seven months

Oh this baby. He is getting so old and independent already. It breaks my heart and at the same time, is so fun. 

Well. Carter is definitely mobile. He rolls all over the place and has lately taken to army crawling to reach something he wants. Also he can pull himself to standing from a sitting position (which is very stable now). Fortunately, he cannot get to a sitting position by himself so I know he can't stand up and fall out of his crib.

He eats a variety of foods now. Mostly whatever fruit or vegetable or starch we're eating with our meal, mashed up or cut into pieces. Even some refried beans. He usually likes whatever although he hated the super garlicky mashed cauliflower we had today. He still has no teeth but he manages to gnaw on crackers and cheerios and peach slices just fine.

The most exciting milestone this month was sleeping! Oh glorious sleep, how I have missed you! There are no words to explain how crazy it feels to be on the other side of that seemingly insurmountable obstacle. But, here we are! He did it! We did it! And this is how. We had our six month checkup early in July and our pediatrician (who we have only seen twice now as we usually see the nurse practitioner) said the only sleep training that works, in his opinion, is the ignore method from Dr. Weissbluth of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child fame. Meaning, we put Carter down at bedtime, kiss him goodnight, and do not reenter his room until morning, no matter what he does. Our doctor promised us that our baby will not be harmed by crying! He will not remember it! Which I knew, of course, since my parents had let me cry and I do not feel damaged nor do I remember it. So we gritted our teeth and tried it. It actually wasn't even bad! This is because, I am assuming, that we had already tried crying it out before and so Carter was already accustomed to crying himself to sleep and so it went more quickly. He woke up four or five times the first night but cried himself back to sleep in less than fifteen minutes every time. This slowly diminished until on the fifth night, he didn't awaken at all! Until morning! And now we can count on 10-12 hours of straight sleep from him every night! Plus his three daily naps are all longer than an hour, usually two (unheard of before) and he goes right to sleep with no protesting, even if I put him down awake! It is SO glorious! The most important benefit is that he is getting the sleep he needs and it has made such a difference in his awake time. He is happier and more independent and more curious. I love it. And I looooove sleeping.

Perhaps my baby growing up is not so bad after all.