8 Months (Part 2)

8 Month Changes (reflections over the past 8 months)

On the 7th (of April), our little creature turned 8 months old! Looking back, its incredible how much our life with him has already changed. Parenthood has been a whirlwind of learning, mutating routines and wonderful adventures so far. I want to use the remainder of this post to share where he is developmentally right now and what our normal day to day looks like now that he is 8 months old, and how different that is from when he was much younger.

Developmental Milestones

Right now, little Meo is on the verge of crawling. This is the main reason I am writing this post now, because I think soon (once he is on the move), our day to day routine is going to drastically change. Right now, he is an expert sitter, and has been for a while. For the last couple of weeks, he has been working on getting onto all fours from a seated position. He will reach as far as he can than rock back and forth trying to hoist his butt into the air. Since he likes to sit with the soles of his feet touching, it's been tricky for him to figure out how to turn them around so that he can stabilize on both knees. Most of the time he is able to get one knee down and the other foot will be planted on the ground with his knee up and out to the side. In the last two days, he has had two successful attempts however, and he posed solidly on all fours for half a minute or so before slopping on his belly. Usually he just ends up on his belly though. From there he goes back and forth between pushing his torso up really high with his arms (upward facing dog) and getting on his toes and pushing his butt up (the beginnings of downward facing dog...more like a bendy plank pose). He seems to prefer to be on his belly or sitting (or standing against something holding himself up), and usually when I put him on his back he immediately tries to roll over, which makes diaper changes quite interesting. Lets just say that there is usually lots of screaming involved (on his part) and I usually give in and end up changing him while he is on his belly which is quite difficult. He is really good at rolling multiple times to get places, especially while on our bed. He also is able to spin around and pivot while on his belly, and somehow is able to scoot from place to place on his belly to a small degree. This boy really wants to move! It's only a matter of time before he'll get his wish.

Learning to crawl (8 months)

So close to crawling! (8 months)

Verbally, he is as chatty as ever. His favorite things to say right now are "Da da", "Dog" (sounds more like "Doug" still), and "Cat" (sounds more like a whispery "Tat", although he's said a couple of good "cat"s too). He makes lots of other sounds too, but those are the words he is consistently able to utter. Our other exciting verbal news is he started signing "more" for the first time, in the correct context, and fairly consistently. It is so incredible to see him doing this. I am so proud of him! I am excited that we are starting to have this new way of communicating.

Sleeping and Eating

Mattimeo has always been a good sleeper and a great eater. I remember those first couple months when "he's eating again?!" was something regularly said to me. He nursed constantly. He would nurse for 45 minutes, take a 20 minute break and then start in on the next side. Sometimes he would fall asleep instead, and nap for hour or two at a time. I was pretty much glued to the recliner in the nursery with Meo on my Boppy pillow for those two months. I loved it though; I got so much reading in and lots of rest. Back then he would stay up until 1:30-11:30 at night. Then we were still trying to get him to sleep in the cosleeper, and would lay him down in it once he fell asleep. Once he woke up after 10-15 minutes, we would try again, but he would just keep waking up. Eventually we stopped trying every night and only tried a couple times a week. Soon, the cosleeper became a diaper holder, cat bed, and night stand. Eventually we just folded it away, dropped our mattress on the ground and gave into the fact that we were bedsharing now. Around perhaps 4 months old, he stopped napping all the time (although he still liked to eat a bunch) and only napped 3 or 4 times a day, still either on my lap or in bed with me. He also started going to bed earlier, usually around 8 or 9. The most wonderful thing about having him share a bed with us (besides not having to get up in the middle of the night to feed him, I basically nurse in a half-doze now), was that he slept in until like 9 or 10! I always feel well rested.

Sleeping Meo

After Meo turned 6 months old, he started napping just twice a day, once around 10 or 11, then again around 2 or 3. That is still his tendency at 8 months. Now he has his morning nap on his little nest on the floor (we put his crib mattress on the floor with a soft carpet beside it), where I nurse him to sleep and roll away. There we will only sleep for about 30-45 minutes. Sometimes I have to nurse him back to sleep when he wakes up, but about 75% of the time he can put himself back to sleep. For our afternoon nap, I still sleep with him in our bed. That way he will sleep a good 2-3 hours, and I get some much needed rest and a chance to read my books. Eventually when he gets better at sleeping by himself in the morning I will switch over to having him nap in his bed during the afternoon too, but for now its more important to me that he get as much rest as he needs so he can develop healthily. At night now he goes to bed between 7-8. Sometimes I will stay in bed and read or watch a movie, but often times I will roll out of the bed so I can play a board game with Robbie. Meo is getting really good at falling back asleep on his own, but I still usually have to nurse him back to sleep once or twice before I go to bed myself. Until about last week he was sleeping in until 9-9:30, but all of a sudden now at 8 months he wants to wake up between 7:30 and 8. Usually I am ready to get up at that time too, so it's working out fine for us so far.

Sleeping during our afternoon nap

It's always nice to wake up to see Pi!

