Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Barrett, 8 months

Barrett, I don't have a lot of time to write this post, and I blame that on you and your brother!

But I just want you to know, that at eight months you are always, always smiling. The other night your grandma (my mom) said to me, "I know how to make Barrett smile! ......Do just about anything!" You smile when you play, you smile when I hold you. You beam at your daddy and your brother. We have wonderful snuggly times in the morning, when William is still sleeping and after I've nursed you, and we lay on the bed and roll around and I tickle your neck and we just smile and laugh at each other. You are roly poly and soft and squishy and hilarious.

You've been officially crawling for at least a week now, probably closer to two. One night your dad called to me in the kitchen and said, "It's kind of sad that Barrett has been crawling and we don't even make a fuss!" I replied, "Barrett isn't crawling yet!" He said, "Yes he is, he's going to town!" And so you were! You think you are pretty big stuff when you crawl around, I can hear you yelling out at the top of your lungs as you go. You are learning that certain things are off limits, like the dog dish or the potted tree. I see you laying on your stomach pondering these things, just gazing at them.

You love to cry out with a loud voice, "Da da da!" It's your favorite and only phrase. Your father is appropriately tickled at this.

You seem to be getting a little pudgier but you are still wearing a couple sets of 6 month pjs, though the sleeves are getting short. You are also in 9 to 12 months sizes, depending on the brand, so it's hard to know how you're growing based on clothing. I'm looking forward to your doctor's visit next month to see how well I've done in stuffing you with food. You are completely over your cold and every single night and morning I thank the Lord that you are healthy. I suppose I am thankful for small colds because they make me appreciate our health that much more.

You are a thumb sucker and it is adorable. I know you're tired when you start sucking your thumb. William never did that, and I'm grateful not to have to break him of the habit, but I have to admit, it's pretty darn cute.

You are also the droolingest baby ever. I had all these extra little baby bibs that were unused with William. I used to wonder what they could possibly be for since they weren't big enough to provide any protection from food. Well, now I know. And we go through several a day.

You are still eating pureed baby food, but over the past couple of days I've started you on small bites of solids like meatloaf or steamed vegetables. Vegetables are a thumbs up, meatloaf, not so much.

You are still spitting up pretty frequently. As I type this you are playing in your command center, having just been removed from the Ergo on my back when I felt an unpleasant sensation of a volume of spit up cascade down the back of my shirt. Yu-uck. It seems like your spitup increases when my diet is less clean.

I'm also struggling a little bit with my milk supply, still. You're showing a couple signs of not getting enough liquid, but by the end of the day I seem to be totally out of milk. Do I supplement with formula? Do I just give you a little bit of water here and there, which you seem to consider a treat whenever you get your hands on William's sippy cup? Almond milk? Cow's milk? I don't know.

These little quirks and issues aside, you are simply the happiest, most joyful, easy-goingest little guy. Sure, you're usually getting up in the night now to eat, but you gave me such uninterrupted rest for so many months that I figure I don't mind. It's hard to remember what life was like without you. I love you so much, my little, big, 8-month-old guy!

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