Nine months

Bo turned nine months old this past weekend.  It’s crazy to think that he’s been here (almost!) as long as he was cooking inside me!

Personality

He continues to be a sweet and happy little guy.  We have started to notice, though, that he’s getting a little more shy these days.  Where he used to smile openly at strangers in the grocery store, now he glances away or tries to shield his face when someone looks at him.  But, if you give it a bit of time, you can always win him over.

Sleep

Things were going really well in the sleep department (even one or two nights of 11 hours straight!) but then Bo caught a cold from his big brother.  Anyone with kiddies knows that a cold can mess up sleep, even long after the child is better.  A couple of nights ago, I was up every two hours with Bo, which is killer.  I’m hoping, praying, that we can back into a better routine of only one or two wakings per night.

He still naps pretty well – usually 1.5-2 hours, twice a day.  The key, I’ve discovered, is to stay the hell away from his room at the 45-minute mark.  That seems to be the end of his sleep cycle and time at which he’ll wake up if he hears a noise.  If we make it past that time, he’ll like do another 45 minutes-one hour.  Oh crap… just jinxed myself.  There he is, crying now…

…four hours later I was back on the couch to complete this update and then promptly lost the rest of the post.  Sometimes technology drives me crazy.  Oh well, the jist of it is that it seems that sleep is still a bit unpredictable around here.

Eating

Still chugging along.  He really enjoys purees of all kinds and opens his mouth freely to be fed (this is still quite amazing to me!).  His favourite seems to be spinach and rutabaga… weird.  He also loves cheese but hates yogurt.  He’s getting really good at picking up small bits of food with his fingers and feeding himself.

Development

Still no legitimate crawling, but he’s so, so close.  He gets up on his hands and knees, but then pushes himself backwards.  He gets down on his stomach and spins in all directions.  And, we’ve noticed this week that he can now get from his stomach back up into sitting.  He’s still very wobbly when he stands so he isn’t into cruising yet.

Of course, he probably hasn’t had much time to work on crawling because he’s been so busy teething!  This guy now has six teeth.  I’m sure this has something to do with the erratic sleep we’ve been dealing with.

Anyway, all that being said, he’s doing awesome and I love him to bits.

Busy time of year

Somehow time is moving way too fast for me these days and I feel like I can’t do everything I want to do.  Somehow, it’s suddenly winter and there is snow swirling around outside right now.  Somehow, my baby is already 8.5 months old and the end of my maternity leave is approaching faster than I’d like.  I’m definitely starting to feel some anxiety these days and I know I need to find a way to work through it so that I can enjoy the little bit of time I have left at home with my little one.

But, for now, a bullet point update:

• Bo has sprouted two more teeth (that’s four altogether now!).  He’s still drooling a ton and sticking everything in his mouth but, other than that, doesn’t seem terribly bothered by the whole teething business.
• We went for a family photo shoot yesterday.  Just a quickie, to get some shots for Christmas gifts.  Littleton and Bo were very well-behaved and we got some pretty great pics of the two of them.  Gawd, they’re cute.
• Getting ready for said photo shoot (and for just about every outing these days, for that matter), was a bit of a scramble.  Is it just me, or is it usually the mom the who is responsible for getting the kids the all dressed and packed up?  My husband is amazing and helpful in so many ways, but I’m always the one who gets the kids ready.  He only has to make himself look presentable.  I really noticed it today, when I only had a couple of minutes to pull myself together.  By the time I jumped in the car, I was sweating and realized I hadn’t finished applying my makeup.  The kids looked great, but mommy?  Not so much.
• Poo.  Bo needs to have one.  He’s been pushing and straining and groaning for the last two days.  I finally cracked out the prune puree last night but so far, no luck.  Poor little guy.
• There is so much snow this morning!  Why?!  I really thought I’d make it until at least Christmas before pushing the stroller became challenging.  I’m not ready for this at all.  For the first time since I got it, I haven’t hit 10,000 steps on my fitbit ANY DAY this week.  Good lord, that’s awful.  In the summer, I was getting close to 20,000 a lot of the days.  I hate being stuck inside.

That’s the main stuff for now.  Heading into the office for a visit and to meet my new boss today.  I’m sure that’s adding to my anxiety.  Visiting months ago was fun.  That was when my return to work was ages away.  Now, it feels too soon.  Ugh.

Eight months

Another month has passed and Bo seems more and more grown-up each day.

Personality

People comment all the time about how happy Bo is.  It’s quite amazing, really.  He’s just a really good-natured little man.

Now that he’s sitting up without any support, he’s even happier.  We have lots of fun playing together on the floor and I love when he laughs at me.  Of course, he laughs even harder at his brother and dad!  I have a feeling the three men in my life are really going to have fun together as the boys get older.

Bo’s getting chattier too!  He babbles and especially enjoys when you mimic his sounds.  Sometimes we end up laughing hysterically after having a “conversation” of babble.

Sleep

Napping is still going really well.  His morning nap is almost always 1.5 hours or a little longer.  The afternoon nap is often a bit shorter and depends a lot on what we’ve done in between naps and how long I’ve kept him awake (i.e. too long awake = shittier nap!)

Nighttime sleep is hit and miss.  Typically, Bo wakes twice per night to nurse.  If I’m lucky (or if I decide to dream feed) then I can squeeze in one of the feeds before I go to sleep.  Then, he sometimes only wakes one more time.  I know that I could sleep train him at this point and that he probably doesn’t actually need to wake to eat in the night, but, for the most part, it doesn’t bother me.  Sure, I’m tired.  But at least he eats quickly and goes back to sleep without any trouble.  So I don’t really mind the extra time and cuddles with him.  (Ask me if I feel the same way in a few months when I’m back at work!)

Eating

Better!!  So much better!  Finally, the kid actually opens his mouth when a spoon comes near it (sometimes) and meals aren’t nearly as stressful as they were with his older brother.

Aside from a variety of purees, this baby loves cheese (extra old cheddar, obviously), toast (dry and cut into strips), scrambled eggs and O cereal.  He’s tried rainbow trout (loved) and pork tenderloin (not as much).  He gags much less often now and is getting pretty good at putting things in his mouth himself.

Development

I’ve noticed that a lot of babies Bo’s age are crawling now.  He’s not crawling yet, but he pushes himself backwards or pivots around if you place him on his front.  He also manages to scoot forward when he’s sitting on his bum.

The biggest change this month was the appearance of his first two teeth!  The bottom front teeth popped through his gums earlier this week and they sure are sharp!  When he opens up his mouth and dives towards my nipple to nurse, I have a brief moment of fear.  Luckily, he’s only nipped at me once since the teeth arrived.

Toothful Tuesday!

Bo’s second tooth showed up this morning. He’s pretty happy considering he’s cut two teeth in two days!! I just love this smile…