Asa’s monthly baby photo (seven and eight months old)

Dear Asa,

I have big-time mom guilt. You turned seven months old at the end of September, and I never posted your monthly photo and update. So now I’m combining it with your eight month old photo and update . . . which also happens to be significantly late.

It’s not that I don’t care as much about chronicling your development as I did your big brother’s. It’s just life is a lot more chaotic than it was when Levi was a baby. Even though we’re living with Mimi and Ubie (and have two more sets of hands to help out), we haven’t been able to institute the same routines that Levi had at your age.

I mean, you don’t even have your own bedroom. Your crib and our small Eames rocking chair are in Ubie’s office, and we change your diaper on his desk!

However, I’ve been working hard to create a little bit of structure in your day. I put you down for a morning nap around 9:30am and an afternoon nap at 2:00pm. We can usually get about 1.5 hours of sleep from you during each nap. Bedtime is between 7:30-8:30pm, depending on how late we eat dinner and whether you need a bath.

At least you’re a happy baby. A very happy baby. You’re always smiling and squeaking and blowing raspberries. Everything goes in your mouth — toys, books, your own socks.

You know what else goes in your mouth? Food! Yes, eating pureed baby food (and not just oatmeal) was the first big milestone you reached after turning six months old. You’ve been a hearty eater from the start, eager to chow down on anything and always seeming to want more.

Unlike Levi, who always made such a mess when we fed him, you are a relatively neat eater. Perhaps you just want to get as much food as possible into your mouth!

When you were six months old, you outgrew (and lost interest in) your MamaRoo. No more swings for you! That meant you started spending nap time in your crib and playtime either in your Jumperoo or on the floor. (But not under your activity gym; you roll around too much!)

Then, just before you turned seven months old, you mastered sitting up unassisted (that is, after we sit you up). Hooray! We dug out Levi’s shopping cart and high chair cover from the basement so you can ride in the front of the cart at Costco and sit with us at restaurant tables. What a joy it is to be able to see your big, toothy grin at eye level wherever we are.

Yes, I said toothy. As in two teeth. I couldn’t believe it when you sprouted two bottom teeth at seven months old; Levi didn’t get any until he was 11 months old!

From a nursing perspective, I was kind of hoping we’d have a few more toothless months, but alas. You’re also about a month ahead of Levi when it comes to sucking your thumb, although like your brother, you prefer your sucky (i.e. pacifier) and can put it back in your mouth when it falls.

Now that you’re sitting up, you’re able to bathe in the inflatable Duck Tub. I have to say, you don’t seem to have as much fun in the bath as Levi did at your age. You don’t kick and splash as much as he did, although you’re perfectly happy to stick any and all bath toys in your mouth.

Speaking of bath toys, we need to get some more age-appropriate ones for you to enjoy. Ours are all in storage, and Mimi and Ubie’s are more geared for preschoolers. Sorry ’bout that, baby!

Sadly, you had your first ear infection at seven months old. We took you to the doctor because you had such a bad cough that you were practically hoarse. You can imagine our surprise to learn that your ear was infected, too. So we put you on antibiotics. Hopefully, these ear infections do not become a chronic condition…

You’re still nursing every 3.5 – 4.5 hours, even overnight. When Levi was your age, he went to bed at 7:30pm and didn’t wake up to nurse until 4:30-5:30am. You’re up around 11:30pm, 3:00am, and then 6:30-7:00am. Only a few times in the last month did you skip that 3:00am feeding.

Sigh. Why haven’t we tried Feberizing you yet?

At eight months old, you weigh more than 19 lbs and wear size 6-9/6-12 clothing and a size 3 diaper. For comparison’s sake, Levi weighed just under 15 lbs, wore size 3-6 clothing, and was still in size 2 diapers. You’re wearing his numbered onesies in these photos, both of which are size 6 months — and look it.

You are one big baby. One deliciously big baby, and I love you so much.

Love,
Mommy

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Asa turned seven months old on September 26, 2014 and eight months old on October 26, 2014. (Yes, another late update.) I’ll be taking a monthly baby photo of him next to his Blabla doll on his birthday to document his growth the first year.