7 Months of Lil: A Little Monster

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Last week was LilliAnn's 7 month birthday. As I was feeding her tonight, I was thinking about how quickly time passes and how it had been over half a year since she came into this world. I started making a list of all the little things that I wanted to remember about her when she was a baby...how she likes to grab my finger with her little hands, how she plays with her ear when she nurses, how her little head fits perfectly in the crook of my arm, how sweet her little baby breath smells, how fuzzy her baby hair feels, how much I love those little rolls in her thighs right above her knees, how good the Noodle & Boo lotion smells that daddy loves to put on her (or Noodle Boodle as he calls it), how she squeals with delight when she pulls up to the bath tub to play peek-a-boo with her brother, and how hard she can clamp her mouth shut when I'm trying to get something out of it that's she's not supposed to be eating! I already miss those newborn days...just sleeping her days away - laying on my chest and waking only to eat, looking like a little baby doll in the bassinet. But it's so exciting watching her grow and accomplish each new milestone, and so much fun getting to know what her little personality is like! But LilliAnn...you are such a little monster at night!

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LilliAnn and Reid both sleep with us, which makes for a pretty crowded bed - even though it is king-sized! The past few weeks LilliAnn has been nursing ALL NIGHT LONG! She uses me as her pacifier, and no, she won't take a real pacifier! She sleeps for about 15-30 minutes and then whenever she rouses she wants to nurse. It makes me want to lose my mind, because everyone knows how miserable it is when you don't get good sleep. My neck, shoulders, and back have been killing me from sleeping sideways and all "womper jod" (I don't even know if those are real words!) in order for LilliAnn to nurse all night. We've tried putting her in her own bed, just like we tried with Reid, and she does really well in the beginning but always ends up in our bed because I'm terrible at letting them "cry it out." This all started a few weeks before Lil turned 7 months and I'm sure it doesn't help that she's right in the middle of some major teething! This is probably some of the reason for her wanting to nurse all night. So, I flipped to the 7 month page in Reid's baby book this past week and what was the first line I had written? "You are such a little monster! You are nursing all night long and I am tired!" Hmmmm...guess my children are more alike than I thought! I remember telling my mom when Reid was this age and when I was extremely sleep deprived, that now I knew why Britney Spears shaved her head...baby, hormones, no sleep, work, husband, busy schedule, worn out body...

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On the plus side, LilliAnn has reached so many new milestones these past few weeks! She's pulling up on everything and lets go occasionally and can keep her balance for a second. She has even started to cruise around some furniture! LilliAnn, Nana Karen calls you a little goat because you eat everything in sight - especially paper! A few mornings ago she was keeping you and Reid and when she walked into the living room you were standing up on one of Reid's riding toys holding onto the television. Nana Karen could not believe it and sent me a picture at work with the caption, "Can you believe this? She really is a goat!" That afternoon she had even climbed up inside the refrigerator while the door was open! Mom said that I was a climber too and tried to climb out of the crib in the church nursery once. I was supposedly climbing up the walls when my mom got in there to get me! She crawls on all fours now and chases after Reid from room to room. They love playing together and Reid likes to tackle her and try to ride her like a bull. We are constantly reminding him to be very easy with sissy baby. About a week ago LilliAnn was sitting next to the couch playing with Reid and she started to get fussy, I stood up to go get something out of the bedroom and she lifted up her arms and looked at me and said, "mama." My heart melted. She's been saying "da da" for a couple of weeks now, so when she finally figured out that I was "mama" I was ecstatic! She has her two bottom teeth now that both came in on October 17, she can wave, and moves her arms and body when Reid and I are dancing.

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Lil's not a big fan of the organic baby food, but she does love the organic multi-grain cereal. She still hasn't had any formula and I'm still breastfeeding - although we occasionally mix her cereal with goat's milk. Her favorite baby foods are sweet potatoes and carrots, and she likes the Earth's Best beef & spinach, and turkey vegetable. She loves the Baby Mum Mums and loves when Reid leaves his sippy cup of apple juice laying in the floor where she can get a taste! Reid ate mostly organic until he was over a year old and I'd like to do the same with Lil. She's being a little more stubborn though and prefers mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken & dumplings, chicken noodle soup, and bread off of our plates! 

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Weighing in at over 17 1/2 pounds she's still a big girl! Thankfully, she's been very healthy except for a couple of colds and ran a low grade fever once - no antibiotics...yet! Reid got his first ear infection when he was nine months old and then it was followed by a horrible stomach virus when he was ten months and a viral illness with a temp of 105 on his first birthday! Hopefully Lil will stay well, but with an older brother, me working at the clinic, and us being around so many people all the time, it's probably inevitable that she'll get sick at some point. We're all taking our Vitamin D3 so hopefully we'll stay healthy and will keep the flu far away from our house!