As for sleep routines, I inadvertently created a pretty cool one for his morning nap. After we eat breakfast, I change wash him up, change his diaper and change him out of his pajamas into an outfit. Then I turn on some relaxing, wordless music, turn of the lights and lay him in his little bed and tuck his blanket around his torso under his arms. Then I scoot in beside him and side nurse him to sleep while reading him some poetry. We have several books of poetry including Emily Dickinson, Lord Byron, Robert and Elizabeth Barret Browning, Shel Silverstein, etc. Poetry is almost musical and I think he helps lull him to sleep while exposing him to some beautiful language. I have always wanted to read more poetry, and this has provided me with a great opportunity to read and study lots of poetry of which I am grateful for. I am excited for when we get a house and I can unpack my library so I can start reading Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Robbie and I used to read that book under the shade of a tree by a river when we were in college and I will love to be able to take it back out and share it with sweet Meo.

Nursing to sleep

Nurse

At night time we have a tradition of bath, massage, naked time (depending on how tired he is), pajamas, then bed. After dinner, Robbie always gives Mattimeo his bath while I clean up the dinner mess. This is one of Robbie and Mattimeo's favorite times of the day; Meo loves bath time. Meo always stands up against the bath tub to watch the water fill up, then strips down and goes into his nice warm tub. They alternate which bath toys they use to keep things interesting; some days they play with stacking cups and other days with squishy sea animals. It's music to my ears to hear my boys giggling and splashing in the bath tub! After his bath, I usually give Meo a massage with coconut oil and organic lavender oil (to induce sleepiness). Sometimes this is a long, calm affair, other times he is not interested and we have a short massage. It is a nice time for us to gaze at each other, to help him learn about his body, and to help him feel nice and relaxed. I wish someone gave me a massage every night! Next, if he still seems active and awake, we let him sit around naked and play with his toys. I think it is good for his skin to air out, plus it aids in his movement being unhindered by clothing and a bulky diaper. Also, he is really cute naked! Then it's pajama time (usually full of screaming unfortunately; he hates getting dressed), then off to bed where I snuggle in next to him and nurse him to sleep.

Eating has obviously changed a great deal since he was born. For nearly the first 6 months, he was exclusively nursing. Now he still nurses, but he also eats 2 or 3 meals of solid food a day. Right now his favorites are finger foods like bananas, sweet potatoes (sliced into manageable sticks and baked with olive oil and rosemary), sliced mango, watermelon, steamed carrots and broccoli sticks, and wedges of pears, apples and plums. For a while he was doing really well with foods like oatmeal, applesauce, quinoa, goat-milk yogurt, etc., but ever since he had his fever, he hasn't really enjoyed spoon-fed foods, so though I keep offering him mushy foods as options, I give him a lot of finger foods too. This month I have introduced him to some dairy like cottage cheese and cow's milk yogurt. He really likes yogurt mixed with apple sauce.

Roasted Beets and Carrots with Rosemary

Beets were fun to clean!

Cottage cheese, strawberries, peaches and pears

Brown rice pasta in fun shapes, gluten free sweet potato puffs and snap peas

Independent Play Time

I remember the days when my little Meo NEVER wanted to be put down. The second his back touched the ground, he would start crying and I would immediately pick him up. Those days, the only time I was able to have my hands free was if I wore him, let him take a nap in his swing (while I showered and no one was home), or when I gave him his independent time occasionally in his crib with his mobile on. He loves mobiles. Those first few months, I would only be able to put him down for 5-15 minutes at a time under his mobile before he would want to be picked up again, but that was always enough time for me to quickly make myself some breakfast or lunch before I scooped him up to nurse again while I enjoyed my meal. I would also have him do some "tummy time" everyday, which sometimes was under a minute and other times was more like 5-10. I never forced him to do it longer than he wanted to. Sometimes he enjoyed tummy time when he was in his play gym. Eventually he started not to mind being left alone to play for short periods of time. I would let him lay in his play gym on the floor where he cooed and reached for his toys. Once he began to be able to roll he tolerated being on his own longer. Then came along his ability to sit unsupported, and our world drastically changed. I now often sit him on a blanket with a variety of toys around him while I cook and clean and he will be perfectly content. I also sometimes let him play in his little area of our room after his morning nap while I finish whatever I was working on during that period. It's not that I don't still think its important for him to be with me a lot of the time; I still either wear him or hold him when I do most things around the house, and we have lots of time where we play, read, interact, etc. But I think having some independent play time is so important. It allows him to play, explore, and learn unhindered by my direction and insight. Everyday he grows, and it is amazing to me to see how this time he spends by himself morphs. He is figuring things out, like how to move around, how to use his toys differently, how to make new sounds with his mouth. He babbles to his toys as he moves them from one side to the other and passes them back and forth between hands. He tries to climb into things, and I can see him setting goals and trying to reach them. It's really cool. But once he started whimpering or saying "Ma ma ma" and looking over to me on the other side of the room with his arms outstretched, I am there for him. I want that time to be a comfortable and enjoyable time for him, not one he begins to dread as the time Mom will ignore me. Sometimes he will be quite content for up to an hour. It's nice to have that time for myself to catch up on things. Sometimes its only 10 minutes, and that's just fine too.

