ashford is 8 months

ashford, you turned 8 months old on thursday! this was such a big month for you developmentally. i feel like you are a totally different baby than you were just a month ago - it's blows my mind! and no, you aren't sleeping any better, but you will someday....you have to ;)



here's what you were up to this month:

at 7.5 months you started crawling (not up on your knees yet, but you are fast on your pushing off with your arms and legs on your belly - you are crawling 2 months before azalea did, which is crazy to me), you learned how to sit up on your own at 7.5 months (same as your sister), you got your 4 (!!) top teeth all at once (they make you look so big!), you tried a bunch more solid foods (we pretty much gave up on baby food), you got to see your uncle anders again while he is in town, celebrated a bunch of family members' and friends' birthdays, went to our neighborhood festival and block party, helped us dog-sit maddie, and visited dada's work.


 

stats:

no doctor appointment until next month, but i would guess you weigh around 18 lbs and measure 29 or 30 inches long.

hair and eye color:

you grew a ton of hair this month. it's really light and pretty hard to see unless you are up close to your head, but it still counts :) those are are still a gorgeous blue.



clothing:

you are still in size 3 diapers. you are still wearing a mix of 6 and 9 month clothes, but the 6 month stuff will be fazed out as soon as the weather gets cool. you are in 9 month jammies, but maybe not for much longer! 

 

sleep:

oh, sleep. let's start with the good news...naps have been pretty good again this month. you still don't sleep super long, but we can usually get you to go down for 40-60 mins. you take 2-3 naps/day. sometimes i wish you wouldn't take a 3rd nap because it gets close to bed time, but i know you are tired. you take most of your naps in your crib, but i still let you sleep in my arms sometimes (especially if i want to nap myself because you will sleep longer). next, the bad news....night time sleep is still pretty bad. you still wake every 2-3 hours and lately nothing gets you back to sleep in the night except nursing. you used to take take a pacifier in the night, but now you spit it out and scream at me until i nurse you. oh buddy. you also tend to wake up (and stay up for an hour or two!) around 4:30-5:30 many days, which is pretty brutal. you make your way into our bed for at least part of the night every night. i've tried having you sleep in your crib at night a couple times, but it's always a royal disaster (3 wake ups in the first hour? no thank you), so i give up and bring you back upstairs. let's just say coffee and i have become good friends! someday you will be a good sleeper, right? and someday i will miss our night time snuggles. 

 


feeding:

8 months of breastfeeding! a year is my goal and then we'll see where we go from there. i have a feeling neither of us will be ready to be done then, but we'll see. you still nurse every 2.5-3 hours/day. i'm sure you don't need to eat that often, but i love having that time with you and it helps keep my supply up. you still drink 3 or 4 five oz. bottles when i'm at work. it doesn't sound like much, but i know babies don't need as much when it's breast milk and you seem to be satisfied. it's been an interesting month with solid foods. i pretty much gave up on giving you baby food because you just were not having it! we've been doing a mixture of the mesh feeder and giving you soft fruits and veggie chunks to eat. the whole process has been pretty slow (you only eat solids about once a day so far), but i'm not too worried. you love to take bites of things and are getting really good at feeding yourself, so it's good practice.



most used gear:

you are still in your car seat carrier, but you are getting super heavy, so this might be your last month before we transition to you a big boy car seat. you still use the johnny jump up a lot (you jump around and swing like craaazy in that thing - it's hilarious). the bath seat is still working well (although you try to escape it and dive into the water). we are still getting lots of use out of the double stroller as well. 


daycare:

i guess i shouldn't really call this one daycare, since you don't go to daycare anymore :) you are still going to (both) grandma and grandpas' with azalea on the days that mama works. you have gotten to be a better napper at their houses, which i know they appreciate. you are usually happy while you are there and they love seeing you learn new skills and getting to spend time with you.


likes:

being held (especially facing outward) and snuggled while sleeping, crawling at fast speeds on your belly to reach toys (or things you shouldn't touch like cords!), pulling mama's hair, sleeping on your side or your tummy, making lots of noises (including this new hilarious slow laugh that sounds like "heh....heh....heh" and farting noises - which cracks me up!), you are still a mama's boy - you can be screaming in someone else's arms and as soon as i hold you, you calm down (it's my favorite), you are obsessed with going outside (if you can tell we are about to go outside, your legs and arms start going crazy), eating big people food, spitting/blowing raspberries, big kid toys (pretty much anything related to being a big kid - slow down, sweet boy). 


dislikes:

getting put down when tired, getting strapped into your car seat, having your diaper changed (we've gotten to the "wrestling an alligator" stage), you have a little separation anxiety when mama leaves the room and some stranger anxiety developing.



ashford,

so many changes this month - they make me so happy and a little sad all at the same time. you are the sweetest little boy and i want you to stay my baby forever, but i also love seeing you grow and learn new things. your sister is a little unsure about your new-found mobility, but she will have to get used to it because there's no stopping you now! :)

Comments

Durant Imboden said…
Ashford loves playing with Duplo blocks, too. Right now he's better at demolition than at construction, and his Duplophilic cousin Jack is surprisingly tolerant of "Baby Bulldozer."
ajs {of MN} said…
he is getting so big Melissa and seems like such a happy guy! :)
~Dawn~ said…
What a handsome little dude :) I need to see him soon...and you, too!

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