May & Seven Months… in Numbers!

Mark is turning seven-month-old on May 12, and it’s time for the monthly highlight of new baby skills learned and milestones reached!

It’s funny that his seven-month “birthday” is on Mother’s Day… my first Mother’s Day as a mother. Still feels weird!

At his six-month doctor visit, Mark was almost 70 centimetres tall and he weighed 8.4 kg—not bad for a baby who had trouble gaining weight at first. He outgrew plenty of outfits and we will need a new car seat soon. On the positive side, I do not need to do arm curls—just carrying him and holding him is enough exercise for my biceps!

Mark isn’t really crawling yet but when he is on his tummy, he can move 360 ° like the hand of a clock. It’s pretty funny to watch… if you can ignore the screams. He is very frustrated that he hasn’t found out how to move forward yet and yells at his toys when they “escape” out of his reach.

He is also in the “throwing stuff and watching mommy picking them up is so fun” stage. Mommy does not find it so amusing after twenty times, especially when she is trying to cook dinner.

He grabs objects—and my hair—very well and transfers them from one hand to another. He has good motor skills in general—gone are the days when he couldn’t bring his own fingers to his mouth!

Mark can now sit unassisted, although we stay around because he can lose his balance pretty fast when distracted. He can also hold himself up on his legs while supported… he is strong!

We tried solid food and it went well for a while until he suddenly lost interest in it. The sudden change of weather and working on other skills kept him—and me—busy, but we will try again soon. Meanwhile, he still drinks formula.

So, after month one, month two, month three, month four, month five, month six… here is month seven, in numbers!

Number of international trips taken: One, to the U.S.A.! We went to Ogdensburg, New York State, for a day, and enjoyed some shopping and sightseeing. A backpacker in training, hopefully!

Number of official documents received: Mark got his first Canadian passport! The process was fairly straightforward and it’s valid for three years. Good to go!

Number of museums visited: One, the Canadian Museum of Civilizations, where we hadn’t been in a while. We took Mark to the Children’s Museum and had fun showing him around.

Number of visits at the neighbourhood playground: Many many many…! He is too young yet for most of the traditional playground games, but he doesn’t mind the swing. The playground is a completely new environment for him, and he has fun watching the other kids play.

Food introduced: Before he decided that solid food wasn’t that much fun, he did eat carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, apple & sweet corn and baby cereals. And ice cream, from daddy’s spoon.

Rebellious moments: Plenty! I think Mark is started to test our authority. He can cry because he is hungry, thirsty, tired, hot, etc. But as we discovered, he can also cry “just for the sake of it” and stop immediately as soon as he gets his way, like having a toy picked up or being out of the car seat.

Major new skills: Sitting unassisted, moving on his tummy… and smiling back to anyone who calls him “a cute baby”!

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