7 months: "Have a little faith, Mama!"

(take 1- eating the arm...)

(take 2- good smile bad arm placement...)

Although Luke is almost 8 months old, I missed the 7-month post so here we go.

Our little man was 15 pounds, 10 ounces at his 6-month appointment (10%) and was 30-50% for his height. By the time he got his 2nd flu shot though (which was right at 7 months) he had gained exactly a pound so he is growing right on target.

Loves:

- Laughing, smiling, talking, sticking his tongue out, fart noises

- Clapping, waving (but not to say hi yet)

- Jumping, rolling, moving

- Chewing on anything and everything

- Eating his fruits and veggies

Dislikes:

- Mama and Dad cleaning out his nose

- Getting his arm stuck under him after rolling (although by the time I'm writing this he has learned how to get it back)

- hard poops

No teeth yet and no crawling yet but we think that both are close. We can see some white specs through his gums and he's starting to get his butt in the air. Here we go!

"Just trust me, Mama"

Other than the first two weeks since Luke was born (he had to be under the UV lights), he has been swaddled. He loved it. So peaceful to see him in his little burrito. Every now and then he would get a hand out but he never really fought going into it. He knew that it meant he was going to eat and then go to bed. We knew that it was going to have to end at some point though. He was in the biggest size they made (although my Mom and I had several discussions about trying to make a larger size) and we know that it was only an amount of time before we were going to have to go without it. We both expressed our concerns at his 6-month appointment because we had tried to wean him twice by having one arm out and he wouldn't sleep more than 10 minutes. Luke NEEDED the swaddle. The Dr. said that he would outgrow it at his pace and that he would just let us know. That once he started to get his arms out, just leave them out. HE may need to go 9 months, he may be done soon. So we both (reluctantly) agreed that he would just "let us know". Well he did, of course.

(Feb. 21- for my own info) At his 5 am feeding I went in to get him and saw that he had rolled over to his belly and didn't have his hands out to help lift himself up. I was pretty scared but knew that he at least had his neck strength to be able to move. But still, we had to stop using it. That was the last night. Oh man.

Bobby and I had mentally prepared ourselves that we weren't going to sleep at all. That he would be up all night, crying, moving, etc. WELL... he slept through the night. 12+ hours.

Personally, I think it was his way of saying "See, Mama... I know I'm just a baby but I'm one smart little guy. I'm a big boy now and don't NEED that thing. Just have a little faith. *wink,wink*". Well, my man. I do. You know I always will. But you also know that I'm a bit of a worrier so you'll just have to remind me sometimes.

Oh and real quick, the *wink, wink*....

Bobby made a mix of music to play while I was in labor. It was great to have and was fun to listen to. Even the nurses and Doctor were singing and dancing (I highly recommend doing this to anyone!) Anyway, we still have the play list and I can remember exactly what was going on when I hear the different songs. The song that was playing when Luke was born was "Have a little faith in me" by John Hiatt. I'm playing it now and it just makes me feel overjoyed. Ahhhhhhh. I look forward to sharing these memories with him.