LITTLE BABY GARRAHAN: Seven Months Old!

Blaire - 7 Months Old

This month your height is 26inches and your weight is ~17lbs

Your sleeping patterns are... You've slept better this month, that's for sure. We never got too cocky once you started sleeping through the night beautifully again, and it's a good thing we didn't because we are slightly back to trying to figure out why you have a soft spot for 1am. :) But - on a good night - we finish the bedtime routine and lay you down between 6:30-7pm. You will normally sleep through until we wake you up at 7:15am. That's on a good night! On a not-so-good-night, you will be up around 1am and even if we let you cry a little bit, you only cry harder and louder for the 10 minutes we can stand it! Then you curl up on your daddy and go right to sleep. :) It's not too terrible considering you are cutting your first tooth. I half think it's a bad habit, half think you're in pain. So we will err on the side of comforting you while in pain and rock you if that's what our baby girl needs. :)

*On a side note, it was her 6 month well-visit that really made us see the light and guided us on how to move forward with getting her to sleep better. We talked to the doctor about the issues we were having (waking up once /twice at night, but goes straight back to bed only ONCE WE FEED HER. Hubby would swear she was hungry because her tummy would gurgle. I didn't believe it but then witnessed it for myself one night and thought, oh my gosh she is hungry!) Well, the doctor made it quite clear that as long as she's getting the proper amount of nutrition during the day, there is zero need for food in the middle of the night. He said her tummy is gurgling because when she works herself up, that's what happens; it's not rumbling with hunger. So we had a lot of questions answered that day. He said if he were us, he would leave her to cry for a few minutes as long as it's not bloody murder - but even if that was the case, you could tell he was advocating for us to leave her because she would really be okay and it's maybe what she needs. Basically, he said it would be a tough 3-5 nights but that's all it should take. So, after hearing this from him and pairing it with the advice I had learned so far from the book 'Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby', we made our plan. I read one story in the book that talked about how they decided to try the "cry it out" method in phases. First phase, no feeding. So you still go in and comfort baby however you want, but you decide you are NOT going to feed them. Second phase (few days later), no picking up. So now if they're crying you go in but stick to your guns that you are NOT going to pick them up. Third and final phase, no going in at all. So you turn the monitor on to make sure they're okay but you decide when you shut the door at night that you're not going in until the morning. So the first night with no feeding for us, hubby said it went so-so and that he rocked her for 30-45 minutes when she woke up at her usual time and she was super upset but that's the time it took to go back to sleep, and she just woke up that once. Second and third nights went about the same but I took a turn. Night four....she never woke. Night five, six and seven...she never woke. SO! Not saying we've figured it out whatsoever or who knows if it will last or not - but seems like once she learned (maybe?) that we weren't going to feed her, she learned a little bit to soothe herself. This was after a good solid 6-8 weeks of night waking AT LEAST once or twice, if not more.

Anyways, I'm just all about learning what has worked for other people in hopes that ONE method some way some how will work for me. I think it's so funny that I've invested a lot of time into researching and reading but yet it wasn't even the research in that book - it was reading one persons personal story - that really hit home for me and felt like it was a great option to try. As I mentioned above...there are still nights here and there now that she wakes, but it's a huge step in the right direction for us!

Your feeding schedule is... You take 8oz 4x a day and 3 "meals" of solids each day. Whew! That's a LOT of feedings! ;) You are on about 2/3rds breast milk and 1/3rd formula. I have actually started to produce a little bit more milk so that's been great. As far as solids go, of course rice cereal was the initial starter, but her first "food" was carrots! She took them well when Honey gave them to her, but she makes the funniest faces in the world trying to figure out what the HELL we are putting in her mouth! She then went on to try sweet potatoes, green beans, squash (NOT a fan), prunes and apples. I'm trying to figure it all out and when-she's-supposed-to-eat-what, so if anyone has a schedule of how their 7-9 month old eats and what they eat, that would be much appreciated! Bananas and pears are next on the list to try.

Some sounds and motions you make are... Laughing, laughing, laughing! This girl LOVES to laugh! It's the sweetest sound in the world and I would stand on my head for hours just to hear it over and over again. It's so neat to also see her really using her fingers and hands and especially how FAR and how WELL she can see! I love that she's truly turning into a little human and being able to more and more entertain herself.

Your likes and dislikes are... You love so much. Anyone that will give you eye contact or make a funny face at you, you think is the funniest thing in the world. You are LOVING bath time, playing with all your friends at Primrose (and you LOVE it when Mom or Dad picks you up from school! Laughter ensues for about 10 minutes straight), and riding in your baby b'jorn. Primrose has, on multiple occasions, let us know what a "class leader" and "social butterfly" you are! You are now the oldest in the class and apparently really show everyone a good time. ;) You dislike, as usual, being hungry and changing into your PJs at night.

Your favorite toys and games are... Your favorite things at home seem to be anything you can teethe on. You love, love, love "where's Blaire?!", where we cover your face with a scarf, towel, etc., and kick your little feet the entire time. The game could last forever if we let it!

By the end of the month you are learning to... You, my dear, are on your way to crawling! We are totally cool with you taking MONTHS to learn though. ;) But you are doing the rolling, rolling, rolling until you end up 10 feet from where you started...and you can inch your way around on your tummy to do a 180 circle!

7 months is my absolute favorite age yet. We always cherish every moment with our baby girl but this age is just fantastic! We are soaking up every moment. :)

First "baby sitter" ever! In Dallas for Cousin Christine's wedding and Blaire went over to play with Meredith's kiddos!