Dear Mallory,
You’re seven months old… and I’m exhausted! And for once, no, I don’t mean on account of your sleep issues. Because you know what? Letting you cry for those few nights… it’s done wonders for us. You still consistently wake up just once at night for a quick feed, a vast improvement over the half-dozen awakenings prior to that. (You have taken to getting up at 5:30 a.m. this week, but I think that’s just a side effect of the recent end to Daylight Savings Time… at least, I hope it is!)
Nope, the reason why I’m exhausted now is this: YOU ARE A HANDFUL. You are totally on the move, crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, starting to stand on your own momentarily and cruise along the furniture. You are into everything, pulling books off shelves, digging through the pots and pans, unrolling the toilet paper. You jump up and down in your crib, you take CDs out of the stereo in your room, and you scurry like a crab up and down the hall in your walker. You are just so active. You would rather crawl over my legs to cross the room than go around them; the obstacle makes it that much more fun for you. There is no way you won’t be in gymnastics in a few years’ time. You, my dear, are one physical little girl. You fooled me, the first half of this year, into thinking you were a calm and complacent little person. But before you were even born, I had suspected you might be a firecracker – and I think I’m beginning to see that prophecy come true.
For someone so active, you need surprisingly little sleep. On a normal day, you are up at 6:45 a.m. You take one catnap in the morning – maybe 15 or 20 minutes, if you’re in the car or in the stroller; otherwise, you don’t even take this nap. You do go down after lunch for a nap but it is generally less than two hours long. By contrast, at 2.5 years old, Liam still sleeps for at least 2 hours and usually 3 in the afternoon. Bedtime for you is about 7:30 p.m. or so, which is an hour before Liam. You do use the days when Liam isn’t home as rest days… you’re much more likely to take longer naps then.
A natural consequence of all this activity… you have a real tendency to get into trouble. Does your nose look a little red and swollen in today’s photo? That’s because, a couple of hours before taking it, you pulled up on the stool and then fell right back on it, cracking your nose on the way down. There was blood everywhere. This is your first real injury, and I’m afraid to say I see many more of them in your future.
We were able to clean up the mess and get out the door to a weigh-in clinic right before they closed this morning, and I am happy to say that you are now 17 pounds 2 ounces and 28 inches long. We could tell you had really beefed up since starting the solids, but I was still surprised to learn that you gained more than 2 pounds this month. At six months old, you were in the 92nd percentile for height but only the 22nd percentile for weight; now, it’s the 90th percentile for height and 44th for weight. You eat like a horse, and now have a wide repertoire of cereals, fruits and vegetables under you belt, as well as meat, cheese, yogurt, crackers and bread. I’m trying to think of some new finger food options for you because you seem to enjoy feeding yourself… and it frees me up to attend to other things if I don’t have to spoon-feed you! We have started you on a sippy cup, though it’s taking some work to get you used to it. You have 8 teeth now, to assist with all this eating business, though sometimes I think there may only be 7 in there… and the bottom front left one is just incredibly saw-edged and not through your gum fully enough to let us know that it’s all in one piece. Only time will tell.
This month we celebrated your first Halloween, and you made the most adorable little fish in your costume, which you wore without complaint. You stayed in a hotel for the first time. You graduated from the baby tub into the big tub, and sometimes take a bath with Liam (but only when we can convince him to start getting ready for bed that early!) You sit up in the shopping cart. We got you a new car seat, and are ready to install it for you if only you will gain a little more weight (you need to be at least 20 pounds to go in it). Until then we’ll have to make do with your feet flopping over the end of your baby carrier… because you have certainly outgrown it from a length perspective!
The days are shorter now… maybe that helps explain why they seem to be flying by faster than ever before. Up next: your first Christmas. I am so looking forward to spending the holidays with you.
Love,
Mom
You’re seven months old… and I’m exhausted! And for once, no, I don’t mean on account of your sleep issues. Because you know what? Letting you cry for those few nights… it’s done wonders for us. You still consistently wake up just once at night for a quick feed, a vast improvement over the half-dozen awakenings prior to that. (You have taken to getting up at 5:30 a.m. this week, but I think that’s just a side effect of the recent end to Daylight Savings Time… at least, I hope it is!)
Nope, the reason why I’m exhausted now is this: YOU ARE A HANDFUL. You are totally on the move, crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, starting to stand on your own momentarily and cruise along the furniture. You are into everything, pulling books off shelves, digging through the pots and pans, unrolling the toilet paper. You jump up and down in your crib, you take CDs out of the stereo in your room, and you scurry like a crab up and down the hall in your walker. You are just so active. You would rather crawl over my legs to cross the room than go around them; the obstacle makes it that much more fun for you. There is no way you won’t be in gymnastics in a few years’ time. You, my dear, are one physical little girl. You fooled me, the first half of this year, into thinking you were a calm and complacent little person. But before you were even born, I had suspected you might be a firecracker – and I think I’m beginning to see that prophecy come true.
For someone so active, you need surprisingly little sleep. On a normal day, you are up at 6:45 a.m. You take one catnap in the morning – maybe 15 or 20 minutes, if you’re in the car or in the stroller; otherwise, you don’t even take this nap. You do go down after lunch for a nap but it is generally less than two hours long. By contrast, at 2.5 years old, Liam still sleeps for at least 2 hours and usually 3 in the afternoon. Bedtime for you is about 7:30 p.m. or so, which is an hour before Liam. You do use the days when Liam isn’t home as rest days… you’re much more likely to take longer naps then.
A natural consequence of all this activity… you have a real tendency to get into trouble. Does your nose look a little red and swollen in today’s photo? That’s because, a couple of hours before taking it, you pulled up on the stool and then fell right back on it, cracking your nose on the way down. There was blood everywhere. This is your first real injury, and I’m afraid to say I see many more of them in your future.
We were able to clean up the mess and get out the door to a weigh-in clinic right before they closed this morning, and I am happy to say that you are now 17 pounds 2 ounces and 28 inches long. We could tell you had really beefed up since starting the solids, but I was still surprised to learn that you gained more than 2 pounds this month. At six months old, you were in the 92nd percentile for height but only the 22nd percentile for weight; now, it’s the 90th percentile for height and 44th for weight. You eat like a horse, and now have a wide repertoire of cereals, fruits and vegetables under you belt, as well as meat, cheese, yogurt, crackers and bread. I’m trying to think of some new finger food options for you because you seem to enjoy feeding yourself… and it frees me up to attend to other things if I don’t have to spoon-feed you! We have started you on a sippy cup, though it’s taking some work to get you used to it. You have 8 teeth now, to assist with all this eating business, though sometimes I think there may only be 7 in there… and the bottom front left one is just incredibly saw-edged and not through your gum fully enough to let us know that it’s all in one piece. Only time will tell.
This month we celebrated your first Halloween, and you made the most adorable little fish in your costume, which you wore without complaint. You stayed in a hotel for the first time. You graduated from the baby tub into the big tub, and sometimes take a bath with Liam (but only when we can convince him to start getting ready for bed that early!) You sit up in the shopping cart. We got you a new car seat, and are ready to install it for you if only you will gain a little more weight (you need to be at least 20 pounds to go in it). Until then we’ll have to make do with your feet flopping over the end of your baby carrier… because you have certainly outgrown it from a length perspective!
The days are shorter now… maybe that helps explain why they seem to be flying by faster than ever before. Up next: your first Christmas. I am so looking forward to spending the holidays with you.
Love,
Mom
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