Jake~8 Months

Our little buddy is now a whopping 8 months old!  Although it doesn't seem possible, he's getting even sweeter with age.  His personality is really starting to show, and I'm constantly amazed at how different he and Cooper are, yet how well they go together.  Like salt and pepper or peanut butter and jelly, I guess.  They bring out the best in each other, and I love their interactions.  Jake adores Cooper, and everything Cooper does has the potential to make Jake laugh.  Cooper loves to make Jake laugh, and the sound of their laughter together is pure music to my heart.  One thing that's become pretty apparent recently is how easily embarrassed and shy Jake is.  He loves to tuck his head down on my chest when people talk to him.  He has a cute little grin he shows at that time, but you can tell he's a little embarrassed about the attention he's getting.  If he's going to stay this cute and sweet, he better get used to that attention!  He loves to give hugs and kisses, and trust me when I say he gives the best and sweetest kisses in the world!  He pulls you right to him, holds your face or neck, and plants a big slobbery kiss right on you.  If he really loves you, he'll keep 'em coming too!

As for our little milestones this month, Jakey has sprouted two little teeth on the bottom.  He sits very well and loves to play with his toys while sitting.  His favorite is probably to play with one of his balls or his tool set (do I have another tool man in the making?!).  He also loves his little tractor with the animals.  Balls are definitely the favorite toy for him right now.  He has now said mama, mmmmm (for milk), and dada, but I think "mmmmm" is the only intentional thing he says.  He isn't crawling yet, but he wants to.  When he tries, he either ends up flipping himself over while he's reaching or he just belly flops and flails his arms and legs around.  He does very well scooting and rolling to get what and where he wants for now.  Another milestone worth mentioning is that we finally ran out of the huge container of Dreft baby detergent we had bought for Jake while I was still pregnant.  I was sad to see it go (love the way it smells), but it'll be nice doing all our laundry together now.

He's still nursing, and we've reached the point where it is getting hard again.  He's curious and easily distracted and doesn't really want to waste his precious wake time nursing.  I know it's hurt my milk supply, but I'm pumping every other night to hopefully help with that.  He nurses pretty well when he's tired, unless he's so tired that it ends up putting him to sleep immediately.  We're working on it though.  If there is one thing I've learned about breastfeeding it's that it's a constantly changing challenge that requires a lot of patience and perseverance (okay, maybe that was several things that I clumped together to sound like one thing)!  He does okay with baby food.  He's a little picky about it.  We are trying some table food.  He loves bananas, toast, and rotisserie chicken.  He sleeps through the night most nights but occasionally needs a little snack during the night, which I can deal with.  My chunky monkey's weight percentile has dropped a lot in two months (down to 10-15th percentile...I'm having flashbacks of my feeding struggles with Cooper as a baby now!!!), which of course has me panicking, but the doctor assures me he is just fine and not to worry.  Easier said than done.  Especially when you're strictly breastfeeding.  I have no idea if he's getting enough milk from me or if I'm making enough at this point.  He told me he'll eat when he wants to eat.  I know he's right, and I know if Jake was hungry, he would let me know, but I worry.  It's what mamas do, right?!

Jake got to celebrate his first Father's Day with Karl this month and his first trip to the lake!  It was another wonderful month with our little sweetie!