7 Month Summary

So, Forest always get the spotlight for his monthly updates, but I kind of want to get a word in too. More so, I want to write all of these things down so that I don’t forget down the line. I’m realizing quickly that most everything in babyhood is just a short phase. My mantra is ‘this too shall pass’. That goes for his super happy, silly, easy-to-please times as well as his monstrous teething-meets-growth spurt whining fests. So along with his guest posts, I’ll also start giving you a behind the scenes look at what life is like with this little adorable rascal. 

Schedule: I’m hesitant to post his schedule because everytime I feel confident about what’s gonna happen next, the child totally goes haywire on me into uncharted territory. He’s successfully transitioned down to two naps per day now, and babies are supposed to stay that way until after their 1^st birthday so hopefully this schedule stays consistent for a while. 

6:45-7:20 AM- He wakes up for the day. Sometimes he wakes up super early (like 5:45-6:15) but he’s generally good about falling back asleep after a few minutes. In the morning I give him a big bottle (7 oz or so) and then mix another ounce with rice cereal and some sort of fruit.  Right now he loves blueberries and bananas, so that’s usually my go to. After breakfast we will either have floor/crawl time or we’ll go for a jaunt in the jogging stroller. 

9 AM: he goes down for his morning nap. Ideally he sleeps til about 10:45-11, but his naps range anywhere from 50 minutes to 2 hours. I still haven’t figured out what factors in to nap length. I just go with it. When he wakes up I give him a bottle and then this is the time of day where I usually plan any outings (play dates, grocery runs, etc) because this is generally when he is happiest. 

1 PM: He goes down for his afternoon nap. Again, ideally he remains sleeping for at least 1.5 hours, but sometimes he doesn’t quite make it that far. Then he is generally up from 2:30/3 until bedtime so this is his longest stretch of being awake (4-4.5 hours). When he wakes up I feed him a bottle and whatever is left of his fruit from the morning. We then play on the floor until Jonathan gets home around 4:30 at which point I either start dinner prep or (if I’ve got dinner in the crock pot or leftovers) we head to the park and play on the swings for a bit before dinner time. 

At 5:30 he takes a small bottle and usually a jar of veggies or meat. He also usually gets a bite or two of what we’re eating since he’s just now able to use his fingers to transfer food to his mouth.  Baby boy loves sweet potato fries! 

At 6:20 we start winding down. He gets a bath every other day so on bath days this is when he goes in the tub. 

On alternate days we usually just read to him for 10 minutes or so before starting our night-time routine at 6:30ish. 

The nighttime routine currently consists of massaging him with lotion (getting harder because he is so squirmy and tries to crawl off the changing table), putting on his jammies and sleep sack, and then giving him a final bottle. Now that he’s dropped his 3^rd nap, he usually falls asleep drinking his bottle. We’re slightly worried about this creating a bad sleep habit but he absolutely won’t stay awake through it...and he still falls asleep by himself for naps and mostly sleeps through the night so I’m not too concerned. 

By 7 PM he is generally asleep and lately has been sleeping anywhere from 11 to 12 hours (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!). 

Teeth:  

Forest currently has 4 bottom teeth and 1 1/2 top teeth (the top right is breaking the skin as we speak). He cut 4 teeth in one week. Let me repeat that. He cut FOUR teeth in the span of ONE WEEK. Ouch!

The 3 weeks leading up to the tooth explosion was quite a trying time! He was understandably a cranky mess which was seriously wearing me down. I had no idea that teething is basically a 2 year ongoing process that simply intensifies when the tooth is about to surface. Forest is a fountain of drool which has lead to a pretty nasty rash on his chin that I’ve been treating with Aquaphor and an Aveeno Eczema cream several times a day. 

Right before he cuts a tooth, he will stop sleeping through the night. Luckily this round only lasted 3 nights and Tylenol seemed to help the night time pain. During the day he just gnaws on anything he can fit in his mouth but his favorites are his sophie giraffe and zo-li sticks, though just about anything will suffice. 

Milestones: Since turning 6 months old, Forest has started ‘crawling’. His tactic is to basically army crawl but he’s getting better at crawling on his hands and knees every day. For now, he's a bit more Lieutenant Dan than Forrest Gump. Either way, that child is everywhere and into everything. 

