Claire at 7 months:
- CRAWLS!!! She began crawling (officially) on November 18th. Josh thought she crawled before this but it was only maybe 4 or so steps at a time and her momma didn't think that really qualified as crawling (I know, she wasn't even 7 months old and I was already hard on her!). But on 11/18, she crawled across the entire living room because she was chasing me (while crying) as I ransacked the house looking for my cell phone. I finally caved and gave it to her that she is officially crawling! It is so fun and cute to see because you feel like a baby that small shouldn't be able to move like that!
- Loves, loves, loves to give mommy (and only mommy, which I don't mind :)) kisses. She sucks on my chin and lunges for my mouth. It's actually getting kind of painful when she
gnaws on me with her gums! - Has moved from her belly to sitting up all on her own, one time (at least that mom and dad have seen).
- Has had some formula. I am still breastfeeding but I'm not pumping enough during the day for her three full bottles and I went through almost my entire freezer stash. She now drinks two bottles of breastmilk and one bottle of formula each weekday. For some reason I had a hard time with this. I am proud to still be nursing and I am proud that she was nursed exclusively for over 6 months. She is handling the formula so-so. She's not a big fan and she has some constipation/tummy issues. But she'll adapt!
- Wears 3-6 month and 6 month clothes..... still. :)
- Drinks 5 or 6 ounce bottles and eats every 3-4 hours. She also has greatly improved her solid food eating skills. She loves the homemade sweet potatoes and peas. I mix the vegetables (one at a time) with breastmilk and rice cereal. She's not too sure about the applesauce yet. She scrunches her nose and closes her eyes because of the sour taste.
- Sleeps from about 7:30-8:00PM until 7AM, with getting up once or (usually) twice. She has been harder to get back down after she wakes up- she used to just go right back to sleep and it wasn't a big deal for me to get up during the night to feed her. Now she often cries and gets very upset. Josh has been GREAT. If I don't think she needs to eat, he'll get up with her. Even if she does need to eat, he'll sometimes get up and change her diaper (which is much harder work than just sitting down and feeding her) before I get up to nurse her. He never once complains and I so appreciate his partnership.
- Often has a tricky time going down for a nap. It is either super easy or super hard to get her down. We're trying to let her 'cry it out' a little more and it occasionally works, but usually doesn't.
- Is noticing t
he world around her more than ever. It's almost like a light switch turned on and all of a sudden she can see all of her surroundings (hmm reminds me of the song, "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see..."). She loves to explore. You can see that she found the coffee table during her exploration this week and decided she should climb inside. Of course, why not?! - She often leans backward and looks straight up above her and is captivated by what she sees (which is usually just a white ceiling but is sometimes a ceiling fan, to her delight).
- Loves her one-on-one time with her daddy. During class last Thursday Josh said that he fed Claire at bedtime but she decided she didn't want the bottle, so she just leaned against his chest and fell asleep, which caused him to cry (he's a softie and I love it). She is no
t very cuddly and it's very unusual for her to do this so it meant a lot to him! You can see the joy they experience together in the below photo that was taken before bedtime tonight.
On the eve of Thanksgiving, we are bursting with gratitude for our precious little family and all of the abundant blessings in our life. Claire brings us more joy than we ever could have hoped for. Even during the middle of the night when Claire is screaming and I am exhuasted and long for sleep, I cannot help but smother her cheeks with kisses. As I celebrate our blessings I remember and pray for the women and men that are still searching for their family and struggling with infertility or miscarriage or child loss. It is a heartbreaking place to be and although we are joyous I have not forgotten the intense pain we felt during our infertility journey and miscarriage. Time heals but you don't forget.
Blessings to you all on Thanksgiving! God is good, all the time and all the time, God is good.
