Sophie at 8 Months

Once again I am more than a week late getting the monthly baby update post up here, but I have a better excuse this month.  There was sickness in the house for the past week or so.  At first I waited a couple days to take Sophie's 8 month pictures because she wasn't feeling well, but then she didn't feel well for awhile, so I just figured Hey, she was SICK at 8 months.  So, that is what the 8 month pictures will be.  Also the lighting was horrible, so they are just all around terrible pictures this month.  Life goes on.  

Welp, here she is at 8 months (a little over 17 lbs)

In the last month she has hit ALL kinds of milestones.  And really most of this was in the two weeks prior to her turning 8 months.  Just after 7 months and for about those next 2-3 weeks is when she really started doing everything, all at once. 

One day she was "officially" crawling in the standard crawling form (no more yoga crawl like she's been doing for the past month or two).  A few days later she was pulling onto her knees on the couch.  Not two days later, she was pulling herself to standing.  A few days after that she began cruising after she pulled herself up.  Right around the time she started pulling herself up on furniture, she also discovered the stairs and climbed up those.  She (of course) needs someone to spot her, because if she gets distracted by something behind her, she has no concept of how high up she is and how dangerous it is).  

A few days before the 8 month mark, she cut another tooth, then another, and then another....and just a week after, I believe I see another popping through, which would make a grand total of 6 teeth, 4 of which came in the last 2 weeks.  Yes, she's been more cranky, in case you were wondering.  During the time she was cutting teeth, she also came down with a nasty cold and cough (she still has the cough) and developed a fever that lasted several days.  I brought her to the doctor's a few days ago when the fever was sticking around and Sophie was becoming more and more listless and lethargic.  She got an antibiotic shot which turned things around, but developed a little rash afterwards.  Poor kid.  

Around the time that those teeth were popping through, she said her first word- Dada!  Unfortunately Chris was gone on a last minute business trip (grrrr!) so he missed her saying it the first time.  I was able to get a video of it to send to him, so he could at least hear it that way while he was away, but it was a bummer that he missed out.  The other night I was out at the store, and Sophie was crying and upset, and Chris said she said Mama several times.  So she's on her way to developing the beginnings of her vocabulary.

She still nurses primarily, but when she wasn't sick, she was up to about one meal plus some snacking on solids of various kinds.  We really haven't done "baby" food.  I just give her things that I think she can handle with her two bottom teeth (once these 4 new ones are fully in, she'll have even more options).  She likes nectarines, raspberries, and applesauce best.  I gave her some mashed up mixed veggies which she liked and she was a fan of our faux-mashed potato cauliflower the other night as well.  

It has definitely been a big month for our little Sophinator.  She grew in leaps and bounds plus had to deal with being sick.  She's doing a lot better and it's wonderful to see her smile and hear her babbling like crazy again.  But when she was sick, there was a lot of general crankiness and TONS of sleeping. 

I loved all the cuddles (Chris did too as you can see), but it is tough to see your baby not feeling well. 

 

                               

We love you, Sophie Bean, and hope you are feeling 100% really soon.  Despite not feeling well and cutting a bunch of teeth all at once, you always try to put on a brave face and give us smiles.  Love you, sweet girl.  I can't believe you are on the verge of toddlerhood already with all your recent milestones.  What a big girl!  

                                    

Sophie- 5 months

Well, I'm several days late (as usual) and I can't find the paper from the doctor's office with Sophie's stats, so.........

Here we go!

 

Here is what I remember from the stats.  She was in the 40-50th percentile range for everything (height, weight, and head circumference).  She weighed 14 lbs and ??oz.  But it was 14 something.

      

And she is very, VERY sweet and kissable.  

At 5 months, Sophie is definitely a mover.  She gets up on her hands and knees, though she is not actually crawling yet.  She does a lot of scooching around though and makes tracks.  She uses her arms to propel her in all sorts of directions.  She can do a 180 in a matter of seconds these days.  And she rolls over both ways now- back to tummy and tummy to back.  

 

Sweet Sophs is gnawing on EVERYthing!  And yes, she is definitely teething.  She got her first tooth (front bottom left) on April 26th (so right about 4 1/2 months) and her second one (front bottom right) popped through a few days later (on perhaps the 28th or 29th of April).  You do not want to put your finger in this little girl's mouth because she is a vicious teether.

 

Sophie loves people.  She will play nicely and quietly on her floor mat for awhile, but then she gets cranky if she doesn't hear her sisters making noise.  She LOVES when her sisters come and talk to her and play with her (and adults too--I just see her little smile light up her face many times each day when her sisters come to play).  She also loves to observe.  She loves to watch her sister's play, mommy make dinner, or daddy put together the Blu-Ray player.  We were able to finally unpack our big fish tank (it's been in a box since we sold our house up north) and Chris put assembled it and got the water going the other night.  All the girls (Sophie included) are intrigued.  I have a feeling she will be REALLY amazed when we actually get some fish in there!

