Seven Months Old

Dear Nora,

Oh, baby girl. You are getting so, so big. You are changing so much every single day.

This month, it’s like you became more of a real person. It’s a difficult thing to put into words, but you do things knowingly. You have wisdom about you. I can see the wheels turning in your head when people talk to you, when you are playing, when you are moving, touching, and tasting. It’s an amazing phase of your development.

Your biggest milestone this month has been sitting up on your own. At first, you could sit if we propped you up just the right way, and we had to be RIGHT THERE in case you moved, because you’d inevitably fall. You’ve since graduated to being able to sit completely on your own, without your hands propping you up. You can make little movements from side to side and reach for things without falling over. But you still have a little ways to go before you’re a pro. If you turn your head to look behind you, you’ll topple over. If you reach for something that is a little too far away, you face-plant. Still, we can put the boppy or a pillow behind you and feel comfortable walking away, knowing that you are capable of sitting there all on your own.

You play now. Like, truly play. You love toys and holding objects. You squeal and ooooh and ahhhh at things that excite you. You “talk” to us. You are fascinated by everyday items like cell phones and remote controls, potato chip bags and cereal boxes. If someone tries to drink something while holding you, your little hands reach up to try to grab at the cup or bottle. You smile at toys that play music and make noise—like Scout. Oh my gosh, you totally love Scout.

You love Daddy and me, but I’m pretty sure Tessa is your favorite thing in the whole world. You stare at her whenever she’s in your sight. You smile and coo at her when she barks, or when she walks by. You giggle when she licks your face. I can’t wait to see how you play with her when you get a little bigger.

Every night, you pretty much beg us to put you to bed. We try to keep you up just a few minutes more, but you get to a point where you literally just whine until we put you in your crib. You see, you soak up every minute of every day—you play hard. You exhaust yourself, little one! As a result, your sleep is still great. You’re going through a phase (at least I assume it’s a phase; you’re always changing up the details) when you wake up early in the morning—sometimes before 6:00 a.m.—and you squeal and chatter with yourself in your crib. Thankfully for all of us, you eventually doze back off until it’s time to get up for the day.

We’ve continued introducing you to new foods this month, and you’ve eaten most of them without issue. New tastes this month: apples, mango, blueberries, carrots, peas, spinach, green beans, “chicken dinner,” and prunes. You really like avocado now (last month, I wasn’t so sure). The two that were kind of “iffy” this month were spinach and green beans. They were both store-bought (Earth’s Best), and you didn’t seem to be a big fan. You’d eat a few bites but then you’d start making faces, and a couple of times, you actually gagged (sorry, baby). However, all I had to do was mix them with something else you like (peas or sweet potatoes) and you gobbled them up with no problem. Introducing you to new flavors has been really fun for me. I’m still making most of your food myself, but I do buy a couple of jars just to help give you some more variety from week to week.

You LOVE kids. You smile at them and watch them. Your cousins—Brendan, Logan, and Hunter—are endless sources of entertainment for you. Obviously, you feel the same way about the girls at daycare, too. This month, we discovered you don’t discriminate—you love kids you don’t know too well, either. At Aunt Kara’s bridal shower, you were totally loving your third cousin, Mia, and she was THRILLED that you were smiling and “talking” to her.

Your newest social “trick”? You blow raspberries. Sort of. You purse your lips together and blow air through them, making a funny little sound. You do it all of the time, but it seems that you do it mostly when something excites you. It is just about the cutest thing we have ever seen.

Your feet are still the coolest toys around (and apparently they taste pretty good, too). You still love your baths; you kick and splash and move all around. We started you in a Waterbabies class a couple of weeks ago, and you really like that, too. Daddy and I have a blast playing with you in the water. You love your stackable rings, and you bang all of your rattles against the nearest surface to see what kind of noise they make. You’ll usually play happily in your jumperoo while I get ready in the mornings, but you don’t do much JUMPING yet. You are ticklish. You still love it when we tell you that you have “P.U. STINKY FEET!” You have started a habit of grabbing at your own hair while you nurse.

We took you to the doctor a week ago because you have a really bad cold. You have been acting perfectly (no interrupted sleep, you’ve been eating and playing normally), but your breathing has been gunky and you had a horrible hacking cough. They said you likely have RSV, but it’s been over a week and you are on the mend now. But while there, you were weighed, and you were 13 lbs., 14 oz. I looked it up and that is in about the 5th percentile. Some of your 3-6 clothes are still big on you. I took a few 6-9 month Carter’s outfits out of the closet this weekend and they were ENORMOUS. At this rate, I’m starting to think you’ll still be fitting into 6-9 month outfits on your first birthday, but you could still surprise me.

Lastly, I was wrong with my prediction last month—you still don’t have any teeth! At your six month appointment, your pediatrician said you were “not even close!” So, we wait for that—and honestly, we are not in any hurry.

There is not a day that goes by that Daddy and I don’t marvel at you. You are so much greater than we ever could have imagined, and we love you more than we ever thought we could.

I love you from my head down to my toes.

Mommy