We still haven’t baby-proofed but instead have just made a few rooms hazard-free and try to corral him into those areas of the house and just let him explore. Just last weekend he learned to open drawers though so we will surely be baby-proofing a few things this weekend. 

Here is a great post I found on how to not go overboard with the child-proofing gadgets and instead, focus on the really dangerous aspects of your house and also focus on starting to teach your child what things to stay away from. This way when you take your child out of your super controlled home environment, they won’t wreak total havoc on someone else’s property. 

I’m sure that’s easier said than done, but we’ve definitely started to use the word ‘no!’ with Forest. We’ve also started using the words ‘soft’ and ‘gentle’ when he pets the dogs. 

He’s nowhere near grasping that concept just yet, but our hope it that with reinforcement and repetition, he will understand it sooner rather than later. Any advice on baby discipline/education on these matters? 

Other skills he’s developed recently are getting into a sitting position from his tummy, pulling himself up to a standing position, and being able to hold himself in a standing position if placed next to a couch/chair/etc. 

He’s also talking up a storm. His favorite sound is by far ‘ba-ba’ followed by ‘da-da’ and ‘ya-ya’. He’s recently started making the ‘m’,'h', and 'g' sounds and of course he enjoys making other noises such as screaming, squealing, grunting, coughing and blowing razzberries. 

Another recent development is spontaneous laughter. We used to have to really work for baby giggles by making silly faces or tickling him. Now he will just bust out laughing, usually while observing the dogs. 

It’s the sweetest thing. 

Oh, and he’s slowly getting his ‘pincer grasp’ where they can pick up an object using their thumb and index finger. 

It’s a big milestone in their ability to feed themselves. We bought Forest some rice puffs and have also let him practice this skill with black beans. He’s successful in transferring an edible object from his tray to his mouth about 10% of the time. 

He’s much better with longer food items such a sweet potato fries or zucchini spears. 

My biggest challenges: By far, my biggest struggle is with patience. I’m more than a tad OCD when it comes to his schedule. If he wakes up early from a nap, I’m totally thrown off and get super frustrated. And my impatience also comes into play when trying to change his diapers or get him dressed. Forest is ALL boy and now that he’s mobile he doesn’t want to stop moving for one millisecond. 

Changing his diapers has become an Olympic sport. And not one of those wimpy Olympic sports like curling; one of the precipitous death defying things like skiing straight down a mountain or speed skating. One wrong move and it could end it total disaster. In a moment he can flip onto his tummy and crawl right off the changing table.  He is quick and strong and super un-cooperative with the whole putting clothes on thing. 

I’ve taken to just changing him on the floor while he crawls around, but I’m not too comfortable with doing the same with poopy diapers. Yesterday he was flailing around so much after a ‘number 2’ incident that poop ended up on the walls.  It sounds really trite but in the moment, changing diapers is definitely a trial of patience!   

My biggest rewards:  I think my favorite part of the day is when we walk to the park. We put him in the swings and he just breaks out into the biggest grin. For a boy who likes a change of scenery every 5 minutes, he could stay on the swings for an hour if we let him. 

Also, I just love watching him change. I marvel at how a skill that was completely absent yesterday will just show up out of nowhere. I am fascinated to see his face light up with recognition at a familiar place or a favorite song. 

And just this week he has gravitated towards books and will actually sit still for 5 minutes while I read to him. Oh, how I love that! 

Bath time is also a cherished time. He can be in the grumpiest of moods, but as soon as his naked toosh hits the water, he is all smiles. Jonathan is usually in charge of bath time, but I will often curl up on the floor and watch just because I don’t want to miss those precious moments.   
Other observations: Forest is a very independent little dude, especially now that he’s mobile. He keeps himself busy and only fusses when naptime is approaching or if he’s being restrained somehow (high chair, changing table, jumperoo). When we have play dates, he’s always the explorer. All the other babies will contentedly stay in the designated toy area, with their mommas nearby as a safety net. My baby is off to the races the second I put him down, and he will crawl out of sight in no time. 

While the other babies are playing with toys, my baby is exploring the kitchen/living room/bathroom/anywhere other than where  the play group is happening. It’s a constant repetition of me picking up my baby, bringing him back to the middle of the group where he immediately crawls back to where he was before. Lather, rinse, repeat. I think it’s safe to say he’s going to be a handful! 

Well, that about sums up our lives with a very active 7 month old. I can't even imagine how much more trouble he will be in a month's time!