Caroline: 7 Months

I want to start this post out by telling you that Caroline the best, cutest, smartest, most advanced baby ever in the whole world, but I know you would think I am just saying that because I am her mother and I am SUPPOSED to think she is the best and the cutest etc. And yes, that is true. But she also is a really, really awesome baby and if you were to come spend the afternoon with her you would also agree she is the best – except, of course, for your OWN baby, because obviously you feel the same way about your baby as I do about Caroline.

But I also don’t remember thinking these things about Little Evan as much. I thought he was the cutest and the best, but I was constantly worried he was behind in his development – not rolling soon enough or catching on in baby sign language class. Some of that was true – he did take longer to roll and crawl – but I suspect a lot of it was first-time mom worry-warting for no reason. In fact, I think I STILL spend a ton of time worrying that Evan might not be hitting his milestones as fast as other kids, while when I think about Caroline’s milestones I think “meh, she’ll get there.”

Wow, that was a lot of words to say what I really mean, which is Caroline is awesome. Other than refusing to take a bottle (ARG BLERG BLAH) she is the perfect baby – easy, predictable, happy, and a good sleeper. She gets up sometime between 5:30 and 7, takes a short nap almost exactly 2 hours later, is awake until around noon when she goes back down for her long afternoon nap (conveniently at the same time as Little Evan!). She wakes up again around 3 and is her happy, playful self when Daddy gets home from work and while I make dinner. We’ve started giving both kids a bath together right around 7 pm and Caroline is asleep before 8. She usually gets up to eat once at around 2 am, but occasionally needs me twice and even more occasionally she’ll sleep straight through. She still sleeps in the swing at night in our room, but it is broken and doesn’t actually swing anymore. I’m just too lazy to set up the pack’n’play. Mother of the year, right here. We run a nightlight and a white noise machine and the classical music on the swing for her to make up for it.

I have no idea how we fell into such a pleasant schedule so easily, but I suspect it had a lot to do with already HAVING a schedule with the toddler and Caroline being easy-going enough to just fit herself in. Sometimes I feel bad for that – I don’t want her to suffer from Second Child Inadequacy Issues – but she is so obviously loved by everyone she meets I think she’ll probably avoid therapy at least a few more years.

She is still kind of a peanut, wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes with an occasional 6-9 month sleeper or dress. I like to think she’s conveniently pocket-sized for those times I need to carry her while chasing a toddler across a playground. It’s nice of her to accommodate me like that.

Caroline’s favorite things include boobs, the dog, the cats, crawling, pulling up on things, eating mulch, swinging, Twinkle Twinkly Little Star, her brother, biting me with her one teeny tiny tooth and nomming on things. Dislikes include bottles, sippy cups, purees, falling on her face, the sun in her eyes and not being able to walk. It fills her with Baby Rage.

Other things that fill her with baby rage: being forced to pose for photo shoots. Although I may have gotten just a FEW shots to post. And by a few I mean a bazillion.

All my tutu pictures are out of focus, because she wanted to eat it.

There was a little girl, who had a little curl

You have a baby...in a camera bag!

 

7 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual. New chart this month!)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Sits without support – Yes, easily. We’ve reached the “oh just set her anywhere” stage where I don’t worry about putting a pillow behind her.
Drags objects toward herself – Yes, although it’s much more likely she’ll move herself towards an object.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Lunges forward or starts crawling – Crawls like a champ. She can do both a regular baby crawl and a funny half-sitting monkey butt scoot, where she has one leg up.
Jabbers or combines syllables – I swear on a stack of Twilight books she’s started saying “Mama”. I wouldn’t bet any money she actually MEANS mama, but she can say it.
Starts to experience stranger anxiety – My kids have never met a stranger they wouldn’t go home with, although today at the park a friend tried to hold Caroline and she was NOT HAVING IT. So maybe?

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Waves goodbye – No waving, but she can sign milk. Like I said, smartest baby ever.
Stands while holding onto something – Yes. Our hands, my leg, the couch, the bouncy seat. STANDING IS HER FAVORITE.
Bangs objects together – Well, she’s not going to be playing cowbell with the Blue Oyster Cult anytime soon but she could probably whack a couple sticks together if I gave them to her.
Begins to understand object permanence – If I am in a room and she is looking at me and I leave a room, she sometimes gets upset. She will crawl around a corner to look for me. But I don’t think she does that with anyone else, so it’s more likely “Oh no my food is too far away!”

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25 Responses to “Caroline: 7 Months”

  1. Amanda says:

    Crazy ADORABLE as usual! And I am totally jealous of her sleeping through the night. I forgot how tiring a newborn is!

    • bebehblog says:

      It is seriously the only way I am surviving 2 kids. If she was the crappy sleeping Evan was I’d have checked myself into the looney bin.

