This little nugget is 7 months old today!
What a fun month – other than a terrible week with a cold and some days where teething has being giving us a hard time, it’s been so great. Her personality is really starting to present itself and she’s so enjoyable to me. She is very interested in everything – just really paying attention to details ie. my earrings (ouch!).
There’s been a lot of eating going on. Sienna seems to want to try any food at sight and so far she has enjoyed experimenting with different flavors and textures. I’m doing a mix of purees and baby led weaning and it seems to be working great for us. She loves cinnamon sweet potato fries, hummus, blueberries and yogurt with chia seeds. She’s also been chewing on some foods to help her with her teething – she chomps on apple rings and cucumber slices and they seem to do the trick. I am only giving her two “formal” meals per day and some snacks throughout. I have noticed however that now that she’s realized that food exists, her interest in milk has definitely declined. She used to down her bottles and now she takes her time and doesn’t even finish them half of the time. She does the cutest “excitement leg bounce” when she sees that I am getting her meal ready :).
We tried the bucket swings this month and she loves them! She was cracking up the first time I put her in one and we’ve been back to the park a couple of times since then. She is also getting much more comfortable with spending more time on her belly but still won’t roll over. She is in no rush! Lately she gets a little frustrated since she really wants to sit up but isn’t quite there yet – we’ve been practicing and she’s slowly getting better. It’s great seeing her get stronger and just develop these new skills – so neat to witness. She loves taking Charlie to the dog park and being out and about, just like John and I, she doesn’t seem to be showing signs of being a homebody.
Her sleep has remained consistent (knock on wood) and we seem to have a really predictable/set schedule. She is still sleeping in the merlin suit, I’ve tried to put her in the crib without it a couple of times but it hasn’t worked. She still can’t seem to settle herself and put herself to sleep without it. I would like to get her sleeping suit-free by summer time as the suit is warm and it’s going to be hot around here. So I guess that’s my next challenge.
We are currently in escrow for our first home and if everything goes well, we will be moving later this month. I am excited for Sienna’s new room which is bigger than her current one. Also, the house is bigger so I won’t have to worry about tiptoeing my way around while she’s asleep.
This upcoming Monday we will start out with a nanny. I am going back to work for three days a week so we hired someone to watch her. Sienna and I loved her from our interview and I am really hoping that they are a good match as I can’t help but to feel worried about leaving her. I feel very thankful and lucky that I got to spend her first 7 months of life exclusively taking care of her – moving forward, my goal is being able to maintain a healthy work/life balance so that I can be the best mom I can to her while still moving forward with my career as well.