Savvie at Eight Months

Our precious girl is closer to her first birthday than her birth day. (Okay, I just reread the seventh month post and wrote pretty much that exact same thing, weird!) Even though I love the little lady she is becoming, I am already really missing the tiny baby stage. It seems like every day she has a new trick or attribute to note. When is someone going to invent that "time stand still" button for life? Seriously!?!?

Personality:
Savvie Girl is starting to be more independent. She is happy to play and explore on her own with all of her new found stunts and skills. She is getting tougher and not quite as sensitive so she doesn't scream bloody murder EVERY time she bonks her head or someone touches her hand too hard.  I think she has to build up that tough side if she's going to make it in a house with Mr. Camp The Destroyer.  So far, she is happy with most people. It doesn't really seem like she has had much separation anxiety so that has been very nice. At this point, I would definitely call her a happy baby. Yay.

Size:
We haven't done any official measurements but I would guess she is about 18 pounds and 28.5 inches if she stays on the growth curve she has been on thus far. The weight could easily be higher due to the way she inhales her table food (more on that later)! She is wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 9 month clothes. The 6 months onesies still fit well and 6 months pants fit in the waist, but anything with length is too short in size 6 months.

Development:
This baby is on the MOVE!!! She is full on crawling! She is pulling up! She is starting to maybe even cruise the furniture a little. It all happened so fast. She did the army crawl for a few days during our trip to the beach, and then by the second week at the beach she was up on all fours crawling everywhere. It is flat out adorable! Now she can really get it on the action, and she still just loves to be in the thick of things with her big brother. The only difference now is that she can knock down all his buildings and take his toys. We still have no teeth, but I am 100% okay with that because it means I can get that gummy grin a while longer.

Sleep:
We have successfully gotten Savvie on a great bedtime schedule. After a nice dinner of solid foods and a bath, she nurses until about 7:30 pm and then goes to bed happy and full. It took three nights of letting her cry for a while when I put her down, but she got the hang of it on the fourth night and is now a champ at getting herself right to sleep! She loves snuggling up with her muslin swaddle blanket (3 cheers for Aiden and Anais!) and one of her lovies or stuffed animals. She generally smushes herself right up against the side of the crib. It's such a sweet little moment to observe. Nighttime sleep has been hit or miss. She has had a few more sleeping through nights in the last month, but the girl just likes to wake up and eat one time in the night. When she sleeps through, she will wake up around 6 or 6:30 and be up for the day. If she wakes up during the night, she will sleep until 7:30 am and sometimes later. She generally takes two naps a day still.

Sucks her thumb when she's tired...

Eating:
We haven't found a food that baby doesn't like! She has gotten better at picking up her food. It's more of a grab-a-handful-and-shove-it-all-in approach, but it works as long as you don't put a huge clump of food in one spot. She loves broccoli, applesauce, pears, puffs, Baby Mum Mums, peas, sweet potatoes, avocado, oatmeal, oranges, zucchini and anything else you give her. I hope she will stay on the path of loving all foods. She devours everything at mealtime (which has just been dinner time at this point). You can't get the food on her tray or in her mouth fast enough. And she still loves to nurse. She drinks mama's milk four times a day and usually once in the night.

Fun and Games:
Crawling and pulling up on furniture are the new games in our house. Savvie loves exploring the house and getting into everything! Since she has discovered crawling, she has less interest in the exersaucer, but she will stay in it for mommy to take a shower at least. Our little crawler goes straight for all the dangerous things you think you have babyproofed until you have a new crawler again: appliance cords, outlets/nightlights, trash cans, remote controls. Why do babies love these things?!?!
You could say that "eating" is on baby's fun list. When she's not eating in the highchair or nursing, she is trying to find anything on the floor that she can put in her mouth. I think we need a Roomba.
 It's definitely a cool time with Savvie as she is learning and growing so fast, and she just soaks it all up with the biggest smiles. She still loves her mommy but she is starting to really show a lot of attention to her daddy and her big brother. Camp always asks for Savvie to play with him, and now she can (kind of)! Of course, with all the attention from baby sister comes more frustration with towers being destroyed and game pieces being knocked about.

