Felicity Marian: 7 Months

Guess who's 7 months? We are on the down hill slope to ONE! Ahhh! I mean, I know we still have 5 months but I'm kind of freaking out over here! It's a cross between enjoying her getting older and wanting to cry because she should only be maybe 4 months old by now. How do you people do this??? Make her stay little! 

It's been a really busy month, in both good and bad ways (but way more good!). Steven said he feels like it was so long that she should already be 7 months lol! So I guess we got one appropriately long month in there! 

Weight: 17lbs. This little girl who started off in the 5th percentile with skinny limbs and a flat stomach has SO MUCH DELICIOUS PUDGE! It takes me by surprise every single day. The fluffy cheeks, creases for wrists, knee pudge, and thunder thighs... I could just eat her up! I love when I look in the mirror in the car and see her sticking her leg straight up. ALL the rolls!

Height: 25.5 inches; she's consistently in the 25th percentile for height so I guess she might be a bit of a shorty. Which is weird because she's in the 50th for weight but I feel like she always outgrows stuff by length first!

Medical issues: She finally kicked last month's diaper rash which turned out to be yeast. Treating her diapers was kind of a nightmare and she spent the month in disposables so I could just be once and done with that process. Of course, she started pooping up to 10 (!!!) times per day so we about went broke in diapers, but that seems to have calmed down. Otherwise Felicity has no medical issues going on; praise the Lord! Happy for our healthy girl!

Sleep: Nights are still kind of rough. But compared to what I hear other parents talk about, not that bad. Just rough for us, I guess. It dawned on me yesterday that either naps are good or nights are good but, so far, never both. So we're in a good naps (meaning she takes them, goes down easy, and I can leave which is a first! They are still on the shorter side but I have no complaints about that) but crappy night phase. She goes down easy for bed (right at 7) and will wake up anywhere from 6:45-8am, usually falling somewhere in the middle. Where she used to wake up once to eat at like 3am, and then get in bed with us at 5am to nurse until wake up, she now (*catches breath*), goes down at 7, wakes up 1-2x before we go to bed at 10:30, wants in bed immediately when we get in, wants to nurse the majority of the night, rarely wants to go back in the cosleeper, may or may not take her middle of the night bottle, and gets up normal time. So basically, it's more work for me because she's attached to me most of the night. I will say there is an upside... when she is nursing on and off all night, I skip my pumps. I'm just not stressing about pumps anymore. So it's good and bad. I don't have to get up twice a night when she does that, but I don't sleep as well either. Every now and then she spoils us by spending at least a few hours in the cosleeper. This is a big sleep month because I'm not done! We're slowly, gently working on transitioning her from napping in our bed to napping in the crib. So far I'm working on nursing her down in bed, then moving her to the cosleeper. Once she can be moved without it being the end of the world, I'll move to the nursery and nurse her in the chair and work on getting her down in the crib. We don't mind her being with us when we're in bed, but she's getting way too mobile to be in bed without us. So it's going to be a slow process, but I think we both need it to be that way! 

Clothes/Diaper Size: Felicity is in 3-6 mo/6 mo clothes and size 2 diapers in disposables- same as last month! However, as soon as she gets back into cloth full time, she will easily be in 9 month clothes, I think. I just went in the other night and packed up some of the 6 month stuff and put the weather appropriate 9 month stuff out. So I guess I should say she's on the brink of 9 month clothes. I thought I had more than I do, so I'm going to buy a few more things at a consignment sale this weekend and she should be good to go. Oh, she IS in size 3 diapers in Seventh Generation, but they run small. All other brands she's still in a 2. 

Likes: her favorite toy this month is a whisk lol, board books, the Vtech sit to stand learning walker, she loves eating but even more loves her straw cup!, outings basically anywhere, attempting to climb things, car rides if she's sleepy, having us sing to her. 

Dislikes: being by herself.... with her definition of "by herself" being not having someone 1-2 feet away; staying at home, being on her stomach, being in the car seat if she's not sleepy. 

Nicknames: We've shortened boo tickle to just Tickle and have used that and Boo most of this month. This poor kid will never have just one nickname! We also call her Wiss-i-tah (trying to spell it phonetically) which I don't know where that came from, and I hate it, but yet I do it daily. Actually I think I do remember.... it fit in a made up song some how and then semi-stuck as a nickname. 

Milestones: She is sitting really well, rarely tipping over. Felicity is on the brink of crawling. Watch out!!! She gets on her hands and knees and rocks. She can move her hands out but hasn't yet coordinated her legs going, too, so she ends up on her belly (which infuriates her). She is also pulling up to her knees. As of this week, Felicity can clap, give hugs (just to me so far *MELT*), and will sometimes say "mmm" while smacking her lips to indicate that she wants food. On 9/19 she started 'dancing' to music spontaneously :). So dang cute! Felicity is eating SO much!!! I thought it would take her a lot longer to get the hang of food, but she started on her 6 month birthday, and has eaten SO much since then! She drinks from her sippy cup multiple times daily (she LOVES water!), and has eaten all kinds of fruits, veggies, and a few grains and meats. Our girl is a good eater! She does really well in restaurants because she gets to try yummy new things. The Ruby Tuesday salad bar was a huge hit with her. And wouldn't you know it? I had to come back to edit. She celebrated her 7 month birthday today by CRAWLING. She only went two steps (?), but she did it!!!

I don't want to forget this: 
Fake coughing! It cracks me up. She fake coughs ALL the time. 
We went on another trip to NY to see fam and friends and she did very well. We drove overnight the way there, and during the day on the way back. Our day driving added 5 hours due to extra stops and traffic, but Felicity only cried probably a combined hour out of the 15 (!) so I still call that a win. We had a lot of fun time outside because the weather was so deliciously mild. When we got back, we still had 4 days to relax as a family. It was wonderful!
9/14 is when she started giving hugs. She will lay her head against me with one arm "around" me and oh my goodness, my heart just wants to explode. Also on the same day, we went to SparkCon with is an art festival downtown. As we walked the street looking at the chalk drawings, I was wearing her in the mei tai and she took my hand and held it as we walked. Neither of us had a phone with us for a picture, but it was kind of sweet to just enjoy the moment. 
On 9/15 we went for a walk in the woods at a local park. I had Steven put her on my back in the ergo for the first time so she could see out better and I could see my feet on the uneven ground. SHE LOVED IT! She giggled off and on the entire time and was in such a good mood. The 3 of us were just walking through the woods giggling. It was one of those moments where all I could think is how blessed I am to have this little family of mine! 
This may sound weird to others but on 9/17 Steven got home about an hour early (technically on time) which gave us enough time to all 3 play on the floor before dinner, eat dinner leisurely, and then go on a family walk and read books before bed time. Most days when he gets home, we rush to the table to eat before Felicity needs to go to bed and that's about it as far as our evening goes with her awake. So to have all that time was just heavenly!