Skip to main content

Haley @ 7 Months

Happy 7 month birthday!

Over half way to a year old. I hate saying this over and over, but I just can't believe how quickly she is growing up.  It seems like I blink, and she is a month older.

Everything Haley at 7 Months...

  • She now has two of her bottom teeth, and I are obsessed with them.  She loves with I use the little baby tooth brush on them.  
  • She has been so inconsistent with her sleeping lately.  Generally speaking, she is in bed and asleep by 8 and sleep to anywhere between 5 am and 7:30 for a bottle.  Then she goes back asleep until somewhere between 8:30 and 9:30.  Then she is back down for about a two hour nap at 11, and then again for another nap around 3.  I have no idea how this started.  For months you refused to take any naps and now all you do is sleep.  I am not complaining. but it is just such a big change.
  • She is eating 3 meals a day with bottles before nap times and bedtime.  I have a feeling the bottle is going to be a hard habit to break, but I am not too worried about it yet.  She loves bananas and fruit.  She has tried a few meats, but not a huge fan.  This month, we are going to start working with a sippy cup.  Maybe start with some thicker baby food. 
  • She is a tall and chunky girl.  Very healthy.  
  • She is rolling like crazy.  Sitting on her own.  Scooting backwards on her belly. And can stand while holding on to something.  She is always trying to get a hold of my car keys and her diaper wipes.  I often use those things to motivate her to move about the room.  
  • People that know both of us say she looks like Ian, but random people in public think she looks like me. I think she looks like both of us.  I love her eyes.  Those she got from her dad.  She has my checks for sure.  But makes facial expressions that looks remarkably like Ian's.
  • She is a daddy's girl to the core.  She cries when he leave the room or leaves to work.  
  • She is starting to get a little stranger danger and a little separation anxiety.  But she does awesome at grandma's and grandpa's, so I think she is well adjusted.  
  • She has started social referencing.  Which I find fascinating.  When new people approach her, she will immediately look at Ian and I to reference our reactions.  Making sure whoever is approaching her is okay with us because she decides they are okay with her.  
  • I hate to label her personality this young.  But she is a bit demanding and bossy.  I think this will be our first battle we fight as a toddler.  
  • She doesn't like to cuddle.  But she loves to grab at peoples faces.
  • Her sense of humor changes daily.  One thing will be funny one day, and the next day she will look at you like you are an idiot.  
Everything Mommy & Daddy @ 7 Months
  • Originally, we planned to attempt to have our children very close together in age.  Like...18 months apart.  But the reality of having a kidlet has set in and we have decided we want more time with her has an only child  We are undecided on when we would like to have a second (God willing).  I have a feeling we will know "know" when the time is right for another.  
  • I thought I wanted only boys.  Having Haley has totally changed my perspective.  I LOVE having a girl.  
  • I work a few days a week with my little buddy.  I love the break.  A few hours to get out of the house really helps me from getting stir crazy.  It is such a bonus that I get to take my kidlet with me to 'work'.  Ian's schedule works out well and we are eagerly awaiting his new schedule where he will have weekends off.    Once that happens, I will increase the number of days I work with my little buddy to 5 days a week.  I love watching the two kiddos interact and grow together.  I think, even though they are many years apart in age, they will end up being great friends and help each other in many ways.  
  • Post baby body.  Eesh.  Where do I start.  I have always had body image problems like every other woman in America.  Oddly, I feel more okay with myself now after having a baby then I ever did at 16 when I didn't have an oz. of fat on me.  Sure I could stand to loose another 15-20 lbs if I cared to watch every single bite I eat.  But I don't care to live like that.  I fit in all of my old clothes and even bought a few pairs of jeans a size lower (holler!).  I work out most days, but working out doesn't consume my life.  
    • One thing, that I think has helped me is not taking hormones (TMI I know..but hopefully this could help another woman out there.)  When I was on "the pill", I carried extra weight and gaining weight seemed much easier.  I know they say that the pill doesn't do that, but I say bull.  Because I know it did.  When I started it, I gained 15 lbs. quickly.  When I got off of it, I lost 15 lbs. quickly.  I feel so much better off of it!  Emotionally and physically.  I'm not going to go too much into it, but there are a lot more family planning options out there for married couples than the stereotypical ones we know about  because of our culture.  
  • I love how having a "family" has transformed our marriage.  I can see where it can easily burden a marital relationship, but I am happy to say it has not been so for us.  I think being a SAHM really helps dodge the stereotypical problems you see with new parents.  We have our roles, and we are both happily filling them and working together as a team.  My biggest piece of advice is put your kids to bed at a reasonable time.  Mom and dad need their time together to 'unwind'!
  • One of the hardest challenges I unexpectedly found was dealing with well meaning, unsolicited advice on parenting.  The key word being well meaning.  I know it is well meaning, but it makes my skin crawl and I am so touchy about it.  It is terrible, but it is so hard for me to control.  I am my hardest critic.  I try so hard to do what I know is right for my kid.  When I face advice, it makes me insecure and makes me feel like I am doing a bad job.  It makes me feel like I am being nit-picked, and it is just hard for me to swallow.  I know in my heart that it is well meaning, and I never anticipated being so touchy about it.  Slowly I am learning to take it for what it is, but man oh man has it been a struggle for me.  

