We are back home and holidays are over! This summer we had exceptionally long holidays because of our wedding – we were away from home for nearly four weeks over the summer! Amidst all of the travelling, our baby girl turned 8-months old – already three weeks ago.
Over the summer she has developed into a little person and to me she seems more toddler-like instead of a baby. Maybe it’s her longer hair and teeth that make her look so “grown up” but it’s more than that. Of course she doesn’t speak yet but the level of interaction has increased and she seems to understand better what’s going on around her and we can play more complex games with her too! She’s become an opinionated and noisy little girl. 😃
Maia has learned to move around a bit in her own way which is a combination of rolling, wiggling, climbing and crawling. She can get to all fours from sitting upright and wiggles forward a bit but isn’t properly crawling yet – forward that is! She ends up going backwards and I can totally understand her frustration. 😄 She’s also climbing up against things and so I’ve covered the floor in her playroom with a foam playmat puzzle to soften her pretty regular falls. On my shopping list are socket covers and gates for stairs which I need to get ASAP for our three-storey house. We are making the ground floor – open plan playroom, kitchen and diner – a completely baby-safe zone where she can play without us having to worry about her getting hurt.
Maia is fascinated with mirrors and often has “chats” with the baby in the mirror and seems to wave at her. 😄 Maia has been increasingly curious about her own hands and fingers and has the cutest little two-handed wave! Seeing mummy in the mirror always puts a smile on her face (no one has been quite so happy to see my face, ever!). The Peekaboo-game is her new favourite. I haven’t yet tested how long she can go on but longer than mummy anyway. I just love her excited squeals and giggles!
Our baby is quite a little mermaid and enjoys being in the water – pool, lake, sea, you name it! On our holiday we took turns with my husband to take her into the water giving the other one a chance to relax on a sun lounger. Splash!
I’ve recently lifted Maia’s buggy seatback to upright position (forward facing) to give her more support because Maia won’t relax and lean back unless she’s really tired. The harness is a must at all times otherwise she’ll wiggle out of the buggy in no time. I have received a few questions about the sheepskin in her buggy – I use it because it’s naturally temperature regulating and is supposed to be cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Doesn’t she look like a big girl? 😊 (I have mixed feelings about it.)
Maia may act like a big girl but she is quite petite. She still wears “3-6 months” size (68cm) but I just noticed some of her leggings are getting a bit short so she must have gotten longer. I got her weighed at 8-months exactly (about three weeks ago) and she weighed 6.39kg. She’s been small since birth but after her 6-month weighing she has “dropped a line” in the growth chart, from 9th to 2nd centile. This coincides with weaning but I’m not sure the two things are related. I still breastfeed Maia several times a day. She loves the boob and I also enjoy these special bonding moments and am I no hurry to stop. In any case, we agreed with the health visitor that I’ll try (even) hard(er) to feed her more solid food.
I’m not going to lie, this made me question the baby led weaning-approach a little bit. I’m all about gentle parenting and allowing Maia develop at her own pace only giving her opportunities to practice new skills such as eating solid food. But of course this can’t have a negative impact on her physical growth!
The irony is that I think Maia eats well! Not big quantities but she likes food and prefers to feed herself (finger food) and usually eats anything (but not everything) I give her. Maia likes to sit at the table with us and unless she’s tired, mealtimes are generally messy but fun. She can get bored quickly which is why the amounts of food eaten at once aren’t big. As a compromise I started giving her also purées with a spoon to make sure she gets enough.
Maia sleeps two naps a day, one around 9am and the other around 1pm. Often the morning nap is the longest, probably because she has it in her nursery while the afternoon nap is often in the buggy on the go. Sleep at night hasn’t been great (= has been pretty bad) recently but because it’s been impacted by teething, jet lag, and travelling around, I won’t comment on it more than that… I just hope it’ll improve soon now that we are at home!
As you can see in the picture above Maia has learned to climb up in her cot, little mischief! While we were travelling she slept in a travel cot (when not next to me) but now that we are back home we need to drop the cot bottom before she falls/climbs out of it!
A week before her 8-month Maia got her first tooth! Left bottom tooth to be exact. 😊 Three day’s later the left upper tooth appeared! She didn’t get rosy cheeks nor was she drooling but she was definitely fussier and was waking up frequently during the nights before the first tooth cut through. Lots of boob time and cuddles – it’s clearly not fun business, teething… I’ve given her fresh apple and carrot slices to chew on and I’ve rubbed some teething gel on her gums to help.
Two weeks on and we now have all four front teeth visible and her smile looks so different! And yes, for those who wonder, she does bite me and those little toothy pegs are sharp!
The months just go faster and faster…
xoxoxo,
Sini