Tales from Waters Edge: Celebrating Seven Months

Today, Baby Scout, you are Seven months old.

Sleeping Patterns: Baby Scout, you are a great sleeper at night. You usually go to sleep between 8:00 - 8:30 and get up between 6:00 - 7:00. You don't usually wake up during the night (except for the couple of nights before you cut your first tooth). You still like to have your bottom half swaddled and are a full-time crib sleeper. We still do a bedtime routine of cereal, bath, pajamas, books, eat and then bed. You usually fall asleep while you are eating but if you don't, we might rock you until you go to sleep or sometimes, you will lay in your crib until you fall asleep. Naps are a different story. You hardly ever let me put you down for a nap. We just hold you so you can rest during the day, and you will usually sleep for about thirty to forty-five minutes. When you are just waking up, you are a little grumpy. It takes you a few minutes before you want to play.

What You Like To Do: Baby Scout, you love to swing. It has been too cold to go out, but the few times we have gone out to swing, you have loved it. You love to sit in your playroom and play with your toys. I can only imagine what it will be like on Christmas. At bedtime, you love to be read to by Daddy. You guys have developed a love for several Christmas stories. Most nights, you love to take your bath except for having your hair washed. You have really learned to splash and usually get whoever is giving you your bath all wet. The Christmas decorations are very exciting to you. You love the train at Janny and Granpappy's house and all the lights at our house. We have several pictures of you watching the train go round and round. You love to be rocked and snuggled, and you have one certain position you like to get in to go to sleep. Your newest interest is Chipper. You love to touch his hair and rub him. He doesn't really like it that much though. You also love to clap for yourself and are very encouraged to do this if we say "Yeah, for Scout!"

New Things You Have Done this Month: Baby Scout, you have done so many new things this month. You celebrated your first Thanksgiving and had a good time playing BINGO. You also helped put up Christmas decorations for the first time. You love to look at the lights on the trees. You pulled yourself up to sitting for the first time in your Rock-n-Play and now we don't put you in there anymore. Luckily, you were buckled in, but we officially retired the Rock-n-Play that day. You also had your picture taken with a Guiness Book of World record holder and helped daddy teach his math class for the first time. Mommy took you over to visit Papaw at his house for the first time, and it just made his day. He loves it when you come to visit. You had your picture made in your first snow (it was really just flurries), but the first real snow was this month also. We didn't get a picture because it was too cold. This month, we took you to your first "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" on the square. We didn't see Santa, but we did see the Grinch. You really liked him. You smiled and grabbed his nose. You also attended your first two Christmas parties and housewarming party and were really good at all of them. You tried your self-feeder for the first time. You knew to put it in your mouth but didn't really like what was in it. You pushed up on all four knees for the first time by yourself on December 11th and got your first tooth on December 17th. It was your bottom left tooth (from mommy's point of view). Your new talent is clapping for yourself. You can really get those hands together. It is so cute.

Eating Patterns: Baby Scout, you are a pretty good eater. You have now moved to Stage 2 foods and small amounts of table food. You have tried Mum-Mums and puffs, and you don't care for either of them. In the morning as soon as you wake up, you have cereal (your favorite is wheat) mixed with fruit. You usually eat it all and finish the left over fruit as well. At lunch, you have a fruit and a vegetable. If you have a baby food fruit, I give you a table food vegetable and vice versa. You have tried cottage cheese, peas, green beans, peaches, bananas, and carrots. You have also had small bites of grilled cheese, a blueberry muffin, and bread. This totally stresses mommy out trying to make sure the pieces are small enough that you won't choke. At dinner, you have rice cereal mixed with a fruit. In addition, you nurse four or five times a day for fifteen to twenty minutes.

Dislikes: Baby Scout, you don't really have much that you dislike. You don't love getting your hair washed but are getting better about the water trickling down in your face.

Diaper Size: Scout, you wear a Size 3 diaper.

Clothes Size: Scout, you wear all size 6 - 9 months and 6 - 12 month clothes. Your pajamas are all 6 - 9 months too.

Eye/Hair Color: Scout, right now, your eyes are brown color, and I think they are going to stay brown. Your hair is red and is getting darker and darker each day.