Jack: Seven Months

Sleep

Well, for the time being, we are doing really well here!  We usually get Katie down for the night and then spend a few minutes with just us and Jack before starting his bedtime routine.  So Brad usually takes him upstairs at around 8 (give or take) to get a new diaper, jammies, and the sleep sack.  I get the bottle ready and get it upstairs and then one of us feeds him.  Usually, we have to go to great lengths to keep him awake to finish his bottle!  Sometimes, he wakes up around 11 needing his pacifier...I don't know what it is about that time of the night but he seems to stir then!  One night last week, he woke up literally every 2 hours - no fun!  But most of the time, he sleeps from about 8:30 to 7:30 or 8!  Of course he wakes up needing the pacifier occasionally (I can't wait for him to be able to find it and put it back in by himself), but overall he is doing a good job sleeping!  He has also started waking up and talking/playing in his bed.  Katie did this a lot as a baby which bought us a little extra sleep.  I'm so glad it seems Jack is doing this too!  

When he naps, he sleeps on his belly - he seems to do better with that for naptime - at night, he sleeps on his back/side though!  Jack typically goes down for a nap after his second bottle (around 10:30ish) and will snooze for an hour and a half to two hours.  Then he will wake up and play for a bit before it is time for another bottle (around 1:30 or 2).  Then around 3 or 3:15, he goes down for another nap and has his 4th bottle when he wakes up!  These times are very general...and the morning nap is not always a good one.  Between Katie's 11:30 dance class on Mondays and then me running errands while Katie is at school, it sometimes is hard to get a good nap in.  But he is usually pretty good about napping in the carseat...and it means the afternoon nap will be a really good one!

Eating

There's lots changing here!  I am still breastfeeding Jack for his first feeding, but the rest is usually formula.  We do still have some frozen milk, so I thaw that to make a bottle almost everyday.  And I had been pumping at night up until Sunday night.  That usually made enough milk to mix with cereal or could make a bottle after two nights. I figure in the next couple of weeks, I will "dry up" completely and figured I would stop pumping at night so there is more milk available in the morning (for now).  In his bottles, he has 6-6.25 ounces (it took a while to get back to his normal eating amount from when he had a cold last month)!  So for his eating, he breastfeeds at around 7:30 or 8, has 2 scoops of cereal at around 9 or 9:15, 2nd feeding at around 10:30 or 11, 3rd feeding around 1:30 or 2, 4th feeding around 5 or 5:30, 2 scoops of cereal and 1 jar of baby food at around 7, and last bottle before bedtime at around 8 or 8:30!  

Weight

Nothing official here - based on the home scale, he is about 19.5 pounds though!

Length

No official measurement here!  I tried to measure him and it was about 27 inches though!

Size Clothes

All of the 6 month things are packed up and he is filling up the 9 month things!  It all fits him perfectly!  He did wear some 6-12 month jammies the other night and they are a tid bit too long, but in no time they will fit perfectly.

Size Diapers

Size 3 for sure!  I actually ordered some more online over the weekend and even got some size 4 Huggies.  We aren't quite there yet, but the Huggies size 3 are getting a little snug.  The Pampers size 3 are just right!

Hair color

First of all, I love that he has hair now!  The other night it was sticking up like a mohawk on its own...so cute!  It is looking a little darker than Katie's - maybe a dark blonde or light, light brown.

Eye color

He has the biggest, happiest BLUE eyes!  So pretty!

Looking Like

He is looking a lot like Brad's dad!  And it seems every few days, it just hits me how much he favors Katie!  

Nicknames

Baby Jack and The Dude still seem to be holding on.  I am trying to really do better about just saying Jack - I want him to answer to that as his name, not to Baby Jack! :)

Favorite toy

He LOVES his crinkly book that Katie got him for Christmas.  He smacks it around to hear the noise and shakes it and loves putting it in his mouth.  He loves anything that squeaks (think: dog toy squeak)...he immediately has a big grin when someone squeaks a toy!  And he likes his walker (even though he can't touch the floor in it yet) and his exersaucer.  I think we are about finished with the swing (though we still use it occasionally).  Just about all toys excite him these days...I think he is just taking it all in and loves new sounds and feels!

Firsts

He is loving baby food! So far he has had sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, prunes, squash, peas, and bananas.  

Well, I say he loved it...that is, all except the pears.  He was NOT a fan of the pears.  See this face??

We are still working through the three day trial of each food to make sure there aren't any allergies.  Once we get through that, I will make a few batches of some things to try! 

He also had his first Christmas and first New Years!  Those are some pretty big holidays for a wee one!

Milestones

It seems Jack is learning his name - whether it is Baby Jack or just Jack is up for debate :)  He answers to both! And he is doing a great job sitting up - he is more stable when playing with toys and things in front of him.  He is not much into rolling over - he hasn't even rolled from back to tummy yet!  He gets on his side and then gets too interested in toys or his toes and goes back to his back.  His doctor didn't seem concerned since he clearly has good trunk control and muscle development.  And I am sure he will figure it out soon - and then roll everywhere :) I think, for now, he is more entertained by his toes to really care about rolling!

Talking/Words/Sounds

Well, he certainly is making a lot more noise these days!  And he LOVES to say "mamamamama"...it is almost enough for me to say "mama" is his first word!  He says it when he is done playing with whatever toy...and one time he said and reached for me.  Does that count??? If so, that makes me super happy since most babies say "dadada" first :)

Anything else?

Oh that sweet boy and his amazing smiles.  It really doesn't get much better than that.  And watching the friendship between Katie and Jack grow couldn't make me happier.  She is an amazing big sister and he adores her.  She loves it when he is nearby and they can play together.  Also, Brad and I discuss on a daily basis how gross Jack is - he is definitely all boy!  And when it is time to change the diaper or his clothes on his changing table, he is SO active now!  He uses those strong legs and arches up to a bridge - I am afraid he is going to hit his head!  He also likes to be held a lot more than Katie did.  He also wants to be in the same room as people - if he notices he is left in his exersaucer or on the floor playing by himself, he lets us know that he finds that unacceptable!  I love when he reaches toward my face with both hands and puts his hands on my cheeks - like he is studying and loving on me at the same time.

She especially likes to pull him over to the sunroom where all her toys are so he can play with her.  Here, he was "shopping" - and he loves every minute of it!

Here are some more pictures from the last month...when I look at these it makes me sad because he definitely is not a wee little baby anymore.  But it also makes me excited as he his growing and learning!

And just because I wanted to compare how similar (or not) the kiddos look, here is a little collage of pictures of each of them at 7 months.  What do you think?  Similar?