Alli turned 8 months old on Mother's Day! We've gotten into a little "groove" and the days and nights propped up on the couch with a sleeping newborn are just a distant memory. I love a baby on a schedule!
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| Happy 8 month old! |
Our little peanut last weighed in at 16 pounds and 26 inches long. She was between the 25th and 50th percentiles for weight, height, and head circumference. Perfectly proportional! Her pediatrician was really pleased with her progress, and she is meeting all of her milestones. She's rolling over from front to back and back to front with ease, and she is decidedly a tummy sleeper. She'll sit up on her own for a little bit, but she is such a little busy-body that she gets distracted easily and tips over. When she's on her belly, she looks like she wants to do "The Worm", wiggling her little self around to reach for her favorite toys. She has no teeth yet, which I love because you forget what that gummy smile looks like as soon as they get teeth. She is definitely teething though, and wants her toys, fingers, our fingers, anything she can get her hands on in her mouth all the time. She stopped using a pacifier after about 3 months, just like her big brother. I'm actually happy about that. One less thing to have to think about down the road!
Alli continues to be a great sleeper. She takes 2 regular naps each day, about 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. She goes to bed around 7:30pm and sleeps straight through until between 6:30-7:30am. It is nice to get sleep again.
Over the last month, it feels like the plague hit our house. Alli started with some congestion and runny nose and then it sounded like it was settling in her chest. We took her to the doctor, and he prescribed breathing treatments to clear her up. We did the breathing treatments for a few days and she wasn't getting better, spiking a fever, and just not acting like her normal self. Back to the doctor she went, and was prescribed an antibiotic for sinusitis, which we learned is not too common in infants because their sinuses aren't completely developed until after 1 year old. Poor baby would wake up every morning with her nose completely crusted over and her eyes all goopy and crusty. She looked like she had been beat up, with red rings under her eyes. It sure is hard when your children don't feel good. It's even harder when you are sick AND your kids are sick... that should SO not be allowed. Hubs ended up getting sinusitis (prescribed antibiotic) and I ended up losing my voice and having laryngitis (prescribed a steroid shot in my hip). UGH! We can't win over here. :( So, Alli took her antibiotic for 10 days and seemed better for a couple days, but then it started all over again!!! I emailed the doctor and based on her symptoms, he said it sounded like the sinusitis hadn't completely cleared up, so he prescribed yet another, stronger antibiotic. She's currently been taking the new medication for 3 days and it seems like she is pretty much back to normal, thank goodness, and so are we! Luckily (knock on wood), Andrew seemed to dodge the bullet this time around.
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| Sick baby :( |
Then on top of it all, last weekend I decided to let Alli have her first snack of the little Gerber baby puffs. She seemed to like them and ate 6. Two hours later, she was violently vomiting until everything was out of her system. So now, my concern is that she has some sort of sensitivity or allergy to grains, since she had the previous vomiting episode after the rice cereal. Her pediatrician told us that they can't test for an allergy until she is 1, but for now to limit whole grains and stick to fruit and veggie purees. He said it could be that her system just can't handle the grains right now and needs time, or it could be a food allergy. This little girl is putting us through the ringer with her food issues! We're just starting to transition to stage 2 purees, but even some of those seem too "chunky" for her liking and she gags. Help me, Rhonda!
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| Enjoying her first snack of puffs |
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| Practicing her fine motor skills |
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| The aftermath- all emptied out :( |
On the bright side, she seems MUCH better now and we are just being careful with what we give her. You just never think of these things when you have a baby!
So, the fun part of a baby at this age is their personality! Alli's is emerging and she is turning into quite the little ham. Whenever we travel somewhere, I love talking to Andrew. Alli just chimes right in when she's awake, blowing raspberries and babbling away (ba-ba-ba and ma-ma-ma and mmmmmm are some of her go-to "words" right now). If you shake your head "no", she will mimic with a big smile, shaking her head "no" too. She's also decided it's a fun game to pull my hair and let out a huge giggle when I say "OUCH!". Kisses on her neck always make her squeal out in laughter and she is enjoying playing peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake with us and Andrew.
Only one more month left of school and then I get this little cutie all to myself every day! I bought her a little swimsuit the other day and can't wait to get her in the water. She's going to be a lot of fun this summer!
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| Fun at the park 5-10-14 |
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| Sitting pretty 5-11-14 |
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| I'm 8 months old! |
