7 months (with guitar)

I just spent the last hour or so trying first to figure out how to create an animated .gif (slightly confusing but do-able) and then how to upload it to Blogger (reading conflicting reports of having to first upload the file to another photo-hosting site and other claims that Blogger has fixed whatever glitch was preventing animated .gif files from remaining animated upon upload). Neal took a batch of photos of Elias earlier today, four days after his 7-month birthday, and I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I thought it'd be a fun way to learn how to create an animated file. But my time is limited. So here's the one static photo you get:


If you really want to see the animated file, click here.

Elias weighed in at 20 pounds 12 ounces, fully clothed, during a quick visit to the pediatrician on Thursday for the second round of his flu shot. I figure he's probably around 20 pounds, give or take a few ounces, without clothes on. The seventh month of Elias's life will forever be remembered as the month the sleep train officially departed (or arrived?). We're now two weeks into it and it's going pretty well so far. There have definitely been some bumps here and there but for the most part, Elias is asleep within about 15 minutes of being placed in his crib (after a bedtime routine that takes about an hour!) and sleeps pretty well through the night. Occasionally he fusses a bit longer before giving in and/or wakes up once or twice throughout the night, usually settling himself back down before I instinctively hop out of bed to fetch him. Naps are going a bit better - I think we enjoyed one or two days this past week of both morning and afternoon naps lasting a bit over an hour each. That's still probably not quite as much daytime sleep as he should be clocking in but a huge improvement over the past few (okay, seven) months.

And we're no longer roomies, which is, as you might guess, a bittersweet development. Neal and I successfully switched what was the family bedroom with Elias's play room (nursery without the crib, which was in our room). So now Elias has our room and we're in what used to be the nursery/office/studio/spare room. I think I checked on him three times last night between the time we put him to bed and the time we went to bed, maybe three hours later. Needless to say, it was a restless night for me, but I'm looking forward to being able to read in bed again, and, believe it or not, getting up a bit earlier than he usually does (without worrying about waking him) in order to get myself ready for the day before the day is consumed with about twelve hours of constant feeding, diapering, changing, and otherwise entertaining him. I do miss being able to so easily check on him throughout the night, though.

Speaking of sleep, there have been other noteworthy developments this past month, but I'm beat. I'll hold this thought until I have a chance to blog again in the next couple of days.