Nursing:
8 months and still going strong! Honestly, I didn't think we would make it exclusively breastfeeding this far because of the struggles we had. So if Noah weans in the next couple of months I will be okay with it. The only reason why I think it's possible that he could possibly wean himself before his 1st birthday is because he has been getting VERY distracted this whole month. So far my supply hasn't suffered but you never know. He's just too interested in what's going on around him, even if he's really hungry! If I feed him at church or somewhere public, he hates when I cover him with the blanket because he can't see anything! So he pulls off the blanket and sits up to look around. Little bugger.
Baby Led Weaning (Solids):
Noah is an eating machine! There still hasn't been anything that he shows a dislike for. He will literally eat anything you give him. I love it! I'm aware that this will most likely change later on, but it's a good start! He loves exploring food. And he hasn't been sticking food at the roof of his mouth anymore. There will be times when I think, there's no way he swallowed that huge chunk, but when I check his mouth at the end it's empty. He really amazes me. Most meals he will eat pretty much everything I put on his tray. I didn't think he would be able to pick up small things yet but I gave him those gerber puffs that are really tiny (pea size) and he was able to get them in his mouth. He's actually pretty good at using his thumb and forefinger to pick up small things. Some of the new foods we tried this month are: mango, asparagus, acorn squash, cheddar cheese, beans, Ella's Kitchen baby cookies, pineapple, and clementines - just to name a few.
Communication:
He really started babbling this month! It's the cutest. He first started saying "baabaabaabaaaa" all day long. Then he moved onto "mama" then "nana" then "dada" and "yaya". He also does one sound a lot that sounds like he's trying to say "th". Once he learns a sound he keeps saying it over and over again until he figures out a new sound. The only sign I added this month was the sign for sleep. I should start adding more though. He hasn't signed back yet but he definitely understands most of them. He really responds to "milk". It sounds like he's trying to say "all done" lately, but I'm not sure. A few times this week when he was done nursing he pulled away and instantly said "a da" and it really sounded like "all done" and he said it a few times. But it could have just been a coincidence, I guess I'll see if he continues to do it.
Physical/Mobility:
So he still doesn't do the conventional crawl but he definitely gets around with his own unique type of crawl - military crawl or whatever you want to call it! He used to only go short distances to get to something he wanted that was only a few feet away but now he is starting to explore around the house. If I put him in his room within a couple minutes he could be in the hallway, if I put him in the kitchen he'll make his way into the living room. He's getting faster and faster. Ever since he figured out how to move forward he hasn't been rolling nearly as much. I miss his rolling. He continues to love standing. He has been able to stand holding onto someone or something for a while now but this month he started trying to pull up on things. One day he just started pulling up on his pack n play and he even toppled over it... luckily I was literally right there to catch him! But he's not to the point where he's always pulling up on everything yet. He can get onto his tummy from a sitting position pretty good now but he can't get from tummy to sitting yet. He hasn't even tried actually. Once in a while, when he is sitting on the hard wood floors, he pulls himself with his hands so he slides forward on his bum, I think it's cute.
Personality:
He's such a silly little guy and makes me laugh all the time. He laughs when you drop things, chews on everything possible while making humming sounds, makes funny growling, roaring & clearing throat sounds, plays the drums with his hands, gives kisses to stuffed animals, likes playing peek-a-boo and loves playing with things that make sounds. He was never too interested in books before but started liking them a lot more this month. He has this one plastic book that he really loves because it has moving pieces in it like a steering wheel, clock & zipper. And of course he just shoves them in his mouth. He hasn't showed any separation anxiety yet and still goes with anyone. He is happy when he sees new things and new places. Even though sometimes you can't tell because he gets really quiet and observant. But after a while he gets going with his happy sounds and you know he's enjoying it. He likes to be in the action, and doesn't like to be strapped in his car seat unless we're moving. He gets bored playing with the same toys so lately I have to give him random things from the house to play with. Another thing he just started doing is bouncing to music. He is ticklish on his tummy, and giggles if you playfully step on his stomach, or lay your head on him. One day I put something on his head and he shook his head back and forth to make it fall off.. I couldn't believe he knew to do that. We play that game a lot now, I find it so funny!