Searching through his basket for some toys

At 8 months old, his current favorite toys are his Green Sprouts stacking cups, his Under the Nile organic fruit and vegetable crates, his little Playskool wheely animals, and his balls.

Walks

Not much has changed with this activity besides how I carry Meo. We still go for walks every single day; it keeps me sane. It is great exercise, it's nice for both of us to get some fresh air and a change of scenery. Plus I hope that by making exercise a  regular part of our lives, that Meo will learn healthy habits. I a I still always wear Meo. It used to be that we always used the Moby wrap and he would be tucked inside so his head was supported. As he became more aware of his surroundings and stronger, he went through a period of time when he only wanted to be facing outwards in either the Moby wrap or the Baby Bjorn. Then, over the winter starting around 5 or 6 months (I think because it was colder and he wanted to hide his face from the sharp, winter breeze) he didn't mind facing in again. I was happy about this because I think there is a risk of over stimulation when he is forced to face outwards for long periods of time and babies have a tendency to shut down. When he faces in towards me, he can still see almost everything that is going on, but can also burrow/snuggle in when he needs to feel more secure. I would then where him in the ERGObaby and the Moby wrap (I think the Moby was more comfortable and easy for me to get on for front facing).

Now, since he was about 7 months old), I  have been exclusively been wearing him on my back in the ERGObaby. This is wonderful. Now that he is about 20 pounds, I don't notice the weight nearly as much when he is on my back. It is so much better for my posture, more comfortable, makes it easier for me to do things without a cumbersome bundle on my belly, and I think it's easier to put him on! Our Seedlings Class teacher at Birth Roots taught us a very easy way of putting babies on our backs with the ErgoBaby by ourselves, and I have since mastered it. Meo is very happy on my back too. He can see everything that is going on, he can snuggle against my back to go to sleep if he wants, and he seems more comfortable. The only time I wear him on my front is if I need to nurse him and I am in a public place where there really isn't a good spot for me to sit down. Besides that, he is always on my back.

Walking (8 months)

Visiting Theta on our walk

Walking (and eating really healthy, unprocessed, balanced foods) has helped me to lose lots of my pregnancy weight. I can fit into almost all my pre-pregnancy clothes now and I have lost about 30 pounds. I am in a comfortable weight range now, but ideally I would still like to drop another 5-10 pounds to be leaner before summer. Walking for about an hour a day seems to be working. Now that its warmer, I might start running 2-3 times a week too.

Yoga

Ever since Meo was 2 weeks old, I have been doing at least a little bit of yoga everyday. Some days its just one or two poses, other days its over an hour. I pay attention to what he needs and feels like doing. These days he doesn't really like it when I lay him on his back. He tends to immediately flip over. So I don't get to spend a lot of time doing a lot of the poses we used to do on his back. Instead, this 8-month old baby tends to prefer more active poses. Ones that involve moving around and singing. So while I do try to get him to have some calm and relaxing yoga time, he very much prefers to be a bit more lively now. Most of the time we actually do yoga together, where I either incorporate him into some of my poses. Or he watches me and plays with my yoga props (belt, blocks, etc.) while I do yoga and I intermittently stop to do some baby yoga with him.

Robbie and Meo at Itsy Bitsy Yoga (8 months)

Reading

We read at least one book to Meo everyday, usually several (besides the poetry at nap time). He loves being read to; it's really awesome. Usually he lays down on his back next to one of us and we hold the book out in front of us. I try to use different voices for characters and point out things in pictures to him. I occasionally ask him to point at things for me, and I think its amazing that he actually can do it a lot of the time. We don't usually read sitting up because that tend to lead to Meo trying to eat the book. Some of his favorite books right now are (the ones he gets so excited for he kicks out his little legs and arms when he sees them) Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Baby Bear's Books, In My Tree (and the other books in this series), and Ten Little Ladybugs.

Robbie has this one memorized, so they read in a silly way

Music Time

This is a special time that we try to have at least a few times a week. Everyday we at least sing and listen to music. But a few times a week we have all out music sessions. Robbie knows how to play the trombone, and I play the clarinet and a bit of penny whistle. So sometimes we will play jazz for him. If its just me, I play a lot of Disney melodies for him on my clarinet. We also have a floor tom, some rattles/shakers, and a harmonica that we like to play with as well. Sometimes Meo will shake his rattle or bang the drum, but right now he is more into listening. We at least always put lots of music makers in front of him so he can join in if he feels the urge. He loves music, whether it be listening to us play instruments, sing, or dance around to our favorite songs. Music also helps him to relax in the car. As music lovers, Robbie and I are both very excited that Meo has already show so much fondness for music.

Playing with a harmonica, penny whistle and egg shaker during music time

Watching Daddy play trombone

Watching Mommy play clarinet

Oooh, Clarinet!

Daddy and Meo

Family music time!