SAHM I Am: Vincent's 8 Month Update!

I am over a week late posting this, but here is Vincent's update! He turned 8 months old on the 7th of November. :)

Height/Weight: According to our home scale and measuring tape, Vincent weighs 20lbs (57%) and is 28 inches long (62%) with a head circumference of cm (95%).

Daily: During the majority of the past month, we had the same daily routine as we did when I last updated, but now that Vincent has gotten a little older, he is needing more awake time during the day and less nap time. I am SO grateful for the ladies in one of my Facebook groups, who gave me great advice about changing Vincent's schedule! Since we've begun this new routine, there have been no more instances of being up until 2 or 3 AM with a baby who refused to sleep.

Now, we get up every morning at 8 AM unless Vincent wakes earlier, in which case we stay in the bedroom and have some quiet time until 8. Now he takes about 3 1/2 hours worth of naps during the day and is awake for about 8 hours. In those 8 hours, he enjoys army crawling about and exploring the house! I've baby proofed the house pretty well for the most part, and I keep the areas blocked off that aren't baby friendly. He LOVES the dogs and cats - he likes to steal kisses from Yoda (which I very quickly try to prevent haha!) and pet the kitties. As soon as they come near him, he starts laughing hysterically! He still really enjoys his horse bouncer and swatting at the toys hanging from his activity gym, while sitting upright. I am sad to say he has "grown out" of his bouncy seat. He still fits in it fine, but he tries to escape out of it by leaning forward so far, that I'm afraid he will fall out of it! I occasionally put him in his swing in our bedroom if I am cleaning in there or folding clothes and he still enjoys giggling at the bees and mirror on the mobile.

We still end the day with the same routine - every other night, he gets a bath either with his dad in the tub or in the kitchen sink. He loves to splash and hold his hand under the faucet when the water is running! I put him in his zipadee-zip, we have story time, then I feed him an "oat bottle" before bed.

Sleep: Sleep continued to be really good almost all the way through the month of October. He went down between 8 and 9 and woke between 2 and 4 times for a quick feed and went right back to sleep with no fuss. A couple of weeks ago, he hit a new wonder week, so we were back to bad sleeping. It took HOURS to get him to sleep - we would be up until 2 or 3 AM. So, as I mentioned earlier, I got some great advice from mommies in my Facebook group and I've completely changed his sleep and nap schedule. We wake at 8 AM, then he goes down for a nap from 10-12. At 3, he goes down for his final nap and I wake him at around 4:30, if he isn't up before then. I wanted to stick to the 8 PM bedtime, but since switching his schedule, he now goes down at about 7:30. I try to get him down before he becomes overtired and struggles to fall asleep.
I've also begun not letting him nurse or have a bottle to fall asleep. I feed him in the light and talk to him, to encourage him to learn how to fall asleep on his own. It is REALLY helping! So I've been putting him down in the crib awake and not picking him up when he fusses, unless he wakes for a feeding. Instead, I rub his head or sing to him, because getting him out of the crib wakes him up and I have to begin the "settle down" bedtime routine all over again.

He is still waking a few times per night, but I think once he has adjusted to this new schedule and is done with this wonder week leap, it will improve.
His Zipadee-Zip is still working GREAT and I think I may order the next size up soon. He seems so comfortable in it and I like that it keeps his hands and feet warm now that it's getting colder.

Eating: I've had to begin supplementing a lot with formula, because my supply is just not keeping up. I've tried everything from lactation cookies and supplements to pumping between feedings and drinking a beer in the evenings. Frankly, I was so stressed over it, that my supply dropped more and more every day. Once I let it go and stopped beating myself over the head about it, I've become so much less stressed. He was exclusively breastfed for 6 months straight and is healthy and thriving. Whether breast milk or formula, he is getting the nutrition that he needs and that's all that matters! I still nurse him a few times a day and for every feeding during the night. I give him about three bottles during the day, depending on how hungry he still is after nursing on both sides. Instead of mixing breast milk and formula together, I give him either straight breast milk or straight formula. Every night before bed, I give him a 6 oz "oat bottle", like I have been for the past several months. Fortunately, he goes from breast to bottle and breast milk to formula with no issues at all. I found that pumping was part of my stress, because I would worry if I wasn't able to pump enough. So I've completely stopped pumping.
He eats solids 1-3 times a day, just depending on whether or not he wants it. Some days he wants one piece of food after another, and other days he is uninterested and tosses it on the floor, or in the case of a popsicle, bangs it on the table until the food flies off it and onto the walls and floor (which the dogs love!) Haha! His favorite is still apples! :) I can absolutely not spoon feed him anymore. He will blow raspberries into the spoon or once the food is in his mouth and it splatters in my face. xD

Sizes: Vincent has grown out of most all of his 6 month clothing and is wearing 6-9 and 9 month clothing, all of which seem to be around the same size. I'm still finishing off the rest of his size 3 nighttime diapers, but otherwise, he is in size 4. He kept having one blowout after another in size 3 and I was washing his sheets and sleep wear every day. Size 3 is supposed to go up to 28 lbs (?!?!) and Vince is just under 20, but that size is just not working anymore!

Milestones and Changes:

Vincent had his first Halloween! He was "Captain Stinker" and we had a great time at the party we attended. :)

We also visited the pumpkin patch for the first time as a family. It was a fun trip - Vince got a kick out of looking at the animals!

As speaking of - he does NOT like mommy's hair dryer or the sound of ripping paper. It scares him so badly, he cries! But for some reason, the vacuum cleaner or garbage disposal don't bother him at all, probably because he hears them both very often.

He is totally mobile - at the end of last month, he was beginning to army crawl and now, there's no keeping him out of things unless he is in his pack n play or strapped into something! If I put him down on his butt, he leans forward into an awkward looking baby yoga position until he flops forward onto his tummy. He still doesn't get up on his knees, but that doesn't keeping him from dragging himself all over the house. His favorite location is (was) the dog bed, until I moved it out of reach! I have a feeling he will skip crawling on his knees and go straight to walking - he tries to push off on his feet on the floor and likes to stand, although he can't do this unassisted yet.

pre baby-proofing - he wouldn't leave Daddy's shoes alone!

above mentioned awkward yoga pose ^^

Vincent is starting to purposefully drop things, particularly when he is in his high chair. I can tell when he isn't interested in eating anymore, because he will drop his food.
He likes to bounce a lot!! He bounces his butt wherever he is sitting. This is often accompanied by headbanging haha!

Vincent is a talker - he will just sit and babble all day long. His recent new sounds are "Lalala" "Rarara" "Daddy" and "Thith". He sometimes sounds like is saying "Hi" or "Yeah" as well! When he first discovers a new sound or "word", he will say it over and over for several weeks and not want to say anything else! He hasn't said "mom-mom" in a while, like he was for over a month straight. Now, he says "da-da" a lot and clacks his tongue!