Likes: Eating solids, nursing, Mommy, watching Caitlin, bath time, flirting and talking to Daddy, putting everything in your mouth, talking/jabbering away, exersaucer
Dislikes: The snot sucker, getting your nose wiped, getting your face/hands cleaned, long car rides (although, dare I say that this is getting a little better)
Biggest Achievement of the Month: Sitting unassisted
Biggest Challenge of the Month: Getting you to remember that you can roll back when you're on your belly. Still working on that one!
Sleep: You usually take 2 or 3 1-2 hour naps (with an awake period of about 2-2.5 hours between) that are usually closer to 1 hour than 2 hours. You typically fall asleep for the night anywhere between 630 and 730pm and wake up any time between 6 - 730am. You like to sleep on your back and once you fall asleep, you sleep with your arms out or above you head. On the rare occasion, you will roll over to your belly and stay there and sleep really well, but it hardly ever happens. You sleep on your side more often than your belly, and we also gave you a lovey this month (a little giraffe). This month wasn't great for sleep. There were a few nights a week where you were up twice to eat, and I think this was caused by the fact that you were teething. You usually put your thumb in your mouth as soon as we walk out of the room. We also turn on the seahorse whenever you go to sleep.
Temperament/Personality: You are generally pretty calm/content/happy and happy to hang out and take everything in. You really only cry when you're hungry or overtired. When you're awake and Caitlin is home, you love watching her, and she has started taking an interest in you as well. You're such a happy girl, always smiling and talking to us. You love staring at Daddy until he will pay attention to you, and when he does, you give him the biggest smile.
Eating: Nursing is still going well. During the day, you are eating about every 3-4 hours which works out to be 5-6 times a day. Since you're sleeping through the night (and have been for a while now), you are not usually eating at night. We've had a few random nights were you have woken up to eat, but it's pretty rare. You are still eating well, and so far you have tried avocados, bananas, pears, apples, prunes, sweet potatoes, mangoes, butternut squash, carrots, green beans and peas. You have liked everything, but I would say that prunes and green beans and peas have been your least favorite.
The Superficial: Your hair is still dark-ish, but is much thinner in the back and on the sides. You kind of have a mohawk, and I noticed this weekend that you have a little bald spot. I think your hair has finally stopped falling out though. We also think that it looks like it's lightening up a little bit, but nowhere near as light as Caitlin's hair. Your eyes are dark, but I can't really figure out what color they are. Daddy says they're brown, but I don't agree. I think eventually they will turn brown though. You are still wearing 3-6 and 6 month clothes this month. You have rolls on your arms and on your thighs, and I just love it. You are still wearing a size 1 diaper, but as soon as we're done with the current pack, we'll be starting size 2's. I weighed us together and then weighed myself, and you weigh approximately 14.8 oz. You also have one tooth - the bottom middle left. The first one popped through around New Years and the 2nd one hasn't officially popped yet, but I can see the white mark in your gums.
Developmental Milestones: Moving around in a circle while laying on your belly. You can pick up cheerios/puffs, but can't quite get them in your mouth. We are working on the pincer grasp. You also started blowing raspberries this month. And, you can sit unassisted, but can't get into the sitting position on your own yet.
This isn't really developmental, but we also celebrated your first Christmas this month! You loved playing with your new toys (mostly teethers/stuffed animals, etc) and also loved trying to put tissue paper and wrapping paper in your mouth as often as possible.
Out and About: We celebrated Christmas in PA with Daddy's family. Daddy and I also had an overnight date night for his holiday party, and Ms. Jen came to say with you and Caitlin. We also took your first trip to the zoo on an unusually warm day for December. It went fairly well - you spent time in the stroller and then in the Ergo for a little cat nap.
Big and Little Sister:
Natalie:
Again with the hair, Natalie definitely has more. It's funny to go back and read Caitlin's 7-month post because I talked about how much her hair was growing. She looks almost bald compared to Natalie (in my opinion). Natalie is still nursing like a champ, but at 7 months, I had given up nursing Caitlin and was pumping exclusively. Caitlin had finally rolled from her back to her stomach during her 7th month, but Natalie has been doing it for quite a while now. But... Natalie still doesn't really roll from her belly to her back. So crazy how different 2 kids can be. Caitlin also was starting to pull herself up, but Natalie really hasn't started doing that yet. Also, separation anxiety apparently started for both girls this month. There have been multiple days when I have dropped Natalie off at school and she has cried hysterically when I left. Oh, and the sisterly love. Don't even get me started. 99% of the time, Caitlin is super sweet to Natalie, always bringing her toys to play with and talking to her and doing things to try to make her smile and laugh. Caitlin also is an amazing big helper for me, almost always willing to grab a bib, burp cloth, diaper, wipes, etc. She also will jump at the chance to pick out Natalie's outfit in the morning for school. I think she has adjusted really well into the role of big sister! Also, the new thing this month for Caitlin is her hugging and kissing Natalie non-stop. It's sweet, but sometimes it's a bit much. Even Natalie looks at her like, "what the heck are you doing?"
Another amazing month. We are having so much fun watching you grow and learn and seeing how your relationship with Caitlin will develop. You are the sweetest baby, and I kind of wish I could just freeze time right now. We love you so much and can't wait to see what the next month brings!
Love you to pieces,
Mommy
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