Luke turned 8 months old this weekend. See those windows above? They don’t stand a chance of staying clean. The baby who used to lay contently, playing with toys on a blanket while I was able to do things like unload the dishwasher, is gone. Long gone. He now crawls (fast!) everywhere, pulls up to standing on everything, and has even started climbing the stairs. Lord help me.
Don’t let that sweet face fool you. This baby will stop at nothing to get to the one thing you don’t want him to find. Meghan’s puzzles with small pieces I put up on a shelf? Oh, those aren’t high enough. The trash bags that are in the pantry that was left a crack open? Sorry, Mom, but those are just way to fun to leave alone. This boy can’t be stopped.
When I’m lucky and the moods strikes Meghan just right, Luke can be occupied by her reading to him or putting on a silly act that makes him laugh.
Most often, however, Meghan prefers to go into the office and shut the door so her little brother can’t get in and mess up whatever it is she’s playing with. She’s a girl who likes things just so and doesn’t do well with a crazy baby mad-grabbing at her toys. Then I’m left to keep Luke busy without destroying the house or hurting himself (which he’s done plenty of times as he learned to crawl and pull himself up–he’s been full of bumps and bruises the last month).
So my days have become even more crazy. This is why I have trouble churning out more than 2 blog posts a week. I’m trying, but finding the time and energy is not easy. Please be patient with me.
It’s been a slow go adding solids into Luke’s diet. He finally got the hang of eating purees and was eating 3 solid meals a day, and then he started flat-out refusing to open his mouth for food. We’re going on over a week of barely taking a bite of anything I’ve offered. I have tried offering him some small pieces of finger food and he seems interested but doesn’t quite have the dexterity to get the pieces in his mouth very well.
When he was eating his solids well I saw a big improvement in his night sleep. He was down to one night waking and was showing signs of dropping that one, sleeping in 8-9 hour stretches. He prefers to sleep on his belly, with his lovey nearby.
Now he is starting to wake twice each night again, and I’m fairly sure it can be linked to not eating his solids well. It’s frustrating because I’m not sure why he’s refusing to eat. I guess he just prefers mama’s milk.
Speaking of breastfeeding, 8 months was the big date to do a trial and see if Luke’s outgrown any of his intolerances. The pediatrician suggested starting with soy, so that’s what I did. Unfortunately, he failed the trial. I had some soy milk (I splurged and got a soy chai latte from Saxby’s coffee) on Saturday morning and he had his first BM after that on Sunday morning. First, it was a complete blow out, which he hasn’t had since starting solids. Second, it was full of mucus again. He had another BM later that day, and it was also full of mucus. He hasn’t had another BM since then, which is another issue all together. So, I’ll continue to be soy, dairy, nut, and wheat free for a while. I’ll talk to his doctor about if/when to do another trial at his 9 month well check.
The good news is that breastfeeding is still going strong. He’s a super fast nurser, with a typical breastfeeding session lasting 4-6 minutes. This does make my days easier, so I’m grateful for that. On the other hand, sometimes I wish he nursed longer so I’d be forced to take a break and have a built-in excuse to rest.
8 month highlights
Breastfeeding: 4-5 feedings a day and 1-2 at night
Foods: butternut squash, avocado, pears, peaches, peas, oatmeal, spinach, potatoes, raspberries, and apples
Naps: still takes 3 a day, generally around 8am, 12pm, and 3:30pm (totals about 3-4 hrs a day)
Weight: about 24 pounds (!)
Teeth: 2 (bottom)
Favorites: watching Meghan act silly, playing peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake, chewing on wet washcloths, listening to Mommy (or anyone who is willing) sing, Meghan’s play kitchen
Dislikes: getting diaper changed (wiggles like a madman and cries about 90% of the time right when I put him on the changing pad), when Meghan takes toys from him, when Mommy leaves the room
I will do a separate post to update you on how I’m doing…I was just too chatty about my little guy!
My 7 1/2 month old is also a big boy…almost 22 lbs. Quick question, what is the hat that Luke is wearing in the bathtub and where did you get it? Thanks.
It is a bath visor that helps keep the water out of his eyes when rinsing the soap from his hair (or peach fuzz, actually ;-)) It’s from Target.
My babe rejected the purees as well and I second the recommendation for baby-led weaning. It is much more developmentally sound than stuffing kiddos full of purees and it sounds like yours will take to it, no problem!
Thanks for the encouragement–I think I’m heading in that direction.
In a word…ADORABLE!!! I remember those days so I know you are extremely busy. I know I don’t need to tell you but they grow so fast and time just FLIES!!!! Enjoy them both! 🙂 And one more important thing, try and squeeze in some time for yourself. so important. It took me a very long time to learn that lesson.
Does going to the grocery store by myself count as “me time”? Because when that happens it tends to feel like a vacation. 😉
what a handsome boy!! hope he gets better soon.
and is it a baby boy thing to absolutely hate to be changed?! i’m starting to think yes… i dont have kids, but that is my experience at my job!
I think it is a boy thing…Meghan never had a problem getting her diaper changed.
Your son is too cute 🙂 SO excited that you found me!! I follow you now 🙂 Follow back?
xoxo
I would love to check out your blog. Thanks, Jaclyn!
Aaaah, I love these updates! What a cutie. I cannot believe he’s only a few pounds away from my 2.5 year old daughter! I hope the food testing goes better next month or whenever you try it again!