Teething/Clinginess:
Noah doesn't have any teeth yet and hasn't had any definite signs of teething. There has been times where he has a few days of being really clingy and fussy - like last week. And people say he's probably teething but no teeth come through... and no swollen gums or anything. So I don't know what that's all about. Two months ago he did the same thing where for a couple weeks he wanted to be held a lot and would cry if I put him down. He started doing that again and he's normally not clingy at all so I'm not used to it. I think it's the wonder week (37) coming up to blame. He also started doing a thing where he will be on his tummy, crawls towards you and basically climbs over you (while I'm sitting) and whines because he wants to sit on your lap. It seems like he does this when he wants to look at a book with you. But sometimes he does it when he wants you to help him stand up.
Cold:
Um, yeah, Sophia and Noah have both had a cold since mid October.... I've basically just gotten used to it and figure it's going to last most of the Winter. Their runny nose & cough is here to stay I guess. I just feel bad bringing them around other kids or taking Noah to church, but it's like a permanent cough.. am I supposed to isolate myself and miss church all season? I don't know? That seems a bit unrealistic to me.
Naps & Schedule:
I always dread writing about his sleep because it's so complicated and I don't want to make this extra long. Basically, he needs to drop his 3rd nap because all of his naps have really shortened. But the problem is that without the 3rd nap he is awake for too long before bedtime, gets really overtired and cries when I put him down. So I have to try and stretch out his day so his afternoon nap will end closer to 3. But it's hard because he's still sensitive with how long I keep him up. If he's awake too long, it'll backfire and his nap will only be 30 minutes. Then he will absolutely need a 3rd nap. We have been doing an early bedtime lately since his naps have been so short. I normally start his bedtime routine at 7 then he's in bed around 7:15. But lately every time I'm nursing him he falls asleep and I don't want him to get in the habit of being nursed to sleep, even though I'm not doing it on purpose, he's just already too tired. So I've been trying to get him ready for bed at 6:30 instead so he doesn't fall asleep while I'm nursing him and can put himself to sleep in his crib like normal. Hopefully once he drops the 3rd nap and is having 2 solid naps he can stay up later. I hate early bedtimes. Ideally I would love for him to be on an 8-8 schedule instead of 7-7. Once we get things back on track I might try to adjust it. The kid just really needs his sleep and he's always been that way. However, even though he's still sensitive with waketimes, this month the amount of time that he's able to stay awake happily has increased a lot (but still shorter than many babies his age). So it makes going out a bit easier.
Nighttime Sleep:
I still can't fathom the fact that he slept through the night from 6 weeks to 5 months consistently and then just stopped. Thankfully, this month he did start sleeping through the night again, just not consistently at all. I would say it's about 40% sleeping through the night and 60% waking up once. But I know it's because his naps are messed up right now. I notice on days when he takes 2 medium length naps plus his cat nap then he wakes up in the night, but days where he sleeps in later in the morning and is able to have 2 long naps (and the afternoon one ending later in the day) then he sleeps through the night. Hopefully he'll start doing this more consistently. On days that he does sleep through the night he usually wakes up between 6:45 & 7:00 am. When he does wake in the night he usually ends up sleeping in later - between 7:15 & 8:00, occasionally later. He is my alarm clock so if he sleeps in later than 8:00 I'm usually okay with that, ha.
A few more pictures from this month...
Physical/Mobility:
So he still doesn't do the conventional crawl but he definitely gets around with his own unique type of crawl - military crawl or whatever you want to call it! He used to only go short distances to get to something he wanted that was only a few feet away but now he is starting to explore around the house. If I put him in his room within a couple minutes he could be in the hallway, if I put him in the kitchen he'll make his way into the living room. He's getting faster and faster. Ever since he figured out how to move forward he hasn't been rolling nearly as much. I miss his rolling. He continues to love standing. He has been able to stand holding onto someone or something for a while now but this month he started trying to pull up on things. One day he just started pulling up on his pack n play and he even toppled over it... luckily I was literally right there to catch him! But he's not to the point where he's always pulling up on everything yet. He can get onto his tummy from a sitting position pretty good now but he can't get from tummy to sitting yet. He hasn't even tried actually. Once in a while, when he is sitting on the hard wood floors, he pulls himself with his hands so he slides forward on his bum, I think it's cute.
