FREYA AT 8 MONTHS

Dear Freya, 

This month has been a dream. You have been so much fun and have brought so much joy and entertainment to us. The Wonder Weeks app that we use says you are still in a leap but there have been no signs of it this month. You've hit a major milestone this month which I will talk about later but overall. you've been amazing in July. You are such a special little girl, Freya. I hope you grow up knowing that. 

31 Weeks Old

Height/Weight: 

Apologies again, but we still haven't had you weighed since the 16th of June. We really need to though because you're not far off exceeding the weight limit on your car seat (yep, the same car seat that's meant to last you up until 12-15 months...).  We haven't had you measured for a while either so I'm still clueless as to how tall you are. You're definitely going to be tall like your Daddy though, I can tell. 

32 Weeks Old

Sizes: 

You've officially moved in to 9-12 month clothing. *sob*. You still have a few sleepsuits in 6-9 that you can squeeze into but the majority of your wardrobe is definitely 9-12. I'm not sure how long you'll be in 9-12 though, to be honest. You have plenty of growing room width wise but most of your 9-12 things are perfect length wise, so we'll have to see how long you last before everything becomes ankle swingers. You actually wore a size 12-18 month romper last week because it was the right length! You are still comfortably in size 4 nappies.

32 Weeks Old

Eating: 

This month you have started eating the same main meals as us at the same time as us and you are loving it. You are in your absolute element whenever there is food in front of you. There isn't a single thing you won't eat so far (well, apart from baked beans. Last time you tried them you sucked all the sauce off and then spat them back on to your tray, haha!) and you love feeding yourself.

33 Weeks Old

You are having three meals a day, a pudding and an occasional snack on the days you need it, but you are also still drinking around 30oz of milk in a 24 hour period. You love having water with your meal too, but you make me take the lid off and let you drink out of the cup like a big girl which can get very messy!

33 Weeks Old

Daily Routine:

Your routine has stayed the same for a few months now. You always wake between 7-7.30 and have 2-3 naps a day before going to bed at 7.30. As we're still very much baby-led when it comes to your routine, your bottle, meal and nap times vary day to day but only by 30-60 minutes and you still graze on your milk rather than take a whole bottle three times a day. I often worry about whether we're doing the right thing by letting you fall into your own routine. Should you be in a stricter routine? Are we just being lazy by letting you lead us? Maybe when you're older we'll work on a stricter routine but for now, you're happy which means we are too. 

34 Weeks Old

Bedtime:
Over the last month or so bedtime has become Daddy's speciality. I still mostly change your last happy of the day and get you into your pj's but after that you're in Daddy's territory. He has much more will power than I do when it comes to bedtime. He lays you down with your dummy in and with a lullaby on and leaves you to it, only returning to settle you again if you start crying.

34 Weeks Old

He was very aware that you could easily become dependent on us to fall asleep and we really didn't want that so I suppose I'm quite glad he has mastered bedtime. Although I do miss seeing your eyes roll and your eyelids slowly drop as you fall asleep.

Milestones:

• YOU HAVE A TOOTH!!! After showing signs of teething since you were eight weeks old and us being able to see your teeth underneath your gums for the same amount of time, your first tooth has finally popped through. It just appeared out of nowhere, too! You weren't acting any differently than normal, no drooling or funny nappies. If I hadn't just checked your gums one day I wouldn't have realised it was there! It's not fully through yet but it's out enough for us to not only be able to feel it (and it's bloody sharp!) but we can also see it when you give us one of your great big gummy smiles. 

34 Weeks Old

• As of yesterday you have started pulling yourself up to standing from sitting! You did it for the first time yesterday morning before I got you up and you haven't stopped since. We sat you in a blanket in the empty bathtub with some toys yesterday evening while your daddy and I dismantled your cot and lowered the mattress, and every time we popped our head around the door you were standing up! You've just mastered it so quickly and I'm so proud of you. 

34 Weeks Old

• This month you've also started to cruise. You don't get very far, maybe only two or three steps at a time but it's a start. I have a feeling you may skip conventional crawling and go straight from commando crawling to walking. However you do things, I think you'll be walking in the next few months and definitely before your first birthday. 

8 Months Old

Thank you for making this month easier, but I wish you'd slow down a little bit. Your first birthday is approaching at what feels like the speed of light and I want to enjoy you as much as I possibly can before you become a fully fledged toddler.

All my love, 

Mummy x