A Big Day

Today has been full of happenings for Raegan!  She:

-cut her 2nd top tooth

-sat up in her crib and attempted to pull down her video monitor

-said "Da Da"

We:

-confirmed that her tooth is as sharp as the other 3

-lowered her crib

-celebrated her widespread vocabulary of "ma ma" and "da da"

Big day for Bits!

Happy 8 Months, Raegan!

Raegan is 8 months old!

The rate at which Raegan is changing is almost too fast to keep up with.  The parents out there know what I'm talking about. She is literally changing and doing new things every single day!

A good friend of mine told me that when her little girl hit 6 months, she felt that every month after that was her favorite. I now know exactly what she meant.  Lately, every single week, I'm thinking, "it can't get better than this".  Inevitably, it does.  

This month has been no exception.  We have had an absolute ball.  If I knew that all babies would be as wonderful as Raegan, I would have at least 3 more!  (Shhh...don't tell Chuck.)

Highlights:

• 
  
  Starting to pull up.  She has pulled up from sitting in my lap onto her little Leap Frog Learning Table and also stands up on her own in the bathtub (scary, I know), but until she is doing this regularly, I don't want to consider her "pulling up". Can you tell I'm trying to keep her little?
  
  
  
• 
  
  Favorite new toy? A spoon. When all else fails-give her one and she'll be content for an hour. I'm sure there is some unwritten (or maybe even written rule) that says don't let children play with food utensils because of some reason like, "it causes confusion between eating and playing". 1 word: "WHATEVER!"  I've become such the rebel.
  
  
  

• 
  
  Speaking of wanting all things that aren't technically toys, Raegan is like other babies in that she wants all things "not toys" - water bottles, remotes, the drawstrings on our pants (ha!), you name it. You should see her trying to get to the laptop while we skype with my parents.  Oh, and here's a funny story-I wake up once morning this past month to a phone that isn't working.  I painstakingly make a trip to Sprint. 2 1/2 hours later, I'm told by the Sprint "customer service rep" (and I use that term loosely) that my insurance doesn't cover a free replacement because it has water damage. After a fun insurance claim process with Asurion and a holiday weekend (traveling) with no telecommunications, there have been no more cell phones in Raegan's reach!
  
  
  

• 
  
  She is trying ever so hard to crawl.  For months, she has been totally content with rolling.  Only within the last few weeks has she started getting up on her knees.  She goes backward more than she goes forward.  She gets so mad when she does this!  I honestly thought that she'd be crawling by the time I wrote this post.  I give it 3 more days, max.  Let the baby proofing begin!  (Oh, did I mention that another "thing" she is doing is spitting?  We can all thank Chuck for that. :)
  
  
  

Getting where she needs wants to go:

 "What did you say, mommy?  'Don't get under the tree?'  Okay."

"Sorry, mommy, you weren't looking."

Stuck again...

• 
  
  The girl sets off her angel monitor all the time.  Why?  Because she gets too far off the sensor pad, it causes the alarm goes off.  She sleeps with her head buried in a corner of the bumper with her body either caddy cornered or horizontal.  I've heard that a lot of babies, especially breastfed ones, do this b/c they feel more comfort having something on their faces. So sweet...but not so sweet after the 4th time in the middle of the night when Chuck and I wake up in a panic from the monitor going off.  And, I thought an alarm clock was the worst thing to wake up to...
  
  
  
• 
  
  She has this new cry.  It's kind of like a growl/whimper.  She will literally do it for 5 straight minutes, at which point Chuck begins to mimic her.  She looks at him like he's crazy.  He tells her that "it's not so much fun when someone does it to you, is it?"  Ha!  Rationalizing with a 7 month old is extremely productive.
  
  
  
• She has the waving thing down.  It's such a subtle little gesture, but I find it extremely endearing. 
• 
  
  Along with the new cry comes this fake cough.  I'm pretty sure she has started this because when she is sick and she is coughing, I'll often pick her up.  So, now, when she wants to be held, her arms go up, she murmurs "mamamamamamama", and she fake coughs.  Nice.
  
  
  
• 
  
  She has become quite the Football Fanatic.  Just see for yourself:
  
  
  

"Go Titans!"

Watching the Tide at Thanksgiving with B-O-B

Always a Vol!
• 
  
  She's taking juice/water in a sippy cup daily. #1-B/c she loves it and #2-B/c I feel that a huge part of the reason that we finally have some control over the constipation is due to our proactive approach of daily juice.  We aren't overdoing it; She still only gets 4 ounces max (not saying that more than that is bad) diluted in water. I am starting to add more water than juice in hopes that she'll be a water drinker like her mommy.  And, she's beginning to hold it by herself.  Big girl!
  
  
  

• 
  
  Has become super aggressive in nursing...I'll leave it at that. I'm attributing this to the bullet above. I'm thinking that her whole "suck" has been re-conditioned.  Let's just say that I felt like it was the first few weeks of nursing all over again.
  
  
  
• 
  
  She's definitely having more and more separation anxiety. She will still go to anyone but if someone else is holding her and playing with her, and mommy and/or daddy either walk in the room or she just hears our voice-it's over.  She wants us.  I won't spend too much time on this subject.  Let's just say that it breaks my heart.  I keep telling myself that it's just part of the process of growing up.  I will say that there are times when she just wants her mommy.  But, then there are so many times that she only wants her daddy. Case in point:
  
  
  

• 
  
  This month, after some deliberation, we decided to introduce Raegan to her very own "security blanket".  Due to the bullet above, she was starting to have a hard time getting down for a nap at Daycare.  I am not kidding when I say that now that she has her little mouse (who shall remain nameless until Raegan comes up with something a year or so down the road), this has gotten a lot better.  She knows that when we give her the mouse, it's time to go to sleep.  She literally begins sucking her thumb immediately and closes her eyes as soon as you hand it to her.  Precious.
  
