About Aboo: Emelina's 8 month update!

Oh my little Emma Lemma!  All of a sudden I'm seeing these little glimpses of my baby growing up. And it's killing me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm that proud mama that posts every new discovery, including finding the door stop and standing with only one hand on the wall, but that doesn't mean I'm ready for my baby to grow up.  Sure, it doesn't help that your sister is about to turn 3 and that just seems all too close to 5 and her starting school.  But I'm not going to think about that right now.

Instead I'll think about how far, far away 8 months is from 12 months is from the terrible 2's.  Instead I'll suck up every last minute of my favorite baby stage.  Every smile, every new discovery, every big accomplishment, every little nap in my arms.  It's so much harder with baby number two, because I know how quickly it comes and goes. So before it's gone, here's what life is like at 8 months old:

Weight: 18 lbs. 5 oz.
Sizes:  clothing size 6-9 month and 9 month, size 3 diapers

Milestones: Crawling everywhere, pulling up and walking along furniture, walking when we hold your hands

Words:  Mama, Dada, baba (for bottle or breast), and your newest word, duck (you LOVE rubber duckies)- all of which you say on demand or as a demand.
Signs:  Just this week, you've started signing back "more"

Foods:  You're up to 3 meals now!  Usually fruit/cereal for breakfast, chicken/veggies/fruit for lunch, and veggies and/or fruit for dinner with puffs in between as snacks.  New the last couple months:  blueberries, prunes, oatmeal, peas, green beans, chicken, mashed potatoes, puffs (aka baby crack around our house!), broccoli, carrots, and a couple of "cheats":  Christmas cookie, whole wheat pancakes, and chopped spaghetti.  Spices you've tried (and loved!):  cinnamon, curry, black pepper.  You really like to feed yourself finger foods, so in addition to puffs, I've been cutting up banana and avocado for you a lot recently.  I got soft and even let you try the whole wheat pancakes I made the other night. Looks like we're going to have another little foodie on our hands!

Breastfeeding:  Crazy as it sounds (at least to me), we are still breastfeeding in the morning before work, at bedtime, and once during the day!  And usually once during the night, too.  Because who needs sleep, right?  Never would have guessed we'd make it this long, but it's working for us and so hard to tell you no. Plus, I'm not one to turn down snuggle time.  Obviously, we are supplementing with formula in between those feedings, though you greatly prefer breast milk and baby food to formula these days.  I think you'd probably wean yourself to food if we'd let you, so here's to hoping that's an easy transition down the road.

Sleep:  As of now, you still are not sleeping through the night.  You can, because it's happened a couple times (and it was awesome).  Typically, you go down around 9:30-10pm, sleep til 2am when Daddy feeds you a bottle, then back down until 5-6ish for your morning feeding, then sleep until 8-8:30am.  That's a pretty good night.  Good being a relative term, of course.  During the day, you take two 1-2 hour naps, one at 10:30-11am and another around 2:30-3pm.

Teeth:  Nope!  Still none.  I guess you're more like your sister than we thought after all.

Favorites:  your sister and all of her toys, your sister's hair, anything with a tag, freezer teething ring keys, stripes the bunny, remotes, our phones (we like to play keep away and make you crawl after them), the scale in the bathroom (you figured out how to make it beep), Mama and Dada, chasing your sister around (with our help), singing, pat-a-cake (you often initiate it by "rolling it"), giving pat-pats

Dislikes:  people other than Mama/Dada/Anna/Diana (definitely not a social butterfly at this age), large crowds, having your clothes and diaper changed, bumping your head on everything, trying to get teeth, being kissed by Lucky puppy, being wiped after eating

In other news:  You got to meet your new cousin, Samson, earlier this month and decided you really liked him as long as Mama wasn't holding him.  Just last week, we officially listed our house for sale, so it's been very busy around here! You're not a big fan of all the rushing around and trying to get cleaning/packing/de-cluttering accomplished, and I'm afraid it's made you an even clingier baby.  Here's to hoping it sells quickly!

Well, Squishy baby, that's a little slice of life with you at 8 months. You have the most infectious little smile and your big bright eyes can light up a room.  I love seeing you interact with Annalyn and watching your love and adoration for her grow.  Almost nightly, I tell Daddy that I can't put you down to bed yet because you've fallen asleep nursing and I can't help but watch your pretty little self sleep.  I love you like crazy, little Emelina.

Love,
Mama