Spear Summary of Month 8

This is a summary of Spear’s 8th Month of life from July 1st – July 31st. He was 7 months old during this month.

Eating:We completed his first 30 days of solid foods and you can see all 30 of his first foods in this post! Solids continue to go SO WELL. He enjoys everything I give to him and is doing great understanding the concept of eating solids. He even has his favorite food: broccoli!

He did have his first gagging incident this month so I made a couple instagram stories about baby led weaning and choking: video 1 and video 2.

At his 6 month well visit the pediatrician mentioned not loving his dip in weight and that it’d be wise to up his ounces to 8 oz per feeding rather than the combo of 6/8 I was currently doing. I’m a rule follower so I went ahead and did what the doctor said and started making him 8 oz bottles. But yall…he would NOT drink. He no longer ever seemed hungry and I struggled to get him to drink the bottle at all several feedings. Plus the bedtime bottle started to take forever.

So I decided to bump it back down to three bottles of 6 oz and the night bottle of 8 oz and it went SO MUCH BETTER!

Even though solids were going GREAT I did run into one day of concern, and of course it was right before we left for Tess’s Disney Bday! I gave Spear some scrambled eggs for the first time (he’s had egg yolk but not the whites yet) and at the same meal I gave him some cheerios for the first time (he hadn’t had any wheat products at that point).

He almost instantly broke out in this super scary rash. I assumed, as I’m sure most mamas would, that it HAD to be food related! I did some benedryl and it faded but then started coming back so I did another dose of benedryl at bedtime and he woke up the next day fine.

I didn’t give him either eggs or any wheat products for several weeks. Then I did JUST cheerios and waited a week or so before doing JUST the eggs. He did totally fine with both so I guess it was just a random fluke that he got the rash and it must have been viral and unrelated to the food? So weird!

I also think maybe Spear is just a “rash kid.” He has this one spot by his mouth that is almost ALWAYS red. I use a prescribed ointment mixed with Aquafor on it twice a day and it helps. But the doctor said it’s from sucking his thumb and sleeping on his belly and that the moisture just causes that. He’s my first thumb sucker so I’ve just tried not to overly worry.

Sometimes though it looks a LOT worse than other times! The ointment clears it right up but I do wonder if solids are in any way related to the rashes that pop up. Like maybe he’s not allergic to an extreme level but has some touch of allergy or is just sensitive to something?

Most feedings Spear is quite wiggly and tends to like to hold his bottle himself but during those rare moments when he holds my hand I just melt!

Sleep: Spear continues to be a higher sleep needs baby and sleeps really well for most of his naps and at night. He was a little congested this month and had lots of dried snot and even some blood when he’d wake up. I think it did cause some of his eating issues with the bottle as well as making him more cuddly because he just didn’t feel 100%.

Schedule

Independent playtime is something I’ve gotten more hardcore with this month with him and have made sure to incorporate it into the daily routine

7-7:15: up for the day, 6 oz formula, solids

20 min of independent playtime if possible

8:45ish: down for nap

11:00-11:15: up from nap, 6 oz formula, solids

20 min of independent playtime if possible

12:45ish: down for nap

3:15-3:30ish: up from nap, 8 oz breastmilk

20 min of independent playtime if possible

445ish: down for nap

6:45ish: up from nap, bath, 8 oz bedtime bottle

Other Things This Month:

Spear IS SITTING! Yay yay yay! I was a tad nervous at how long it was taking him to sit unsupported but he did it! YAY!!!

Not only did Spear start sitting this month but he also got MOBILE yall! C-RAZY. All month he kept getting closer and closer to crawling but not actually doing it. He’d get up on all fours and rock and then lunge forward to get whatever he wanted, but didn’t actually crawl to get it.

However July 30th (the day we got back from Disney), Zach drove separate and Mrs Charlotte had just left and I was cleaning up and the kids were helping unpack and then we all just happened to notice that Spear was seeming like he was going to GO. It was the most precious moment. All of us just stood watching him and he DID IT!!!! The kids all cheered like crazy and it was SO exciting!!!

I have several videos from his pre-crawl to his actual crawling: Trying to crawl, lunging (his go-to move), CRAWLING!!!!, and Kye trying to race Spear 😉

Kye always says his earliest memory is of getting a “spanking” (pop on the hand yall) for grabbing the door stop! Looks like someone is following in brother’s footsteps!

I mentioned earlier that Spear has some rash stuff, he also has it on his thumb which the doctor told me is from sucking on it. There really isn’t anything I can do about it since he puts it in his mouth and hello you don’t want a baby to eat any sort of ointment!

Spear had a super full month this month! His first beach visit…

and we made some wonderful memories together at Disney!

Spear is still a very easy going baby. He was NOT as easy in the car this trip, which always happens around this age. He’s not old enough to watch a DVD and be distracted but he’s too old just to sleep in the car the whole time! He still is very happy go and do and be out and about. He’s also SO happy and content in the bath! He loves it!

Siblings:

Summer time has been so great for the bonding of Spear with the older kids. He had SO much time with Tess during the school year but the summer has really allowed him to enjoy Kye and Britt in a new way and form closer bonds with them too. I LOVE seeing all the love my babies share together!

It’s hard to believe this BIG KID once slept in this crib. I ADORE these pics. SO SO MUCH. Whenever Spear says “BA BA” Kye says he’s saying “brother” and it means he wants Kye so Kye heard Spear saying “BA BA” and had to jump in the crib with him. Heart. Melted.