Baby Boy is 8 Months Old!

Height: 29 inches

Weight: Estimating 18 lbs.

Hair: The bean gets more and more hair every day! He still has a bit of a Mohawk going on, though!

Diapers: Huggies Little Movers Size 3

Clothes: Little man grew and grew over these past couple weeks! Parker can still fit into some 9-month styles and a few 6-12-month pieces, but we are pretty much rocking 12-month clothing now!

Health: Baby boy officially has a tooth! It’s still coming in (bottom left), but we can see it more and more when he babbles. Parker had the sniffles this month (boo!) but nothing too bad.

Sleep: Parker continues to be an awesome sleeper! For the most part, we start his bedtime routine around 7:30pm (lotion, jams, Goodnight Moon, and one last nursing) and he wakes up around 7:00am. While I was battling mastitis, he started waking up again for nighttime feeds but that only lasted a few days. Parker always does a morning nap (right after breakfast), and one or two afternoon naps depending on our day.  

Diet: On his seven-month birthday, we let Parker try his first “finger food”, organic puffs! He knew exactly what to do with them, but struggled a bit getting them into his month. Over the next couple weeks, practicing with them really helped his dexterity and pincer grasp. New foods this month were: butternut squash, delicata squash, green beans, prunes, turkey, and peaches. We also tried beef (organic, grass fed sirloin that I poached and ground up) but little man did not like it one bit! It's the only food he won't gobble up! Recently, little man has been all about feeding himself! He has mastered teething biscuits and does a nice job with his puffs, and now tries to grab fistfuls of his purees which he tries to cram into his mouth. For the most part, Parker does breakfast every day with me (oatmeal and pureed fruit) and we all try to eat dinner together (Parker works on puffs or teething biscuits while we eat and then usually Max feeds him veggie purees and sometimes meat when we’re done).

Baby Gear Love: Parker is loving his car walker! It took him a while, but he totally has the hang of it now and will walk fast, fast, fast across the room!

New Experiences: Sitting in shopping carts while mommy grocery shops, feeding himself, and sitting in restaurant high chairs!

Likes: Feeding himself puffs, “walking” in his toy car, looking at ceiling lights and fans, riding on daddy’s shoulders, watching the fish tank, splashing while bathing in the kitchen sink, playing while sitting up, going on walks, and being outside.

Firsts: Parker accompanied Mommy and Daddy to The Melting Pot for the first time for mommy’s birthday dinner. He was the best little man and stayed in his car seat in the booth with us while we dined.

Social: Parker gives “kisses” to us! Sure, they consist of him opening his mouth wide and lunging for our faces, but I’ll totally call them kisses! He has also started communicating to us when he wants water. It’s fascinating! He went from screaming when he wanted it, to reaching out for his sippy cup whenever he wants a drink. We try to say and sign “drink” whenever he does this to help give him the tools to request it via sign language someday! For the most part, Parker is a super chill and mellow baby. I get comments all the time at yoga and when we’re out and about that he’s very “good” and “go with the flow”. Someone asked me if he gets it from me and I had to say “Hah! No, he’s calm and mellow like daddy!”

Milestones: “Walking” in his car walker and feeding himself! Parker is also showing a preference for his left hand! We’ve noticed this for a few months, but we read that it’s very rare for babies to have a dominant hand at such a young age, so we thought perhaps it wasn’t really anything. Over the past few weeks, however, it’s become very clear that Parker is operating as a lefty! We notice it the most at mealtime. He is much more dexterous with his left hand, reaching for his spoon with it, and being able to pick up puffs with his left index finger and thumb. With his right hand, he still does the whole hand “rake” to pick items up. Even if we present his snacks on his right side, he’ll reach over and grab them with his left hand. We’ve even seen him grab a puff from his right hand with his left hand so that he can feed it to himself. Time will tell if this preference is permanent!

Dear Parker,

Happy first holiday season, baby boy! This month we had so much fun celebrating your first Halloween with you! From our special Halloween music class, to Trick-or-Treating for the first time, to shopping Target dressed as Superman, we loved every festive second with you! Your daddy and I still look at you in awe – we love you so much and get so excited to see you do new things like making new noises or feeding yourself. Our favorite is to see you “walk” in your car walker – you raise your hands above your head and waddle so fast! I will need to have my running shoes ready for when you actually start walking! You don’t seem to have much of an interest in crawling, but you still like to shimmy and roll to get where you want to go. You love watching the fish in our aquarium and you love being outside! Fall in the desert is so pleasant so sometimes we wheel your high chair out to the patio for mealtime and it’s such a hit with you! We sing songs and read books in bed every morning and it’s one of my favorite times of the day. You are such a sweet and happy baby and don’t mind being in your car seat, or grocery shopping with mom (you actually get a kick out of this now that you ride in the cart and you always get tons of attention from workers and customers). You are still our little bean, but my how you have grown! It seemed like you got bigger overnight, fitting into your 9-month jams one weekend but not the next! We love you so much and are so looking forward to celebrating your first Thanksgiving and your first Christmas!

Love, Mamma and Dad