Claire @ 8 Months

Life with the Claire Bear is so much fun! I'm so grateful I get to be her mom!

These next few pictures crack me up. This is what she does when she gets frustrated, especially if she's trapped in her car seat and trying to break free.

We occasionally get comments about her good posture haha.

She loves babies and stuffed animals and always kisses them.

Love her hair that's growing in.

She can stand but gets really nervous.

Eating: For a few weeks there, we were doing breakfast, lunch, and dinner + a snack with solid foods every day. Claire did great with this, but it was just way too much work for me right now haha. Right now, she eats solids for breakfast (1/4 banana cut into little pieces & 2 T oatmeal mixed w/breast-milk and water) and dinner (frozen peas, cheerios, other finger foods + 1 jar baby food dinner or 1 pouch of baby food if we're on the go). She also usually has an afternoon snack, kind of just whatever I'm eating (usually an apple or some Cheerios). We are going to avoid all dairy until she is a year old due to her previous reactions to formula. On top of the solid food, she usually drinks 4 6-ounce bottles of breast-milk/day. My milk supply is not great right now (I haven't been as good about pumping every 3 hours), so occasionally I supplement with similac alimentum. It's a hypoallergenic formula for babies with a milk protein sensitivity. It is super expensive and smells yucky, but Claire takes it pretty well. (She will only drink the ready-to-feed formula that comes in the big bottle.)

Here are a list of foods she's tried and done well with-->
apples, bananas, peaches, pears, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, mangoes, carrots, peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, chicken (shredded or puréed), beef (puréed), oatmeal, whole wheat bread, Cheerios, and maybe more stuff I'm forgetting :)

She especially loves the squeeze pouches of baby food and can pretty much do them herself.

Sleeping: We've had a few ups and downs this month because Claire finally got two teeth! Her sleeping was pretty disrupted for about 10 days (even with ib profen/Tylenol and teething tablets), but she is back to being a good little sleeper now. (After one night of sleep training, which was surprisingly not bad. She only woke up once, cried for 30 min. on and off, and went back to sleep until morning.) She sleeps 10-12 hours at night (usually 8:15 pm-7:00 am) and takes two naps during the day. She is starting to be a much more consistently good napper, especially for her morning nap. She usually sleeps from 10-12 and then from 3-3:30 or 4. I live for those long morning naps. :)

Milestones:
-2 bottom teeth popped through right around 8 months
-Started crawling a few weeks shy of 8 months (April 18, 2015) She is a master crawler now. She is fast!
-Will sometimes do "so big" (raises her arms up high if you say "how big is Claire?")

Loves:
-Dogs (and animals of any kind really) & stuffed animals
-The kitchen...if she has free reign she b-lines it straight to the kitchen. She is fast and keeps us chasing her all day long.
-The grass/being outside
-Swings & slides
-Riding on Daddy's/Grandpa's shoulders
-Snuggling in the Bjorne with me if she's tired
-Her pink blankie and her bed when she's tired
-Books with photos of real things
-Jewelry/anything metal and intricate
-Singing songs/clapping (itsy bitsy spider is a favorite)

A typical day-in-the-life right now with Claire at 8 months:

7:00- Claire wakes up, we play for a few minutes then she eats bananas and Cheerios in her high chair while I pump. Then I feed her oatmeal.

8:00- Claire goes with me on a run and drinks a 6-ounce bottle in her stroller. She's a good sport and does really well with this if the weather is nice.

9:00- I bathe Claire and get her dressed. She plays with toys while I shower. (We gated off our office and put all her toys in there. It is awesome. Let's me get stuff done for a few minutes here and there.)

10:00- Claire goes down for a nap. I pump and then fold laundry/read scriptures/watch tv/etc.

12:00- Claire wakes up & drinks a 6 oz. bottle

12-3:00- We usually try to leave the house and do something. Walk to the park, go to Grandma's house, go to the grocery store, etc. Sometimes, if I need to get something done, she'll watch a 30 min. Baby Einstein show while sitting in her exersaucer during this time too.

3:00- Claire drinks a 3 oz. bottle (she usually just takes half of her 6 oz. bottle now and the other half after she wakes up) and then goes down for a nap. I pump.

3:30/4- Claire wakes up and drinks the other half of her bottle. We play outside, run errands, etc.

6:00- Dinner. Claire eats finger foods and 1/2 a jar of a baby food dinner (vegetables and beef or chicken noodle)

6:30-7:30- Play with Daddy/go for a family walk

7:30- Sam gives Claire a bath while I pump.

8:00- Claire drinks 6 oz. bottle

8:15- Sam and I take turns putting Claire to bed each night. We read a story, turn on her white noise, give her her blankie, sing a song, and lay her down. She doesn't usually cry, just rolls around and goes to sleep, most times by 8:30 at the latest.