Sweet Savannah,
You are one of a kind. Your nickname "Savvie" fits your sassy and high energy personality. I am so excited that you are becoming more independent and happy to be left alone instead of needing Mommy to hold you. I know it is because you are trying to make trouble, but I'm on to your little tricks. I'm also a little sad that you are becoming more independent and don't need Mommy to hold you. Most of the time, I don't want you to grow up. I want you to cuddle with me and be so tiny for quite a while longer. You are way more snuggly than your brother was so I adore sneaking in plenty of those cuddles now while I can. I do wish more of them could be in the daylight hours instead of these middle of the night sessions, but I know you will get there soon. And then I'll just miss you til morning. I am praying for you and praising God for creating you, Baby Girl. I love you so much!
Love,
Mommy

Seven Months Savvie

Savvie is now closer to her first birthday than her birth day. It makes me sad that my baby is growing and changing so fast. It also makes me happy because that's a little closer to her hopefully sleeping better and hopefully growing out of her milk sensitivity and my being able to eat dairy again! During the last month, Savvie celebrated her first Christmas! Here are some updates about what our little cutie has been up to lately:

Personality:
Sweet Savvie is still all about the attention. She has become enamored with her big brother, Camp, so she is usually content just to watch him do his thing. He will try to make her happy by giving her toys, acting silly for her, and saying, "It's okay, Sabbie." She just can't take her eyes off him when he is around. It's very cool that I am not the only one that can entertain her during the day.
She is also quite the drama queen. She is super sensitive, and she cries so loud each and every time she bonks her head or has even the tiniest crash. Camp was much tougher than most babies, so this is new to us. She is very much our crybaby about everything.

Size:
I estimate the little lady to be about 17 pounds (we did try to weigh at home so that's fairly accurate) and 28 inches. She's wearing 6 and 6-9 months clothes and size 3 diapers. Her socks all seem too small so I think she's going to have big feet like mama.

Development:
Savvie is sitting up!!! She can bring herself to sit up on her own too. She can play so well with all of her toys while sitting up. When we change her diaper on the changing table, she rolls onto her belly and gets up on all fours! On the floor, she has made a few movements that look like swimming/pre-crawling but she doesn't move yet. I'm just not ready for it! The girl still has no teeth. We are working on baby sign language, waving, and clapping. She waved ONE time on our trip to the aquarium but that was it for that. She is not saying any words and really doesn't babble much.

Sleep:
Oh my. We were doing okay with nighttime sleep earlier this month, usually waking just one time a night and a few times not at all. Then, right before Christmas she decided that she is a night owl and wants to stay up late with mommy and daddy. She would have her night nursing session and then scream when I put her to bed. She was happy as could be if I brought her back out to the den, so we just went with that. She stays up until 10 or 11 pm just playing and hanging out. Then she will go right to sleep, wake up one time during the night (early am) to nurse, and continue sleeping until about 8:30 am. It's pretty exhausting. I'm ready for the sleeping through the night phase to begin. I like sleep. Apparently much more than my baby girl enjoys it.  Luckily she is still napping decently. If we are home, she will nap two times in her crib. Each nap is about 1.5-2 hours. She likes little catnaps on the go as well. I'm pretty sure she would sleep all day in the Ergo right cozy with me if I let her. But I won't...because then she really wouldn't sleep at night.

Eating:
This baby loves her food! She is doing really well with solids. The foods we have tried so far are sweet potatoes, avocado, banana, french fries, and green beans. She is still working on the pincer grasp but she can grab a handful and try to get some into her mouth. We help her with it most times. She nurses 4-5 times a day, and that is going really well. I tried a slice of cheese pizza though, and she didn't react well to that (very fussy and did not sleep well), so she's not ready for true dairy yet. I have been able to eat some foods that have a little milk in them though.

Fun and Games:
Savvie is loving the exersaucer and her jumperoo. She loves her doorway Johnny Jump Up too. She would much rather be held than be left alone. She loves dance parties. She got a little musical house for Christmas that is quite a hit. Bathtime remains a favorite, and now that she is sitting up she has discovered all the toys and bath items that can become toys. We are just having a blast.

Dearest Savvie,
I love you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. You are such a joy with your cute little smile and the way you get so excited about food. You are starting to be a daredevil by getting on all fours on your changing table. Please don't hurt yourself! You are unpredictable with your mood and sleeping habits, but it adds some extra excitement to our day. I think that's just what being a girl is all about. Your brother just adores you too. He wants to include you in his play, and it's the sweetest thing to see the bond between the two of you. Keep working on the whole sleep thing. I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck, all the time, forever and ever. Did I ever tell you that your great-grandmother Kaki used to say that to me all the time? She was amazing, and she would just love you to pieces too.
Love,
Mommy/Mama/the one who can't bear to hear you cry