7 months

My sweet baby boy, you are seven months today.  As I write this you are taking your morning nap in your crib.  As we rocked for a few minutes before your nap, you snuggled up with your ellie and tucked your little red head under my chin.  You do that a lot when it's time to sleep.  Sometimes you rest your head on my chest for less than a minute, then pop it back up again to play with the tassels on the blanket that stays on the back of the rocker or to look out the window at the changing leaves.  This morning though, you started to settle into sleep as I rocked and sang to you.  Every time you linger a little longer on my shoulder I am oh so tempted to just stay there, rock some more, and hold you in your sleep.  There is a freedom in being able to put you down awake and let you fall asleep in your crib.  I know it is the right thing for both of us for me to lay you down, but my heart knows this time to snuggle with my baby boy is brief, and it wants to soak it all in while it can.

This month we tip the scales toward your first birthday.  There are so many exciting milestones between now and then; the coming months should be fun!  Your dad and I are struggling a little with the one word to describe this past month.  I think maybe "opinionated" sums it up.  You have also been happy, easy, active, and a roly-poly (especially on the changing table and when I'm trying to put your jammies on!).  Voicing your opinion is your newest trick though, and has been a loud one.  You have learned that we respond to your cries and have used them to get us when we aren't around.  You don't demand to be held or played with, but one step out of your sight and you let us know how you feel about it!  You also are very interested in whatever your big brother has or is doing.  That alone has had a big impact this month as you work hard or get vocal if you see something you want.  Your brother  also struggles with how he feels about that.  I guess it's complicated for him.  He likes that you like what he has or does.  He enjoys a little power and control over having something you find interesting.  Sometimes he uses that to try to teach you or show off.  Other times he uses it to taunt you.  You don't understand that he's taunting you yet, you just laugh as he shows you a toy and then takes it away.  I'm afraid you aren't going to find that very funny for long, so we're working on some toy sharing issues right now.

Another word to describe you this month might be "biter."  I really hope it is just because you are teething (which, frankly, does not seem to be the case), but you have been biting me a lot lately.

Is teething the cause of that drool on your chin?

Not just biting but clamping down, holding on, and sometimes shaking your head a little.  I used to call this "the shark" with your brother.  He didn't do it much, so I thought you'd move on too.  Unfortunately you still try it out periodically such that I have had to be pretty creative about how to handle it.  Sometimes we just have to have a little time out from nursing, other times I can just distract you with a toy or by playing with your hands so they can't pull on me (the prelude to the big chomp).   If you aren't biting to make your gums feel better, you may be doing it to get my attention.  Since attention grabbing has been your MO this month, that would make some sense.  It makes me feel really guilty though if you have to do that to feel like you have my attention while we're nursing.  I can't deny that I am often trying to juggle other demands during that time, so I have tried to focus more on us as best I can.

Other ways you lets us know you want something this month is by banging your hands.  I am trying to use a little sign language with you, and you have done the "milk" sign in a non-specific way, but your universal sign of interest is hitting your hand on whatever you can.  Sometimes it's the high chair for more veggies or cereal.  Sometimes it's my thigh or chest to nurse.  Other times it's the coffee table when you want a toy there or are excited about the music playing in the iPod. In trying to busy your hands and capitalize on your patting, I have started singing pat-a-cake to you.  I'm not sure what it is about the song, but you really seem to enjoy it.  You especially like it when your brother sings it to you.

Patting the football

I don't think there is anything we have or do that entertains you as effortlessly as your big brother.  There have been times this past month when I have been working very hard to keep you happy for a few minutes, only to have your brother walk by, jump, pull out a toy, or do any little thing he does in his day and find you suddenly giggling.  That's when a little magic happens.  You start to giggle at him and he just eats that up.  He starts to giggle too.  My heart is so full in those moments. I feel a lot of pressure to handle his emerging issues of jealousy the right way.  To find a way to give each of you the right amount of myself and each other so that those magic moments will grow into a great relationship for you both.

 It is already clear that you love each other, but I want you to be each other's best buddies too.  I know I might only have so much influence over that, but gosh I hope I use it well!

Ready to move?

