7 Months

 I swear I hit the baby lottery. We had our rough patch with the sleeping bit, but really, I know it wasn't that rough. I know that there are babies out there that sleep much less than B ever did. And now that she's sleeping??? This girl is so mellow. So easy going. So...dare I say it...EASY! I feel like I've had two easy babes in a row and I don't even want to think about what a third would be like. We're due for a wild ride, huh? 

Aside from that, B has been up to a lot in the past month. She's sitting up by herself so well now and has even graduated to sitting in shopping carts! This mama is LOVING it! Random shopping trips are so much easier now. 

Hey, mama! I have a secret...

I blew out my diaper in the shopping cart!!

Just in the past few days, she started making progress with crawling. I call this the Millimeter Worm (Instead of the Inch Worm, get it?) Ok, enough bad jokes for one post.
 

We haven't made much movement in her clothes. Mainly because I don't really have any footy jams for her in 9 month, it's still not warm enough to go without, and she pulls her socks off in the middle of the night.

She has now experienced the taste of avocado, lima beans, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, zucchini, banana, and I got her these organic puffs that are kale, broccoli, and cheddar and she goes to town on those.

 
 Her overall feeling about the taste of food is not very enthusiastic. Her first taste of everything elicits a response like this..

  

I mixed some avocado and banana the other night and after giving me the face, she was whining for more. And more. And more. Guess she liked that!
After moving to solids, I noticed that she was having more trouble pooping for a while, so I also introduced her to a sippy cup with water. While a good portion of the water ends up on her clothes, she thoroughly enjoys it and does a great job handling the cup on her own.
 

She has also managed to perfect her timing with sneezing while she's eating. Mama looooves getting sprayed with food! Grrrr!

You know what else mama loves? Cleaning up puke at 1 in the morning. I am actually surprised this hadn't happened sooner. Like, with J. However, I can honestly say that this being my first experience with a baby throwing up in their crib, it wasn't too horrible. The smell was the worst part. Sorry for the TMI. Other than that, I could tell she was feeling fine (must have been a fluke??) and I enjoyed getting to comfort her, bathe her, and enjoy that sweet little face in the middle of the night with no other distractions, but knowing we both needed to get back to bed.

Hey, mama, these middle of the night parties are a blast!

Another first came this past month and B came down with a virus called Roseola. The nanny had texted me while I was on my way home from work the Thursday before Easter and said she had a fever of 100.2. When I got home, she was very warm and I could tell she didn't feel well. I got a cold rag to put on her forehead and got comfy on the couch with her and let her nurse herself to sleep. She took about an hour nap and seemed a bit better, but was still warm. We went about our night as usual and she slept just fine. Luckily, I had Good Friday off, and she woke up acting completely normal, but as the morning went on, I could tell she was still droopy eyed and not her normal self. The fever was gone, but she he had periods of agitation, where you could tell something was really bugging her, and then she would go back to normal. Saturday was spent in La Jolla watching my cousin Georgie play soccer and as the day went on, B was getting more and more irritable. My mom pointed out some red splotches on the back of her neck and I thought nothing of it. I've seen that before after she's been in her carseat or laying down. A bit later, it seemed as if it was spread across her forehead, into her scalp, and a little below her eyes. I finally decided not to worry myself any longer and we packed up and decided to head to the doctor. I called on our way and they had just closed for the day, so I left a message for the on call nurse to call me back. When she had heard B's symptoms, there was no hesitation at all and she said it sounded like Roseola. There is nothing that can be or needs to be done. The rash just has to run its course. She welcomed me to come in the next morning, but she assured me that it really wasn't necessary unless B was having trouble breathing or if her temp spiked again. So, we rode it out and when she woke up Sunday, she was still not 100%, but was close to it. By Monday, the rash was completely gone and I had my happy baby back!

Oh and Mother of the Year Award....that goes to me. Not because I took great care of my sick babe, but because we sat out in overcast weather without sunscreen or hats and SHOCKER, both girls got sun burnt. J's wasn't so bad, just some pink cheeks, but when B woke up Sunday morning, the edge of her scalp was all bubbled up and oozing. Ughhh, I still feel horrible about it. 

Her poor head a few days in. A lot of healing had already taken place.

After she had fully recovered from being sick, I got her back sleeping through the night (had a few nights of feedings around midnight) and she's sleeping from about 7 pm to 7 or 8 am. She will still wake on occasion, but she puts herself back to sleep.  For naps we seem to be getting one long-ish nap - and by long-ish, I'm talking an hour - and one or two 30 to 45 minute naps. 

In the past month she has started using me as a teether while she's nursing and it drives me nuts! She will nurse, nurse, nurse and then decide it's play time and chew, chew, chew! Mama don't play that!

Speaking of nursing...aside from the pure excitement and joy that she shows me when I get home from work, she also wants to nurse right away. Not a full meal, but she gets a little snack in and then she's golden.

When J was about this age, we used to sing the ABC's to her to calm her down. With B, she likes BINGO. She will go from crying and upset to wide eyed and smiley the second she hears me start singing it.

These hotel beds are amazeballs, mom!

Sun bathing beauty

You stay away from my milk stash, ya hear?

Lovin' the new wheels, mom!

I'm too sexy for my clothes. Too sexy for my clothes...