Eight Months Old.

Happy eight months, Mio! It’s been remarkable to watch how much you’ve continued to grow and develop over the past month. Here’s how you look at 8 months old!

(I’ll be taking photos of Mio sitting in my white desk chair and wearing her monthly onesie every month until she’s one year old.)

Previous Photos:
One Month Old • Two Months Old • Three Months Old • Four Months Old • Five Months Old • Six Months Old • Seven Months Old

The Rundown at Eight Months…

Stats: You weigh 20lbs 8oz now, but believe it or not, visibly you have slimmed down slightly thanks to all the crawling and standing you’ve been doing. You have a little less of a tummy and your arms and legs are a little trimmer, but your signature chubby cheeks are still all there. (Thank goodness for that — I’m not ready for those cheeks to go away just yet!) Four of your top teeth have started to grow in, and you now flash us grins that show off two rows of pearly whites. Your hair has slowly started to grow back, and the hair on your sides has gotten noticeably longer and curls a little, which makes us suspect that you may have inherited your Mama’s naturally wavy hair.

Things You’re Doing Now: Although you’ve been able to stand with support for a while, these days you are actively pulling yourself up on your own. Tables, chairs, boxes, crib rails, trash cans — you grab onto whatever you can get your hands on and pull yourself up to a standing position. Since you first showed us you were able to stand for a few moments without support last weekend, I’ve caught you practicing it on your own from time to time — you’ll let go of whatever is supporting you and you will wobble a little but successfully be able to keep your balance for a few seconds. It’s really a wonder to watch! I love the way you smile to yourself whenever you successfully pull yourself up or stand up on your own, even when you think no one is watching; you’re definitely proud of your accomplishment, and it makes me smile, too! It’s scary to watch you stumble from time to time, and I have cried with you over a bruise you recently sported as a result, but I have to remind myself that it’s all part of the growing process and I just have to do my best to watch you and make sure you are safe. In terms of feeding, you’ve started to eat mixed vegetable purées (instead of pure purées of single veggies), and we are thinking of ways to introduce more protein soon with meats. We’ve started to give you organic puffs and Japanese baby crackers to practice self-feeding with finger foods, and you’ve mastered it in a matter of days — you have a healthy appetite and appreciation for food, just like your parents. 😉 We’re so grateful that you are so healthy and are such a lively ball of energy, even though it means that you constantly keep us on our toes!