Seven Months!

Somehow another month has passed and Annie has turned 7 months old.  The days when we put a white onesie on her, stick her “__ months” sticker on the front and take her picture with her stuffed bunny are sneaking up on me faster and faster.  I have been putting together an “Annie’s First Year” photo book on Shutterfly lately (trying to do it a little bit at a time so it isn’t a huge project in June) and looking at pictures of her when she was tiny and new really emphasizes to me what a big girl she is becoming right before our eyes.  Oh Annie, slow down on the growing up already!

New Developments:

Standing on her own two feet - Annie loves to stand.  Sometimes so much that she won’t bend her legs when you try to make her sit.  She’s been kicking her legs for as long as we can remember (even before she was born…my ribs can testify to that), and all of that exercise has made for some really strong legs.  Now she likes to show us just how strong she is with all the standing.  She doesn’t pull up yet, but stand her up in her crib or on the floor, with something for her to hold on to, and she's happy to stay as long as you let her!

Signing - We’ve been teaching Annie some baby sign language during meal time, at our pediatrician’s suggestion.  He says, while she probably won’t use the signs herself anytime soon, it is far better for her to sign “all done” when she’s a year old and finished with a meal instead of just throwing the food off of her high chair tray.  And the foundation for that starts now.  I don’t know how much she is recognizing just yet, but she thinks it’s really funny when I sign “more” and “all done” during meal times.

Food stuff – Speaking of eating, Annie is now having three “meals” a day to supplement her bottles.  Most of her nutrition is still liquid, of course, but she is really enjoying eating oatmeal and baby food fruits and veggies.  And she is also getting the hang of finger foods like Cheerios and puffs.  I cheer every time she picks something up with her thumb and forefinger (the “pincer” grip, for those of you schooled in baby development), which makes her happy.  She will pick up a puff and then immediately look at me for praise, grinning all the while.  Such a little ham!

"Really? I can have this?"

Trying some of Mommy's pizza crust.

Attachment issues – With all of the wonderful developments this last month has brought, we have also had a couple of not-quite-as-fun issues arise.  The dreaded stranger anxiety has kicked in just a little.  I say dreaded only because it makes people feel bad when they try to hold Annie and she starts to cry…which makes me feel bad.  I have discovered that she does fine when she has time to warm up to someone before they try to hold her.  But she doesn’t so much like it when someone gets in her face and then holds her too soon.  And just recently, like in the last couple of days, she hasn’t appreciated it when I have left the room.  While this makes me feel like a rock star in some ways – being so important to someone that she melts down when she can’t see me – it also can be challenging.  I know it’s a phase and is perfectly normal, but I have always loved how laid back and social Annie is and it is hard to see that disappear, even if only for a few weeks.

The Grab – Nothing is safe from Annie’s hands these days.  She grabs everything she sees – glasses, coffee cups, food, and of course, toys and books that she is meant to have.  You have to be a little more alert when she’s around now.  As far as she's concerned, nothing is off limits to her little hands!

So many toys to play with, so little time before bed.

Things We Are Still Working On:

Teeth!  Annie has been teething for months!  And still nothing to show for it.  She drools all over everything and chews on literally anything she can get her hands on.  Every once in a while she gets oddly fussy – chewing on something and then suddenly crying out – and it makes me think she’s got a tooth breaking through.  But then, no dice.  As long as she stays relatively unaffected by her long teething process, I’m fine with it.  I’ve gotten quite attached to her gummy, toothless grin and will be a little sorry to see a tooth break it up.

Rolling over – Our little girl is so very active.  She kicks, she grabs, she stands, she sits, she jumps in her Jenny Jump Up, and she arches her back to make herself scoot all over her crib and the floor.  But rolling over?  “No thanks!” says Annie.  She has never really loved being on her tummy and always sleeps on her back, so her pediatrician says it is not unusual for her to not really have any interest in rolling from her back to her front.  This also means she doesn’t show much interest in crawling yet.  I keep trying to encourage her by forcing her to spend some time tummy-side down and sort of pushing her along when she reaches for things while sprawled out like that, but there's just so much you can do, you know?  I kind of wonder now if she will crawl at all.  Given her strong desire to be on her feet, I wouldn’t be too surprised if she skips crawling all together and just up and walks some day in the next few months. 

Since the day she was born, people have been telling me that the time will fly…and that has proven to be true.  Each month, when it is time to do this blog post, I am amazed by how much she has changed and grown.  So just go ahead and prepare yourself for more of my confessions of amazement when her 8 month birthday rolls around in, oh, 29 days.