We've now had the wonderful privledge of knowing our little Athan for 8 full months. Here's are our thoughts for this month...We'll start with the fun we've been having. Athan loves games of repeating funny noises and faces. Echoing a loud inhale noise after Athan always makes him smile, sticking tongues out is another favorite. I love to hear him babble (mostly "wah-wah"). With his legs growing stronger, he likes to jump while being held up. Crawling may be on the horizon, but we still have some work to do. Athan will often lunge forward to reach objects he desires, but still destains being on his tummy. We're trying hard to convince him that good things come from spending time on his belly. On the other hand, I'm in no hurry for him to get mobile. I'm just as content as he is to be stationary.
Big sleep news: Athan is now sharing a room with Hudson and finally moved out of Mom and Dad's room! What a huge answer to prayer. We were so anxious about Athan waking Hudson up and vice versa. This has hardly been the case. They have been great roommates. Hudson is incredibly selfless and complies so well with being quiet for Athan when he goes to bed after Athan is already asleep. Also, after months of confined arms, Athan has finally experiences arm freedom! We stopped swaddling his arms and started using a sleep sack instead. We're still not completely done with the Miracle Blanket though as we do swaddle his body (we're creatures of habit and terrified of sleep regression!). A funny thing about the arms- probably because he had his arms held down for so long, he really does not know what to do with them now when he's tired. He is a painful face grabber, so we still end up holding his arms down on his side. We're still waiting for that magical morning when we realize that Athan has slept through the night. In the mean time, I don't mind those cuddly middle of the night feedings too much, as long as he goes back to sleep right away.
We've also started eating breakfast now. Cereal and a fruit/vegetable twice a day is something Athan looks forward too. He is so aware of food and wants it whenever we are eating. I don't think the little guy could open his mouth any wider as he waits for his bites.
He continues to be passionate about his pacifier (a shared trait for both our boys). Athan has had a strange journey with his pacifier, being almost ambivalent about it as a newborn. Since traveling at Christmas though, he really wants it often now. I try to limit his use of it, but do appreciate how it calms him whenever he gets upset or agitated. Now that he stays awake longer he does seem to need it a little more often. I'm okay with that. Even though he has grown so much, he still is, after all, our little baby!
