A Little Bit of Life: 7 Months

7 Months Old!

I can...

Sit up unassisted

Sit in a high chair when we go out to eat

Lift my head and chest up high while on my tummy

Roll over from belly to back

Take a bath sitting up in my baby bathtub

Sleep for 7 hours in a row at night

Go to sleep on my own in my crib without making a fuss

Go back to sleep in the middle of the night with just a little help from Mom. (Roll her back over to her belly and pat her back for just a minute, say good night, and leave the room.)

I have...

2 bottom teeth!

I'm eating...

lots of purees and baby oatmeal as well as all my normal meals of Mama's milk.

My schedule is...

8:00-9:00 Wake up for the day, nurse, change diaper

9:00-11:00 Play time in the exersaucer, on the floor with teething toys and blocks, in the doorway jumper, or in the walker. Sometimes gets a morning snack or puree or oatmeal.

11:00 Morning nap

12:00 Wake up and nurse

1:00 Afternoon snack of puree, banana, or oatmeal

Playtime until next nap

3:00 Afternoon nap

4:00 Wake up and nurse

More playtime

6:00 Sometimes a short nap

More playtime until getting ready for bed

7:00 Feed baby oatmeal before bed

8:00 Start getting ready for bed. Bath, Pj's, nurse, story, song

8:30 Bedtime!

*Up almost every night around 1:30 and 4:30. I am no longer feeding her at these times. She usually wakes up at 7:00 and I do feed her at this wake up. She will then nap in bed next to me until she wakes up for the day around 8:30 or so.

My baby girl is getting such a fun personality. She is quite chatty, starting to make more "gaga" "dada" type sounds. She still loves hearing herself talk in the bathroom after her bath. She is going to Sunday school now and doing well in the nursery for two hours. She does not cry when I leave her in there, but she usually gets whiny about the time between Sunday school and church because she is tired. She thinks Baby Einstein Numbers Nursery is hilarious, especially the horse that eats the flower. I think she likes all the sound effects. She thinks its funny when I snort like a pig or just look at her and say BOO. She is starting to notice cookie and gets very distracted by him when she is eating in the kitchen.

Cry It Out:

Right before Kyla turned 7 months, we decided to bite the bullet and attempt the cry it out method for her middle of the night wakings. I knew she could sleep for 7 hours without eating, so this is what I did.

When she would wake up crying, I would get up and turn the monitor down for ten minutes. She would not really get up to a full out cry for help, but more of just a whine. After the ten minutes were up, I would go in her room, roll her back on her belly, put her pacifier back in, and say good night while patting her back. Then I would leave the room. The first night, she would cry horribly, even after I comforted her. I would go back in after 10 minutes, if she was still crying and repeat what I did the first time. I would then wait 15 minutes and repeat again, if needed. This happened three times the first couple nights, but then she started to get the idea that she was not getting out of her crib. Since then, if she wakes up, I go in, pat her back for a second, and walk back out. 9 times out of 10, she goes right back to sleep without a peep. Now if she could just stop waking up....maybe next month!