Abby's 8 Months (8.3.11)

8 months - 8.3.11

Dear Abby,

I don't even know where to begin this month!  You're 8 months old today and you are still the absolute light of your daddy & I's life!  This has been a big month for you with your first 4th of July, going to your first wedding (Mickey & Kathleen's), your first flight, meeting Mommy's family finally, your first hotel stay and your first trip to the beach.  You've been a busy girl!

You celebrated the 4th with a party at Aunt Ashley & Uncle Willis' house the night before and a picnic in Love Circle with lots of friends on the actual 4th of July.  You even saw your first fireworks (the Nashville ones) - although, in all honesty you didn't pay them much attention as you were super tired at this point and were much more interested in nursing.

You had your first flight to Raleigh, NC to meet Mommy's entire family and you did great.  Luckily, on the way there we were able to have an entire row to ourselves so you had lots of room to move around.  On the way back we weren't quite as lucky, but you fell asleep about 20 minutes into the flight and slept until we landed so it wasn't a big deal.  While in Raleigh, you stayed at a hotel for the first time which also resulted in you sleeping in bed with Mommy for the first time - apparently the travel bed and pack n play just weren't up to your sleeping standards! :)  Other than sleeping in bed, you were a great traveler and didn't seem to mind much that your routine was completely thrown off for the 2 days we were there.

We also took you to the beach for the first time this month.  We went with Daddy's family for a week to Destin and we all had a great time.  You did much better sleeping in the condo after Mommy took a page out of a bloggy friend's book and converted the master bathroom into your nursery for the week.  You loved the ocean, sand, and the baby pool that we set up under the tent every day for you.  I think you are definitely a little water baby!  And despite the fact that you really don't love your carseat, you did great on both 8 hour trips down and back.  You had one meltdown on each trip, but otherwise you either slept or played and "talked" to us.  We can't wait to take you back when you're a little older and you can really play in the sand and sea!

Eating is getting better every day with you.  Now you've had bananas, avocado, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, apples, pears, mango, squash, and peaches and you still prefer veggies to fruits.  For the most part you are getting 3 solid meals a day (fruit for breakfast, any leftover fruit and a veggie for lunch, and a veggie for dinner).  You are still nursing about 3-4 times and getting 3-4 4-5oz bottles of BM each day during the week and are exclusively nursing on the weekends. 

Sleep is still very much a battle between you and I (with you usually winning simply because you're more stubborn than I am and I usually have to work the next day).  I just keep telling myself that one day you will sleep through the night.  It may be 5 years from now (please Lord let it be sooner), but nonetheless it will happen eventually.  Until then I will continue to sport bags the size of saucers under my eyes! :)  No, in all seriousness, because you are usually so happy during the day, the sleepless nights aren't such a big deal most of the time.  I've said on multiple occasions that I would much rather you not sleep at night and be happy during the day than sleep at night and be a grumpy baby!

You don't have to go to the doctor this month so I'm not exactly sure how much you weigh, but I would guess somewhere around 22lbs.  You are wearing mostly 6 month clothes still, but can wear a few of you 6-9 and 6-12 month stuff.  You're still wearing size 2 diapers during the day, but will probably move up to size 3 once this box runs out, and size 3 diapers at night.

You've become really busy this month.  Although you aren't really mobile yet (you can scoot while laying on your back, but you typically only do this if you're throwing a fit) you can't stand to be in the same spot for more than a few minutes at a time.  You love to stand and I imagine that once you learn how to balance on your own this will be your new position of choice.

Some of your favorite things this month are your cloth blocks, cloth rainbow stacker, music table, Monkey, Sophie, exersaucer, jumperoo, tv (just being honest), bath time (we broke out the ducky tub this month and you think it's fabulous), the caterpillar in Mommy's car, the iPad, Mommy's iPhone, plastic water bottles, your hairbrush, plastic hangers, rings, and any toys that rattle, squeak or jingle.  Oh yeah, and Mommy (Mama-itis kicked in with a vengeance this month),  You're also real big on repeating right now.  You'll start off by going "Ahh," your daddy or I will repeat it and then you'll continue it until you find something else to do that peaks your interest.  We think it's pretty freaking cute!  You still haven't said any words and attached meaning to them yet, but I'm willing to bet that based on the amount of times that you say it Da-da will be one of, if not your very first, true word. 

Abby, you are an absolute joy and every day I am so thankful that I get to be your mommy.  I love you more than you'll ever know and can't wait to see what this month brings!

Love,

Mommy