I think I need to begin by saying that I am NOT pregnant and do not intend on becoming that way BUT I have been doing a lot of thinking about the way that things have transpired over the last few years and the feelings associated with having babies and growing babies into children.
I have basically had a baby since the day Nora was born. Even though Nora was (almost) 16 months old when Janie was born, I knew that I had another baby coming and so the sadness that most moms get as their kids age into toddlerhood didn't hit me nearly as hard the first time around. But now, not knowing if or when I will have another baby, I find myself feeling very upset about Janie getting older and older, closer to being a toddler and farther from being a baby, and I desperately want to hold on to that baby forever.
Don't get me wrong - having a newborn baby is hard. I do not wish for more sleepless nights and crying and the feeling of knowing that only mommy can do the trick with her magic milk-making skills. But I am having a really hard time imagining the end of having babies. I wish I could have one forever but I don't want to sound like a crazy person... Do I sound like a crazy person?
{sigh}
But this is a celebration post! Janie is seven months old! And I know I am biased, but she is amazing!
My sweet Janie, seven months old!!!
I think she has finally reached a point in her physical development where I don't have to worry about her spitting up all the time. She still does, but it is definitely less often and in smaller quantities than the past.
Since her half birthday...
Takes four 7-ounce bottles each day Janie is still on a consistent four hour schedule each day. She takes 6-8 ounces of formula. I usually take her cues at this point in time but I will admit that whenever I start blogging about her progress I start thinking... "what is she supposed to be doing right now?" She is happy and healthy and so we will carry on until something needs to be adjusted. We've also started giving her a sippy cup with water in it that she mostly plays with but enjoys having.
My big girl cup!
Eats pureed veggies for dinner We have ventured into the fruit food group throughout the month. I was a little slow about getting her started on solid foods (see baby rant above) and haven't pushed a whole lot of variety onto her, but she has tried 6 different foods. She definitely enjoys her veggies, though she has only tried parsnips, sweet potatoes, and carrots. She tried apples & pears and thinks they are fine, but bananas she spit out like they were poison. I'll try them again, hopefully with better luck. She definitely is sensitive to both temperature and texture of foods. One time, I tried to give her a puff and she literally threw up on me afterwards. I guess her gag reflex is pretty strong... We consistently eat dinner still, are hit or miss on lunch, and really hit or miss on breakfast. I'm not sure how daycare will handle the feeding process since we didn't go through pureed foods there with Nora but we will see in a few weeks!
Trying fruit for the first time!
I think she liked it!
Sleeps about 12 hours each night Considering that Janie currently has a tummy virus (probably from a few days at daycare) that is seriously increasing her number of dirty diapers every day, she is sleeping very well at night. I am sincerely grateful to have had TWO babies that are good sleepers!
Uses a sleep sack We dropped the sleep sack and just started making sure she is in footie pajamas every night. I think in the winter, when it is a bit cooler, we will use one again but being that it is summer time, we decided it was one more thing to wash and not necessary. She's been sleeping just fine without it for weeks now.
Thinking. And drooling.
Takes three 1-1 1/2 hour naps a day I can tell that Janie is beginning to cut out her last nap of the day. Typically, she will nap twice for 1 1/2 hours, give or take each and then take one little 45 minute-1 hour nap in the afternoon. We will wake her up by 6:00 if she hasn't waken up on her own yet so that she can make it to bed by a decent time. Sometimes I think she is ready for just two naps, but she can't seem to quite make it on longer stretches of time throughout the day so we will continue with our 2 1/2 nap schedule until further notice.
Is helmet free! We are so happy to tote around a baby free of her helmet! Yay for sweet kissable baby heads.
Happy all the time!
Uses a pacifier for soothing Janie has really taken to the use of her thumb so we have put up the pacifiers. She does not seem to miss them. She does use her thumb to self-soothe before falling asleep and when she is upset or getting close to bottle time but sometimes, she does not. We will see if we end up having to break her of a thumb-sucking habit later!
Pushes up when on tummy Janie has become very good at getting herself around the house. The other day I left her in the playroom (our former dining room adjacent to the kitchen) and went to the restroom. I came back to find her playing with the magnets on the refrigerator in the kitchen. She isn't necessarily crawling but she is definitely scooting about, using mostly arm strength to pull herself around. Sometimes, she gets up on all fours with her knees bent and sometimes she gets up on all fours with her legs straight, but she has not made any attempts to move her legs and arms to crawl (or bear crawl) quite yet. Our physical therapist suggested that we work on helping her move from crawling or tummy to sitting, just as it was the "next" developmental milestone, and she does try to do this on her own but cannot quite yet get to a sitting position.
Janie rocking & launching herself, much to Nora's enjoyment!
Nora "teaching" Janie how to crawl...
Sits assisted She sits very well on her own these days. She also moves to her tummy on her own when she wants to. Janie really enjoys playing both on her tummy and while sitting, you just never know which one it will be at the time.
I sit by myself!
Loves to play!
Puts everything in her mouth Janie is still in her "I want to put everything in my mouth" phase. I now have to be very careful with what is left out (Nora...) because she is moving around so well. And Janie always seems to go for the things you DON'T want her to have in her mouth, like the small toys, crayons, and dog rope. Interesting how that happens...
Called daddy on FaceTime.
Look up at Janie, who's been quietly playing in the playroom.
See this. (It's a plush petit four.)
Appears to be teething, yet no teeth to be seen Janie still has zero teeth! I am a little surprised, but am secretly thankful that my baby still has a sweet, gummy smile.
Likes to play peek-a-boo Janie does love a little game of peek-a-boo but she loves being tickled, talked to, and crawling more. She is still getting upset when you leave her in a room (nap time!) but she seems to adjust alright after, so we will keep playing peek-a-boo, per doctor suggestion!
Loves her big sister It is super sweet how Janie looks and smiles at her big sister. She adores her even though I don't think she knows why. I guess when Nora was around this age, she was beginning to enjoy playing with other babies and Janie must just know that Nora is another littler person, good at smiling and right at her level.
Wears size 3 diapers Janie is in size 3 diapers still! I am happy that she doesn't seem to need a new size quite yet!
Wears 3-6 & 9 month clothing I officially put up the 6 month clothing as everything with a waistband or feet was getting too snug. I also got out all of the 6-12 month clothing that I have been avoiding and am sad to report that it fits her. Or at least the items that I've put on her. There is a cute outfit with an apple on it that I had Nora wear her first day of school at Primrose last year. I guess I should put Janie in it this year! I can't believe that we've come full circle. Although they are 16 months apart, they are less than that now in clothing sizes! I mean, it's good for the bank account but it's not for mom's emotions.
So, all in all, things are great with Janie. We are looking forward to another physical therapy appointment in the next couple of weeks that will hopefully be her last. She will then quite possibly be completely finished with all things related to her head shape and we will have just distant memories of our baby with a misshapen head.
Again, I am happy to see Janie make progress and begin to learn new things, but I am saddened that every day that goes by is one less of her "babyhood" that I will miss so much!! Her seven month snapshot...
Takes four 7-ounce bottles each day
Eats pureed veggies & fruits
Drinks water from a sippy cup (kind of)
Sleeps about 12 hours each night
Takes three ~1 1/2 hour naps a day
Sucks her thumb to self-soothe
Pulls herself around using arms
Sits alone
Moves toys from hand to hand
Drops toys on purpose
No teeth yet!
Talks, but no babbling yet
Plays with her mouth & lips
Wears size 3 diapers
Wears 6-12 month clothing
Janie playing with her lips & tongue.
We couldn't have a photo shoot without Nora wanting to participate.
