**From March 14th – was waiting to add photos, but I might as well post it at this point.**

So, I totally missed Henry’s 8 month update. I will be better moving forward.

Weight: Henry doesn’t have his next checkup until 3/29, but I weighed him at the office and he was 23 lbs. Daaaaang, Hemy! You big, man.

Height: He’s just so big. It’ll be interesting to see where he’s at in a few weeks.

Health Updates: Henry had a cold back in January, but otherwise, has managed to avoid illness. In January, he had a spot of blood in his urine (visible in his diaper). It turned out to be nothing.

Sleep: Henry is such a good sleeper! He’s really been improving his napping and is really just lovely. I put him to bed awake most of the time and he just does his thing – plays, snuggles his reindeer, whatever – and goes to sleep.

In terms of his schedule, most commonly, it looks like this:

630/7: Wake up (we will usually either give him a bottle or I’ll nurse him)

8/9: He typically naps for 2 hours in the morning (wake up between 10 and 1130ish) – some naps are closer to 3+ hours, but on average, it’s about 2 hours.

11/12: Nap

2:30/4: Sometime between 2:30 and 4pm Henry wakes up. Henry could probably use one more quick nap after this; however, he REFUSES. Whine, cry, scream, fuss… that’s what Henry has to say about a third nap. I don’t push it because he’s technically sleeping more than enough between his (2) 1.5+ hour naps and 12+ hours of night sleep. (14-15 is recommended… Henry is over well over 14.)

5/5:30: Dinner

5:30/6: Bed – Some nights this is a little later, but lately, Henry has been pretty sleepy and ready to go to bed around 530.

Clothes/Diapers (Sizes): Henry wears 12m and 18m clothing and size FIVE diapers. If Charlie were still in diapers, they’d be in the same size. HOLY COW!

Diet: Henry is now eating 3 solid meals a day and has definitely started drinking a bit less milk (remember, he was drinking 9 oz bottles!!), but I’m pretty sure it’s still according to recommendations. As for solids, here’s what he’s tried since Month 6:

• Brisket (he LOVES brisket)
• Mango
• Butternut squash
• Veggie Shake (super greens, beets, pinapple, banana, berries, etc)
• Blueberries
• Black Bean Pasta
• Edamame Pasta
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chili (he mostly just ate the kidney beans)
• Cottage Cheese
• Yogurt
• Egg Yolks (he has 1-2 egg yolks each morning. MMM!)
• Grilled Cheese
• Banana
• All sorts of chicken (he loves chicken!)
• Homemade quesadilla
• All natural sliced turkey
• Crackers (he loves crackers)
• Mac & Cheese

I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all I can come up with right now…

Long story short, the boy loves to eat.

Teeth: This boy has so many teefers! He has three on the bottom and one on top… AND his second on the top is almost through. His poor gum is SO SWOLLEN, it hangs further down than its neighboring tooth that’s already out. Hopefully it will break soon.

Yesterday, Henry used all his new, shiny teeth to bite mommy right on the arm. He had been nursing and then took a break, lifted his little head to my arm, CHOMPED down, and quickly looked up at me with a laugh.

Should I be frightened?

Baby Gear Love: Henry’s two lovies that he sleeps with continue to be his reindeer Rodolfo. and the Comotomo Teether. These are his essentials. Other favorite items of Henry’s: danger, cords, glass tables, paper (for shredding, crumpling, and knocking to the floor), my cell phone (his favorite $300 chew toy.. also loves to hear it being thrown to the floor). He also really loves this Giraffe Ball Popper toy, anything Charlie’s holding, and this little spinning toy that’s supposed to promote crawling (or rolling in Henry’s case).

For me, I actually just bought my THIRD ergo baby. Not because I want a collection, but because I’ve had two that I bought or received as a gift with C and returned both because I didn’t use them. Well, with Henry, it’s perfect! I think because he’s such a large man, I need the extra ergonomical support. I bought this Ergo Baby for $25 used on my kidcycle (buy, sell, trade) website. How cute are those whales?

I’ve actually also been using the double stroller again (now that the temps are a little less arctic). I think it’s going to be a huge asset this spring/summer.

Milestones/Firsts: Henry is definitely mobile; however, his only mode of transportation is rolling. He rolls EVERYWHERE. Forward, backwards, 6 rolls in a row. The kid is motivated and skillful. He can roll himself right under the couch. “Oh no! Mommy, Hemy under the couch!” True story.

Henry is also mastering “mama”… this is definitely more consistent in the past couple of days. He also seems to say “more” and “nom nom nom nom” when things are delish.

He waves! That’s pretty cute. He’s probably been doing that for a month now.

He can get food into his own mouth.

He can move himself backwards in the walker.

He can sit up… although he still tends to fall over.

He gives kisses!!!! Oh this is my fave. Wide open mouth kisses. And HUGE hugs.

He can pick up chicks with his sparkle eyes.

He can eat a full apple. (aka he can gnaw on it and maybe eat the equivalent of 1/4 tsp)

He does “TOUGH GUY!!”

He went to his first aquarium (at Discovery World)

He took his first bath with his sissy.

Likes: Henry is a lover of life. He’s so chill and adaptable. He really loves rolling all over the place and getting into trouble. He loves pulling hair and ripping glasses of faces. He loves to snuggle. Oh does that boy know how to smush his face against mine and snuggle. He loves when anybody talks to him. He loves to laugh. He loves eating. He loves to mess with Toby.

Dislikes: Being put down when he wants to play. Being overtired. When someone (usually me) takes a toy from his hand. When I don’t feed him fast enough. The hours of 2:30-4:45.

Things I Don’t Want to Forget: Those sparkle eyes. Man do they get me. Henry’s entire face just lights up with love and joy and happiness. When he looks at me so lovingly, I just melt. I want to just keep that in my pocket forever. Mr. Sparkles.

Also, the snuggles. Oh the snuggles. When I put him to bed, 4/5 times, he snuggles in so close to me. He puts his smushy cheeks against mine… not lightly, but like, smashed into my face. And we rock with our faces smashed together and it’s magical. Literal magic. Sometimes, if he’s too tired for smashy face, he just puts his little head on my shoulder until I melt into a puddle on the ground. Essentially, I melt for this loving boy.

Yesterday, Charlie, Henry and I were sitting on the floor. Henry was in my lap, Charlotte across from us. We were opening up this makeup subscription package that I get. The box had a perforated tear away strip to make opening the box easier. Charlie ripped the box open, making a silly noise as it tore across the perf. Henry was in hysterics. Once opened, Charlie began ripping through everything. She was grabbing items, opening tops, squeezing containers too hard, etc. And I was on total mom (and makeup present) defense: “Charlotte, don’t squeeze that!” “Put that top back on” “Please give me that!” All the while, tiny Henry was literally laughing HYSTERICALLY! Nonstop laughter! I have no idea what he thought was so dang funny, but man was he laughing hard! It was pretty silly.