Just shy of 8 months

Will is going to be 8 months old in just a few days.  So what is he up to these days?  Lots of eating, playing, sleeping, and even pottying.  

Will’s not a picky eater so far, and unless he’s teething (he has two teeth now) and not wanting a lot of solids, he eats a fair amount.  His favorites are yogurt with oatmeal mixed in and the new stage 3 mixes we’re trying.  He is getting better with the sippy cup although there’s more playing going on with it than actual drinking.  Cheerios and Gerber puffs are also lots of fun for Will, and for Rocky and Mick too for that matter.  Most of the time, Will can self-feed and get them in his mouth.  For the rest of the time, Rocky and Mick get a treat on the floor!  They’ve learned that when Will is eating, a tasty snack could fall down at any moment.  Will LOVES to watch the dogs and sometimes squeals with delight when they come nearby.  They’ve learned to keep a safe distance though, since Will doesn’t understand the meaning of the word “gentle!”

We know that we are very blessed in the sleep department to have a little one that gets 12 solid hours a night with 2-3 hours of nap time each day.  He's been sleeping 12 hours for months now, but the naps developed consistency about two months ago.  When I know it's that time, I just put him in his crib, hand him his special blankie and his paci, press the magical seahorse, and it's off to sleep he goes.  It's wonderful.  I credit the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child for a lot of our success, but I know that our very routine sleep rituals plus Will's laid-back personality might come into play too. Whatever the reason, we're thankful!

All of that sleep gives Will plenty of time to grow.  Our long little boy wears 9-12 months in most clothes, and 12-18 months in pajamas.  I really can’t believe how big he’s getting, especially when I think of when we took turns rocking our little five and a half pound newborn in the NICU.  Every month or so, I open up his container of newborn clothes and find myself in awe that he was ever that small.  Those clothes swallowed him in the beginning.  They’re just one of many reminders that my baby boy is on his way to toddlerhood. 

Recently we’ve had to retire the bouncy chair (skwirmed straight out of it), the swing (reached up while buckled and tried to hang on the mobile part like a basketball player making a slam dunk), my beloved baby slings, and the infant car seat.  While it was sad to disassemble and stow away these wonderful inventions that helped us all stay happy for the first half-year, we’re finding new favorites as he gets older.  We rely on the pack n’ play a lot more to keep him contained while playing if I’m trying to multitask.  Instead of shopping with him in his infant carseat or in my sling like when he was tiny, he rides like a big boy with the help of his Floppy seat to make things comfy and clean.  We’ve even taken the plunge in restaurants to let him sit in the highchair (with the beloved Floppy seat).  Recently, when I had to travel with Will alone, I was able to use a great invention called the Baby K’Tan to “wear” him hands-free when I needed to so that I could easily go into rest stop bathrooms or unload my car at the hotel.  I know that a lot of these baby items aren’t needed, but wow, they make life with a baby a lot easier, especially when out and about.

Speaking of being out and about, we’re staying busy with our three stroller exercise classes each week.  For two more weeks, we also have “Mommy and Me” water classes.  Will loves the water and gives me lot of happy sounds when we first get in the pool.  He kicks his legs like a pro and doesn’t mind getting splashed.  When water class is over, I may try to join a playgroup to meet more moms in my area.  It’s amazing how just having one or two regular activities really helps the days pass.  A lot of people ask if I get bored or lonely being at home with Will all day.  I guess if I didn’t have things to do, I could easily feel like that.  Thankfully we have enough going on to where I actually like days when we don’t have something planned to do. 

On days we are home a lot, Will gets lots of playtime on the floor.  Our Mr. Rollie Pollie, who is still not that interested in crawling, has learned that he can roll around in order to get what he wants.  He’ll roll several times to reach a toy so that he doesn’t have to try to crawl.  He’s started rolling over to sleep on his tummy some and he looks like such a little “big” person while sleeping!   On weekend mornings, sometimes we put him in bed with us around 6:30 or 7 to see if we can sleep an extra hour.  He often rolls back and forth between Brian and I, touching one of our faces for about a minute before flipping to the other to do the same.  It’s really sweet, especially when he gives us that sweet grin of his.  I get a little concerned that he’s not crawling yet, but if it’s like everything else, it may happen suddenly without a lot of build-up to the big event.  Even though I dread the increase in housework it will create (hello vacuum and mop!), I’ll be relieved when he’s crawling. 

While he’s not totally mobile yet, Will is doing something that not a lot of young babies do – going to the potty.  No, I’m not kidding; we’re taking a light, part-time approach to infant potty training.  Now wait … I know what you’re thinking … crazy, right?  I thought the same, but I kept reading about people’s successes on my favorite baby website forums. In a nutshell, I just put Will on his potty during times when I normally do a diaper change (after waking, before/after naps, after eating, etc.).  When I change his diaper, I just give him about 5 minutes of potty time if we’re not in a hurry.  He loves his little potty.  I won’t invade his privacy by posting a picture of him on his cute little potty, but here’s what it looks like:

It's much tinier than it looks - really more the size of a pet's food bowl than a normal potty size. While he sits, I read to him and let him look at the pictures in his board books.  If he doesn’t go within those five minutes, then no big deal.  We diaper and move on with our day.  BUT, you’d be shocked at how often he DOES go during those five minutes (sometimes *both!*).  Obviously a lot of the success revolves around me putting him on the potty at the right times, but eventually, he may get the connection and go more quickly and maybe even predict when I’ll put him on at normal times and hold it until then.  My goal is not to get him “trained,” but to give him the chance not to have to go in his diaper.  I figure, why not?  He may still be in diapers until he’s 3, but at least he’ll know from early on that a diaper is not the only place he can go.  Now if you still think I’m bonkers but are fascinated by the thought of infant potty training, you can go to this site to read some frequently asked questions about it. It makes more sense if you think about how other cultures handle potty training, or even American culture back before disposables or decent cloth options.  Brian thinks it’s great, plus my text messages about Will’s daily potty progress keeps him amused when he’s immersed in law at work. 

Will always lights up when Brian comes home from work, and he’ll usually start bouncing since that’s his favorite activity to do with daddy (Brian pretends his legs are a trampoline and lifts Will into the air, much to Will’s delight).  To get the big Will smiles, Brian plays the guitar for him.  The guitar amazes Will, and he looks fascinated when Brian gets it out.  It’s really sweet to watch, especially when Will coos to the music.  Recently Will thrilled Brian when he said “Dada” over and over again not long ago, but the sly little guy has kept mum on it lately, causing us to believe he’s just holding out to use it when he really thinks he can use it to his fullest advantage! 

He hasn’t said “Mama” yet, but we always hear “WaWaWaWa” over the monitor when he’s upset.  We wonder if that’s his way of calling for me, but then again, maybe it’s wishful thinking J.  The boy loves his momma though, that no one can deny.  He even gives me slobbery kisses on my cheek. In the morning, he gives me big hugs when I lift him out of his crib.  I get the best giggles when I tickle him. We are still amazed that we created such a special, sweet little person. 

 

I’ll close for the night.  We don’t have as many pictures as usual since we’ve had a lot of things going on, but I’ll make it a priority to take some more soon.  Here are a few recent ones of Will playing with his animal flashcards.