Eliza: 8 months old

8 months old – I honestly can’t believe it. 8 months ago we welcomed this beautiful baby girl into our family, and she has changed all of our lives. 

Weight: I took Eliza for a weigh in last week, and she was 17lbs 9ozs. She is still sat on the 50th centile – she has been there for several months now, and seems to have found her groove. A far cry from the small newborn who lost a lot of weight at the start!

Feeding: I would describe Eliza as pretty much ‘fully weaned’ now, in the sense that she is on 3 meals a day and has dropped most of her milk feeds. She will have a bottle when she wakes, and then breakfast a little while later – usually porridge and banana. Lunch is something like a sandwich with fruit and veg sticks and a yogurt. At school run time she often has a snack – a biscuit or some baby crisps. She eats dinner with us – we just blend or mash whatever we are having. Her favourites are roast dinner, spaghetti bolognese, shepherds pie and mild curry. She finishes off the day with a bottle of milk before bed.

Sleep: Eliza sleeps pretty well to be honest. We have had a few nights recently where she has been a bit unsettled, mostly due to teething, but overall we don’t have any problems. Bed time is around 7pm, and then we pop her in her Grobag, lay her in her cot and pop on Ewan the Dream Sheep. She is usually asleep within 10 minutes, and sleeps through until around 6.30am.

Likes and dislikes: I think separation anxiety is kicking in at the moment, as Eliza really hates me leaving the room. If I am within her sight she is fine, and will play happily. As soon as I leave to go and do the washing or answer the door her bottom lip comes out and the tears start. If I pop back in and pick her up she is fine again. I think that’s pretty normal at this stage, and I know it will pass. 

Other than that, Eliza is fairly easy going. She likes to watch her big sister and brothers play, and she is desperate to join in with their games. She is on the verge of crawling, and I think that will happen within the next couple of weeks. She likes to throw things, she likes to put everything in her mouth, and she likes watching the trees and the rain out of the window. 

Firsts: It has been a fairly big month for firsts – just yesterday we discovered that Eliza has cut 2 bottom teeth.

I think there will be more teeth close behind, as she still has bright red cheeks and is dribbling a lot. She had her first taste of birthday cake when Gemma turned 10 at the end of January. She has had her first ride in her next stage car seat – moving from an infant carrier to a rear facing Maxi Cosi Pearl. Our dog Bella has had all her injections and is able to go out now, so Eliza came with us all on our first family dog walk. 

She seems to be changing so much so quickly – she is already so different than she was at 7 months. In just a few short weeks she will be 9 months, and well on her way to her first birthday. I can’t believe how fast these last few months have gone.