7 Months

We've had some slightly cooler weather this week, so seven month old Alyse happily posed outside for a little photo shoot while Mommy got in some practice using her camera in manual.  











She's finally back on track in terms of sleeping, for the most part. It was a very rough 1 1/2 months, and I ultimately had to let her cry it out. But after 2 nights of 70-80 minutes of crying it was all worth it! She's starting to take more regular naps now as well, which is really nice.

She's a happy, giggly, good-natured baby who loves the constant attention from her big brother and sister. She's not sitting up yet, but I think she's slowly getting there. I'm not sure how long I'm supposed to use the "she was 6 weeks early" excuse but I'm not worried. No teeth yet either, but she's working on that as well! She loves to play with musical toys and her teething rings. She gave up her pacifier, and I'm totally aware of how lucky we are that we have 3 kids who all gave up the pacifier on their own as babies!

She loves to pull hair. Really loves it. And this time I'm not the only one on the wrong end of that -- poor Tessa has been the victim more than a handful of times.

Next week is a big week -- I return to work and she starts daycare. We love our daycare center, so I have no qualms about it, but I sure will miss my baby. I haven't been separated from her for more than a few hours in the last 7 months (oops! 6 months! Have I forgotten our 27 days in the NICU already?), so it's going to be a tough adjustment for both of us. I know how lucky I am that I have such a flexible boss who allowed me to take such a long maternity leave (but not without a few reminders of how much they are looking forward to my return! She's asked more than a couple of times "You ARE coming back, aren't you???") Our biggest issue now is that Alyse flat out refuses to take a bottle. Yep, that's sort of problematic since the big day is just 3 days away! EEEEK! We've been trying for about 3 weeks and she just will not have it. So, that just adds to my nervousness about returning to work. The one thing we have going for us is that she loves baby food. She loves carrots, yogurt and all fruits. She'll tolerate peas and green beans, but doesn't eat as much of those. I've heard the worst that will happen is that she'll keep me up all night wanting to nurse. GREAT. ;)