Isn’t weird how your child can seem virtually the same for months and then all of a sudden, they are this whole new person? That isn’t just true with babies — I’ve had this same revelation regarding Ella recently — but I feel like Polly grew up so much in the last several weeks. I didn’t even notice while it was happening, I just realized this weekend that so many of these prompts from last month are really different from our current situation. I guess that is exactly why I’m recording all of these details, even though I might be the only one who enjoys reading them!
eight months as of May 5, 2019
Height + Weight: I’m not sure about Polly’s stats this month (and she won’t go back to the pediatrician until late June), but I would guess she’s around 17 pounds or so.
Clothes: This is one of the few things that hasn’t changed much from her 7 month update — she is still wearing mostly 6-9 or 6-12 months clothes and a size 3 diaper.
Sleep: This is the first time in months that I’ve had something positive to report, when it comes to sleep. Once I admitted that Polly isn’t going to sleep through the night as long as she’s nursing, I feel like we fell into a better routine and we’re all getting more quality sleep. She’s waking up every four hours to nurse (which is completely doable for me) and goes right back to sleep with a full belly. We have had a few random nights where she was restless for anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes before falling back asleep, but since Josh is usually up at least once during the night, he happily takes those shifts.
Schedule: We’re nursing 6-8 times a day, depending on her schedule, and we’ve finally started introducing more than one solid meal a day. On the weekends, we eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner as a family and I’ve been packing easy things for her to eat at daycare, too. She’s also napping great and usually gets an hour nap in the morning and a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, with a random cat nap here and there.
Health: Polly seems to be doing really well, aside from a nasty spot of excema on her belly that we can’t seem to tackle. It will clear up with treatment, but comes back in the same place, every few weeks. She’s having some tummy aches, which I’m sure can be attributed to new foods being introduced, but I’m going to start her on a supplement for that today. We’re also a little worried about measles, since she isn’t old enough to be vaccinated for that yet, but there have been confirmed cases in infants nearby. I’m being more particular about where we take her these days.
Crying: She just isn’t much of a crier, thank heavens!
Likes: Gosh, she is just the cutest. She really likes her people and has started lighting up when we enter the room. She really likes it when I get home in the afternoons and I love watching her little legs move so fast. Other than that, she’s pretty consistent about the things she loves — bath, dinner, slinging, worship time at church, being outside. She also loves kicking the map above her changing mat, any time I lay her there.
Dislikes: She doesn’t love mixing textures of food — she got a little ground beef and avocado in her mouth at the same time on Friday and wasn’t a fan! She also hates it when we first put her in her bed, but she rarely fusses more than a few minutes. Recently, when I lay her on her changing table, she starts crying as if I’m not going to pick her up. I have to distract her with a diaper or cream and ask her to “be a helper!” to keep her from being upset.
Milestones: Polly can go from sitting to laying down without knocking herself out and can almost get back into a sitting position without help. She will roll all over our house and even adjusts her trajectory to pick up a toy, here and there. She is super independent and loves playing in our living room floor, where a few weeks ago, she fussed every time I set her down. She has been saying dada since her sixth month, but she finally knows what she’s saying. She’ll look at Josh when we ask about dada or she’ll say it straight to his face. She’s been adding lots of new sounds this week and I think we’re almost ready to call bye-bye as her second word — she even started waving over the weekend and it is the cutest thing ever.
Places She’s Been: This has been a pretty quiet month and we haven’t added any new places to our list, but next month brings our first big vacation and we are so excited!
Mama, Daddy + Big Sisters: Her sisters have both been playing a bigger role in caring for her and helping out around the house. Not only is it great for Polly, but it has been a huge help for me. Ella had friends over this past weekend and they are completely enamored with Polly. They took turns wearing her in the sling and playing with her, while I cooked dinner and cleaned up a bit around the house.
Josh is just the best daddy and nothing much has changed about that. He is always so willing to help me however I need him to and never turns me down when I need a break away from home. He’s kept her more in the past month than he had before, but that’s more a reflection on me willingly leaving her at home that anything to do with him. It’s hard to pump on the go, when I could just as easily take her along! I love seeing him wear her in the Baby Bjorn and they will lay side by side in the floor and play for hours. Girl daddies are kind of the best.
It’s crazy to think I’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day this week as a mom of three. I saw that in my future so many years ago, but I never expected that to be a reality. The longer Polly is a part of our lives, the more in awe of God’s plan I become. It’s still really hard to be a mom of three kids, but it definitely gets easier with time. I secretly love telling new people our story or explaining the girls’ age difference, because it always gets the best reactions.
How are we three fourths of the way through Polly’s first year?! I am loving watching her grow up, but I can’t believe how fast it’s going.
