8 Months Old

I am starting this blog entry a day early, because it seems like I am so pressed for time these days! Tomorrow (or today, depending on which day I post this) is Griffin's 8 month old birthday. Everything is coming fast and furious now. There seems to be an anxiousness with Griffin- he seems to want to do and learn everything NOW. And his frustration and impatience shows when he is not able to do these things as quickly as he would like to.

The first half of April was great. The second half has been challenging. It seems like I am always saying that! There seemed to be a lot of unsettledness (is that even a correct word?) with Griffin, and it could be due to a lot of things. This month, his two top teeth erupted, as recent as yesterday. That caused quite a bit of disturbance for a few weeks. He now proudly has four little teeth. When he smiles or when his mouth is open, you can very clearly see his bottom teeth, and his one top tooth. Adorable.

Possibly because of our move, his sleeping has been very erratic again. I think it's more of separation anxiety that is causing this, which I have heard is very common at this age. We will put him to bed, and he will wake up once or twice within minutes of putting him down. Sometimes, it takes us two hours to get him to sleep. But once asleep, he will usually sleep through the night with still a night feeding. We tried the 'cry it out' method, where Griffin cried uncontrollably for fifteen minutes before we gave in. Fifeen minutes feels like an eternity when your baby is crying at the top of his lungs, and trembling. While I am not opposed or judge anybody for doing that, I do not think this is a method that I am comfortable doing myself. So although frustrating, hopefully this is just a phase like everything else, and will pass with time.

Griffin also seems more frustrated at the lack of his mobility. He is very mobile these days, but still relies on us for quite a bit of maneuvering. He wants to go EVERYWHERE, but not always can. We have to constantly change his positions, or he gets bored easily. Unfortunately for me, this means no more stroller walks. I am also hoping this is another phase that will pass. While in the earlier days, Griffin used to love being in his stroller. Now he gets antsy and can't be in there for longer than fifteen minutes to half an hour. Usually our outings end up with us constantly taking him out of the stroller to walk around with him in our arms, put him back in the stroller, take him out again etc etc. And yes, yesterday Jonas and I discovered that I now have bigger biceps than I did before.

Griffin can now move to a sitting position from lying down. In fact, the last two nights when he was crying out for us, he was sitting straight up in bed. Imagine our surprise to walk in and find him sitting upright in his bed. And this morning, I found him on his knees, hanging onto to the top of his crib. On our to-do list ASAP: lower crib mattress.

He can also now pull himself up to a standing position, on his own. If Griffin grabs onto the couch, he can pull himself completely upright. He has only done this a couple of times now, but his little legs seem to be getting stronger. We are really beginning to notice, and are impressed by how quickly his physical development is. I strongly suspect he is going to be an early walker.

While he is quite the charmer with us, we are quickly realizing that we now have to start disciplining. Griffin has been throwing a few tantrums as of lately, where he will actually go a little red in the face. He's still a sweet little angel, but I think he is finding out how to use his charms to his benefit.

I have found out that you can never actually figure out your child. Just when you think you have it nailed, you never really do. Babies, children...you name it. Very unpredictable, and CHALLENGING. But this world just wouldn't be the same without them, and our world would definitely not be without Griffin.