Norah: Month Eight

Size: Need to update this section... if she was 20 last month, I'm suspecting we've added some serious poundage this month. My body, after carrying her too long, is saying, "hey. You should really invest in a baby sling." (Mom, you can probably bench press a car with the amount of time you spend holding her!)

Sleep: In my head, I've decided that I will try and let her put herself down if she wakes up before 4 am. What does this mean? She heard my thoughts, and pretty religiously wakes up between 4 and 4:15 am every day. I don't mind; a quick feast and she's right back to sleep. I don't mind the early-morning snuggle time one bit.

Social: This has been a really fun month (although I suspect that's the theme)! She started waving hello/goodbye/help, mom is feeding me chicken casserole. She's also discovered the joy of jumping, so if you try to hold her and she's feeling happy about it, she will jump all over your lap. She still loves smiling and being coy around all sorts of strangers.

Diet: I read somewhere that, 'if your baby isn't surprising you with the amount of solids they're eating, you aren't doing it right.' This is our case. Tonight she put away three helpings of rice cereal and fruit (probably 3/4 cup), and a half container of squash. She's eating solids 2-3 times a day, and still breastfeeding like a champ. It works out in our favor especially when I'm at work-- my mom and I can sway her schedule a bit to our liking. Double-win!

Clothes: Still (luckily!) in 12-18 month clothes. Phew! (And can't hardly scoot by in any of our 9-month clothes either...) I'm realizing that there is a strange lack of clothing in the, 'I'm a chunky newborn, not an active one-year-old' range. After 12 months, everything stretches out-- longer and leaner. Not so good for my long and super chunky. I found a brand of pants on amazon that work wonders-- thank goodness! The last thing I want for her is tight pants that don't help her move around a lot.

Teeth: Nope!

Likes: Still loves turning book pages, kicking whatever she's sitting on, and FOOD. Also loves: her purple blocks (only the purple for some reason), blowing raspberries on my neck and eating anyone's chin who gets close enough to her, dancing, 'flying,' jumping, and tickles.

Milestones: Waving, jumping, blowing raspberries, figuring out peek-a-boo on her own (uncovering, not quite covering/uncovering yet), and I'm sure a few other things my baby book will point out ('objecting when an object is taken away,' 'says mom indiscriminately,' 'reaches for you to be picked up'), but things still seem normal. I've had lots of conversations with other new moms about how neat it it about when things happen-- entirely on their own timelines. It's hard sometimes to not look at another baby and think, 'is she behind a bit?' but truly, everyone is so very different. Right now, the one we haven't quite gotten a hold of yet is moving (crawling, scooting, pulling up, etc.) And to be honest, I'm alright with this. She's still on a 'normal' timeline; and I don't have to worry about chasing her around the house/babyproofing just yet. Totally fine by me!