7 months old

The munchkin is 7 months old today. I kept staring at her birth announcement at work today and thinking how different she looks today. It's hard to believe she really was that small at one time.

This month's milestones:
*1st 2 teeth came through
*Rolled to her belly on her own
*Started pushing up to her hands and knees (that means crawling is soon...sigh)
*Started pushing herself backwards
*Started having separation anxiety
*Went on her 1st hike

I really do love this age. She is so interactive but also plays pretty well by herself. I wish she could stay just like this for a while, but I know even more fun things are in store for us.

Separation anxiety

Aubrey started her new day care this morning. I was hoping for a smooth, easy transition, but Aubrey had other plans. As soon as I handed her to the teacher so I could unpack her bag, she lost it. She was screaming and clearly unhappy. So, I took her back and all was fine with the world. I walked her around the room, showed her where things were, laughed and smiled at her teacher and I thought she would be ok so I put her down on the floor to play while I went to try unpacking again. Again, screaming waterworks. So, I started getting a little stressed at this point. Aubrey is one of the happiest babies I know. She is always smiling and usually goes to just about anybody with no fuss, so it amazed me she was this worked up. I sat down on the floor to play for a while and she was smiling and happy. The second I walked away, screaming again. Like someone was chpopping her arm off. It dawned on me that she is starting to have separation anxiety. Greeeaaat. Perfect timing with the change in day care. But, thinking back, she has been doing this in the morning when I am getting ready if she can't see me. Uggh. Not good.

I delayed going to work as long as I could, but eventually I had to leave. She was crying when I walked out of the room and I could hear her crying in the lobby. It was so hard to leave knowing my little girl was so upset. Such a mean mommy leaving her in this new place with these new people all alone. I called at lunch and they said she was doing better, as long as she was being held. Yep, that's my child, alright. Todd picked her up after work and they said her afternoon was much better. I am going in tomorrow better prepared for the tears and screaming. I hope it gets better over the next couple of days because I only have so much strength to keep leaving her like that.

Changing day cares

Todd and I made the decision a few weeks ago that it was time to change Aubrey's day care. I've been frustrated with us getting home so late because it doesn't give her much time to eat before it's time for her to go to bed. Plus, I have been solely responsible for day care duty since its close to my office. So, we would leave for the day at 7:15 and not get home until 6:15. Aubrey would be in her car seat for 1.5 hours every day and I felt so bad for her. I was just trying to make it work until stuff start going down hill at her day care. They are understaffed for the summer because a lot of kids are home with parents. So, they would combine the 2 baby rooms and chaos was the order of the day. In my opinion, a 6 month old baby who can barely sit does not need to be in a room with a 12-month old who is walking. One of those babies is likely to get hurt and when the staff is overwhelmed, they can't watch everyone properly. We would get different bottle parts coming home with us, nobody was available for me to explain when Aubrey started solids during the day, and crib sheets went home with other parents or Aubrey came home in different diapers. Plus, there was no communication amongst staff. The floating staff wouldn't have a clue about that day or my baby and when I got there, they couldn't tell me anything about the day. So, enough was enough and I decided to make the switch. Todd and I decided to go with a day care closer to our house so he can help me by picking her up. We found a center that appears to be a little more organized and more education focused instead of just being babysitter during the day. Plus, with Todd picking her up, I can change my work schedule around since I don't have to rush and pick her up. So, I am going to start working 9-5:30, which will let me sleep 30 minutes later in the mornings. Hopefully that extra 30 minutes of sleep will help me feel better and more can get done around the house and I can exercise. Those are my goals. We'll see how it goes this week but I am hoping for good things.

Teething sucks

My normally happy baby has been replaced with the whiny, unhappy version of herself. All she has done for the past 2 days is whine and Todd and I want to pull our hair out. Her little gums are so swollen and she wants to bite everything. I feel bad for being frustrated because I know she is hurting, but I just wish my happy baby would come back.

Big girl car seat

Todd and I made the decision to go ahead and move Aubrey to her big girl car seat. We were both tired of carrying her in her infant seat because the 2 together weighed over 20 pounds. Plus, she hated sitting in that seat and always felt so hot when I got her out of it. So, we went to have her seats installed in both cars and inspected. We had 3 people working on each seat and it was crazy to see how tied down these seats are. The only frustrating thing about putting her seats behind the passenger side is the passenger will now be eating the dash. I am not comfortable with that, but there was not a whole lot that could be done about it. She's still not in love with being strapped in a seat, but she feels cooler when I bring her out and does pitch nearly the same level of fit while being strapped in. It is a little sad to be putting her infant carrier away and to watch her sit in a high chair at restaurants, but overall I think everyone is pretty pleased with the transition.

Let's make that 2 teeth

I stand corrected today. Not only does Aubrey have her bottom left front tooth coming in, she has the bottom right front tooth that decided to make an appearance as well. Looking back, it makes perfect sense that she has been a pill this week with 2 teeth breaking through and the virus on top of that. I feel so bad for her and hope things get better soon.