7 months

Another busy month has flown by and Connor is 7 months old! He is now about 19.4 lbs and 29 inches (at home measurements). It's getting harder to get him to hold still for pictures, lol.

7 months!

We started solids and boy has that been a challenge. Because of Connor's issues with some of the foods I have eaten, we have to introduce foods one at a time and wait 3-5 days before starting a new food. Of course, if he reacts to a food, we stop immediately and then have to wait for his reactions (usually involving eczema and a diaper rash) to clear so we'll know if the next food is safe or not. First, we tried oatmeal, but I could barely get him to eat it. So after 3 days of trying, I decided to move on to the good stuff. Squash seemed like a safe first food and is low on the allergy list, so we started with the jarred variety. I noticed a little eczema but it had been hot and figured it was just the heat irritating it... until day 4 when I roasted a nice butternut squash and let Connor feed himself (which he loved) and then noticed that not only had the eczema gotten slowly worse, but it was now on his face (for the first time) and was now accompanied by a diaper rash and stuffy nose. Squash? Really?! So even though he seemed to be enjoying the squash... we had to stop and wait for everything to clear. My LLL leader said her son went through a phase where he reacted to anything orange so hopefully he just grows out of this and isn't really allergic to squash. So once his skin was clear, we went to pears. Thankfully, no reaction to pears, but he doesn't seem to like them all that much either. So next we tried avocado. He loves squishing the food between his fingers and getting to feed himself. I'm not sure how much he liked the avocado but he did eat some and didn't see to completely hate it. We only tried it one day though because we were on vacation and he ended up reacting to the butter on my steak at the wedding we went to... so now I have to wait for that to clear his system before we can try more avocado or something new. Well at least I know he's still allergic/sensitive to dairy since I'm supposed to try it every couple of months to see if he's grown out of it yet. Poor kid. Well it could be worse... so we'll keep on trying and hope he grows out of his sensitivities and doesn't stay allergic to anything, but if he does, we'll manage that too.

Squash!

Yum!

No more pears!

Connor got to meet his Grandpa Tank at the end of July as he was passing through town.

Connor & Grandpa

Connor is going to be in the 2013 calendar for Brown Fertility, the clinic who helped us conceive him. He did a great job at the photo shoot and I got the file of my favorite picture and will get an 8x10 of the one they choose for the calendar. If only there was more work in the area and my agent wasn't so far, I might sign him up and get his college fund going!

In the area of motor skills... Connor has been trying to get moving all month. He started the month with lunging forward to reach for toys, then picking up one of his hands while on his hands and knees to grab toys, all while getting himself back up to a sitting position. This meant when I put him in his toy area while I make a meal or grab the laundry, he was not always where I last put him! He could make his way around his play area and not fuss because he couldn't reach a toy. Towards the end of the month, he started getting a little forward motion, but not much, and then he'd sit himself back up. While on our trip though, he made more progress and by the time we got home, we was crawling! He doesn't go too far yet, maybe a couple of feet, but each day he goes a little further and gets better at it. He can be fast though if he's after the dogs, the cat, their toys, or a black cord, lol. My days are getting a whole lot busier! He's also started to try puling up on things and has managed a couple of times. He still likes to grab my hands and hold on while walking around "chasing" the dogs, but he still needs me for balance so it might be a while before he's actually walking... he still hasn't started cruising furniture yet...

Oops, wrong way!

I've noticed more babbling lately too, especially "bababa" or "dadada" sounds and occasionally when he fusses it sounds like he's saying "mama" but I don't think he really means it yet. He loves to squeal and scream and recently seems to give me an angry scream if I don't come get him right away when he needs something. I've only just started exposing him a little to some basic signs that he'll be able to do eventually to help him communicate. I really need to be better about doing them more and making sure to figure out all the signs I want to teach him that will help with early communication.

And to finish out our month, Connor took his first plane ride. We went to visit family and go to my friend/college roommate's wedding. I'm going to do a separate post about the trip, but overall it went well and we had a good time.

1st Plane Ride!