I’ll just sum up Brooklyn at 8 months in one sentence:
“I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it, and don’t tell me otherwise…”
Case in point:
“OOH, a sticker on my shirt?? Let me eat that!”
“Hey! Let me eat that sticker! I don’t want to pose for any pictures…”
“Dad, why are you holding my arms up? Let me get to that sticker!”
“I told you: I don’t want my picture taken!”
“Are you people not understanding? Leave me alone, and let me eat this sticker!”
So, if you’re wondering why I didn’t capture any super cute smiles this month…or why some of the pictures are slightly blurry, there’s your answer! The sticker was destroyed by the time we finished, so I couldn’t go back later and take any more pictures :(
Now, moving on…
Brooklyn seems to really like the 75th percentile! She is about 19 pounds and 27.5 inches long right now, which is 75th percentile in both. Lately, she’s been gaining about 1 lb and growing 1/2 inch per month. She is nursing about 4 times a day and eating purees twice a day, usually for breakfast and supper. I think I’m going to bump her up to 3 purees per day soon. She still loves to eat! New foods she’s tried this month include apple, oatmeal, green beans, mashed potatoes, pumpkin, blueberries, and a little bit of roast that I mashed up with my fork…hehe. She isn’t picky at all (knock on wood) and very rarely leaves anything left uneaten. Last week, I tried giving her a sippy cup with water in it, but she didn’t really understand what to do with it. She ended up banging it around on her tray and throwing it on the floor…haha. We’ll have to try that again another time :)
Sleeping at night has been a little bit unpredictable lately. I guess we were due for a challenge since she’s been sleeping so good for several months! She still goes to bed anywhere from 8:30 to 9 PM and generally wakes up between 6 and 7:30 AM. Last week, there were several nights where she woke up at least once during the night, and one night where she was up and down all night! Argh! It brought back lovely memories of the first 10 weeks of her life…haha :) I’m blaming it on teething (more on that later)…
Brooklyn is also taking about 2-3 naps per day. They are still on no schedule and last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. She has started crying again when we put her in her crib for a nap, but she usually will go on to sleep after a few minutes.
Back to the teething…the first tooth STILL hasn’t popped through yet. Her gums are more swollen than ever, but I think I’m done predicting. I keep telling everyone it’s gotta be any day now, and I continue to be wrong :) All I know is the other night I dreamed that she got 22 teeth at one time, and I’m praying that won’t happen in real life :)
Brooklyn is getting more and more mobile each day. She isn’t crawling, but she can get anywhere she wants to go by rolling and/or scooting. Sometimes she’ll roll all the way from one side of the room to the other! She can push her chest and tummy all the way off the floor, so I think she could crawl if she wanted to. I’ve heard some babies skip crawling altogether though, so who knows…she may be one of those.
Brooklyn’s favorite toys right now aren’t actually toys at all. She loves to get her hands on our cell phones or the TV remote. We’ve also caught her chewing on my laptop cord when we’re not looking (oops!). She especially loves my new tennis shoes that I bought several weeks ago. They have hot pink laces, and she goes for them anytime she gets close to my feet. Basically, anything she can pick up and “eat” will keep her attention for a while.
I bought Brooklyn a walker at Kids Market last week, so she’s been trying it out lately. She loves to press the buttons (it plays music too), but isn’t really walking anywhere too fast in it. I guess that will come. It’s a handy place to put her while I’m working in the kitchen in the meantime :)
Last week, I waved “bye bye” to Brooklyn, and she waved back for the first time. It was so sweet! Then, the next day, she waved to one of her little friends at church. And ever since then, we can’t get her to do it again…haha. Oh well! It was cute while it lasted. Hopefully she’ll start waving again soon.
I don’t know if this counts as a word, but Brooklyn has been saying “ma ma” a lot lately. It’s probably her favorite thing to say right now. I really don’t think she’s directing it at me, but it’s still sweet to hear it. She also says “ya ya” a lot too. Basically, she loves to talk, and she loves to be loud!
I would still label Brooklyn as pretty social overall. For the most part, she loves to be around people. There have been a few times lately where she’s cried at the sight of “strange” people, or she cries if someone else is holding her and she sees Travis or me walk by. Usually, though, she’s pretty cool with anyone who will give her attention.
Things that make Brooklyn happy: being tickled, playing games like peek-a-boo, watching Felix and Gabby (although they aren’t quite as interesting to her as they were at first!), taking baths and chewing on her rubber duckies, riding in the car, and “eating” anything she can get her hands on.
Things that make Brooklyn unhappy: waiting on me to heat up her food while she sits in her high chair (she is so impatient about this–always cries!), getting a “toy” taken away from her, being put in her crib when she doesn’t want to nap, etc. She definitely likes things done her way! (Are all 8 month olds like that, or is this an inherited trait from *Daddy*…haha??)
Brooklyn is still in size 3 diapers and is mostly wearing 9-12 month clothes. I just loaded up on more clothes for her at Kids Market, so her dresser and closet is stuffed. (Whoops!). Hopefully she isn’t wearing anything bigger than 18 month size by March…
We love you, Brooklyn! You have so much personality and are such a sweetie. Can’t believe you are two-thirds of a year old!!!
