8 Months Old

Size: Again, who knows...will know his size next month at his 9 month appointment :)

Sleep: Well, it got incredibly terrible since being back from Fargo - well actually the poor sleeping started in Fargo.  He started getting up about 3 times a night and then a few weeks ago, that 3 times turned into every hour starting at about 2:00am.  Maybe he was cold, or maybe just wanted to snuggle, but whatever it was, it got him into a nasty habit. We got desperate so we decided to do some cold turkey sleep training.  We slept in the living room on an air mattress and Bode had the master bedroom all to himself.  The first night was a lot of off and on crying - he maybe woke up 7 times and cried for about 20 minutes each time (but he wasn't screaming, more like yelling, which made it easier on me).  The next night he woke up about 4 times.  Then he magically started waking up at 5:30am at the earliest (but if it's not past 6am, I don't go to him).  And now he is eating around 6 or 6:30am every morning and then going to back to sleep until 7:30-8:30.  It has stuck around now for about 4 days and it is HEAVEN!  Let's hope nothing messes it up, like a nasty cold or something!
 
Development: He is a master at army crawling now and is getting quite fast.  I can turn my back for 10 seconds and he will be across the room.  He also sits up so well now, which is one of my favorite baby stages.  He just sits there and plays with toys, looking so cute.  He doesn't know how to crawl away yet and it's wonderful.

Personality: Now that he sleeps well, he is quite honestly the best baby.  (Well I guess he still isn't so great at traveling in a car though...once he gets over that, he will be perfect, haha).  He doesn't giggle as much as Eben did as a baby, but he gives us lots of smiles.

Sibling Relationship: Eben still gets annoyed when Bode gets into his toys, but they are starting to interact a little more.  Eben will try to get Bode to laugh and Bode thinks it's pretty funny.  Eben still cries when Eben cries, but only in the car really...and it's DRAMATIC.  Eben sobs, closing his eyes, refusing to open them, putting his fingers in his mouth and saying, "I wanna take a nap!" or "I wanna go home!" or "Give me your hand!"  It's great fun...

Other: We still manage to leave the house every day, going to playdates or shopping.  I have to leave the house and now that the boys are used to it, they do too.  Hopefully it will still be as easy with two to do it during the winter months!  The most annoying part will be the winter coats, etc. and the snow covered cars.  But the good thing is that the snow usually melts in a day or two here in Michigan, unlike North Dakota.

***Here are some 8 month pics.  The white and blue striped hat was my first ever crocheted hat...and it is a little deformed and doesn't fit well at all, but thought it looked okay in a few of the pics I took of him in it, haha.  The last hat is not Bode's - it's a baby's who was over for a shoot the day I did Bode's and the mom said I could let Bode wear it :)













The one above is my FAVORITE!

















Gotta have a pic of a full out cry.

7 Months Old

Wow, so it's been more than a whole month since I have posted on this blog - I've been a bit busy with photography stuff as well as a 17 day visit home to Fargo!  Well, I'm back!  Still busy with photography stuff, probably well into December!  It's been great to be so busy and I already get to make a big camera equipment purchase soon - deciding what to get is the tough part though!  Anyway, here is Bode's 7 month post - posted more than 2 weeks late, but the information and photos are from right around when he turned 7 months before we left for Fargo :)



Size: Who knows...a little bigger than his 6 month appointment, right?

Sleep:  Not good - he was getting up too much so I decided to sleep train him while Dane was on Night Float for two weeks in a row.  The first week was fabulous - he actually slept through the night for the first time on the first night (7:30pm - 6:30am)!  The rest of the week went pretty well also...just made him cry it out about once a night.  For some reason the next week was bad...he was getting up frequently and I ruined the sleep training by getting desperate to get some sleep so I fed him and he went back to sleep immediately.  Since then, he gets up on average about 3 times a night.  If I feed him, he goes right back to sleep, giving me about 3 hours.  Sleep training is back in order when we get back from Fargo and this time I am going to be strict! Ugh...   Good news is that he puts himself to sleep at night and for naps like a rockstar!
 
Development: He is trying so hard to crawl - much too early if you ask me!!!  He gets up on all fours and rocks.  He also moves very slowly around the room by rolling or sort of moving like a worm.  He is eating baby food now as well and seems to enjoy it. 

Personality: Just so sweet.  There are no better words to describe him.

Sibling Relationship: Eben is still very sensitive to Bode's cries and will cry when Bode cries, so that's no fun.  Other than that, their relationship is still going strong.  Bode has been scooting his way into Eben's trains though and Eben is not a fan of that!  I often hear Eben yell, "No Bode!" and then squeal with frustration.  This is only going to get worse as Bode becomes more mobile...

Other: Still nursing the little guy and it's going great...let's just say these frequent wake ups are much easier when I don't have to heat up a bottle every time to get him back to sleep!  I am so glad I stuck with it during the very tough first few weeks, or even months, because it has really paid off.  I am convinced that is why he still has not been sick.  Well it has at least helped!



These photos were taken right before we left for Fargo.  I had intentions of doing a shoot in Fargo, but that never happened.  These will have to do - his Halloween costume, a lion. Even though I know some of the pics you can't see the ears so it just looks like a weird hat, haha.