7 Month Update

Our son is seven months old. Another month with this happy, fun, loving little boy has gone by and it is definitely one for the books. He just keeps growing and keeps learning, it is incredible to watch. I have to start lists throughout the month now just to remember the multitude of things he does and learns. Again, it is incredible to experience. Todd and I keep falling more in love with this little boy every day.

I do want to mention right off the bat...we have a roller on our hands. This has changed everyday life so much in itself. More information is below, so read on!

Height/Weight: Based on my scale at home, Max weighs 21.7 pounds (gained almost 2 lbs since his 6 month appointment!) and is 28.5 inches long (grew 0.5 inches).

Routine: Long story short, Max eats solids three times a day, has three bottles throughout the day, takes two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and is in bed by 7:30pm. Like last month, I will elaborate in the sections below.

Sleeping: Remember how I mentioned Max now rolls? Well this new feat has really affected his sleep. At the beginning of the month, he has been sleeping on his side and preferred to sleep that way. Towards the end of the month after he started to roll, we now find him sleeping on his stomach. So cute! And mommy's preferred sleeping position. I'm not so sure Max prefers it yet, it just happens. Anyway, when he rolls in his sleep I believe it wakes him up and freaks him out a bit. I feel like he wakes up more throughout the night (unfortunately) and every time we go to check on him he is on his stomach with his arms propping him up, looking about. Also because of this, he tends to hit his head on the crib causing him to become even more unsettled and not happy. We are thinking about buying a bumper for this reason. All in all, this month hasn't been very promising in the sleeping aspect. He doesn't seem to be on his way to sleeping through the night...maybe next month.

He still goes to bed by 7:30pm and still starts out in his crib and ends up in our bed. I would say the average time he moves into the bed with us is 1:30am. I have been trying to be better and get up and feed him in his room and then put him back in his crib instead of immediately bringing him into bed with us, but still need to work on that. I obviously lose a lot more sleep that way and am not too fond of that idea, but we really need to get Max out of the habit of needing to come into bed with is. In time.

As for waking up, during the week, Max usually wakes up at 7am and on the weekend,we try to keep him in bed until at least 8am. Sometimes he sleeps with us longer, which is always nice! He always wakes up in a great mood. It is a highlight of my day when he wakes up smiling and cooing.

Eating/Feeding: I always like to mention first that I am still breastfeeding! I do feel like my supply has gone down a bit, but I am still producing enough for my little man. I don't pump as much as before (I took my morning pump session out of our schedule), and now my milk isn't Max's sole food source, so my body doesn't need to produce as much. I also don't feed Max before we leave for Barb's (our sitter). Since he co-sleeps with us in the wee hours of the morning, he nurses then. So by the time he wakes up in the morning, he is good to go until he gets to Barb's.
He still takes three bottles of 5 oz each a day, but now gets solids three times a day as well. He loves food. That may be an understatement. He eats so much! I mainly make his food (mostly veggies), so he usually eats 2 cubes at a time,2 oz each I believe. We are still giving him purees, and he has tried so many more types of foods/combinations this month. For convenience sake, we do sometimes give him pre-made foods, Gerber and Beech Nut, but I try to stick with the natural and organic foods if I can. I also started out putting cinnamon in the veggies puree to make them more palatable, but towards the end of this month, that hasn't been needed. He will devour anything. I guess he worked up an appetite for veggies! He really likes carrots and the butternut squash/sweet potato combination. Bananas are his favorite fruit.

If he continues to eat as much as he does, we may have to move on to more substantial foods and go into the baby led weaning route. We will see. But he sure is a chunk! His thighs...

Onto his poops, because you know we have to talk about that! He poops a lot more now it seems (probably because he eats so much!). And he always manages to poop while we are feeding him. Not sure why. He has a distinct poop face now, which cracks us up. He gets red in the face and pushes, hard. Exactly what you would think a poop face would look like. He still does the little shiver/shimmy after he was successful lol. It cracks me up every time.

Behaviour: Here we go, the fun part. He continues to be the happiest baby, giggles and smiles all of the time. Of course he gets fussy, like any baby does, but he rarely full out cries. We know something is really upsetting him if he actually cries. Teething may make him a little more cranky some days and when he doesn't sleep his day isn't as good, but his natural temperament is very positive. I still love when people comment on how he is such a happy baby! His giggles get me every time and there are definitely more of them! He loves peek-a-boo and tickles on his tummy. His back is ticklish too. 

