8 Month Update

I'm not too happy Max's 8th month update is being posted two weeks late. We can blame the overtime at work for that. Every free minute I have is dedicated to entering orders for my work, 'tis the season right? Well I am finally pausing the order entry and getting this update written! This post is FILLED with pictures, so hopefully that will ease the lateness of this post.

This past month has been a whirlwind, filled with sickness, bottle-hating, and sleep deprivation. Oh, did I mention sickness? I kid you not, Max, Todd and I were sick ALL month. Max had his first trip to the doctor due to illness...we had to wait in the sick waiting room and all! Yuck. He got his first antibiotics and took them like a champ. Its no fun having a sick baby, especially when they are all filled with snot (that they can't blow out) and wake themselves up coughing. It breaks my heart. Of course, November wasn't all bad! We have a very mobile baby on our hands now and it is so exciting to watch!

As you can see, our monthly chair pose will no longer be the same. It was so hard getting him to sit in the chair this time (lol)! He sure is growing up!

Height/Weight: Max weighs 21 pounds and 10 ounces and is 29 inches long (again grew 0.5 inches).

Sleeping: I do want to mention, at the beginning of the month Max was sleeping pretty good. He would wake up once and that was it! Once he got sick, sleep went out of the window. Sleep deprivation to the extreme.

First, I want to give myself a pat on the back. This month I tried really hard to keep him in his crib all night instead of Todd bringing him straight to our bed once he woke up. Of course this meant I lost even more sleep, aside from him not sleeping well already from his cold, but I did pretty good! Most nights he wakes up at least twice, but one night in particular, I lost track how many times we had to get up. That was a bad night. Now though, just because he wakes up, it doesn't mean he is hungry and wants milk. In fact, most times he isn't fully awake when he starts crying. He cries with his eyes closed, acting like he was having a bad dream or his teeth are just hurting him. All he needs is some cuddling. This means Todd can help me settle him down (he does really good with helping me through the night with him). Oftentimes we just have to pick him up and rock him to settle him down, and the whole time he has his eyes closed. If he wakes up again shortly after, I may try to feed him to get him back to sleep. For a week or two, 11:30pm seemed to be the first time he "woke up" every night.

His crib set up has changed a bit for bedtime. We now have a humidifier going in his room while he sleeps, which I think has really helped his breathing through his clogged nose. We also have put pillows in his crib to act like a bumper (so he doesn't keep hitting his head on the sides when he rolls), but also to confine him so it feels like we may be next to him. We think this has helped a lot since we don't bring him to our bed anymore!

He still takes two naps during the day on the weekends (I think his naps vary during the work week at Barb's, depending on what all the other kids are doing). His first nap is usually around 10am and his second nap is usually around 2pm, both lasting usually for 1.5-2 hours. I like how routine he is with his naps, although his morning nap feels strange because it seems like we just woke up! I would say its usually about two hours after he originally woke up.

Eating/Feeding: Still breastfeeding! And unfortunately, Max is only drinking from me. Bottles? No way, he says (I mean screams). November was a month of bottle-hating. This meant he barely drank anything during the weekday at Barb's. So, he relied on solid food for sustenance most of the month. Barb tried and tried, with no luck. She tried different bottles, different temperatures, you name it! We have since gone to the doctor (in December, so I will talk more about this visit in his next month update), and he says this is ok, he is just being a stink and prefers the boob over the bottle. He is getting enough milk when he still nurses from me, but we should try to get some other forms of dairy in him like yogurt and cheese.

Thank goodness Max is not a picky eater! He will eat anything. We are still making his food, but we do rely on Beechnut and Gerbers for quick food sometimes. We tried a few different foods this month, including red bell pepper (not the biggest fan), acorn squash, yellow squash and zucchini, as well as some baby finger foods. We've also been giving him some grown up food, like pasta and bread. He had a fun time at Thanksgiving with all of the food and even had his first taste of meat. He is a little piggy, let me tell you. Takes after his daddy!

He still poops a lot and his poop face and shimmy makes me laugh every time. We can't have one meal where he doesn't poop (or try to) while he is eating. His high chair is now called the poop chair.