  2. Suzanne – I’m going to need you to stop posting photos of your adorable, ginger-haired little girl immediately. You know what, while we’re at it, stop posting the photos of your ginger-haired toddler, too. BECAUSE IT MAKES MY OVARIES ALL TWITCHY WITH WANT! I need a ginger baby of my own. Too bad it’s a recessive trait :(

    Sigh. Your baby is super cute. I want to squeeze her cheeks.

    And now I’m done with this crazy, stalkerish comment.

  3. Heather B says:

    I don’t know if I’ve said this already, but I LOVE your monthly posts! Since Caroline is only about 2 wks older than my little girl, it’s like a little preview of what to look forward to! (PS I am SO SO impressed with her standing! Savanna only wishes she could stand for now, I’ll let her know she has two wks… ;) )

  4. Denae says:

    Ahh she looks so grown! You would think that I wouldnt be surprised since I stalk your family by reading your weekly iphone picture posts. Something about these pictures say more toddler than baby. She is so precious.

  5. Krista says:

    GASP! Oh my word… she’s crawling away from you and standing up. tell her to knock that growing up stuff off right now!
    Also. I’m glad yours is staying pocket sized. My not quite 5 month old is going to have me breaking out 9 month clothes any damn day now.
    Also. She’s so, so adorable.

  6. Joanna says:

    She’s so stinking cute and this post was hilarious!

  7. Kelsey says:

    And I thought I was the only one who quoted Sweet Home Alabama!

  8. For some reason, escaping baby is my favorite even though you can’t see her cute little face.

  9. Sarah-Anne says:

    yes, your baby IS awesome. and by awesome I mean the most cutest adorbs baby alive that makes me have baby fever.

  10. Other Erin says:

    The “tutu ate the baby” pictures never get old.
    I’m shocked they don’t have different development scales for boys v. girls. I was under the impression their little baby brains develop different parts at different times depending on gender. Having only one scale seems like a good way to cause parental panic.

    • bebehblog says:

      Well, I’m not exactly using the Official Baby Milestone Chart of Officialness As Recognized By Doctors And Other Smart People. It’s just a list from a somewhat questionable baby website. I’m sure my pediatrician would tell me to throw the whole thing in the trash but it’s a) a handy way to remember what the baby was doing at a given age and b) a good way to drive myself crazy.

  11. Cole says:

    Ohmigosh, too cute! Her FACE! And I *love* baby in a a camera bag :)

    Mommy says it’s entirely possible that Caroline really means “Mama” – I said Mommly and *definitely* meant it at about 8 months…

  12. raincheckmom says:

    Does the baby in the camera bag qualify for carry-on luggage?

  13. Shari says:

    Baby in a camera bag = adorable :)

  14. That was hilarious and adorable as usual! Thanks for making my day with all that cuteness! :)

  15. She is so darling! And I am very impressed by her advanced-ness. Sir Harry is one-month-to-the-day older, and the stinker is not crawling or pulling up at all. Though it is handy that he can’t crawl away yet.

  16. Audrey says:

    We have somehow stumbled into a routine too, though she still wakes me up every hour all night. Pretty much she’s up between 7:30-8:30 and down again around 11:00-12:00 for an hour…then again some time between 4:00-6:00 for an hour…then for good by 8:30-9:00. Or as “for good” as it gets after the first three hour chunk anyway.

    Caroline remains adorable. Also…if we DO ever get the girls together..I suspect Del will make her look super wee. I have her in anything from 9-12 month clothing…and her head barely fits in some of the 12 month stuff.*snicker*

  17. molly says:

    Yes, yes, yes to all those paragraphs up top. I was soooo concerned with when Landon was doing everything. He didn’t really talk until 17 months and I was a basket case until he did! Reading books and such about milestones. I even had a print out of the HELP chart so I could make sure he was doing things on time.

    That chart? I have no idea where it is. I look at Brigham and think meh, he’ll talk eventually. Google second-child syndrome. I dare you.

    Anyhoo – she is freakin’ A-DOR-A-BLE.

    The hair. The eyes. The little sinister grin. I dare say she gets that from her mama, no?

    Gah, you guys are so gonna laugh at me when I get pregnant just to try to have a Caroline and it’s another boy.

  18. Stephanie says:

    She is adorable! Love the pic of her in the camera bag :)

  19. alana says:

    I love This post because obviously, cute baby! But more so because you used the best quote from Sweet Home Alabama and made it your own!

  20. Suz B says:

    Gah! Love the camera bag photo & the curl one & the tutus! Love your attitude with her too. Happy 7 months to C!

  21. Julie S. says:

    She is getting SO big and she is SO working that camera! :)

  22. […] Month Milestones (Originally from BabyCenter, now from Caroline’s 7 month post – also, if you go look at Caroline’s post you’ll realize just how bald poor little Linc […]

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