8 Months

Sweet baby girl is 8 months old today.  Eight months is kind of the age where I'd like to put the brakes on and slow things down a bit more.  I really, really adore this stage!  Libby babbled her first word this month (da-da-da-da-da), and she is trying so hard to crawl.  She can get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth, but she bottoms out just as soon as she tries to move. :-)  She is able to push herself in circles with her arms, and she rolls everywhere.  Now that she's perfected rolling, diaper changes are much more entertaining!

{Da-da}

{Hands and Knees}

{Pressing buttons with a purpose!}

Feeding is going a lot better this month.  It started out a little rough earlier in January, and Libby did have a couple of weeks where she hardly gained weight (sick with a cold), but she's made up for it in the past couple of weeks.  We've started babyfood on more of a scheduled regimen, and let me just tell you, she loves it!  Nearly five years ago when Luke was eating baby food, the aisles at the grocery store consisted of mainly Gerber and Beech-Nut.  Today, there has been a ginormous boom of organics, which is nice because we feel like we have more options.  Right now, we're big fans of Ella's Kitchen Organic Babyfood.  We do use some Gerber Organic in the pouch as well.  Love the pouches...very portable and less bulky when transporting to the babysitter's house via the diaper bag. :-)  I also love how you can just skip the bowl and squeeze it right onto the spoon in a pinch!  I am looking into making some babyfood of our own, but until I figure out what the heck I'm doing...errr...get the details squared away, Libby loves the flavor combinations of Ella's Kitchen, especially. :-)  

Libby's schedule looks a little like this:

5a:  Morning bottle (4.25oz)
Squeeze in a short morning catnap
8:30a:  Breakfast (3 TBSP baby food + 4.25oz bottle)
10:30ish Morning nap
Noon:  Lunch (3 TBSP baby food + 4.25oz bottle)
2p:  Naptime
4:30p:  Dinner (3TBSP baby food + 4.25oz bottle)
7:30p:  Bathtime
8:00p:  Quiet time/evening bottle (4.25oz)
8:30p:  Bedtime

As you can see, our little lady is sleeping through the night.  This started a couple of weeks ago, and I honestly thought it was a fluke.  Last night was a strange night because she was up a few times, but I think she's otherwise pretty set in her sleeping routine. :-)

Libby recognizes her favorite people now, even more-so than last month.  It is so sweet to see her little face light up and her arms and legs start kicking and waving in a sort of "happy dance".  Her little laugh is contagious. :-)

Libby's likes:

• Babyfood!  She loves it all, but namely bananas + squash and pears + spinach.
• Floor time...rolling, scooting in circles, playing with her brothers.
• People!  We have a social butterfly on our hands. :-)
• Bathtime
• V-tech monkey toy
• Playing "fetch" with her brothers...she'll throw a toy, and they bring it back. :-)

Libby's dislikes:

• Rutabagas
• Hair clippies...her hair is now long enough for them on top, but she prefers the head bands.
• Shoes/socks
• First diaper change of the morning.  As soon as I get her out of her crib, I have to hold her for a bit before changing her diaper or else she'll scream the second I lay her down.  Sweet girl, swoon. 
• Not getting her naps in.  Baby girl loves her sleep!

Libby wore her first 6-12 month outfit on Saturday.  She's finally in the same size as her age. :-)

She's still in size 2 diapers; however, I think she'll be moving into size 3 soon!

Libby's stats:  14lbs 1oz (4.5 percentile), 26.75 inches long (38.2 percentile), 16.25" noodle (6.7 percentile).

As always, the months seem to fly by all too quickly.  We're savoring each moment with our sweet girl (and sweet boys), and looking forward to what each day brings.

Happy 8 Months, Libby!  We love you!!