Dear Spencer... You're 8 Months Old!

My sweet 8 month old baby...
As I rocked you to sleep tonight, I watched your eyes get heavy and slowly close. I felt your body get heavy and swayed back and forth. I thought a lot about you, my last 8 months of getting to know you, and all of the uncertainty of what is happening in our world right now. Even when things are a little uneasy in the world, when I hold your little body close to me, I feel comforted. Our country and the world is in an unprecedented time with something called the COVID-19. A coronavirus that has swept across the world and is scary for older people in poor health. Our entire society as we know it has been put on pause. As of today, we have a shelter in place for our area. Kids are out of school for at least the next few weeks, planes are grounded, cruises are stopped... everything is just starting to stand still so we can stop the spread of the sickness. I know we will get through this all and the only silver lining is that we are slowing down and I get to spend precious time with all 4 of you.
You are such an amazing little guy. You really go with the flow, and this month you have continued doing so much better in the car. It makes it easier for us when we are on the go. You love looking at your brothers and sister and they all talk to you and sing to you all the time. You have gotten really strong in the last month and are crawling backwards and sitting up with ease. You love exploring the toys on the floor and also bouncing around in your jump-a-roo.
The biggest thing this last month was the arrival of your two bottom teeth. The first one popped up the first few days of March, and the second one came in just a few days ago. It was rough and uncomfortable for you, but I am so glad you have them in now so you can get a little break from the pain. You weren't sleeping great for a few stretches because of it, but for the most part in general, you aren't a solid sleeper. Some nights, you are going for 4 hour stretches now, which is amazing! And, you have started to get into some good schedules of 2 hour naps, which has helped with sleeping at night. You are wearing all size 9 month or 6-12 month clothing and still size 3 diapers.
You are eating like a champ and this month you have really grown an appetite. You usually eat about 3 jars of food a day and you will eat just about anything. I try to get at least one jar of veggies only, and follow it up with a fruit/veggie combo. You love pumpkin, apples, pears, carrots, granola, and bananas. You are also still breastfeeding on demand and through the night at least twice. In the last week or so, I have offered a little bit of formula mixed with breast milk at night to see if you wanted a little extra, but some nights you aren't up for it. My only concern is that you may be losing interest in breastfeeding because you aren't going for as long as you did previously. I am trying to keep us going for at least another couple of months, but I will also follow your lead.
You are talking a ton and still scream all the time. It is very easy to make you smile and laugh and you are very ticklish. You are a really happy little guy! You look at me and I am instantly happy, sweet baby.
This time may be a little scary and uncertain with everything going on in the world, but all I have to do is hold on to you and I feel so much love. Our family is so lucky to have you, Spencer, you bring us all so much joy.
I love you to the moon and back, sweet Spencer. Happy 8 months!
Love,
Mama