Gracefully Falling Down: Elliott: Eight Months

Eight months? I can't believe my maternity leave is two thirds over! I love my days spent with our boy - he is turning into such a cute little goofball. He makes me laugh, which then in turn makes him laugh. He just loves to have fun!! He continues to (most days) be a really easy going baby- just likes to hang out and play with his toys. It takes very little to keep him occupied. He's a giant chatterbox- always talking. Mostly he says "dadadadada" but still has no association with it that we can tell. I love watching his face light up when Chris comes home from school, and Chris always jokes about how he must think I'm the funniest person alive because if he turns and is surprised to see me he will bob up and down and laugh. So easily excited!! The last weigh in we had was just under 22 lbs, so I imagine he is just at or over that now, and approx 28 inches long. It seems to me that he looks older every single day. Good thing he just keeps getting cuter!

Eating: We're still slowly introducing solids, but he gets most of his nutrition from breast milk. I have to be honest- this is a tough area for me. We have been following a list of first foods from our Naturopath which is meant to encourage a "healthy gut" We find this to be really important because research shows that 70% of the cells that make up our immune system reside in our gut, and what we feed ourselves determines the health of our gut flora. Babies start out with a clean slate, and so we believe that following this list will set him up for the healthiest gut flora possible. Also, we believe this will be instrumental in setting him up for a healthy digestive system, which is something Chris and I both struggle with as adults. All that being said, I find it quite restrictive. It's normal stuff (yams, carrots, cauliflower, bananas, peas etc) but not stuff I normally make (and puree) I always intended to make his foods and not feed from jars, but I also pictured having the ability to feed him little bits of what we are eating, and feeling quite laid back about it. Well, now I have this list and starting at 6 months there are only 14 foods I can give him (another 14 foods at 9 months, and so on) I feel this tension between wanting to follow the list and wanting to burn the list, and just feed him what I feel like. At this point I think we'll keep with it because we only have one more month before 14 more foods are introduced, and I'm looking forward to adding in oatmeal, which is on the 9 month list.

Sleeping (Night Time): Sleep? What is that?? But seriously, not much has improved from last month. Elliott still wakes multiple times (3, 4, 5...) and at least a couple times a week will wake completely for at least an hour in the middle of the night. From everything I've read he is just working overtime with his brain development and there isn't much I can do, but dear Lord is it challenging! He still goes to bed really well, which is my saving grace. At least I still get that time at the end of the evening to unwind! I just wish he would sleep until 2 or 3 like he used to before waking. Now it's more like 12:30-1 for his first waking. One positive has been how long he sleeps in the morning. We've been leaving him when he fusses for the first time around 6:30 and the second time around 7:30 and he falls right back to sleep on his own (if only he could do THAT in the middle of the night!) He's been sleeping until 8-9 in the morning most days this past week, which has been quite lovely.

Sleeping (Nap Time): About 2-3 weeks ago, all of a sudden he decided he only wants two naps a day. Just like that, with no help or work on my part (I have dreams of something changing like this at night time as well) His first nap is usually around 10:30-11 and he'll sleep for at least an hour, and then his second nap is anywhere from 2- 3:30 and he'll sleep for an hour or two. Between the two naps he usually sleeps about 3-3.5 hours total. He can go a lot longer between his last nap and bedtime now. I think the longest was waking up at 3:30 and going to bed at 9. So crazy because only a month ago if he woke up at 5:30 (anytime before 6, really) he would need another 15 minute cat nap to get him to bedtime at 9.

Play: He loves to sit up and play with toys. If there is one out of his reach he'll lean forward or to the side and topple onto his tummy (doesn't faze him in the least anymore) His favourite toys right now are Sophie, which he just realized how to squeak on his own, his little red car, his red train (both of which make noise and sing the alphabet, which he loves!) and he's rediscovered his red and orange O-balls. He still loves jumping in his jumper and standing while holding your hands. He works on his fine motor skills all the time- he loves to pick up tiny things with his finger and thumb, and often takes one finger to scratch at different surfaces/textures.

Highlights/Lowlights: He still carpet swims with the best of them, but the only real movement he makes is backwards a few inches at a time. Quite frustrating when he's tying SO hard to move forward to get a toy!

He has six teeth!! 4 up top and the same bottom two. The last 3 came in all in the span of seven days. It was a pretty rough week for the both of us, but we've had a nice reprieve form teething for the last couple weeks

We have officially switched from the bucket seat to a convertible car seat. So far I am loathing this new change. I hate having to stand outside in the cold to strap him in while in the van. I hate that when he falls asleep I have to unstrap him and carry him in, and then somehow take off my boots and his jacket before laying him down. He also seems to hate it and cries each. and. every. time. we strap him in. I miss the bucket seat SO much. Sure, it was heavy, but so much easier!!!

We've started to really notice how ticklish he is when he's tired. It's absolutely hilarious- you barely have to tough his sides/armpit area for him to erupt in laughter.

He's started turning his whole upper body to the side while sitting and will lean his body to one side. At first he would get stuck each time or fall on his tummy, but he's getting better at it and can sit upright again.

I cut his hair!! I had no choice - when it fell forward it covered his eyes and reached almost to the tip of his nose! So I combed it all forward and snipped! It looks pretty cute, but for almost a week I was heartbroken that he looked like a little boy instead of my baby

Elliott was dedicated at our church on November 9th. It was a really special morning, and we had our family and friends over to the house for a lunch after church. He happened to look like the cutest baby ever in his little button up shirt and tie (see picture below)

He learned to clap! Super cute and so fun to see how proud of himself he is.

Likes:

My purple water bottle
Being tickled
Sitting, playing with toys
Getting thrown in the air
Bathtime (as always!)
Staring out the front window at all the cars driving past
My phone or the TV remote - two things I never let him touch, so naturally they are his favourite things ever!
Picking up tiny things (crumb on the carpet, string hanging off his pants)