Emmeline - 8 months

I can't believe that it is time for another update. Emmeline has had a big month. She moved up a class at daycare, which I think accellerated her physical development. Her new class doesn't have any "containers" like excersaucers or bouncy seats. It is just a free for all baby-pile and a toy box. I was very nervous at first because when she moved up, Emmeline wasn't very mobile yet, only crawling backward, so I wondered how she would do. After a few days of adjustment, she adjusted very well. By the second week she was crawling and playing just fine. I think that it is good for her to learn how to play with the other children in her class. Also, she was getting very attached to one of her teachers in the other class. She likes her new teachers, but doesn't seem to cling as much to them as she did to Miss Amy.

Another change for this month was the addition of more foods. I've started making some of her baby foods and she likes them, once she gets used to them. So far I have the following stock in the freezer: green beans, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, bananas and blueberries. I have some brown rice and some peaches to puree one night this week. All of this eating seems to agree with her. I weighed her last night and she weighs 17 lbs. 13 oz., up 9 oz. in just a week! I couldn't believe it. Before that, she had only gained 4 ounces in two weeks.

We have added breakfast and dinner into the mix last week, which probably accounts for the weight gain. She has home-pureed fruits with baby cereal for breakfast, store bought baby-fruit for a morning snack, store-bought baby veggies for lunch, puffs for an afternoon snack, and home-pureed veggies with a little protein for dinner. She nurses four times a day and gets two milk bottles and one formula bottle during the week. On the weekends she just nurses on demand, but her food schedule stays the same. I was hesitant about adding formula, but she takes it fine at daycare. (She won't touch it from me, David or my mom who keeps her on Fridays. Oh well...)

She loves the dogs so much. When we get her home everyday, she kicks and kicks until she sees the dogs - then she laughs and wants to get down on the floor with them. She and Ginny are bestest friends, and Emmeline thinks that Winni is hysterical, probably because Winni smiles all the time.

New milestones this month are:
waves hello and goodbye
reapeats ma-ma and sometimes says it (It's more like maaaaaaaaaaaaaa when she wants something, but it is a start)
smacks and says "mmmmmmm" when she wants to eat
mouths bye-bye sometimes
chatters on and on, but we have no idea what she is saying
understands "no" and HATES it
crawls really well
pulls to standing
stands for a couple seconds on her own
uses pincher grasp
feeds herself puffs (really she just puts everything in her mouth hoping that it is puffs)
bangs things together and on the ground (and thinks that really funny)
"claps," but sometimes misses
still loves peek-a-boo

We are having some difficulties sleeping again. Right now, I think it is because she is sick with a cold, so I hope that it goes away on its own. She is getting up at least twice at night to nurse, and usually has trouble getting back to sleep once and is up for about 45 minutes to an hour. I know that she can sleep through from about 7 pm-5 am (with a dream feed around 10:30 pm) because she has done it a few times, but I think I'll wait until she is feeling better to work on any sleep re-training. Maybe (hopefully) it will work out on its own.

Anyway, as always, we love her so. I cannot believe how easily and well she melds into our family. Her little personality comes through more and more everyday. She is bright, happy, inquisitive, darling, loving and beautiful - inside and out. Sweet Emmeline, we love her so.