8 MONTHS OLD

Leo at 8 months.

Ellis at 8 months.

Taking the monthly pictures was a lot harder this month than any other. Mostly because Ellis was just getting in the way but also because Leo just won't sit still anymore.

In the last month he has started eating finger food, like toast, he pushes himself up onto his hands and knees and pushes his bum up in the air and just generally becoming more mobile.

At one stage he wasn't getting enough practice sitting up and wasn't that good at it. So I started propping him up with cushions and making him do it and now I am very confident in just leaving him sat up with no support.

He has 4 top teeth and 2 on the bottom. Generally speaking he is a very happy baby but when he is teething he usually wakes up in the night crying and can be a bit cranky during the day too.

Can't really think of anything else to put. Things are moving along and before I know it, I'll be planning his 1st birthday party!

We are seeing the health visitor on Wednesday so I will post an entry with his weight.

Really struggling to keep on top of 2 blogs, 2 kids, the house, relationship, myself and all my TV watching! Need more hours in the day so that I can get more sleep and cram more things in.

ALL NIGHT - 7 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 6 DAYS

Leo slept for 12 hours again last night. That is really good considering the fact that Ellis woke up shouting really early and then Rob left early for work so I was surprised he didn't wake up.

When he did wake up he was cooing rather than crying so he didn't wake Ellis up which was really nice as we got to have breakfast and some quiet time before I had to do it all over again with Ellis.

I so hope he carries on sleeping well as it will make life that little bit better.

WAVING - 7 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 5 DAYS

Leo is coming on leaps and bounds. This weekend he has started to wave on command and has tried clapping. His commando style crawling has really taken off and he zooms all over the place. He can easily go from sitting to moving around and is almost getting back into a sitting position. The best thing, I think, is that his eye hasn't been sticky all day today! Hurrah! Hopefully it's fixed now.

I recently got the 9-12 month clothes out of the loft and gave them a wash. Unfortunately they are all summer stuff so I have had to buy a few items, not much, to keep us going. He is now wearing 9-12 month vests, grows and trousers. I can still get away with some 6-9 month tops though.

We put some more baby stuff up in the loft tonight. I sneakily said to Ellis that it was going in the loft ready for the next baby. Ha ha! I ask Ellis all the time if he wants to have another baby in the house and he always says yes. Sweetie pie. I might actually start to get rid of some of it though. It is taking up so much room and I'm pretty sure we won't be needing it.

Leo is doing really with his food. He has roughly 3/4 milk feeds a day depending on how early he wakes up and then he is having more vegetables too. I have made batches of lamb and I need to do the chicken and fish soon too. I have to get on with it.

Another new thing that happened this weekend is that Leo got to have a go in a swing at the park. He wasn't sure at first but he soon got the idea and sat chilling looking around.

He is 8 months old on Tuesday! Wow! I will try and take some nice pictures of him but he does move really fast now so I might have a few difficulties. I'll have a go.

12 HOURS! - 7 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 4 DAYS

Leo slept for 12 hours! I couldn't believe it. He didn't manage it last night but at least I know he can do it now.

ABOUT TIME! - 7 MONTHS, 2 WEEKS, 2 DAYS

About bloody time! Leo slept from just after 7pm to 5:50am, nearly 11 hours! He actually woke up cooing rather than crying too which makes a change. I was really impressed and this comes after 2 nights of controlled crying.

The first night was hell. Nearly 2 hours of constant screaming! The second night he woke at 4am which is amazing but I still let him cry for 45 minutes as I wasn't ready to get up yet. He went back to sleep and woke at 7:30am.

Then last night he just went through to nearly 6am.

I am really tired for some reason and could do with a quick nap this morning to get me through the day.

Yesterday I went to the doctors as I have had a sore throat since before Christmas. He said I had a viral infection and just need to treat the symptoms for now. If it hasn't gone in 2 weeks he will put me on a course of antibiotics.

Leo has also successfully taken 2 large bottles of expressed milk from Rob so I am free anytime I want now. I just need the motivation to organise some stuff. I was actually thinking yesterday that I might go back to line dancing for a bit. Just to get some exercise I suppose and I do enjoy the music and chats with other adults. Not sure yet. One thing is for sure is that I need to get fit. My pelvis is still playing up and I would like to strengthen my muscles to see if that would help. I think swimming might be my best option.

Leo is doing much better sitting up on his own and the weaning is going quite well. He still really prefers sweet foods but he is now eating some vegetables. He likes leek a lot too which is strange as it is quite a strong taste.

Leo was supposed to start his sing and sign class last week but I was an idiot and got the times wrong so we are going this morning instead to make up for the missed class. It's hard work to get everyone ready and out of the door so early but the fact that I have been up since 6am has helped today.

Best go and finish getting ready.