7 Months!

Wow, 7 months. I'm always amazed at how quickly the previous month has gone by. This month is no exception. Jack learned so many new things and changed so much between 5 and 6 months, but I guess you could say this month has been more relaxed. He seems to be making strides in his fine motor skills, but when it comes to gross motor skills, he's a bit lazy. I'm ok with this because it means no crawling, standing, or walking just yet. I'm looking forward to all these milestones and he'll reach them in his own time, but I'm not in any rush.

I have hit a milestone this month, one that I wasn't sure I would be able to make- I have made it another month of successfully breastfeeding/pumping! It's truly amazing, considering that at the end of June, I had used up everything that was stored in my freezer and literally had nothing left. I really just wanted to make it to 4th of July because I had a 3 day weekend and knew I would be able to build my stash back up a little. Well I made it and I went from having 0 ounces to now having about 22. Awesome! I'm really proud of this. I added a nightly pumping session which has really saved me. The problem is that it keeps me up later than I need to be and I'm exhausted. Occasionally I'll skip this nightly pumping on the weekend when I don't need it, so that I can go to bed early. I'm not sure I can keep this up another 5 months, but I'm just taking it one day at a time for now.

Ok, back to the Jack man!

At 7 months, Jack:

*is over 28 inches long
*is about 22 pounds
*is wearing size 12 months clothing
*is wearing size 4 diapers (just this week, although I think it was a bit premature because they're slightly big!)
*has 2 bottom teeth
*rolls all over the place
*sits unsupported
*grabs everything and moves things from one hand to the other
*is working on his pincer grasp- we're going to try some finger food very soon!
*plays with his toys instead of just eating them and he loves to play.
*laughs a lot, sometimes to himself. It is so funny and cute!
*tries to talk- he makes all sorts of sounds, even combining syllables.

I changed Jack's eating schedule at daycare. He was getting 3 5-ounce bottles (at 10, 1, and 4), but on the weekends he was only nursing twice a day (about 11:30 and 3:30). I decided to try sending him with just 2 bottles, each with 7 1/2 ounces so he's still getting the same amount of milk. It's going great! He even came home today with an ounce that he didn't want. Sadly it went down the drain. He is still waking up once at night, about 4:30am and I nurse him and he goes right back to sleep. He goes to bed about 7:30pm and we're usually up at 6:30am.

Jack is eating 3 "meals" a day of solids. He gets 2 ice cube portions for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes he acts like he wants more, but I don't want to give him too much too soon. He eats a combination of fruits and veggies, but I plan on giving him meat sometime this month. I'm going to make him "baby's first chili". I will definitely post the recipe!

Jack is not showing any signs of crawling just yet, but I have a feeling he's not going to give me much warning. Just to be safe, we now have a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. It takes some getting used to and we don't need it yet, but it's nice to not have to worry about it.

And now for the pictures! This was the hardest month yet and I anticipate next month being even worse, but we managed to get a few good ones.

He's too quick

I was hoping the ring would distract him, but he just wanted the darn blocks

notice the block in his hand- it kept him occupied just long enough to take the picture!

Jack, you are super funny and adorable and you never cease to amaze me. The love I feel for you also never ceases to amaze me. You light up my life and even when I'm exhausted and you are fighting sleep, you look up at me and smile and I can't help but smile back. Sometimes you fall asleep in my arms and you look so sweet, I can't help but give you a kiss. It makes you laugh in your sleep and I love it! I love you so much! Happy 7 months sweet baby.