8 Months

My sweet Owen is growing and changing at the most rapid pace. I mean, obviously, but I just can't believe how much change happens in what is truly such a short amount of time. He is wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes. Most 6-12 month tops are a little too big for him, but he can wear a few. He can wear some 3-6 month pants in the waist, but he's too long for them. He's in size 3 diapers. He eats three 6 oz bottles a day and one 8 oz bottle. He loves drinking water out of his sippy cup or real cups. He also eats cereal at breakfast, and fruits and veggies at lunch and dinner. I've been feeding him table food at lunch and dinner if I am eating something he can eat. He has had and loved chicken, roast, and turkey. He loves eating Puffs and usually reaches for the container when he sees it. He can feed himself Puffs like a pro, but I usually still feed him at meals because it's faster. I try to strike a balance between helping him and letting him be independent. A lot of times he actually won't let us feed him his Puffs. He'll keep his mouth closed and try to get it out of our hands and do it himself. He is Mr. Independent. He still hates, hates, snuggling, but he does like to be held. If I hold him where he can look around and grab whatever he wants, he loves it. As soon as we try to snuggle him, he gets upset. It's funny and sad. My mom has always said that I was exactly like that. He definitely enjoys being active, and we always say "he sure is a busy boy!" He's been babbling constantly, and these past few days he has been saying "dada" a few times! He doesn't seem to be associating it with Ryan, but we are trying to teach him.

He goes down for bedtime and naps pretty much as soon as I lay him in his crib. No fussing, no anything. He's still sleeping great at night, and he's taking longer naps on a consistent basis. He's able to put his pacifier in his mouth if he finds it in his crib or wherever. I've been waiting for that day ever since we introduced the paci to him! Ha. Diaper changes have become extremely difficult because he either scoots across the room on his back, or rolls incessantly. The only thing that works for me? Giving him a diaper sack or box of wipes to play with. Great parenting, I know: this is not a toy. :-) He has four teeth, although one is a new development and therefore quite tiny. He enjoys having his teeth brushed each morning and night. He still smiles frequently, and he enjoys observing his surroundings.

People still, for the most part, say he looks like whichever one of us (or random family members) they know best. I'm really sensitive to people saying who he likes like, or who he acts like, etc. (although I'm guilty!) because Owen is his own person. He is not an extension of us. Actually, to quote a post I read several months ago (with no citation, sorry... can't remember where it came from): "My children are neither my possessions nor extensions of myself. They are image-bearing individuals with souls that will last forever." He has his own personality which is both innate and learned. He has his own feelings, hopes, dreams. He has his own beliefs, likes, dislikes, and worldview. As much as we can try to shape bits and pieces of him, he is who he is, and I will love him unconditionally no matter. I absolutely cannot wait to get to know this amazing tiny human. :)

7 Months

Owen is 7 months. Lately he's been doing many things that remind me of our earliest days, and I love it. He still makes a fist with his thumb under his index finger. Sometimes he still curls his toes under his feet. He still crosses his ankles, and it's possibly the cutest little mannerism. He watches intently as we do anything in front of him. A couple of times recently he even held his leg up in the air for a little bit. I get so focused on how fast he is growing that I forget we've only had him for such a short time. Each time he shows one of his earliest mannerisms, I'm reminded that it actually wasn't that long ago, and I like to sit with that feeling and enjoy it for a bit.

He's in size 3 diapers and mostly 3-6 month clothing. He's sleeping well and eating well, and he is working on cutting some more teeth. He drools like it's his job. He loves basically everything, but mostly just looking around and observing everything. He loves riding in the car and seeing out the window, and he his favorite thing to do is pull my hair. He reaches for it from far away. He reaches for everything he sees, actually, and I've almost dropped him several times because he is ridiculously determined. He hates snuggling. He won't do it. He's never really done it, but it was possible to force it a little bit. Not anymore. I didn't realize how not-snuggly he was until I held several of my friends' babies recently. Every single one of them immediately melted in my arms and laid their heads on my chests. Owen did that one time. One time. And I took pictures. It was a big deal. ha! My mom has always said that's the way I was, and I now understand why that is something she remembers: it's sad. I'll have happy Owen in my arms, but when I try to make him nuzzle in, he gets upset. It's a little bit funny; he is too interested in his surroundings to have time for that. He also hates the nosefrieda. If I recorded his screaming, you would think I was setting him on fire. Same goes for brushing his teeth, although that's hit or miss. Some days he loves it, some days he hates it. He has learned to use his arms to push mine away from him, and I'm not strong enough to physically handle him a lot of the time. He's strong. He always has been! We have always speculated about his personality, but right now I'd say he's quite the determined fireball. He's so sweet, too.  And freakin' cute. He smiles all the time, and I'm curious to know how much of that is innate and how much of that is learned because his mama has a case of the smileys, too.

