7 Months

Where to begin? I can't believe Reed is closer to 1 year than to being a newborn! A few weeks ago I was thinking that while he had mastered a few things, we hadn't had any really big "milestones" this month. Boy did that change! The last two weeks have been filled with firsts for our little man. It is so crazy to wake-up to a baby that has literally developed a new skill overnight.

We have had a lot of ups and downs in the sleep department this month. Reed has gotten so much better at napping. He's down to two naps a day most days, but they are usually around an hour and half in length and we have had a couple two hour plus naps, which are marvelous. It seems when he sleeps longer during the day he also sleeps better at night. It is kind of counterintuitive but I think it is because if something is bothering him during the day it is also bothering him at night. This month the two big culprits have been teething and constipation. Five nights ago he woke just once at 3:15 am, the next night, just once at 4:30 am, the next night he slept through the night, and then the last two nights I was up and down with him all night. The thing is, he is a great sleeper and is pretty good at putting himself to sleep and back to sleep when he wakes up most of the time, but if something is bothering him he screams and cries and will absoultely not calm down (we've tried letting him cry-it-out for up to 15 minutes) unless he has Mom to cuddle with.

Now that we have so many "monthly pics" I'm going to stop posting all of them each month. Instead I will just post his newborn shot and the picture from six months prior which will have been taken in the same location as the current month. And you can of course go over to our "Monthly Reed" page to see all of them, anytime you would like.

Newborn

1 Month

7 Months

One big development this month was Reed's ability to hold himself up in a sitting position. This has opened up a whole new world of fun things to do. I mentioned using a restaurant high chair in a prior post, but this week we've added picnicking and riding in a shopping cart to our list of regular activities.

Picnic lunch with Auntie "M" and Auntie Amanda

Picnic with Mom and Dad in the front yard

Just chillin' like a big boy in the shopping cart

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 19 lbs 7 oz

Length: Sorry they didn't measure him at the Doctor's office today and I don't have the energy to wrestle with the little guy tonight.

Head Circumference: 16.75 cm

Clothing Size: He is wearing a lot of 9 month and 6-12 month clothes during the day. His pajamas are all 9 or 12 months.

Can't live without: Baby Bjorn, BOB stroller, Baby DeeDee Sleeping Bag, Soft Sheep, Graco High Chair, Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder,  ZoLi Bot Sippy Cup, Fisher Price Baby's First Blocks, any of his touch-and-feel board books.

Nicknames: Reedster, Reedcito, Buddy Bear, Honey Bear, or just "Bear" in general, Monkey, Wiggle Worm.

Where/How Reed is sleeping: I always lay him down on his back but he almost immediately rolls to his left side or onto his stomach.

Eye Color: Hazel with a thin ring of blue on the outside

Favorite Moment: It was so hard to pick just one moment this month, there really have been so many great things we've shared with the little guy during this seventh month. I let Jon have the final say and I completely agree with his reasoning that while there have been a lot of firsts the coolest thing has been watching him develop his eating skills. He has gone from hardly being able to pick up food and getting very little into his actual mouth to being able to feed himself peas with a developing pincher grasp and use a "pre-loaded" spoon to feed himself pear and apple sauces.

Milestones:
03/29/12   Stands from Mom's lap using the ottoman to pull-up to standing
04/05/12   First Solid Poop - we are still in an ongoing constipation battle
04/09/12   First time in a restaurant high chair
04/09/12   First bath in a real bathtub
04/10/12   First time spending two nights away from home
04/10/12   Tries juice for the first time (in an attempt to help with our constipation problem)
04/13/12   We order a back-up Soft Sheep after declaring him Reed's official "Lovey"
04/14/12   Reed's first time spending the night away from Mom
04/17/12   Reed starts to babble
04/20/12   Reed learns how to "click" his tongue
04/20/12   Reed truly sleeps through the night for the first time (7:45 pm - 6:15 am)
04/21/12   We swear we hear Reed say "DaDa" several times
04/21/12   First ride in a shopping cart

Embarrassing Picture: Technically it is a unisex sleep sack but we do quite regularly refer to it as Reed's sleep dress.