Seven Months and Counting...

It goes by so fast! Grace was 30 weeks last Saturday, and seven months on Monday. And we're now happily on the other side of a very fussy, but oh-so-productive "wonder week" period. For three weeks or so, I was really starting to wonder if I could do this mother-thing for another 18 years. Grace got sick, then I came down with something, and what with the sleep deprivation and all, it took much longer than normal to shake it off. And then Grace totally stopped napping for a week or two. (Was it really only a week? It seemed like ages!) We thought she had really bad acid reflux (and she does have some, but not as bad as we thought) that was waking her up, but once her second tooth broke through, things got much easier.

I never realized how much I need her naps! Last week I was too tired to cope well with an awake-yet-very-tired-baby, and Grace and I explored much of the Eastside as the only time I could get her to sleep was riding in her carseat. We'd load up in the morning, and I'd drive for a couple hours and let her get a good nap in. I found some pretty little parks I hadn't seen before, and when she was really out I'd stop and read for awhile. By the time we got back home we were both refreshed enough we could make it until Daddy was off work. Sometimes I really wonder how women manage with more than one child!

It's funny how quickly things change though; this week has been just delightful. Grace started sleeping again (at night, and occassionally napping!), and she's just been so sweet and happy and excited to learn and explore. Just yesterday she discovered she could clap her hands together, and she just looked so proud of herself! Last night we put her down in her crib, and she lay there awhile clapping her hands together, with this huge grin on her face. Sometimes she misses, and that's even cuter.

I've been reading how babies go through mental "growth spurts" where they're really needy and fussy and don't sleep for a few weeks while their minds are working on some new skill, and I totally believe it. And it really helps when in the middle of those times to remember it's just a phase and won't last forever. Indeed, someday I'll think they were all too short.