wanted it and I couldn't keep him from grabbing], smoothies, fruit of any kind... and even hamburger (my little sister shared hers with him. He liked it, of course). He might have a soy allergy, unfortunately, but it doesn't seem to be a huge issue if we avoid processed foods.

I'm still amazed at the fact that at 9 months, we're still going strong with nursing. We've overcome mastitis, the heavily distracted 4th month, 3 or 4 nursing strikes, and big problems in the first few weeks of his life. I'm planning to gradually let my supply decrease a little starting in September, but I'm still planning to/hoping to nurse until he reaches 1 year. Only 3 more months to go. Yikes.

I love these 9 month photos-- they are the first that capture him best so far, I think. Crazy hair, big grin, and always on-the-go--that's who our little boy is.