8 Months

Wasn't I just writing about 7 months?

As usual, there have been many changes in the past month.

Movement:
Marshall is now quite mobile. He can fully crawl, but usually prefers to do his "inchworm" move. As I'm typing this he is rolling a bottle cap, chasing it down, then throwing it and chasing it all over the living room. He's probably done 4 laps already. Ahh, cheap thrills. He has gotten very smooth at going from laying down to sitting and back down again.

Diet:
We introduced solids about a week before he turned 8 months. So far we've tried avocado:
(he was not a fan), cucumber (liked it), sweet potato:
(loves it), unsweetened apple sauce (didn't like it). I think his favorite part of eating is all the baths he gets to take now:

He is still nursing like a champ. We're going to work on getting him to drink from a glass and a cup and straw so that we can hopefully nix the bottles while I'm at work. He's been kind of over bottles lately but thinks cups are fascinating so I think he'll like the new plan.

Sleeping:
I still don't know how we lucked out with such a great sleeper. 99% of the time I just lay him down wide awake and hand him a pacifier as soon as he rubs his eyes then he puts himself to sleep and naps from 1-3 hours. If he cries, I go rub his back and if it seems like he doesn't want to sleep right then, we get up and try again whenever he seems tired (usually 15-30 minutes). He goes down for the night between 6:30 and 7:30 and usually sleeps until we get up at 5am or will occasionally wake up once around 1am for a quick meal then right back to sleep. Sometimes I'm bummed that he goes to sleep so early because on days that I work I don't see him very much. BUT, it also means Jerad and I get lots of uninterrupted time together which is nice. We are able to make dinner, sit at the table to eat it, then talk or read.

There was about a 1 week period this month where Marshall only wanted to be nursed, rocked, and cuddled to sleep. I enjoyed it while it lasted, then he went back to his usual independent ways. He also went back to wanting to co-sleep in our bed at night and then promptly wanted to go back to his own bed. I think the teething made him needy? Honestly we don't mind. I thought all babies wanted to be nursed to sleep and never wanted to sleep alone... so that's what I was prepared for. Then we ended up with little Mr. Independent.

Now that he's crawling we got rid of the crib in favor of a Montessori style floor bed. So far, its working out great and I love that he can wake up and crawl over in his books and toys and play instead of having to wail to be let out of his crib/cage. More on this later. He seriously does love sleeping because like I said, I put him down wide awake and now there aren't even crib bars to contain him plus there are toys that he can crawl right over to yet he still naps for hours at a time *knock on wood*

Between Christmas and New Years we rented a house up in the snow and for that time Marshall was a horrid sleeper. He still napped great, but woke up and wanted to nurse every 1.5 hours during the night. I got a little taste of what people complain about:) Honestly the whole trip it was like having a newborn again (only worse because he was a pretty chill newborn). He woke up multiple multiple times at night, wanted to nurse every 2 hours during the day, pooped 5 times a day, and would fuss if he wasn't being held. I think it was a combo of teething, a stuffy nose, and just being out of his element. Our house is usually so quiet and the only background noise is music. Kind of the opposite of 6 people, 3 dogs, TV, talking/laughing all usually in one room. However we all survived, the trip was so fun (seriously, I can't wait for next year), and now that we're back he has returned to his normal easy-going self.

Lets see, what else.

Marshall finally has teeth! The front two on the bottom. He also thinks its great fun to bite arms and fingers.

He also has started "singing" along with Jerad which is pretty adorable. He knows what "up" means and if I say it he will raise his arms to be picked up. He knows the meaning of "doggie" and "kitty" and will look around for them. He knows "hi" and "bye" and is working on waving. He knows "milkies" and will occasionally sign it while nursing. He knows who daddy is and will look for Jerad if I say it. Sometimes I think he knows "mama" or "mommy" but it doesn't seem very consistent and he doesn't light up the way he does if you say "kitty." Oh well, our cat is awesome, I don't really blame him. He knows "pat pat" and will pat the floor, toy, or whoever is holding him if you say it, and his favorite is probably "splash."

Even though he is such an easy going baby, things are getting more challenging. I don't know why people think the newborn stage is the hardest, that was cake. Now he knows when we are leaving the room and will try to follow us and then fuss when he isn't fast enough. Sometimes it seems like he is trying to tell us something and then gets mad when we don't understand what it is. He gets angry when the cat won't hold still to be tortured petted.

He is really growing and learning and exploring which results in him hurting himself. For Instance, his new thing is banging his head or mouth on things. So, he thinks its great to head butt the pillow, but didn't like the way it felt on the wooden floor. Or wall. Or bathtub. He likes banging his mouth on the rug but wasn't a fan of the coffee table. I'm hoping this is a short phase:) He learns pretty fast but its still sad watching him hurt himself. I try to distract or redirect him, but the only time I really intervene is if he is trying to do something that will actually injure him. Like dive off the bed, pinch his fingers in the rocking chair, or touch something hot. Its fun to watch things "click" in his brain. The first time he crawled off of his new floor bed, he face planted. Now, its only 4 inches and I padded the floor but still, it scared him and he was upset... 2nd time was also a face plant. The third time he slithered off instead and has ever since. He took a few spills in the bathtub trying to reach for toys or go from sitting to being on his stomach. Usually we just put him in the regular tub and its pretty slippery. I sit right by the tub and sit him back up whenever he has fallen in the water, but he has done it enough times that you can tell he is trying to be careful. Now he moves super slow and rarely falls.

Diaper changes have also become a challenge. I might go so far as to compare it to alligator wrestling. The second the diaper comes off he flips over then tries to get away. I can't blame him for wanting some nakey time but seriously, sometimes it takes two of us. Most times I just give up and put his diaper on backwards. This is just a phase right?

I can't really think of a segue-way for this, but here is a pic of Marshall and our lab Buddy:

Love it.