  
  

What else?

• 
  
  She's babbling more and more.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Got her right top tooth while I was in NYC the first weekend of Dec. (More on that trip, leaving Raegan, and the drama with shipping breast milk home later.)
  
  
  
• 
  
  Still sleeping and napping great.  
  
  
  
• 
  
  Starts to clap when she hears music.  It's still not a true "clap" but she makes a valiant effort.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Laughs a whole lot more.  Is still very serious, but she definitely gets cracked up.  One of my favorite days with her was when she started laughing, then I started laughing, and then she laughed at me laughing at her.  We just looked at one another and laughed together.  I always said that I wouldn't use the word "silly" when I had a baby.  Um, never say "never".  Raegan and mommy were definitely silly that day.
  
  
  

Part of me gets a little sad when I start thinking about the fact that Raegan is only 4 months away from being a year old.  The other part looks forward to endlessly being proven wrong with thinking that it can't get any better than this. 

Happy 8 Months, Rae!

I love you so much that it hurts.

Food Review

If you aren't my mom, my dad, my mother-in-law, or my father-in-law, you might want to stop reading this right now because this post will likely be beyond boring to you.  

Here's the deal, I really want to document Raegan's reactions to different foods.  I feel like it's just one of those little things that will be easily forgotten.  That makes me sad as it's one of my first experiences at learning Raegan's likes and dislikes.  So, this is my attempt at preserving those memories. 

I've divided up the main categories for her reactions.  They are:

"Yummy"

"Not Quite Sure"

"Gag (literally)"

We'll start with the fun stuff:

Yummy

• Bananas: Raegan's favorite!  She loves these.  That is, until it's time for the final stage of digestion.  Unfortunately, we have to limit her intake. 
• Prunes: Another favorite!  She loves the ones I prepare for her as well as Earth's Best.  Thank goodness she enjoys these...it makes the first bullet much more tolerable. :)
• Mangos: These run a close second to bananas.
• Peaches:  Really likes these (not as much as mangos) but she's definitely a huge fan.  I typically mix these with cereal to keep them from being too sweet. 
• Apricots: REALLY likes.  While I couldn't find fresh apricots or frozen (without tons of additives), I did find some that were dried without sulfites (which was important because I'm allergic to some sulfites so we have to tread carefully). Even with adding water, the purees from these and the prunes  are sticky and thick.  But, Raegan doesn't care. 
• Carrots: Raegan LOVES her some carrots.  She likes Earth's Best okay but really likes mine.
• Apples:  Really likes.  Don't all babies?  We have to be careful with her intake of these too...I've learned, though, how to incorporate them with other foods that she doesn't necessarily love.  This motivates her to eat the less-than-desired foods.
• Sweet Potatoes: Big fan.  Add a little cinnamon and she's smacking her lips!
• Acorn Squash: She really, really likes...more than butternut squash.  When I mix the two and maybe even add some pumpkin (which she doesn't LOVE by itself), she cleans her plate.
• Cereals: Could eat and eat and eat.  But same as with bananas and apples-we have to be careful.  I typically mix in a little juice (apple, pear, apple/prune, etc) or add some fruit.  When I add blueberries, she is a happy, happy baby.

Not Quite Sure

• Butternut Squash: Doesn't seem to love or hate. I typically serve it with something that she already has an established love for.  When she eats it by itself, we get mixed reactions.
• Pears: So, she didn't like these at all at first.  Then, she loved them (which, I attributed her change of heart to my altering the texture by pureeing longer).  Now, even with the texture she appreciated before, she doesn't know what to think.  Sometimes, she gobbles them up.  Other times, she makes this face and just moves the food around in her mouth.  I'm thinking that her reaction is dictated by the level of ripeness.  By the time I figure it all out, we will likely be way out of the puree phase. :)
• Green Beans: This is an odd one.  Some days, she hates.  Others, she eats.  Maybe she's just really, really hungry on the days that she eats them.  I'm pretty sure that one of the gag pictures is post bite of green beans. 

Gag (literally)

• Avocado: I think it's pretty safe to say that this is her least favorite.  I find that avocado is an aquired taste with most people anyway.  If I mix just a little with bananas, pears, (or any other food that she really likes...even just a little of it)--she gobbles it up!
• Yellow Squash: Same as above. I didn't do enough research about this one before I made and froze it.  It is super watery once it thaws.  I tried mixing it with cereal to thicken it up, but no luck. There are times that she tolerates it, but only when mixed with other veggies.
• Peas:  I'm about to give up on these.  We have been working on this one for weeks and I still can't get her to eat them without mixing with carrots.   I will say that she likes mine way better than Happy Baby, Earth's Best, or Jack's Harvest.  Awwwww yeeeeaah.
• Broccoli: This is a new one but I have a feeling that it might remain in this category.  The first 5 times, we ended up with more on her bib than down her throat.  We may have a nice little trick, though.  Mixed with apples, she'll tolerate. 

Next on the list:

Asparagus, papaya, cauliflower, kiwi, white potato, and bean purees...some meat (which, I have opted NOT to make), and even a few finger foods (pasta, cheerios, cheese, and cereal puffs). 

I can hardly wait to watch her scrape the tray trying to pick up finger foods with her chubby, sticky hands. 

Thanks for tolerating my journaling.  I vow to make my next post more interesting.  Well, maybe not my next as that one will be Raegan's 8 mth update.  The one after that-be prepared for some fascinating stuff! ;)