"She's My Kind of Rain" {7 Months}

Carly turned 7 months old last week and has been sick ever since!  With her second trip to Iowa leading up to the 7 month mark, she was quite busy...so I didn't get a chance to post or take her 7 month photos, for that matter.

Truth be told it's been a very stressful couple of weeks with multiple changes...so I wish I could write all about the normalcy in Carly's life, but sadly it doesn't exist.  She was right on track toward being the "world's coolest 7-month old" when she encountered a road block of being sick.  So we have degressed in the past two weeks, but that's okay.

So...before we went to Iowa, here is what I would have said about our girl:

• Eats like a champ, downing 5 ounces in total of "solids" twice a day
• Loves sweet potatoes, peas and carrots and will eat avocado,green beans and oatmeal  if in the right mood
• Can stand for periods of minutes at a time while playing with her music table
• Transitions from sitting to the crawling position and then lunges forward
• Is becoming the happiest little girl around.  Brian and I have texted frequently that she is just an angel when she is with us!

And here is my report now that she has gone through a bad cold, cough, ear infection, bloody noses, and a head-to-toe rash:

• Does not go into the crawling position and gets frustrated when she can't get to a toy she wants 
• Has rejected all solid food and will gag to the point of vomit when we feed her
• Due to her lack of nutrition throughout the day, wakes up around 1am-2am for a feeding...I'm so glad we have gone back to night time feedings! NOT!  I pray each night as I'm getting into bed that she will sleep through the night...but it hasn't happened since our first night in Iowa
• Is very clingy, squirmy and needy...but all natural parts of being a sick baby

Anyway, here is really what she has developed this month:

•  Can actually pull herself up from the sitting position to her music table without loosing her balance...crazy!
• Experimenting with her vocal chords and can get very loud.  She grunts, giggles, screeches, screams, sings and talks...you name it, she vocalizes it!
• Loves...just loves to read books!  
• Loves the predictable and the familiar...we read the same books and sing the same songs over and over again.  She knows what parts of her books are soft to touch and knows how to turn the page
• Freaks out when music is played...seriously goes bonkers.  This girl LOVES music, especially harmonies.
• Understands routine but is also a very flexible little girl
• Incredibly demanding but a doll when she gets what she wants
• Responds positively to praise and encouragement--praise God that we have 5 more months before we have to start discipline! 

Her schedule is as follows:

Oh, wait...she doesn't have one!  HA!  I've been pulling my hair out the past 6 months trying to instill a schedule that she did not want to follow.  So shortly after I posted her 6 month blog, I tossed my hands in the air and decided to just do whatever she wanted to do.  Many child-directed method books say that if babies are allowed to function on their own schedule that it will fall into place and become predictable, but that is not the case with Carly.  No two days are the same...even similar.  Some days she takes 3 naps, most days she takes 4 naps and some times she takes 5 naps (each nap only lasting 30 minutes).  She also nurses a minimum of 5 times per day but sometimes nurses 7 times in a 24-hour period (which is crazy for a 7-month old to still be nursing that often...I'm never going to get this girl weened [which actually is totally okay with me]!).  The only thing predictable is that somehow each night we get her to bed by 9 or 9:15pm and she will generally take a nap 2 hours after she gets up in the morning.  Every other awake time and nap time is unpredictable.  Some days she is up at 7am and other times she sleeps until 9:30am (with me, of course).  I can also bank on her joining me in bed each morning between 5:30am-6:30am.  I don't know any other baby who wasn't on a schedule by 7 months old...so if you can relate do share in my woes! ;)

It's okay...I love her for who she is and have accepted that despite my best efforts this particular child is a bit complicated.  Maybe I'll get a mild-mannered kid next time around...but this little girl happens to be as stubborn as her mama.  I look forward to directing that strong willed nature into good and productive matters someday.

Well I'd say that just about covers this crazy month called number 7.  I can't wait to see what's next!

Look how long she is!  Those legs are nearly hanging off the edge!

 This last one I have to post because it shows just how much she dislikes being on her back.  She will roll over immediately if you place her on her back so she can scoot around on her tummy! :)