Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Darwin is 8 months old

Darwin has been surprising me everyday. He has definitely gone through a wonder week and growth spurt since he's been learning so much so fast as well as outgrowing his 9 month clothing.

At this stage he can crawl very well and fast too. I have to chase after him as he likes to go over to the staircase into the living room which is not gated off. We like to give him the freedom to climb them and he's very good at it. He doesn't quite know how to go down the stairs yet ; that will take some time and practice. He loves to pull himself to standing on anything, even the refrigerator door to reach the magnets that are higher up. He can cruise along furniture as well but mostly prefers to cautiously lower himself to sitting and crawl to the next area of interest. I keep toys for him in different areas of the house so when I need to be in a certain room he can easily entertain himself. Although he does seem to be getting bored with a lot of his toys except balls. He loves to throw them and chase after them or play ball with his mom or dad.

He's become very attached to his dad. He loves to wake him up in the morning with a big hug and a face-grab which dad really loves. He can sometimes wave bye bye to dad when he goes to work and remembers his dad throughout the day by calling for him. In the evenings he will play happily for hours with dad. He also very much enjoys being snuggled in dad's arms while taking a stroll around the house before bedtime. He'll sometimes fall asleep and dad can put him down in his crib to sleep for the night. This gives me a break from nursing Darwin to sleep. He is showing that now he doesn't always need mama to put him to sleep.

This month Darwin's sleep routine has been kind of all over the place. We were successfully practicing the 2-3-4 hr method of awake time and down to only 2 naps but once the teething began he's been extra fussy. Last month 2 of his bottom teeth cut and he was up multiple times at night. Then he was okay for a week or two but he's been waking multiple times a night again, normally twice per night. I was giving him tempra for the pain but he was still waking so I am now just giving him homeopathic drops of camilia throughout the day and at night which helps some.

Darwin has been eating very well and will try anything new. He always finishes all of his food at each meal and enjoys solids very much. He loves when I give him the spoon to feed himself and enjoys using the pincer grasp to feed himself Cheerios, puffs and fruits. He enjoys chicken very much and loves to ear banana chunks with his cereal in the morning.

This month Darwin got to test out his new swim trainer tube at Lagun Beach with his mom and dad and he just had a ball. He loves the water and was kicking and splashing with joy as he floated along with dad. After our swim we sat together at the restaurant nearby and had a late lunch.

Darwin's Auntie Julie visited for almost 2 weeks and he loved to sit with her and sing and play. We went to the beach together and it was the first time that Darwin got to really enjoy the water. The water was calm and warm at the Hyatt which is the perfect combination for Darwin.

I've been trying to get Darwin to nap in his crib lately but he is really used to nursing and napping on me. There were a couple of times that he did nap in his crib and once in his playpen but it is not consistent. I guess it will happen easily one day and I will just have to remain patient and keep trying for now.

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