Sunday, April 7, 2013

Leia at 8 months

We're on somewhat of a schedule these days, with Leia waking around 6:30, and napping for 30-40 minutes at 9:30, 12:30 and 4:30. Give or take an hour - our days are flexible so I just follow her cues. Bedtime is 7, or earlier if she skips the last nap.

 
Size: 19 pounds even, and wearing clothing size 6-9 months.
 
Favorite things: Her jumperoo and high chair, being kissed, going outside, drumming on things with her hands to make noise (cardboard boxes, the high chair tray and a pool noodle are faves), being worn in a carrier.
 
Least favorite things: Sleeping, teething, being away from Mommy and Daddy. We have some separation anxiety going on.

 
Milestones: Leia now claps and gives kisses! Her third tooth came in this month. She now gets baths in the big tub and has started to enjoy playing during bath time. She can pull up onto her knees when holding onto something, and can sometimes get up on her feet for a few seconds. She can also stand with us holding onto just her hands (previously she needed armpit support). Leia really wants to crawl - it's coming soon!
 
We changed up the bedtime routine to give Mommy a break, and I'm so much happier! Daddy puts her down alone (rather than me nursing her to sleep and her waking most times I tried to slip away). Learning to fall asleep without the boob gives me 2-4 hours of time off in the evenings before she wakes again. Love it! There were some tears involved :( But at least Daddy was/is always there with her.

 
Cutest habits: Clapping. Kissing (of course I can't be sure of her intentions...). Experimenting with her voice and squealing. Holding something in front of her face and taking it down repeatedly - getting us to say "peekaboo!" And often she just likes to lift things up high.

We love to watch her feed herself - she's concentrating and exploring, and it's just so much fun. When she's having fun playing, she does this half-laugh thing, which is basically breathing hard/loud while making a funny face. Ha ha.
 
Firsts: First trip to the zoo, St. Patrick's Day:


Easter:

 


She met her great grandma Jean this month.


We also started Baby Signs class. She signed "more" for the first time right at 8 months (I've been working on a few signs since 6 months).
 
Talents: Playing independently, riding in the car happily, standing, pulling up.

Food: We started the month doing purees, so we introduced pureed carrots and cinnamon in apples. But Leia really started to want to feed herself, so we've been doing a lot of baby-led weaning (which just means that we let her feed herself). It's messy, but fun! She's had: Quinoa, scrambled egg yolk, shredded cheese, cooked carrots, green beans and peas, sweet potato, avocado, mashed potato, blueberries and mango.