8 Month Milestones

Height: 26-1/2" (45th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds(50th percentile)

Sleeping Patterns: Bedtime is consistently between 8:30-9:00. I wake her up at 7:00am during the week. On weekends, she'll sleep until about 7:30 or 8:00. Her morning nap is like clockwork now, at 10:00. That usually lasts at least 2 hours and then she'll take another nap, which usually lasts about an hour and a half, around 3:30 or 4:00.

Places Traveled: It was a busy month, but mostly busy here at home. We did travel to Sebring one weekend to visit Riley's Great-Grandparents and to visit with friends.

Accomplishments: Where to begin??? I never imagined that things could happen this fast. Especially when it's child #2 and you are well aware that it will happen this fast. I have found myself sounding like a broken record over the last month, asking David what happened to our little newbie and who is this talking, crawling, waving pre-toddler we have here? Which leads me into our new accomplishments this month...

In previous posts, you read about Riley saying "Hi" and waving. I tell you, it's mind boggling to me. She waves ALL THE TIME now. Just the mention of the word Hi or Bye-Bye and her little arm is going crazy.

You also read that she has started crawling. I will confirm that as of this writing, she is in full crawl mode. There is no more hesitation and she has got it down to a science. My next fear.....that one lonely step that we have in our house. I'm sure she'll find it and conquer it soon.

Riley started holding her own bottle over the last month. Just like everything else, it happens over night. One day, the blanket was propping up her bottle. The next day, she didn't need it. We will start with the sippy cup soon, since she is now holding her own bottle.

Riley celebrated her first Easter during the past month. To see the zillion pictures I took, CLICK HERE. Of course, I went crazy with the accessories, but that's just me and I LOVE it! We visited the Easter Bunny a few days before Easter and had a picture taken with him. Riley was fearless and could have cared less whose arms she was in. Her big Brother....different story. I had to sit in on the photo, just to keep him within 1 city block of the Easter Bunny. Easter day was hectic, but very enjoyable. We are so blessed to have such large families, and we always love to spend time with those who we don't get to see often. It was like Christmas in April for my kids. Everyone went overboard and we appreciate all of it! Next year will be a lot of fun when Riley can participate in all of the Easter Egg Hunts.





We visited the beach a couple of times during the last month, which has become our destination of choice on days that we don't have much going on. Daddy has joined us on most of the trips and he actually enjoys the down time as well. Our schedule seems to always find a way to be hectic, so when we do have a day that is not full, a little surfside R&R is always a great time for all of us!

We attended Riley's Great-Grandfather's 80th Birthday Party. Again, it was nice to see family that we don't always get to see.

Lastly, (and my least favorite topic), Riley became a full-time "student" of Miss Debbie's. I started back to work full-time during the past month, after 2.5 years, which means that both Tyler and Riley are now with the babysitter Monday thru Friday. At first, it was EXTREMELY hard for me to swallow. First, because it had been so long since I had worked full-time and secondly, because I felt so guilty...like I was denying her of the time that I devoted to Tyler when he was her age. I've never been faced with such a difficult decision in my entire 29 years of life. But, at the same time, I felt like I couldn't be selfish to my family by not taking the opportunity that came to me. I feel like it would have been more selfish of me to turn it down, especially in the economic situation that our society is in these days. So, I accepted the job offer. I have been working F/T just over 4 weeks now, and I am getting more and more acclimated with the hustle, bustle of the everyday requirements it takes to be a F/T working Mom of 2 and a Wife. Ultimately, I know my compensation will benefit my family most and I just keep reassuring myself that I'm doing the right thing for all of us. Now, more than ever, weekends are like gold to me.

Foods: We have moved on to Stage 2 foods. She still is not too keen on the green veggies, but I keep trying, hoping that she'll acquire a taste for them. Some attempts are better than others. She still gets between 20-24 oz of formula per day. I recently started giving her finger foods so that she could start familiarizing herself with self-feeding. For now, she mostly plays with it, but she occasionally tries to go for her mouth. In time, she'll figure it out. I gave her her first cookie during the last month, and she went to town with it. Such a mess, but she really enjoyed it!


Apparel:6-9 Month clothing and Size 2 shoes.

Happy, Healthy and Growing WAY TOO FAST! Click here to see photos of Riley from 7-8 Months. And so it goes...