Let the exploring begin

By Published On: October 28th, 2015

Our little Graham turned 8 months old last week. He […]

image2Our little Graham turned 8 months old last week. He gets busier and busier every day, getting more and more interested in exploring his world. Whether he’s pulling all of the clothes out of the laundry basket or lifting up the corner of the rug to inspect what’s underneath, our baby boy is actively investigating everything around him like a little detective.

Little man is in “explorer mode” as my husband says, and it’s becoming really fun to give him new toys because he’s so aware and alert. He’s delighted and excited when we give him something new and interesting to play with. Although we’ve gotten him a few new things, his favorite “toys” these days are not toys at all—a box (full of clothes and household items like wooden utensils, a spatula, a comb) keeps him interested and busy as he likes to pull everything out for “inspection.”

As soon as he’s finished with his box of interesting goodies, Graham’s pulling up on furniture and standing, rocking on all fours, crawling/scooting backwards, rolling and pushing up to sit. He can now drink out of a straw and can feed himself Cheerios with his developing pincer grasp skills. He loves to eat and has liked almost everything we’ve let him try. He especially loves bananas, avocados and yogurt. He’s waving “bye-bye” and giving high fives, clapping with excitement, splashing in the bathtub, chuckling at our silly antics and giving lots of sweet hugs. He’s keeping us busy and is more fun than ever.

image1Unfortunately all of this excitement is causing him to want to skip naps. I think he’s worried he might miss something fun if he’s sleeping. Some days he’s only going down for one nap when he’s absolutely exhausted, and I know this growing boy sometimes needs more sleep than he’s getting. He doesn’t seem to agree with my logic, though. We have installed blackout shades in his room. We rock him and read him books and give him a bottle or breast before naps just like at bedtime, but lately he fights sleep like it’s his enemy, fussing and crying when we try to get him to rest.

Maybe it’s just a phase. I’ve been reading a little of The Wonder Weeks by Dr. Frans Plooij, and it’s super interesting. It’s an infant development book that is science based and explains predictable fussy or “stormy” periods and “magical leaps forward” in development during baby’s first 20 months of life. I have The Wonder Weeks app on my phone, and it alerts me when Graham is about to go through a new developmental leap. So far, I’m a big fan. When I noticed recently that he was having mood swings, sleeping worse and suddenly into everything, his symptoms matched up with the “categories” leap in the book. It’s interesting to read and also helps me make sense of what baby boy is doing.

Time flies when you’re having fun! Eight months has passed by more quickly than I ever could have imagined, and we’re absolutely loving every crazy busy day with our little explorer!

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