Amelia Jane - Seven months old

Seven months is somehow more fun than six. Amelia seems to be hitting her stride more and more. This month, she has been much more engrossed with her toys, enough that I can walk away for a minute and she doesn't panic every single time. She still does this, just not as often.

She is fully sitting now. It's funny how quickly they can go from barely sitting, then assisted, to fully sitting unassisted. She can sit up for quite a while (20+ minutes) before getting tired, and a lot of times she just gracefully falls over and will play on her tummy when she is too tired to sit up. She's nowhere close to getting to the sitting position on her own, but she's pretty good about falling down in a way that she doesn't hurt her head. 

Just recently, she's started scooting around. She propels herself forward with her legs and is able to get a few feet by doing this. Suddenly, nothing seems to be out of reach for her and we are all adjusting to this new reality. Audrey in particular is constantly worried about Amelia getting her toys (or any toy not deemed a baby's). She doesn't get mad, but she does run around moving everything farther away. I try to remind her to trade her a different toy, but more often than not Amelia ends up toyless and confused.

Another wonderful development that goes with sitting is being able to be in her high chair while I'm in the kitchen and dining room. Such a game changer! I throw a handful of cheerios on her tray, or some cooked veggies, and she's as happy as can be. At the beginning of the month, she wasn't so good at actually getting food into her mouth, but in just a few short weeks she has figured out how to manipulate her fingers to get the tiny cheerios or pieces from inside her fist to inside her mouth. Less and less ends up on the floor when she's actually hungry and not just playing. She is eating whatever we eat, just cut up into small pieces. I do give her crackers (ritz mostly) whole because she's really good at taking bites and if she gets too much it just dissolves in her mouth or falls onto the tray. Great practice.

Her eating or snacking is a great tool to keeping her happy at the gym or when she's being held by others. It's the fastest way to her heart! She took a sippy cup with water in it one day, but we haven't really tried again since. She did manage to get some water, but it was an accident more than on purpose and she wasn't all that interested in it after that. I have a container of puffs in the diaper bag and usually a bag of cheerios along which works great for distraction when we are out and about. Always have to have tricks up my sleeve with how busy we can be.

Sleep. Sleep is our struggle as always. Two nights, she slept great and only woke up once. The rest of the nights are usually 2-5 times of waking up, eating, sometimes going back to sleep, sometimes demanding more milk, and sometimes just not wanting to sleep. As much as I hate and feel bad doing it, I've had hubby get up to get her back to sleep much more often. She is a lot better at going back to sleep when she sees him than me since he can't offer her the comfort of nursing. Plus, he has the magic touch for sure. He always has. I know that she wasn't sleeping great for a while because she was teething. She got in her third tooth, the upper right tooth. and the days leading up to that were rough. Now, the left side is causing her discomfort. It's obvious with how swollen it is. I feel for her! I just want it to break through already but it's taking it's time. {Update: it broke through! so much better sleep. Let's see if it lasts.} Her smile is so adorable with all the little white teeth peeking out. I'm not used to a baby this small having more than just the bottom two teeth. Both Audrey and Josie got the bottom two at four months and then didn't get more until they were at least 12 months. She's definitely a lot more different than those two.

Speaking of differences, she is later to crawl and was later to sit up. Like I said last month, she's held more and is a lot more clingy so she just hasn't had the opportunity to build up those muscles. On top of that, she's pretty little. We went to her six month appointment when she was 6 1/2 months old, and she was weighing in at 14.8 lbs which is only 10%. That was lower than last time, but the doctor wasn't concerned since she obviously grew with her height, 27 inches, 79%. That makes her weight to height ratio like 124% and her BMI at just .97. She is the very definition of long and lean, and I laugh at my old self for thinking that the other two were like this. They were much rounder and more average. (Josie was 27 inches long, 17 lb 10 1/2 oz and Audrey was 27 inches long, 15 lbs 8 oz). All girls were about the same length but were pretty drastically different for weight. Also, the percentages were different with each girl for length even with them being exactly the same. That is not very reliable...

