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This 7 Months Baby Update is full of developmental milestones and a scary mysterious illness.
Baby R has accomplished so much in the last month! It’s like his neurons and motor coordination are just on steroids right now.
As a family, we spent our 4th of July at the farm with my in-laws. He loved being surrounded by other kids and getting so much attention from his grandparents. I feel grateful that we were surrounded by loving family members and that we have been able to connect with family near and far away.
Now let’s get into this 7 months baby update!
Baby R’s Stats
At Birth: 6lbs 12oz, 19.5 inches tall, size newborn clothes and diapers.
2 weeks old: 7 lbs 3oz and measured 20.25 inches tall, size 0-3 months clothes and size 1 diapers.
2 months old: 11 lbs 11oz and measured 22.75 Inches tall, size 3-6 months clothes and size 2 diapers.
4 months old: 15 lbs 6 oz and measured 25.5 inches tall, size 9 months clothes and size 3 diapers.
5 months old: 16 lbs 14 oz and measured 25.75 inches tall, size 9 months clothes and size 3 diapers.
6 months old: 17 lbs 10 oz, 27.5 inches tall, size 12 months clothes and size 3 diapers during the day and 4 at night.
7 months old: 18 lbs 8 oz, 27.5 inches tall, size 12 months clothes and size 4 diapers.
Feeding
Roark is loving his solid food. He eats 3 times a day and recently I have started introducing him to a snack every once in a while. He can use a sip cup for water during meals.
He doesn’t like chunky food, but I have introduced whole pieces of food so he can work on holding the food with his hands. It usually ends up crushed by his hands and all over his hair, but hey, that’s part of learning, right?
He still breastfeeds, specially when he wakes up, before his naps and before he goes to bed at night.
I think he is somewhat outgrowing his dairy/soy intolerance as I am trying to reintroduce some dairy to my diet and he hasn’t had as bad of reaction as he used to have.
Diapering
We have recently started having more pee leaks at night, which tells me an upgrade in diaper size is in order so he’s on number 4s all day now. One thing I haven’t mentioned before is that his stool has changed a lot since we introduced solids to him. We had a good schedule going before solids, but now there is no timeframe for number 2. We haven’t had any more blowouts, but he does sometimes experiences constipation. Nobody warned me that as soon as babies start eating solids their poop starts to stink big time. I am glad we decided to buy the diaper genie. Even though the refills are a little more costly, the diaper genie has kept our house odor free and let me tell you, it is a good thing!
Sleeping
Sleeping is getting to be a big issue for us this month. Roark is really reluctant to sleep during the day and as a result he gets really cranky. I am not sure if he is going through a sleep regression phase.
The only advice I’ve seen to get him to sleep is the cry-out method, however I’ve tried it a couple times and after 45 mins of crying, he still won’t go to sleep. I feel awful about letting him cry and he still gets no rest, so I am in need of some advice and help. To make things even worse, he refuses to sleep on his crib or pack and play during the day, only falling sleep in my arms. As soon as I go to lay him down, he wakes up screaming. I’ve tried several things and nothing has worked yet.
Developmental – 7 months update
- Has 2 teeth! (bottom front)
- Crawls
- Pulls up on things – I was reading his daddy’s baby book. Apparently, his daddy started pulling up and walking around furniture at 7 months as well.
- “Waves”
- Says mamma and reaches for me- now I know it’s intentionally. His first word was mamma.
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Sits by himself and sits unaided
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Laughs with us or by himself
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Grabs our mouths/noses
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Sucks on his toes
- Does the dab!
