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Etta turned 8 months old and is clearly no longer a little baby. She is intensely interested in everything she sees and will lunge at objects we pass by as I carry her in my arms. It’s a real struggle to hold on to her at times. She squirms to get away, but when I put her down she’s often frustrated because she can’t propel herself toward what she desires. But I think crawling is still quite a ways off. Etta loves to be a part of everything I do, so when I’m able, I carry her in the front carrier or backpack. She’s getting a bit large and heavy for the front carrier now, and she still likes to throw her weight to one side while she’s in the backpack (giving me a major backache), so she spends a lot of time in the carriage or highchair, both of which I can wheel from room to room as I go about my housework. Even though Etta is not as advanced in her physical gross motor skills as other babies, she is growing and changing in small ways and the weeks just seem to tumble by. I can’t believe that she’s eight months already – it seems like just last week that she turned six months. Sickness Etta and I were both under the weather with terrible colds early in the month. This was the second cold Etta had, and she suffered much more this time. Her nose dripped, she sneezed, she coughed, she pulled her ears, and she whimpered. I did the same. On the days when we both had fevers our city had a record heat wave, nearly 90 degrees. Instead of hot tea to soothe my throat I was taking cold showers to keep awake enough to meet Etta’s needs. I gave Etta infant’s Tylenol and I popped Tylenol Severe Cold formula, which both my OBGYN and the Pediatrician said I could take while nursing. I wished that I could give Etta decongestants, but the doctor says she’s too young. I used the television as baby-sitter during the times that I was too exhausted to interact with Etta. I laid on the couch resting while Etta sat on her quilt on the carpet below. Etta really enjoys the television, especially children’s educational programs like "Zaboomafoo," "Teletubbies," and "Snippets." I like to put on a Canadian PBS station we get on cable that doesn’t have any advertising and has calming programs geared to toddlers. Etta laughs and "talks" to the images she sees on the screen. Perhaps I should put the television on more often – I only seem to think of it when I’m sick. Hide & Seek If I put a toy in a cardboard box, Etta will turn the box around until she finds how to open it, and then she’ll reach in and take the toy out with a delighted squeal of accomplishment. She also enjoys peek-a-boo, and if given a cloth napkin she’ll hold it up to her face for a moment, and then whip it away, and put it back to her face again. She will also do this with the flap of fabric on my nursing tops, making nursing in public nearly impossible. New "words" Her latest sounds are: "Bwop, A-Bop," and "Bwup." She’s definitely babbling, and exploring all the sounds she can make with the letter "B." She hasn’t said "mama" lately, but still uses the same distinct call when she sees the cats (sounds somewhat like "meow"). Sleeping Etta now sleeps 10 hours straight most nights. This occurred without any coaxing on my part, and truthfully, I miss our 2 am nursings. I had been nursing only one breast at a feeding, but now before she goes down for the night I make her take both breasts, sometimes switching back and forth every few minutes to keep her awake enough to drain them. Now that she sleeps through the night she only nurses four times a day: upon awaking in the morning, before morning nap, before afternoon nap, and before bed. I hope this is providing enough milk for her. I offer the breast throughout the day but she’s usually not interested. Eating New foods this month were cottage cheese and several new varieties of jarred baby food. She loves cottage cheese, the whole fat, large curd kind. Most times I can give it to her on a spoon, but she also loves picking up the large, slippery curds with her fingers off of her tray. A hike in the mountains On July 3rd we drove up to the mountains and took a cold, but beautiful hike at Chinook pass. There was still snow on much of the trail, which made the journey a bit dicey at times. As the trail was a narrow cut into a steep hillside, I was terrified of slipping. Etta rode in the backpack on my husband (I was too nervous to carry her as I’m such a klutz) and she squealed with delight the entire time. In places where the snow had melted and the ground was exposed, there were wildflowers blooming already. As we headed back to the van clouds rolled in and it began to snow. Etta’s cheeks and nose were red from the cold, but the rest of her was toasty warm and happy as could be. Getting ready to travel We’re packing up for a week-long trip to Alaska. I’m so grateful that Etta is not crawling yet, and that she’s still pretty content to just be in someone’s arms. I’m trying not to overpack, but there is so much I want to bring. |
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