Levi: 7 Months

I can NOT get this kid to hold still long enough for a clear picture. Haha.

My little man is 7 months old today. He's hit some big milestones this month.

A couple weeks ago he started clapping. It's adorable and he gets the biggest grin on his face when he does it - like he's so proud of himself.

He's also really started sitting up unassisted in the past week or two. I still put pillows around him because he does randomly tip over sometimes, but for the most part, he's got it down. He even got to ride in the cart like a big boy without the carseat today!

He loved it more than this picture lets on. Haha. He was too distracted by everything in the store to smile at me.

He's perfected rolling from his belly to back, and does it as soon as I put him on his belly. But he still can't roll from back to belly. At his doctor's appointment last week, the doctor said now that he's sitting up, it's not a big deal, and he's just going to skip rolling from back to belly. Haha. #turtle

He's still a shrimp. As of a week ago, he weighs 15 lbs. 9 oz. (9%), and measures 25.5" tall (3%). But he's growing on his own curve, so it's not a concern. He's just barely starting to grow out of some of his 3 month clothes. 6 month shirts fit pretty well, but 6 month pants are about 2 inches too long. Haha.

We've finally broken the swaddle habit! But his sleep hasn't been the same since. :-( He's up every three hours all night and won't go back to sleep without nursing. I know I just need to make him cry it out, but he's still in our room and Justin needs to sleep at night because he gets up wicked early. And if we move him out of our room, he's going to have to go upstairs, and then his screaming will wake up the girls. (#excuses) It's not a huge deal for me to feed him. He eats in 10 minutes and goes back to sleep. It's just ridiculous at this age. And I miss sleeping all night.

He does take pretty good naps. And he's gotten better about going to sleep on his own instead of nursing or rocking to sleep. But he's still in the rock n' play. I really need to transition him out of it, but I'm a wimp and don't want to deal with it.

He's still not eating much real food. I did purees for a while - focusing mainly on veggies. If he's anything like his sisters (and his mom), he'll hate vegetables in a few years, so I'm trying to fill him up with them now. He liked everything I gave him and gobbled it down. But then he started getting horribly constipated. I don't really understand why. I'm not giving him cereal. Just plain ole pureed veggies and the occasional apple or pear to gnaw on. The doctor suggested adding Karo syrup to his food. It seemed wrong to give the kid pure sugar, but I did it for 3 days with no results. Finally, she told me to mix Miralax into his purees instead, and that did the trick. But now I'm afraid to give him more food. I guess we're still just easing into it, slowly.

He's had a cold for a few days, so he's been snotty and grumpy and not nursing or sleeping well. But when he's healthy, he's usually such a sweet, snuggly, happy baby. He still adores the Jumperoo. Sometimes I worry that I let him sit in it too long, but he loves it and is getting good exercise! Haha. He likes playing with toys - especially things that light up, play music, or rattle. He likes reading books, but has reached the stage where he's constantly trying to grab the book and put it in his mouth. He can be a mama's boy. I'd say he definitely prefers me over most people, but he doesn't have stranger anxiety yet! He gladly goes into the nursery at church. He smiles at people who talk to him in the grocery store. He doesn't cry when I leave the room. I'm sure it's still coming, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Haha.

He's still a big babbler. He says dada and mama and bababa, but doesn't mean anything by it. He pants and flails his arms and legs when he gets excited. It's adorable.

He hasn't figured out how to spit out his Binky when he wants to put something else in his mouth. In this picture, he's holding a [chunky] puzzle piece. He taps it against his Binky and sucks like crazy, but can't quite figure out why it won't go in his mouth. Haha.

First pair of shoes!

Growing up with sisters . . .