James is 8 Months Old 2011

8 months

James is 8 months old and 35 weeks now!

Growth- James two center bottom teeth have come out completely.  They are really cute when he shows them off.  The pediatrician and his nurse both measured James at 30 inches long, but he is definitely not that big.  I get 27.5 or at most 28 inches when I measure him which means he hasn't grown in two months.  He hasn't gained much weight either, but his head has gotten bigger.

Bottom teeth are out (34 weeks + 1 day)

Moving!- He no longer falls from a sitting position like he did last month.  He's crawling all over the place, and now that he has the power of movement he can crawl over to places where he can pull up to a standing position. He stands as much as possible, and he's gone from holding on with two hands to one. Sometimes he attempts to "cruise" which means he tries to go from standing in one place to holding onto something else to stand.  He hasn't been hugely successful at this yet, but it might because stuff in our living room is spaced out too far for him.

Pulling up on everything! (33 weeks + 2 days)


One hand, mama! (34 weeks + 5 days)

Social- James seems to have recovered from his fear of strangers. He says "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" all day long, but he doesn't know it means me. He high-fives on request, though he really just holds his hand up so that you can high-five him.  He waved today for the first time!  He thinks all sorts of things are funny: hiding behind walls, wrestling, being snuggled by the teddy bear, and people wearing hats. He also follows us and misses us when we leave the room.

What he does when one of us goes to the bathroom

Eating- He's trying to figure out how to feed himself from the bottle, and he can lift it but doesn't know to tilt it.  He'll eat pretty much anything you feed him, and often requests parts of our meals, much how an untrained puppy would.

Sleep- James sleeps in his crib from 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m, 3 a.m., or 4 a.m.  At that point I feed him, then bring him to our bed.  This is not comfortable at all for me, but if I'm lucky it gets him to sleep until 5.a.m. or 6 a.m.  

James is having his first Noche Buena (the 24th) this Saturday here on Long Island.  My mom is cooking traditional Cuban fare, including pork loin, yucca, and rice and beans.  Then Sunday he's headed to the Cape for his first Christmas day with Kevin's family.  It's his 6th visit to the Cape in his short 8 months! We're going to have to go to New Jersey more to even up the score!

Santa James at 33 weeks