7 months

{I will not comment on the fact that I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks. Life is beyond crazy around here and my motivation to blog is severely lacking. But as I promised before I HAVE to document at least a monthly post so I don't forget the craziness that is our life. Hang in there with me!}

Seven months old. Rounding up to one year instead of rounding down to one day old. A mixture of sadness and excitement comes with this monthly birthday because although I love every new stage Truman enters I can't quite grasp the fact that he is getting so 'old'. :)

(these photo shoots are getting exponentially harder as the months go on. Couldn't get a good one for the life of me)




The month of September was probably the most eventful span of days in this kid's life so far. He had his last day at his first daycare, then flew on his first airplane for a trip to Missouri. When we got back, he started his new daycare with Miss Lori, mommy started a new job, then he popped his first two teeth within days of each other, caught a cold (his third so far), came down with his first ear infection, and then we flew again for Keri's wedding. Needless to say we've struggled with keeping any sort of routine around here and instead focused on getting baby boy healthy again. Oh, and remembering to breathe while treading water--that's the motto for our life these days.

(Any Mizzou fans out there? Truman the Tiger making an appearance...along with wool longies)



I have a new found love for Amoxicillin because it brought my happy baby boy back to me. But that happy baby boy has a new found hatred for the bubble gum flavored stuff and getting him to take it twice a day for ten days was absolute hell. I pray that the ear infection is completely healed and never ever returns, considering I had the worst baby ears ever back in the day. Here's hoping that was the only one! It was awful and he was cranky and in pain and couldn't sleep and I'm patting myself on the back for following my gut and demanding the doctor to see him before we flew for the wedding, even though they thought it was 'just teething' and 'just a cold'. Hooray for a mother's intuition.

(our little family at Keri's wedding. Note the disgustingly cute outfit made by my mom).


(my men before the wedding---swoon.)


(what a ham)


(best shot I have of his nubbin teeth---which are actually a LOT bigger today but he is shy about flashing those chompers, I guess).


As far as milestones go, this past month brought us a semi-mobile baby. He is rolling onto his tummy constantly now and even manages to roll onto his back at times too (a miracle!). Once he's on his preferred stomach he can pivot around and spin in circles, scooting a little bit along the way. No matter how many blankets I put onto the floor he somehow manages to scoot onto the shockingly dirty hardwood just to spite me. He's definitely sitting unsupported now although I don't quite trust him to sit up without me nearby since he'll take an occasional face plant if I'm not careful. Can I just say that I am SO not ready for a rough and tough boy who gets hurt while on the move? I preferred my little blob baby who wouldn't move an inch once I set him down. Much safer that way. :)

(before the rehearsal)


(Missouri Grandma was a fab babysitter during mommy's bridesmaid duties)


(very serious in the mornings)


He loves to grab every.single.object within a two foot radius (ie my hair, Nate's glasses, toys, Henry, our food, etc.) I can tell his grasp is improving because he'll gently turn toys around in his hands and if he's feeling super-loving, he'll even give me a little love pat on my cheek while he nurses. But then again, those hands have discovered his manly bits, too, and bath time has now become 'let me squeeze my junk' time for Truman. It's hilarious and disturbing all at once. I vote for Nate to talk to his son about fondling himself in public---definitely a manly talk that I'll avoid at all costs.



(note the skilled hand usage. Sophie is still a hit)




His stats at the doctor's office still show a big, healthy baby boy weighing in at 19 pounds 6 ounces, and measuring just over 28 inches. He's still up in the 80th percentiles for his growth although I think he looks ultra-slim compared to his two month photos and he's wearing 12 month clothing at this point. His new big boy wardrobe is too stinking cute, if you ask me, but then again--I'm pretty biased.


(a fave for his smile and the cute outfit)


(his weekend lounge wear)




He's eating about 3 ounces of purees at daycare and then another 1-2 ounces here for dinner. So far carrots are the biggest hit around here followed by butternut squash. Peas are still the biggest failure in the history of babies and we will not be trying those again. :) Breastfeeding is still plugging along although I'm pretty anxious over the changes in our routine possibly leading to a decrease in my supply. I'm having a hard time pumping in my car more than twice in a work day and Lori thinks Truman would eat more than his 4 ounce bottles at daycare. So we are trying 5 ounces now, usually 3 bottles but sometimes 2 and sometimes 4 bottles total, and I'm striving to pump at least 3x/day to match his input. It's hard though, and stressful, and I have to allow us to use a bit of our 300 ounce freezer stash without feeling like a failure. I know it's ridiculous to stress so much over the liquid gold especially when we have a stock-pile but I just can't help it---I am determined to make it to one year without supplementing because I'm just that stubborn about goals I set for myself. If we have to use a bit of our freezer stash to make it, so be it---but let's all pray to the breastfeeding gods to ask for my supply to hang in there for big T-man. Five more months, boobies--you can do it!!









Truman is still a happy little dude 90% of the time and all of the cliches still ring true (as annoying as they sound). He really is the light of my life; he really did change our world; and coming home to him after a long day at work really does melt my heart with happiness. He's happy, healthy, eating well, napping like a champ, and is super fun. But if there is any aspect of life that is a challenge for Truman it's definitely sleeping at night. I don't even have the energy to elaborate on the subject but let's just say he is nowhere near sleeping through the night and is still coming to bed with us after waking up in his crib, nursing in our bed multiple times. I'm feeling the pressure from numerous sources to teach Truman to stay in his crib all night since it will just be harder to accomplish as he ages. But I'm torn about what to do at this point. I keep saying once life settles down I'll try nursing him in the rocking chair and placing him back in his crib but every time I try that it leads to hours of lost sleep for me. Totally not cool and very inconvenient when I have to work the next day. Someday he'll sleep through the night consistently and I'm sure he'll have a new 'issue' to work through at that point. But for now this is our biggie. And really, if that's the worst thing we have to deal with (not sleeping through the night) then we have it pretty good, right?

Onto the eighth month....I can't wait to see what this one brings. Let's hope it's a little less-eventful than the last. :)

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(I really should do a whole post on Keri's wedding but that requires a lot of effort. Here is one shot of the gorge bride, who held Truman's fascination obviously).



(and here are a few more for fun)





(Race for the Cure the morning after the wedding---celebrating our survivor)







(Tilly and Truman...sitting in a tree)