Good news food loving friends… inspiration is creeping back in after this past week of low-key family focus! Buuuuut today I’m still talking motherhood with Kaitlyn’s 8 month update. These months fly by and I don’t want to fall behind because she is changing so much everyday. So, here it is!
EAT
Eating is really rolling this month. She’s graduated from mostly large pieces to all tiny pieces. Her pincer grip is impressive and she can pick out which foods she wants/is going for (like all the sweet potatoes first). I’m planning a more in depth post on her meals for next week, but she eats 2-3 meals a day. I keep Kaitlyn-specific foods at the ready (frozen peas, roasted sweet potato, boiled eggs, avocado, etc), but she usually has bits of whatever we are having… like spaghetti!
Which clearly warrants going straight to the bath afterwards.
The things she has eaten include: toast with cream cheese, banana, eggs, frozen blueberries, peppers, frozen peas, ground sausage, olives, sweet potato, butternut squash, avocado, pear, broccoli, black beans, tomatoes and roasted carrots. She has eaten more than that, but I stopped keeping track because now she just eats anything. At home, which is where she eats most of her meals obviously, I do feed her all organic.
She doesn’t seem to have any adverse reactions to any foods yet, and I’m hoping that stays true. I’ve introduced her to some Plum Organic pouches and cups of water and I’d say she’s so-so with both at this point.
She still nurses 5 times a day, sometimes 6. I feed her on demand. Despite her hearty appetite, she is a little thing, weighing in at just over 14 pounds. I went to a lactation consultant (locals, I highly recommend Carolyn is you need one!) just to make sure there aren’t any nursing/supply issues and there aren’t. Both the doctor and Carolyn seem to think she is just little like me (I’m only 5’1”), though she does need 9 month clothing for length so I guess she’s at least getting longer/taller ;). Still, I’m focusing on giving her more nutrient/calorie dense foods just to make sure I’m doing my part (avocado, egg yolk, ground beef) in trying to fill her out.
SLEEP
In short? Eh. It’s not that she is a bad sleeper (two nights ago she slept from 7pm to 6:30am so I promise I don’t mean to complain), it’s just that she’s unpredictable (like last night’s 3:30am wake up). Most days she takes two naps, one morning around 9 and another in the afternoon around 1:30/2ish. One of these usually lasts for 45 minutes while the other usually lasts an hour and a half.
She has one tooth and I think another one is working on coming through. Hailey never minded teething much, but Kaitlyn seems pretty sensitive to it, which is what I believe contributes to some wonky sleep patterns.
PLAY
Oh this girl has my heart! She is such a good natured, happy baby.
She is snuggly and cuddly, even with Koda.
yet super adventurous at the same time.
She can climb flights on stairs with impressive speed, which is terrifying to me.
She pulls up on any and everything and has recently been toying with the idea of taking steps while holding on.
Though she gets plenty of bumps, she is actually pretty methodical with how she pulls up and sits back down and approaches it carefully with her little hand always sticking out to catch herself.
I love how happy she is. She’s now pretty content to ride in the car as long as she has toys to play with, which is so nice.
She babbles all the time now (that came out of nowhere!) and even tries to mimic what we say (I’ll say hiiiiiiii and she’ll smile and say iiiiiaaaa).
She has a magical ability to target in on anything she shouldn’t play with- outlets, plastic, wrapping paper…
She bounces and flails her hands when she gets excited and almost always has a squenched up little grin on her face.
What can I say? The peanut brings me so much joy.
Happy 8 months Kaitlyn Elizabeth!
(oh yeah, I totally posted that picture again… it’s my fav!)
For fun: Hailey at 8 Months Old
Happy weekend friends!!!
Farah says
She is such a precious little peanut! I think I’ve said this before in another comment, but she looks like she is so spunky, curious and happy. That is awesome that she is such a great eater 🙂
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
She is precious. Happy 8 months Kaitlyn!
My son was pretty sensitive to teething as well. And teething seemed to be the scapegoat for ALL the unexplained ailments.
