Raffi’s 8 month update
I think 8 months marks the true change from infant to baby. I would cry at the passing of time, but this age is just too fun.
Here are 8 facts about the last month.
1. Raffi is now not only crawling faster than imaginable but he is pulling up on everything. His favorite activity is to stand up anywhere with any thing. He can’t quite stay standing on his own yet, but now and again he will pull to stand, let go for a few seconds, and then grab back on. He has also mastered gently sitting down.
2. Mealtime has become a favorite time of the day for me again. I love eating my meals with Raffi and seeing what foods he likes. He has become a hoover and will eat anything you give him, as long as he can feed it to himself. Current favorites include blueberries, Cheerios, and strawberries. I’m still figuring out what foods to give him and am having the most difficulty with vegetables, but I know it will get easier with more teeth. Right now his vegetable staples are peas, grilled eggplant (grilled with tons of olive oil), avocado and… that’s it. He still gags on broccoli because I think the florets get stuck in his throat, and many other veggies are too tough for him. I’m not in any rush though and just give him some of everything I’m eating plus those staples, knowing that he eats mostly the staples and only a few tastes of everything else. It will all come in time.
3. One day Raffi started repeating things back to me. You don’t realize that they are paying attention to you until this happens. I have this gentle cough that I do sometimes, and now when I do it Raffi does it right back. It is funny but also a good reminder to watch my mouth from now on. When I say “blah blah blah” or “da da da” or “la la la” he copies me right away with “dadada” or “bababa”. However if I try “mamamama” or “ga ga ga ga” he just looks at me and pays attention. I think those sounds are still too hard for him.
4. Separation anxiety is in full swing. When we leave the room he squeaks and follows us as fast as can be. When I put him down at night he immediately stands up on the side of the crib closest to the door and shrieks/cries looking for us. Sometimes I go right back in and hold him until he’s asleep (when I can) and other times I leave him to figure it out. He usually lays his head down by 8 minutes, and if not I go back in and read some more books or feed him some more as he is probably not quite ready to sleep.
5. Speaking of feeding, I think Raffi is weaning a little bit. I didn’t think I’d be sad about it but I am. I love those snuggly times. He is down to nursing 5 times a day, and I think one of those feedings is unnecessary and will be gone soon.
6. We also started naps on a schedule. I talk about it more in this Babycenter post, but my life has changed. Here is a typical day:
6:15 AM Wake up
6:15 AM Nurse
8 AM Breakfast
9 AM Nurse
9 AM-10:30 AM naptime (usually sleeps 1.25 hours)
12 PM Lunch
2 PM Nurse
2 PM-3:45 Naptime (usually sleeps 1.25 hours)
4 PM nurse (this is the one that I think will go away soon)
6 PM Dinner
6:45 PM Bath & Bed
7 PM – 6:15 AM sleep
7. Like most kids, Raffi loves playing in the water. This month we’ve gone to the beach, played in the pool multiple times, and set up his pop up pool on our deck. Our pool checklist is:
– sunblock
– two towels
– sun hat with strap
– swim diaper, swimsuit, and long sleeve rash guard
– water for me and water for Raffi
– snacks for Raffi (blueberries and Cheerios are my go-to snacks)
– a couple of pool toys
8. Raffi talks before he falls asleep. Here he is telling me all about his fun day with his friend J from NYC. It was right after I nursed him and read his nighttime book. He couldn’t fall asleep without telling me everything about the day. Too cute.
Random facts:
Height & weight: I have no clue since he hasn’t been to the doctor in months. I can’t wait to find out in a few weeks.
Wears: Size 4 diapers. His bum is wide or something and even though he’s tall and skinny he needs the bigger size. For clothes he wears 6-12 month onesies/tees and 12 month pants/shorts.
Favorite non-toy toys: wires, as usual. my Mac. my iPhone. plastic boxes. food.
Must haves at 8 months: toys that do things (like toy piano, walker, crawl and go snail). Toys in boxes (He likes to take them all out but isn’t into putting them back in yet). Blocks (He loves knocking them down). Activity table (He will stand there for almost 30 minutes playing with all the features). Stool with letters (he likes to stand at the stool and pull out the letters one by one to taste them).
Loves: crawling, pulling to stand, cruising, standing up, grabbing my nose, being thrown in the air, people, listening to music, attention, making a shy face, crawling up steps, his Nest crawler’s club class
Hates: getting his diaper changed, having sunblock put on him, getting out of the Best baby bath tubs, being cold, being left alone in a room
Bad mommy award of the month: The time I almost didn’t catch him as he fell while crawling up the stairs. I was too busy taping him and caught him by an upside down leg. Whoops.
Here are some photos of Raffi at 8 months (click to enlarge):
Here’s last month’s update, for anyone who is interested.
