8 Months Old!

Dear Sweet Goose,
You are now 8 months old! You are so so curious, loving digging through boxes of toys more than playing with any one of them. You love to eat, sometimes gumming an entire banana between milk feedings, or insisting on more strawberries than what I've put in front of you.

You can move backwards, both on your belly and while sitting. You still keep your belly on the floor in the all four position, so crawling doesn't seem super close, but you also try to pull yourself to stand at every chance, so I know you have the strength to do it. You get those hips off the ground as soon as there's something to grab onto.

You are chatting more, stringing together more sounds and pitches. You say dada, but not in context yet. You say LIE-A, which may turn into your sister's name soon; she remains your favorite person.

You are such a happy person. You smile and coo so often. You get excited when you see dogs, when you hear music you like (the band Chvrches and The Wheels on the Bus), when your sister talks to you. You love other kids, too; calmly letting bigger kids kiss your forehead or stroke your hands and mapping the faces of other babies with your hands. When you're upset, it passes quickly.

You seem taller every day, but don't have chubby baby rolls. You eat with gusto, so it's not that you're not well fed. It's just that you've been in the lanky growth phase for a few months. I suspect you'll stop growing taller and start fattening up one of these days. In the meantime, you still fit into 3-6 month onesies, though are wearing 12 month pants. I can't wait until your 9 month check up so we can see how much you've grown!

Sweet goose, we just adore you so much!

Life at 7.5 months

Dear Goose,
I really think you're going to walk before you crawl. Lately any time spent on your tummy leads to kvetching or howling almost immediately. But given something for each of your hands to hold on to, you stand up. Today you let go with one hand, testing your balance. You still have a long way to go, but you want it. You can rotate 360 while sitting and while on you belly, but you can't GO anywhere. Though I am amazed at the length of your reach; things that seem way too far away from you find their way into your fists. And then into your mouth.

You continue to be an adventurous eater, loving basically everything except eggs and hummus. You love the cinnamon applesauce that's too spicy for your sister. Today you had very dark chocolate for the first time and greeted it like an old friend (you have been tasting it in my breast milk daily since birth).

Your favorite toys these days are your stacking cups and your silicone toothbrush. You also love water bottles, flashlights and digging through boxes. But favorite of all is your sister. If she's in the room, you're watching her.

SIX MONTHS!

Dearest little goose!
You are six months old! (Well, now 6 and a half!). You sit up unassisted, though still do topple when you're very tired. You've been eating food for a few weeks and LOVE to sit at the table with your family.  You like to stand up and pull yourself to a standing position with our hands at every opportunity. And the swings! How you love the playground these days!

Your approach to eating is pretty hilarious. As soon as you sit down, you take whatever is in front of you and put it in your mouth. Then you go about your business. I've pulled out an entire floret of broccoli 20 minutes after meal time. Just today I was trying to change your diaper but couldn't because you had sweet potato in your mouth that you refused to swallow or spit out. You expect to be given a bite of whatever I'm eating, which is almost always obliged. You're into veggies and chicken, NOT into raspberries or applesauce and like frozen banana for your teeth (which still have not emerged at all). But your favorite by far is bacon. Without a tooth in your mouth, you ate half a piece of bacon. 

In addition to the occasional babbling, you are very very fond of raspberries. I think you like the way it feels in your mouth and on your lips to purse them and spit through your tongue. You do when you wake up, when you want to be part of the conversation, when you are playing. You do it to your family and sitter and also to random people on the subway. You and your sister have raspberry battles, spraying the table with spit. You both think this is hilarious.

At your six month check up, you weighed in the 23%, but were 74% for height.

Seven months old!

Dear Goosey,
You are SEVEN months old now! And on your 7 month birthday, you pulled yourself up to standing! Well, sort of standing, more like leaning while your body was planked. You were so happy, you love to stand any way possible. I'm still hoping you'll crawl before you walk and you are showing signs of maybe being interested in moving while prone, but every chance you get it's STAND.  On your belly and sitting you rotate which way you're facing and seem to scoot a bit. Not very far and it doesn't seem intentional, but you are often not *exactly* where you were a few minutes before.

You love to eat and insist on trying whatever we are eating. It's a very specific grab and pull from my hands to your mouth. Though if I'm holding an envelope or a glass of water, you want to try that, too. You love sweet potatoes, broccoli, ground beef, banana, banana bread and apple. You are not very impressed with hummus, mashed potatoes or chicken, though chicken sausage is pretty great. You have an amazing knack for taking the teensiest bit of food and making the hugest mess possible. I swear it's not possible for you to have swallowed any food with how much is on your face, clothes, the table and the floor, but it does show up at the other end...

