Dayton At 8 Months

Hello my friends! I realized I haven’t shared a solo post all about Dayton since he was born…ha. Welcome to second-born life, kiddo. He is SUCH a little joy right now, and life is just the best with him around. I can hardly believe there was ever a moment in my life when I didn’t know this baby.

He’s always been a pretty chill, calm, go-with-the-flow baby. His pregnancy was super easy, we’ve had an easy breastfeeding journey (except for that little bout of sadness), he was easy to sleep train, and he’s so happy just sitting around and watching life happen around him.

His personality seems to be very similar to his 40 weeks in utero and his birth: so calm, gentle, nothing really gets to him and then BAM!! From zero to I WILL BE BORN RIGHT NOW PLEASE in 2 seconds.

Dayton’s Schedule

Maybe I’m a weirdo, but I love reading about various baby schedules. So here’s Dayton’s daily schedule:

7/7:30 am: he wakes up in his crib. I get him up and nurse him, usually on the couch while we watch a few minutes of the Today Show. Then I usually let him crawl around in the downstairs play room (it’s fenced in so I know he’ll be safe!) while I get myself ready for the day.

8:30 am: Dayton eats some solids in the high chair. I mostly spoon feed him baby puree + oats, but I need to get better at allowing him to pick up food on his own! It’s one of those things that would be so good for his coordination, but it means that meals would be sooo much messier. Ha.

9:30-10:30 am: morning nap. He’s not quite ready to drop the morning nap, but I definitely have to wake him up right at the 60 minute mark so that he’ll sleep in the afternoon, too.

11 am: second nursing session of the day.

12:30 pm: lunch in the high chair. Usually veggies!

1-3:30 pm: nap #2. (can you imagine getting 15 hours of sleep??) I nurse him for the third time around 4:00.

3:30-5:30 pm: play time!

5:30 pm: dinner in the high chair.

6-7 pm: play, bath, nursing session #4, bed.

It’s really hard to not compare the second baby to the first. Since Milo was the first baby I ever raised, of course I compare every milestone to him! So here’s what I can tell you about Dayton in comparison to Milo:

Dayton hardly ever makes noise, and Milo started babbling like crazy at 5 months. (He still talks SO much.)

Dayton could sit up on his own at 7 months, and Milo could sit up on his own at 5.5 months.

Dayton started crawling at 7 months, and Milo waited until about 10.5 months.

Dayton plays independently really well, and Milo basically always wanted someone to entertain him. (This makes my life SO much easier now than it was when Milo was a baby!)

Dayton never cries unless something is actually wrong, like he’s crawling and he bonks his head on the floor…and then he screams this high-pitched, ear-piercing scream. It literally causes my ears to start ringing. Milo would kind of fuss off and on whenever he wanted more attention or snuggles.

We’re settling into a routine now, and life has a flow to it…sort of. I love a good routine, so Dayton is definitely very grounded in his little schedule. That helps me feel some stability amidst all of the life changes going on (seriously, every few weeks there’s another change that happens in life! Babies grow so fast.)

But I won’t lie: life has taken a 180 degree turn since these babies joined our family. I think it especially hit me after Dayton was born, because he’s our final addition to the family so now I’m like, “ok, so this is how life is going to be now!” Ha. This chaos is simply here to stay for a while.

One of the things that has shocked me about motherhood is how little time I have to myself. Things that used to be a part of my routine, like going to a barre class, taking 30 minutes to organize my pantry, or running to a coffee shop for a scone + latte are now rare treats. There’s simply a very finite amount of time in my day when someone doesn’t need me. It’s a really weird transition after spending the first 30 years of my life only taking care of myself.

I just think it’s such a disservice to tell anyone that life stays the same after you become a parent, because that’s not true! Motherhood has touched nearly every aspect of my life.

I shared this post about doing outings with two under two. I had to really think through and intentionally plan every single step at that point, but doing an outing with my two boys is no big deal any more. (Although, once Dayton is too big for the Baby Bjorn I don’t know what I’m going to do!)

This morning we went to the library and I had the double stroller, baby carrier, changes of clothes, snacks, cups, diapers and wipes, teething crackers for Dayton, comfy clothes for me, and I think it only took 10 minutes to get everyone loaded up in the car. There were multiple trips to the bathroom (Milo is potty trained now, and Dayton is at the stage where he’s starting to eat solids and so his diaper schedule is ALL over the place, ha.) Outings are always a bit noisy and they take a lot of energy, but I feel like I’m in a pretty good groove with these two babies.

One last thing: I didn’t understand how I would love another baby as much as I love Milo, but that’s literally not an issue. I don’t understand how the heart works, but it seems to be able to expand in an instant. There’s double the amount of love pouring out of me now. I literally started crying on the drive home from the library this morning when I was thinking about how much I love these two little babies. Dayton, just like his brother, has completely captured my heart.

So that’s a snapshot into Dayton at 8 months. My goodness, I love him.