Seven Months

Piper turned 7 months old last Thursday! She is such a funny little girl, and we love watching her laugh and grow. So how's her life, you ask?

• Size: Since we haven't been to the doctor since last month (hooray!), I can only guess at her size. Piper seems to have chunked up a little more, so I think she probably weighs about 15.5 pounds. She is very close to outgrowing her summer clothes, which are all 3-6 month sizes. This is a problem because the only clothes she has in the next size up are for fall and winter, and it's still in the 90s here in Nashville! I've been obsessing over buying shoes for the fall, but I can't decide what size to get. Her feet seem to be freakishly small. I want to buy shoes that she can walk in (because I think it might not be too far in the future), but I can't find walking shoes small enough!
• Sleep: At last month's visit, her pediatrician said that Piper should not be waking up to eat during the night anymore. He told me I needed to let her put herself back to sleep (aka cry it out) in the middle of the night so that she could get the uninterrupted sleep her body needs. Thankfully, this only took about five minutes of crying one night. She now goes to bed between 7 and 8 and wakes up between 6:30 and 7. I'm trying to push her waketime to 7 to regulate her naps during the day. She is routinely taking two naps, and sometimes she needs a third one at the end of the day so she can make it to bedtime. When she's tired, no one should be around her. She's that cranky.
• Play: Someone remind me around Christmastime that this girl does not need expensive toys. At the moment, she's playing on the floor, happy as can be, with a plastic coat hanger, a magazine, a toothbrush, and a ball. I think she might have a credit card bill down there, too. Per my mother's suggestion, she now has a little toy basket on the floor in the living room that she pulls over to and rumages through. Everything she touches goes in her mouth, including lots of things that shouldn't. She also enjoys playing peekaboo.
• Move: She never stops! Full-fledged crawling is right around the corner. Piper still pulls herself around by her arms, but occasionally her legs and toes get in on the act. But make no mistake--she can get where she wants to quickly! Just tonight I was preparing her dinner, and she followed me all the way from the living room into the kitchen. She particularly enjoys crawling up to Ally and loving on her. One of my favorite scenes is when she's sitting up while playing with her toys, and her little legs are just pumping away while her upper body stays still. I don't know how she does that! She's constantly beating and banging on things and people, and she's learning how to "work" her toys instead of just hitting them. She's also trying to pull up to a standing position.
• Eat: Piper now eats pureed sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, white beans, zucchini, apples, avocado, peaches, oatmeal, carrots, and bananas. She's still showing an allergic reaction to milk products (diarrhea, wicked diaper rash, etc). We fed her a rice cake last week to see if she'd like to gnaw on something edible. This was a disaster that ended with two retchings. Apparently her gag reflex is not yet ready for solid food. I've noticed a slight decrease in her spitting up in the last week and hope that maybe she's learning to keep her food in her stomach instead of on me. She nurses 4-5 times a day.
• Teeth: That's right, plural! Her second tooth broke completely through the gum yesterday.
• Hair: She now has just enough hair to hold a little bow. This may seem insignificant to some of you, but it's this mother's dream come true.
• Tricks: Piper claps all the time. Seriously. I think she realizes the reaction it gets from people and does it to make people smile at her. She also waves alot, especially at the cute baby in the mirror smiling at her. She loves the mirror. She's started giving kisses that make you think she's going to bite your face off. And of course, she knows how big she is.
• Cuddles: Piper does not have time to snuggle. There are remotes to chew, bills to shred, and dogs to chase after. I have accepted this, but her Nana and the sweet ladies who keep Piper in the nursery insist on trying to rock and cuddle her. This only makes her mad.

See her latest video here!