Soren Update: 7 Month Update

Chris thinks Soren has gotta be getting close to crawling, but all the "carpet swimming" makes me wonder.  But maybe it is just a matter of time before he stops trying to do the breast stroke and plants his limbs on the carpet and props himself up onto his hands and knees.  If you give him something to press his legs into, he's starting to be able to get himself up into a crawling position.  He pauses just long enough for me to think he's going to take off crawling before he plops back onto his stomach. 

He does sit up really well now and I have confidence to leave him unspotted and know there's a good chance he's going to stay upright for a good chunk of time.  He also doesn't slump over in his booster seat anymore. 

After a slow start, Soren is really interested in food.  We're still only giving him solids at dinner time, mostly because I'm letting myself ease back into the labor-intensive process of cleaning up after a child who drops all his leftover food on the floor and smears the rest all over himself.  Other than clean-up, dining with Soren has been a pleasant experience.  We leave him be to happily gnaw on his food while we enjoy our dinner. I'm impressed by what he's able to get in his mouth even though he hasn't mastered the pincer grip. 

Soren enjoys music and likes when you sing to him, which poses a challenge for me there are very few songs I know the words to.  The more animated you are, the better.  He gets a kick out of watching you dance and you know he's really happy when he starts giggling.  Random things will send him on a giggling rampage, like when Oliver stomped his foot pretending to squash a bug.  And it's easier to make him laugh when he's tired, because he's punchy.  Just like Oliver does laps around the first level of our house before bedtime, Soren has bouts of giggling, like he's trying to get that last bit of energy out before retiring to his crib. 

He's starting to notice other babies.  Of course Soren's interested in watching kids who are interacting with him, but if I prop him up next to a friend's baby, he wants to reach out and touch him.  Then again, he reaches out and tries to grab everything now.  If I sit him on my lap at the table, anything in front of my ends up being pushed to the middle of the table and out of his reach.  He's turned the Sunday paper into a slobbery mess. 

Overall, Soren is still a mellow and happy baby.  He loves to be held and cuddled and loves to watch his big brother play and his dad sing and dance for him.  His happy-go-lucky and lovable demeanor make up for his early-morning wakings.  We've momentarily given up on sleep training simply because we're out of energy.  I'm back to feeding him at four or five in the morning just because it's easier, even if it's not what I want to be doing long-term.  Soren's sleep patterns have made for a lot of tiring days at work, because often it's not worth it to try to go back to sleep, so instead of "sleeping in" until 6:15 a.m., I'll just start my morning routine at whatever time I get Soren back to sleep.  But before I lay him back in his crib, I tell him I love him and that he's lucky he's so stinkin' cute.