My Little Lainie Month 7

This has been a big month at our house with regards to Lainie.  It seems like she's made the leap to a mobile baby and is constantly exploring now.  She is still one of the happiest baby's I've ever seen and we are so thankful for her. 

Month 7

Eating:
This has been a big change.  Earlier this month, Joel had to go on a work trip, so the girls and I went and stayed with Papa and Gigi for the week.  Lainie went into eating bootcamp.  By the end of the week, she was eating like a champ off a spoon and not gagging at all.  It was night and day difference from the beginning of the week.  I started out making her food, but we've realized this time around the time and money it takes to make all organic baby food is more than paying for it.  I've had good luck buying other peoples leftover babyfood (unopened and still well within the expiration date) for about 1/3 of the price it is in the store.  She really loves Kiwi/banana mix and doesn't like green beans and rice.  I skipped the stage 1 food and went to stage 2.  By the end of the month, she was eating solids three times a day lining up with our mealtimes.

She is still nursing about every three hours during the day and once at night.  She really wants to see whats going on constantly, so she gets distracted any time there is a noise.  There have been a few days where I've tried to go to a 4 hour schedule, I think its time for that.

Size:
Still big!  I weighed her on our home scale and she's right at 18 pounds!  She's wearing 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.  She's hit a major growth spurt over this month and we've had to put the baby toys at the next level up (the exersaucer and jumperoo).

Nighttime Sleep:
The first part of this month was a continuation of the last part of month 6.  It was really really really tough.  She was getting up every 45 minutes to 2 hours and eating constantly.  It was the growth spurt that never ended and turned into a habit!  I was worried something was wrong bc it was so out of character and after we had our well baby check, the doctor gave us the all clear and told me we needed to started letting her settle herself back down.  I don't have any problem doing this, but it is much harder to do when a baby is in your room and you hear every move they make.  Thankfully, when we went to Gigi and Papas, they gave me their room (THANK YOU!) so Lainie could sleep in their closet.  That was about all it took. Having her own space (and not hearing me constantly rolling), she immediately went back to waking up once a night anytime between 2-5am. Lainie needs her own space.  period.  Thankfully, after we came home, those sleep patterns continued.    She also wakes up happy and is so cute.

Daytime Sleep:
She's still a great napper at home.  She takes 2-3 naps a day and it depends on what we're doing. She sleeps great in her crib, not so great in the carseat unless she's really tired bc she wants to see what Ruthie's doing constantly, not so great in the stroller for the same reasons as the carseat.  I'm really thankful she'll sleep best in her crib.  She's now put down awake in the crib and it is so nice that she can settle herself down and sleep!

Mobility:
She is up on her knees rocking for all she's worth.  She is minutes from crawling and really now is getting close to being able to go from laying down to a sitting position.  She can sit by herself, reach for anything, jump her head off, and can roll across the room.

Eyes:
Just like her Daddy, bright and blue. 

Paci:
In the crib and carseat.

Swaddled:
No longer!  This was probably the best Mother's Day gift I got.  On mother's day morning, Joel got both girls up and took over while I mowed, weed-eated and cleaned the car (when did that become a fun activity? It sure is now!!).  Anyways, he put Lainie down swaddled for her morning nap, she busted out and instead of re-swaddling her, he let her go (which I don't think I could've done had I been in the house).  He did that for her naps that day, and that was all it took.  Three naps, and she was no longer swaddled and had no problems being put down.  What a gift! and a relief.

Nickname:
Naynay

Hair:
I think she has about as much hair as Ruthie did at 1 year old.   Her bald spot is all but done and she has soft dark fuzz all over.  Its still longer on the top back and shorter in the front. 

Loves:
Still the jumperoo.  Its awesome.
Ruthie, lights up when she comes down the stairs.

Toys.  She plays so much.

Making noise, squealing, talking.

A bottle of water, loves it.
The beach.  Our neighbors gave us a pop up tot tent and we love it.  Lainie has napped in it while Ruthie plays at the beach.  Its great.  She's also starting to love splashing in the water, which we love of course.

Bathtime.  We've almost stopped using the baby bathtub and just let her play in the tub with Ruthie.  Its going to be really nice to not have that out in the bathroom!

Other:

I can't think of much else.  She is growing like a weed, so happy and a joy.  I love this stage and have a feeling this month will bring crawling into the game!