7 Months

Eating: Really well right now! He drinks 4 8-oz. bottles a day. Sometimes he won't quite finish it the first time and I'll save it in the fridge and set a timer for 30 minutes. When it goes off, I offer him the rest of the bottle. He usually finishes it then, but, if not, I throw the rest away. He hardly ever spits up now, maybe a few times a week. I don't burp him anymore except for the bedtime feeding since he works it out himself as he plays. Feedings are also very fast now, maybe 10 minutes tops. He just sucks it down! All in all, much easier and more convenient for us than it has been before. He is still getting one or two feedings of solids per day, 2-3 Tbs. of oatmeal or rice mixed with a fruit or vege. He's tried all of the plain fruits and veges by now. We get the 3.5 oz. containers of baby food and split them up over two days.

Sleep: At the risk of jinxing it, I can say that it's all good. He sleeps through the night and we now close our bedroom door and don't listen for him. If he screams loudly we'll wake up, but if he just fusses he'll get himself back to sleep. I no longer worry about him feeling lonely or abandoned. He naps well, too. It still takes him awhile to fall asleep, but we no longer have to go in there constantly to soothe him. We may have to go in once or twice, but he gets himself from wide away to sound asleep most times. Best of all, once he's asleep, he stays asleep despite noises. During his early months, I made sure that there were noises while he slept, and normal-volume talking, and it's paid off big-time. As for getting him to sleep, all I usually do is rock him to drowsy the first time, rub his back if his eyes are closed, and walk out of the room. In fact, if he sits up, I hurry out. I want him to know that he won't get any attention from me if he is playing in his crib. The only way I'll be in the room or soothe him is if he's laying down or sobbing, in which case I'll rock him until he stops crying and is drowsy. He still takes 2 naps, and both naps together are usually about 3.5 hours. He still needs a nap after being awake for about 2-3 hours. He is still getting cranky and ready for bed around 6:30, although he doesn't actually fall asleep until closer to 8:30 on a good night. He fights sleep like a champ and just wants to keep playing.

Play: Our little guy is quite the explorer! He is all boy, although I'm sure little girls this age are generally the same way, I don't know. Once he's had has nap, diaper change, and bottle, he isn't happy until he can crawl around. He'll just fuss and fuss until I let him go. I strip him down to his diaper so I don't have to worry about getting the dog hair off of his clothes, and he can get maximum traction on the carpet. Although there are tons of colorful toys around, he inevitably makes a beeline for those things that we don't want him in. He climbs everything, and he keeps trying to dive off of furniture headfirst. We can't keep anything but baby toys on top of the coffee table. He loves banging the child-safe cabinets (they only open an inch or two) and using his whole body to push the kid magnets off of the fridge. He loves pulling over the kitchen-sized trash can next to our desk (just paper waste). When I'm holding him, he grabs my hair with his aptly-named "death grip". It hurts so bad and I'm trying to train him to stop doing that (to no avail, as you can imagine). I fall sound asleep each night now with aching legs from running after him and aching arms from grabbing him and carrying him away from danger and destruction.

At the risk of sounding corny, though, my heart is so full. I love this stage! He is so fun. I'll take this over the newborn stage any day. His grin, which I see frequently all day, makes the work all worth it. He is such a happy kid:-) Plus, since he's eating, sleeping, and playing well, I get more time to think and get stuff done. I rarely have to carry him around like I did the first 5+ months. Before, when moms told me that I'd miss this, I thought that either they were crazy or that I was a defective woman. Now, though, I totally get it. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time to right now with my little guy.