[caption id="attachment_2084" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Seven Months?[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2082" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
I will eat you, seven months![/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2080" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Daddy, did you know I'm seven months?[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2081" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Riley, I am seven months![/caption]
She wouldn't actually look at ME during this photo session. So I have about 40 shots, all with her looking in some other direction besides the camera. I imagine it will only get harder from here on out!
A year ago, I was in the second trimester with this sweet babe:
[caption id="attachment_2073" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
16 weeks pregnant and 7 months old![/caption]
This month, I feel like I'm emerging even more from the postpartum haze and realizing how completely awesome life is. Abbie is developing so fast, and it all makes her so happy (for the most part). And her happiness makes me so happy. Sitting up and playing with toys is just so much fun! She loves life and people and our sweet pups. She smiles all the time and is a pretty chill baby, especially if there's lots for her to observe!
Weight: Probably around 18 pounds. She's fully into 6-9 month clothes now, and some are a little tight, so I guess the next step will be 9-12 month. The size changes happen so fast! She's still in size 3 diapers, although I have started using size 4 at night, and I was a little shocked by how well size 4 fit her. She's fine in the 3's, but she definitely needs the 4's for overnight (I don't change her and she drains me pretty well at 10pm and 4am, so her diaper is HEAVY by morning).
Eating: Breastfeeding is going really well. She is less distracted when eating, so I don't have to be so militant about feeding her immediately after a nap before she has had any social interaction. So that means Tom doesn't get yelled at if he wants to go in and give her a kiss before she's been fed. My supply is pretty regulated, and I'm not freezing milk every day or constantly fighting engorgement, so that is also nice. I am so thankful we were able to get our nursing relationship established again. We were on really shaky ground for awhile, and it really could have gone either way. Every time I go into the office and deal with my pump all day, I'm reminded of how stressful those months of exclusive pumping were. And how sad I was. I'm just so grateful we are where we are right now, and I'm not taking any of the moments for granted. She does still get a bottle a day, just to keep her used to them so that daddy daycare day isn't hell!
Solids are... ok, I guess. She still just plays with her food. Some days I don't feel like dealing with it, so we don't do any solids. But I'm trying to get better. I definitely want to give her the opportunity to eat. And I want her to get iron, so I'm trying to offer meat and fortified foods. It is a great way to occupy her for 20-30 minutes or so, because she really does have fun. She loves putting stuff in her mouth, but it usually ends up in her bib at the end. And so I end up scooping food back onto her tray, and she repeats the process, and then Gracie and Riley clean up all the chewed pieces of food. They are the best little tray cleaners! How do people do Baby Led Weaning without dogs?
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
May I take your tray, my lady?[/caption]
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
Clean up is SERIOUS business[/caption]
Sleeping: Oh, things are so much better. She is down at 7, I do a dream feed when I go to bed, and then she wakes for a feeding at 4:30 or so (sometimes it has been 6, but usually 4:30). Then she sleeps until 7 or 8. Total nap time has decreased, and I'm still trying to figure out her afternoon naps, but she takes a 1.5-2 hour nap in the morning and a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon. She really needs a third evening nap, but she's been fighting me on that one, so I'm trying to figure out what to do. (EDITED: a week later the afternoon nap is now more like 2.5 hours! We are getting better!)
She's finally rolling from back to front. She started rolling front to back at four months old, but she stubbornly refused to roll onto her belly. There were a few times she would go onto her side and then her stomach, but most of the time she would park herself on her back and refuse to move. And since she slept so much better on her belly, this left us with the choice of whether or not to go in and roll her over when she was fussy and fighting sleep. She has great head and neck control, and she had no trouble flipping off of her belly whenever she pleased, so we really weren't worried that she would get stuck there. But it was a pain to have to move her, and I always felt guilty breaking the "back is best" rules, so praise the Lord she is now doing it on her own!
The Zipadee-Zip sleep sack was a lifesaver for us in transitioning from the swaddle. Every time I've wondered if she would have been just fine without out, I put her in a sleeper for a nap, and 30 minutes later I'm back in her room putting the zippee on. It really helps mellow her arms and settle her; otherwise, she just will.not.stop.moving. I'm sure we could transition out of it with a little time, but since she can now put her paci back in while wearing it, there's really no reason to. Other than the fact that I wish I had a reason to put her in some of her cute sleepers. They haven't gotten any use this summer, and babies are so cute in footed sleepers!