 

Our sweet Sophie is just the happiest baby around.  She's still exclusively breastfed (unless you count the one raspberry I let her try the other night at dinner).  She is sleeping like a champ.  Usually at least a 5-6 hour stretch during the night, then she'll wake up to eat, and sleep for another 3-4 in addition to 2 naps during the day (or so).  She is in size 2 diapers and still wearing 3-6 month clothing.  

She is not really a fan of the baby carrier at this point in time (much to her mommy's chagrin). 

Sophie is a little chatty Cathy and babbles and laughs and gurgles and giggles.  And drools.  Everywhere.  All the time.  Sometimes she mixes it up a little and spits up all over me.  

Gaaahhhh!  She's so squeezable and kissable!

Sophie- 4 Months

4 months already?? (creeping up on 4 1/2 at this point actually!)

Here are the Sophinator's 3 1/2 month stats:

Height: 24.5 inches

Weight: 13 lbs 3 oz

Head circumference: 39.5 cm

She's still smaller than Elise was at 2 months.  But Elise was a big baby, so don't be fooled into thinking Sophie is teeny tiny either.  She's about average for height, weight, and head circumference in baby world.  Of course, in looks, she's in the 150%ile.  Cute smile is in the 200%ile.  Wowsers, this girl is off the charts!

 

Fun facts: 

• Sophie is mostly still in 3 months apparel, though can fit into a few of the smaller 6 month outfits already. 
• Sophie still spits up a lot.  
• I have a strong sense that teeth are coming soon. (She has all the "symptoms"--clear runny nose, excessive drooling, ALWAYS has something in her mouth, way more cranky than usual--but we'll see...)
• Can propel herself forward with her feet when she has tummy time (crawling won't be all that far away...)
• LOVES tummy time
• talks A LOT (coos and gurgling, of course) 
• This month she has been full on belly laughing at her sisters (it's pretty much the cutest thing ever when they crowd around and they are all giggling and laughing)

 

 

Sophie is a sleeping machine.  The (possible) teething has disrupted it a bit, but she is still a great sleeper, just a more cuddly one again recently.  :)  Sorry, Chris, but it was too sweet not to share.

 

This girl is so content, which is a huge blessing for a mom, especially one trying to fit in some part time work at this time of year.  Between Kayla being a pretty darn good helper and Sophie being a really good baby, I'm somehow able to squeeze in about 30 hours of working from home each week (this won't be every month; March and April are my busy times of year for scoring).  All the girls have been giving me great afternoon naps (most of the time anyway and with some intense strategy on my part) and Sophie loves her tummy time and is getting into playing with her toys (or at least sucking on them), for which I am grateful.  I will be glad when this rat race time is over, but I'm so glad we have such amazing kiddos.  

As I mentioned in my last post, Sophie has become a thumb sucker and almost never takes her pacifier anymore.  This is a first for us (at this stage).  All our kids have been major suckers, but they have all liked the paci and stuck with it, until we weaned them (generally just before another baby's arrival).  Elise began sucking her thumb after we took her pacifier away, but none of our other girls have been thumb suckers this young.  

hahaha

 

Sophie makes some great faces.............

 

We sure love watching our little Sophie Rose grow.  

Sophie - 3 months

Ta-da! Sophie is already 3 months (a few days over at this point)!

Stats from her 2 1/2 month appointment:

Weight: 12 lbs. 3 oz.  

Height: 22 inches

Head circumference: 38 cm

At this age, she is smaller than both Kayla and Elise were at this age, and likely quite similar to how large Ava was at this age.  Kayla weighed 12 lbs. 8 oz and was 22 1/2 inches at her 2 month appointment.  Elise was well over both of them at 13.75 lbs and 23 3/4 inches at 2 months.  Ava was only 11 lbs. 9 oz and 22 inches at her 2 month appointment, so she and Sophie were probably close to the same size around 2 1/2 months.  

    

Sophie moved into 3 month clothing right around the 3 month mark.  Of course, she's still exclusively breastfeeding and sleeps in a variety of positions.  She sleeps best on her tummy, but also sleeps in her little monkey seat/bassinet (we aren't really sure what to call it; we got it from friends just before she was born).  And sometimes she sleeps in my arms as well.  We are now transitioning her to sleep at night with all her sisters.  That should be interesting, but the first few night have been pretty good on her end.  Ava has a cold, so she's woken up crying a few times, but Sophie slept through most of it, which is pretty impressive.

I bathe her in the sink because our space is small here and I don't really have extra room for the baby tub, so it sits up in the girls' closet and she gets her bath the (somewhat) old-fashioned way. 

Sophie loves listening to Daddy play and falls asleep to the music about 5 minutes in.  

She was our "chaperone" when Chris and I went to Valiant for their 2nd Anniversary (more on that in another post).  She took a nice nap in the Bjorn and held onto my crucifix and miraculous medal.  The rest of the time she sat making faces at anyone who walked by.  