- Uses sip cup
A scary illness
At the same time Roark was teething and turning 7 months, he developed a really high fever of 104F. At first I thought it was due to teething, but after giving him a warm bath and putting cool rags on his head and giving him some Tylenol, it became clear it was not going away. I called the pediatrician right away and they asked us to go the office for an exam. After a physical exam and 2 strep tests that came back negative, the doctor that saw us (our regular pediatrician was not in) recommended that we administer Fever All suppositories. We tried giving Roark Tylenol and Advil, but he would throw up more than half of the dose each time because of the taste and consistency, so after a couple days fighting/trying to administer oral medication, the fever would not break so we reached a new point of desperation. His fever hit an all time high (111F, but we are not sure the thermometer was right) and so we called the doctor and gave him Fever All. We were on our way out of the door to take him to the hospital and the fever went down. Since he had no other symptoms, the doctor said we should stay put as long as the fever stayed lower than 102F because the hospital wouldn’t be able to do anything else for him that we were not already doing. Other than the fever, he had no other problems. He was eating and he was hydrated. The poor kid was burning up for 4 days and we had to keep giving him Fever All and cooling him down with baths and rags. The doctor thought it could be Rosalea, but Roark never got a rash which is a tell tale sign of the virus. Just as mysterious as it appeared, it disappeared. After 4 days, his fever broke and his temperature went back to normal and he was a happy camper. We still don’t know what happened, but it was certainly scary. We are just glad he’s back to normal and healthy now.
Post-partum update
There is quite a bit to update, so I am going to write a separate post. My pelvic situation has to be one of the things that no one tells you about pregnancy!
Some Thoughts on Motherhood
This month, I am realizing more and more how time flies when babies are little. Yesterday I was giving birth, now I am thinking about his first birthday party.
I am also starting to feel the long-term effects of sleep deprivation with a precocious child that won’t stand still or sleep, I can’t keep track of time anymore. Everything is a blur.
And although time is flying by and it seems like I am stuck in a day to day rut of childcare and housework, I’ve started developing guilt and anxiety about capturing Roark’s milestones and our lives more. I have noticed recently that I am not picking up my camera and phone as often lately because I am falling into a state of blasé. I tell myself, “Oh! He will do that again tomorrow. I will take a picture then…” instead of rushing to my camera and begging him to repeat whatever motion he just did. It’s a dangerous territory, because I should know that my baby is growing way too fast and maybe he won’t do that tomorrow. He may already have learned something else by then.
I also need to let go of my perfectionist streak because when I look at pictures of Roark on my phone of the first months, those are the pictures I treasure the most, not the ones I posed and dressed him. Those pictures have a place in our walls, his baby book, on greeting cards – but the ones that live on my phone remind me of how little and fragile he was. How he smelled, how he felt against my skin. How even though my body felt battered and I couldn’t believe I would feel normal again, I was overwhelmed with love and joy. I love those pictures, I love what they represent. That is why I need to make more of an effort and worry less about the messy house in the background, the mismatched outfits he wears when I am too tired to look for something else, the composition and light in our family room where we spend 90% of our time and all the other technical and aesthetic aspects of photography that keep me from capturing those moments.
It is so true that “the days are long, but the years are short” and I should make more of an effort to document our everyday lives. I want Roark to have these mementos because he won’t remember these years. I want to have these mementos because in this state of blur I am living in right now, I may not remember too much of this time in a few years. That is why I push myself to write this blog when I should be sleeping.
Oh, what a vicious circle!
As always, I am a work in progress, so as Roark develops, I am also working on developing myself in this new world of motherhood.
What are your struggles?
I hope you enjoyed this 7 months baby update. If you would like to see Roark, watch the video here.
For other baby updates and pregnancy tips, click here.
xoxo
Jana
Here are the other baby updates:
- 11 Months Baby Update
- 10 Months Baby Update
- 8 Months Baby Update
- 7 Months Baby Update
- 6 Months Baby Update
- 5 Months Baby Update
- 3-4 Months Baby Update
- 2 Months Baby Update
- Birth Story + Meet My Baby
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This website contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and participant in other programs, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Mrs. Enchumbao
You both look adorable in your July 4th theme. 🙂 I am sorry to hear about Roark being sick and the helplessness and worry you went through, but I am so glad he’s all better. As for the guilt trip you are putting yourself through, I say, don’t be harsh on yourself. I don’t think he’ll need a documentary of his early life, and while you may appreciate it later, you may appreciate being present or just getting some nap time even more. How did humans live before technology: just enjoying the moment and the occasional commissioned portrait, if you could afford it. #simplelife 🙂
Jana
Thanks! We clean up nicely! lol I know he won’t care if I document every single moment, but I still feel like I need to because it’s one of those things that you can’t go back to. Adults change so little year to year, but babies, they are metamorphosing every month. I just need to learn not to feel guilty for not doing it so often. I think I am suffering from FOMO.