8 Months Old!

Over the past month here are 8 ways Ian has changed:

1. His ability to sit independently has improved dramatically. It's very rare for him to topple over any more. It's so nice to be able to sit him down in any room on the floor with a few toys.

2. He's now only taking 3 naps (instead of 4) albeit it's still rare for them to exceed 30-45 minutes. One nap on Tuesday was 70 minutes long. I wish that would become the norm! I'm trying to have his naps be at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm so that there will be at least 30 minutes overlap between thhis 2nd and Nadia's only nap.

3. His head smell is becoming more and more faint. It's so sad. :-(

4. He's getting better about eating solid foods, but he still has a LONG way to go in that department. His favorite foods thus far are sweet potatoes and carrots.

5. He's not nursing as much, but he's still nursing at least twice a day, which is better than nothing! He's not "chucking" quite as much although he certainly still has reflux.

6. He's sleeping MUCH longer at night. He usually sleeps until about 6am. He often goes down around 6:30 and then gets up 1 or 2 times for feedings. I try to make sure he's down for good by 8pm. I am trying to wean him off these initial feedings so that he can sleep 11-12 hours straight at night. I am soooooooo grateful to be able to sleep from 9pm-6am!

7. He's playing with toys a lot more. He's outgrown his swing, plays in his gym a bit longer than before, and still likes to play in his bouncer or highchair.

8. He gained 1.25 lbs as he now weighs 18lb 7oz (wearing only a dry diaper). This means he's up to the 32nd percentile! He's wearing 9 month size clothing 100% of the time. He generally wears 3 outfits a day not counting what he sleeps in at night. Lately his diapers (no matter which brand I use) haven't done a good job of containing his poop - it manages to go up his back. Yuck!

Ian received a gift in the mail this week. Paul's Aunt Marlene (who lives in CA) made him a quilt. It's beautiful and it goes really well in his room as there are a lot of pieces with green in it. It meant a lot to me. Nadia received 3 handmade quilts - two from Paul's aunts and one from my former handbell choir director (Carol).  Up until this week, Ian hadn't received any. As a side note, the one Carol made is large so when I transition Nadia to a bed, I plan to use the quilt Carol made as the bedspread for her bed. The colors in that quilt match her room perfectly!