7 Months Update (Levi)

It seems like I just published Levi's 6 months update and yet another month has flown by. At the same time, things are slowing down a bit. While so much changes almost daily in the first few months, we're not hitting new milestones quite as often now. 

One thing that hasn't changed is that Levi is growing like a weed. Last time I mentioned that his 9 month clothes were getting small. Only a few weeks later, he's now almost ready for size 18 month. 

Levi has been a better sleeper this last month, or at least not comfort nursing all night long which was a theme during the month of October. He starts the night in his own crib and puts himself to sleep (with a back rub sometimes and a bit of crying most nights). 

I feel like he is weaning himself and starting to rely a lot more on solids. It seems early, but I'm following his lead. I can't really compare to what it was like with Noah and Ava because they'd both been going to daycare for a few months at seven months old. He has figured out the hand to mouth coordination and could munch on baby puffs all day. I ended up making (canning and freezing) some baby food, but for the most part, we've been going the easier (less messy!) route of feeding him baby food pouches. It is what it is. 

We celebrated Levi's first Thanksgiving with close friends and Levi ended up sleeping for hours. It was nice to have adult conversations without a baby attached to me, but it turns out he was starting to get sick. The following Saturday I took him to the walk in clinic where he was diagnosed with croup. He was put on steroids for three days and started feeling better within a couple of days. First illness - handled it like a champ. 

I wonder if him getting sick had something to do with the fact that he had been at daycare for the first time a few days earlier. They have a monthly parent discussion night I like to attend in the evenings, childcare included. Last time he stayed home with Tony, but this time I took him in. He did great for 20 minutes and then started crying. He was still sobbing when I came to pick him up after the hour long session. Poor guy has some serious stranger danger (can't blame him, he had never been away from mom or dad!) and it makes me a bit nervous about the transition to full time daycare at the end of the month. Oh yes, that's new too. We're switching daycare centers, having found one that is just about to open a few minutes from our house and has room for all three kids (I can tell you, not easy to find around here!). 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...We picked out a Christmas tree on a local farm and added one new family ornament and Levi's "my first Christmas" ornament, a crocheted horse made by a local artist. 

Read more about our family's Christmas tree ornament tradition here: http://lifewithmylittlekraut.blogspot.com/2015/01/holiday-traditions-christmas-ornaments.html

We're still waiting on his first teeth, he's not yet crawling (but scooting like a pro especially on our hardwood floor), and hasn't figured out how to sit unassisted. In due time...