Likes: Cuddling, nursing, sitting up, eating solid food, smiling, mommy, her jumparoo, standing with assist, shrieking, gnawing on everything possible
Dislikes: cumbersome winter coats, attempts at replacing pacifiers in the middle of the night, being consistent with sleep
Biggest Achievement of the Month: improving nighttime sleep
Biggest Challenge of the Month: ahem, sleep. ;)
The Mecca (aka Sleep): I posted a little about our ups and downs this month already, but this was the month that we tried something different because our previous sleep habits were NOT working anymore. And operation 'try ANYTHING' worked for a bit. Cecelia slept up to 9 hours at a time most nights, waking just once or maybe twice to eat. She gets a bottle from daddy at the first wake up and then I usually nurse her anytime after that. Most nights she is up around 3 and again at 5. Sometimes she will sleep past 7 in the mornings but other times she is up at 6 with the rest of us.
We had a little lapse in progress there for a bit around Christmas with the chaos of routine-less days. She was waking up every few hours and then giving us hell returning to sleep. A few nights she was awake for hours at a time and it was obviously pretty rough on our whole house. But the past few nights have been better---getting back to her usual 1-2 wake ups that don't last more than 15 minutes a piece. I HAVE been lazy when she wakes for the second time in a night and instead of nursing her in the rocker and putting her back to the crib, I am just bringing her to bed again. I keep telling myself that after the new year I will be strict again but that little decline in sleep over Christmas really threw me for a loop and I'm freaking tired. ;)
Naps are kind of all over the place and again, over the Christmas craziness she got into a bad habit of being held for all of her naps (ahem, out-of-town grandparents!!). She's getting better already and is falling back into her schedule of naps that last about 1-1.5 hours at 9ish and 12ish. Sometimes if those naps are her annoying 20 minute ones she will need a third nap in the afternoon but that is really hit or miss. There are naps that she sleeps for over 2 hours and there are naps that last 10 minutes---and of course, snapping her eyes open as soon as we lay her in the crib is still a fave. But again, lately she is better about soothing herself back down. Now if I could just get her to nap at the same time as big brother every day!
Temperament/Personality: She's so awesome, you guys. Content, happy, smiley, talkative. She still has a few moments of being overly demanding (usually in the evening hours) but for the most part she is just a doll. I forgot how things just get a lot easier after the 6 month mark. Sleep helps immensely, too.
Eating: Nursing is still chugging along and we are just now starting to have the pop-on-pop-off sessions as she is getting more distracted during the day. If I take her up to the nursery where big brother and loud daddy aren't bombarding her with interesting sounds, she nurses really well. I think she is starting to show preference for my right 'big producer' side and leftie never really feels that full to me anymore, but I can still get decent milk from it when pumping. It's interesting how our nursing relationship is gradually changing but overall, she hasn't changed that much. Still loves the boob and I'm grateful we've made it this far without supplementing.
She's taking 12 oz at Lori's now and still nurses about 3 more times during the day and usually twice at night. So about 7 times in 24 hours, I'd say. Her nursing sessions aren't quite as long as they used to be but she still stays latched on for a good 10 minutes or more, I think. I don't know. Definitely not keeping track of the details anymore.
She's also taking solids twice a day and baby girl can house some purees. We gave her a jar of carrots the other night and she took freaking 4 oz of it like it was nothing. In addition to a lunch of about 2 oz that day, with snacks of puffs and yogurt melts. I can see her becoming really obsessed with feeding herself chunks of food pretty quickly here, which is fine by me. Sliced pears and bananas are easy enough for her to grab and actually ingest a bit, too. Besides the chunky food, 90% of her purees are things I've made her myself. Pretty sure she likes the store bought smooth purees better than my slightly grainy versions but whatever. I've made her squash, sweet potato, pumpkin (okay, from a can but still), apples and pears. She's had store-bought carrots and bananas and loved them both a LOT. I still want to do another post dedicated to her transition to solid foods so I'll stop rambling now, but it's so fun to watch her eat real foods!
