7 months and counting….

Laurel turned 7 months old this past Friday and William and I are still trying to figure out how we have a baby that old already.  She seems to be growing so fast!

Laurel is still rolling quite a bit, but she is a much better roller than she was a month ago and her arm doesn’t get stuck like it did before.  She is also sitting up on her own quite well.  She can sit up for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes without tumbling over and even if she does, she just rolls and looks for something to play with.  She doesn’t seem to mind playing by herself,  but certainly enjoys for mommy and daddy to play with her.

She is still not going crazy over food yet, but this weekend I introduced her to peaches and she seemed to enjoy that more than other foods she has been eating recently.  I sent some to daycare today and they said she tolerated eating the peaches more so than any food they have fed her, so perhaps we are making progress.  I am hoping that if we can at least find something she likes, it will get her used to the concept of foods and she will eventually want to try more.  Most of the other babies her age are loving food, but she seems to be ok being different.

We have still not noticed any teeth yet, but she is continuing to drool quite a bit and loves putting EVERYTHING in her mouth… clothes, paper, toys, phones, straps from her carset, … EVERYTHING… except food 🙂  William did give her a cracker which she did actually lick on for a while, but the moment it broke in her mouth, she looked quite confused and disappointed.    It was actually pretty funny.

She is babbling more and more each day and has perhaps started to form her first word, which of course is not mama, but yep.. you guessed it….dada.  She makes a continuous sound of da da da da da da, but William is of course convinced she is saying dada.

She is still pretty mellow and laid back and still loves watching football.  This weekend the NFL scouting combine was on television and William was watching at one point.  She began to gaze at the television and seemed mesmerized.  I am not sure what it is about football… maybe all the action, but she really enjoys it.  We did watch some Sesame Street on Saturday and she seemed to enjoy that as well.  She also still enjoys being read to, although she is very interesting in seeing what the pages taste like… seriously… everything goes in her mouth except food.

Her sleeping is still a bit off.  She’s had a few 4 or 5 hour stretches, but I can’t seem to get her back to those 7-8 hour stretches.  Last week was pretty brutal when she woke up every 2 hours with a few 1 hour stretches mixed in.  It was either a huge growth spurt or she was teething.  She fussed and did not want to go back to sleep unless I fed her.  That was fun.

It’s hard to believe I have made it through 7 months of breastfeeding without having to supplement with formula.  There were some stretches in the beginning where I wondered if I would make it to 3 months, and now I can easily see myself going 10-12 months.  I do look forward to her weening soon and eating more solid foods.  It will be nice to have some freedom back without looking for a baby or a pump every 3 hours.

Laurel did have a first this month, although we didn’t expect for it to happen this early…. she had her first haircut.  William and I had no intention to cut her hair, but we unfortunately did not have a choice.  We have been watching her head growth and shape since about 2 months now and noticed some flattening pretty early on.  Despite efforts to reposition her when she slept or let her sleep on her stomach during the day when we could watch her, her head is still pretty flat.  Her pediatrician recommended she be evaluated for a cranial band, sometimes referred to as a helmet.  The evaluation revealed she could benefit from the cranial band and we agreed to proceed.  However, in order to get good measurements for her custom made cranial band, they asked that we cut her hair.  Because her hair is so thick and curly, it did not lay flat enough against her head to get a good measurement.  We almost considered not going forward.  Neither William or I wanted to cut her hair.  Although it was kind of wild and crazy, it seemed to be a part of her personality and give her some character.  However, we realized that her hair would grow back and we didn’t want her to question why we didn’t try to correct her head shape.  I shed a few tears when we called to schedule her appointment and they reminded us “there is a note in the system that says she needs a hair cut”.  I know it seems silly.  If someone told me they were going to have to cut their baby’s hair, I would have said it was no big deal, but it’s so much easier said than done.  Despite our hesitation and sadness, Laurel did great and was not phased at all by her hair cut.  We gave her some toys to play with in her high chair while William carefully took the scissors and cut her curly locks.  I had no idea how long her hair was until he began to cut.  I miss her hair, but it seems to have grown some in just a weeks time.

She will get her cranial band next Monday and I am praying that it will be an easy adjustment for her.  It seems most babies do not mind wearing the band, but I am very anxious to see how well she will sleep in it.  The band has to be worn 23 hours a day, essentially all the time for 8-16 weeks.  I am hoping it will be closer to 8-12 weeks, but we’ll just have to see how quickly her head adjusts.  I guess if all goes well, she should have it off at the beginning of July, just in time to take pictures of her perfect head in preparation for her 1st birthday!

Well… that’s the update for now.  William and I will try to post more frequently, but being full time parents and having full time jobs outside the home has definitely made free time a bit of a luxury.  🙂

Below are a few pictures.  I will post more including pictures of her first hair cut over the next few days.