Such a cutie! I totally understand about the food intolerance issues. You should feel good that you’re still nursing even though you have to avoid all those things – it’s difficult!
He is so cute! Wow, my just turned 2 year old is 25 lbs. But he is 8% for weight. My daughter liked to shut the door and play “choking hazard games” without her brother when he was littler, but in the last 6 months or so they have become best friends and play together all the time. Now that he can talk and they can play some games together, they can really entertain themselves.
Meghan was 25 pounds at 2 years old, also. It’s very strange to have a baby now on the opposite end of the spectrum! 🙂
That first photo cracks me up! He is adorable, and I am amazed at how much quality blogging you are able to get done with such a busy little guy around! I love the veggie bath toys too!
Wow the time flies! I totally understand the craziness once they start moving….it always makes me miss those times when I could lay them down & they would still be there when I get back 🙂 My 3rd is 17 mos old and into everything and climbs everywhere! She is not to be trusted…..haha!
Bummer bout the soy……you are so good to keep all of those things out of your diet……most mammas would just quit nursing. Way to go!
I have no idea if you are interested in this or not, but with my youngest 2 kids (didn’t know about it w/ my 1st) I did Baby-lead weaning. Basically, from about 6 mos on, you just feed baby finger foods and let them decide how much to eat. I started with steamed stalks of brocolli, steamed carrot sticks, steamed butternut squash sticks that they could grasp onto and chew on. I also remember doing plain rice cake chunks smeared with avocado. At first, they don’t get much down, but after about a week, they really start eating more. From there, it is just a process transitioning from the larger pieces of food to the smaller ones as their pincer grasp develops (or you can stick w/ the larger pieces). Also, mine always gagged a bit at the beginning while they were getting used to the feeling of solid food on the back of their throat, which the book says is normal. I’ve never had one choke (which is most people’s fear). They book talks about how they will eat a larger variety of foods when they get older because of this approach, but I haven’t found that to be as true. My 3.5 yr old got picky when he turned 2. Just thought you might be interested since he is rejecting the purees. 🙂 Let me know if you have any ?’s
I just bought the book on Amazon….here’s a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Led-Weaning-Essential-Introducing-Confident/dp/161519021X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345728156&sr=8-1&keywords=baby-led+weaning
Thank you, Leigh Anne. I haven’t read the book, but I have read a lot about baby-led weaning online. The last few days I’ve tried giving him bigger chunks of food that he can pick up easier and it does seem to be working better. I will admit that the whole choking thing is what turned me off of BLW in the first place. I know they say gagging and choking are not the same thing, but seeing them gag is still really scary! So far I’ve given him butternut squash fries, apple fries, and avocado chunks. He had a lot of trouble with the avocado and just mostly squished it in his hands, but did really well with the apples and butternut squash. I think I’ll try broccoli next. Hopefully he’ll start getting more food in his belly soon and that equate to better sleep. 🙂
So glad you have heard of BLW and didn’t think I was crazy 🙂 I was more nervous about the gagging with my 1st one, but with the 2nd child I was much more relaxed…..realizing it was just part of the process, but still scary. For mine, the gagging was only a problem during the first week or two and then they did much better.
I liked the natural rice cakes cuz they kinda “melt” in their mouth as they slober on them….but not sure if Luke can have rice. It seemed that other stuff with more bread-like textures where hard for them at first cuz they got kinda goopy & hard to swallow. I always stuck w/ fruits & veggies. With avocado, I would cut it in a wedge & leave the skin on. That seemed to give it more “grip”. When they started to get down to the skin, I would just take it away. Also, for bananas, I would leave the peel on half of the piece like a handle and then unpeel the top portion. HTH!!
Sounds like you are on the right track. He will be gobbling down food in no time. Hang in there!
Thanks for your kind response & your delish recipes 🙂
Leigh Anne
So I am leaning to BLW as well right now bc I am in the same boat. My 8 month old is rejecting the purees but will dive to grab any whole pieces of food. I, too, was hesitant at first, and have only been giving him mushy foods like banana and avocado. I’m ready for him to be getting more food though because he is starting to wake up earlier and earlier to nurse in the morning bc he’s hungry. I want to try some of the foods y’all have suggested but I’m worried about the digestion. Have either of you had issues with them struggling with digesting foods without the transition of purees? I feel like the purees are such a better introduction to food bc it goes through easier than straight from nursing to big solids. But I have learned that you sure can’t make them eat it if they don’t want to! 🙂
Hi Stephanie–now at 8.5 months Luke is on all table foods. He just flat out refused purees over and over, so I finally gave up and went to finger foods. I wouldn’t say I’m doing a totally BLW approach, but maybe somewhat modified. (I’ve seen pictures of little babies holding chicken drumsticks–we don’t do that!) So far the finger foods Luke’s eaten are avocado, banana, green beans, butternut squash, peas, apples, pears, prunes, and scrambled egg yolks. At first he was getting hardly anything in his mouth, but now he’s doing great. (and sleeping a lot better, too!) If anyone was going to have digestive issues, it would be Luke, but he hasn’t had a problem. I do see big chunks of food in his diaper, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. Good luck to you! -Maryea
He looks just like you! Sorry the soy did not work out.
I can’t believe how big he is!!