The Bell Family Blog: Adalee Rose: 8 Months

Stats:
Again, no pediatrician appointment this month... so I would guess that Miss Adalee weighs around 19 pounds and measures 27 inches long - but I honestly have no clue. All I know is that she is getting super heavy - I actually have to take breaks from holding her or my back starts to hurt! I am not sure how this is going to go as she keeps getting bigger - might have to add some back-strengthening exercises or something! Still no teeth, but the drooling has started to increase, so I am thinking that a tooth has to be coming any day now. But that could also be wishful thinking. Adalee is in 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

Eating:
Not many changes for Miss Adalee in the eating department this past month. Still eating cereals, veggies, fruits, and meats. She is also taking 4 formula bottles a day, and she is getting better and better about drinking water from her sippy cup at lunch and/or dinner time. I have been wanting to start Adalee on some table food, but I have been a little bit anxious about it - wondering which types of food are best, how small the pieces need to be, etc. We will probably wait until her 9 month pediatrician appointment to talk to her doctor about it...and then we will see what happens!

Schedule wise...Adalee has achieved the "three meals a day" schedule along with an afternoon snack. This month we attempted to increase her "food" intake while decreasing her "formula" intake. For breakfast, she has cereal (4 tbsps) and fruit (2-4 tbsps), followed by a bottle (6oz). For lunch, she has cereal (1-2 tbsps), veggies (2-4 tbsps), and meat (2 tbsps), followed by a bottle (6oz). She has her third bottle (6oz) as an afternoon snack. When we get home from work/childcare, Adalee eats some more cereal (4 tbsps) and veggies (2-4 tbsps) for dinner. She has her fourth and last bottle (6oz-8oz), after her bath and before bedtime.

Sleeping:
Adalee is still a great sleeper - sleeping between 10 to 12 hours through the night. She still goes down between 7:00pm and 8:00pm, and then sleeps until 6:00am-7:00am. When she is at daycare, she takes 3-4 naps during the day that last around 30 minutes each. I think she gets woke up easily because of all the extra noise and things going on at daycare. On the weekends, she can stretch her naps out for an hour or longer, but then she usually only does 2 naps during the day.

Adalee still likes to suck her thumb - usually the left one. It has become such a comfort for her. In some respects it is really great, because Adalee is able to self-soothe, but I am so worried about this becoming a horrible habit. I sucked my thumb (and pinky...and basically all of my fingers) until I was way too old to be doing so - and I do not want the same thing to happen for Miss Adalee. Another thing to add to the "Discuss with Pediatrician" list...

Playing:
Adalee is rolling and squirming around all over the place. She doesn't quite get up on her knees yet but she thinks if she kicks her feet hard and fast that she will go somewhere. I am feeling bittersweet about how close she is to crawling. Time for Michael and I to get serious about baby-proofing the house...another thing to add to that damn "To-Do" list... :)

She loves being tickled and loves to play peek-a-boo. She laughs every time we cover her head with blankets and then she pulls it off. She loves to read books and play with her singing piano. She likes to knock things over and throw things on the floor when she is sitting in her bumpo on the counter.

She has started trying to talk and mimic sounds that we make. At first she was just mouthing things with no sound coming out, but she eventually started getting sounds out. Her favorite thing to say is "ba", which she probably learned from us calling her bottle a "ba-ba". I keep trying to push "mama" (and sometimes "dada"), but no such luck. :)

She is also learning how to wave hello and bye-bye. She lifts her arms and opens and closes her fingers. She won't do it all the time, but when she does, it is super cute!