Emma Update: 7 Months

Can you believe Miss Emma is 7 months old already?  Neither can I!  She is developing quickly, learning something new every day.  She is now fully in 12 month clothing, which I had to sadly recall from my niece Rose who was borrowing the bulk of it.  I just bought a pair of 6 month jeans that I think we wore twice.  Oh well!  She’s long, which is expected of our children, and when you add in the bulk of cloth diapers she fills it out.  We skipped the 9 month phase almost entirely, though I am trying to get some mileage out of some cute rompers (but that won’t last the week I am sure).


She is getting the hang of eating with a spoon.  We now strive for two solid food meals per day, although she is still not a fan of cereal.  She has eaten now (and likes) green beans, asparagus, avocado, butternut squash, carrots, pears, peaches, apples, plums, and bananas.  She did not like broccoli however, surprise surprise.  She has discovered feeding herself and loves when I give her Gerber Puffs (they melt easier than Cheerios) or Mum Mum Biscuits (also very water soluble).   I am trying to cycle through our straight flavors first (I still have sweet potatoes and mango in the freezer) before I start mixing up the flavors (first up: blueberries and spinach, then cheesy tomato cauliflower).  Once a Month Mom does freezer cooking baby food and she is excellent at creating flavors and menus that are a step-up from basic.  I intend to create more of her recipes as time permits.   



She is very smiley and cheerful, hardly ever becoming irritated or cranky (save for the normal tired or hungry cries).  Her good-naturedness shines through each and every day, and she is a true joy to have in our family.



She loves to interact with her sisters, they with her.  One of her favorite past times is trying to steal Piper’s binky out of her mouth or grabbing anything else she can get her hands on.



Speaking of grabby, her coordination becomes better each day.  Sometimes to my chagrin, like when I leave the food bowl too close on the high chair.  But it does come in handy when she is scooting about on the floor; she can pretty much get anything she goes after nowadays.

Scooting and lunging around the house, she is this close to crawling.  She easily gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth, not yet sure how to get her hands to move.  Elliott and I both know once she figures that out, she will be off!  I have started shutting the baby gate at the top of the steps, because even though crawling is not her mode of transportation, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get around.  She is crazy good at getting where she wants to go, regardless of her limitations.



She now has three (and half) teeth, all of which popped out almost at the same time (tooth one and two appeared on the same day, tooth three followed a week later and the fourth is almost through).  And she hasn’t been cranky at all!  Elliott and I were really surprised to discover the first two teeth as no indication signs were there (besides drooling, but she’s been doing that since two months old, so we don’t even think anything of it.)  She remained her usual happy self, and only recently has become a little more clingy, wanting to sit on my lap rather than play on the floor.  But if that’s the worst of her behavior – I will take it.
She loves to play and is perfectly happy whether on the floor, in her Excersaucer, or her Jumperoo.  I can usually get about 45 minutes out of an activity, which is helpful in planning my day.  (Of course there are exceptions, but there always are.)



She has started to get the hang of waving goodbye (or hello), especially with daddy.  Super cute!  Which leads me to believe it is probably time to start signing with her, just like I did the others.   Last night while feeding her I signed "eat" and "more" throughout the meal.

She is still not the best sleeper at night, up at least twice to eat.  We are trying to let her cry it out, as I know that most of the time she isn’t even fully awake, but it’s hard to do depending on the timing and whether or not I am trying to sleep through it.  Sometimes at night I can easily cuddle her back to sleep, but I know she will be back up within the hour if I don’t feed her, so I give in.  My sleep is too precious right now and I am selfish with it.  She is better at naps, but even those are hit or miss.  Sometimes she will only take one longer late morning nap and then go to bed around 6:30.  Other days she will take two naps and go to bed a bit later.  And other days she just refuses to nap well at all, but stays cheerful so I let it slide.  Naps just aren’t something I can depend on right now, and the adage “sleep begets sleep” isn’t really holding true with her.  Regardless of how well she naps, she will still be up at night.  Honestly, it’s not really bothering me too much, though I would like to sleep more at night.  She is so happy during the day, that if my little sweetheart calls to me twice at night for love and cuddles and milk, I am happy to give it to her.  (Does she have me wrapped around her finger or what?)