Month 7 Update

7 Months

8.6 kilograms (19 lbs.)

 71.1 centimeters (28 in.)

Likes:

being near Mama

stroller walks outside

playing on the keyboard

laughing at Daddy

carrots and sweet potatoes

his favorite songs

Month 7 was a tiring, fast, exciting, hard, fun month! Everyone warns mamas-to-be of how fast the time will seem to fly when her little bundle of joy arrives, but man, it's so true! I can't believe this boy has been here for 7 months already. Can I just freeze time and take it all in for a bit?!

Isaiah is such a joy to Josh and I. He is our greatest treasure on this earth and brings us smiles each and every day. He became particularly attached to me this month and wants to be near me at all times. While it's exhausting, it's so sweet. There's not many things that make me feel better than how just my voice or touch can dry the tears in a second. While he loves to be in my arms, he loooves to laugh at his Daddy. He thinks Josh is so funny and just cackles at him when they play. Sometimes I catch Isaiah just watching his daddy doing something; he has the cutest grin on his face as he watches him. I bet he wants to be just like him some day :)

We took our first visit to a pediatrician in America this month. Some of you may know that we were concerned about his anterior soft spot closing very early. However, his head is growing at a normal rate and the doctor said everything looked fine. While the soft spot may look closed from the outside, as long as his head is growing, it isn't completely fused yet. Praise the Lord! He came in at the 80th percentile on height and 76% on weight. His head was in the 60th percentile. He's a growing, healthy boy!

While he had a good check-up at the pediatrician, he also had his first cold this month. It was so sad! He had a stuffy nose and red eyes. But after a few nights of sleeping with him on our chests in the recliner so he could breathe, sucking all the yucky stuff out of his nose, diffusing oils, and drinking chamomile tea, he was all better. It was a nasty cold, but we're thankful it didn't last long.

Isaiah is sitting up so well by himself, he scoots all around on his tummy, and he's trying so hard to crawl! He has amazing upper body strength, but he just can't figure out how to use those knees ha! He is babbling all the time, especially when he wakes in the mornings. He loves to get loud and high-pitched! He's still teething, but we still have no teeth!! He spends the day chewing on anything he can get his hands on. Some days are worse than others, but we're hoping they cut through soon.

He is still breastfeeding on demand, which is about every 2-3 hours. He's also eating pureed or mashed foods every now and then. He had no appetite when he got the cold so we're easing back into foods other than milk. He loves loves loves sweet potatoes, winter squash, and carrots. He's a pretty big fan of zucchini. He's neutral about avocado. He sort of likes applesauce, but he absolutely detests banana! He literally shivered and gagged both times he tried banana. He licked some raspberry juice off my finger and probably would've taken down the whole bowl if I'd let him. He basically just eats whatever fruits or veggies we're having, but mashed up or pureed. He ate too much avocado one evening and puked later during the night, so that was scary! (A mother's love runs deep...holding-and-kissing-your-baby-while-puke-runs-down-your-arms kind of deep!) It's been fun watching him try new things but we're taking it pretty slowly. He does love drinking water out of our cups and also a straw sippy cup. Not much makes it in his mouth, but he has a good time!

I usually update on food and then on sleep. But wait, what is sleep?! Ha. This month has been pretty rough. Isaiah wakes almost every hour some nights. Sometimes he's awake for 3 minutes. Sometimes it's more like 20. But I'm surviving on coffee and naps. I definitely didn't envision myself still waking this much with a 7 month old. Maybe that's naive. But lately I have been trying to thank God for each breath he takes when I wake with him during the night (I started doing this after my husband made a comment about me saying, "again? this is the fifth time tonight!" ha). He's sleeping in a pack-n-play in our room right now- I realize this could be contributing to poor sleep, but while we're transitioning between homes, there's not much choice. He usually ends up in the bed with us sometime through the night where he rests a little better. It's a full size bed though, so the three of us are pretty tight! His naps during the day have also been a struggle as he fights sleep more days than not. He usually naps once or twice in the morning (both just 30 minute cat naps) and then takes a longer nap in the early afternoon and another short nap in the late afternoon. Because of my own lack of sleep, we spend many of those naps in the recliner with him on my chest, which I must say are some of my favorite moments. It also makes me wonder how anyone with more than one child has any sanity :)

A few random fun things from the month are: Isaiah has started to be annoyed by his car seat and hates riding in the car. He enjoys a little 'play pen' I made him out of a laundry basket. It keeps his toys close to him and he likes to sit in it while I cook. He went swimming for the first time in a pool with his papaw and he's a little fish! It took a few minutes for him to familiarize himself, but once he got comfortable, he was kicking and splashing like crazy! He rode in the grocery store buggy for the first time and really enjoyed sitting up and checking out the place. He's been to a few Burmese Bible studies with us and I love watching him be so comfortable with other cultures. They're all crazy about him. He has a few favorite songs, including The Little Green Frog and a song from the Philippines, and he lights up when we start to sing them. So cute. Bath time has enhanced by 3 little rubber duckies. He still loves bathtime and hates to get out of the water. He still sucks his thumb, especially when he's sleepy. So many people have made comments about how I'll regret letting him do it, but it's pretty adorable right now and we'll work on stopping it when he's a bit older. Right now, it soothes and comforts him and I'm thankful for that. He's also started pulling his hair when he's sleepy. I know what you're thinking....what hair?! Believe it or not, he's got a little peach fuzz and he loves to try to get his hands on it. Our boy is so adorable and we love watching him grow and learn.

Dear Isaiah, 

Since February 21, time has flown at a faster rate than any other season in my life. It's funny because sometimes the days seem to never end, yet the month is over before I can catch my breath. Isaiah, I'm sorry for the times when I just wish you'd sleep so that I can have some time to myself. Alone time isn't bad- it's needed!- but I forget to treasure my time with you. You won't be in this sweet cuddly stage for long and I don't want to miss a bit of it. I too often forget how blessed I am to be your mama. My days really couldn't be filled with anything better than your squeaky noises, mid-day snuggles, and laugh that melts me every single time I hear it.

You are loved, Isaiah Luke. You are treasured. 

Love, Mama

O, and the way you're comforted by pretty much no one but me- it makes me feel like the most special woman on the planet. I'm honored to be your favorite for the moment :) 

Dear Isaiah,

You are such a blessing.  We've been transitioning from life in the Philippines to life in the USA.  I believe you've transitioned better than your parents.  There's a lot to learn from watching you.  I imagine you'll teach us a lot more throughout these coming years.  I hope you do.  We've been trying to get to know people and think Nashville is the place for us.  The local church we've joined has been super hospitable to us.  We've tried to be intentional in forming relationships, and we've met a few couples this week that we really like a lot.  I'm not sure how long we'll be in Nashville, but I'm thankful God has us here for now.  I love you Isaiah.  Praise God for protecting you throughout the transition.  By the way, we're taking a month to go visit family.  I'm thankful for the opportunity and don't want to take it for granted.  I know they'll be so excited to have you there.

Love, Dad

"You got me a surf board? Cool!" 

And ripping the calendar brings a quick end to the photo shoot :)