Amelia's wardrobe is pretty intense. I sorted through 3-6 month, 6-9 month, and 6-12 month (so ridiculous, like 6 month and 12 month old babies are the same size?) and took out all of the winter clothes, plus a few I've picked up at second hand stores. There are a lot of options! I even took out what I knew she wouldn't wear (too wide, worn out, nothing matched it, etc) and it's a lot left over. She will be so well dressed, with nary a repeat of outfit to be seen. I've also been on a head wrap hunt and am eagerly awaiting those to come. Her hair hasn't grown in at all (as you can see in the pictures) so she still wears headbands or head wraps, my personal favorite, pretty much every day. She sometimes plays with them, but most of the time she just leaves them alone. It's no big thing to her.

Socially, she's really coming along. I pass her on to anyone willing because it's great practice. Sometimes she rocks it, other times she passes. I hear, "oh, she's a mama's girl!" pretty much daily (along with "wow! look at those blue eyes!" and "she is so alert!"). I try not be defensive when people comment on how tiny she is. Most of the time, it's meant as a sweet thing, like she's dainty, not underweight, but man some people just seem tactless at times. She's much more smiley and social, so we seem to draw even more people.

Nursing is still going great. We have a good rhythm down. It's so satisfying to see her pull off with a little milk on her lips, smiling hugely with a full belly. I really do love it. It's crazy to think that we are over halfway done (if we stop at a year) and that she's getting so close to being a toddler. I mean, really, with each kid that comes along they seem to grow up faster into being toddlers, just trying to keep up. I'm sure she won't be that much different, even though she looooves mama and seemingly could be held all the time.

Each passing month shows more and more personality. The girls play with her more, bringing her toys, taking away what she shouldn't have, making her laugh, kissing her endlessly. I finally got a great belly laugh out of her the other day, and I swear to you it was the best sound I've ever heard. She does not offer real laughs ever. Big smiles, yes, all the time, but she's very quiet. Not a lot of talking, jabbering, cooing. She does it, but more than anything she just takes it all in. How will she be when she's older? So exciting to think about.

The comparison shot. Millie's smile is so big and bright, Audrey's cheeks were delicious, and Josie's hair is amazing. 

Amelia Jane - six months old

Little lady is half a year old already. Her baby months are going by wayyy too quickly.

This month has been pretty good (Both Josie and Audrey had a pretty great month at six months old too, must be a great time developmentally). We had a few rough weekends being out of town. She doesn't seem to like staying anywhere but home, whatever the reason is. We experimented while visiting hubby's family and it was a little better. My hypothesis is that she doesn't like when it is too humid, too dark (what? I know), or too quiet. She sleeps better in a pack n play than she does in the crib at my parents' house, too. Strange girl. 

Breastfeeding seems to be going strong. I had a few days where I thought she was starving and I wasn't producing enough, so I made some lactation oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and have had one or two a day (poor me, cookies all day, right?) and am still eating quite a balanced diet, and it seems as though she is getting more than enough, stopping before I feel like I'm empty and quite happy and content afterwards.

She's also eating foods like crazy. I started her on solids,mostly finger foods that she has to mush up (chew) before she swallows, right before she turned six months and she is rocking it. So far I haven't run across anything she doesn't like. She doesn't have the coordination to pick it up herself and actually get it in her mouth, but she eats it great if I help her get it there. We've tried chicken, salmon, pork, beef, eggs, all kinds of veggies, cheese, noodles, basically whatever we are eating. Happy, happy girl.

