Hellobee

Oh man, what a character we have! Little Lion’s personality continues to develop, and every day he seems more and more like his own little person!

Schedule

Alas, this is still all over the place, and I fully believe I am completely to blame. We are going on a long vacation this month, so maybe next month I will try for a more time-focused schedule (I know, I say that every month…. summer has been busy!!)

We have moved to 4 feedings per day, around 6 oz. each. We continued to let Little Lion “taste” different foods this month, and are about to get started with full fledged Baby Led Weaning!

Sleeping

Sleep remains about the same. The floor bed is working pretty well, although now that he is scooting a bit and rolling a lot more, there have been a few more times that he has rolled off onto the floor. We will be leaving the surrounding blankets for a while it appears. Naps are still pretty touch and go. His first morning nap is always the best (2-2.5 hours) but the rest of the day is always different. Some days he will take 3 long naps…. others he won’t sleep more than 30 minutes at a time. Sometimes I am okay with this, and sometimes I get very discouraged, especially when he becomes overtired. He still takes great naps in the swing/rocker, and I admit to letting him nap there more often than not.

Playing

I really can’t believe how much development there has been in this area in the last month. Little Lion can intentionally pick up toys, pass them from hand to hand, bring them easily to his mouth, and has just in the last week started scooting on his belly. He can only move backwards and spin in circles so far, but it is so exciting (and a little terrifying!). He is very strong (I think because of the acrobat skills Daddy is constantly helping him practice!).

Tummy time no longer makes him miserable. I think the most unexpected thing about this is how quickly it changed. One day he hated it, the next he was having a blast. Who knew??

He is also very close to being able to sit by himself. Right now he can stabilize himself pretty well front to back, but tends to tip over side to side. It won’t be long though! Favorite toys this month are his bell rattle, his O-Ball toys (these are the best!!) and his activity gym (especially Beaver and Frog… they are still very close friends).

Little Lion also really likes to be read to! His favorite books right now are Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type, Rumble in the Jungle, and Five Little Monkeys. He laughs and giggles when I read them to him, and he loves to stare at the pictures.

Bath time remains a favorite time of the day. This is Daddy time, and (from what I can hear while I clean up the kitchen anyway) it sounds like they are having a blast in there.

Health

We made it to 6 months with no sicknesses! Hurray! He will be getting his 6 month immunizations this week. His 2 month and 4 month shots were harder on me than on him, so hopefully they will go well this time too. His hemangiomas remain the same, although the one on his eyelid is almost completely gone at this point.

We also think he is working on some teeth still. None have poked through, but he is visibly uncomfortable sometimes and the amount of drool has increased significantly.

Adventures

Our only new adventure this month was our first camping trip at Hanging Rock State Park! This trip was a bit stressful, but went remarkably well. I wrote about this trip in a separate post here!

7  M O N T H  U P D A T E

This is quite possibly the last month before I am chasing a mobile Little Lion all over the place!

Schedule

I quit! No more schedules! We are a routine family, and I like it that way! (More about that here.)

Sleeping

Naps have improved a lot this month. We have finally moved to napping in his bed instead of the seat of the swing. LL usually takes a long 2 hour nap in the morning, a shorter on the go nap around lunchtime, and then a long afternoon nap. Sometimes we can get him to take a short late afternoon nap, but sometimes not. That tends to be the only nap that he fights. The floor bed is still awesome…I love being able to lay down on the floor beside him before bedtime, and it is nice to not have to worry about his arms and legs getting stuck in the rails. We have had a lot more rolling off this month, however, and we are looking into getting a twin sized mattress so that he has a bit more room to roll around. LL is still waking up 1-2 times per night, and we haven’t really figured out why. Sometimes he wants to eat just a little, sometimes he just needs a quick hug and his paci. Sometimes he is wide awake and thinks it is morning and we have to do a little more convincing to get him to go back to sleep. (4am is NOT morning in this house!) Fingers crossed for some full nights of sleep this month! I know we will get there eventually, but we are worn. out.

Eating

Baby Led Weaning is awesome! We have had a blast letting LL try new things this month. Neither of us have food allergies in our families, so we have not been waiting 3 days between foods. We firmly believe that “food before one is just for fun,” so we are not the slightest bit concerned about how much he actually ingests. We do solids 1-2 times per day, usually breakfast and dinner. His favorite foods so far are peaches, grilled chicken, turkey deli meat, and a pickled banana pepper (he only got one of these, but man did he love it!). Although these are the ones he has gotten the most excited about, he has yet to meet a food that he doesn’t like! We give him large chunks of food to gnaw on, and he has already improved in his dexterity so much this month. With foods that require a spoon, I put the food on the spoon and then hand it to him. He does a really good job of getting the spoon to his mouth, although this is a very messy endeavor! But, the mess just means he is learning, and I am so glad we chose this route. It is so much easier than dealing with purees, and much cheaper than buying baby food.

Playing

Lots of rolling, scooting, and almost sitting were happening this month. Otherwise, not much has changed. Finally, on his 7 month birthday, he was able to sit up by himself! He is still a little wobbly after about 10 minutes, especially if he reaches too far for a toy, but it is remarkable how quickly his little muscles are strengthening and how much more coordinated he is! We know crawling is right around the corner. Right now LL can push himself in circles or backward, but hasn’t quite figured out how to move forward just yet.

Health

Still healthy, and still waiting for teeth! Poor baby has been chewing on his fingers so hard I am afraid he will hurt them, but still no pearly whites breaking through just yet.

Adventures

Our first big adventure this month was a trip to the lake to visit my parents! LL got to take his first boat ride!

Also this month we took a week long trip to the beach with our families and some good friends. We rented a large beach house in the Outer Banks and had a great time!