Almost 8 Months

Mother's Day today! It's strange to think I've joined the club of motherhood so I can actually think this day is partly about me.

But on to you: You're crawling quite well now. It took you a long time to figure it out -- you spent over a month getting up on your hands and knees, rocking back and forth, doing face plants into the carpet, etc. But finally about 4 days ago you started moving. It was so fun to watch. You were so deliberate in your first crawls across the carpet. Now you move around pretty quickly, and go to anything you find interesting, namely: the cat, chair legs, cords, or us! You like to crawl around on our laps and you even pushed up to a standing position on my belly yesterday, and once pulled up to standing on your high chair leg!! Wow. You are totally engrossed in your new found motion. I compare it to being a parapalegic and then being able to amazingly walk one day. You have not wanted to go to bed until after 8 the past couple nights, which is not really normal. You are MUCH too interested in practicing moving around, and even get frustrated when I try to nurse you, which I can understand.

You babble a lot, too. You can say "ma ma ma ma," "ba ba ba ba," "na na na," and "da da da da." You even interchange them, and will say, "ma ma ba ba ba ma ma ma." Fairly "advanced" for a baby your age. :)

You have been waking up every 2 hours at night for a long time... a month or two. It's frustrating, and I'm not yet quite sure what the deal is. Sometimes you fall back asleep on your own, sometimes you nurse back to sleep, and every once in a while we get out of bed and rock you. I tried putting you in your own bed on the floor but then you wake up every hour... even worse! When you wake up you're crying, so I sometimes wonder if it's the massive amount of teeth you've been getting that make it bad and hard for you to stay asleep. Honestly, you are the most toothy baby of your age I've seen. You already have five visible teeth and there are three more ready to poke through at any day. Basically, you've been constantly teething since 4 months of age. I can tell it hurts... ouch! Also, sometimes when you wake up I look over and you're trying to crawl around. I know you get so determined you can't quit doing it at night. Between the new skills, and the teeth, it's no wonder you're a restless sleeper. I hope it gets better soon! One or two wake-ups I can handle, but not four or six!! I think the last time you slept through the night was at the yurt... :)

Still, though, you are a joy and a dream. You are adorably cute awake and in your restless sleep, and I relish every moment by your side.