Brody's 8th Month ~ Celebrating his 1st Christmas!

Brody's 8th month was chock full of excitement and merriment from the Christmas season.  I find myself constantly comparing my two boys and am finding that harder and harder to do as they show me that they are each unique individuals with their own "style."  Brody, of course, is a lot bigger than Evan was.  He is a great eater.  Besides the obvious differences in their sizes, there are more subtle differences.  Evan was almost 9 months old at his first Christmas and was already crawling around and pulling up on the furniture.  He may have been small, but he didn't let that slow him down.  I keep expecting Brody to do the same things his big brother did, but he has a mind of his own.  He has done some things a month earlier than big brother (like sitting up), and some things at almost the same time (like sleeping through the night and giggling).  I am not worried about his development at all and am just so happy that I am raising two healthy, happy little boys.  Brody continues to bring so much joy to our little family. 

Brody's Stats at 8 months: 

Size: Although we aren't scheduled to go back to the doctor for another month, Mommy weighed Brody at home on the digital scales and found that Brody now weighs 20.8 lbs.  Wow!  I never thought I would have a 20 lb. baby at 8 months old.  Evan didn't weigh 20 lbs. until he was well over a year old.  We aren't sure how long Brody is, but he does seem pretty long for his age.  He doesn't appear to be too chubby, but he does have some adorable chunky thighs like his Daddy.  He still wears a size 3 diaper and mostly 6 to 9 month clothes although his jeans have gotten a little tight.


Developmental Accomplishments: Brody still only has 2 bottom teeth.  He still hasn't attempted to crawl yet and really just acts like he would prefer to not be on his belly.  Mommy will help him get into a crawl position, and he will remain in that position for a few minutes and even make a rocking motion, but he doesn't want to try to move his hands and knees.  She has tried putting some desireable objects just out of reach to encourage him to move, but he usually just gets frustrated.  We think he's a little stubborn.  He has started swaying to music like he wants to dance and has also learned to clap his little hands together which is a pretty big skill for an 8 month old.  He is a strong baby and although he hasn't attempted to pull himself up on furniture to stand, he likes when we stand him up and will hold onto his play table or lion walker for a long time.  Brody also loves peek-a-boo now and will just cackle at Mommy when she hides behind her hands and then says "Boo!"  That is probably his favorite game right now.


Sleeping: Brody moved into his own room at the beginning of this month and has been sleeping in his crib.  Mommy and Daddy preferred to keep him in their room as long as possible.  Although he has passed the period where the risk of SIDS is the greatest, we still want to do all we can to keep him safe.  We use his Angelcare monitor in his room which has a wonderfully clear sound monitor as well as the sensor pad that alerts us if movement isn't detected.  He has still been sleeping very well through the night although he has had a rough cold that has caused him to wake up a little more frequently.  He is still too busy to want to take long naps during the day.


Eating: Boy, does this baby love to eat! He is eating three meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) with either a fruit or yogurt for breakfast, usually a fruit for lunch, and a veggie or mixed veggie and grain food for dinner. He usually gets 4 bottles of formula (6 oz. each) a day with cereal, but he has been leaving some milk in some of his bottles. He definitely seems to prefer solid food to his milk now. He also recently started feeding himself some baby cereal puffs and yogurt bites and is very cute trying to pick his food up with his little fingers and get it to his mouth. Sadly breastfeeding ended this month as Brody seemed to have lost interest, and Mommy's production had diminished greatly. Mommy and Brody still try to get plenty of cuddle time together though. I feel okay with the breastfeeding because I feel like I surpassed my personal goal. I had doubted that with my schedule of work and school that I would be able to even make it to six months, but we managed to continue for over seven months.



Mommy could seriously eat this baby up in his candy cane striped pajamas.  She loved these when they were big brothers, and she still loves them on her little Bro-Bro!  (Yep, she calls him that a lot.)



Showing his "mad" face.



Not digging tummy time too much.



Had to get a shot of that adorable reindeer booty.



There's our happy baby!



So stinkin' cute!



Just hangin' out in his crib for a while. 



No, he isn't pulling himself up yet, but he can stand up for quite a while.



Riding his fire truck.



So excited about Christmas.



Brody meets Elmo.



And it was love at first sight.



We just love this face.



First night in his crib...yes, we just moved him to his room.  We have always wanted to keep them in our room as long as possible for our own peace of mind.  We love having them close!



Sweet sleeping baby...looks like an angel to me!



Playing with his best friend in the world.



He discovered Peepers again.



Driving his first car.



And rode on top of the ambulance.



Making silly faces in the fun mirror.



He loved this little puzzle game at the mall's play area.



Bath time is a real treat.



He loves his bucket.



Big brother shows him how to play with Transformers.



So happy for bath time with big brother now.  He thinks he is so big!



Playing in Evan's new dinosaur tent that he got from his best neighbor buddy, Zachary. 



Love watching these boys playing together!



Gives new meaning to the phrase "brotherly love."  Now, we definitely understand what it means.



Brody learning to play the guitar.



So big standing at his new activity table.



He loves his new toy.



Playing with one of his favorite Christmas presents.