Nicholas' Eight Month Update

 Before yet another month goes by, I thought I should share an update on how little Nicholas is doing...

Nicholas is now eight and a half months old, and I feel like he has changed dramatically in the last six weeks or so...

He is desperately trying to get moving...he will go onto his hands and knees and can scoot backwards, but he's not crawling yet.  He can pull himself up, though, and will "walk" holding our hands, or just stand holding onto something for hours each day.  

I have a feeling this boy is going to skip crawling altogether...

He can now say "Dada", "Mama" and "Baba", but not in context yet.  He also started waving hello last month which is so precious.!

We have started experiencing some separation anxiety...  Even though Nicholas is still a very friendly and smiley little guy, he's not too eager to go to just anyone anymore, and doesn't like it if I hold another baby or do anything which means he doesn't get my full attention.  

He is just fitting into 18-24 month clothing which is crazy.  I have no idea what he weighs, but he's growing, no doubt about that!

He is eating three meals a day with a snack somewhere in between, and usually nursing twice in every wake window.  This boy loves his food and is still breastfed.  Breastfeeding is really not fun anymore as he wriggles and pulls off the whole time, and even though he doesn't have teeth yet, he has bitten me.

Nicholas is very busy...from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning or after a nap, he is on the go, and this mama is struggling to keep up!  I still take him out as often as possible to keep him stimulated, and he is outside for a good few hours each day, whether it be on his play mat with his stacking cups and plastic tea set, or in the sand pit, or in his pram for a walk, he gets lots of sunshine and fresh air.  

He actually had his first swim on Sunday which he absolutely loved!

In terms of sleep, things are still pretty inconsistent.  After we got back from our trip, we started sleep training for night wakings and nap time because we were co-sleeping and he was waking sometimes eight times a night and nursing whenever he wanted to.   I just wasn't coping anymore.

Some nights he will wake at 11pm and cry for an hour (I check in on him every so often), other nights he will sleep till 2 or 3am before waking for a feed.  

And we have even had a few 9, or like last night, ten hour stretches, which has been amazing!  

Nicholas is an early bird, but thankfully summer is coming and we don't really mind getting up early.

Usually he only takes two naps a day, and he will go down by himself which is a game changer for us.  Some days he will do one or two long naps or 1 hour +, other days, like today, he woke after 35 minutes and I had to go in and get him down again.  

His wake windows are about 2 hours and 45 minutes to three hours long now, except between his last nap and bedtime, which can sometimes be four hours, depending on what time he woke from his second nap.

At the moment, Nicholas loves...

Eating raisins.  He can pick them up beautifully and will even transfer a raisin from his left hand to his right hand.  

Having Mommy sing 'Pat-a-Cake' and help him do the actions.

"Walking" with Mommy and Daddy's help.

Playing with Fletch or holding onto him and standing.

Bath time

Riding in his new big boy car seat

I can't believe that our baby is already almost nine months old...

I love having a little boy around and even though I am sad he is growing up, I am enjoying this stage and cherishing each moment.

~

Happy October, dear friends!

How are things in your corner of the world this month?