Little monkey
Personality:
He's such a silly little guy and makes me laugh all the time. He laughs when you drop things, chews on everything possible while making humming sounds, makes funny growling, roaring & clearing throat sounds, plays the drums with his hands, gives kisses to stuffed animals, likes playing peek-a-boo and loves playing with things that make sounds. He was never too interested in books before but started liking them a lot more this month. He has this one plastic book that he really loves because it has moving pieces in it like a steering wheel, clock & zipper. And of course he just shoves them in his mouth. He hasn't showed any separation anxiety yet and still goes with anyone. He is happy when he sees new things and new places. Even though sometimes you can't tell because he gets really quiet and observant. But after a while he gets going with his happy sounds and you know he's enjoying it. He likes to be in the action, and doesn't like to be strapped in his car seat unless we're moving. He gets bored playing with the same toys so lately I have to give him random things from the house to play with. Another thing he just started doing is bouncing to music. He is ticklish on his tummy, and giggles if you playfully step on his stomach, or lay your head on him. One day I put something on his head and he shook his head back and forth to make it fall off.. I couldn't believe he knew to do that. We play that game a lot now, I find it so funny!
Daddy & son time - reading Noah's favorite book
Teething/Clinginess:
Noah doesn't have any teeth yet and hasn't had any definite signs of teething. There has been times where he has a few days of being really clingy and fussy - like last week. And people say he's probably teething but no teeth come through... and no swollen gums or anything. So I don't know what that's all about. Two months ago he did the same thing where for a couple weeks he wanted to be held a lot and would cry if I put him down. He started doing that again and he's normally not clingy at all so I'm not used to it. I think it's the wonder week (37) coming up to blame. He also started doing a thing where he will be on his tummy, crawls towards you and basically climbs over you (while I'm sitting) and whines because he wants to sit on your lap. It seems like he does this when he wants to look at a book with you. But sometimes he does it when he wants you to help him stand up.
Cold:
Um, yeah, Sophia and Noah have both had a cold since mid October.... I've basically just gotten used to it and figure it's going to last most of the Winter. Their runny nose & cough is here to stay I guess. I just feel bad bringing them around other kids or taking Noah to church, but it's like a permanent cough.. am I supposed to isolate myself and miss church all season? I don't know? That seems a bit unrealistic to me.
Naps & Schedule:
I always dread writing about his sleep because it's so complicated and I don't want to make this extra long. Basically, he needs to drop his 3rd nap because all of his naps have really shortened. But the problem is that without the 3rd nap he is awake for too long before bedtime, gets really overtired and cries when I put him down. So I have to try and stretch out his day so his afternoon nap will end closer to 3. But it's hard because he's still sensitive with how long I keep him up. If he's awake too long, it'll backfire and his nap will only be 30 minutes. Then he will absolutely need a 3rd nap. We have been doing an early bedtime lately since his naps have been so short. I normally start his bedtime routine at 7 then he's in bed around 7:15. But lately every time I'm nursing him he falls asleep and I don't want him to get in the habit of being nursed to sleep, even though I'm not doing it on purpose, he's just already too tired. So I've been trying to get him ready for bed at 6:30 instead so he doesn't fall asleep while I'm nursing him and can put himself to sleep in his crib like normal. Hopefully once he drops the 3rd nap and is having 2 solid naps he can stay up later. I hate early bedtimes. Ideally I would love for him to be on an 8-8 schedule instead of 7-7. Once we get things back on track I might try to adjust it. The kid just really needs his sleep and he's always been that way. However, even though he's still sensitive with waketimes, this month the amount of time that he's able to stay awake happily has increased a lot (but still shorter than many babies his age). So it makes going out a bit easier.
Nighttime Sleep:
I still can't fathom the fact that he slept through the night from 6 weeks to 5 months consistently and then just stopped. Thankfully, this month he did start sleeping through the night again, just not consistently at all. I would say it's about 40% sleeping through the night and 60% waking up once. But I know it's because his naps are messed up right now. I notice on days when he takes 2 medium length naps plus his cat nap then he wakes up in the night, but days where he sleeps in later in the morning and is able to have 2 long naps (and the afternoon one ending later in the day) then he sleeps through the night. Hopefully he'll start doing this more consistently. On days that he does sleep through the night he usually wakes up between 6:45 & 7:00 am. When he does wake in the night he usually ends up sleeping in later - between 7:15 & 8:00, occasionally later. He is my alarm clock so if he sleeps in later than 8:00 I'm usually okay with that, ha.
A few more pictures from this month...
Cutie!
He has the nicest skin :)
Being silly while shopping with mommy
Another good month :) Love my baby so much! Time is going too fast, before we know it he'll be a toddler running around this place!
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