7 months – the light of our world

Well here we are in October, and our little girl is 7 months old.

Crazy right!?

Charlotte

The last month feels as if it has been a big one – with lots of changes – both physically and mentally. I’m loving watching Charlotte grow and be fascinated with the world around her.

This girl seriously has me laughing out loud so many times throughout the day. Her hair, her facial expressions, her cheeky grin…they never fail to bring a smile to my face.

She can now sit unsupported…

and has finally mastered rolling – albeit only from front to back (and only one way – Zoolander style).

Over the last week she has also been quite active when lying on her tummy, with her legs kicking and moving, so I think crawling will follow perhaps over the next month or so.

At around 6.5 months, her two top teeth broke through, and her desire to chomp and chew on anything and everything continues.

Toys, tables (?), fingers, hair….you name it – she will chew it.

She is also fascinated with hair, jewellery and faces, and will reach and grab for anything that is in reach. I have learned my lesson, the hard way, to keep her nails short!!

Another of Charlotte’s recent ‘party tricks’ is dancing whenever the Wiggles come on. I sit her on my lap and play a You Tube clip, and she instantly bounces and dances to the music. Too adorable for words!

Oh and her hair. That hair. What can I say?!

It sure is growing – it is just so fine that it sticks straight out – creating a little fuzzy halo.

Feeding

When I was pregnant, my aim was to get to 3 months of breastfeeding, and see how we were going. Well 3 months passed, and then 6 months, and now at 7 months in, and I am surprised and happy that breastfeeding is still going strong.

We aim to give Charlotte 3 solid meals a day also – but these have been a bit hit and miss over the last month. I find that whenever she cuts new teeth she goes off her food , so there have been some days where she showed very little interest in food at all.

Overall, I wouldn’t say she is a big eater at the moment, but we have tried out many different foods and there are none that she is really opposed to. We usually feed her cereal for breakfast, fruit and vegetable puree for lunch, and then a meat / vegetable puree for dinner. Also added to the mix are pieces of fruit (grapes and mandarins spring to mind) and yoghurt. Now that she is getting used to the texture and taste of foods, I am keen to try some more ‘pieces’ rather than purees – as she does seem to enjoy attempting to feed herself.

Sleeping

At the start of the month, we moved Charlotte into her cot in her nursery and she adapted to the change with ease. We also ditched the swaddle in favour of a sleeping bag, and she doesn’t seem to mind at all.

C still wakes at least 3 times a night, but we are getting by. She has been pretty distracted when feeding during the day, so I suspect the quiet of the night helps in that regard.

Achievements and Milestones

Rolling, teeth, sitting, babbling and dancing. Our little girl sure is growing up.

This month we took our first trip to the family farm, where she was surrounded by lots of family and friends – and seemed to love every minute of it. Including her laundry tub bath session!

We also had another swim lesson – with hopefully more to come next month.

Me – the physical and emotional

I guess now would be an appropriate time to think about how my progress is going – seeing as 7 months have gone by since C was born.

Physically I am feeling quite well. I did have an early bout of mastitis this month, but it cleared up quickly with a course of antibiotics – and I have been quite well since.

My body is certainly different to what it was pre-pregnancy, but after carrying a bub for 9 months I would be more surprised if it wasn’t! Weight-wise I am pretty happy at the moment, which truthfully I think has a lot to do with breastfeeding (given my sugar addiction is still running pretty high and my ‘diet’ has been anything but clean). 

I do, however, have quite a few ‘pockets’ that could do with some firming and toning but, to be honest, I am struggling to find the time to fit in workouts these days.

But let’s focus on the positive.

Charlotte and I get out for a walk almost daily, and I have been fitting in 3 short runs a week (1 or 2 with the jogging pram, the others on the treadmill). Not the best in a ‘training’ sense given this weekend’s half marathon, but it feels just right from a fitness / running / sanity perspective for now.

Emotionally, I am in a good place. Mostly. I still have days where everything seems a little overwhelming (generally coinciding with the ‘lots of wake up’ nights), although those days seem to be getting fewer as time passes. I am loving the hint of warmer weather in the air, and the longer daylight hours, and looking forward to all the adventures we have planned for the next few months (not to mention Christmas!).