Eight Months old

Jacob turned eight months old on Sunday, February 7th (yes, I am a little...ok, a lot...behind in posting this!). That was Super Bowl Sunday and even though he was in bed before kickoff, we had some fun watching the pre-game show and practicing his "Touchdown" moves for next season!

As I say every month, I truly cannot believe how fast time is flying by and how much Jacob is growing every day! I am sad that he is not a baby anymore but we are very much enjoying watching him learn and grow and acquire new skills. Here are some of the things he's been doing lately:

~He is enjoying books a lot more these days. Of course, he still has times when all he wants to do is eat the book or when he really isn't interested, but for the most part, he will now actually pay attention when we are reading to him (at least for a short time). He especially likes books where we make sounds while we read such as "Mr. Brown Can Moo" and "Hands, Hands, Fingers, Thumb". He is also starting to like the "Touch and Feel" books and the "Taggies" books. Daddy does a good job of reading him bible stories frequently and he seems to really like them.

~He loves to take a bath! We give him a bath every other night, usually right before bedtime. I taught him how to splash the water (which will come back to haunt me, I am sure!) and he enjoys playing with little toys and his rubber ducky while in the tub.

~He is becoming more aware of his surroundings lately. He leans to see things such as the computer screen if I have it open or himself in the little mirror on his exersaucer. He also notices when he drops something and will look over the edge of wherever he is (in his highchair or the exersaucer) and try to see where it went.

~His language skills are still developing. He is grunting and yelling more than really "saying" anything. He will still make some "ah" and "oh" sounds and something that sounds like "hi", but not much else. He still squeals when Keith comes home from work (or really anytime Keith walks in the room) which of course Keith just loves!!

~He is still sleeping really well, although his nap schedule is still not set in stone (I am not sure it will ever be!). He LOVES his morning nap (sometimes sleeping 2-3 hours), but the afternoons are still spotty. He is still sleeping 12-12.5 hours a night, going to bed between 6:30pm and 7:30pm and waking up around 7am.

~And, speaking of sleep - Jacob is super cuddly when he is tired. I know when he is really getting tired because he will put his head on my shoulder or bury his head in my chest. He also has begun sucking on his fingers (it is always the last three fingers on his left hand!) when he is sleepy or hungry.

~He continues to eat really well. He is nursing 3-4 times per day now. The nursing strike that he was on in early February lasted five days. During those five days, he only nursed once per day (first thing in the morning) and wasn't interested in it the rest of the day. It was stressful for me but I was happy that he decided to start nursing more often again. I had to sort of coax him to do it by nursing without distractions around and singing to him while he drank, but eventually it got back to normal. I think it also helped that his stuffy nose became clear.

~He is eating solids three times a day now (simulating breakfast, lunch and dinner). For breakfast (after his morning nursing session), he eats baby oatmeal and all-natural applesauce (with a dash of cinnamon that I add). For lunch (around 11:45am), he eats a veggie and a fruit. And, for dinner (around 5pm), he eats rice cereal, a veggie and a fruit. I am still making all of Jake's baby foods (except for the oatmeal & rice cereal and the snacks). Some things he has tried recently are: avocado, squash, peaches, pears, mangos, and cheese. He LOVES all of the fruits and also really likes the squash. He wasn't too fond of the avocado but he really liked the cheese, although it made him spit-up a lot (similar to the yogurt so I am wondering if he might have an issue with dairy right now).

He also eats snack-type foods while I am preparing his meals (his favorites are the Gerber Lil' Crunchies Snacks - they are like cheese puffs). He is enjoying eating independently and sometimes prefers that over eating with a spoon. Here are some video clips of him eating independently [side note: I put this video montage together at the beginning of February. It is amazing to me how much better he is at eating now - just three weeks later.]

~I have completely stopped pumping (except for during that nursing strike) and actually don't even have a pump anymore. I had borrowed one from my sister Karen and since she is due with her second baby tomorrow, I gave it back to her. My sister Katie has one that she isn't using so if I need to pump for some reason, I can always use hers. Since Jacob hasn't taken a bottle since November (I used to give him a bottle every morning and night with an ounce of breastmilk mixed with his reflux medicine. Back in late November, we switched to just giving him the medicine straight into his mouth from the medicine dropper, which he takes really well.) any milk that I was pumping was just getting mixed in his cereal. We are also continuing to work on using a sippy cup.

All in all, Jake is doing very well. It is a joy to watch him grow and it is wonderful to see him learning new things every day.