Claire at 7 Months

Hi Sweet Claire,

You will have to forgive me for posting this so late.  You are probably closer to 8 months than you are seven months now, but none the less, this post is finally making it up here!

You have been a busy girl this month (which just might be part of why this post is sooo late).  You are really on the move now...you're not crawling yet, but you are determined to get where you want by a performing series of rolling, spinning and ways I'm not even sure of myself...but it seems like you can move 10 feet in a matter of seconds now.  We keep saying you are going to be crawling soon, but we'll see.  We have now set up the pack and play so that you can play safely in there when I can't be by you to keep you in the same place- like when I'm cooking or unloading the dishwasher.

This month you have tried lots of new foods.  You LOVE sweet potatoes and if you had it your way you would eat them for every meal.  You LIKE bananas and sometimes peas.  You don't care for squash, zucchini or avocado.

 

Next up we are making pears, carrots and apples so we'll see how those go.  We love to make your babyfood!  Daddy helps and it is lots of fun!

We have worked A LOT on your sleeping this month (which might be another reason for the delay in this post).  Ever since we got back from our trip to Austin you have decided to mix things up a little bit for mommy!

This has included not going to sleep, not napping and waking up many times during the night.  Up until now I admit we were still nursing/rocking to sleep (it was a habit formed from before your oral surgery when you used to fall asleep during your nursing marathons, posted HERE).  It is a tough habit to break and it seemed to be working so well that we just kept doing it since it wasn't causing any harm.  However, it started to take longer and longer to help you fall asleep and it became harder and harder to help you get back to sleep once you started waking up in the  middle of the night.

 So, I read the No Cry Sleep Solution and after a couple weeks of nights of laying you down, patting/rubbing your back and comforting you and only picking you up if you cried you are now pretty much okay with me laying you in your crib, telling you "I Love You and it's time to go night-night", a kiss on the cheek and I head out.  Usually you make some sleepy noises, but if you start to cry I go back in to rub your back or put in your paci and then I leave again to let you fall asleep, but 3 times you have gone to sleep on your own without me having to go back in- I am so very proud of you big girl!  I know this was a difficult transition to make since it was not what you have known your whole life.  One night several nights I slept on the floor next to your crib because you were up so much and I was just so tired I couldn't keep coming in and out of your room.  That night wore me out, but I knew that we had to stick with the plan of gently shushing/back rubbing/gentle rocking IN the crib so that you could learn what to expect and that you can fall back asleep on your own without nursing or or being picked up (unless you are crying, then I pick you up, but lay you back down before you are asleep and repeat as needed) and you have done so great ever since!

I'm afraid I will forget how we did this if I don't write it all down here, so hopefully you don't mind all the details.  To help with your night sleeping we created a predictable bedtime routine.  At about 6:00 we nurse, you eat dinner, and take a bath.  We close the curtains/blinds during bath time so it's dark and relaxing in the house.  This helps you to know that bedtime is coming.  By 6:45 we are in your room where we turn on the sound machine and read a book called Good Night.

You love it because you can pet the soft animals on each page and it helps you to settle and calm down for the night.  At first you didn't know how to touch each animal, but after a couple nights of me showing you, now you know just where to find them on each page!  After your story we nurse, rock/cuddle for about 5 minutes and once you are relaxed I lay you in your crib.  This routine has REALLY helped you to understand it's time to sleep and it lets you know what to expect each night.  Just like when I was teaching first graders- consistency is key for you!

We're still working on naps.  We actually stayed home for 7 days in hopes that you would take naps and create a regular nap pattern since you were on a bit of a napping strike.  It didn't happen in 7 days, but after a few weeks we finally found that a 9am and 1pm nap works best for you right now.  We're still trying to get past that 30 min sleep cycle, where you usually wake up, but you're still tired and won't go back to sleep.  Sometimes the swing helps, but honestly you have grown so much that I just don't think it moves fast enough to lull you back to sleep anymore!  You are becoming such a big girl.

You are wearing a size 3 diaper and you're wearing stretching your 6 month clothes and 9 month PJ's.  I think we'll be moving into 9 month clothes soon.

You are great at giving high 5's to your daddy and your favorite times of day are when you cuddle with him in the morning in bed and when he gets home from work and helps with your evening bath.  We've been giving you some playtime in your crib during the day (as suggested in the No Cry Sleep Solution) so that when you wake up in the night you know where you are and you feel happy and safe there.  You seem to enjoy hanging out in here!

I'm amazed at all the new things you are doing these days.  The other day I was packing away some of your too-small clothes {sigh} and I put you on the floor while I turned to open a drawer.  I thought you would just sit there, but nope...you were pulling out your clothes from the bins!  You looked so grown up- sort of like you were picking out your favorite outfits!  It was too cute!

 

I have a feeling this face below is one that we will see again and again as you become more and more curious about the world around you!

Claire, I am loving this stage so very much.  Each day I look forward to what you will do and I feel like I miss you all night.  I just can't wait for you to wake up so I can give you a squeeze!