Well there you have it.  More information about our lives than any one person probably cares to know!  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fruit & Root Connection: Tangled Up

Certainly, I've expressed my aversion to hyper-spiritualized language before. It often feels contrived, lacking authenticity—a facade of piety. Perhaps it's projection. Maybe jealousy. Or it could stem from a sense of disillusionment with the Christian community. But every so often, amidst the noise, a truth resonates deeply. "There is a root and fruit connection between heart and behavior. People and situations do not determine our behavior; these things provide an occasion where our behavior reveals our hearts." - Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands I've been navigating through my anger, confronting myself in the mirror. What does this anger unveil about my own heart? Surely, they aren't as enraged with me. In fact, they probably don't spare me a second thought. If anything, they—as sincerely as they can muster—bemoan my status as an apostate. So pitiful. My fruit is anger. And too often, I'm tempted to point fingers elsewhere as the source of my...
Post a Comment
You Know You Want to Know More....>>

Should I Stay or Should I Go

At the time, deciding to leave felt like the most agonizing part of the whole ordeal. In hindsight, a few years of prayer journals were filled with distressing agony over desiring direction and reconciliation.  So much turmoil and emotional pain all the time. But we were constantly told that was to be expected. Hard was good. Hard truths. And iron sharpening iron. But in reality, We were all enduring death by a thousand paper-cuts. In reality, it was spiritual abuse.  In July of 2022, I sat in a lawn chair in California. It felt like a million miles from home.  We had been traveling the US, and hadn’t been home in weeks. I sat there, eating my bowl of chili.  As wonderful as the trip has been, I started to miss home. In my reflections. I counted my blessings. Home was good. Except one thing, I had a sense of dread when I thought about church. My chest would go tight. And my body felt shaky. I craved Jesus. I craved worship. I craved devotion. Being in God’s creation,...
Post a Comment
You Know You Want to Know More....>>

If Your Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands....

Alright y'all, I need to post an actual blog post.  It's been awhile.I guess I have said " writers block".  Everytime I've sat down to blog, I've gotten this nasty attitude, like I just want to rant and complain.  I'm not a fan of giving a bad mood more than it deserves or letting people get on my nerves enough that it bleeds in my blog in the most passive-aggressive way possible.  So I won't go there this time.  Focusing on what I'm thankful for has been such a great practice, and has helped me avoid the above.  So here goes nothing.....I'll update a little bit on everthing I suppose.... Finally, life is beginning to slow down.I am so appreciative of the fact that the moving/settling in process is over ( only to do it all again in T minus 5 months....) In theory, there should be a big hole where our next house will be soon. For some reason I doubt that they will break ground this week, but I would be happy if they did...I'm stressed and ...
Post a Comment
You Know You Want to Know More....>>