Eight Months

Ford turned EIGHT months old on June 17, 2011, and this delinquent mama is just getting around to posting about it.  I feel like we are just right on the cusp of some major changes around here, and that's made for an extra high-maintenance Ford.  While separation anxiety and lack of sleep has got us beaten down, Ford continues to delight us with his big laugh and funny personality.  He is such a gift.

At EIGHT months, Ford is:

STILL a BIG boy.  He weighs somewhere between 22 and 23 pounds, and I have no idea how long he is, but he's definitely long.  He wears 24 months in most brands, although he can still wear 18 month in a few things.  When my mom makes him bloomers, she uses a 24 month pattern and doesn't put any elastic in the legs -- that's illustrative of the thigh situation we have here.  He just has to slow down soon, as I cannot bear the thought of buying 2T clothes for my less-than-one-year-old child. 

EATING like a champ.  He nurses three times a day (we won't count the nighttime indiscretions, which I'll discuss below).  He eats a big lunch and dinner, with an afternoon snack thrown in for fun.  I think I am about to add breakfast as well, although I've hestitated to do that because I like for him to nurse well in the morning.  Our new favorite food for the month is watermelon.  He absolutely loves it.  He cries when I put the watermelon away.  He also loves squash, peas, and yogurt melts, as well as all his old favorites. 

SLEEPING poorly.  Seriously, I can hardly talk about it.  I didn't think this month could be worse than last, but it is.  I've tried every sleep-training method known to man, and none of them work for us.  Our one fail-safe good sleep trait was that every night, he went down between 7:30 - 8:00 like clockwork, and slept at least three hours before starting his nighttime shenanigans.  But, the last week or so, he's refused to go to bed, and so bedtime has turned into two-hour battles.  I didn't know how much I'd come to rely on those two hours of grown-up time a night, until the Fordman took them from me.  We've been up and down all night, nursing again (we'd had him nightweaned), and refusing to nap anywhere but on Mama or Dada.  He's not sick, his ears don't hurt, and if he's teething, I can't see a new one.  Pray for us.  Ugggh.  We won't still be doing this when he's 15, right?

DOING all kinds of new tricks, and on the cusp of lots more.  My favorite new trick this month:  I read "I am a Bunny" to Ford at least once a day.  As the title would suggest, there's a bunny on every page, and when I read it, I ask where the bunny is and point it out to him.  One day last week, out of the blue, Ford pointed at the bunny when I asked him where he was!  Then, just to prove it wasn't a fluke, he did it again on nearly every page!  Yay for my little buddy!  He can also clap his hands, and it is just so cute.  He has a plethora of new babbles, although no "mama" or "dada" yet.  He's rocking on all fours and trying so hard to crawl.  He loves to stand holding onto something (usually my legs), and I think we're close to pulling up and cruising.  Yikes!  He also loves listening to music, and sometimes I'm certain he's bouncing his little booty, swaying, and clapping to the beat.  Maybe a musician?  The baby books tell me that all these new skills may be the cause of some of our nighttime woes -- i.e., Ford feels the need to practice his new tricks all night long.  As I frequently find Ford in the crawling position at three in the morning, I think they may be onto something.  My son, the workaholic.

EXPERIENCING separation anxiety.  I thought we'd hit this a few months ago, but I was totally wrong.  I know now what anxiety is.  He goes berserk every time I leave the room.  Gone are the days of leaving him content in the exersaucer while I make my coffee in the mornings.  He still loves his exersaucer, of course; he just wants me to be right there with him while he plays.  Makes getting anything done a bit of a challenge, as I am considerably less coordinated with 23 pounds perched on my hip.  I imagine this also contributes to our bedtime battles.  Oh well, it's nice to be loved, I suppose. 

HAD a great time in Hilton Head.  He was an amazing little traveler.  We only stopped ONCE both going and coming, and there were very few tears (from either of us!).  We swam in the pool. strolled, watched Dada play golf, went out to eat, and played with our grandparents, aunts and uncles.  A highlight of the trip:  Oscar said the word "mackerel" at the dinner table, and something about that word sent Ford into belly-laugh hysterics!  I loved that everyone got to hear Ford's adorable laugh.  It was a great trip -- tiring, but made many good memories.  We head to Ono Island next week (Ford and I -- Dada has to work) with Mimi, Aunt Connie Ruth, and our cousins Alina and Ava.  Ford is very excited, as is his mommy.

I'll post pictures this evening, provided Little Dude goes to bed.