Brittany Dixon says
I use teething as a scapegoat for everything too haha. It can explain any inconsistency 😉
John J. says
Misty eyes and warm heart as I see the pics of you two beautiful gals! Love ya both!
Heather says
Ack! Such a little cutie! One of my favorite things about watching our second kiddo grow is seeing how different she is from her brother.
Lyndsey says
Hailey is David’s twin and Kaitlin is yours!! Seriously so nuts how your kiddos look like each of you (and adorable). Happy 8 months K!
jen says
Oh my gosh she’s so adorable! I am incredibly impressed (okay, slightly jealous) by all the things she’s eating! My little nugget is not quite so adventurous, though she is warming up to some different things. I can’t believe how mobile your little one is, either.
I love babies 🙂
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
She is such a little cutie! Sounds like she’s doing really well.
On a different note, do you know what kind of floors you have? I swear, you have like no scratches in them even with two kids and a dog! It’s amazing. lol.
Brittany Dixon says
Ha! I laugh because we bought them under the promise that they would not scratch no matter what (they are brazillian koa BTW), but they totally have scratches all over them so I guess the picture just happened to show their good side 😉
Kari @ Cooking with Toddlers says
What a sweet little lady you have!
Nadine says
This kid cracks me up in the best way!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
She is SO cute! That smile! 🙂
jodie says
K is definitely the younger sis. Moving so much earlier than H! Lots to keep up with 🙂
Joni says
I love Carolyn! She helped me SO much especially in the beginning and then when I went back to work and had so many pumping questions. Just had to second your recommendation of her 🙂 and, I love love love the baby updates! Kaitlyn is truly so cute.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh how cool that you know her too! Glad your experience was a good one as well. 🙂
Jenny P says
I love these monthly updates! Kaitlyn is so adorable and I love how cheery she always seems!
Natassia says
My son was on the smaller side too always in the 3rd percentile and he didn’t sleep through the night until he was 13 months. It was so obvious as to why he never gained weight a lot of weight because he never stopped moving, he walked at 9 months and is still a crazy wild kid (the kind that climbs on the counter and jumps off). He slept good except for 1 wake up and because he was so little I never felt comfortable sleep training him. It seems like the small busy ones just need to eat a little more
Brittany Dixon says
Sounds so similar to my life right now! Kaitlyn will NOT stay still.. ever… so even though she nurses and eats liek crazy, I think she just burns it all. Thank you for sharing because it always is nice to hear someone else experience the same thing! Sounds like I better get ready for one wild little child 😉
Sarah S says
She is so stinking adorable 🙂
Ashley S. says
She is so adorable! I love all ages, but 6-8 month babies are so super cuddly!
Avery says
I just love this! She seriously gets cuter all the time and it’s so clear from all the pictures how happy she is!! I’m so impressed with all her eating skills – can’t wait for that post! We tried eggs but had a minor reaction – still scary though! And I can’t tell you how much better it makes me feel that she’s just over 14 lbs. Elliotte is just UNDER 14 lbs! It’s all those calories they burn being such monkeys! 🙂 Happy 8 months to your little!
Brittany Dixon says
Aw, your sweet EC is a little one too! I secretly love it 😉 Like you said, busy little monkeys <3
Josephine says
Just Gorgeous, very cute post, love hearing the stages Kaitlyn is at!
Ellie says
My son just turned 8 months too and it’s so fun to see the similarities with Kaitlyn. He isn’t crawling yet, but he’s eaten most of the same foods, has one tooth, does the babbling, similar sleep habits and of course lots of smiles too. He’s also on the smallish side at 18 lbs – I think he usually clocks in around the 20th percentage for weight. At first we definitely worried about supply issues, but overall he is growing, just at a slower rate than a lot of other babies. Like Kaitlyn though, he continues to get longer! But it’s certainly one of those things that you are always worrying about – are they eating enough??? Kaitlyn is just a doll – what a sweetie!
Gcroft says
Aww, what a cutie she is. I love Kaitlyn’s onesies. Love reading these updates. Makes me reminisce back to when my little one was 8 months old. She is in her terrible twos now!