Seven Months!!

Wow! The last month had a lot of firsts for Sweet Pea and the family and he excelled at every single one. I’ll try to remember them all along with some info about the little man’s personality because he’s not only cute but a lot of fun to hang out with.

Food:  Since getting the okay from his doctor, Sweet Pea has started sampling a variety of vegetables. We’ve gone through green beans, peas, squash and sweet potatoes. The only negative reaction was on day 1 of peas. He acted like I was feeding him acid by the end of the meal. We’ve also moved to two solid meals a day and the chunky monkey is happy, happy, happy! Eating solids – nailed it! He also started holding his bottle to feed himself. I think he would have done this earlier but we were trying to hold him upright as he ate and he couldn’t figure out how to hold the bottle at an angle to get his milk. Jess finally gave the bottle to him while he was lying down on the changing pad and he drank the whole thing down! Holding his own bottle – nailed it!

Sleeping: First, we noticed he was a teensy bit cranky at night – think Incredible Hulk. Every night. At the same time. Brilliant people that we are, we finally tried putting him to sleep earlier, around 7:30 pm, and dropped the 9/10 pm bottle altogether. At first I worried that he would not take to having a bedtime but he’s a champion. He’ll cry if he is truly not ready to go to sleep which has only been once or twice; otherwise, he’s content to find a comfortable position and is out for the night. And it is such an amazing thing to have a couple of hours of free time every evening! I started a new hobby and am practicing it every night – wine drinking. Then, and this is a big one, we put him in his crib starting a week ago! Notwithstanding the heartbreak this is causing my husband, Sweet Pea loves cuddling up to someone when he sleeps. He will roll right into you on the bed until some limb of his is draped or touching some part of you. He will push into you until half your body is hanging off the bed and will cry if you dare push him over to his side. He once reached under my pillow to grab my hand and fell asleep holding it! So even though it caused an icy tear to fall from my cold, cold heart when I thought about him sleeping all by himself, I want him to learn how to soothe himself without us immediately responding to his cries during the night. Again, we have been blessed with such an easy going baby – he is a crib sleeping champion! I’ve only had to go into his room three times in the last 5 days and two of those times he was already back asleep when I went in to check on him. Sleeping – genius level.

Mobility: He can sit upright on his own now! He started doing it without support on Good Friday, right on time for his Easter Bunny and bluebonnet photos, which he was a good sport for both. His rolling skills are still advancing and he manages to wriggle himself all over the place; another reason we felt safer with him sleeping in his crib and also why he can’t be trusted on the changing pad anymore. He sleeps solely on his stomach during the night now and has graduated from the rock n’ sleep at Rachael’s to a pack n’ play. He is also making more progress towards crawling and walking. He can lift up his upper body but does a swimmer’s kick with his legs so he doesn’t actually move. And he can definitely support himself standing up (I think he’s got the Soscia thighs and bottom) and he’ll take steps but has no balance. He’s really starting to like his door bouncer too and figuring out how to bounce. Sitting upright – nailed it!

Look at the chunk! Love it!

Daddy Time: I had a work trip that left Jess alone with the little guy for two days. Jess is a super dad though and this wasn’t even a challenge for him. Then he took Sweet Pea solo to Houston to visit his family for the weekend. The Spring, TX chapter of the Sweet Pea fan club got to spend some quality time with the little man and I know he was as loved and spoiled as he deserves.

Sweet Pea, you are getting to be so much fun and are full of surprises lately. You continue to be a sweet smiley baby in the morning and through most of the day. The only time you really get fussy is when you are past due for a nap or a bottle. Maya continues to be the most surefire way to get you to giggle but your owl puppet tickling your belly or a sound effect does the trick too. The way you took to sleeping in your crib is fairly metaphorical for your personality so far:  adaptable, resilient, easy-going. You are content to play by yourself for periods of time so as long as other people are in the room with you. You are even content to just watch other people for long periods too. Your voice is beautiful and your dad and I wish we heard it more often. You’ve developed this high pitch squeal out of nowhere and seem to use it when you’re tired and a little loopy. When things are serious however, the lip comes out and a full on cry commences (which still makes me giggle because it is so cute).

You sleep mostly on your stomach now and we’ve made sure to spread pacifiers around you for when you wake up without one. Your dad says you have ‘mad paci skills’ and seem to handle them like nunchuks. They are still your favorite possessions, though anything else you can put in your mouth comes a close second. Feeding you solid food is one of my favorite activities – you immediately open your mouth like a baby bird when you see a spoon and it seems to be one of the times you like to talk. You are also starting to cling pretty tight around the neck when you are picked up which counts as a hug in my book – though I, and anyone else that picks you up, could do without the hair pulling!   

Love you!!

The strap is very effective...

First Bluebonnet photos!

First Easter Bunny photos!