Seven Months

Height: 26.5 in.

Weight: 17 lbs. 

He's wearing 6 month clothing and is growing out of a fair amount of his 3-6 month onesies and pants. He doesn't actually have a lot of 6-9 month clothing so I need to hit up our second-hand kids clothing store pretty soon and get him some summer onesies. 

Seven months seems big. It feels like Peter has changed more in this past month than in the previous six combined and he's learning something new almost every day. This is such a fun stage and I fall more in love with him all the time.

Peter has been crawling for about 6 or 7 weeks, but he's gotten really fast at it now. The hard laminate floors no longer slow him down and he's moving all over the house. He's very sneaky though so you have to watch where you're stepping. I had no idea he was in the kitchen with me one day and I turned around and stepped on his little fingers pretty hard. Thankfully, it was easily fixed with a few snuggles and kisses. 

He's really enjoying eating real food. This month we added sweet potatoes, applesauce, zucchini, green beans, and watermelon. I've been meaning to make him a bigger variety of food, but this is the busiest season of the year for us and I just haven't had (or made) the time to do so. I froze a lot of carrots and butternut squash initially, so we're still using those up now. I also do bananas and avocados a lot because it means I get to eat the rest of it after he's had his small portion. Things should settle down after graduation this weekend, so I'll be consulting my food guru Alisa at Family Meal Blog and making some of her baby food recipes this next week. 

He's still nursing about 5 times per day (maybe 6 if he wakes up early). I've tried to spread out the feedings to every 3.5 hours but even that's a stretch sometimes, so we're still doing it every 3 hours most days. That's really ok by me since he's a good nurser and it gives us some cuddle time (which is getting less frequent all the time since he's on the move now). 

One of the biggest changes (appearance-wise) comes from the arrival of his two top teeth. I love his little chompers, but I kind of miss that cute gummy smile. He didn't seem bothered when his bottom teeth were coming in (except he did wake up in the night more often) but these tops ones really hurt him I think. His mood dramatically improved once they finally popped through about a week ago. The combination of teething and constipation as a result of more solid foods made him pretty fussy for a couple weeks, so we're glad to be through that particular phase. 

Of course, he was only fussy when we were at home. He's still SO social and extraverted and loves to be around groups of people. I had a hard time convincing anyone that he had been screaming non-stop for me all day when we'd be at a church event and he was just smiling and giggling and happy as could be. 

These next two pictures are are included because I want to show what our real life looks like. Sitting down for pictures is boring for him and he wants to get up and move. I may have used my pointer finger on his forehead to push him back in the chair to get more pictures. 

For the first six months of his life, Peter only slept through the night maybe 10 times. Part of that is my fault. Long after he could sleep through the night, I was still getting up to feed him--partly because I knew it would get him back to sleep quickly and partly because I really loved that sweet time with him. I finally had a friend who encouraged me to put a stop to that and get a full night's rest so we did a little sleep training this month. It was actually really easy and after one night of a little bit of crying, he slept 8 hours straight. He's sleeping 11-12 hours a night now and will only wake up once or twice a week in the middle of the night. I just help him get the pacifier back in his mouth, cover him up, and maybe pat his bottom for just a minute and he's back asleep. 

He typically goes to bed around 8:00-8:30 p.m. and gets up for the day around 9:00 a.m. He takes 3 naps a day (very rarely he'll take 4 if he wakes up earlier than 9). The morning nap usually lasts 1 hour, the afternoon nap is closer to 2 hours, and we almost always wake him up from his evening nap after 1 hour so he can have some awake time before he goes to bed for the night. He sleeps really well in his crib and usually falls asleep on his own in there. The only problem is that he wants to sleep in the crib and nowhere else, which makes it hard to be out and about during the day. Even so, I'm grateful for a good sleeper as I know it contributes to him being such a happy baby.

Some of Peter's current favorites include:

*Giggling while being tickled (ok, maybe it's actually my favorite)

*Chewing on cords (video monitor, TV sound system, space heater, any cord will do)

*Playing with (aka chewing on) his wooden blocks

*Climbing on Mama (We hold hands with his arms outstretched and he walks up my body, starting with his feet on my stomach and ending with them on my face.)

*Being carried in the Ergobaby carrier (on Mama's back)

Some of Peter's NOT-so-favorites include:

*Laying on his back (even for a diaper change or getting dressed)

*Being strapped into the car seat (a recent development)

*Getting items taken away he's chewing on (cell phones, cords, screws)

*Being held for very long (he'd much rather be crawling)

While Peter is reaching milestones regarding movement very quickly, he's definitely slower in his verbal development. I'm not worried about him at all, but he just doesn't seem too interested in talking (typical guy!). I'll make sounds for him to mimic and he just laughs at me. There have been a couple times when I've asked him a question ("Are you ready to go?") and he's responded with something that sounds like "Yeah!" but it's clearly accidental. 

 He pulled up for the first time this week and it's been so fun to watch how proud he is of himself when he stands up. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite understand how gravity works, so he pulls himself up and then lets go, which always ends poorly for his little noggin. I went to get him up from his nap one day and he was standing in bed grinning from ear to ear and beaming with pride. It was adorable and frightening all at the same time. We lowered the crib so he can't get out, but it's really hard for me to even put him down in there now because I have such short legs. I might need to put a step stool in there so I don't have to just drop him on his face to put him to bed (just kidding, but not about the step stool part).

Significant Moments this month:

*We celebrated my first Mother's Day

*Peter got in the baby swing at the park for the first time (and he really liked it)

*I hosted and Peter attended a baby shower for his soon-to-be-friend Mateo

*He stayed with a couple from church while we went on our anniversary date

*We attended several graduation parties for youth group students (and Peter got to bounce in the bounce house at one of them--he loved it!)

*He started eating in his new high chair from Pop and Granna

Someone asked me recently if I missed work and I didn't have to pause for even one second to reply, "not at all!" That says very little about my past job and a lot about this little guy. I really can't believe I get to hang out with him every day. There is absolutely nowhere else I'd rather be and I'm incredibly thankful for a hard-working husband who allows me to be home with Peter. 

Andy Bernard once said, "I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them." Well, I have the good fortune realizing I'm in them now and I'm enjoying *almost* every moment of it (because let's be real, nobody really enjoys a screaming/tired/teething/constipated baby who is biting you while nursing and kicking his feet to knock over the side table while digging his sharp baby fingernails into your exposed flesh).