Baby Paul: 7 Months

Our little guy is another month older! Each month with our little guy keeps getting better and better. There are challenges, for sure, like the chronic ear infections he's had and the resultant lack of sleep for Phil and I, but overall he's such a wonderful, happy, sweet baby.

Firsts:


- We tried solids this month with no success. He is just not ready so we have decided to take a break until he shows more interest. Our doctor said some babies just aren't ready for solids until they are as old as 8-9 months. We did get a lot of laughs out of his reactions to the things he tried, though!

Oatmeal

Vanilla yogurt

Sweet potato

I gave him a piece of lettuce  with dressing on it from my salad one day - he was not impressed

Applesauce

 - We took him on his first hike this past weekend. It was pretty chilly - in the 40s - so we dressed him in a warm hat and mittens. He honestly did not love the hike. He was happy for about 2/3 of it maybe? I think he got too hot as we had a heavier coat over his outfit. And then at the end I think he was just tired. But we'll keep taking him on hikes but I don't think we'll go on another one until the spring as the weather has really turned here.

First family hike! This was toward the end so he was pretty tired and not in the mood to smile.

No pictures, mom! (He's sleeping in this photo)

- He also got his first tooth in mid-September and has a 2nd one coming in. The 2nd one seems to be bothering him more than the first tooth but it's hard to tell if his fussiness at night is from his teeth or his ears.

Challenges:
- We had Paul's ears re-checked on Friday and he has another ear infection. I had a feeling he did because he's been waking up more often and would cry when we laid him down after feeding him during the night. We got a referral to an ENT and he will likely get tubes put in. It's not ideal to have him undergo a procedure that requires him to be put under but he's basically had an ear infection since the 2nd week of August. The 2nd round of antibiotics was more effective and he's back on that drug but it's SO HARD on his little tummy. :( Despite being sick so much, he's been a pretty happy, smiley baby.

Growth:

- He weighs 15 pounds and is up to 4th percentile for weight. Woo hoo!
- He's still in 3-6 month clothes. I guess one upside to his slow growth trajectory is that we get a lot of use out of every outfit we own!

Sleep:

- Ugh. Sleep. It's been a huge challenge and I don't see it improving until he is feeling better. :( I'm not comfortable letting him cry at night when he's sick as I hate the thought of him being in pain and being ignored. This past weekend he was up every 2 hours so Phil and I are feeling pretty bleary eyed. Hopefully his sleep starts to improve soon.

Loves:

- Rolling around, jumping in the jumper, practicing sitting up, being read to and smiling at anyone and everyone he meets! He's such a happy little guy and he's in such a fun stage. Dad is still his favorite person!

Playing in his jumper

Working on sitting up - he's getting better but can't quite sit up unassisted.

Hanging out with his favorite person!

I think each month is just going to get better and better! I love seeing more and more of his personality coming through as he gets older. We are lucky to have such a sweet, smiley baby.