8 months {Nolan}

Size: No official weigh-in since a couple weeks ago, but probably mid- to upper-17 lbs and around 27.5in long (totally a guess). Wearing 6-9 month and 6-12 month clothing, size 2 shoes, size 3 diapers. Still a little string bean!

Illness: Oh boy, we've been dealing with an "ear infection" basically the whole month. On January 16th, he had a double ear infection which was supposed to be his re-check from the December 28th ear infection. Since we had just finished Augmentin, we switched to cefdinir (? Sorry pharmacist friends if I just wrote the wrong name down). I could tell that it wasn't touching the ear infection so on January 25, I had to take Jonah to the pediatrician for his ear infection, I brought Nolan along and to no one's surprise, he still had a raging ear infection! Rocephin shot and back to Augmentin. We went to the ENT the next week and of course, his ear drums were not vibrating and there's a good chance his middle ear is all full of fluid so they've recommended tubes. I'm not overly thrilled about it, but the poor kid has had some kickin' ear infections over the past few months that I'm quite willing to give it a try! As of right now, he has his surgery scheduled for February 25, so please keep him in your prayers over the coming weeks!

Gross Mobility: He's done every pre-crawling motion... except crawl! Nolan crawls backwards, presses up onto his hands and feet (like he's planking), and rocks in place--no crawling yet! I feel like it's going to be any day now that he figures this out! We've seen him advance forward only a couple times and he quits after one motion! He can quite easily get from sitting to his tummy and has just started to get from his tummy into sitting all by himself. Nolan still rolls around on the floor and tries to scoot on his bottom. I've seen him attempt to try to pull to stand (unsuccessfully at this time), but I can see in his eyes that he's gonna try to figure that out as soon as he can get crawling. This month, he's been enjoying playing at his standing table with big brother and likes to let go on occasion--haven't seen a total meltdown over plopping down on his bottom from standing! Nolan has now graduated out of his bath seat and sits in the tub like a big boy with brother!

Fine Motor: Nolan loves puffs and cheerios! He will happily sit in his highchair playing with and eating his Os until they are all gone. This is the only food that he's really good at right now, but has had a couple good experiences with feeding himself peas. When we have tried other foods like pears and peaches, he doesn't seem to like the texture much at all! One thing he has really shown an interest in this month is making noise with his hands! If he has a rattle or a plastic tub, he will shake that rattle incessantly or bang his hands on that tub making all the noise he can!  And he took an interest in ripping off his monthly sticker.

Communication: I'm not too surprised that he didn't "pass" his hearing test the other week, but I know he can hear so hopefully having these tubes placed will limit any hearing/language development delays. I've been beginning to hear some "mmm" and "buh" sounds recently, so I'm feeling better about his language at this stage. Of course, he knows how to scream and whine to get his point across more clearly...

Sleep: No big changes this month here. Still going to bed somewhere in the 8pm hour and waking in the 5am hour. Naps are totally hit or miss, but generally is 30 minutes to 2 hours twice a day, with an occasional power nap at dinner time if both naps are short.

Feeding: Schedule is pretty much the same, but we've ditched the cereal and do purees and soft foods 3 times a day. 5am--nursing, 8am --4-6oz puree/soft foods, 10am--5oz bottle, 12:30pm-- 4-6oz puree/soft foods, 2:30pm--5oz bottle, 5pm--5oz bottle, 7pm-- 4-6oz puree/soft foods, 8:30pm--5oz bottle. New purees this month: canteloupe (jury is still out on this one) and mango. Soft foods this month: banana pancakes, yellow squash, peas, black beans, pinto beans, refried beans and yogurt. Still around the 75-100% breastfed daily, but I can see my supply starting to dip. I'm a little concerned that if he feels better after these tubes AND he hits a 9 month growth spurt... we're in trouble!

Personality: I think this kid is totally gonna keep us on our toes! He is so funny and so expressive about everything! His faces are hilarious sometimes and he is so giggly when people interact with him. Then other times, he is such a grump and won't let you put him down! I'm really hoping that the grumpy side of him is just his ears hurting (not that I am wishing discomfort on him!) and this will subside with successful tubes in his ears! Nolan has reached the month I despised the most with Jonah...8 months. Jonah was a crab the whole month who fussed and fussed and just never seemed happy! I'm hoping that Nolan doesn't linger too long in this phase and quickly exits it as I feel like he's already entered it!

Loves: Sophie the giraffe, Auggie doggie, blankets, mommy's necklace, suction wheel toy, lamb lovie, sleep sacks, getting free rides, big brother, mommy, daddy, bathtime, bathtime toys, legos

Dislikes: medicine, getting his face wiped, staying still on the changing table, one-piece outfits being put over his head (I dunno, he always freaks out), car seat (again--it's a love/hate relationship)

Happy 8 months, Nolan!