Summertime, 7 months

 My baby will be 7 months on Thursday. 7 MONTHS! I wrote last time about how he seems to have "changed" but now he's REALLY changed. He is so curious, is always reaching for something. He is just so busy. He grabs onto anything close by; your hair, your glasses, your phone (He loves phones!!), his diaper (clean...or dirty), baby food jars (closed...or opened.) It's crazy. My mom said he's more advanced that me and my sisters were at that age...typical grandmother LOL. He finally knows his name and responds to both "Callum" and "BooBoo."

I never documented his 6 month appt info. Which was 6/24...technically 6.5 months old. He was 27 in long (62nd percentile), 17lb 13 oz (50th percentile) and his head was 17.75 in (79th percentile, he definately gets his head from his father). Totally healthy and developing normally. We delayed getting any vaccinations as recommended by the homeopath and have an appt at the end of august to catch him up. His pedi was totally cool with waiting.

We were talking today about how he can so easily reach all the toys on his Exersaucer and his feet touch the ground and he doesn't need any blankets to support him. When we first started putting him in it he did. THe crazy thing is, you talk about these changes like "oh remember when he couldn't reach..." and you're talking about 1 month ago. Because he changes SO fast. It's mind boggling.

He also is starting to army crawl but his main way to reach something is to roll from his belly to his side, and back to his belly. That allows him to scooch forward in a sideways-forward fashion. Which must be easier than actually crawling. It's so Callum to do that. He also sleeps on his belly sometimes now. This, the child who would scream bloody murder only about 6 weeks ago if placed on his belly.

His biggest thing is his sudden STRONG attachment to his mama. I had read on the Wonder Weeks app to expect that. But holy moly. He goes down to bed okay but has been waking up about 3 hours later (except last night, he did 6 hours!!) to eat. After that, he wants mama. He'll fall asleep while eating... then I'll try to put him back to bed and he cries and cries until I get him. Bring him into bed with me, and he falls back asleep. And it almost looks like he's been sedated - how quickly he falls asleep. Of course I love it as a mother, that my baby loves me and when he's cuddled up with me he feels safe and sleepy. But the practical part of me knows that it's well, impractical. I don't want him to get in a habit of sleeping in my bed. Because, I don't like sharing a bed lol. He's attached during the day too, trying to leave the house yesterday for an appt was awful because he was just so clingy. I don't hate it though because I know someday he won't want me around, let along want to literally cling to me.

He reaches out now to be picked up. It's a rudimentary reach. He doesn't always do it, and it's a little weak looking. But it's a reach. I love it.

Temper tantrums. Gah! He has such a little temper. I didn't realize babies had such personalities. His personality is already so formed. He gets frustrated so easily... stamps his feet and grunts and whines. If he doesn't get his own way , he whines. If something he wants is taken away from him... watch out!! He was chewing on a piece of pita bread at a restaurant the other day. And my mom took it away because it was really soggy and we didn't want him to choke. He freaked out. Screaming and crying and letting everyone there know that he was pissed off. Later that night, I put him in his crib for a few minutes as I ran around doing stuff around the house, and he didn't want to be in there. So he started SCREAMING. Like, he sounded like a toddler. I am so nervous for his real toddler years because I think he's going to be a "willful" child. Who throws temper tantrums.

But I still love his sweet little faaaaace!!

Poop. He has been having some crazy blowouts. Like poop everywhere - himself, the changing table (the pad and the table itself), wall, everywhere. I don't understand how he makes so much poop. Also he is constantly kicking now (impossible to get him dressed!) which means he kicks his feet into the poop. And he also is always trying to reach for things and just generally flails around so that he sometimes gets the poop on his hands... and consequently his face. And basically everywhere since its on his flailing hands and feet. Nothing like getting someone else's pee and poop all on you on a daily basis...and not even caring.



The Rash. It looks SO much better! No idea why. I've just been putting CereVe cream on it, and some Eucerin and the candula ointment. Please pray that it stays away. He still has red excema in his joint creases and on his cheeks but it comes and goes and I don't worry about that as much since that's normal and common and doesn't look horrendous.



So I'm on summer break. I'm working per diem a little bit at the hospital but it's so nice to be home. I could get used to this. Sorry but working fulltime and having to take care of a baby is stressful. So much easier when you eliminate that fulltime job. I miss my paycheck though!!! I start working again (part time) at the school in august for all the sports prep stuff, so I'm not off for too too long. We have no major plans... I want to do some fun outings and clean and organize the house.

with his godparents: Cousin Johnny and Aunt Lindsay

We had him baptized on Saturday, July 5th. It was really nice and he was a perfect angel. I mean he really was. No fussing or crying the entire day. He didn't even cry to eat... at the party afterwards I got a bottle out and was like um, let's feed him he HAS to be hungry. We were in the processional and then had to stand in front of the church and give our intentions (the priest asked us a couple questions. and yes, it was unsettling to be up in front of the entire church). Then we sat in the front row. So Callum was able to look back at the entire congregation and entertain them. His godfather held him for a long time and he was grabbing his ear, gave him a wet will, touching his face (oh that's anther thing, he touches faces now like a blind man trying to memorize your features), and just being goofy. Then he suddeny fell asleep on his godfathers shoulder just in time for us to be called up to the baptismal font. So then I took him and we went up there and the priest did his thing and Callum was baptized and slept through it. Everyone clapped then, and he woke up and gave a surprised look around at everyone, and then settled back down on my shoulder and fell asleep. He was just so sweet that day. I post a few pictures on facebook. But I'll post them again here. I have 42373232 more to upload, I just haven't had the time!

during

Looking around at everyone clapping

sleeping on his godfathers shoulder

Callum with his aunts, uncle, and mama

I've been thinking about all the planning I did while pregnant. All the things I planned to do, the things I read, the childbirth class I attended. And, most of it was a waste lol. You can't plan this. This baby is nuts. Life with a baby is nuts. You just go with it and adapt. People always say that, and before I had a kid I was like yea yea I get it. I can imagine. But I didn't really KNOW what it was like until it happened to me. That's how it is with anything though, you don't really know until you actually experience it. And now I have (which sometimes I still find hard to believe. Was I really pregnant? Did I really endure the pain of unmedicated childbirth? Am I really someone's MOM!?)