For a while, she was waking up 5-6 times a night. Hello, zombie mom. Once she started eating solids, it dropped back down to two, and the last one is after 5:00 AM so that just barely counts. It's so much better. I have more energy, she seems even happier somehow, and I don't risk stubbing my toe nearly as much. She rolls like crazy but does not sleep well if she's not totally snuggie wrapped, so she ends up awkwardly flipping around like a fish. Whatever works, I guess. The pacifier is only necessary right at bedtime. After eating in the middle of the night, she's tired enough to pretty much be asleep by the time she's laid back down. She's not nearly as attached to it as the other two were.

She still takes two naps in the morning and three naps in the afternoon before bed at 7 or 7:30. It's crazy how much more she sleeps than her sisters when you add it all up. She is still super easy to put down too. All I do is turn the sound machine on, wrap her up (she fusses for this part because she knows what is happening) and then give her the pacifier and she immediately turns away and zones out. Good bye, mom! I am out of there so fast and she hardly ever needs anything more than that.

There was a span of 4 days where she would not fall asleep at night until like 10 or 11:00, but she phased out of that just as fast as it came. I don't know what the deal was there. Since this is our third time around, we were way less 'let's figure this out what is happening she's going to be spoiled' and more 'I bet she outgrows this in a few days so let's just hang out with her for a while.' Ahh, the advantages to having experience. :)

She's still rolling all over and will end up 10 feet away from where she started if there's room. She can sit in the tripod pose if I help her get there but she doesn't have a lot of balance so I am not very far away at this point. She's held a lot more than her sisters, not all the time, but often, so I'm not too surprised she's a little slower at these bigger milestones. Girlie girl is grabbing at everything and it all goes into the mouth.

We haven't had her six month appointment yet so I have no idea how big she is or how long she has gotten. She has a few 0-3 month onesies she fits in (easily, so weird when she's so long) and she easily fits in 3-6 months clothes still. I pulled out the 6-9 summer clothes so we'd get a little use out of them. They don't really fit but I put her in them anyway.

She smiles all the time. Her smile lights up her whole face and the dimples are irresistible. It's a little ridiculous. I kiss her face and snuggle her close to me all day long and I still don't feel like I get enough of her. She draws the most attention our way, even more than before, more than either of her sisters did and I wouldn't be surprised if this continues the more she interacts with others.

So one huge change is that we've been at the gym almost every day during the week. She's been forced to be around other adults without me there, and she's doing surprisingly well. The first week or two were rough. They had to come get me two times. Now, though, they know her and have figured out a few tricks. She often gets wrapped tight and rocked to sleep. Some of them lightly cover her eyes from the light and she sleeps great like that. If she's not tired, they've learned to hold her facing out so she can watch the activity. I've even been told by a few that if they stay away from the entrance, she does better since she's right in the middle of the action. Whatever works! She's always more than happy to come to me when I come to pick them up (as is Audrey, although I think Josie could care less), but she isn't nearly as difficult as I thought she'd be overall.

This has helped so much with her tolerance with other people holding her. Poor family members that just want to love her and interact with her always end up with a screaming baby, so any kind of improvement is awesome. If she's full, wide awake, and clean diapered, she usually will tolerate being held by someone else, even with me in the room, for a little while. If I talk nearby though, she'll sometimes remember that we are separated (the horror) and freak out. A work in progress, but definitely progressing.

She doesn't enjoy watching her sisters like I thought she would by now. I don't know if she can't tell what they are doing so she isn't interested, or if she is just that attached to me, but she doesn't just sit and watch them all that much. If they are playing near her, she does play better, but more of that stems from not liking to be alone more than actually wanting them around. I hope that changes down the road because I don't want her to always be excluded from the big girls.

Amelia hates being alone. Every single time I leave the room, she cries. If someone else is in the room, even a sister, and I leave, she panics a little, and if that person leaves the room, it's the end of the world for her. She just hates it. Thankfully, this does not apply at bed time, but all other times of the day are affected. She's old enough and strong enough for me to wear her on my back using my Beco wrap and it's amaaaazing how much more I can get done with a happy baby attached to me. I hang the laundry on the line outside, cook entire meals, unload groceries, etc. It's a game changer for sure.

