7 Months

Dear Jocelynne,

What a month it has been in some respects I think it has been the hardest month that you and I have faced. You had a really hard time adjusting to the time change when we got back from the US and this stressed Mama out because she adjusted faster so we were on different schedules. Mama was not getting enough sleep which is never a good thing.

Just about the time you started settling back into a decent nap and night time routine you decided to start teething. You went from no teeth to cutting seven teeth in just over two weeks. I guess you decided you needed seven teeth when you hit seven months you have four teeth on the top (the front two and one either side) and three on the bottom (the front two and one to the right side). It looks like your eye teeth are also close to coming through on the top.

Needless to say the teething really messed up your sleep again and also made you grisly during the day which was not the best combo when I was sleep deprived. We made it though some days we both cried. What helped me get through was the fact that even in the worst of the teething you would have some of the happiest moments, you would start laughing at something and you would just get hysterical with your laughter, big huge belly laughs while you kicked you feet.

You also finally decided you were ready to sit with out throwing yourself backwards after 30 seconds. You love to sit now and will happily sit and play with you toys on your mat for long periods of time. Within days of picking up sitting you decided you wanted to stand and now you want someone to help you stand ALL the time. You like to stand holding onto the furniture but are not really steady enough yet to do it safely so you and I spend a good portion of our day working on your stability.

You love to give kisses which are actually more like being slimmed but I love the fact that you love to do it. You have a new trick if I am holding you but not paying you enough attention, you reach up and gently pat my face until I look down at you, and then you smile at me and tell me a “story”.

You are getting so good at eating food you love pears, rice cakes, rusks, oranges, courgette (zucchini) fritters, cucumber, carrots, cheesy vegetable nuggets, potato wedges, sweet potato wedges and ham egg and cheese omelettes. I love watching you learn to eat; it makes me so happy that other than bananas you have not really refused any food.

This may have been the hardest month that you and I have faced so far but in some regards it has been the happiest too. You know when I need to see you smile, and you have decided you are a daddy’s girl and are quite happy to chill with Daddy for a few hours on his days off so Mama can head out for some me time. You are becoming more independent every day and while most of the time you would rather be down on the ground creating havoc than having a kiss and a cuddle it makes me proud to see you entertaining yourself.

You teach me to chill out all the time. Like giving up your pacifier cold turkey at less than 5 months old, even though I worried we would have to have it surgically removed when you went to college. I can’t tell you how much I worried about giving up the pacifier and all for nothing. Now that your teeth have come through you have decided that you will go back to decent naps and with a little guidance from Mama are back in your cot and starting to settle at night better, so I guess the hours of worry over the last two weeks that you might never go back to your cot and that you were going to wake every hour all night until you were 12 years old were useless as well.

I am so glad everyday (even the ones I cry) that I am your Mama and each new trick you come up with delights me beyond belief I hope that 7 months will be just as good or better than 6 months.

Love,

Mama