Jensyn ~ 7 Months

Jensyn getting so BIG! 

Okay, technically that’s not true.  She’s a peanut.  She’s in the around the 12th percentile for her weight.  Still, she’s growing up too fast!

Jensyn celebrated her 7th month by having her first bout of the stomach flu.  Ugh.  Poor baby.  Max started early in the morning and was sick until 1 PM.   Lots of hand-washing, hand-sanitizing, and encouraging the kids to keep their distance from one another…I tried everything in my power to keep Jensyn from the germs, but what can you do when you’re the lone adult in a house with 3 very small children?

No sooner had we gotten the boys settled in bed for the night than Jensyn started getting sick every 5 minutes.  This went on for a couple of hours.  She wouldn’t nurse, of course.  We tried Pedialyte in a syringe, but it wouldn’t stay down.  She was beyond miserable…just laying in our arms, eyes wide open, totally spent…no smiles, no cries, nothing.  Poor baby girl.

We called the pediatrician, and we were prepared to bring her to the ER for dehydration, but suddenly she settled down, perked up, and started smiling at us.  She slept in our bedroom that night so we could keep a close eye on her through the night, but she ended up being just fine after that.  

We’ve introduced the cup (with water), and she enjoys playing with it.  She certainly does not have the hang of really drinking more than a sip or two just yet.  She likes to fill her mouth, then let the water run down her chin.

Jensyn still enjoys food.  I think she prefers carrots over other vegetables, as she rarely turns her head away from those.  She almost always finishes a whole container of carrots.  Generally, I give her fruit for lunch, veggies for dinner, and rice cereal (with water & a splash of apple juice) at bedtime.    Sometimes, she eats a whole container.  Other times, she’ll only take about 10 bites.

She’s tried bits of cracker and bread now, too, and I’m thinking we’ll probably try Puffs in a few weeks.  She loves to lick fruit, too.

She still nurses wonderfully, and (most of the time) she’s good about not trying out those new teeth.  It only took about week of “don’t bite” said in a loud voice to teach her to behave!  Jensyn is more easily distracted when nursing during the day now.  (There are so many things to see; why stop to nurse?)

Jensyn is fascinated with her tongue.  It’s ALWAYS hanging out of her mouth!  She’s also fascinated with her toes, and this picture does a great of showing both of her latest obsessions! 

She loves to jump, jump, JUMP!  This is one of Jensyn’s happiest places when she’s not in Mommy’s arms.

 

She loves her brothers, and they love her.  Alex is so good, so gentle, so sweet with his baby sister.  I love how he tries to take care of her, to talk gently to her when she’s upset, how he always want to see his baby sister in the car to know that she’s okay.

Max isn’t quite so gentle, but he does love her!  He loves to give her toys, to make her giggle, to sit in a chair and hold his baby sister.  Sometimes he forgets what’s appropriate with a baby, but overall, he’s an excellent big brother!

 

Jensyn LOVES the doggy!  The feeling isn’t exactly mutual, but as long as Maggie can give her kisses, the dog is okay with the baby…until the fur-pulling begins, that is! ;)

She’s still a pretty routine sleeper – up between 7 – 8 AM, naps for about an hour (sometimes longer) around 10 AM, naps for 2- 3 hours around 2 PM, and goes to bed around 8:30 PM.  She generally wakes once to nurse during the night, and it’s usually around 3 AM.  Sundays and special days always throw us off a bit, and time change last weekend was…interesting.  She was all out of sorts the next night, but she seems to be getting back on track.

Daddy has his special time with Jensyn while Mommy bathes the boys before bed.  Usually Jensyn is super-sleepy by the time I’m finished with the boys, so she’s fussing.  On this night, she fell asleep in Daddy’s arms.

 

Jensyn is most definitely a mama’s girl right now.  Nothing is better to her than being with her mommy.  Other people are fine UNLESS I’m around.  Then, only I will do!  Here, Grandma S is playing with Jensyn…who wanted to come back to Mommy!

 

This little miss gave up her pacifier long ago, but a pile of pacifiers was sitting in the corner of her crib.  Not long ago, I got her up from her nap, and she was desperately trying to shove a pacifier into her mouth.  Now, she’ll take it for a few minutes once in a while. 

Jensyn can sit up on her own and roll both ways, but NOT if Mommy is around.  If I try setting her on the floor, she has a FIT!  I still set her on the floor and sit right next to her, encouraging her to sit, roll, or play…but she’ll SCREAM.  When I’m not around, Daddy can get her to sit for a few minutes or roll around to reach toys on the living room floor.  I guess you’d call that stubborn.  I still make her try for a little while each day, but it always results in tears.  All in time, right?

Here she is trying out her cousin’s old swing at Grandma & Papa’s house.  Although she’s getting big for it, she really enjoyed it!

I’m probably cloth diapering her more than 90% of the time now.  Thanks to the VERY HELPFUL SUGGESTION of a reader, we’re using coconut oil as a rash cream/barrier with every diaper change.   What a difference that has made!  It took about a week, but now there’s no more rash at all!  I *love* cloth diapering my babies, and I love that it saves us money! :)

Just a few cute pictures before ending this post…

    

I really can’t believe how fast this year is FLYING by.  We love every moment of these sweet baby days.  I mean that, too…even 3 AM doesn’t seem so bad when I think that, so very soon, you’re going to be a big girl. 

We love you LOTS and LOTs, Jensyn Kate!  Happy 7 Months, sweet baby girl!