Nolan: seven months old

Little Sean-Crouton (coined by Emily in utero) is seven months old!


We haven't had his six month well-baby exam yet because of the holidays so I can only guess his height and weight but I'm certain he's grown because his 3-6 month clothes are looking snug and we recently moved him into his 6-9 month one-piece pjs. He's still wearing a size 3 Pampers Swaddlers diaper and those little 3-6 month hats. Santa did bring him a new box of 6-12 month Van's socks that we'll break into soon. Nolan is also still very comfortably riding in his infant car seat and probably has another month or two left in it as it goes up to 22lbs and/or 30".

I'm still very happily breastfeeding Nolan upon waking up every morning, after each of his three naps, and just before bedtime so, five times per day. We have sort of given up on a bottle as neither of us care if he ever takes one though we have introduced a Nuby sippy cup with a valve similar to a bottle's nipple of water to help with digestion of all the solids he's eating. He seems to really like using it and even started drinking a few sips of water with each of his two meals. If David ever wanted to give Nolan breastmilk he would try in the sippy cup. Speaking of meals, we recently started a second meal of the day, after Nolan's first nap of the day. Normally fruit and/or oatmeal. He has only taken a few bites but it's the routine rather than his consumption that we care more about at this point. After his last nap of the day, before nursing him at bedtime, he gets his second meal, the one he's been getting for a while now. He always gets vegetables and we may try a meat and vegetable combo this month. He has had and has liked butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, broccoli, white beans, apples, apricots, and pears in pureed form. I have put grapes, blueberries, banana, and blackberries in a mesh feeder for him to try out and he really seemed to enjoy mashing them and sucking the juice. Next up to try is green beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, corn, zucchini, and chicken.

Nolan has been sleeping through the night 11-12 hours every night without waking. Our sleep-training efforts really paid off last month and we're all better rested for it! We are however struggling with day time naps... big time. He will fall asleep quickly and quietly when I wear him in the ergo, sleeping anywhere from 35 minutes to 1 1/2 hours three times a day. And while that's all fine for a very young infant, we feel it's really better that older babies have motionless sleep and fall asleep on their own, in their cribs so, we started nap-training a few days ago. Let me just say Nolan appears to be the Energizer Bunny, capable of going all day long without a nap if it means he has to be put in his crib to fall asleep on his own at nap time. Ugh. The crying/fussing is so hard to listen to and I just hate seeing his puffy tired eyes but we are both confident that we are doing what is best for him and that he will eventually get it and start taking naps.

Several huge milestones this last month, including sitting up! Nolan loves to stand and stomp your lap or jump most of all but second best is sitting up and reaching for toys and the cat! He's getting so solid and has great head control, he rarely falls over anymore. His favorite toy is the Tumbling Ferris Wheel Wheebles toy Santa brought. He also loves time in his exersaucer, jumper, and on his play mat. He still enjoys tummy time, scooting backwards and in complete circles and has even gotten up on his knees for a few seconds! No rocking or crawling yet and he has yet to try to pull up to standing.







Nolan also cut his first tooth on Christmas Eve! Gram and I found it when he was gnawing on our hands. It's just through the skin and oh so sharp. It's the bottom, just right of center tooth. Looking back it's easy to see he was teething and "off" for a few days; he had excessive drool, was chomping harder and more often than normal, but was still sleeping and napping well.


Getting out and about with Nolan is very easy and even enjoyable. After a nap, diaper change, nursing and a good burp, I get him in his car seat and off we go for about an hour. Mainly we just get Emily to and from school, grocery shop, take walks to the park, and visit friends as an hour isn't much time to do anything else. :) I'm really not looking forward to Nolan outgrowing his infant car seat as it's so easy to just pop it in/out of the stroller; however, I'm am looking forward to him being a bit bigger so he can sit up in a shopping cart as his car seat takes up so much room down in the basket!


Nolan is so quiet, only speaking up to squeal at the cat, a musical toy, and you when you make silly noises. He's patient and gentle, easily calmed if upset from an immunization, and snuggly. He's very curious at the world around him and is easily distracted, which has made breastfeeding more challenging than in month's past. He stares up at the trees and sunlight on walks, loves to study and touch your facial expressions, and will tinker with a single toy for his entire hour of play time at times. He really enjoys bath time, kicking his legs and reaching for the tub when he sees me getting the bath ready and has especially loved Emily getting in with him this last week. Nolan is also extremely ticklish, along his rib cage on both sides! We are so close to getting a full-blown laugh and we can't wait to hear it.


Everything goes in his mouth and gets a good bite, most of all all those pacifiers we were given. He loves to chew on them and play with them.


Nolan's eczema is the hardest part about the last month. He scratches himself constantly and only the Rx ointment seemed to get it under control. We are careful to use only Dreft, wash him with Dove soap only every third day, and slather him in petroleum-based eczema lotion twice a day. I hope at his well-baby exam coming up our Pediatrician can further advise us on how to help control the flare ups.

Emily is in-love with her baby brother and is so much more than the big sister we had dreamed she would be. She is patient and kind to him, always talking to him and picking up dropped toys. She makes silly faces and is so proud of her ability to make him smile. She is eager to help feed him, dress him, and brush his mohawk hair (his hair is so long!) and never resists when I ask her to help me by getting a burp cloth or cleaning up his toys. She is quite protective of her own toys and really dislikes it if he gets anything of hers (because she has left something in the living room) mainly because he always has "wet hands" and she hates her toys being covered in drool (who would like that?!?), which we understand and are sensitive to. We are already planning to gate off her room in the coming months in our child-proofing efforts.

Comments

  1. He's such a cutie! It sounds like he's right on track and doing really well. Keep it up with the nap sleep training. At least he sleeps so well at night- that makes life SO much better for the whole family I'm sure!

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