Ways to Keep 8 Month Old Son Occupied!!!!!

Def get a sling or carrier to wear him when he needs attention but you have things need to do. I had the same problem and it was a life saver. Was able to have hands free to clean and attend to 4 yr old. In Charlottesville, there is a babywearing group you can attend and borrow slings to try out (google Vijay Owens) or you can drop by Nature's Child near Target on 29N- she is there on Saturdays, I know. She was a great help to me!

PS Note: There are lots of carriers out there, depending on need/body- you can get one that is really comfy. My snugli would cause pain for long periods. The good ones can be slightly price but much more comfy.

the thing that kept my son occupied the most at that age was some type of little table toy. He LOVED to stand, and he could pull himself up on the table and just play with the knobs and switches that made noise. Here's a link to one. We didn't have one at home until we visited someone who had one and he spent a good 20 minutes of time just playing all by himself.
http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Learn-Groove-Musical-Table...

And the suggestion about "training" him to be OK with you leaving his sight is good. It's worth doing some research on how to do that, but Peek-A-Boo is a good start. We play the "where's Ian" game, which he loves.

I spend time both playing with him on the floor, and then doing something else while in the same room so he doesn't get used to always being the center of my attention. He'll play with a large wooden spoon on the floor while I cook, for example. Or I'll check email inthe living room while he plays with blocks. That way he is engaged in his own activity, and if I need to leave the room to do somthing for a moment, he is active in his own games and won't miss me.

I have a 2 kids that are 20mos apart. My oldest is 2 1/2 and my youngest is 10mos. The biggest help for us is my 2 1/2 year old. She loves to play with her little brother and he just laughs and laughs. He also loves the jumperoo by fisher price, he will stay in that for an hour at a time and we have a little piano he can pull himself up on and an activity table that has a chair attached to it. the chair is on wheels and he can walk around the table and play with stuff on it and there's a snack tray attached. I hope you can find something to entertain him. I sometimes just have to let my son fuss if I have to get things done. I know he's okay, he's dry, been fed, safe, etc...Sometimes they just have to fuss until you get to them.

J. - Here are a few thoughts:

You can actually train Luke to see that its ok if Mommy leaves the room for a few mins or is farther away. You can make a peek a boo game out of it and start slowly. First say Mommy will be right back and leave for like 15 seconds and come right back. Then slowly increase this time as he starts to adjust to you being a little farther away but still within earshot. You should keep talking to him even if he can't see you so he knows you are there. In terms of the toys I would say divide up his toys in a few batches and hide one batch away for a week or so and then re-introduce it - he will think its brand new. You can keep rotating his toys like this to keep things interesting. My daughter played with her floor gym for a long time even after she was sitting up. She also loved stacking cups, clear tupperware containers that I filled with different things to make a rattle, books...

hope that helps! good luck.