Seven Months of Lily Harper

Oh sweet girl, how you have grown.  Nearly every day this past week I have said to Mark, “how is she so big?”.  I used to laugh and keep scrolling when parents on social media captioned photos with things like “time, slow down” but now I get it.  It seems like everyday Lily is doing something new and it is truly a joy to watch her explore the world and learn new things.  As I mentioned yesterday, I am back to work in a few days and Lily is off to nursery.  I know it is the best thing for our family and that she is going to thrive in her new setting but I am still going to miss all of our Mommy-Lily days, even the challenging ones.  October was a fun and busy month for us, here is her monthly update:

(I would like to note that this blanket was wonderfully ironed before
we put Lily on it but she squirms like none other and in seconds, hello wrinkles and blurry photos!)

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Nicknames: Squishy, Monkey, and Big Girl.  This month was the first that I have not added to the list but rather taken away, we don’t call her “blue eyes”, “Lily girl” or “abu-boo” enough for them to make the list.   This may be in part because one of the UNICEF Language and communication milestones at 6 months is, “will recognize and respond to her name” and Mark and I have been trying to encourage this by familiarizing Lily with her name by using it frequently.

Firsts:  Lily went on her first beach holiday to Greece and went in the sea for the first time.  When playing (on her new Totter + Tumble Playmat) she now rolls 360° and someone needs to keep an eye on her at all times as she can travel QUICK, though she is not yet crawling.

Food was a big part of October and Lily is certainly a great eater.  Not only did she have her first meal in a high chair while on holiday she also made the transition from her Bumbo to a proper high chair at home (we got a Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair).  This transition also came with Lily trying SO many new foods. For fruit this month she tried coconut, mango, papaya, peach, plum, and watermelon for the first time and in the world of vegetables cucumbers (which she loves), courgette/zucchini, green beans, pumpkin, and potato.  We have also expanded Lily’s proteins including fish (cod, haddock, and sea bass), cheeses (cheddar and cream cheese), chicken and eggs in three ways!  I could keep going but I am glad our first few allergens including peanut, sesame, and gluten have all gone well!

Weight: She is 16 pounds and tracking well on the growth charts.

Length: We tried to measure her at home today and got 65.5cm but we honestly could be off by an inch or two!

Teeth:  … sigh … still no teeth.  I really do hope they come through soon so she is no longer in pain!

Loves:  Lily loves chewing on anything and everything especially her Sophie La Girafe Giraffe Teether, the strap of her stroller harness, the Nuby Ice Gel Baby Teether Keys and people’s fingers.   When playing she also loves the foam cubes with rattles that her grandma made her and all of the Lovevery toys, especially the tummy time wobbler.  She still loves being carried and now is a fan of facing forward in her Babybjorn carrier.  When carried by Mummy within a few seconds she will begin pulling on my hair and livingly “eating my face” favoring my chin and nose.

Hates:  She still hates being left alone for more than a few minutes and I would not say that she hates tummy time anymore as she will just roll out of it.  New this month Lily now hates any outfit that has her feet covered, she loves playing with her toes and gets upset when she can’t access them. She also hates getting her nails trimmed and movies / watching TV is no longer enough of a distraction, sigh.

Memories I Never Want to Forget:

• Lily has excelled in all of her swim lessons, never once crying in the pool even when trying new skills like being submerged completely underwater!
• We have had to baby proof the house as we know she will be crawling before we know it.
• After weeks of fighting bottles she is now drinking both expressed breast milk and formula well from a bottle.
• Lily loves finger food and while cucumber slices or melon will keep her occupied she also loves gnawing on Ella’s Kitchen Melty Puffs as well as the Kiddylicious Strawberry Wafer which is a UK brand but in the US are very similar to these. 
• The weather in England is starting to get chilly so at night Lily is now sleeping in the HALO Innovations SleepSack Wearable Blanket Micro Fleece we bought at Target last month and she looks adorable in her first pom pom hat from the White Company.

Overall it has been a wonderful few weeks with our Lily Harper and I could have made this seven month update twice as long but kudos to you if you have read all the way to here!