I remember when we first started trying for a baby, 8+ years ago, I had such lofty ideas about simplicity and how I would have the bare minimum of items for my baby. And we would have, since we were poor, and it would have been fine. But 8 years later, we are doing better financially and we finally have a baby to buy things for. So this girl gets all the gear. I try not to go overboard and just buy practical items, but I love buying things for her, and I love things that work. The Zipadee-Zip falls in this category. I'm sure we could find a way around it. But she loves it, and it's adorable, so a zippee it is!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="270"]
Just hangin in my zippee![/caption]
Since beginning this post, she has started sitting up on her own in her crib. This is a WHOLE NEW THING. I think it will end up helping in the long run (she's now able to play by herself happily in her crib), but as of now it is hard to get her to actually sleep when she could sit up and PLAY! A new transition for me to work through!
Likes: RILEY! And Riley loves her! They are the sweetest pair. She also loves Gracie, but that love is not reciprocated.
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I love you, Riley[/caption]
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The feeling isn't mutual here.[/caption]
She loves toys! Sitting up and playing is so much fun.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
I read books![/caption]
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360"]
Just snacking on my paci![/caption]
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="270"]
Serious about this rattle[/caption]
She loves the Bob stroller and she is fantastic in the Ergo. I can go shopping and walk the aisles and I almost forget I'm wearing her, she's just so content to hang out and look around.
[caption id="attachment_2066" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Lets jog![/caption]
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Church makes me sleepy[/caption]
She adores daddy. Even more exciting is BATHTIME with daddy. So much fun!
[caption id="attachment_2067" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Hangin with my daddy and Riley![/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2070" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Bathtime![/caption]
***
I love this age, and I love squeezing my chubby, solid, delightful baby. We still have hard moments, but in my more leveled-out emotional state, I'm able to realize they are just hard moments. It doesn't mean I hate motherhood or am a horrible mom if we have a rough afternoon. And I'm more confident that the hard transitions are just transitions; it won't be long before she has mastered the desired skill and we can find a new normal.
I am so thankful for this miracle baby and the zillion smiles she gives me every single day. She is the light of our lives, and I'm doing my best to savor all the moments and store them in my heart and memories. I'm even more aware these days that the IUI could have not worked, we could still be stuck in the same old horrible place. But it did work, all the things went right for us for once, and we have a perfect miracle in our arms as a result. We are so thankful, and we just love her oh-so-much!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360"]
so freaking cute![/caption]
Seven Months?[/caption][caption id="attachment_2082" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
I will eat you, seven months![/caption][caption id="attachment_2080" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Daddy, did you know I'm seven months?[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2081" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Riley, I am seven months![/caption]She wouldn't actually look at ME during this photo session. So I have about 40 shots, all with her looking in some other direction besides the camera. I imagine it will only get harder from here on out!
A year ago, I was in the second trimester with this sweet babe:
[caption id="attachment_2073" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
16 weeks pregnant and 7 months old![/caption]This month, I feel like I'm emerging even more from the postpartum haze and realizing how completely awesome life is. Abbie is developing so fast, and it all makes her so happy (for the most part). And her happiness makes me so happy. Sitting up and playing with toys is just so much fun! She loves life and people and our sweet pups. She smiles all the time and is a pretty chill baby, especially if there's lots for her to observe!
Weight: Probably around 18 pounds. She's fully into 6-9 month clothes now, and some are a little tight, so I guess the next step will be 9-12 month. The size changes happen so fast! She's still in size 3 diapers, although I have started using size 4 at night, and I was a little shocked by how well size 4 fit her. She's fine in the 3's, but she definitely needs the 4's for overnight (I don't change her and she drains me pretty well at 10pm and 4am, so her diaper is HEAVY by morning).
Eating: Breastfeeding is going really well. She is less distracted when eating, so I don't have to be so militant about feeding her immediately after a nap before she has had any social interaction. So that means Tom doesn't get yelled at if he wants to go in and give her a kiss before she's been fed. My supply is pretty regulated, and I'm not freezing milk every day or constantly fighting engorgement, so that is also nice. I am so thankful we were able to get our nursing relationship established again. We were on really shaky ground for awhile, and it really could have gone either way. Every time I go into the office and deal with my pump all day, I'm reminded of how stressful those months of exclusive pumping were. And how sad I was. I'm just so grateful we are where we are right now, and I'm not taking any of the moments for granted. She does still get a bottle a day, just to keep her used to them so that daddy daycare day isn't hell!
Solids are... ok, I guess. She still just plays with her food. Some days I don't feel like dealing with it, so we don't do any solids. But I'm trying to get better. I definitely want to give her the opportunity to eat. And I want her to get iron, so I'm trying to offer meat and fortified foods. It is a great way to occupy her for 20-30 minutes or so, because she really does have fun. She loves putting stuff in her mouth, but it usually ends up in her bib at the end. And so I end up scooping food back onto her tray, and she repeats the process, and then Gracie and Riley clean up all the chewed pieces of food. They are the best little tray cleaners! How do people do Baby Led Weaning without dogs?
