7 months!

Since Ty's 6 month post was my last update and Ty is growing like a bad weed, I figured I would do this post just a little bit different with a few more updates at the beginning. 

If someone could tell me the magic words to make these days slow down a little bit, that would be great! 

The teething monster is officially upon us. Ty's gums are officially getting rigid and swollen and we're expecting a tooth to burst through any day now. Some days, he handles the pain really well and some days he's got big ol' crocodile tears and a cry that will break your heart. I hate knowing that he's uncomfortable and while teething tablets and teething toys are definitely helpers, I'm just praying that it'll get better sooner than later. 

Not to mention, the drool.

Oh, goodness-gracious the drool. 

We're going through 3-4 outfits a day and even more bibs on top of that. Bless his heart. 

The only good thing with all this teething shenanigans is the fact that, even as active as he his at this point, some days he just wants to snuggle. And snuggling is something I love to do and happen to be very good at. Mommy and Daddy snuggles to the rescue!

(Two peas in a pod.... these two.)

Introducing new foods has been, well, slow. And frustrating. 

Since I've been following the recommended guidelines of waiting 3-4 days between new foods and only started wanting to do strictly "Stage 1" foods until he was a strong unsupported sitter (as recommended)... and since it has taken quite a bit of effort to get Ty adjusted to the new texture of foods, things were off to a super slow start. But I am very grateful that we've done it this way because it has been very helpful watching his reactions to certain foods. Prunes, peas, and carrots are definite favorites. Bananas cause him severe constipation (we've tried them twice on two completely separate occasions) and my pediatrician has recommended that we steer clear from them for a few more months. The first time we tried bananas, the poor boy had to have an suppository to create a bowel movement. When we tried them a second time a few weeks later, and he still didn't have a bowel movement for a few days after, we decided to try a more natural way of relieving the constipation (hence, the prunes). 

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to introduce a second feeding of oatmeal mixed with a solid food in the early evening. Everything was going great until I realized he was waking up 3-4 more times a night to nurse. After talking with my pediatrician, she mentioned that it may be because he isn't getting enough "real" nutrition from my breastmilk because he might be getting too full from the oatmeal for a legitimate nursing session. She advised us to drop the the oatmeal feeding and wait until he's 7-8 months before we added a second feeding. 

Just this past week we've noticed an increase in appetite and decided to add the second feeding again, this time, completely dropping the rice cereal and oatmeal and doing just the fruits and veggies since rice and oatmeal cereal has no significant nutritional value anyway... and since aside from the banana, we've noticed no allergies or bad reactions to any of the foods, we began him on 'stage 2' foods. 

Little man loves them and the past week has been very rewarding for both Ty and ourselves in the feeding department. Especially since prior to this, after hearing some other mom's experiences with their 7 month old and how much they've tried and are currently eating it kinda bummed me out. I know that I should never compare my baby with another and that all babies grow at different rates and that Ty is growing just fine but it still gives me a mild-case of mommy-anxiety knowing that he might be a step behind. I'm not going to lie, I thought this solid food business was going to be a lot easier. 

Sleep is still... I don't want to say non-existant... but, yeah... 

Ty loooves to nurse through the night. Sometimes he'll wake up 1-2 times and sometimes he'll wake up 4-5 times. It's a roll of the dice in this house. 

Most of Brandon and I's conversations go a little like this:

Brandon: "How'd you sleep?"

Me: "Sleep? What is that? What is this thing you talk about 'sleep'? I didn't sleep. I stayed up all night long and breastfed."

Okay... maybe I'm being a little dramatic. But let's just say that coffee has become a staple in my life. Like showering. And eating. In fact, coffee is more important than showering and eating. Truth. 

So now that we have Ty's eating and sleeping out of the way, let's get onto his milestones. 

In the past few weeks, Ty has become quite active. He is becoming such a better sitter and we spend many a hours sitting on the floor and playing with his toys. Ty loves a good ball and we have an abundance of them. Not to mention, the fact that he is discovering how cause and effect work and loves to pick up a toy and throw it (cause) only to watch his daddy or I pick it up and hand it back to him (effect). But I don't mind chasing down ball, after ball, after ball. I love that he's discovering how things work and his daddy and I absolutely adore playing with him, even if the extra effort wears us out quicker than it wears him out.

(No... he was not out of his carseat while we were driving... we had pulled over at an exit to feed him and Brandon was holding him while I was getting re-situated. But can you not tell by the above two pictures that he LOVES cars? Like father, like son.)

Ty is also rolling over all. the. time. I still try to do tummy-time with him quite often but every time I lay him on his stomach, he instantly rolls over to his back. He has yet to roll over back to front but he gets so dang close! I'm sure he'll do it soon though and it'll be quite effortless. When he doesn't roll over, he has begun to pull his knees up and even get the "crawling position" without actually crawling. The first time he did this it took me completely by surprise since I wasn't expecting him to hit this milestone just yet but I believe that now may be the time to begin truly baby-proofing my house since apparently this little guy is going to be crawling sooner than later! 

Not to mention, he's also practically completely out of his infant carseat/carrier. In stores he now officially sits in the buggy and at restaurants he sits in high chairs! In fact, sometime in the next month, Brandon and I are going to go buy him a big boy convertible carseat! The carseat we currently have still fits him just fine (he's a little over 18 pounds and the carseat fits up to 22 pounds) but we just think he'll be more comfortable in a bigger carseat. Really, the only reason we haven't purchased one yet is because I'm a nut about safety ratings as well as user reviews and it's taken a little bit of time to find the right one. Unfortunately, the two we have it narrowed down to are not very wallet-friendly but I think both Brandon and I agree that the extra $150 or so we spend on the one we like is completely irrelevant when it comes to Ty's safety and our peace of mind. 

And since I'm behind on sharing some of these pictures, here are some pictures from his first time in the pool, his baby dedication, and his first 4th of July! 

Ty's 1st time in the pool at GranNan & Poppa's house:

Ty's Baby Dedication: 

Ty's 1st 4th of July:

Ty's 1st Birthday Party to attend: 

Phew... 

And on to his 7 month pics!

I'm actually kind of disappointed with the quality of these pictures... leave it to this scatterbrained momma to leave the camera setting on "Fireworks" so these came out a little weird looking. Unfortunately, I didn't realize until Ty was in the middle of a nap and I had already uploaded them. Oh well... I'll remember to double-check the setting for next time.  

Age: 7 months old! 

Weight: 18 pounds 3 ounces

Height: ***

Eating: Ty is still breastfeeding and we're now successfully at 2 feedings of solid foods a day! 

Tyson likes: Sitting up, reaching for his toys, playing with balls, his stand-up toys, anything and everything that Lola does (he thinks she's hysterical), being tickled by daddy, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the early mornings, playing in the pool, rolling over, blowing raspberries on our shoulders, being read to, and his wubbanub. 

Tyson dislikes: His carseat, long rides (we learned this on the 6 hour drive back from Texarkana... there was blood-curdling screams 75% of the trip home), being on his back, being on his stomach for too long, and having lotion put on him after baths. 

Best moment of the month: I absolutely love how playful he is becoming. It's so crazy how quickly they develop from little newborns with little to no personality to mini-humans that already seem to have opinions on everything. I think the best moment of the month was just watching his development. Makes me look forward to the months to come!

Milestones: Sitting in the buggy and the highchair for the first time, his first time in the water at the lake, he can now grab objects and transfer them from hand to hand, and is on '2nd foods'!