Of course, she does love her sisters and smiles for them often. Both of them have gotten her to laugh by doing some crazy antics, and it's pretty fun to witness if I happen to have the chance to just stop and watch. Most of the time it's in the car since she sits in between her sisters.

This month's sister photos were poor in quality but better in quantity than last month. Audrey had juuuust gotten over being mad about something so she had a red blotchy face from crying. Amelia was hungry and d-o-n-e with pictures, but I was able to keep her at least not crying for most of them. Josie was on point with big smiles, but she makes some ca-razy faces sometimes. See for yourself.

And the comparison shot: Amelia has the biggest smile and scrawniest legs, Audrey has the biggest cheeks but is the smallest in size, and Josie has the most hair and hardly even looks like her here.

Man, we're blessed.

Amelia Jane - five months old

This month, Amelia's been busy rolling over, chomping on everything she can get her hands (and teeth) on, and losing her ability to sleep long lengths. It's been quite a month.

At her four month appointment (right after that post of course... never lines up to post it beforehand), she measured at 25 inches (95%) and 13.8 lbs (15%) which is NOT accurate. I don't know what the deal was with the scale at her appointment, but I weighed her again at home by standing on the scale and then holding her and weighing myself again, and she was 14 lb 7 oz, which puts her at 30%, much less alarming and much more realistic. She dropped down a little for the weight but she's growing fine and all of my babies do this so it's not a big deal.

She's still wearing 3-6 month with a few 0-3 month (and no, they aren't just the "big" clothes that were 0-3, they are really random). I just pulled out her 6-9 month summer clothes with hopes to get at least one wear out of each outfit, but I have a feeling she'll swim in them. Her feet have grown just enough to fit in the 0-3 month size shoes. They are so long and skinny, it's really not worth it other than for looks. They are pretty adorable, so I put her in them on special occasions. Most of the time, she's just barefoot.

No new teeth, although she drools a lot now (way more than Audrey, but not as much as Josie did) and wants to chew on everything. She still loves the pacifier, and I often use it as a distraction if she keeps trying to chew on something that isn't ok. I have also started saying "not food" when I don't want her to chew on something, in hopes that as she gets older, I can say that and she will actually get it. :)

The one downside to the pacifier is that she isn't as chatty. She happily sucks on it and doesn't spend as much time cooing. I take it out if she's clearly happy, but she fusses enough to get it back pretty often so that hasn't helped much.

Movement is coming. She has used her toes to scoot forward and has also done the Superman a few times to throw herself forward. She spins in circles and rolls around too. She hasn't gone more than about four feet, but she is able to explore a little which helps her stay happy longer. But, man, she does not tolerate being set down if she's not in the right mood. She loves to lay on the couch with me right next to her, keeping her from rolling off the couch like a good mom should do. I don't mind, but the floor works too, kiddo.

She doesn't seem close to sitting up, but this step always surprises me. I always forget to try or work on it, and then suddenly they can do it. I wouldn't be surprised if she is doing this by six months.

No food this last month, although that changed a little right after she turned five months old. She nurses great. So great, that she ends up eating at least every two hours. I really don't mind. Seriously. Except at night. I would love to sleep for more than two hours at a time! I had hoped it'd be better but it actually got worse. I'd say that at least one third of the nights, she had one stretch that would only last 1 1/2 hours. That means I'm getting up 4-5 times a night. Yuck. So sometimes I doze while she naps in the afternoon, while the big girls have quiet time, and then all is well (enough). Soon, though, soon it will get a little better, right?

She still is all about being outside. We have been biking (strap her carseat in the Burley trailer - works like a charm), walking, spending time at parks, going to a pond to swim (she sat in the water and of course loved it) and she is like a different baby. She hardly fusses at all. Sometimes she'll nap, sometimes she doesn't, but she still stays happy. I love it so much. Keep this forever, baby girl.

