Neither Here Nor There: 8 Months

8 Months
July 27 - August 26

Happy ¾ birthday, Jack! It was another busy month for you, and you continue to be more and more on the move. Last month it was crawling and pulling to stand, this month it is climbing, teething, and starting to cruise. I’m so proud of you, but I also sometimes wish you would slow down a little bit. Momma isn’t ready for you to be so toddler-like just yet!

Here’s a look at what Jack was up to this month:

Long story short:

-Milestones: Pulling up to stand on just about everything, sitting down from standing, starting to cruise, first and second teeth, stair climbing

-Likes: Climbing the stairs, screeching, a renewed obsession with blowing raspberries, pulling my hair, aggressive open mouth kisses, music class, “Scout” toy, tags (he finds and obsesses over the tags on EVERYTHING), eating paper, crawling, playing with his play table, egg rattle toys, scrunchy face

-Dislikes: Having his diaper or clothes changed- it is seriously like a wrestling match anytime he needs changing. Wiping his face and hands is also another battle for both of us.

-Foods: Jack LOVES yogurt, and he also enjoys most fruits. He is a little less enthusiastic about vegetables, but I guess I don’t really blame him. He also really likes puffs and is doing really well with his pincer grasp. He is showing more interest in finger foods, and I wonder if he is maybe getting bored with purees…

-Sizes: Diaper size 4, Clothing: 9-12 month

-Sleep: Still poor sleeping. I have read “The Happy Sleeper,” and I like the sleep training method they offer. Now I just need to get up the courage to rip the bandaid off and just. Do. It. In the middle of the night, when I’m waking up 2, 3, 4, 5, times, I’m like, “Yes, it’s happening. Must sleep train.” But then during the day, I chicken out and start getting sad about having to listen to him cry and not being able to rock him to sleep anymore.

Long story (very) long:

31 Weeks (July 25-31)

Jack was a little dare devil this week. He now pulls up to standing on just about everything. Once he figured that out, he wasted no time in moving onto his next skill- climbing. One day he climbed four stairs completely on his own, then the very next day, he was suddenly able to climb all the way to the top. It is scary. Very scary. We now have a baby gate installed at the bottom of the stairs, so now he only gets to climb the stairs when supervised. In other dangerous news- he’s loving playing with electrical cords and outlets. Jack’s first tooth finally cut through this week, too. Busy week for a baby!

What nap?

It's fun being bad

32 weeks (August 1-7)

This “milestone” was probably several weeks overdue, but Jack finally ditched the infant bath tub and is enjoying baths in the big tub! And, true to form, he figured out how to stand in the bathtub the first time he was in there. This boy is going to give me gray hairs. He is still obsessed with climbing the stairs, and he’s pretty pissed about the gate blocking his access. I usually let him climb a few times a day, and I just scoot along beside him with my hand behind him just in case. Maybe I shouldn’t be promoting this, but he likes it, and bonus- it wears him out. A new developmental skill this week: looking under things for toys, etc. It’s pretty cute to see him tilt his head and get low to the ground to look under a dresser or whatever to find out where one of his toys went. Also worth mentioning- tooth #2 is coming in!

This weekend we got to take Jack to “White Linen Nights In the Heights.” WLN is a fun event in our neighborhood with tons of food trucks, vendors, live music, and everyone wearing their best “white linen.” It was SO hot, but we survived and enjoyed the fun for a couple hours. Jack even got to have his first popsicle!

33 weeks (August 8-14)

Jack had a lot of great summer fun playing in water this week. He attended one of his friend’s 1^st birthday party at a splash pad. He loved it, and had a great time splashing around and trying to lick and drink the water. Later on in the week, we went to the Open Swim Hour at the place where he takes swim lessons. It never worked with his nap times before, but one day it did, so we took advantage. And at the end of the week, because he enjoyed the splash pad so much, I found another one not far from our house, and we went one afternoon. I’m glad he’s not afraid of the water, and I hope he always loves swimming!

Other news this week: That darn second tooth is really messing with him. I think it is affecting his sleep, and I know it hurts, because he’ll often let out random yelps and then start gnawing on his wrist. Poor guy! This week he really started battling having his clothes and diapers changed. I’m like, “buddy- aren’t you used to this by now?!”

Perching on the only part of the stairs he can still climb

If I can't climb the stairs, I will climb this shelf!

Stuck!

34 Weeks (August 15-21)

This week Jack finally figured out how to sit from a standing position. This was a great development, because we were both pretty tired of the frequent falls, bumps, and bruises that resulted from falling down every time he got tired of standing. Jack has started babbling “b” and “d” sounds. It’s so fun to hear his little voice! He still loves screeching and screaming, but soft voice is so sweet when we DO get to hear it.

The big news this week was that Jack upgraded to a new carseat. He had been pretty ridiculous-looking in the infant seat for quite a while now, but it just took me a while to actually do the research and choose a new seat. I really think he will be much happier having more room and being more upright in the car! Big boy!!

Trying out the big boy carseat

That's my boy!

I love his little legs folded under his bottom like this

Do I have anything on my face?

My new view while trying to get anything done in the kitchen

Don't worry mom, I found a germy part of the cart to lick, despite your attempts with this silly cart cover

Indoor playground

35 Weeks (August 22-28)

Jack is officially the owner of two teeth now. I think we might get a little break from teething, since I don’t see any others coming in, but who knows? It seems a little inefficient of nature to design teeth acquisition this way. I mean, all this work and pain to get teeth in that are just going to fall out in a few years? Sigh.

Jack is finally getting more comfortable in swim class. He used to be SO serious the whole time- never cracking even the smallest smile, and crying whenever he was dunked. This week, he actually seemed to be having fun, and even cracked a smile or two.