And Then There Were...: 8 Months and Counting

We're through the busy busy travel month of July and finally getting back into a routine at home. Ellie now has 7 states down. We slipped in a day trip to St. Joseph, Michigan with Aunt Cat. I really liked it and am planning to go back next summer when Ellie can play on the beach. I also found a little pottery studio that has all sorts of artists I really like, so I might have to make a trip back before next summer ;)

It's been a while, so I'm not sure where to start really. Ellie is sitting unassisted. She (mostly) eats two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. She eats mostly purees and mashes, but we offer diced fruit and cheerios at every meal so she can practice feeding herself. I plan to start making some soups and casseroles so she can work with more diverse textures and foods. So far, no allergies, although she had a splotchy face tonight at dinner. It cleared up in about a half hour though, so we think it was probably just that she rubbed food in her eyes.

She is sitting on the potty almost every time we change her diaper and today she peed three times in it. She always goes before her bath, so we just started offering more opportunities. I'll be working on getting her to sign potty so maybe we can start being a little proactive.

So far, no crawling, but she is growing stronger daily, so I think some sort of movement is just around the corner. She certainly scooches all around the crib when she's trying to get to sleep, so she's mobile when she wants to be.

She hasn't been sleeping through the night. Generally, she wakes every 3-4 hours. However, last night, we tried an experiment and let her soothe herself back to sleep the first two wake-ups. She ended up sleeping from 7-5. I finally went in at 5, but she didn't nurse much and then went back to bed for another hour and a half. We're going to try it again tonight, so cross your fingers....

She is cutting another tooth (top center). She's been very secretive about it, so P had to hold her upside down (which she likes a lot) to be able to look along her upper jaw for a tooth bud. There is tooth visible, so hopefully her eating will get back on track here soon.

We have her 9 month wellness checkup in three weeks, so it'll be interesting to see where she is by then. I anticipate that we'll have to move up to the next size carseat and that she may weigh as much as 17 pounds.