Though we read books a lot, you are not really into them. Even the ones with crinkly sound effects or flaps to nibble, you'd much rather be playing with cups or water bottles or blocks. You like music and will sometimes sing along when other people are singing to you. And, I swear you say "hi!" sometimes...

Reach and Pull

Dear Goose,
My, are you busy these days! You are SO curious about the world, you want to grab everything, taste everything and then do it all over again. Up until this week, I've pretty much eaten every meal with you on my lap. This week seems to be the end of that era, you want to pull everything within reach to you. Last night as I ate a salad, you kept pulling the plate to you over and over again. Thinking maybe you wanted to try my food, I offered you a bite of avocado. Nope, not interested at all, you just wanted to eat the plate. You grab for my water bottle, all cups and your sitter's coffee mug. You suspect we're all having fun drinking without you.

must. drink. coffee.

Mmmm, kombucha

You are sitting up on your own for longer and longer stretches of time these days. Sometimes you transition from sitting to tummy time, though I'm not clear if that's intentional or the result of trying to eat your toes while sitting and ending up there. Either way, most of the time it doesn't bother you. I wouldn't say you're totally ready to sit unassisted, but it's coming VERY soon.

You are also super vocal lately. You shriek happily when you're excited, like when we go to the grocery store. You yammer on when you wake up and when other people are talking, you can't wait to be part of the conversation.

You have also mastered the art of hair pulling. You have a knack for grabbing the little hairs at the base of my bun. You also love pulling your sister's hair, which she isn't so into. You get your daddy's chest hair, too. Strong grip, baby Goose! It will serve you well.

5 months old!

Dear Goose,
You are FIVE months old! Time is flying! Your favorite thing these days are your feet, any chance you get you love to grab them and put them in your mouth, You are working on sitting up, you can do several seconds unassisted if you start in a balanced place, but sooner or later you always topple. You are also happier just hanging out on your back. I've been able to have you hang happily in your bassinet on occasion and you'll just play with a toy or your feet and chatter away.

We don't have a 5 month ped appointment, so I don't know how much you've grown, but you continue to eat like a champ and grow in strength all the time. You still don't have a schedule for life, naps are every few hours or so and last anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours on a rare good day. I count one hour long nap a day as a success. You are too interested in the world to want to sleep.

You are full of smiles. When Daddy comes home, you light up. When you see your sitter or your sister, the grin fills your face. You like to be held up high above our heads, you like to be snuggled to our chests, you like to sit on our laps facing out, seeing the world. Every chance you get you stand on straight legs. You are starting to notice that you aren't mobile and it's starting to frustrate you. Not too much, but I can see your eyes following your sister and you can't wait to chase her.

You babble a lot these days, you have a lot to say! If anyone is having a conversation, you want to be part of it. I tell you all the time, but oh man are you adorable!

Oral fixation

Dear Sweet Goose,
I swear you are teething. Every day I run my finger along your bumpy gums, feeling for emerging teeth. None, not even a hint, but I know they are on their way! You want everything in your mouth lately. Not just in an exploratory way, no. You want to chomp! My face is a favorite target, nose and chin seem to be about the right size and texture. Your carrier is also a great source of slobber. We have crinkly books, teething toys of all shapes, textures and sizes, chewy toys, hard toys, soft toys, etc. You really prefer my face and the carrier. OK, then, you know what you want! I try to move the face sucking to nursing when it gets aggressive, which usually satisfies you, too.

You are in an intense MAMA ONLY phase right now. I've cut out of work early twice in the past week to hand with you. Again, I think it's those teeth coming in, you just want milk and snuggles on tap. Happy to oblige, sweet baby girl. Time is flying by, I'm trying to grab fragments of downtime when I can.

You chatter more and more and laugh more freely. Your belly is a little ticklish, I often get some laughs during diaper changes just doing a light tickle. You are getting a little bit closer to rolling from your back to your belly, but get stuck about 1/3 of the way. Your front to back roll is consistent, though frustrating to you, it still seems to surprise you when you end up on your back.

You love to listen to stories with your sister and she remains the one person to consistently get you to smile and laugh. You reach for her, which is a new trick and remains only for her.