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
May I take your tray, my lady?[/caption][caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
Clean up is SERIOUS business[/caption]Sleeping: Oh, things are so much better. She is down at 7, I do a dream feed when I go to bed, and then she wakes for a feeding at 4:30 or so (sometimes it has been 6, but usually 4:30). Then she sleeps until 7 or 8. Total nap time has decreased, and I'm still trying to figure out her afternoon naps, but she takes a 1.5-2 hour nap in the morning and a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon. She really needs a third evening nap, but she's been fighting me on that one, so I'm trying to figure out what to do. (EDITED: a week later the afternoon nap is now more like 2.5 hours! We are getting better!)
She's finally rolling from back to front. She started rolling front to back at four months old, but she stubbornly refused to roll onto her belly. There were a few times she would go onto her side and then her stomach, but most of the time she would park herself on her back and refuse to move. And since she slept so much better on her belly, this left us with the choice of whether or not to go in and roll her over when she was fussy and fighting sleep. She has great head and neck control, and she had no trouble flipping off of her belly whenever she pleased, so we really weren't worried that she would get stuck there. But it was a pain to have to move her, and I always felt guilty breaking the "back is best" rules, so praise the Lord she is now doing it on her own!
The Zipadee-Zip sleep sack was a lifesaver for us in transitioning from the swaddle. Every time I've wondered if she would have been just fine without out, I put her in a sleeper for a nap, and 30 minutes later I'm back in her room putting the zippee on. It really helps mellow her arms and settle her; otherwise, she just will.not.stop.moving. I'm sure we could transition out of it with a little time, but since she can now put her paci back in while wearing it, there's really no reason to. Other than the fact that I wish I had a reason to put her in some of her cute sleepers. They haven't gotten any use this summer, and babies are so cute in footed sleepers!
I remember when we first started trying for a baby, 8+ years ago, I had such lofty ideas about simplicity and how I would have the bare minimum of items for my baby. And we would have, since we were poor, and it would have been fine. But 8 years later, we are doing better financially and we finally have a baby to buy things for. So this girl gets all the gear. I try not to go overboard and just buy practical items, but I love buying things for her, and I love things that work. The Zipadee-Zip falls in this category. I'm sure we could find a way around it. But she loves it, and it's adorable, so a zippee it is!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="270"]
Just hangin in my zippee![/caption]Since beginning this post, she has started sitting up on her own in her crib. This is a WHOLE NEW THING. I think it will end up helping in the long run (she's now able to play by herself happily in her crib), but as of now it is hard to get her to actually sleep when she could sit up and PLAY! A new transition for me to work through!
Likes: RILEY! And Riley loves her! They are the sweetest pair. She also loves Gracie, but that love is not reciprocated.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
I love you, Riley[/caption][caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360"]
The feeling isn't mutual here.[/caption]She loves toys! Sitting up and playing is so much fun.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
I read books![/caption][caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360"]
Just snacking on my paci![/caption][caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="270"]
Serious about this rattle[/caption]She loves the Bob stroller and she is fantastic in the Ergo. I can go shopping and walk the aisles and I almost forget I'm wearing her, she's just so content to hang out and look around.
[caption id="attachment_2066" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Lets jog![/caption][caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"]
Church makes me sleepy[/caption]She adores daddy. Even more exciting is BATHTIME with daddy. So much fun!
[caption id="attachment_2067" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Hangin with my daddy and Riley![/caption][caption id="attachment_2070" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Bathtime![/caption]***
I love this age, and I love squeezing my chubby, solid, delightful baby. We still have hard moments, but in my more leveled-out emotional state, I'm able to realize they are just hard moments. It doesn't mean I hate motherhood or am a horrible mom if we have a rough afternoon. And I'm more confident that the hard transitions are just transitions; it won't be long before she has mastered the desired skill and we can find a new normal.
I am so thankful for this miracle baby and the zillion smiles she gives me every single day. She is the light of our lives, and I'm doing my best to savor all the moments and store them in my heart and memories. I'm even more aware these days that the IUI could have not worked, we could still be stuck in the same old horrible place. But it did work, all the things went right for us for once, and we have a perfect miracle in our arms as a result. We are so thankful, and we just love her oh-so-much!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360"]
so freaking cute![/caption]
Ugh, she is SO cute!!! That smile!! She and Millie really should be besties. :) And yeah- when we went to the beach this summer and had no dog to clean up after BLW Millie...it was ROUGH!!! I basically wanted to go to a shelter and borrow a dog for a week, because all that floor cleaning was NO FUN!!!
ReplyDeleteBorrow a dog for a week! HAHAHA!
ReplyDelete