Well, month number eight came and went without many big changes. This month has been all about the small things. I had the nurse measure Ben when we got his flu shot a couple weeks ago, and he is 27.5 in., which means he's grown an inch since his six month checkup. I don't know his exact weight, but I think he is somewhere around 16.5 lbs. He is starting to grow out of his 6-9 month onesies and the necks are so stretched out they hang off his shoulder like he's an extra from Flashdance! I might just leave them like they are and start a new baby trend.
Ben has always been a good eater, but he is REALLY eating a lot right now. I think he might be going through a growth spurt. I am still nursing on demand, and he eats solids 3 times a day. Right now our menus look like this:
Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ soy milk and fruit. Usually I mash up a banana or some fresh mango. This is definitely Ben's favorite meal.
Lunch: Plain yogurt w/ fruit. I usually add whatever fruit is leftover from breakfast to his yogurt. Sometimes I add unsweetened applesauce. Just recently I've been including a leeeetle pure maple syrup. He always makes a face after the first bite of yogurt, but he eats it all.
Dinner: Lots of veggies. We just moved up to stage 3 food, and he loves it. I figured he needed something more substantial after realizing he was downing two jars of stage 2 food in ten minutes. Not a big surprise since the main ingredient is water. Thanks baby food manufacturers! No wonder he's hungry.
I read somewhere that individual temperament determines when babies reach their big milestones, so based on that assessment I would say that Ben will probably be a late crawler and late walker. He is so content to sit and play with a single toy, and I don't think he feels that restless. He is sitting up really well, but has had a few scares with losing his balance and falling over suddenly. Thanks to that I think it will be a while before he feels secure enough to start moving across the room. He is so determined to not have to move. Whenever he accidentally throws his toys out of reach he just sits and looks, and you can see him thinking, "hmmm.....how am I gonna solve this?" Then he looks around at any adult in the room, and then looks back and the toy, like "is someone gonna help me with this?" When no help is forthcoming, he will usually either A.) just turn his attention to something else rather than have to venture out of his comfort zone, or B.) gingerly reach his hand out, then quickly steady himself, then reach a little bit more, then......give up. Did I mention he's a very cautious baby? There is one exception to this observation and it happened yesterday. Mr. B. decided to pull himself up on Joel's leg from a sitting position to his knees, then tried to stand. Now, that in itself is not a big deal. However, later that night while I was giving him a bath he gave our kitchen faucet the once-over, and before I could blink he had used it to hoist himself out of the tub and grab a water bottle on our windowsill. It's very disconcerting when you see a baby who is normally content to just be a slug suddenly gain superhuman powers and practically jump out of the kitchen sink!
Ben definitely understands quite a few words. I've been doing a little signing, and whenever I put my fingers together to sign "more" he flaps his arms. He probably thinks I'm an idiot, like, "No, mom! This is how we say it! Not YOUR way!" As long as we understand each other.....Right now we're working on "gentle." As in, "be gentle, don't pull Ladybird's tail." He always gives us a grin after that one.
Here are some pictures from this month:
Ben does NOT have the Christmas spirit.
Yesterday, in the back yard.
Benjamin and Daddy.
This is his amused look. Like, "I'll humor you while you take my picture. Please don't bother me again."
Ben likes to swing his jumperoo over to the doorjamb and grab on. Then he shuffles his feet and does a little happy dance.
