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seven months as of April 5, 2019
I took these photos last Tuesday after Polly’s nap and I had to check myself before changing her into something frilly or Instagram worthy. The fact is, she’s stinking adorable in a graphic tee and joggers and I need to document that normalcy, too. She actually wore this to school today and it has me itching to add a few more cute tees to her spring and summer wardrobe (paired with J&J circle skirts, anyone?!).
Height + Weight: I’m not sure about Polly’s stats this month and she won’t go back to the pediatrician until late June.
Clothes: Her clothes are mostly fitting the same, although I did have to retire a few of our first Kate Quinn sleepers this month. She’s wearing mostly 6-9 or 6-12 months clothes and a size 3 diaper. My sister just gave me a huge stash of spring and summer things (including our first pair of Sun San sandals!!), but I’m looking to add a few fun things that are just hers before it warms up too much.
Sleep: There hasn’t been much change to report here in the last few months, but I think we’re finally making progress. Now that shes not taking Albuterol daily (more on that in a bit), she seems less jittery at bedtime and not nearly as clingy. She’s still waking to nurse once or twice each night, but our daytime naps have improved significantly. She took a 90 minute nap for me yesterday morning and I had to wake from her afternoon nap after THREE HOURS.
Schedule: Polly is still nursing about six times a day, but that varies with our schedule and depends on how many servings of solid foods she gets. We’re really only offering her dinner during the week, but I started adding breakfast and lunch over the weekend. I hate to overwhelm our sitter, but I’m trying to think of some easy foods I could send for the the next few weeks.
Health: This was our most significant month, health-wise. She had a touch of a cold when we left for Spring Break and it continued to get worse while we were gone. We attributed most of that to spending so much time outside and the heavy camp smoke that was everywhere, but by the time we headed back home, she was struggling to breath. I pretty much when straight from the lake to the pediatrician’s office and she was diagnosed with RSV/Bronchiolitis pretty quickly. We started her on an Albuterol inhaler, every four hours, and we just stopped offering it to her midday yesterday. It dramatically improved her breathing, but it made her jittery and even harder to get to sleep. She’s been pretty clingy for the last ten days, so I’m thankful that she finally seems more like herself today.
Crying: She has cried more in the last week than I think she ever has. She was screaming at bedtime, but we were both convinced it was because the medicine made it difficult for her to settle down. For the past two days, she hasn’t cried at bed time or nap time, so I think we’re bad to our mostly happy baby!
Likes: Polly is loving her doorway jumper this week. I ran out at lunch, last Tuesday, and grabbed one for her to try — it’s been a huge hit. She still doesn’t like being occupied in a contraption for more than 20-30 minutes at a time, but it’s been key in getting work done with her at home. She also still loves to sling and the Easter Bunny might be bringing her a lighter color that will be perfect for warmer months. Polly tried whole grain waffles for the first time on Tuesday and they were a big hit. I offered them plain for breakfast and topped with avocado for lunch. She was also introduced to meat this month — pork chops, deli turkey, and chopped steaks, so far — and is a really big fan!
Dislikes: She’s getting more mobile this month and that means she gets herself stuck in the most ridiculous positions — she is not a fan. We offered her shredded chicken a few weeks ago and she spent the entire meal trying to get it out of her mouth.
Milestones: She’s sitting up independently for longer stretches and trying so hard to move around. Her arms aren’t quite strong enough to hold her up during a transition, but she can get herself back up on all floors, after a spill, pretty quickly. Josh has been chanting “dada” for weeks and it finally paid off. She repeated it back to him, pretty consistently, on her seven month birthday, so we’re calling it official. We’ve made it seven months, exclusively nursing, and I kind of feel like a rock star. We’ve struggled some (hello mastitis and seasonal allergies with no approved medication), but it’s hard to believe we’re 3/4 of the way to our one year goal. We’re still toothless, so that is certainly helping, but I’ll welcome any advice about nursing babies with teeth, in advance!
Places She’s Been: Polly went on her first camping trip during her sixth month and did GREAT. We also had our first after hours pediatrician visit, which yielded a steroid and sleepless nights.
Special Moments: I always struggle with this prompt, because every moment is special. There are always going to be months, though, where nothing out of the ordinary really happens. We loved sharing our love of camping with her and it was fun to see her take up residence in our travel trailer. Her sense of humor is really starting to develop this month and it’s my favorite. All of our girls are really funny, so this is something I’ve been looking forward to. She recognizes the difference between “faces” and “funny faces,” and will grin at me when I make weird faces during our nursing sessions. She’s starting to make funny faces and silly grins of her own and we can’t get enough.
Mama, Daddy + Big Sisters: Things are starting to feel a little more “normal” this month, but I’m not sure why. I’m a little less sleep deprived, we’re nearing the end of dance competition season, and we’re almost ready to close on our house. We are a little more settled and this routine of having three kids is starting to feel a little more natural. Polly is pretty obsessed with her big sisters and they both take such great care of her. I can always depend on them for short babysitting sessions, while I shower or get some laundry folded.