I have noticed that she gets pretty cranky when her naps have been all over the place too much. I've been trying a little harder to have a solid afternoon nap at home, but sometimes it doesn't last as long as it should. Introducing: the second afternoon nap. Seriously. She naps from 1-3, wakes up to eat, gets insanely angry suddenly, and sleeps for another hour. It's the weirdest thing, but I'm going with it. Sometimes, if she goes down for her main nap earlier, she'll even sneak in a third nap again before bed at like 5:00 or 6:00. And let's not forget that she naps at least twice in the morning if we are out and about, usually for like 45 minutes each. So weird. It's no wonder, though, since she is probably tired from not sleeping all night. How much energy do I want to put in to get more of a schedule? Answer: None. It's actually working fine like this. We have a lot of flexibility and I don't think she'd sleep more at night since she wakes up hungry and eats well enough to make it worth it.

Amelia's been a little better about being held by other people. She's still not that comfortable with hubby, which is unfortunate. My mom is the best with her so far, mostly because she capitalizes on her short attention span and constantly changes scenery and positions. I also started taking the kids to the gym childcare and she's done okay. When I go in the morning, she cries a little, sleeps a little, cries a little, and watches the other kids all while being held. When I go in the afternoon, they usually come and get me because she's too upset for too long. Poor thing. I can only imagine what she's thinking, since she's never away from me and then I'm gone for a whole hour which must feel like forever to a baby. Thankfully, it's a pretty big part of our routine, so she is getting more and more used to it and the people are often the same too. It's so good for her, to be around other people. I just feel bad for the workers that get stuck with the screaming baby...

Her finger and hand control has improved drastically. She grips on to me as tight as she can when I pick her up (love that) and reaches for my face every single time she can. She intentionally reaches for toys, her pacifier, and her sisters all the time. They love it too, and delight in taking away toys and giving her new toys. I'm sure she'll love that as she gets older... Part of this lovely new trick is grabbing at whatever I am doing, most often being my food on a plate or papers I'm trying to read. We have a lot of crumpled up mail laying around and she doesn't get to "help" me in the kitchen as much anymore, much to her dismay.

This little lady is quite the drama queen. She goes from 0 to 60 faster than I can blink and bounces between laughing and crying enough to confuse anyone. Trust me, I don't indulge it, she's just naturally like this. Many a day, I get to cook a meal with the sounds of her screams in the background. I try to get her happily playing right next to me on a blanket in the kitchen, but she is on to me and my tricks. It rarely works. I'm just not going to risk burning her by wearing her in the front or holding her with one hand while I try to stir something on the stove with my other hand. Cooking has to be fast lately and I still have to do it while she screams. Soon enough I will be able to wear her on my back, but she's just not close enough to sitting up to do that yet. I also think she'll enjoy sitting in the high chair munching on food when we get to that point, but it's still a ways off.

Josie and Audrey still kiss her often, trade her toys (always in their favor of course) and call her all the nicknames (current favorites: Mil mil, Millie moo moo, Milbert, Mila girl). They are used to her loud shrieks and screams and don't seem too bothered by them. Sometimes they block it out so much that they don't "help" when they could. It's kind of funny, actually, how she can be screaming right next to them just wanting her pacifier or a toy and they won't even notice. Other times they notice immediately and help her, so it just depends on what they are doing.

This month, the sisters were all about the group pictures at the end of her little photo session. Enjoy. :)

Amelia was over it, the big girls...not so much.

I told them to make her feel better... pat pat pat.

And the comparison shot. Darn that lack of hair, it makes it so hard to see the similarities. Look how long her torso is compared to the other two. Her smile is also huge, and it's not just in these pictures, it really is bigger than the other two's ever were. Looking at these pictures of all three girls at this age... makes me just lose it. They are so cuddly and adorable. I have the best memories of each of them. This stage is the best (I'll say that again next month, and the next, and the next...)