Behaviour: First let me talk about his mobility. Max isn't crawling yet, but boy is he close. Everyone keeps telling me he will be crawling by Christmas. Oh boy. 

This month he has gotten on his knees and started rocking, and it has progressed a ton towards the end of November. We started with him getting on his knees when something was there to help prop him up. That isn't needed anymore. He can get on his knees all by himself. When on his tummy, he is able to move all directions. He will do a 360 in a short amount of time. You have to keep an eye on him or else you won't know how he got where he is the next time you look at him. When he is on his tummy, he tends to go backwards whenever he lifts up. Put him on hardwood and he will be across the room in a heartbeat. On the hardwood, he tends to go backwards and loves to beat on the floor. He also moves in all directions while sitting. He will be facing the tv one moment, and then a few minutes later his back will be to the tv. He does that leaning thing where his feet kind of go to the side, like he is getting ready to get on his knees (hard to explain), so his transitioning from one position to the other is definitely getting stronger. Its crazy just watching him move!

That being said, he doesn't roll as much as he was last month. You can put him on his back and he will stay there. Before he wouldn't be on his back for a second before he rolled. Not sure what that is all about. He prefers sitting, probably because he can move more easily. 

He still smiles at everyone and giggles all of the time. I absolutely love it. I can always get him to giggle. He loves when I pretend to drop him but catch him very quickly, he loves when I make funny noises, he loves patty cake and peek-a-boo. He loves me "biting" his tummy, fingers, neck. He loves the claw hand. Giggles give him the hiccups. And sometimes makes him spit up...Silly boy. Everyone still mentions how he is such a happy baby and we really take pride in that.

He still only really says mama. No dada yet. I'm not complaining! I can get him to calm down very quickly if he is upset. He still has his "Chewbacca" voice and it makes people laugh in public, and he tends to do it really loud. He has this new hoarse voice he does now which is hilarious and he often does it while playing with toys (and puts his mouth in an O shape). Its hilarious. He loves straws. We will get a straw for him when at a restaurant. It definitely keeps him occupied! He loves menus and paper. He loves his binky. He has learned to put it in his mouth on his own. He will take it from your hands and know exactly what it is and where it goes. If its laying on the floor, he will find it and put it straight in his mouth. If he puts it in upside down, he will quickly turn it right side up. He is a very vocal boy, so if the room gets quiet all of a sudden, that means he has found his binky. 

We put the Christmas tree up this month and he loves it!

The 'O' face

Lets see, what else? I love when he reaches out for me to pick him up. He loves dogs. His hair really grew out and got thicker this month. He has been teething, so much that his cheeks get red, but still none have broken through. That being said, everything goes in his mouth. He loves to stand (as you can see in the pictures) and is able to stand unassisted from us as long as he is holding on to something. He loves his baths and we often leave him in there just so he can play with his toys...I mean the cup. He continues to grab for anything within reach. He loves my phone, the cats, spoons, empty water bottles, cartoons, watching other kids. 

I absolutely love him.

Can you say mini Todd? 

Everyone knows I am a huge advocate for baby wearing. This month we got the Ergobaby 360 baby carrier. It took a little while for me to convince Todd that we needed it in our lives and that it was worth the extra money, but convince him I did. When he put it on for the first time and realized how awesome it was, I relished in the fact that I got to say "I told you so." He loves it just as much as I do, and I guess more importantly, Max loves it. We can carry Max on our back, which is pretty awesome. Todd will just strap him on his back and cook dinner. Fussy baby no more. When in public, Max and I get so many stares (and smiles) when I am wearing him. We are special. Also, he tends to fall asleep as we are checking out. Every time.

We also got his first winter coat this past month. It is size 12 month, so we have to roll the arms up, making it a little challenging to get on. He's not the biggest fan, but once it is on, he is good. We do really miss the days where we could just leave the house with Max in only a onesie! Now we have to have pants, socks, winter coat, and a hat! Whew. I have always wanted to have babies in the Summer, now I really don't want to have a newborn in the Winter months. What a challenge it would be to have to make sure baby is all warm!

Max is still wearing size 3 diapers and is wearing size 9 month clothes. His sleeper is 12 month and its already snug, so I am sure some 12 month clothes would fit him just fine.