Kate turned 9 months old last week! Here’s a look back at all she learned and experienced at 8 months old:
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| Personalized onesie made by Amber from The Cotton Cupcake Shoppe! |
Kate got her first tooth! And her second! Her two bottom teeth have popped through, one right after the other (seen here). Let me tell you, those were not fun weeks.
Kate is doing really well with her finger foods. G and I continue to be amazed with her fine motor skills, although this little girl may be a little too skilled for her own good. Apparently now that she’s mastered finger foods she no longer has a use for all the pureed foods her Mom has spent countless hours preparing and freezing for her. All Kate wants to do is feed herself finger foods! I guess I shouldn’t have been so quick to prepare so much pureed food for her ahead of time. Lesson learned! She’ll still occasionally eat it, and I plan on using it up in other baby food recipes like pancakes and meatballs, so I guess it’s not a total loss.
Kate has also mastered her sippy cup. If you remember from her 7 month post, Kate has limited ability to suck so we had to remove the valve from her sippy that makes it spill-proof (and turns it into a regular cup but with a spout). I thought we’d be dealing with spills everywhere for quite some time, but she’s been doing a great job. (She likes to chug–wonder where she gets that from…) Here’s a video of her drinking and eating, and you may hear her little burp at the end, too!
–which she loves. So far we have Baby Signing Time Volume1 and Volume 2
. They teach basic baby signs set to really cute songs, with real children showing the signs, and a little bit of animation. We’ve been working on some of the signs with her for a couple of months, and she’s just starting to sign “more” and “all done” for us when she eats. She’s not consistent with it yet, but it’s been so much fun to see her learning, and so helpful for her to be able to tell us what she wants! I can see how this whole dual-communication thing could be life changing.
Kate will now stand holding on to things (like the ottoman) if you put her in that position, and she is just starting to pull herself up to a standing position on her own.
We took Kate to her first Badger football game last month and she did so great! G bought Kate her first Badger gear–a cute pink cheerleader outfit–and Kate clapped and cheered (two new things for her) right along with the fans. It was so much fun!
Kate continues to say “Mama” but no other words yet. She’s just starting to make the “G” sound and will babble “Ga-ga-goo-goo” all day long. Poor Greg jokes that she’s going to say “Greg” before she says “Dada” but I don’t think she’ll let him down!
Kate’s 8 Month Stats
Bedtime: 6:30pm
Wake Up Time: 6:30am
Naps: 2x/day for a total of 3-4 hours/day
Bottles: She is offered 7.5 oz bottles 4x/day (when she wakes up in the morning, wakes up from her first nap, wakes from her second nap, and before bedtime)
Meals/Solids: Eats breakfast at 7am, lunch between 12-1pm, dinner at 5:30pm
New Foods: Chicken, Green Beans, Black Beans, Broccoli, Zucchini, Toast/Bread, Plums.
Developmental Milestones & “Firsts”: Stands with assistance, starting to pull herself up to a standing position, starting to sign, first tooth, first Badger game.
Favorite Toys: Toy telephone
Additional Kate 8 Months Posts:
Toy Box
Baby signing is so helpful. I can’t tell you how many tantrums have been averted because my son is able to sign “all done,” “help,” and “please.” The funniest thing is when he’s too tired to remember what sign to use and just does them all.
Fwiw my son started refusing purees once he could finger food but after a few months was willing to eat them again.
Avid reader, first time commenter here! I love your updates, Kate is so cute
A few Q’s for you: what kind of sippy cup is it and which part exactly did you remove? My 3,5 mo old finally likes something (a sippy cup with a soft spout) instead of a boob, but she doesn’t get much out as she also doesn’t get the sucking. I’m heading back to work soon, so am trying to find a way to feed her *lol*. Anyway, just wondering.
Secondly, how’s the running going? I just did my first run/walk yesterday after having my baby, so am wondering how you manage to fit it n, if at all and what you’ve found works or doesn;t work for you Thanks!
