Sleeping, Eating And Teething at 8 Months
In partnership with buybuy BABY, we’re giving an update on all our favorite baby gear! So much has changed since the first five months. Occasionally Matt and I would high-five each other and think we really got things figured out as parents, then the seven month mark hit and it all changed. Everything from his sleep pattern, teething, eating, and EVERYTHING in between! In the back of our minds there was always going to be a point where Sebastian was going to be more difficult to manage. He has begun to develop his own little personality and it’s adorable.
Feeding
At three months, we introduced formula, typically, when we were out with the stroller or in a cab. Started out with 2oz of Enfamil and slowly gave him more ongoing. As I found myself out of the house for meetings and events, it became an everyday part of his feeding. This was mentally challenging for me. I really wanted to breast feed him exclusively but I just couldn’t keep up. It was just getting too difficult with our schedule. I remember one evening, while at an event, I had left Matt home with 4 oz of breastmilk. Sebastian flew threw that in a few minutes and was of course still hungry. We hadn’t started on formula yet and I had no reserves in the freezer. Sebastian was screaming and that was when we realized we needed a back-up plan. As much as I would love to be able to breastfeed him exclusively, sometimes you have to do what works best for your situation.
Solids
As for solids, we started with a soft foods like bananas and sweet potatoes in the Baby Bullet. We love the Gerber Soft Bite Infant Spoons for feeding. They’re not available online, but I found at the local buybuy Baby store on 8th avenue. A little over a month ago, we were introduced to Little Spoon and he loves all the flavors available. We typically feed him, occasionally we use the ezpz Mini Happy Mat Placemat when giving him eggs or other food for him to grab on his own. Originally I wanted to teach him baby led weaning, but I didn’t know enough about the process to feel comfortable with him learning how to eat solids at such a young age.
Playtime
Sebastian has gotten some pretty cool “toys” lately. While he seems to like them ok, all he wants to do is crawl everywhere and climb on everything. Shortly after Sebastian became mobile, about a month ago, we got him his playard from Joovy. It’s pretty awesome! We can set Sebastian in there to play with his toys and we don’t have to worry about him getting into mischief. Now, while he likes his playard, he won’t stay in there for hours on end. Like any kid, he wants to move around so we got him a Joovy Spoon walker.
Sleeping
He has begun the dreaded period of sleep regression. Sebastian will play his heart out and get so tired but doesn’t want to go to sleep. Our go to move now is to give him a bottle and Matt will stroll him around the block a few times to get him to go to sleep. We love our new stroller from Joovy. It’s compact, perfect for for traveling and whipping around the neighborhood. When he finally does shut his eyes, it is anyone’s guess for how long he will stay asleep. I think he battles himself while sleeping on whether or not he should wake up and go play some more. It has become exhausting.
Teething
Poor little guy is in some pain. HIs back teeth are starting to break through and it has to hurt. Sebastian always has a hand in his mouth. We have gotten him some medication of course to help with the pain(more on that below) but have tried a few toys that work well. The Munch Mit, soothing ring teethers, and this really cool watermelon teether. Fridababy also has a toddler toothbrush that Sebastian loves to chew on. It’s probably his new favorite! All these toys specifically for teething are great when we put them in the freezer and get them cold. Helps to numb his gums or at least that’s the idea. Now onto the medication…
Teething Favorites
Shop FridaBaby Favorites
Medicine
We don’t particularly like to give Sebastian medicine and will hold out as long as we can. However, he is clearly in pain with his teeth and if we can ease the pain, we do. We use three primary medications depending on the instance. When he is about to go to sleep, we use Orajel. We put a little bit on our finger and rub his gums. Seems to work pretty well to calm the pain enough for him to go to sleep. During the day we use Punkin butt teething oil. We dip his banana toothbrush into the oil and he will chew on it. It works great on our road-trips as well. It eases the pain and he stays occupied. On occasion, we will use infant pain reliever but just 2ml at a time. Poor little guy. Hopefully it will be over soon but he is doing great with it.
Bath Time
Playing in the water is one of Sebastian’s favorite things to do. He is quickly out growing his little whale bath tub but we got a couple months left. His new favorite toys for the bath are these really cool foam characters from Skip Hop that stick to the side of the tub. In fact, we got him a little pool so he could hang out on the porch and splash around on those hot summer days. He just sits in the middle and splashes the water. It’s so cute!
Please let me know if you have any questions in the comment section! I do my best to answer via Instagram and direct messenger, but I know that I’ve missed a few. If you’re in the city, buybuy BABY is the best place to get all your stuff in one location. Load up your cart, order an Uber and you’re on your way home with all your baby goodies!
xo, Olivia
This post was created in collaboration with buybuy BABY, as always, all words, opinions and photography are my own.
They’re growing up so fast. My little one is 9 months old and she wants to explore everything. I’m still combi-feeding, because it works best for us. I’m feeding European formula from https://myorganicformula.com/collections/hipp-organic-formula, which is really good for her sensitive tummy.