James is 7 Months Old 2011

7 Months! (Pirate face?)

There hasn't been much change since last month. The exciting news is that James is sleeping more! James was starting to wake up more and more often in the middle of the night and for larger periods of time.  It made no sense because we knew he could sleep 5-7 hours without eating, and pain medicine wasn't helpng him. Then after he attended our late night 11-11-11 party he got even worse. At his 6-month and 7-month appointment his pediatrician Dr. F (he has three: Dr. G, Dr. H, and Dr. F) encouraged us to "Ferberize" James, though he didn't use that word or give us the specifics. With some online coaching from Chrissy and Rachel, we gave it a try and it worked like magic. Like amazing sleep from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. with only 15 minutes of crying fairy magic. He's still napping a lot during the day as well-- he naps every 2 hours for a daily nap total of about 2 hours.  And he's been in a much better mood during the day, probably because he's sleeping more. Or maybe because his parents are in a better mood.

Passed out on the couch(29 weeks)

James is also starting to get his two center bottom teeth.  This photo was taken a little over a week ago and the teeth have popped up even farther now, but I can't get him to let me take another picture.

First teeth! (29 weeks + 5 days)

Less happy news is that James is going through some sort of stranger-danger transition, and he initially cries when anyone besides me or Kevin holds him. But he seems to get over this after a little while of reacquainting himself with a person.

Almost everything else is the same. He sits for long periods, but still falls over regularly. He tries to grab the spoon to feed himself but is rarely successful and gags himself with the spoon. He's stopped military crawling and has gone back to rolling wherever he wants to go, but he does get up on all fours now like he might suddenly crawl for real one day. He still loves to stand and jump while we hold him.

Trying to figure out how to eat the spoon (26 weeks + 5 days)

Holding himself in "about-to-crawl" position (30 weeks + 2 days)

James is still about the same length as last month by my home-measurement, 28 inches, 20-21 pounds heavy, so he's about average for height and weight now, though his head circumference continues to be off the charts. He's in 9-months to 12-months clothing.

James, wearing a toddler-sized hat (7 Months)

I am super-excited about James's first Thanksgiving this Thursday.  He loves to eat and I'm planning on letting him try all the mashed foods: potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, cranberry sauce and maybe even a little stuffing with gravy. I didn't have my first Thanksgiving until I was 6 or 7 years old, so James is a lucky boy, even though he won't remember.

Likes:
Eating sweet potatoes and bananas
Putting everything in his mouth
Shredding magazines
Looking at himself in the mirror
Photos of friends and family (seriously, he squeals when he sees photos)
Having his picture taken
Walks
Falling asleep during walks
He loves bathtime.
Playing with boxes and remote controls
New toys
"The Itsy Bitsy Spider" is still his favorite song

Playing with boxes (29 weeks + 6 days)

Shedding magazines (30 weeks + 4 days)

Doesn't hate:
Eating carrots or mangoes
Books (though he keeps trying to eat them when I read)
Sleeping in his crib at night or at naptime

Hates:
Eating chicken or beef baby food
Oragel
Driving in the car in the daytime
Putting on his pajamas (maybe he's knows it means bedtime?)

The face he makes when I try to feed him chicken (27 weeks + 6 days)