TATUM LEILANI MADRID: 7 MONTHS OLD

 

7 months of falling in love with you.

Oh, my Tatum. My sweet, beautiful baby girl. This past month absolutely wrecked me. Going from six to seven months inevitably tipped the scales and you are closer to being one year old than you are being a newborn. I'm unsure of why this milestone always makes me just a little sad? But I think it's because you are my final chapter, my love, and I, your mother, absolutely don't do well with finality. Watching you grow is a privilege I will never take for granted and your continued health is something I spent so many days and nights praying for... and it is in that spirit that I wipe the tears from my eyes and embrace all that you are right now.  Our perfectly growing, healthy, happy, intelligent, and gorgeous seven-month-old. 

Feeding:  Tatum is exploring all the food groups (minus most dairy products and nut products) and we are having fun watching her try. We chose to do a mixture of purees and baby-led weaning. I have even purchased some baby food pouches from the store like I have for the kids in the past. Earth's Best has failed to impress me after all of these years. We stick to the regimen best for babies at Tatum's age with food (at least two tablespoons a day on two different occasions) and that works SO well for our girl. We usually do breakfast meals and dinner meals alongside the family. It's so nice being able to incorporate that time for us together. We are in no rush where food is concerned and take all the cues from Miss Tatum. She definitely lets us know when she doesn't like something and when she does. 

Sleep:  This baby girl still sleeps like such a dream. Bedtime seems to be moving up a little bit as our girl grows but I don't mind. Tatum usually starts her bedtime routine just after her siblings rather than an hour or an hour and a half after. Every night she needs her bath, her music, snuggles from mommy AND daddy, a nursing session, and then she's done for the count. Normally she wakes up at 630ish? Maybe closer to 7 if we let her sleep. She still takes her naps during the day (definitely shorter than they were a couple months ago) but all in all her sleep routine is pretty spot on. We have noticed that if she's stimulated, it requires more than lights out and nursing to get our girl to go down. When this happens either Justin or I strap baby girl on our backs and sway in the carrier until she's asleep. I kid you know, do not SLEEP on baby carriers, folks! They are a dream come true for parents.

Milestones:  Tatum can say DA-DA and NA-NA now. She says DA-DA all the time and I know her daddy loves to hear it. She's making more momentum with crawling. She can definitely still scoot her way anywhere but we are watching the baby pushups become baby lift ups and soon the rocking will lead us to a full-blown crawler. She can bear weight on her legs when we assist her, she's grabbing everything/anything in sight when she can, and she can high-five us! She legit holds her hand up for the high five and it is the cutest thing ever.

Things You Like:  Lately, I have been playing a lot of peek-a-boo, and this girl giggles so much! she loves to be tickled, she loves being cuddled with head kisses, she absolutely adores cocomelon music and of course, the Julie and the phantoms soundtrack. Tatum still loves to be snuggled and warm, and she's especially loving all the storytime the kids have been giving her lately.  She loves all of her toys so much more now and will engage with those toys for longer periods of time. 

Like every new milestone reached, seven months is a pretty big deal. More each day I realize that this sweet angel was given to us because she so completes us. Everything we do is centered around her and she makes our family dynamic complete perfection. Our cups are constantly at an overflow and it's an incredible feeling. We love you, our seven month old miracle.