The Peanut is 7 months old today!
Age: 7 months
Weight: 14 pounds
Length: 26.5 inches
Sleep: sleeps in her crib, wakes 1 - 2 times a night; typically takes 2 - 3 naps each day, will soothe herself by sucking her thumb
Eating: breastfed with supplemental formula, 4 - 6 oz of solids a day, has now tried rice cereal, oat cereal, avocado, sweet potato, carrots, peas, and bananas, she will sometime snack on a "mum mum" cracker
Appearance: blue eyes, blond hair (thin, short), wearing 3 - 6 month clothes, 2 bottom teeth!
There have been some major milestones reached during this past month. You may have noticed from the photo above, but Ruby has learned to sit on her own! This is a fairly new skill that she picked up right before we left for Portland, so we had her practice a lot in the hotel. She still isn't 100% stable, but overall, she's sitting pretty!
As you can see, she's very proud of herself.
She now has TWO bottom teeth and we've begun introducing a variety of foods beyond baby cereal. I decided to make her food at home, since it would be easier and cheaper. Basically, I cook the veggie or fruit, puree it, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. Now, I always have portioned out baby food ready to go! I typically mix the veggie or fruit with baby cereal in order for Ruby to get more iron and vitamins. Once a food is deemed safe (no allergic reaction after several eating sessions), I'm free to mix it with other safe foods. But, she doesn't seem to love the mixtures yet. Peas and carrots given individually were fine, but she threw a fit when I combined them.
Eating time is still very messy. I never understood how babies could get so messy while being spoon fed; I mean, is it that hard to put a tiny spoon into a baby's mouth? Actually, yes. Yes, it is. Now that I'm a parent, I know better and I'm constantly amazed at how the food gets EVERYWHERE.
Ruby is still a champion roller. She hasn't crawled...yet. I think that's coming soon. She can easily get herself from one end of the room to another just by rolling, scooting, and maneuvering herself over, especially if there's a particular toy she's wanting. I really have to keep my eye on her with all this moving around the place.
She still loves her feet and will now suck on her thumb as well. She has learned that thumb-sucking is soothing for her, so if she is tired or upset, that thumb goes straight into the mouth.
Ruby also figured out that sucking on her thumb is the same movement needed to swallow food, so she's decided that eating also involves thumb-sucking. Again, this proves to make things very, very messy, especially when she decides to touch her hair afterwards.
One thing that will really get Ruby laughing is when you surprise her. We don't even need a blanket or anything to hide behind. Simply turning my head and then turning back quickly and saying "boo!" or "ah!" will get her giggling up a storm.
Other new things for Ruby:
- She now notices the dogs. She'll look at them and laugh at them, but has yet to reach out to them on purpose. Their interactions are closely monitored.
- She's beginning to show us what her future temper tantrums will look like. When she's really upset or frustrated, she'll arch her back and give a wail. I'm trying to remain cool, calm, and collected, but it's definitely making me worried about what her real tantrums will be like when she's 2 years old.
- She started drinking water from a sippy cup. I bought her a special "beginner" sippy cup that supposedly helps train babies to use regular sippy cups. She kind of gets it, but is still learning that the cup needs to be tilted up in order for the water to come down. I may try getting the kind with a straw and see if that's easier.
