8 Months

My little Ryan Cathleen turned 8 months old this month!  And I have to say it's quite crazy to me that she is now 2/3 of the way through her first year.  I feel like I say this a lot, but seriously, where on earth has the time gone?

Eating:
Ryan continues to have mama's milk as her main nutritional content, nursing approximately 5-6 times in a 24 hour period.  My goal has always been to make it to a year of breastfeeding, but I have to say, she has become increasingly more interested in what's going on around her then with eating.  At least during the day, so we'll see how much longer this lasts.  She also eats pureed food three times a day (morning, afternoon, and evening).  I have to admit, I had big goals of being one of those Mom's that makes ALL of my baby's food, but to be honest, it's hard to find time to make my own meals let alone hers.  So, she gets a mix of Mama Scurlock's concoctions...and Gerber's. :)  She will eat most things that I give her, but especially loves fruit...and Puffs.  Those dang Puffs could entertain her for hours!


Auntie Anna (Antenna) and Ry matching at church.

Mobility:
We officially have an army crawler in the house this month.  Ryan started pulling herself along right at the beginning of the month and has quickly perfected the art of belly crawling around the house.  She will get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth but has yet to figure out that she could be a lot faster and have a lot less carpet burns, if she would crawl with her tummy off the floor.  Although I have to say, she's fast enough as she is.  I can't turn around for one second anymore without her getting into something.  She's also learning to pull herself up, which quickly led to the crib being lowered. Baby proofing needs to happen stat!

Sleeping:
Ry continues to be a rather good night sleeper, usually going down around 7:30pm and waking up sometime around 7:00am.  She rarely wakes in the middle of the night anymore and about 3-4 times a week wakes around 5:00am for a quick nursing session before she's back to sleep for a few hours. Her daytime naps continue to be a slight challenge, but I have come to the conclusion that my child is just never going to be a stellar napper.  She takes 2-3 naps a day still and goes down in her crib easily, but the length of her naps range from 30 minutes to 2 hours, most falling in the 1 hour range.  It is just not predictable which makes getting things done tough.

Ry and her twin cousins Cole and Jacob.

Other Tidbits:
Ryan cut 6 teeth this month. Poor Mama.  She now has a full set of 8 teeth (4 top, 4 bottom).  It was rough, but they are through and I am hopeful that we will have a bit of a break before it's time for more to come in.  She actually is a rather good teether but I don't think it's fun for anyone no matter what.

Baby torture.

She also started babbling this month.  Her first "word" was "ba ba ba ba" followed quickly by "ma ma ma ma."  And don't you worry, I will forever hold over Josh's head that Ryan's said "mama" first.  She did eventually say "da da da da" too.

Ryan has started to develop some sense of stranger anxiety.  She started crying when I leave her at the nursery at church and is hesitant even when I'm holding her if she doesn't recognize the people around her.

Her favorite things are doggies, Puffs, bath time and Mom and Dad.

Her least favorite things are car rides, green veggies, and strangers.

Josh and I can't imagine life without this little bug.  She is so fun, even on her not so fun days.  Tonight, after she'd been asleep for awhile, Josh asked if we could wake her up to "play."  To which I quickly replied, absolutely not! But in all seriousness, we love this little girl and we thank God every day that He entrusted us to be her parents.