8 Month Update

 Hey world, I'm 8 months old!

Better late than never (I actually never think that haha!), here's a recap of Edie at 8 months. I was 99% done w/ this entry but then when I went to look for photos from the month, I got overwhelmed with my backlog of images to upload/edit. Edie needs to learn about image processing, fast!


Size
Weight: Very close to 14 lbs! I forgot to take the measurements at the drop-in center, but she's still wavering around 13 something. Little peanut will probably be little peanut all her life. I was told by the lactation consultant that things are going well if baby is gaining half a pound per month and if she's hitting the physical milestones.


Schedule
Pretty similar to last month, except for the last week and a bit she woke up around 8:30am, sometimes even later. Again I don't know if she's actually awake earlier and just lying there, but I don't wake up any earlier than she does to find out.


Eating
Just after I ordered more of these cubes and prepped a huge batch of purees, Edie decided she wasn't into purees any more. Meal time got extremely messy as she'd lose interest and bite her food tray, stick her fingers into her mouth, or just rub the food all over her face. It was so discouraging to see all the prep work go down the drain. So we decided to let her try and feed herself.

The first few days with self-feeding was not too fun either. She kept crying at meal time! Probably out of hunger or just frustration because she couldn't pick up the food on her tray. We could see the desire to grab the food but she just didn't have the hand-eye coordination to get the pieces into her mouth. It was always "oh, so close! Oh it's touching her lips!", but not much went into her belly. It was still messy, as in food bits would drop every time she reached to get something, but at least it wasn't smearing everywhere like it was with purees. By the fourth day, Edie was getting the hang of it and squealed with excitement as she stuffed carrots and broccoli into her mouth. For the first two weeks, most of it still landed back on the tray, and into the garbage at the end of the meal. Oi I sure got pouty after most meals; so much prep and clean up and not much ingestion.



The new challenge, was for me and Kel to agree on how much we should let feed herself and how much we were going to intervene. I wanted to just let her explore the food but Kel wanted to make sure the food was eaten. Trust me, I was tempted to stuff food into her mouth (so much prep and clean up EVERY meal), but how was she going to learn without the chance to practice? Another solids debate was whether or not we should feed her cereal. We both agreed that she needed solids to complement breastmilk, since iron levels start to deplete around six months, but I was against continuing with cereal since Edie wasn't into purees, it's not the most nutritious, and it seemed to make her have fewer BMs. In the end, we just gave her iron rich foods and trust (or try to!) that her body knows to do its thing.

As the month progressed, Edie got better at eating. The foods were all cut to about two inches so she could hold it in her hand/fist. Broccoli and carrots worked really well. Fruits, haha not so much. They slip and slide, and when she did get a piece into her hand, she'd squish it in excitement. Out of the blue, I saw her staring at her hand, specifically when her thumb touched her forefinger. I got her some cheerios to practice. After a few days and a thorough tutor session with my sister and BIL, she mastered the pincer grasp. When she wants to explore a new food, she likes to squish it between her palms, but when she wants to eat, she'll pincer small bits with her left hand. Edie is definitely a social eater. She's so happy and eats lots when we go out with friends.

Food that Edie's tried:
Veg: arugula*, broccoli, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, peas, spinach, sweet potatoes, zucchini
Fruits: apples sauce, bananas, blueberries, peaches, pears
Protein: beef shank, homemade sausage*, pulled pork*, salmon, turkey,
Grains: cheerios, rice

*Foods that she probably shouldn't have eaten but were exposed to in her parents' moments of weakness. We get too excited to share when we're out at restaurants.


 Picking out the broccoli cuz they were roasted and tastier than the steamed carrots. I'm so happy when the three of us eat together.

Sleep
Night sleep was pretty awesome for the most part, with E waking up usually once to feed. For just over a week though, she was super clingy, crying hard 30min and again at 1hr after bedtime. When I picked her up she'd look around her room, as if she was nervous about something. She only wanted me to soother her and got very angry if Kel went in.

She fell asleep in my arms during lunch one day. My parents and Kel felt bad that I couldn't eat and was stuck with Edie, but I absolutely loved that moment. Edie hasn't slept in my arms since she was a newborn. She just doesn't fall/stay asleep that way. True to her I-love-lying-down-flat-in-my-bed self, she woke up 20min later (still tired yep!), but even with the short nap it was pure bliss. I love holding her when she's asleep.


 As long as she gets enough sleep, she's happy to go with anyone, but of course she loves hanging out with her auntie.

Milestones
Sitting steadily on her own. She's not afraid to lean forward and fall (i.e.get on all fours) to reach a toy. Sometimes when she gets too excited and waves her arms she'll lose her balance and fall backwards. If she's in a good mood and still has a toy in her hand she doesn't even cry when her noggin hits the floor.

Minor backwards crawling and major pivoting, especially on the hardwood floor. She looks very sweet when she plants her cheek on the floor and starts sucking her fingers, but the patch of Vaseline left behind is kind of gross.

Third tooth is coming in at the top and I'm pretty excited for her. More chewing and ripping of meat. She loves ripping meat off like she's a caveman.

More consistent vowel babbling. We hear bababa most often. Once I heard her say "mama dada" and started to tear up, but she might've also said "mmm mmm (food in Cantonese) dada" haha!



Edie's Top Picks of the Month


4. Shopping carts. Still hates our stroller (used it 6 times, max) but is feet-dangling-arms-and-mouth-wide-open happy about the shopping cart. Sometimes I even go to the grocery store twice in one day just because it makes Edie so happy.



3. Being goofy. She loves making us laugh and of course when we make her laugh with silly dances and high pitched sounds.



2. Outdoors. Yep, still loves the great outdoors. Touching leaves, trees, watching the squirrels. At the end of the street next to ours, there's a berry tree that Edie is particularly fond of. When we pass by it, she shuffles and tries to move her hands out of the carrier to reach for "her tree". I always say, "gentle gentle, it's a living thing" and hold her fingers to pat the leaves.



1. Eating solids, especially with other people. Edie is a little social eater. She likes eating on her own just fine, but when she's eating with us, it's scary how much she can pack it in.


On The Mom Front
I'm feeling more and more like "myself". Although it's only been a few months but it seems like a long time ago when I'd look in the mirror and feel like a complete stranger was staring back at me. I don't mean the physical changes, although yes it's nice not to have hair falling out everywhere, but having more time and head space for non-Edith things is pretty nice. I have a great husband who cooks amazing meals and never complains about all the chores he does for us. It's hard work and I really appreciate the time he puts in so I can have a break from my mama "job". One of the most rewarding things is watching Edie play with dad and her extended family. Although we live in different cities, but whenever my mom plays with Edith, one of them is always laughing their head off. The bean really is sprouting into a little human being.