Seven Months

Dear Neil,

You are 7 months old today. At this time, 7 months ago, you were just a few minutes old. I think around this time I got to hold you for the first time. What a sweet precious bundle you were and I was sobbing with joy holding you close to me. Seven months later, you have tripled in size. What is going on with you now?




1. You almost sleep through the night now. Night meaning 10-5. It is okay though. I nurse you at 5am and you sleep in the bed with us till 7 am. When I think though that a routine has been established, you start waking up at 3 am again. Mornings are snuggle time. You gently swipe your hand against my face to wake me up and say ohhhhhh ooooohhh etc. Even though I am no early riser, it is just music to my ears. We then snuggle for a bit before you are ready to play. I put you in the bumbo while I brush teeth, get ready for the day and you just sit and watch and laugh.

2. In the night, I give you a bath, give you a lavendar oil massage, put your jammies, read to you, sing to you while you are nursing and when you are done, put you in bed. Even if you are not asleep, you just go to sleep by yourself in your crib. It seems like we are past the stage of "making you go to sleep." You seem to be creature of routine and I love that.

3. You are at an amazing, interactive age and I love, love being home with you. I take you for storytime at the library, walks, and meeting other moms and kids. You are so happy now to be with me and it is like we are BFF. I know it will change soon and I am glad I am getting to spend this time home with you. Some days are rough, but I know that there is no other place I would rather be. I am so thankful to your dad for letting me do this.

4. One of your favorite tricks is pulling clothes to your face and then pretending that you are choking and then pulling it off and smiling big. You just find ways to entertain yourself if I just leave you alone for a few minutes. Your chuckles are still so cute and it is so easy to elicit them. Except when I take a camera. Then you stop smiling and laughing. You got that from your dad. I smile too much for the camera.

5. You jerk loudly at sudden sounds. Like the pressure cooker or the garage door opening or any door hut loudly. You got that from me. I startle at unexpected sounds too. Nothing startles your dad.

6. We still have a rip roaring time in the kitchen. I sing "Old Mcdonald had a farm" and "What does the dog say?" and "Every Single cell" or just talk to you. You love all foods except rice cereal. You do NOT like that. You have the cutest expression of dislike when I feed you that. But I mix it with banana and you eat it now. When I feed you, I tell you stories. Today was that of the clever crow and Abraham, Sara and Isaac. You listen with your big, brown eyes wide open.

7. One morning you woke up, saw the milk bottle and said mummumm. Next day you did the same thing. I don't know if you recognize the milk bottle as mummmum. That is what I tell you when I feed you, so maybe you are associating it. I am not sure, but both your dad and I were really excited when you did that.

8. Your dad loves you to pieces and shows it by biting you. Your pain tolearnce is so high that it actually concerns me. You DEFINITELY DID NOT get that from me. Many instances when I would have yelped, you act as if nothing happened. You got that from your dad with an added measure thrown in.

9. You sit up now, but I am not very confident to leave you on the floor sitting up without me nearby. Just when I think you are sitting up nicely, you gently slide sideward or sometimes just fall backward and hit your head on the floor. Not that you ever cry for that. It just hurts me to watch that. :)

10. You hate wearing clothes. You are so happy if I leave you nangu or just with a diaper on. You love bath time and smile at your reflection in the mirror. Nowadays you are so squirmy diaper duty has become quite challenging. You flip back and forth with lightning speed and it is dangerous to leave you in the bed for a quick trip to the bathroom.

11. You put EVERYTHING into your mouth. This has been going on for 2 months now. I was thinking it was teething. I don't see any teeth yet, but the beeline to the mouth is still there.

12. I had to take you to the doctor for a rash and while you were there on the table, you flipped, tore up the paper on the table, tried to eat it and I actually got a small piece of paper from your mouth. I have to wrestle with you now, you are so strong. You are in the 60th percentile for weight, my pudgy little baby. You love to eat and eat well. I am super glad you are non fussy in that regard. You eat like the little man you are!

You have captured our heart and some nights when you are fast asleep, we stand over the crib and marvel at you. You truly are our sunshine and you bring so much love into our lives. When I go out even for a few hours without you, I think of you. Just thinking of you brings a smile into my face.

Love,
Mamma