8 Months Old

I'm about a week behind on this one, but here's the info I have.

Nicholas is 8 months old (and 6 days).

Eating:  He loves to feed himself.  He's had a variety of foods, baby and table.  Apples seem to be his favorite.  He likes baby food if he can eat it from the pouch himself.  He isn't all that excited about the spoon.  I am still nursing.  He takes 3 bottles with the babysitter, but as of late only wants 8-10 ounces.  That helps me keep up with the pumping at work, but it makes him a very hungry boy in the evenings and during the night, unfortunately.

Sleeping: Since he turned 7 months, sleep has been awful, like waking every 2-3 hours.  There are many factors that might have contributed from his hemangioma medicine, to reflux, to teething, to learning new skills, to the need for sleep training.  We are in the process of sleep training, which is hard right now, but we know will help in the long run.  It was necessary with Mikaela, too and improved things dramatically for her, so I stay the course, despite its challenge.  He naps 3 times during the week because he takes a short cat nap in the car on the way home.  During the weekends, it's usually just two naps.

Activities:  Nicholas can crawl on his hands and knees now, but prefers the army crawl when needing speed.  This week he learned to pull up on things and is beginning to "cruise" a little.  His Pooh Bear car still seems to be a favorite toy.

He smiles and giggles often and melts our hearts when he does.  He's interacting with Mikaela a lot so that's fun to watch.  Here are some recent photos.

Helping daddy work one morning

Tearing up the paper at the doctor's office while waiting in the room.

Outtakes: