Friday, April 25, 2014

7 Months

I just can't even believe that my baby is 7 months old. She is definitely acting less like a baby and much more like a little person. She has started to very much assert herself. She makes known her likes and dislikes quite loudly. Little tiny babies are so mysterious. Sometimes they cry and sometimes they seem sort of content, usually when they are sleeping. It is hard to know why they are sad or happy or how to fix it, other than with a boob. It is pretty obvious now what Charlotte likes and what makes her angry and the best part is that it is much more obvious how to fix the problem when she is sad. Of course teething throws things for a loop sometimes. It is fun getting to know my daughter as a little person. She obviously can't talk to me yet, but our relationship has grown so much over the last couple months. She likes me and she likes being around me. There are places and toys that make her happy. When she is happy she looks up at me to see if I am happy too. When she is sad she nestles her head into my chest and then everything gets fixed. I am really having fun with her new emotional changes as well as her physical advances. 
We had a fun month too. I love hanging out with my little girl. I am going to make the most of my time with her. 

March 24-April 24

Highlights of the month:

What a fun and busy month we had. I almost feel like it had the start of the summer feeling.  Now that the weather is nicer and Charlotte enjoys seeing the sights so much more we are getting out and enjoying life. 
Charlotte's 6th month birthday was spent in Madison. She also sat up for the first extended length of time by herself. (longer than 30 seconds or so) We had a quick visit from grandpa and grammy at the start of the month. Those are always welcome breaks from reality. 


Charlotte had her 6 month appointment a couple days later. It was not very exciting. She got her last couple of shots until she is 1. She is doing well otherwise. Right on track for everything and growing like a weed. Still in the 75ish percentile for weight and 85ish percentile for height. She got a prescription for some eczema lotion, since her skin was kind of bad and something to put in her eye to hopefully help a little with the tear duct goop issue. Charlotte seemed to have perhaps gotten a a bit of a bug from her daddy. This resulted in diarrhea 5 or 6 times a day for a couple of days. The doctor wasn't really concerned since she was eating a lot and acting alright. It got better a couple of days later.

The next day we went on our very first family trip to the zoo. It was such a great day. It was the last free day of the cold season, so it was very crowded. There were moments that it was too crowded, but overall very much worth it. I think Charlotte had a fun time and then she passed out on mama. We will be going back again at some point this summer. Things like that are so much more fun with a little girl. I can't wait until she can really see all the animal and I can really tell her about them. 

Then a few days later Charlotte and I took another little trip to New Glarus. Sometimes we just like to not be home. Also we can't get enough of grandma and grandpa's house, and of course they can't get enough of her. It was a relaxing couple of days. We went to the Madison zoo with Aunt Sarah before heading to New Glarus. Then we just hung out for the next 48 hours. I highly recommend it. We were definitely glad to get home and see daddy though. 

The next week Charlotte got her first tooth. The two bottom teeth had been obvious under her gum for about a week and a half before the first one popped through. It officially came through on April 17th. I noticed it that morning when she chomped down on my finger. The second tooth on the bottom came through a few days later on April 21st. The are still not very visible, but definitely getting there. I can't wait till you can see them well. I love when babies have those two little bottom teeth. Also, I am hoping they help with the eating thing.

We wrapped up the month with Easter. We went to New Glarus for Easter. It was a glorious weekend with amazing weather. The day before Easter we spent the day in Madison doing my favorite things. We went to the first farmer's market of the year, we explored the capitol building, we strolled State St., we ate breakfast food for lunch and we hung out with friends. Easter was a casual day with family. We went to church, had a great lunch, played outside, took a nap and watched some TV. 

Oh, and this week daddy had his first softball game of the year. He joined our church's team. It was so much fun to watch. Charlotte however was NOT a fan of the cheering people. Perhaps because it was almost her bed time or the fact that there were so many strangers. But, every time someone would even be remotely she would start sobbing. So, I could cheer at all. We have them every week for the next few months, so hopefully she will get used to it soon. 

Important Stats:

Eating: The food situation is starting to improve. Charlotte's opinion of real food is slowly starting to get better. I bought some of those super gross mesh bag things and tried frozen bananas in one. The seemed to be the first thing she actually enjoyed eating. We have also done oranges and frozen blueberries in there that that is her favorite. She eats a lot of normal food just cut up now as well. I give her apple slices and she likes those. She has tried some bread and broccoli potato spears and a few other things. She has had some store bought baby food, because it was convenient while traveling this month. There are a couple of those she really likes. One with yogurt was delicious and she LOVED her rice pudding one. She also snacks on baby rice crackers sometimes too. Nursing is still going well. She is nursing as much as ever and I don't mind. She can get pretty distracted, but then we usually try again a little later and she can focus better. 

Sleeping: Hell, pure hell. As I said last month the week of spring break we got very little sleep. Charlotte went from sleeping 5 or 6 hours and then another 3 or 4 to waking up every 2 hours, or less. When we got back home we tried some cry it out sleep training. After a couple nights of crying she was fine, went right to sleep and slept for quite awhile. We would do a dream feed in the early morning. Then that dream feed kept moving earlier and earlier and then she was back to waking up every 2 hours. She eats more often at night than during the day. We have made attempts to do the sleep training over again. It has been easier to just get up every couple hours for a few minutes rather than deal with our screamer. I am definitely reaching the end of my rope, so there will be changes soon. On the plus side she has started to actually take naps during the day. She will take a nap a little before noon for about an hour and then usually one in the late afternoon, although that one isn't as predictable.

Pooping: Ever since she got that stomach bug at the beginning of April she went from being a one poop a day girl to a 2 or 3 poop a day girl. It has helped a little with the poop explosions. 

Growing: She has grown out of all her 6 month clothes and is in all 9 month clothes now. The only summer clothes she has are in 12 months so if the weather improves in the next couple weeks she will probably be wearing baggy 12 month clothes. She is up another pound. I can't believe she is almost 20 pounds. 

nicknames: crazy one, rollie pollie

Charlotte's favorite things during her 7th month:
1. yelling and grunting like a crazy person
2. rolling and scooting across the house
3. blueberries
4. mama

Mama's favorite things during Charlotte's 6th month:
1. fitting into her pre baby jeans
2. watching Charlotte really start to enjoy her toys
3. listening to Charlotte say "ma-ma-ma-ma"

Charlotte's least favorite things during her 7th month:
1. sleeping at night
2. teething
3. when mama leaves the room

Mama's least favorite things during Charlotte's 7th month:
1. not getting consecutive sleep at night
2. teething
3. baby proofing 

Charlotte's new skills
saying "ba-ba-ba", "da-da-da" and "ma-ma-ma"
sort of a pre crawling scoot
majorly improved fine motor skills and the ability to pick up really little things
can stand briefly, holding onto something, if I put her in that position












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