OK- 7 Months is for sure better than 6 months. Even though it makes me sad that we’re over half way through his first year, it’s so great that he can sit up BY HIMSELF, which he’s just started to do in the last week or so. Sitting up unassisted and not being able to crawl does have to make this one of the best ages. Making some noises, but not being too noisy is another reason 7 months is so great. Carson can say “Ma, Ma, Ma” and “Ba, Ba, Ba”. I am inferring that “Ma Ma” is of course for me and “Ba Ba” means Big Brother. He may not attach any meaning to his babbles yet, but he does seem to say “Ma Ma” when he’s hungry or if he’s missing me (which is pretty much any time I’m not in his eyesight or holding him). Carson is definitely a mamma’s boy. Since I’ve barely left him (he STILL won’t take a bottle), I am afraid it will be even harder as we move into the stranger anxiety stage. He’s friendly and smiley to others, but he still does best with mom. I have started having our neighbor across the street and her daughter come over to babysit for our near-by tennis matches on Thursdays. One of these days Mike & I will make it out alone for an evening also. 
Even though I’ve barely been away from him, I really don’t feel the need to be, which is sorta strange. Sure, I like to be able to have my time on my bike & to be able to play tennis but I think it’s since Carson is such a happy baby I want even MORE time with him rather than less. I’m attributing most of it to temperament, but also understanding him better since I’m home with him, the differences in a 2nd time mom of being more relaxed and having already given up your kid-free freedom, which is a HUGE adjustment the first time around.
We had expanded Carson’s diet to include carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, peas, applesauce and oatmeal cereal until he had trouble with constipation (I guess I can talk about this since he’s a baby and the purpose of my blog is to keep family and friends updated on our lives). He hadn’t gone but a few times since we started 
solids, (fairly common when introducing solids to babies), and went 8 days without going until he was really uncomfortable last Sunday. Since he barely ever cries or is fussy we knew something was wrong. He woke at midnight and I fed him and was very warm. He fell asleep in the car on the way to take Collin to school, and when he woke around 11 AM, he still hadn’t gone and had a 102 fever. I took him right to the doctor so we had to do all the yucky stuff to get him to go. The doctor gave orders to cut out all cereal and applesauce from 
his diet and feed him only prunes, apricots and pears, and we were to give him Miralax at every meal. We’re starting to get things under control a bit but he was sleeping through the night fine until we stopped cereal for dinner. Oh well, hopefully we’ll get there again!
solids, (fairly common when introducing solids to babies), and went 8 days without going until he was really uncomfortable last Sunday. Since he barely ever cries or is fussy we knew something was wrong. He woke at midnight and I fed him and was very warm. He fell asleep in the car on the way to take Collin to school, and when he woke around 11 AM, he still hadn’t gone and had a 102 fever. I took him right to the doctor so we had to do all the yucky stuff to get him to go. The doctor gave orders to cut out all cereal and applesauce from 
his diet and feed him only prunes, apricots and pears, and we were to give him Miralax at every meal. We’re starting to get things under control a bit but he was sleeping through the night fine until we stopped cereal for dinner. Oh well, hopefully we’ll get there again!He’s a pretty messy eater as you can see and wants to
feed himself even though he doesn’t have the skills to do so neatly. I usually provide him his own spoon and since we go straight to bath after dinner I’m not so concerned with keeping the food away from him. He still doesn’t enjoy being on his tummy too much, but he’s able to push himself a little farther. We enjoy spending time together on the back porch and practice our tummy time together. When Carson’s had enough exercise I let him sit up while I do my yoga. Rossi is a welcomed visitor since Carson loves to watch the cats!
