Dear Siena – 8 Months

Dear Siena,

You continue to change before our eyes! This month we saw a big change in your mental development – you seem to understand what is going on around you much better, are communicating your needs and wants more clearly than ever and you are obviously forming memories. We can tell when you recognize familiar people and you absolutely light up when you see your dad or me after time apart.

You continue to be extremely happy and smile at everything and everyone.  As always, people are telling us all the time that you are so happy and smiley, including your teachers at school and strangers on the street. You continue to be very expressive and definitely let us know when you want something.

Pretty much right after you turned 7 months you began to babble. You started with ba-ba and then progressed to da-da (which made your dad very happy!) and now you’ve started making other sounds including MAMA!!! Clearly these aren’t your real first words since you don’t realize they mean anything, but I was still really happy when you finally said mama. Sometimes we get into babbling conversations and I see you staring at my lips and trying really, really hard to imitate me to make the sounds.

You got your first tooth this month! I thought teeth came in pairs but you got one tooth on the bottom  first. You seemed to be fussy after it came in, rather than before. It didn’t affect your sleep that much either which is nice! As for sleep, your’e now consistently sleeping all the way through the night again, from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. For a while you were getting up around 5-5:30 and I’d nurse you before my workout, but lately you’ve been sleeping right through (don’t ask me what changed) so I have to get up and pump a little before I head out the door for my run.

As far as feeding, you eat a lot! Right now you nurse in the morning, get solids in the morning most days, then take 3 bottles at day care (4-6 oz each), get a bottle right when we get home, eat solids for dinner and then nurse again before bed. You are getting much better at feeding yourself and definitely have your favorite foods. You tried some new foods this month, including toast (usually with avocado or hummus), lentil curry, brown rice, cheese (which you love, who doesn’t!?), hamburger, and watermelon. Your favorites are still sweet potato, raspberries and broccoli and a new favorite is cheese. Your dad and I are both shocked that you don’t seem to really like banana, even though we keep trying to give it to you. 

I bought you some new toys this month – a new set of squishy colorful blocks and a set of stacking rings which you love to knock over or pound together. You are still army crawling and have become extremely adventurous. At first you would only crawl on the carpet but now you’re not afraid to crawl all over the place. You favorite thing to crawl toward, to our dismay, is cords. We have to watch you closely! You’re also starting to pull yourself up onto our laps or over the side of a chair. You attempt to pull yourself up from a sitting position to standing but haven’t been able to do it quite yet.

You figured out how to move from a sitting position to crawling this month, which means we can’t stick you on your butt and leave you alone for a minute to play. Changing your diaper or changing your clothes has become a wrestling match. As soon as we put you on the changing table you immediately turn over and start grabbing the sides of the table or anything in your reach, including the framed artwork we had above the table (which we now have taken down). We start changing your clothes on the floor quite often and usually you start to crawl away while we are doing it. 

We had a lot of fun this month! We celebrated my first Mother’s Day, first with a breakfast and show at your school on Friday and then with a family day in Poway and Temecula on Sunday. We hosted a barbecue and you got to see some of your baby friends who you haven’t seen in a while. You got to spend time with your Nana and Boo and Grandma Christy while your dad and I went on date nights.

One of your favorite outings is our daily trip to the mailbox. You know which mailbox is ours and you squeal and laugh with delight when I open and shut it or move the red flag up and down. You think it’s pretty much the coolest thing ever. You learned to clap this month and clap your hands excitedly when something makes you happy or you see someone else doing it. Your teacher said that you now sit in circle time at school and clap along to the songs.

Every month gets better and better. I love watching you grow and learn before my eyes. I love when your eyes light up and you smile or giggle when you see me. I love watching you become captivated by your dad as he sings and plays the ukulele for you before bed. I love when you intently watch something – I can see the wheels in your brain turning, trying to figure it out. You’re simply amazing and I am so glad that I’m your mom.

Love,

Your Mama