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Dear Vera: 8 month baby

Dear Vera,

Eight months old today and you are getting so big! You still aren’t crawling, but I’m not worried about you. I know you’ll get there when you get there. Your dad thinks you’ll be walking before you crawl, as you can already stand up for a few seconds if you have something to hold onto. I think maybe there are just too many people around who want to hold you, you have no motivation to crawl anywhere on your own!

You’ve still got two little teeth and you’re loving the transition to more solid, grown up foods. You’re learning to use your hands to feed yourself, and while you tend to make quite the mess, you’re getting better at it all the time. You also seem tall and big for your age. You are wearing 12 month clothes already and those cheeks keep getting chubbier! I know you’ll lose some of that baby fat when you start moving more. Maybe that’s also what’s keeping you from getting your crawl going though. You’ve got to get those muscles built up enough to support yourself, haha.

We’re struggling with your sleep schedule right now, but I think it’s really tied into a bigger problem you’re having with separation anxiety. For the past few weeks you’ve suddenly become nearly terrified of being alone and will scream and cry hysterically if we leave your sight for even a minute. When you wake up at night alone in your crib you cry uncontrollable until I let you lie next to me. Once you drift off again, I can lay you back down, but it has been happening several times a night this past week, and that makes for sleep deprived parents in the mornings. We’re trying some things that we hope will help (like letting you sleep in your pack-and-play next to our bed again for a little while so you don’t feel abandoned at night, and playing lots of peak-a-boo so you get used to the idea that things aren’t gone if you can’t see them), so hopefully we can get this figured out so we can all get back to a regular sleep routine.

Your anxiety is also causing mom and dad some stress right now with our daycare situation. We’re in-between caregivers again and very much looking forward to this time next month when you’ll be back at your normal in-home daycare. Maybe getting back to a more stable routine with someone you recognize and have been with since your were eight weeks old will help with this too. I’ve been wondering if suddenly not seeing her after being there almost everyday may be contributing to this sudden fear you’ve developed that people aren’t coming back if you can’t see them. Or maybe it’s just that you’ve reached an age of more awareness and are nervous in new situations. It’s hard to say, and you won’t tell us! I just hope we can figure you out soon. This parenting thing is trial and error sometimes, and that is as frustrating for us as I know it is for you. We’ll get there though, I promise.

On the happier side of things, this past month has been so so fun with you. You love being around us and you jump and kick and laugh and smile whenever either of us gets home to see you at night. You are also saying ‘DaDa’ constantly, which your daddy loves. I’m not convinced you know what it means yet, but we’ll work on ‘MaMa’ anyway.

You’re in a good mood almost all the time (as long as you can see us that is- this month’s picture is a great example of your usual state!) and you’ll sit quietly and content with almost anyone who wants to hold you. You still love being outside and have gotten to experience some new weather lately. You felt raindrops for the first time and they were met with wide eyes and big grins as you tried to eat the rain sprinkling your face. I can’t wait for you to see snow for the first time, and for all your first holidays coming up in the next few months!

I love you so much.

Love, Mom

7 month baby

See my girl at 7 months

6 month baby

See my girl at 6 months

5 month baby

See my girl at 5 months

4 month baby

See my girl at 4 months

3 month baby

See my girl at 3 months

2 month baby

See my girl at 2 months

See my girl at 1 month

See my girl at 1 week

2 Comments

  • Jordan Marie

    awe! our babies are only weeks apart.
    i have twin brothers.. they are 13 now. (read you were a twin)
    i also love photography..
    so we have a few things in common there. lol.

    hope you have a great week! <3xojo

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Hi, and thanks for the comments! :) I just saw your blog (via my FB page) and it does look like we have a lot in common! Very nice to meet you. I will now be reading you often. :)

      Also… if you ever want to be featured on my Twin Tuesdays with your brothers, it would be kind of awesome to have life with twins from a sibling perspective.

      Reply

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