He and Julia would be the best of friends, I just know it. She, too, is cruising on all the furniture and masterfully plans her descent to sitting. She also is showing some signs of separation anxiety, but I think it’s when she’s really tired. He’s the cutest little nugget! This age is so fun. It’s almost hard to remember what it was like those first couple of months. Hopefully we can get our babes together sooner or later. 🙂
such a little man! too cute 😉
I hear you on the veggies – it’s still a struggle for me. And the nursing stuff will work itself out — you’ll know when he’s ready to drop them — sounds like you already do.
We actually still do bedtime and morning – but I think it’s about time to drop the morning. I’m sure the night will be the last to go and he doesn’t seem to be ready for that any time soon. I never, EVER thought I’d still be nursing at almost 16 months but if being a mother has taught me one thing, it’s that I will never judge another mama 😉
You are doing such a great job with him, Mama!
xo
@thedailybalance, I agree that motherhood has taught me to never judge another mama. And I think it’s awesome that you’re still nursing and letting bean be in control of weaning.
Sabrina, he is precious! I love reading your updates and seeing how Raffi is progressing, as well as how your life is changing with his! 🙂
Cutie pie!!
I have a little girl the same age (born 9/19) and she’s not even close to pulling herself up. She wants to crawl so badly but just hasn’t quite figured it out yet. She’s a talker though! Funny how different each baby is. On the veggie issue, we do cucumber, roasted bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut, sweet potato & carrots. Never tried eggplant, good idea!
@Jessie @ Graze With Me, Seems like she is a typical girl (verbal first) and he’s a typical boy (physical first)! What is she saying? I can’t wait for him to say lots of purposeful words. Do you give the cucumber in slices and does she gag and spit some out or not? Squash/zucchini is a good idea. I tried it once a long time ago and haven’t since. I’ll try again! Thanks!
@RhodeyGirlTests,
She’s said Hi, Mama, Baba and Papa so far and is so close to saying Cat. We have two cats and every time she sees one she yells out “Caaaaaa!”
I slice and peel the cucumber and she usually sucks out the middle soft part and leaves the rest. I also cut up some into cubes and she’ll eat those too but I think she swallows them whole??? So I cut them up really tiny.
He has such a little personality, I love it! So cute!
M is all over the place too, crawling so fast and pulling up on absolutely everything. Its exhausting keeping up with them!
ps What kind of activity table is that? We are in the market for one.
@Hallie,It’s the Bright Starts Around We Go Activity Station, Doodle Bugs. Raffi hasn’t figured out how to run around it in the seat it comes with, but he loves to stand and walk around it and play with everything.
hahaha the coughing video is SOOOOOOOO cute! i love reading about how he’s growing, and i seriously cannot believe it’s been 8 months!
Delurking. I totally agree with you on the 8 month transition! And my almost 1 year old (yikes!) says lots of things – “da da,” “ba ba,” “dis” (this), and “dat” (that) – but NO “ma ma!” She seems to be stumpted by the “m” sound!
I just discovered your blog (through Duchess of Fork), and our boys are the same age! So fun, right? My Sam is a crawler, a cruiser, and a climber, too. He loves to eat and babble and I can’t wait to get him in the water for the first time … this weekend! Love your blog and can’t wait to follow along with Raffi.
He is flat out cute! My nephew lived with us until he was 3. Kids are amazing no matter the age but I really enjoyed all the snuggles and jibber jabber.
And now I’m emotional remembering all those many nights. So sweet.
Sounds like he’s doing so well! 8 months IS fun. I saw some other veggie suggestions above, but also thought I’d mention SPINACH. I buy those big bags that will steam in the microwave, and my son will demolish handfuls of it.
hi! where did you get your suit? do you like it? i am looking for a one-piece that is comfortable…I am tall so I need a lot of coverage. great update!
@april, Thanks. I love it but it’s actually 2 pieces. The top is Michael Kohrs and cost an arm and a leg. It was worth it though as it’s my only suit for the whole summer. The bottoms are old black ones I’ve had for 2 years.
My friend swears by this one from Mod Cloth http://www.modcloth.com/shop/onepiece-swimwear/bathing-beauty-one-piece-in-red I don’t have it though so I can’t say anything about it.
@RhodeyGirlTests,
yeah, sometimes it’s worth it though if you get a lot of use out of it. thanks!!
I noticed he’s wearing cloth diapers in some of the pics, have you started using them? How do you like them? My boy just turned 8 months and we’ve been using cloth all this time, but since he started on solids, his diapers are a little harder to clean.
@Viv, I just started using them in the last month, and we only use them when he’s awake and I know he won’t poop. He has constipation issues so I know what days I can and can’t use them, and if I think he’s going to poop I change him into a disposable. Wimpy, I know!
@RhodeyGirlTests, No, not wimpy for sure! Its cool that you can tell when he’s not going to go, I wish I can tell too so when he does want to poop, I can hold him over the toilet haha!
Hi! I was looking at your schedule. Are you nursing and feeding your son food for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Or, is that just listing the times you get to eat your meals?
@linda, I nurse him about 5 times a day and also give him breakfast lunch and dinner. I realize that the schedule is missing the bedtime feeding which happens after the bath. I hope this helps.