Not too shabby to get the first monthly update out at 8 months old :)
I'm working on the rest of them and making my notes into actual posts from previous months that aren't already written out, but thought I'd start with the most recent month first!
Poor second kid... 😉
Weight:
Unfortunately we went to the doctor a few times this month, so Benjamin got weighed a few times!On August 3, he was 23lb 13 oz
I'm working on the rest of them and making my notes into actual posts from previous months that aren't already written out, but thought I'd start with the most recent month first!
Poor second kid... 😉
 |
| I couldn't get him to lay still for even two seconds this month! |
Unfortunately we went to the doctor a few times this month, so Benjamin got weighed a few times!On August 3, he was 23lb 13 oz
On August 14 and 19, he was 23lb 14 oz
He's holding strong at the 98th percentile!
Height:
No official height this month, but he can reach more and more things up high when he stands up, so I can assure you he's not getting any shorter!
Clothes:
Benjamin is wearing 12 and 18 month clothes these days. I broke out the 18th month stuff because he didn't have any pants or shorts that I felt like he was comfortable in and his onesie PJs were a little tight in the feet! Even in the 18 month clothes, though, I feel like the bottoms are all too tight around his waist and I hate thinking about him feeling constricted or uncomfortable, so I usually don't even have him wear pants most days! He does have some 18 month shorts that are hand-me-downs from Samuel that Samuel wore once he was walking consistently, so they are pretty long, but at least they aren't cutting off his circulation, so it works, I guess... I guess that's how it goes when you're the second child - you just get what you get :)
Sleep:
If you would have asked me how his month of sleep was before I looked at how it actually went, I would have said it wasn't great, but, looking back, it could have been MUCH worse. (I think it's partly because I'm writing this a few weeks into his 9th month and there are some not so great nights coming!)
On average, he slept 10 hours and 12 minutes a night this month. His longest stretch at night was 12 hours and 40 minutes (I honestly don't remember that! And you'd think that'd be something I would remember...) and his shortest was just 6 hours.
Naps at daycare are still about in the 30 minute range twice a day... about once a week he'll sneak in a 60-90 minute nap, but he's just like his brother was in not wanting to sleep in long stretches at daycare. His teachers say he's just too excited to sleep - and I absolutely believe that - Benjamin sure does love life and get excited about a lot of things!
Height:
No official height this month, but he can reach more and more things up high when he stands up, so I can assure you he's not getting any shorter!
Clothes:
Benjamin is wearing 12 and 18 month clothes these days. I broke out the 18th month stuff because he didn't have any pants or shorts that I felt like he was comfortable in and his onesie PJs were a little tight in the feet! Even in the 18 month clothes, though, I feel like the bottoms are all too tight around his waist and I hate thinking about him feeling constricted or uncomfortable, so I usually don't even have him wear pants most days! He does have some 18 month shorts that are hand-me-downs from Samuel that Samuel wore once he was walking consistently, so they are pretty long, but at least they aren't cutting off his circulation, so it works, I guess... I guess that's how it goes when you're the second child - you just get what you get :)
Sleep:
If you would have asked me how his month of sleep was before I looked at how it actually went, I would have said it wasn't great, but, looking back, it could have been MUCH worse. (I think it's partly because I'm writing this a few weeks into his 9th month and there are some not so great nights coming!)
On average, he slept 10 hours and 12 minutes a night this month. His longest stretch at night was 12 hours and 40 minutes (I honestly don't remember that! And you'd think that'd be something I would remember...) and his shortest was just 6 hours.
Naps at daycare are still about in the 30 minute range twice a day... about once a week he'll sneak in a 60-90 minute nap, but he's just like his brother was in not wanting to sleep in long stretches at daycare. His teachers say he's just too excited to sleep - and I absolutely believe that - Benjamin sure does love life and get excited about a lot of things!
Likes:
Benjamin prettty much likes everything! He loves to grab anything and everything in sight and put it in his mouth (especially cords)! He loves to pull himself up on anything he can. He army crawls toward any object he wants to get his hands on - mostly dog toys, the water bowl and outlets...
 |
| If he wants something, he will find a way to get it! |
He loves baths and dancing around and eating and pretty much he loves life.
He also loves ANYTHING his brother does. He will just sit and watch him forever and smile about it all!
Dislikes:
Benjamin dislikes being put down and walked away from. Like how dare anyone do that to him!!
He also dislikes being laid down on the changing table to get his diaper changed. I don't know if that's something he only does with me because he thinks I'm putting him down or what, but he is SOO offended every time!
Benjamin also dislikes when the food that is on his tray is gone and doesn't like when he has to get out of the bath... poor kid!
There isn't much that Benjamin dislikes, but when he does, he'll let you know!!
He also dislikes being laid down on the changing table to get his diaper changed. I don't know if that's something he only does with me because he thinks I'm putting him down or what, but he is SOO offended every time!
Benjamin also dislikes when the food that is on his tray is gone and doesn't like when he has to get out of the bath... poor kid!
There isn't much that Benjamin dislikes, but when he does, he'll let you know!!
