The sleeper bed I use for her monthday photos used to be her favorite place to be when she wasn't being held. She loved being swaddled and cuddled up in her secure little pocket, but now that she has more control of her body, she was ready to get out of there after cooperating with a few pictures. : ) Even if she's small for her age, we can still tell she's growing. Her toes hang off the front of the seat and her head is starting to reach the top! I first started using this chair for the photos because it was the only way to get a good look at her. Now that she can steadily sit unassisted, though, you can really see what she looks like! The month sticker that used to fill her torso looks so small on her belly, and if you look carefully, you can tell it's crinkled up from her attempts to get it off her shirt. Apparently she knows paper does not belong on clothes. : )
Developmentally, she is building up toward some big milestones. She is much happier on her belly now, and she trades off between sleeping on her back, side, and tummy. She lunges toward everything in an attempt to grasp it, especially if it's something Billy and I frequently hold, like cups, phones, remotes, or water bottles. She pushes up really well with her arms or pushes her bum up in the air, but she hasn't figured out how to do them both at the same time so she can crawl. She can hold herself up on her legs, and will stand for long periods if I stabilize her, but she isn't pulling herself up yet. She makes a noise which sounds a lot like "Hi!", mimics the sounds of other words a lot more accurately, and is starting to wave with more control and some level of awareness about what she's doing. She reaches up to me when she wants me to pick her up and helps me get her out of the carseat by leaning forward. If we stop bouncing her around, singing to her, or doing anything else she'd like us to continue, she lets us know by kicking her leg, batting at us with her hand, or bouncing her head. She's so curious while nursing that she frequently pulls off to check things out around the room or smile at Billy before using her hand to latch herself back on with no help from me. Getting her to latch initially required such a careful set of precise maneuvers that if you'd told me six months ago that she'd develop the ability to do it herself, I never would have believed you. She seems to be acquiring new skills so quickly that sometimes I start to wonder if one day she's just going to crawl over to the couch, pull herself up, and shout "Mama!" all in one motion. : )The other thing that makes life easier for all of us is that Nora has really adopted the sleeping habits we've been working so hard to instill in her. Sleep training is a pretty controversial issue in mommyland, and I don't want to suggest that what has worked for us is best for every family, but Nora has responded very well to the consistent strategies we've tried so hard to implement. She sleeps around 12-13 hours a night, waking once or twice to nurse, and naps 2 or 3 times a day, depending on the duration of the naps. In the past month, her naps have gotten longer and her sleep transitions have become mostly seamless. She still will not choose to go to sleep on her own-- when I see pictures of babies who've fallen asleep on their play mats, all I can do is scratch my head in wonder-- but the nap routine has indeed become a routine that she clearly understands as her signal to put herself to sleep. Once she's down in her crib in the dark, she is so good at soothing herself to sleep that I can hardly believe it. A well rested Nora is a happy Nora, so the fact that these habits are really starting to stick also plays a large part in why we have such a happy baby most of the time.
We're trying to enjoy every day as much as we can, but at the same time, if she's this much fun at 7 months old, we can't wait to see what her 8th monthday has in store!
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