Eight Months Old

Eight months has gone by faster than I could have ever imagined! Madison turned 8 months old on August 22nd. She has continued to change daily this past month. She has changed in her looks. She has started to thin out, her weight gained has slowed way down. In the past 2 months she has only gained about a pound. When I look back at pics from June, I can see a huge difference. Her face has thinned out and she has one less roll on her arms, and the rolls on her arms and legs aren't as deep. I have also been told several times lately that she is looking more and more like me, which of course makes me feel good! She has also continued to get stronger and more agile. She can crawl very well on her hands and knees, and is constantly on the move. She can go from lying to sitting, can then pull up to standing on anything and everything, and she can cruise along the coffee table. She is SO full of energy, she wears me out!

Her vocal skills have also improved greatly. She can say: mama, dada, buh-bye (and wave while saying it), Uh-Oh and papa. She is constantly jabbering whether or not we can understand what she says or not. By far her favorites are mama and buh-bye.

She also has her pincher grasp down pat. She can pick up all her little finger foods with her index finger and thumb.

Madison is still a Mommy's girl, but has gotten a little bit better with Grandma, which makes her very happy. When she is playing I have to be near her or she gets upset, and if Scott is holding/playing with her and I walk by, she cries for me. Hopefully this stage will be over soon since she started it so early (at 4 1/2 months).

She also gets her feelings hurt. Sometimes when I tell her no she cries, other times she looks at me and smiles (she can be a little stinker too!) and then continues to do whatever it is I told her not to do.

I have also changed her schedule. She still gets up around 7:30am. She then eats breakfast which is usually oatmeal and half a container of fruit (stage2), and then I nurse her. Then I get her dressed and we play until her morning nap which is about 9:30am. She usually sleeps for 30-45 minutes. Then we hang out and plat until lunch time at noon. Lunch is usually 1/2 a container of veggies and then the other half of fruit from breakfast. And then she gets a bottle of breastmilk. (the beginning of August I quite pumping at work, and then about the second week in Aug I started nursing only in the morning and bedtime. On days I work I nurse her before work since I can't do the night feed. I should have enough milk until she is about 9 months and then she will have to switch to formula. I'm still not sure how long I will continue to nurse her the other two times a day.) Then around 4pm she gets a snack like yogurt, or puffs and a sippy cup of water. Then we play again until afternoon nap around 1:30 or 2:00, which lasts 30-60 minutes. After nap #2 we play until dinnertime which is around 6pm. For dinner she gets rice and the other half of veggies. And then its bathtime and bedtime. Usually in bed sometime between 7 and 8pm.

Madison in front of the shelf I put together the night before.

A couple of other fun things Madison can do...when you say touchdown, she puts her arms up as if she is signaling a touchdown made by the Gators! She is ready for football season to start! She also shakes her hands when I tell her no or when she is done eating, as in "No more!" AND she cut her third tooth on her eight month birthday, the top left one.

She is such a big girl and everyday brings new things. You can tell her mind is constantly going and she is trying to figure everything out! I look forward to seeing what new things each day brings!