She continues to be a very good sleeper.  Her only "fussy" times are at bedtime when she wants to be held facing out and walked around and around the room.  Then she usually drifts off and is asleep for 5-6 hours, so one can't really complain too much.  She often naps on her tummy in the middle of our bed (with pillows along the sides because she can already move forward using her legs).  I have to check her often because it's only a matter of time until that option will not be possible anymore.  

On that note, Sophie rolled over (from back to tummy) for the first time on St. Patrick's Day. We had just arrived back from our St. Paddy's day picnic at the park and I put her on her floormat (borrowed from a friend) and she just rolled over.  

Here she is thinking about rolling over.  I didn't catch a video of it, but I will. 

She holds her head up well and is very alert when she's awake.  Most of the time she's "talking" (loud coos) as well.  It's especially cute when she talks to her sisters.  

Can't wait to see what she learns and accomplishes this month!

Sophie's 6 Week Stats

Sophie is nearly 2 months, but I never did share her 6 week stats, so I've got a quick post to give a little update about her.  She is still sleeping very well.  She does wake up a bit and hang out with us for short periods of time, but she still sleeps for a good portion of both the day and night.

She eats every 2-3 hours during the day except in the evening and at night.  In the evening she generally eats about every hour or two from 6pm until 10 or 10:30pm, which is usually about when she falls asleep.  Overnight she eats about twice, once usually around midnight and the other around 5 or 6 am.  She often goes back to sleep after her early AM feeding and sleeps till 9 or 10 if we are home and I don't wake her to run errands or go to the park etc. earlier.

The picture with Chris is her first ride on the Carousel (that was earlier on in January), and the one with me is her first ride on King Triton's Carousel in California Adventure just last week.  All the girls love the Carousels and it's a fun ride because we can all do it together.  

6 Week Stats:

Height: 22 inches (an inch and a half taller than 4 weeks ago)

Weight: 10 lbs. 13 oz.  (more than two pounds bigger than she was 4 weeks ago!)

Head circumference: 37 cm

She is out of the newborn sleepers, and is wearing 0-3 months clothing currently.  Sophie has begun cooing to us and smiles quite often when she is awake.  Her diaper size is still 1, and she continues to be a loud breather and eater.  I wouldn't quite call it snoring, but she does have a bit of a snuffle when she sleeps.  Her favorite sleeping positions are on her tummy and snuggled up in someone's arms.  

Be still, my heart

These two girls love each other a lot.  All of them do, but right now these two share a special little Biggest sis/Littlest sis bond and it is so cute!

Last week, Sophie and I began my tradition of watching the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice with each of my babies.  It's something I have done with each of them when they were little babies (all that time nursing makes for good time to watch a show, read blog posts, and even read books, but it's slow going since you do these things in 15-20 minute increments).  Watching a movie like Pride and Prejudice during nursing times can take weeks....and I love to draw it out; it adds even more drama to the movie drama.  This time I invited the other girls to watch some of it with the baby and I.  They aren't interested in all the drama between Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, but they do like all the fancy dresses and dancing.  

Baby Sophie Stats

I thought what everyone needed to start off their wonderful new year was a post filled with pictures and updates on Sophie.  So let's get started.

She is beautiful and "practically perfect in every way". 

Sophie is still a champion sleeper.  She continues to sleep about 4-6 hours at night, wake up to eat, and go back to sleep for another 2-4 hours.  

When she's awake, she likes to just hang out- similar to the picture above.  

She loves to look at people (or at least in the direction of the voices she hears if they are too far away).  She still fits into newborn size outfits.  

At her appointment a couple days ago, the pediatrician proclaimed her to be perfect.  I tend to agree. 

First bath pictures!

I believe I got the water temperature a little cooler than she wanted it.  But I like to err on the side of caution with these things.  And she settled down quickly, especially once she was cozied up in her hooded towel.  

 

Her second bath experience was better.  

I got the water temperature just to her liking and she hung out looking around.  And we got a little picture of her in the little baby robe that her Uncle Bob and Aunt Priscilla purchased back when we were expecting Kayla.  Too cute...every time. Every kid. 

     

Sophie's big sisters all have very different reactions to her.  Kayla loves to hold her.  A lot (you've seen posts about this previously).  Ava loves to hold her too, but only for VERY brief periods of time.  As in 5 seconds.  But usually like 5 times in a row.  It's a bit like hot potato--she and I hand the baby back and forth a few times, and then she's off to a new activity.  Elise almost never wants to hold her, but is VERY protective of her and asks tons of questions about her.  ("Does she need to eat?", "What's that on her tummy?", "Is she coming home with us?").  When we visited my godfather and his wife, Agnes was holding her, and Elise made sure to inform her that "we are taking Sophie home with us".  

Look, she's still little!  And we are loving it!

3 day stats: 

7 lbs. 12 oz. 

20 1/4 inches

2 week stats: 

8 lbs. 8 oz (back above birth weight)

20 1/2 inches