"MY CUP RUNNETH OVER": 8 months old!

Well, another month has flown by again. I've seriously got to slow down and just enjoy my sweet girl, because I feel like time is moving way too fast. I feel like in the blink of an eye, eight months has gone by. Being a full-time working mom requires me to be away from the house and my baby girl for about ten hours a day Mon-Fri. Needless to say, by the time I get home, I do nothing but feed, bathe and play with Anderson. Once she's in bed, I have to start the task of cleaning up, packing her food and diaper bag for the next day, etc. Unfortunately, that means the weekend is usually filled with cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc. I really need to figure out a way to get everything done during the week (without sacrificing any sleep) so we can enjoy our weekends. I don't want to look back and wish I had done more fun things on the weekends. Right now it really doesn't matter, but as she gets older I want to make sure I fill her weekends with fun memories!

FUN THINGS SHE DOES NOW:

Clapping

She LOVES to clap and does it all the time now.

"No No"

I know she just knows to shake her head when you say "no-no," but I swear, sometimes, I feel like she knows what it means. Every now and then, when someone she doesn't know really well reaches out their arms to hold her, she will shake her head no-no and turn away. I think it is hilarious when she does it too! (Please excuse the loud, not-so-cute cupcake pajamas! She's in a weird size for pajamas. Most things 12m and up are two pieces, but she kind of looks funny in two piece pajamas right now, so we're limited with our selection!)

Waving

I LOVE when she waves hey or bye. So cute!

EATING:

She is eating about 9 oz of solids and drinking about 26 oz of formula each day.

6:30am - 6-7 oz bottle

9:30am - 3 oz solids (grain and fruit mixed)

10:15am - 4 oz bottle

1:00pm - 3 oz solids (fruit and veggie mixed)

2:00pm - 4 oz bottle

5:00pm - 6 oz bottle

7:00pm - 3 oz solids (veggie usually)

8:30pm - 6-7 oz bottle

***Side note****

I am officially done pumping. Although it is soooo nice to not have to pump anymore, I am not really happy with my decision of quitting. Logically, I know I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but I really wanted to do what the AAP recommends and give Anderson breastmilk for the first year, but I just couldn't keep up. Because of my not having time to pump as often as I should at work and not taking the time I should have in the evenings, my supply had dropped to only about 12 oz per day. I just ended up deciding that it wasn't worth all the time and effort I was putting into it to only be getting less than half of what she was drinking daily. It would have taken me a couple of weeks pumping 6-7 times a day to build my supply back up, and I just don't have the time for that. Lesson learned. Next child I am going to be much more diligent about making him/her latch on and nurse so that I won't have to pump all of the time and can hopefully breastfeed for the full year.

SLEEPING:

She is still sleeping very well. Thankfully, she is staying up a little later these days so I can see her more during the week. She is usually asleep by about 8:30pm and sleeps until about 6:30-7:00am. I can't complain!

CRAWLING:

I know I said that I thought Anderson was just going to walk instead of crawl, but I must admit that I was wrong. She hadn't given us any reason to think that she was going to crawl at all. Most babies get in the crawling position and just rock for days or weeks before they actually crawl and we hadn't seen any of that. She just loved to stand and had gotten really good at walking along things when she had something to hold on to. In fact, the other night she walked all the way around the inside of her crib. So, I just thought there was no way she was going to crawl when she never spent time in the crawling position. Well, two days ago, she just all of the sudden did it. Crazy. She crawls kind of weird though, because she has one leg up with her foot on the ground and the rest of her limbs are in a crawling position. She's not super fast yet, but this morning she crawled about six feet to her exersaucer and then, of course, pulled up on it. She's going to have to put that one leg down if she's ever going to crawl fast, but I'm sure she'll get it. It's so crazy that it just happened out of no where. No practice or anything. I guess I better baby proof this weekend, because I'm sure it won't be long before she's going to just take off!

RANDOM FACTS:
- She has gotten very good at saying "Mama." I think she actually gets it now, because that's what she says when she is crying for me or just wants me to pick her up. We're working on "Dada." She has said it a few times, but just while babbling.

- She is still wearing size 12mo clothes. A few things are still too big, but for the most part, that's the size she's in.

- She's still in a size 3 diaper.

- Still no teeth. I may be wrong, but I still think she's going to be like me and not have any until around 1 year.

- The disciplining has officially begun. And no, I don't mean popping or spanking her. I just mean saying "no-no" in a stern voice. She surprisingly gets it though, but only if I say it sternly. Sometimes, she thinks it's funny and will stop what she's doing and laugh and other times she will burst into tears like I have hurt her feelings so badly. That breaks my heart, but I want her to know right from wrong and I definitely don't want her to be one of those bratty kids who always gets their way. The only time I really have to tell her "no" is when I am changing her diaper or clothes sometimes. Most of the time she's fine, but when she's sleepy she will PITCH A FIT when I put her pajamas on and change her diaper. You would think her world was over just because I laid her on her back and she can't sit up and play. It's amazing how she immediately stops crying when I sit her up. Drama Queen! Either way, I think it's important to start teaching her "no" now that she kind of gets it.