You know what he started to say this month? Mama! Its more like mamamamamama, but I love it! No dada for this baby, his first word is mama! He also continues to give wet open-mouth kisses, will attack your face with both mouth and hands, will grab for anything on your head (which can be very painful), gives hugs, and reaches out for you to pick him up (my favorite).

He found his feet last month, and this month he is putting them in his mouth. Yum! It sure makes for changing his diaper even more difficult! I've already mentioned he is a big kicker, but now that he is putting his feet in his mouth? Let's just say changing his diaper takes quite a few minutes longer! Bath time isn't as splashy anymore, but he has definitely come to enjoy bath time so much! Bath time has become longer just so he can sit in there and enjoy playing in the water. He loves chewing on his bath toys, but he really loves the cup we use to rinse him down. Forget the bath toys, just give him a cup! I love watching him play in the bath.

He can no longer fit in his bouncer seat. He is so heavy that it weighs down so much, he is practically laying on the floor! The final thing that banished it to the basement was Max somehow managed to flip it over one day. So now, he sits in his high chair on the floor (the chair part can disconnect and act as a booster seat). When he is not sitting in his chair, he sits on the floor. Boy let me tell you how well he sits up unassisted now! It is amazing! He no longer has to lean on his arms for support, and he will sit for long periods of time! He rarely falls over. He loves it and mommy and daddy love it too. It definitely makes his more independent. He is able to entertain himself now too, just put toys out in front of him and he is good for minutes on end. This is amazing, let me tell you. I want to add here, he still loves to watch Busytown. He is transfixed to the show when it is on.

On to the rolling! he is only able to roll in one direction (to his left), from his back to his front. We are still working on his rolling in the other directions because once he rolls onto his stomach, that's it. He's done. He can lay on his stomach with his arms propped up for a while, but then he gets bored and starts fussing. If he was able to roll back onto his back, I think he would be much happier, and maybe he would be able to fall back asleep after rolling. Anyway, he rolls all the time. He loves being mobile! Him rolling changes a lot for Todd and I of course though; we can't leave him anywhere unattended where he might be able to roll off. Once he is able to crawl...watch out! Our lives will never be the same. But we are ready for that (I think). With that being said, he is not crawling yet, but he is able to move somewhat when on his stomach. We have started putting him on the hardwood, where he is able to move alittle more. He tends to move backwards though at this point. When he is on his stomach, he gets those little legs moving, so I don't think we are very far from a crawling baby! He doesn't pull himself up on things yet either, but when you have him stand up on your lap, he is able to stand up for a long time! 

I still love watching Max reach for toys when you put them out in front of him. But to show how strong his core muscles are now when he is sitting, he is able to reach for a toy that is out in front of him and then sit back up straight once he gets a hold of it. His favorite toys are teething toys: Sophie the Giraffe, this circle teething toy and a teething necklace. He also loves tags. He loves his Taggies lion. He will always manage to find the tag on anything and everything and stick them in his mouth.

He loves his jumparoo now. He can touch the floor now and we have even had to raise the seat! He always loved the buttons that light up and play music, but he now reaches for everything else on the jumparoo by himself. We also have gotten him a walker that he has fun in, mostly going in circles. Going through my camera for this post, I'm surprised I didn't get any pictures of him in his walker. I will try to get some in his next month update.

Max absolutely loves the cats. He will stop what he is doing as soon as he spots a cat and gets the cutest little cheesy grin on his face and just watches them until they are out of sight. I hope they are best buds when he gets older. Tinkerbell will sleep right next to him now when he is in bed with us and even lets him pet her, although his pet is more of a grab at the moment. Whenever he is touching the cats, he giggles. It is the cutest.

Max is still in size 3 diapers and is now wearing size 9 month clothes (although most of the month he wore 6 month clothes and can still fit in 6-9 month onesies).

One last thing I want to mention is that I no longer bring him to work with me. Once he hit six months, that was the end for the great opportunity my boss allowed for Max and I. I was definitely sad at the start, but know it is the best for him. He gets so much entertainment at Barb's and so much interaction with other kids. Barb loves him and he loves going there. I can just tell. She really works with him to hit these milestones and we are forever grateful.
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Here is a "better late than ever" post...I never got around to posting pictures of his 6 month birthday celebration we had last month. Enjoy!