Holy buckets, we’ve arrived at the 7 month mark!

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Well, technically the 7-1/2 month mark. I am so awful about taking Lincoln’s photos on time – I barely squeaked his 6 month shoot in before I had to turn around and take his 7 month photos! Anywho, here’s what’s on my mommy mind right now!

Say it with me – this has been the best month yet. I KNOW. Seriously though, life with a 7 month old is not without its challenges, but I feel like it’s finally returning back to normal and we’re not in this constant manic infant state. Here’s why:

We’re finally on a schedule. It took 7 months, but by golly, we did it! It’s funny, you go through pregnancy having this preconceived notion that your baby will sleep perfectly and when you want him to. Well…that’s not always the case – at least in our experience. That being said, we’re finally at a place where Lincoln is eating and sleeping at predictable hours throughout the day. WHEW. So many people told me it would happen when it happens, and I can’t tell you how happy I am that it finally did!

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This past month we also gave up Lincoln’s 9:30pm dream feed which means we put him to bed at 7 and he sleeps until morning. It’s a small change, but knowing that I don’t have to feed him before going to bed myself has just made evenings that much more enjoyable. (To wean him off the dream feed I fed him at 9pm for 4-5 days, then 8:30 for 4-5 days, and then stopped completely.) To be honest though, I do miss that last quiet snuggle before bed. (Holy close up.)

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Lincoln can now stay up for 2 hours between naps, which happened very suddenly. For so long he was only able to stay up for 1:15-30, minutes then one day he was magically able to stay awake for 2 hours. Again, sounds like a small thing, but it’s been life changing! I don’t feel like I’m rushing to get out the door and complete one errand before having to turn around and come right back for a nap. That feeling of being in a constant hurried (and harried!) state that I wrote about in my 3 month update has lessened significantly as a result. I can breathe again!

If he’s not eating or sleeping, Lincoln is likely blowing raspberries with his lips. All. Day. Long. It’s his favorite thing. That or growling. I cannot get enough of his hilarious growling (which he’s entertaining himself with in his crib as I type.)

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Adventures in eating are going well! We’ve only had one episode involving carrots. He didn’t have a full blown allergic reaction but was kind of gaggy and acted like they itched his throat for awhile afterwards. Other than that we’re currently chowing two meals a day rotating between bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, pears, prunes, peaches, green beans, peas, applesauce, and butternut squash, with an afternoon snack of finger foods like banana chunks. I’m not sure a single piece has made it from hand to mouth yet though. : )

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Speaking of baby food, I’ve been making mine in my Blendtec (more details and a giveaway coming soon!) I’ll steam veggies then add to the blender with a little water, and then freeze in ice cube trays. Soft foods like pears, frozen peaches, and avocado I’ll blend uncooked then freeze. It’s so handy having pre-measured food cubes all ready to go, and really doesn’t take that much time at all.

I know a lot of baby’s first babbles are ba or da, but Lincoln’s was MA! Mama-mama-mama or moooooom, is what I hear all day long (when he’s not blowing raspberries or growling, of course.) He has no idea what it means but it makes me nearly melt into a puddle on the floor every single time.

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The weather has been crazy these past couple of weeks, alternating between 60s one day, then snow and 30s the next day. We’ve been getting out on walks and trips to the park whenever we can though. Lincoln was unsure what to make of the swings at first, but totally got into it a few seconds later. We’re waiting for Dad to be able to join us before I take him down the slide for the first time. I don’t want him to miss all his playground firsts! ; )

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Like I said, life with a 7 month old is not without its challenges – I think Ben and I are still adjusting to the fact that we can’t go and do whatever we want, whenever we want (that being said, thank goodness for Grandparents who love to babysit!) – but we’re truly savoring each moment with our funny, sweet little guy. Our funny, sweet IMMOBILE little guy. I think this zen-like state will likely go out the window once he starts to crawl!