The Superficial: She's wearing all 12 month clothing now because of her length. Some of her 9 month onesies sort of fit but all of the new clothes she got for Christmas are 12 months. They look huge on the hanger like there is NO WAY she will fit into them, but sure enough! Fits like a charm. No clue how much she weighs or how tall she is this month but she is a solid baby girl.
Her hair is kind of filling in these days, little baby-hair regrowth hanging out on under her awesome long bangs. Those big blues are still taking my breath away and combined with her carrot top? Stop it.
Teeth: Still only the bottom two but man, I SWEAR two more on the bottom are on the cusp. And the four top teeth appear to be 'right there' too. I'm poking my finger in her mouth daily now, praying to the teeth gods to show some mercy. Let there be a reason for random crappy sleep!
Motor Milestones: This was a huge month for her motor skills! She is now rolling over consistently from back to tummy (left only) and occasionally from tummy to back. She found her feet finally, loves to do the airplane on her stomach with all limbs lifted off the ground, and is even trying to get up on all fours. Her belly is actually clearing the ground a bit and I can't believe how strong she is getting! She'll sit up unsupported while playing with toys but I still feel best putting the Boppy behind her for insurance. Our girl is finally/sorta on the move and it's exciting but also frightening to think about a fully mobile baby. Also, as I mentioned above, she can feed herself puffs and chunky foods pretty well--pincer grasp and also a crazy 'gimme' fist hold are her favorites. ;) She is such a grabby girl, too---will reach for everything in sight these days and I've had a few handfuls of my hair tugged with authority. My nose and lips have also been clawed off my face a few times. The girl loves to explore with her hands and mouth.
Out and About: mostly just lots of Christmas shopping this month. Baby girl loves going into stores in the Ergo carrier---almost always takes a snooze in there if we are out more than 20 minutes. I hope that doesn't end anytime soon. Wish she would fall asleep in her car seat but she totally despises it again.
Firsts: First consistent rolls, first Christmas, first solid foods
Favorite Baby Gear: The Boppy for seated protection, our old high chair for meals, and numerous hand-me-down toys I pulled from the attic for miss teething queen. And I bought her the next size up in pacifiers---I think they are 6-12 month ones now. Still loving Nuk brand and can't get over how big those pacis seem!
Little Sister and Big Brother:
I guess the seven month mark was a big one for Truman, too! He had just conquered his first ear infection, his first airplane ride, we had just started at Lori's house, and he was really getting into solids. So basically, this post made me smile a lot at the similarities and of course the differences between children. Both are just getting into rolling and sitting and GRABBING everything in site. Both are great eaters with solids and nursing is still going well---but this is the point when I start to get nervous about my supply matching up to these growing babes. Both kids are not the best sleepers at this point and I was feeling guilty about keeping T in our bed for part of the night back then. Not as guilty now, since I know it won't last forever, but I do feel like I need to crack down on sleep habits again. Soon. Truman was over 19 pounds at this point and there is no way CC is that huge, but she is every bit as tall as he was and they both boasted 12 month clothes at 7 months of age. Both just have their bottom two teeth and I think CC's are a lot bigger than T's were back then, too. So basically, at 7 months both of my kids are a LOT alike: a little slow with the motor stuff, tall, good eaters, and poor sleepers. And I love the hell out of them for those little quirks;)
Currently Cecelia and Truman are still madly in love. I feel like I type this every month but I'm just blown away by the love they have for each other already. Truman can't get enough kisses from his sister and he's always asking where she is, demanding that I go get her so they can 'play'. I can't wait until next year at this time when both of them are bombing around the house like little tornadoes---maybe I CAN wait for that part, but when it happens it will still be really cute;)
Another month down, baby girl. I am so proud to have you as my daughter. You are my favorite Christmas gift this year, in case you didn't know how wanted you were. I love you, Cease.
