Eight Months

My baby is growing so fast!

The biggest accomplishment of this month was a solo road trip to Dayton--just me and Will.  I made it with no trouble, stopping every 3 hours or so to nurse and change diapers.  I was so proud of Will on the trip.  He was so content to sit in his car seat and play with his toys.  He would take them one by one, inspect them, shake them, taste them, chew them, turn them over and around again and again, sometimes throw them, and then go on to the next toy repeating the process.  He is so curious about everything!  He wants to investigate everything in his path.  In the tub, he is now reaching for my shampoo bottles, now that he has realized there is so much more to play with than just his own toys!  He is especially drawn to cell phones, computers, remote controls, glasses and jewelry.  He thinks everything is a toy.  I hate it, but I'm already starting to say "no" to things.  I want him to be curious, but he can't eat my keys or rip out chunks of Bella's hair, or hold my mug of hot coffee, or take the cup of water when I'm in the middle of washing his hair.  I'm starting to have to be a parent!  It stinks!

He is starting a few "pre-crawling" maneuvers, like lunging forward to reach for something and ending up in a lump on the floor.  He can scoot around a little bit, but no real crawling yet.  He is coordinated in other ways--he's learning to shake various shakers in a very rhythmic way.  Impressive.  He is also able to bang on things like a drum, and clap two things together.  He has learned to hand things to me and I give them back.  And he's just starting to be able to roll a ball to me on the floor.   Sometimes I'm just amazed at the new things he can do everyday.  I hope I am doing all I can to help him develop!

He is getting to be quite vocal.  He sings to himself while he's playing, nursing, or riding in the car--it's pretty cute.  He's starting to say a lot of "Goos" and "Gahs" and he's even started this funny machine-gun sort of noise.  We'll go with it.

He is a joy.  It is so amazing to see the joy he brings to his grandparents and our friends who meet him.  What a blessing.

Paradox of Motherhood

Last night was a tough night.  Will would not settle down and go to bed.  Even nursing, he would pull off and scream every once in a while at random intervals.  It was so frustrating.  Finally, we gave him some Tylenol (this must be teething related!) and put him to bed--an hour after his normal bed time.  He continued to scream.

I couldn't take it.

After a little while, I went up to his room and picked him up and nursed him again in his room in the dark.  I sang to him...and he fell asleep.

Even after he was asleep, I kept rocking with him.  I was just soaking in the moment.  As frustrating as these days can be sometimes, I will miss them tremendously when they are gone.  I take advantage of every opportunity to cuddle and rock with Will knowing one day I won't be able to hold his whole little body in my arms.

Motherhood is a strange paradox.  It is the greatest challenge I have ever faced and it brings the greatest joy I have ever known.