There were times this past month when I really thought you were going to start getting mobile.  You have such interest in getting toys you see us using all day long.  They provide a lot of incentive for you when they are out of reach.  You have been able to scoot from one end of your crib to the other for at least six weeks now. When you learned to sit well early last month, I thought you'd soon be making progress to being on all fours and maybe even rocking on them.  Somehow being opinionated has gotten in the way of that.  Rather than learning to commando crawl or get on all fours, you fuss when you get on your belly until someone gets you what you want or sits you back up again.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm really not eager for you to make those moves yet, I just thought that was where we might be headed this month.  Now I think there is a distinct possibility that you could be the baby who never crawls.  You much prefer to stand rather than sit or be on your belly.  Just this morning your dad tried repeatedly to sit you on the floor and you just would not sit until he bent your hips for you.  You aren't quite steady enough on your feet for us to leave you standing for long periods.  You can prop yourself on your hands and stand at the couch or coffee table, but if you decide to walk your hands toward a toy, you don't yet know to make your feet follow.

Amidst the squeals, cries, and hand banging you've used a few "words" to communicate this month as well.  None of them are specific or very new.  You had said "da-da-da-da" some before you turned six months, but then it disappeared for a while.  You've said more "ma-ma-ma-ma" this month and "da-da-da-da" has returned.  There might have been some "na-na" and some "gggggg" as well.

Other new things this month were, of course, foods.  You started cereal right at six months.  Since then you've tried avocado, carrots, sweet potato, peas, and oatmeal. Today we may try a little apples since your tummy seems to need a little help moving your cereal through.  You have also tried a little water from a cup.  Nanny K says you did well drinking from the tilty sippie this past week.   We've only be practicing from cups without a lid.  They are messy, but fun.  I think we'll try some more green veggies this month and maybe a fruit or two.  I'm trying to figure out your Thanksgiving menu.  So far peas, sweet potato and apples seem like a pretty good meal. You'll have to wait until next year for turkey.

I couldn't have a whole update about you without mentioning sleep.  (I could, but people might wonder if it was really me writing.)  Your naps are so easy, and I am so grateful for those.  I wonder if they are a trade off for your night sleep still not being very consolidated.  Actually I wonder in hind site if your brothers naps were so dismal because his night sleep was so good.  I didn't think so at the time, but maybe that was the case after all.  It seems like there are only so many hours of sleep in your sleep bank.  If you use up 5 hours during the day, you just don't have 10 more to use at night.  I still really don't know what you are doing at night.  I did leave the monitor on 2 weeks ago when your dad was on nights.  You woke up at 2 am and started talking.  You didn't cry at all while I was listening.  You paused for about 10 minutes and I thought you were asleep, then you picked up talking again.  At that point I turned the monitor off.  Some days you and your brother seem happy and well-rested in the mornings.  Other mornings not so much.  I interpret that to mean some nights you talk more than others.        I'm not making a big deal out of that any more, just wanted to say you still are having some middle of the night awake time.  Maybe I'll check in again next time your dad is working nights. One day it will all come together. Having good naps has meant you have a pretty reliable schedule now.  It gets a little funky on Tuesdays and Thursdays when your brother has school.  I hate to do it, but I have to interrupt one or two of your naps on those days to get him to and from school.  You roll with it, but I'm still working on how to adjust your naps on those days.  Here's what our day looks like most of the time:

7:00ish Get out of crib (sometimes you are awake for a while before this)
7:30 eat veggies while LO eats breakfast
7:40-8 nurse while LO plays
8-9 playtime
9ish-11 morning nap
11-noon play
noon nurse
12:30-1:30 play or go outside
1:45ish-3:45 afternoon nap
4 cereal and veggie snack
4:30 bath or play
5-6 third nap, sometimes
6 nurse
6:30-7ish hang out upstairs while LO gets bath, then books, songs, prayers with LO
7:15 or so bed

That's about all that's fit to write today my little guy.  I just have to close by mentioning that tonight, as I rocked you before bed, I think you gave me your first kiss on my cheek.  Several actually.  It was very sweet snuggling.  Either they were kisses or you were trying to nurse on my face...I'm choosing to believe the former.

Here are a few more shots of you today.  You still love balls, so you borrowed your brother's football to keep you a little still while I took pictures.

"Heads up, Dad!"