Ada: 8 Months
>> 7.17.2012
This last month may have been one of the craziest we've had so far. The term "crazy" is used for things that are pretty tame these days, but I'd consider this whole first year pretty insane. Everything happens so fast and just when I got used to the idea of crawling, she started pulling to stand. Then cruising.
Then standing for a split-second on her own. Please excuse my exasperation. Stephen's been telling me that she does this for a few days now, but I hadn't seen it myself.
Otherwise, you can find her climbing.
We're trying our best. I think we have her back . . . but sometimes she falls forward faster than we can catch her. She gets bumps. And, this week -- she got her first bruise. Right on her forehead, poor thing!
No new teeth to report. That gives us the grand total of 5.
I guess I don't think it's strange that she has so many, but whenever we're out and about, people comment that she has SO MANY teeth. Like they are viewing freak-show or something.
She's just a daddy's girl; Stephen had loads of chompers early in life, too.
(I can't remember if I already shared this photo of how much Ada looks like Stephen. Sorry if it's a repeat!)
At 8 months, Ada is breastfeeding a total of 6 times a day. And I posted a photo of my Chewbeads necklace because if I don't want her fingers poking and pinching at me the whole time, grabbing the glasses off my face, etc., I need to keep her occupied by playing with it!
Her BF schedule goes something like this: At wake time, every 3 hours after that, then at bedtime. We've kept the dream-feed. It's interesting, but if she wakes up an hour early, she usually regulates herself by waiting a 4-hour stretch between the middle-of-the-day feedings.
Somehow, we're always back on schedule for a BF session around 5:30 PM and then at bedtime two hours later.
Ada's daily food consumption is the following:
- 1/2 jar of fruit with 1-1/2 tablespoons oat cereal mixed in (for iron)
- Snacks of a few Cheerios or Happy Baby Puffs (Greens or Reds)
- Some steamed veggies in chunks, maybe 1 tablespoon (mostly for practice)
- 1 jar of veggies
I have written before that I was most frustrated by not knowing how much to increase her food by and when. If you have a similar question in your mind, I can't help. But I can tell you that somehow you just know. They act like they want FOOD, not breastmilk. Still, we're keeping her primary nutrition source mama until her first birthday.
Sleep these days has been going well. Though I am nervous with our upcoming camping trip that it's all going to change. I'll be sure to report back on that. But normally she goes to bed at 7:30 PM, we do a true dream-feed at 11 PM (we don't change her diaper anymore, which I'll write about soon w/ nighttime cloth diapering), and she wakes around 7 to 7:30 AM. She occasionally wakes up earlier, but has been putting herself back to sleep.
Naps are still starting about an hour after she wakes for the day -- usually between 1 and 2 hours. Then two hours after she wakes, another one of the similar length. She requires a cat-nap some days, and not on other days. There have been a few days recently where she's been a horrible napper, however. I feel like the pattern is changing.
But everything about this girl is changing.
I think that's an overall observation I'm finally having now that we're into this parenting thing an entire 8 months. Every time Ada deviates from the "norm" I think it's an indication that EVERYTHING is going to change. Like if there's a night where she wakes, I think all night will be like that. Or if she eats poorly, I think ALL feedings forever will be like that.
It's never been the case. She get back on track. And I need to calm down. Getting much better at it. That's for sure.
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