Benjamin, 7 Months

Benjamin about two weeks ago

Time sure does fly when you have little ones around (I totally missed his 6 month update)! My little Benjamin turned 7 months this past week, and as always, I can hardly believe it! He brings so much joy to our family, and I am so blessed to be his mama. Here's some of what he's been up to lately:

::He finally is sleeping a nice, long 9-10 hour stretch at night. It is so nice! Most days he takes two naps (one in the morning and one in the afternoon), though occasionally he'll take a third one before dinner.

::He has started some solids over the course of the past month! So far, he's tried and loved soft-cooked pastured egg yolks, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, strawberries, bananas, yogurt, beans, chicken, beef (Porterhouse steak, actually. ha!), green beans, corn and potatoes. He ate some butternut squash but it was obvious he didn't like it very well. So far the only thing he's had that he hated were green peas. He actually gagged! To promote a healthy gut, we are planning to delay all grains until after his first birthday, so for now I'm just giving him veggies, fruits, (organic, whole milk) yogurt, and (grassfed) meat and chicken. He loves eating food and gets very offended if we eat and don't share! I've skipped purees and have just been giving him bits of our food. It's so easy and way cheaper (and better quality!) than jarred food.

::His primary food is still mama's milk. He nurses about 6 times/day, and he sure does love it. (Anyone see a pattern? I guess the little fat boy just loves to eat, period. ;)

::He has started saying the syllables "da" and "ba". He's said "ma" a couple times, but doesn't say it often. He watches our mouths very intently when we talk, and you can see him mouthing syllables without saying them out loud. It's really cute!

::He sits up pretty well on his own, and rolls for transportation. He has been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking, but no crawling yet!

Benjamin really is such a sweet baby, and I'm so thankful he's part of our family! He loves his daddy and sister and gets so excited to see them, but for now he's still a little more of a mama's boy. Which I don't mind a bit. :)

How are your littlest ones doing these days?