7 Months Old!

My excuse for taking so long to get another post up is "technical difficulties." Our wireless router is retarded and we couldn't use the internet for a couple of weeks. Just so everyone knows - Cricket freaking sucks. I'm so ready to switch carriers so we can have a reliable internet connection. Anyway, it's working now, so I'm finally getting around to another post. Mark has also been sick with pneumonia the last few weeks and it's really taken a lot out of him. It just started off with a URI (upper respiratory infection) and traveled into his lungs. He's prone to getting pneumonia since his lungs are trashed and have lots of scar tissue from previous infections (his first time was when he was a little baby), but this one has been pretty bad. He's been through 2 rounds of antibiotics and he still gets winded walking up the stairs so I don't know what's up. Hopefully we can get it figured out soon.

First, let me just say THANK YOU for the support I got from everyone after my last post. It really did make me feel a ton better to read the comments and talk to everyone. I have some great friends and lots of support, so here's a big general thanks to everyone, it really did mean a lot! :)

Eating is tough work...

Since we're on the topic, the sleeping issue is getting better. Mira still has some nights when she is up a lot (like last night, or any night when I have to be at work during the day) but it's not nearly like it used to be. She usually goes to sleep somewhere between 10 PM or midnight (I know that's late but that's on purpose since I work night shifts), sometimes she wakes up at 2 or 3 AM to eat, then again around 7 or 8 AM, and then is ready to get up with me at about 11 AM or even noon sometimes. Works great with my sleep schedule so I hope it sticks. No child of mine will learn that getting up before 9 AM is acceptable! :) I go into her room to feed her when she wakes up in the middle of the night since she'll usually nurse for about 15 minutes and then she's asleep again so she stays asleep in the crib. When she wakes up at 7 or 8 in the morning I'll bring her into bed with me so we can both sleep longer. At least it's a routine that I'm okay with. It's so much better than when we first had her sleep in her crib! It would literally take an hour to get her to stay asleep in the crib. You'd have to rock her to sleep, make sure she was in a good deep sleep, carefully put her in the crib, she would wake up and cry, so you'd pick her up and rock her for 10 or 15 minutes until she got in a good deep sleep, carefully put her in the crib, she'd wake up and cry... repeat... repeat... It was rough. I have this lavender and chamomile scented pillow mist that I sometimes use to help me fall asleep and I've tried it with her a few times on her sheets... doesn't seem to hurt anyway!

This is what happens when you leave blankets within grabbing distance

 I just can't believe Mira is 7 months old already! The time is just flying past. And she seems to learn something new every day. She hit some big milestones again since the last post. She can now sit up by herself - yay, what a big girl! She figured it out overnight it seems. I would set her down in the playpen and she'd sit for a few minutes and topple over, but one day she kept sitting, and sitting, and sitting, and just sat there playing with her toys like she was a pro at it. Since then it seems like she's been happier playing on her own longer (meaning not attached to my hip constantly), but she's still definitely a mommy's girl and needs LOTS of attention from me. Poor Mark feels so left out that when Mira's tired or upset she isn't happy until I hold her. It is kind of nice to know that you're that wanted, and there's nothing like walking into the room and your baby smiles and laughs and flaps her arms up and down because she's so happy to see you. But it would be nice to have a break once in awhile. I try to remind myself that when she's 16 she'll hate my guts and will try to avoid me at all costs so I should enjoy this while it lasts.

She has very good posture.

The other thing she figured out how to do was crawling. It's more like a lurch than a crawl right now but she is definitely mobile. That happened really fast too. One day she figured out how to push up on her hands and knees, the next couple days she was rocking back and forth and would either scoot backwards and get pissed off or rock forward so hard she'd face plant. Then the next day she was traveling forward! It's exciting but I was hoping it would be awhile before she figured this one out. Now we definitely have to baby proof. :( She is very determined and it's fun to watch the wheels turning in her head as she attempts different ways of getting from Point A to Point B. Yesterday she tried lifting her hand up off the ground and putting it in front of her to pull her forward, which is how crawling works best, but she only did it with her right hand so it didn't get her very far. She also does the yoga pose Downward Dog, which is really cute but as she's figuring out, doesn't get her very far.

 Here's a video of her "lurching" around. Notice what object she goes for. :)

 

I keep thinking she's getting ready to cut another tooth because she's been cranky the last couple of days and particularly drooly but nothing yet. We must be ready for one soon because it's been 2 months since the last one came in. I'm hoping for some new teeth soon so we can start trying those teething crackers. I guess she can try gumming those but I'd feel better if she had some more teeth first.

Of course she's still such a happy baby! When we go grocery shopping she, for some reason, always starts laughing and giggling as we wander through the store. I'm not sure why shopping is so funny but it sure is cute. I still get asked all the time if she's always this good, and of course the answer is always that she is. I really lucked out with this one. She also likes blowing raspberries and loves it when you sing interactive songs with her. Her new favorite is "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and still likes Patty Cake. She still loves to have help to stand up and she just looks so proud of herself! I can't imagine what it'll be like when she can stand by herself.

Here's some more bath time fun.