Life with Greyson and Fynnlee – 8 Months

So the Beans are 8 Months old. 8 Months and 8 days, actually. Wrap your head around that little piece of info. What kind of alternate universe am I living in? The crazy kind where time flies by at warp speed and you just stand there shaking your head wondering “How did I get here?”

December tends to fly by as it is. All the holiday hoopla and festivities make things just coast along until you blink and it’s New Years Day. But this month has gone by so quickly. And it’s so sad because it was a really, really good one!

  

 Eat

The kiddos are still drinking 24-28 oz of formula every day. Wakeup, mid morning, mid afternoon and before bed. They are also eating 2 solid meals consisting of 4-6 oz of puree and 1-2 T of oatmeal. I’ve offered them some bites of soft food (including a bit of a Christmas cookie…shhhh, don’t tell Jerry) but they basically just spit them out. They’ve also had those puff things and some yogurt melts and they spit those out as well. And Fynnlee choked on one so that freaked me out. Not Heimlich choking, but cough::cough::cough choking.  And I mashed up a banana so it had a chunkier texture and she legit vomited all over her highchair and herself. So I guess she’s just not ready. Greyson doesn’t love texture yet and basically just spits it out. I’m trying not to get too worked up about it…but I’ll admit I’m a bit concerned.

They still love all fruit and any veggie mixed with fruit. I’m still making most of our food at home but the pouches are really nice to use for travel. The only dairy we’ve done is yogurt. Our pediatrician said to give them pretty much any and all food now but I’m still a little gun shy on peanut butter. I need some baby Benadryl on hand first, I think.

Sippy cups are exclusively given at school but they’re still getting bottles at home. I’m going to phase those out over the next couple of months. Goal for this month is sucking out of a straw and eating directly from a pouch.

Sleep

I know we had some awful nights, but I don’t really remember them. I think it’s natures way of insuring the human race lives on. Both Beans were sick and supposedly Fynnlee is cutting teeth (for the last 3 months) so that made for some fitful sleep. But just like everything with these babes, it was a temporary situation. As was the 6:30 – 4:07am cycle we had that lasted for two weeks. Yes, 4:07am. Exactly…at least a half dozen times. Weird, huh?  I would love to have the 6:30 – 6:30 bedtime deal that I’ve read about so many people having. But my kids have rarely (if ever) slept for 12 hours straight. I’m lucky I’m a morning person. And I don’t mind going to sleep at 8:30.

These babies are still a dream to get to sleep every night. They do not like to be kept waiting for their bedtime. They start to get fussy around 6:15 and that’s when we start winding down the evening. They get hazy during their last feeding and make no fuss when I take them upstairs and zip them in their sleep sack. They roll on their bellies and it’s lights out.

We’re still rockin the white noise. I would cut off a digit before giving up my vacuum cleaner sound machine. We also bought a Crane cool mist humidifier and it’s really awesome. I add some lavender essential oil to the water and it creates a nice, peaceful environment.

I noticed that I’m rocking and singing them to sleep a lot more. (They still love Wheels on the Bus) It generally only takes 3-4 minutes so I don’t think I’m creating any issues. And if I am, so what. I get a few more months where they fit in the crook of my arm and will let me snuggle them. So I will take all I can get while they’re still babies.

Poop Pee

I was going to eliminate this bullet completely because do we really need to be talking about poop at this point? Babies poop. The End.

But I’m leaving the elimination heading because I have a question for the internets. Greyson has wet through his diaper a couple of times over the last few weeks. I put a size 4 diaper on him every night, nice and high on his belly (think Steve Urkle) and he is till occasionally wetting out the top of it. He sleeps exclusively on his belly and he’s basically just peeing upwards because the back of the diaper is totally dry. Do they make gender specific diapers? I’ve only done a quick google search and all I found were for older boys. Maybe an overnight diaper? Do they have more fluff at the front?

Baby Gear

We’ve eliminated most of our baby stuff. The only thing that’s still up is the swing and I’m not 100% sure we’re not over the weight limit with my petite flower. Oh, and the jumpers. They are still loving those. But they’ve just grown out of the bouncers, Mamaroo, Rockaroo and Rock n plays. Also new this month is baths in the big tub so we’re getting rid of our 4Moms bathtub. We have the activity mats up as well but I see them being put away soon.

I find myself just wanting to get rid of all of it! I sold quite a bit on Craigslist and we’re taking a carload to the consignment store soon.

Greyson Paul

  
Current (unofficial) weight 19.5 lbs
Size 3 Diapers, Size 4 at night
9 month clothes, 6-12 month clothes

* has 4 teeth. The two top ones haven’t fully pushed their way out yet but they are visiable
* still soooooo close to crawling. But not there yet.
* loves to eat. He grunts when you put on his bib until you start shoveling food in.
* says both Dada and Mama but not on purpose. I’m encouraged that he can make the Mamamaaaa sounds!
* Is starting to get ticked off when you take things away from him. But he perks up if you replace it with something better.
* Is constantly giggling. Especially when you snort like a pig or poke him in the belly
* LOVES bath time. He flaps his arms like a bird and slaps the water over and over. We have a water baby!

Fynnlee Ann

  
Current (unofficial) weight 21 lbs
Size 4 Diapers
9 month clothes, 6-12 month clothes

* has 1 tooth! It’s not fully out but it’s there.
* Can stand up while holding on to something for short periods of time
* Says Dadadadadadadaaaaa…but not when she’s looking at Jerry.
* is a maniac in her jumper. She will bounce around for an hour if you let her.
* loves the sound of her own voice. She babbles and yells and AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHs non-stop.
* her fine motor skills are off the charts. She uses her little plastic hammer appropriately and can pick up very small objects.
* is learning to make new sounds. She discovered how to click her tongue and then repeated the sound for 3 hours.

I am just so in love with everything about these Beans. All of it. The good parts and the bad. I love Fynnlee’s passionate hugs and Greyson’s sweet baby giggle. And I love Fynnlee’s dramatic outbursts and Greyson’s ugly cry. It’s what makes them who they are and they are just the most lovely, perfect beings on the planet. Every day brings something new and gives me another reason to cherish them even more. They are growing so, so fast…and that makes me so, so sad. But we have lots and lots fun and exciting adventures in our future. Life really doesn’t get any better than this.