Ellen turns seven months old today! My baby gal has been really busy this month too. I think the jump from six to seven months has been the most dramatic as far as milestones and developments. Let me explain:
Here is Ellen’s seven month photo. As you can see, everything goes in her mouth these days. This is the best I could do! You’ll also notice her Elmo doll. Ellen doesn’t watch TV yet (ok, I let her watch Sesame Street for the first time this month), but somehow she has become obsessed with Elmo. She even has an Elmo hair clip that we keep above her changing table. When it’s time for a diaper change, we have to wait until Ellen locates the clip, she smiles and waves at it, then we can change her. I try to move it around to give her a challenge.
Ellen totally digs when Mike plays guitar for her. She dances to any music she hears, but her favorite is Elmo music. I tried to change it up yesterday, and she about had a panic attack. She also has two dance moves: the motorcycle where she revs her pretend engine and the rocking chair.
Ellen still loves to snuggle me in the morning. I pull her in to bed for her morning meal, and we chat and hug and just hang out for a while until we actually get up. Sleeping has been a lot easier in some ways and harder in others. Ellen is still waking a couple of times a night to eat. And, man does she eat at night. It’s no midnight snack. So, we are trying to load her up in the day so that she stays fuller longer. She has been going to bed at a decent hour (IN HER OWN BED) these days as well. She is finally going down between eight and nine.
But, with the good comes the bad. Ellen’s first tooth is making itself known, and our poor gal is in the most pain at night. It disrupts her sleep a bit, but I will say she is handling it like a real trooper. Oddly though, she has stopped her tremendous drooling since she started teething. Weird. However, that has been replaced by ear pulling. She doesn’t have an ear infection, but rather thinks her gum pain is coming from her ears.
Ellen spent three nights in a row sleeping in hotels. My girl is so awesome that it didn’t even phase her. I was worried that all of the moving commotion would get her all out of whack. She took it in stride, and we are so grateful! It was also helpful that during the move, we used disposable diapers and jarred baby food. If you’re on a trip, I highly recommend it. It’s such a stress minimizer.
Ellen has discovered my iPhone these days. She grabs for it any time it is within her reach. She knows how to swipe the screen to make things change. I can’t believe how well she grasps cause and effect! She also loves to play peek-a-boo now. If there is any type of fabric near her, she grabs it and puts it over her face. Then we have to say, “Where’s Ellen?” and she pulls it off with a big smile :)
Ellen is a pretty happy baby, but if there is one thing that makes this girl mad, it’s when you take away her rubber ducky. Ducky is a bath time staple, and when the bath is done, Ducky comes too, and we have to somehow dress her while keeping him in her hands. She loves him so much, I had to buy her a pink one for her first Valentine’s day!
I finally got a new baby carrier this month. I tried an Infantino, a Baby Bjorn and a Baby K’Tan, but they really hurt my back. Now I have a Beco Gemini and I love it! All of the weight is placed on my hips instead of my back and shoulders.
I’ve mentioned in a previous post that Ellen is doing solid foods now. She has tackled rice cereal, peas and carrots. She is picky about texture and acts all dramatic when something it too chunky. Mama don’t play that game though and we eat it anyway. Mama does heat it up a little bit though! I have been making my own food, and it is pretty darn easy with a hand blender. Next up, I bought yellow squash, bananas, avocados, okra and cauliflower. I also need to buy some sweet potatoes, apples and pears. I have been buying frozen produce to make the food since Ellen is still at the stage where we have to wait in between each food to check for reactions. On top of all of this, Ellen is practicing with a sippy cup. She is still hydrated mostly by breast milk, but I let her have sips of water for practice now.
Ellen is also super dexterous this month. She loves picking up small things and palming her favorite yellow ball.
Baby girl has outgrown her bouncer. I used to be able to sit her in it and take a shower. Now, she just bounces herself out of it and bonks her head. After catching her doing this a couple of times, we banned the bouncer. She sits up well enough on her own to just sit on the floor anyway!
Finally, one of Ellen’s greatest new tricks is screaming out of joy. It cracks me up every time. I could scream about how much I love her and how proud I am. So, what have you been up to this month?
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You have just read a post by Call Her Happy. Consider leaving a comment…I love ’em!
Ahhhh! She does so much! She’s so cute! Can I tell you my fav picture? You with.the carrier in the bra department. Love the pics. Praying for you guys on the the continued awesome that in minnisota. We watched how I met your other last night and thought of u because that’s where Marshall is from! Happy ash Wednesday!
Happy Girl!! That little tongue of hers is so stinkin cute!! I love the leopard :) Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You’re a great mom!!
She sure is a sweet baby girl!!!! Hope you guys are settling in the new place =)
She sure is growing up fast and becoming more and more adorable : )
7 months old already? Wow! She’s so stinking cute! When Sullivan would wake up at night at this age, we would know to up his food a bunch during the day and it would help. Glad she’s doing so great during your move, that’s such a stressful time. And the putting everything in the mouth phase seems like it never ends! He’s still going through it at 14 months. So ready for that part to be over.