Firsts/Milestones/Development:
Benjamin was in his first parade this month. He got to ride in the back of Grandpa Kock's truck with me while he pulled the train to advertise for Westside's sesquicentennial celebration. He had no clue what was going on, but he was there so that's something :)
Benjamin got upgraded from an individual little highchair at school to the "big baby" table! Such a big kid!!
He has continued to love foods and has eaten over 50 different foods. I stopped keeping my running list of foods at this point, but we had a pretty extensive list by this point. We have yet to find something he doesn't like! He tried peanut butter this month and loved that, too! (no surprise)
He started mumbling "mama" this month. Before this, it was all "dadas" so I'm feeling pretty special now. The first ones came after he woke up one morning and was just laying in his crib mumbling "mama" over and over!
He's had a rough go with a few more ear infections this month, poor guy doesn't really even show any symptoms of having them like you'd thing... usually no fever or anything to go along with them. Sometimes he'll pull at his ears or maybe wake up in the night, but it's never a big to-do. He is just too busy being happy, I guess!
Samuel loves his little brother just as much as Benjamin adores his big brother! So far we haven't had many issues with Samuel getting upset about Benjamin taking his toys. He handles it pretty well and is gentle when he wants to take something away (after a few reminders usually).
Samuel does need reminding frequently to not touch his face or smother him (sometimes his hugs are a little much) but his touches are usually out of affection! :)
When Benjamin is upset in his car seat, Samuel is great at talking to him and telling him it will be okay and that he doesn't need to cry. Benjamin usually responds by stopping his crying and looking at Samuel and smiling, so it's so nice to have him there to take Benjamin's mind off of whatever he's upset about!
Samuel is such a great helper at home - getting burp cloths for us when we need them, picking up Benjamin's toys that he drops on the floor from his high chair and making sure Benjamin doesn't get the dog toys he so disparately wants!
Benjamin is also a great motivation at supper time for Samuel to eat his vegetables :) Benjamin will gladly eat his, so we tell Samuel that Benjamin is going to get stronger than him because he is eating his veggies, and that usually gives Samuel enough motivation to eat his! Heehee. Parenting is fun!
Benjamin was in his first parade this month. He got to ride in the back of Grandpa Kock's truck with me while he pulled the train to advertise for Westside's sesquicentennial celebration. He had no clue what was going on, but he was there so that's something :)
Benjamin started pulling himself up this month. He did it for the first time at daycare and then just gradually started doing it more and more over the following weeks. He has a lot of arm strength, so he pulls as hard as he can until he can get is legs under him. He still stands on his toes a lot (kind of like a ballet dancers sometimes) but he'll figure out the whole standing thing!
He's also continued to master the army crawling and shows signs that he wants to start crawling on his hands and knees. He still prefers the army crawl, though, so that gets him where he wants to go for now!
He has started being able to go from crawling and then backing into sitting up (he's great at sitting now!) and can evidently crawl into the sensory table at daycare haha (see picture below) No stopping him now!
Benjamin got upgraded from an individual little highchair at school to the "big baby" table! Such a big kid!!
He has continued to love foods and has eaten over 50 different foods. I stopped keeping my running list of foods at this point, but we had a pretty extensive list by this point. We have yet to find something he doesn't like! He tried peanut butter this month and loved that, too! (no surprise)
He started mumbling "mama" this month. Before this, it was all "dadas" so I'm feeling pretty special now. The first ones came after he woke up one morning and was just laying in his crib mumbling "mama" over and over!
He's had a rough go with a few more ear infections this month, poor guy doesn't really even show any symptoms of having them like you'd thing... usually no fever or anything to go along with them. Sometimes he'll pull at his ears or maybe wake up in the night, but it's never a big to-do. He is just too busy being happy, I guess!
Samuel loves his little brother just as much as Benjamin adores his big brother! So far we haven't had many issues with Samuel getting upset about Benjamin taking his toys. He handles it pretty well and is gentle when he wants to take something away (after a few reminders usually).
Samuel does need reminding frequently to not touch his face or smother him (sometimes his hugs are a little much) but his touches are usually out of affection! :)
When Benjamin is upset in his car seat, Samuel is great at talking to him and telling him it will be okay and that he doesn't need to cry. Benjamin usually responds by stopping his crying and looking at Samuel and smiling, so it's so nice to have him there to take Benjamin's mind off of whatever he's upset about!
Samuel is such a great helper at home - getting burp cloths for us when we need them, picking up Benjamin's toys that he drops on the floor from his high chair and making sure Benjamin doesn't get the dog toys he so disparately wants!
Benjamin is also a great motivation at supper time for Samuel to eat his vegetables :) Benjamin will gladly eat his, so we tell Samuel that Benjamin is going to get stronger than him because he is eating his veggies, and that usually gives Samuel enough motivation to eat his! Heehee. Parenting is fun!
Benjamin is just a little ray of sunshine in our lives. We love him so much! He is so sweet and I don't know how we got so lucky to get this happy boy in our lives! We are blessed with two of the best little boys!!
