I wasn’t going to write this blog post because it’s probably like the written version of baby photo spam (all babies go through the same phases and I’m not even commemorating any particular milestone as such), but I’ve decided to roll with it because why not? May as well record the little things that are happening almost daily so I don’t forget them when I’m busy crying over all of my spare time, money and mojitos as the Little Miss grows out of the baby phase too quickly.
I just thought I’d share (against your will) some stuff that’s been happening in the Little Miss’ life lately. Which is basically my life. We’re just two differently sized people fused together now.
SELF CARE? WHAT IS SELF CARE???
Anyway, where was I?
Oh yes, over sharing about the stuff my baby does.
So she’s 7 months old and it doesn’t sound like a particularly interesting milestone but the Little Miss has been really doing some mental/physical leaps. I think my Wonder Weeks app is a little out of kilter right now haha.
Teeth
The Little Miss has one tooth, with one very much on the way. She had a little white blister on her gum for the longest time and the other day it ruptured and her second tooth has started to look like it will break through her gums properly any time now. That was a hell of a day. Crying, fussing, clinging, spewing excess saliva – unlike the Little Mister who was a drool machine soaking through all of his outfits, she keeps it all in and then randomly spews it up at inopportune times in bigger amounts. At least it all made sense the next day when I saw her gums.
Little Miss Grabby
The Little Miss is very very grabby. She wants to touch and grab and pull EVERYTHING. I am going to have my hands full with this one! She will try to open cupboards, she’s been eyeing off the buttons on the dishwasher and her reach is quite impressive! I am a little bit terrified of the time when the crawling begins! She’s like a ninja, too. Just earlier, she somehow grabbed some nail clippers while I was picking her up off the ground (the clippers were nowhere near her and on an elevated surface). I had to whip them away before she could shove the sharp metal end in her mouth! As well as being grabby, she has quite the ability to toss her toys quite far away, so basically I spend my day fetching things. It’s kind of funny watching her accidentally flinging stuff everywhere. Kind of. You know, until I have to watch her face screw up and the frustration begin and then I have to rescue all the things!
High Fives and copy cat games
The Little Miss has started to cotton on that bigger people love dumb shit, like when babies can do high fives. If you hold your hand up for a high five, she’ll grin and wobble her left arm up and wave it around until she can hit the target. SO CUTE.
She’ll also try to copy me doing kissy faces and the concentration on her face is just too much. TOO MUCH.
Yesterday I was so impressed when I showed her how I can open and shut my hand (I know – I’m so advanced) and she looked at her cute baby hand for a second and did the same. I know. I’m calling it. She’s a genius. Haha.
We have a bunch of smaller muslin wraps that we use around the place. I started saying, “Where is she?” when she’d pull one up above her face (they’re light weight and breathable and she plays with them safely in case you’re worried). Then she’d pull it down to see where my voice was coming from and I’d say, “There she is!”
After a while she learned this got a reaction and there was a sequence to it, so she would repeat the ‘game’ over and over. She doesn’t do it as much anymore (she’s sooooo busy doing other stuff now you guys), but it’s great fun.
She takes a dummy
The good news is that after months of trying to get her to keep a dummy in her mouth while trying to fall asleep, she is able to hold it better. Also good news is that after months of her spitting the dummy out instead of letting it calm her in say a public place where I can’t easily settle or distract her, she now will accept the dummy and suck on it long enough to calm down.
The bad news is OMG it’s started. She’s going to be addicted in no time. Now I will probably do that thing where I set out boundaries and little rules about when she can have it and then by the time the addiction has really taken full hold, I’ll be like “OK, BOSS. WHATEVER YOU WANT WHENEVER YOU NEED IT.”
Followed by that time in early toddlerhood where people start judging you with side eye and unsolicited comments and you try to comfort yourself by saying, “Oh come on – I’ve never seen a kid start school with a dummy in their mouth.” but you then hear several stories about children starting school with dummies in their mouths and you really really don’t want them to be that kid that starts school with a dummy in their mouth.
She’s started to show she’s upset if you take something away from her that she wanted or wasn’t finished with. The dummy will surely be one of those things soon!
On that topic, I’ve started trying to use verbal cues, like saying “Ta” when I take something or “all done!”
If I am going to leave her (in a safe place/position) for a second to throw something in the bin or wee in private for a second (I KNOW – I’M PRACTICALLY KIM KARDASHIAN), I’ll say “I’ll be right back!”
I don’t know how much she understands, but I am hoping she associates the tone of my voice with what is happening.
She’s very serious
After she discovered smiling, she was always ready with a grin. Now she’s very very serious when she susses out places and people. Everyone wants her to smile for them but she will do it when she’s damn ready! I think she’ll be happy and smiley by nature but right now she’s very very focused on figuring out this whole ‘being out in the world’ shit. She’ll still have a giggle and a big smile when she sees her family, but everyone else might have to wait a while!
Everyone has super high expectations when they see her in person because she’s grinning in all of the photos I post on social media. It’s a bit of a worry. She knows to smile for my phone the second it’s pointed at her. Oops? They learn the way of the selfie young these days! Far out!
It’s so interesting trying to see who she will become and what her personality will be like.
What new stuff has your kid been doing lately?