I love him. Ryan and I both love him. I'd be leaving out something important if I didn't include that Ryan is seriously Owen's favorite human on earth. I'm ok with it; I think he's a great person to favor. :) Owen is so fun--such a gift--and I'm proud that he is my son.

Schedule

Owen and I thrive on our schedule. It keeps me sane, and I'm basically obsessed with it. I admit that it's just as much, if not more, for me than it is for him, but he does so great with it. I did build it around his needs, so it makes perfect sense. It's easily the best thing I've done for myself since he was born. As you'll see below, his nap times are relative. It depends on the nap he took before it. It sounds chaotic, but it isn't. He's extremely predictable!

• 7ish- Owen wakes up. I never wake him up; I'm not that crazy! He always sleeps until at least 6 (if he falls asleep later than usual, he'll wake up earlier--just one of those weird baby things), and sometimes sleeps until 7:30; he usually lands somewhere around 7 though. When he wakes up, I feed him 8 oz. of milk.
• play
• 2 hours after he wakes up: nap (usually 9 or 9:30)

• 11- eat veggies and drink 8 oz bottle
• play
• 2.5-3 hours after he wakes up from previous nap, take another nap
• play

• 3- 8 oz bottle
• play
• 2.5-3 hours after he wakes up from previous nap, take another nap

• 6/6:30- eat veggies, then do bedtime routine: fresh diaper, pjs, read a book (or two or three) if we have time, smiles, laughs, snuggles
• 6:45ish- 8 oz bottle
• 7ish- after bottle, lay him down in crib. I go in every 10 minutes to give him his paci if he doesn't fall asleep on his own (he doesn't cry, just plays). I've never gone in more than twice.

Repeat. :-) He typically sleeps 11-12 hours. He never needs us in the night anymore. I don't think I've gotten up in the night for at least the past month or month and a half. He hasn't eaten in the night since he was 3.5 months old. A month and a half ago I decided to see what would happen if I didn't go give him his paci if/when he woke up in the middle of the night. My rule was 10 minutes. If he's still crying or awake at 10 minutes, I'll go in there. Well, I never had to go in there. Two nights in a row he cried/played/rolled around for 7 minutes and went right back to sleep. The next two nights he did that for 2 minutes or so. I haven't heard from him since. He goes to sleep like a champ, seriously. I want to rock him, but he usually tries to touch my face, put his hands in my mouth, and grin so much that he just won't fall asleep that way.  I lay him in his crib and he either plays or goes to sleep. He doesn't cry, but if for some reason something is wrong and he does, I give him his paci (he's cried at bed time maybe once in the past month). If that doesn't work, I'll rock him. I don't do "cry it out" at this time (or ever, besides those two nights of 7 minutes) because, quite frankly, he's never given us a reason to do that. Bed time is a breeze for us these days, but I do remember when it wasn't. :) I have not forgotten those days, and I don't see my memory letting go of them any time soon.

He isn't a marathon napper most days, but he is consistent with what he does. He usually takes a few 30 minutes naps. Every now and then he'll sleep for an hour or two, but usually it's 30 minutes. It actually works really for us. He's even gotten to where he'll sleep practically anywhere. The past few weeks he's taken naps in his swing, carseat, stroller, the couch, our bed, his playmat, our arms, and a few other places away from home. Wherever he gets tired, he usually sleeps. Again, it used to be the extreme opposite. Oh, how badly I wish I'd known how quickly it would all change!

Schedules aren't for everyone, but it is definitely for us. I mentioned in Owen's 6 month post that I've only had him out past his bed time a few times. (As in, literally 2 or 3.) We aren't suffering one bit because of it; in fact, it's been glorious for all of us. Highly recommend it. We've gone out of town multiple times, been to weddings, stayed in hotels, etc. but we still stick with it. Is it always easy? Nope. Worth it? Every bit. I'm Owen's momma. Part of my responsibility is to protect him, and to make sure he gets what he needs (decent bed time, etc.) is one way I can protect him. Not one other thing I could possibly be doing is more important than him, so he wins.

One more thing: as with anything you decide to do with babies, consistency is key. There's no point in making a schedule/routine if you aren't going to stick with it. Whether you're choosing an anything-goes approach or a more structured approach, embrace whatever works for you and your family! Babies (and mommas) are all different. :)