The Kovar Khronicles: Macie at Eight Months

Month eight was full of fun and food and teeth. Macie developed in her play, continuing to tolerate her tummy time enough to enjoy it a bit, tucking her legs under her at the end of the month, rolling both ways more freely - but still, not interested in moving enough to crawl. Her feet found their way into her mouth, as did everything in her grasp. This was quite a bit more than in previous months as she became more and more grabby in November. Her hair grew to a very cute and spiky length, establishing itself more in the front then in the sides and back. Macie had her first cough and her first minor choking experience. She became even more conversational, both with people and with her toys, interspersing laughter as she spoke. Curiousity of gadgets grew as she seemingly became more aware of her brother Ephram's obsessions. We celebrated her first Thanksgiving, where she could actually eat a tiny bit of the food, (sweet potatoes and green beans), and saw her eyes light up when the Christmas tree did for the first time. At the very end of the month she woke up one day and decided to sit without assistance. I had tested her ability two days earlier, and she was falling over in less than a minute. The first day she sat alone she could do it for 15 minutes. As time goes by I learn more and more about Macie's personality - she is an all-at-once kind of a girl. She had a growth spurt, and I was so thankful as I reflected on her story and her growth on this year's World Prematurity Day.

Stats:
Chronological Age - 8 Months
Adjusted Age - 6 Months

Weight - 17 lb, 6 oz

There is no eight month check up, so I measured her weight at home.

Milestones:

Put feet into mouth - 31 Weeks
Get spoon into mouth - 32 Weeks
Rolled from tummy to back - 32 Weeks
First cough - 32 Weeks
First sippy cup - 33 Weeks
First minor choking experience - 33 Weeks
First iPad drawing - 34 Weeks
Sit without assistance - 35 Weeks

At eight months Macie was in 6-9 month clothing and size 3 diapers, both increased from month seven.

Feeding:

Macie continued to nurse on demand for her milk. At the very end of the previous month we had introduced her to rice cereal. Foods added during month eight included:

Sweet Potatoes
Peas
Pears
Bananas
Oatmeal
Green Beans

Macie had no allergic reactions to the foods introduced, however she had a big problem with constipation after bananas were introduced. We backed off of bananas and rice and added in pears and oatmeal, and have found that she struggles still with digesting bananas regularly.

Macie took her first sippy cup this month and enjoyed biting on the spout if nothing else. We gave her water and tried juice at one point to help her regularity.

Halfway through the month, Ephram snuck her some raisins while I was cleaning up our dinner. Needless to say, she was not ready for them and the incident ended in me grabbing her out of the chair and hitting her on the back. She was fine, just a little scared and Ephram seems to have a nice, clear understanding of why, although sharing is nice, his food can't be shared with Macie yet.

We continued to give Macie Zantac to treat her reflux, but reduced the dose from .5 ml twice a day to .45 ml twice a day.

Sleeping:

Sleeping was not so great this month. Macie continued to struggle with pain as multiple teeth pushed her gums. We used tylenol and ibuprofen for assistance when appropriate, but she was just a very light sleeper this month. She also had a cough for a week which further impacted her sleep.

She took about three daytime naps ranging in time from 30 minutes to 3 hours. The timing and length of the naps were both very unpredictable, even when I made efforts to introduce some normalcy to our days. She napped in the swing, in my arms, on my bed and on the couch. Anywhere I could get her to stay asleep!

At night she still went to sleep around 9pm and woke up for the day around 9am. However, she woke at least two times a night, sometimes four or five times. She did not always want to nurse, sometimes she was just unsettled. This made it hard to get her back to sleep. I took to putting her on my bed in between Andy and I and giving her toys so that she could play independently while I dozed on and off.

Again, this was nothing compared to Ephram. Although I was very tired and at times, very over being up all night, I still called her a good sleeper. I knew those teeth were coming and had faith she'd return to her good sleep habits in time.

Teeth:

Macie cut two more teeth during week 32, in the first half of the month. They were her top front teeth. At the end of the month she had four teeth, the front ones on top and bottom. Four teeth for a baby who's teeth think she is six months old is a lot of teeth, in my opinion. Heck, I think it's quite a few teeth for an eight month old baby too!

Favorite Things: