7 Months!: Growing Up Too Fast!

My littlest guy is 7 months old!  Time is going by so quickly.  I'd say I fear sleeping, that I will wake up and he will be graduating, but Avery makes sure that isn't a problem for me these days by making sure I don't get many opportunities!  For the month of March, Avery was a sleeping pro.  He went to bed at around 8pm and woke at around 7am with no interruptions.  Then, he turned 6 months old and everything changed again.  For the last month I cannot remember a single time that I got to sleep through the entire night and several nights I have gotten up 3-4 times to snuggle the little man.  I am not sure if the problem is teeth, not getting enough to eat during the day, or simply wanting some additional Mommy time, but I'd really like to figure it out so that I can get some more sleep.  On the positive side, Avery has become much more predictable with napping this month.  He finally is taking a 2-3 hour nap almost every day after lunch, and also will often take a short power nap in the morning around 9am and another on the drive home from daycare.  Since he isn't sleeping great at night, his new napping ability is much appreciated, as it gives me a chance to rest as well on my off days.

Although Avery has regressed in the sleeping department, this month he has made amazing strides in other developmental areas (possibly another reason he isn't sleeping well).  At the beginning of the month, just days after his 6 month birthday, Avery started sitting on his own.  Prior to this, we would try to sit him up, and although I'm quite sure he could have done it, he was not interested.  Instead, he would just fall forward and grab his toes to chew on.  On the morning of April 1st though, I random sat Avery up as I was getting the boys ready for the day, fully expecting for him to just fall over as he normally does.  Instead though, he just kept sitting there and has been a pro at sitting ever since.  While he does still fall down at times, it seems to be more to get on the floor and play, than because he doesn't have the skill to stay up.

Avery also began to crawl this month (or more like Army-crawl).  On Friday, April 17th when I went to pick him up from daycare, his caretaker told me that he had been moving all over the living room all day!  Prior to that I had seen him move a foot or so, but nothing I really counted as something close to crawling.  After hearing the news though, Eric and I spent the next weekend trying to get him to repeat it and sure enough he officially knows how to get around...and we officially need to baby-proof the house again as Avery almost always chooses to go after an object that he shouldn't have (i.e. something small on the floor that he wants to put in his mouth, a remote or our phones, Asher's big-boy toys, etc.)  He is officially a (very cute) little trouble maker!  On the plus side though, with this skill and his new skill of sitting, he now has more options for play.  He will sit and play with his toys for a while and when he grows tired of that, he will let himself fall to the floor in whatever direction he intends to travel and then away he goes to find something else to entertain him...or sometimes someone (99.9% of the time me).

The third major skill that Avery conquered this week is talking.  Well, I probably can't say "conquered" as he only knows one word at this point.  However, four days before his 7 month birthday, he started saying "Ma Ma" and we are totally convinced that he actually knows what he is saying as he only uses it for me...makes a momma's heart happy!  <3

Personality-wise, my little man continues to grow.  He is a total charmer and loves to flirt with others.  He has pretty much everyone fooled that he is a totally happy guy all the time and when I say that he has his moments, people seem to look at me like I must be a complete pessimist or totally crazy.  It is pretty lucky for him that he is so charming though because otherwise Mommy might not have the patience she (I) have for him! ;)  I tell him often that he's lucky he wasn't born ugly!  :)  He is a fun-loving little guy, that loves to laugh, talk and smile, but at 7 months, he is still best described by a total momma's boy and the drama that I've described in the past continues.  If it were up to him, he would be with me 24/7 and not just with me, but actually in my arms or on my lap at all times.  He hates when I put him down and even though I try to distract him with toys or fun with his brother or daddy he almost always responds by throwing a big fit.  Not only do the waterworks come the moment his little (adorable) tush touches the floor, but he will also throw himself toward me and wrap his arms around me as quickly as he can to try to keep me from leaving.  Even if I sit him on the floor and sit down next to him, he will throw himself over so that he is positioned on my lap instead!  What a ham!  In the rare moments that we can distract him long enough for me to get away and get a few things down, the moment he hears my voice or catches a glimpse of me, the crying begins again and we are back to square one.  Now just to be clear, I will say that I am not complaining.  As a mom that has already seen one baby grow up into a little boy, I will take all of this crazy drama, treasure it in my heart and relish the love that my littlest has for me while it is so readily available.  :)

Physically, Avery continues to grow and change as well.  While he really isn't much bigger than he was a month before with his head circumference (17.75") and length (28") staying same and his weight only growing by one ounce (now 18 lbs), his mop of hair continues to grow and he continues to pop out more teeth!  At 7 months old our boy now has 8 teeth with three coming all at once Easter weekend, and a fourth popping out a couple of weeks later.  At this point in Asher's life he was 2 pounds, 3 ounces heavier and an inch taller, but still had no teeth and only a little fuzz on top of his head!  It is so crazy how different they are!  

Finally at 7 months, Avery is now eating three solid-food meals a day.  To date he's had carrots, peas, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, pears, strawberries, rice cereal, yogurt and puffs.  He loves meal time, but isn't nearly as crazy about eating as his brother was.  Often he could take it or leave it, but lately seems to participate more.  When he wants to eat, he will follow the spoon everywhere with his mouth wide open, but when he doesn't there is no denying it.  He clamps his little choppers shut and will not look at you or the spoon.  One thing that I've found that does help him be more interested in eating though is letting him participate.  I realized that sometimes when he won't open his mouth, it is because he wants to do it himself.  He will try to grab the spoon from my hands and get it into his mouth.  Now I have started feeding him with two spoons; one for me and one for him, and as he drops one or the other, we keep switching back and forth.  It is a very messy way to eat and often results in his hands and body from neck up and my hands being completely covered in food, but it gets the job done and makes him happy.

So, that is my little guy at this point in time.  He is an incredible little person that we are incredibly blessed to have in our lives.  The giant toothy grin he gives and the way his eyes light up when he see me will be forever etched on my heart, and I look forward to the months to come as I watch him continue to grow and learn and develop even closer bonds with Asher, Eric and I.  To close, I have a few more pictures from Avery's 7 month photo shoot along with two pictures of my dad at the very end.  While most people that see Asher tell us he reminds them of Eric and his side of the family, the opposite is true for Avery, and looking at my father's baby picture, I don't think anyone could really deny it!

My dad as a baby

My dad as a toddler.