Zoe turned eight months old a couple weeks ago. This month has brought some fun developments, but it has definitely been the most difficult month with this sweet girl so far!
Some developments this month include picking up small food items with her fingers and putting them in her mouth, reaching out for people (mostly mommy), getting from a seated position to her belly, and scooting and turning around. She puts anything and everything in her mouth and loves to be holding something at all times.
Zoe has gotten better at playing on her own, especially when the boys are also playing around her, but she still prefers to be where I am. Her desire to be with me has gotten a lot stronger this past month...it's to the point where she doesn't really like to be with anyone but me, not even Cole. Of course I love that she wants me, but it makes it difficult to get things done. Zoe is the most wiggly baby we have had. She loves to be on the move. When I am holding her, she wants to be looking or have her body facing in every way except for the way I am holding her. That makes it very difficult to hold her for extended periods of time. She's also on the move when she's on the floor. She's never in the same spot or orientation as when I sat her down anymore. She's either scooted across the floor or gotten onto her belly and rolled to her desired location or toy.
One other development this month is that Zoe has moved from a three hour schedule to a four hour schedule. Not only does this make my life a bit easier, but it also helps with a more stable schedule for her. She nurses four times during the day and eats solid food two or three times per day. She's doing great with her pureed solid food and loves to "gum" peppers, carrots, apples, pickles, waffles, pancakes, and really anything else people will give her. She still doesn't have any teeth.
Some of Zoe's favorite things to do are watch her brothers, sit on daddy's shoulders, swat and flail her arms, hang out with mommy, pull hair, play peek-a-boo, carefully inspect things she's holding, move constantly, and huff (quickly blowing air in and out of her nose while furrowing her brow...she likes if there are other participants as well). Her dislikes remain the same: being sleepy or hungry, having a dirty diaper, being in the car seat too long, having her nose wiped, and going too long without interaction.
At eight months, Zoe weighs 16 lbs (7.3 kg, 21.8%) and is 26.5 inches (67.3 cm, 25.4%) long. She's a petite little thing, but she can definitely get our attention when she needs to. She's still super quiet almost all the time, but she has started babbling a little more. The only times we really hear her are when she hungry (she gets really mad) and tired (she gets really loud and mouthy). In either scenario, she will not be quiet until that specific need is addressed!
Although Zoe is still one of the sweetest little girls ever, she has been a bit of a challenge this month. She's been much more clingy, whiny, and difficult to please. As I mentioned earlier, she really only like to be with me at the moment and she has no problem making that known. There were a couple weeks this past month where, if I put her down or gave her to someone else, she would just scream until I came back to get her. And even when I came to get her, she was so wiggly that it was difficult to hold her. She would climb all over me, turn around and around, fuss, and pull my hair! It was very difficult to get anything done and the whining was very frustrating. We have been working on her ability to be on her own for short periods of time and she is getting better now. Other than that small problem, she is still a sweet, smily baby with a little personality coming out. I love to see what makes her happy, smile and laugh.
Here are some pictures from the past month.