Are those baby leg warmers? So cute!
I love these little updates on Kate. I don’t have kids but it’s fun to see and hear about her progress and growth! She’s a sweetie!
Awww that last picture is just adorable! I love those baby legs! She loves her water, just like her momma!
Hi there, I’ve enjoyed reading your blog over the last months. As a first time mom to a now 5 month old I must say that I love your monthly updates, especially where you write about Kate’s daily routine and schedule and food volumes. I have been looking everywhere online for real schedules for baby’s and it’s great to see what other moms are doing food/bottle/nap time wise.
SHE IS GETTING SO BIG I KNOW THAT SOUNDS TOTALLY WEIRD AND CREEPY COMING FROM A STRANGER. SORRY. SHE IS GEORGEOUS. LOVE THE HAIR:)
She is growing up so quickly! Wow! Love the stats…I have a 2 month old so it’s fun to see what’s down the road!
Hey there – I noticed you have the same sippy cup we use for our daughter and wanted to mention an idea for you: We started out using the sippies without the valves like you did until the baby really got the hang of drinking out of them. But then when we put the valves back in, she still struggled to get anything out of them. We needed a happy medium. So I used a knife and cut some extra slits in the valves along with the original slits they came with (in both ends of the valve–the sucking side and the air release side). Voila! Baby was able to quickly figure out how to suck the milk out no problem! And then, once she had that mastered, we were able to start giving her the regular valves like they come from the store. Now, no more spilling. :o) Just an idea in case it might help you out.
For the commenter who asked what kind of sippy that is, it’s the Playtex First Sipster–or at least that’s what ours is, and it looks the same and has the removable valve. We also use the Playtex Lil’ Grippers, and those work just as well–just without the handles.
eating mushy food has never looked so cute!
She has grown SO fast. And I love the video!
Thanks for your comments everyone!
@another Kate–Thanks, that’s helpful to know about the purees. I won’t give up hope!
Hi Ruby! Like Heather commented, the sippy cups Kate uses are made by Playtex and they have a rubber valve under the lid that you can remove to make them a cup you drink from versus one you suck from. To answer your second question, running hasn’t been going very well. I just don’t have the time to do it! Lately I’ve been working out at 5am to get it in before Kate gets up, but it’s pitch black outside at that time right now for us, and I’m not comfortable running when its dark. I think I’ll be chalking this year up as a FAIL on the running front, but hopefully next spring I’ll be able to get back out there and hit it hard again. Good luck to you!
@Briel–Yep, they’re baby legwarmers–our favorites!
Thanks Stephanie! I started doing that because I thought it would be helpful for me to look back at it for reference with our future children. I’m glad you’re finding it useful too!
Thanks for the tip Heather!
Love the pink Badger outfit. So cute! Go Badgers!
these posts make me ridiculously excited for our baby to get here in January. she is a doll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for posting about the signing video. My mom is deaf & has trouble communicating with my 2-yr-old. I can’t believe I never even thought of looking for videos to help him learn.
Your daughter is an absolute doll!
Thanks Marie! She wore it again on Saturday to cheer on the Badger victory over Ohio–woot woot!
@Ginger–So exciting! January will be here in no time!
@CourtneyM–We really love the “Baby Signing Time” videos; I’d highly recommend them. I got ours on amazon.com. I hope your son enjoys them as much as Kate does!
I love the updates of your sweet baby! Our baby girl Peyton is not far in age….she was 10 months on Oct. 9th!
Can you tell us which exact DVDs you use? I definitley think Santa might want to bring those!!
Thanks Lori! We have Baby Signing Time: Volume 1, which is Kate’s favorite, and then we just got Baby Signing Time: Volume 2, which we’re just starting to learn. They’re both great!
Thank you so much!!!!!
Aw, congratulations. She’s going to be a one year old before you know it. Time to start planning that party!
jbhat