SEVEN Months

A little overdue, but life happens, and I'm just now getting to Aiden's monthly check-in. He turned seven months old March 6th!

Let's see.... In the past month Aiden has learned quite a few new things.

He loves playing with his toy piano now that he is sitting. A few weeks ago, I discovered while he was playing with it, he actually pushed it away and scooted himself and the piano off of his blanket on the floor... We soon learned it's because he realized there are small toys under the piano, and he's trying to get to them! (The piano is made to change heights, positions to grow with baby, and underneath are some small toys that dangle if a baby is lying under it with the piano in a different position.) He sees us moving the piano towards him to play with it, and he gets very excited!

He has realized he can knock things over instead of just play with them. Two toys in particular get this a lot: His LeapFrog Animal Alphabet Discovery Ball has a spinning part on it. He knows how to do this well, but apparently sometimes he just wants to knock the thing over. He pushes it with purpose! Not because he doesn't want it - but because it's fun! And because he CAN. The other is his Lamaze Chime Garden. Same thing as with the spinning ball - he knows how to do it and loves this toy. But sometimes - DOWN it goes! The second you put it in front of him, he knocks it down. You pick it up, he knocks it down. Great fun!

Aiden has also discovered BALLS! This is partly thanks to big brother and his small, soft basketball. He'll pretend to be playing basketball, and Aiden cracks up over it. Aiden now will sit and roll his toy balls all around! He loves them and is so interested in what he can make them do and how far away they roll.

Aiden loves reading!! Loves it. Often, when he's nursing before a nap, he will finish eating, try to sit up (can't do it all the way on his own yet), and reach for the book that we leave tucked in the glider. He knows reading comes next and is ready for it! He will even sit and let you read a long book that is for older children, such as Big Words for Little People, by Jamie Lee Curtis. We really like that book - and he will let you read the whole thing! Like I said, he loves reading! He also likes to try to eat the board books, which I know is supposed to be ok...but I don't like the idea of him eating cardboard, so we're on the lookout for some great cloth books. Some great organic cloth books would be preferred. It will be going in his mouth, after all.

Aiden is sitting like a pro now. He doesn't fall over much, and when he does, it's usually because he tries to pull his foot up to his mouth while sitting.... So, that's kind of his own fault there. I try to explain that, but he doesn't seem to believe me.

Food - this child loves to eat!! First of all, he is still nursing every two hours. Yes, two. If we're out and about, he might go another hour - if he's distracted enough and has a nap in between three. But at home - it's two max. Then there are solids. He has liked just about everything we have given him. We've added some green veggies to the mix - green beans and peas. Carrots are a fave now (if you're making your own baby food, remember to either use organic or wait until baby is over 8 mos due to the nitrate issue), as are mango, prunes, and yogurt. All the squashes are great. Sweet potatoes, of course. Applesauce. Avocado. You name it! He's gotten to the point where if we are eating, he must be eating, too. And by that, I mean we have to feed him while our food gets cold b/c he demands bite after bite - with no break for us to get our own bites in! He's a big fan of water, too. The only thing is, he isn't a big fan of sucking through a sippy cup valve. He actually does much better drinking from a real cup (us holding it, of course).

Doesn't he look just like his Daddy here??

Sleep....well, this isn't his strong point. But that's ok. We'll get there. Aiden was still waking every two hours to nurse - and really needing to nurse (not just waking and wanting to). We had moved him to his own room at nights after Christmas, and I was becoming more and more sleep deprived. You end up getting woken up more when you have to go to a separate room to feed the baby. So.........back into our room he went in early February. It was immediately much better for Mommy. I still wake plenty throughout the night to nurse him, but neither of us have to wake completely, and I get much more sleep with him nearby. It's working wonderfully for all of us! And I don't mind the nursing sessions through the night this way. :)

We did get weight and height this month. Since Aiden is on an alternative vax schedule, we are in the dr office once a month (from this point on, it's much less often, though). He now weighs 17.11 lbs (at 7 months, not today - he was weighed at the dr office on the 6th) and measures 26.5 inches.

I love baby feet.
I probably kiss these toes as much as I kiss his adorable face!