Melanie is 7 months old!
Some big changes this month. The biggest and most exciting news is that Melanie can now sit up all by herself! Hurray! At her 6 month photo shoot she was still falling over mostly. But a week or two after that, she was sitting up like a pro. Such a big girl.
We took her to the doctor a couple weeks after her 6 month birthday (along with Vincent’s 3 year check up). Her measurements were 16 lbs, 14oz (75%), 26.75″ (75%), and 42.9cm head cir. (50-75%). We asked the doctor about the mole near her nose, and she didn’t seem concerned about it, but referred us to a dermatologist to get their opinion. The dermatologist said she thinks it is a cyst, and we would have to surgically remove it and get stitches. She then referred us to a pediatric dermatologist at Stanford. We haven’t made that appointment yet. We would like to get it removed, but not if it means putting her under at such a young age. We still need to weigh our options.
She is way into sticking her tongue out still! She can stick it way far out, and up to her nose, down to her chin, and i’ve even seen her twirl it. Sometimes she keeps it in her mouth, but you can see it poking through her lips. I don’t notice it too much except when i take her picture, like every picture has her tongue out! Ha!
She loves playing with her toys. In fact her hands are always grabbing and reaching for anything that is within her distance! Sometimes that means mommy’s hair or glasses or her dinner plate! She can’t seem to keep still anymore. If she’s on your lap, or on the floor, she NEEDS a toy or she will go in search of it for sure.
Playing with newspaper is really fascinating!
Though she can rollover from tummy to back, and back to tummy, we hardly ever see her do it. We mostly sit her up to play now that she can. So maybe we just need to give her more opportunity? Though she still sleeps on her back, and i would think she would flip over on her own at that point if she wanted to. I remember Vinny starting to sleep on his tummy right around this age (and consequently not using a pacifer anymore). Melanie still likes her pacifier for sleep time.
*Update* of course right after i write this, i noticed during a nap that she was sleeping on her side!
She is STILL waking up 2-3x a night. Gahhhh. Don’t get me started. She pretty much just eats then goes right to bed so it’s not too terrible but she is old enough to not need that anymore. Guess she just needs mommy cuddle time. Since I work all day she misses me!! Awwww.
We have done sleep training with her during bedtime however. Right after she turned 6 months she started getting major separation anxiety. If you left the room she would.cry cry cry. Which she never used to do. So imagine leaving her in her crib at night! We just left her crying. First night 1 hour, second night 35 min. Third night was 25 minutes and that stayed the same for the next week or so! Crying lots. Then after that she figured it out I guess because she can now put herself to sleep with very minimal crying. She does pretty good at nap time too. Now I need to commit to middle of the night sleep training. I have started a few nights ago — trying to leave her in her crib all night and not getting her if she wakes up. So far, going okay. First two nights i just ignored her cries, but last night, i went to get her. She ate, went right back to sleep.
She is eating solids okay so far. Also drinking water from a sippy cup.While my parents were visiting in August, my mom made a bunch of fruit and veggie purees for her so now my freezer has a good little stock pile. I tried giving her some Gerber puffs (like Cherrios) but I think it’s too early because she was very put off by them when I put them in her mouth and preferred to play with it instead.
It’s been pretty hot this summer, so she loves sitting in front of the fan, feeling the cool air, gasping at the wind being blown in her face. I take her outside and let her watch Vinny run around, which she gets a kick out of. We have been to quite a few birthday party recently and she always enjoys the hustle and bustle of the children playing. I bet she can’t wait to get in the action.
She LOVES to squeal her little voice when she is excited or in a playful mood. When she sees the cat come by her, she makes a “fake coughing” sound, because she likes the cat, and tries to reach for him.
Speaking of reaching, she loves reaching for her birdies in the baby swing!
I took her to the grocery store and sat her in the shopping cart for the first time. I brought her lots of toys but the only thing she was interested in playing with was my grocery list!
She rode in the swings for the first time and loved that. We also did a picnic at the park.
Vincent thought it was funny watching her sister on the swing beside her.
Well, i know i write a novel about these monthly updates, but better more than not at all? 🙂 You would think at this point i would be referring to Vincent’s monthly updates to compare, but nope. Haven’t even looked once! I have looked at his baby book though — which i am trying to keep up with Melanie’s. I’m okay in writing in it, but printing photos is another story.
Summer update coming soon – as well as some photos of our bathroom remodel (which was done a few months ago by now!)