Seven Months

Here are Cecilia's 7 Month stats. She is doing very well and eating about 2 packs of solids a day now plus nursing.

Week 30: Weight: 16 lbs. 10 1/2 oz., Length:26 1/4 in. Head: 17 1/4 in. Chest:17 3/4 in.

in comparison to...

Week 1: Weight: 7 lbs., Length: 19 3/4 in., Head: 12 3/4 in., Chest: 13 3/4 in.
Week 13: Weight: 12 lbs., Length: 24 in., Head: 16 in., Chest: 16 1/2 in.
Week 26: Weight: 15 lbs. 10 1/2 oz., Length:26 1/4 in. Head: 17 in. Chest: 17 1/4 in.

TEETH!!!!

Last night, after her bath, I noticed Cecilia's lower front gums a little red. I put my finger in to feel and sure enough they were swollen. I didn't know if it was teething or if she had irritated the area gnawing on Dori, a hard bath toy from Finding Nemo. Overall her night wasn't bad. This morning after Church she took a nap but only slept an hour and a half and woke up crying. I put her in her stroller to take her for her walk and noticed she still had some sweet potatoes from breakfast on her face (I do try to clean her thoroughly but honestly she can get it everywhere!). I took a wet napkin to clean her face and when it lowered her lower lip, behold, on her lower gum in the front were two small white bumps! They are just barely at the surface, but the teeth have arrived!!!

On a completely different note, we have found something that absolutely terrifies Cecilia. Prior to a few animated films, there is the well-recognized THX music and introduction when the sound begins low and deep and slowly but significantly grows to a loud humming sound. The first time this came on our TV set little Cecilia was playing on the floor and she heard the sound and began crying and trying to crawl as fast as she could away from the TV. Poor thing. I grabbed her as fast as I could and calmed her and now have to watch the beginning of every video and the volume to make sure if there is one (which they won't let you skip sometimes) it is quiet.

Mission: Silent Night

Well, we are trying a couple of things to improve Cecilia's sleep.

1. We intentionally did NOT let her go to sleep on the way back from Church today.
2. Upon arriving home we immediately fed her some rice cereal (for the iron mainly), some sweet potatoes and some apple juice in her sippy cup.
3. Then I nursed her and she fell asleep on my lap.
4. She napped (after I transitioned her into her swing) for 3 hours!

Already that is a big improvement over the previous two days' naps. She had been only sleeping about an hour and then waking.

So our twofold plan to improve her nighttime sleep is to 1) fill her little tummy during the day with rice cereal, solids and juice 2-3 times a day plus nursing and 2) get her naps on a more solid schedule. Hopefully doing these two things will mean she will not wake as much at night.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

CONGRATULATIONS go out to Cecilia (Lia) and Sixto and the birth of their baby girl. Therese Marie was born Wednesday, August 16th, around 11pm weighing in at 7 pounds 10 ounces. Our little Cecilia is looking forward to meeting her new playmate! Happy Birthday Therese!

(I do hope I've gotten all the info right - if not I hope someone will let me know.)

Cecilia Update

Well, Cecilia is learning very quickly. She has mastered crawling and has also mastered pulling herself into a standing position on just about anything. She now pulls herself into a standing position and practices letting go with first one hand, then switching. She has even tried to cheat by letting go with both hands but leaning her chest and tummy against the object. She is definately thrilled to be able to move about on her own, but she continues to be anxious to keep learning and be able to walk on her own.

Her hair is continuing to fill in but unfortunately her sleep is getting holier (not the saintly type). She wakes constantly throughout the night. I've become so tired when I wake up in the morning I'm not sure what day it is or what I should do next. We have tried feeding her every 1-2 hours during the day to make sure she wasn't hungry at night. She is not napping too much during the day. I don't think a growth spurt lasts over a solid month. Motrin and Tylenol don't seem to help. I've tried sleeping closer to her in a snuggled fashion as well as a bit further away so she can move more - one only worse than the other. Her diaper has not been dirty even one of those nights. Our last idea is to try to transition her to her crib with the theory she just wants to sleep like a wild woman and needs her space. Otherwise, we are running out of ideas ... and sleep.

Overall she is a very happy little girl - as evidenced by her laughing video. She enjoys crawling and playing and laughing and being thrown in the air and just generally has fun.

P.S. - based on her 6 month stats, another 2 3/4 inches and she will have met her maximum requirement for her current car seat and we will have to switch her to her toddler seat. I think she will definately meet the height maximum (29 in.) before the weight maximum (22 lbs.)

Peekaboo and Laughter

A few weeks ago, Katherine recorded this video of me making Cecilia laugh. She is in her crib and enjoying the Peekaboo excitement quite a bit. It's only about 30 seconds long, but well worth the viewing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmVDkE0fsXk

As Good As It Gets ... Hair-wise

I just had to share this...

Cecilia's hair has really come in. I may have to start brushing it soon. The funny thing is that, except for the top front, her hair poofs off her head so that if we put sunglasses on her she could pass for Jack Nicholson's baby sister! We'll try to get a couple of pictures of her new do soon.

Look Out World!

Well, last Wednesday evening Cecilia began crawling! She crawled across our bed (of course we were watching carefully) and now she is on the move. She moves everywhere. She is also continuing to practice pulling herself into a standing position. So far she prefers to practice on a tough red pillow we set out for her, her crib railing, and Daddy's tummy!

James and I keep wondering at this rate how long it will be before she is walking! We may have to go buy shoes for the fall!

She has also learned to like applesauce, so besides breastmilk, she also gets peas, sweet potatoes, bananas and apples and likes all of them.