Shawn - 8 Months Old!

Shawn: (5 1/2 Months Adjusted)

Weight: My scale says 7.8 kilograms, or 17.2 lbs (5-10th percentile). He is still wearing size 6 months onesies and pants. He can still get away with size 3-6 month pants if I don't mind high waters. (I don't!) Shawn is in Size 3 diapers.

Length: 27 inches! That is between the 10-25th percentile for an 8 month old. (It has occurred to me that had I kept the boys in until term, I'd have a couple of giants on my hands! We grow 'em big at our house.)

Feedings: Shawn eats 7 ounces of formula a feeding consistently for a total of 28 ounces a day. He is still taking preemie formula. He also eats solids and doesn't seem to mind them. So far he's had rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, pears, squash, green beans, and carrots. He's like Mikey--he'll eat anything (so far). I would say that his favorite is rice cereal and squash, although like I said, he'll eat it all without complaint.

Favorites: Shawn's favorite toy right now is his taggie ball (that's it in the picture). It is a soft, stuffed ball with a bunch of tags sticking out all over it. He loves to suck on the tags. He also still wants to be held or to have me in his line of sight at all times. Bath time is now a plus, too. And lastly, Shawn seems to really enjoy our daily walks. He loves to look around and take everything in.

Least Favorites: Shawn hates tummy time. He just lays there and cries. We're working on it, and it is starting to get slightly better, but his still doesn't really like it.

Issues: Shawn lost a lot of muscle tone while he was sick. (oooh, it makes me so mad to think about all of that) He has made incredible strides in regaining a lot of what he lost, but he has a long way to go still. His personal trainer (occupational therapist***) has suggested we start him in physical therapy twice a week (starting soon) to help speed up the process. That should be fun because he isn't real fond of his "sessions". You know how it is to have that love/hate relationship with your trainer. (I do have to add that since I started working with him on his flexibility Monday, there has been a lot of improvement. He hated it at first, but now he is able to move much easier and is so much more flexible. I think there might actually be smiles while we work out now, too!)

Personality: Shawn continues to smile all the time. He has also become more of a morning person. He just lights up when we walk in the room in the morning to get him up for the day. I also think that he is more easy going than his brother at the moment.

Areas to Work On: Shawn has to work of flexibility and catching up with his milestones. Being sick all those weeks (8 to be exact--a fourth of his life!) really threw him a curve ball. While he was sick, he had the equivalent to an eight week migraine, so he wasn't doing very much activity wise. I can't blame him. Poor baby. Anyway, I'd say he is about 6 weeks behind his brother on his milestones. He is catching up, but you know how it is to have to make up lost ground. Things are even harder than they should have been when you have to do that. The good news is that we ARE catching up. That shows how tough my little guy is! We are working on sitting and crawling with Shawn.

New Things: Shawn has almost cut his first tooth. The edge is just poking out the slightest bit. Of course, that means he has started the drooling phase and there is spit everywhere, but no matter! And, drum roll, please. Shawn. Sleeps. Through. The. Entire. Night. Can we say Hallelujah?!?!

Randomness: Shawn has decided he likes bath time now. You know what did it? Pretty hot water. I found that out by accident (total Mother of the Year moment). Anyway, once he was in the warm water, he was all smiles and started playing and enjoying himself.

And in case you want to revisit the other month's growth posts, here they are: *Shawn at 6 Months* *Shawn at 7 Months*

***The boys qualify for early intervention due to their prematurity. Part of that includes access to occupational therapy and physical therapy right now.