Finn's 7 month update

June 03, 2018

Finn's 7 month update

Seven month old Finn and moving into summer is a great combination!

Finner is sitting unassisted longer and longer. Although he's still needs a constant hand close by, lest his muscles go noodle on us and he bonks his head. Which is sad for all.

I've said it before, but Finn drools so stinking much that it's worth saying again. Kid is a drool machine! So much drool. Drool, drool drool. We commonly go through two outfits a day, & two-three drool bibs on top of that. Just trying to keep up. You'd think that with all that drool maybe some teeth were sending out a smoke signal before they emerged. Nope. No teeth. Just plain old unproductive drool. On everything & everyone.

Because our little guy is so hydrationally (not a word) blessed, keeping his neck dry is a challenge. Even with all the drool bibs, outfit changes, & blanket wipes his little neck can get pretty irritated. He is doing better with head control, which helps. Though, at times, he still reverts back to 'bobble head-noodle boy' where he won't lift his head up off his chest to save his life. He's had a rash in his neck folds the past two months because of it.

We gave Finn his first solids this month. He's not a fan. At all. He gagged, choked, spat raspberries, & shivered when we first started feeding him. I would have just dropped it and tried again later, if it weren't for the voice in the back of my head. The one that hit anxiety overdrive when Finn choked on the teeniest pin prick of food.

I kept thinking about what the lactation specialist said about Finn's tie. She wanted me to revise & warned us there was no way to know if the tie would affect Finn negatively til we came upon an issue. But she reminded us that it is common for babies with ties to choke and gag on solids because their tongues aren't moving the way they should and it makes it next to impossible for the baby to eat well.

So, instead of assuming Finn just wasn't ready for solids and allowing more time to pass, I super fixated. I wanted to know if it was because of his tie, or if he was just getting used to the new experience. For a week we tried tweaking the process. We played with different food's: temperature, quantity, consistency, added breast milk to make it soupy, and pureed things. Finn got a little better at taking solids by the end of my tirade, but he still hates it. He'll eat a few bites before refusing more, or just spits it out all together.

As it stand now, Finn's had peanut butter, eggs, acorn squash, butternut squash, & peas. We give him a couple spoonfuls of squash at dinner time, maaaybe twice a week. He doesn't gag like he did, so that's calmed my nerves a bit. I really don't want to have to revise his tie.

New fun tricks this month! Finn gives kisses & high fives. The kisses are reserved for me, mostly. (Sorry Damon!) They are as slobbery as you would imagine they would be. Finn loves to grab both sides of my face and 'kiss'. I know what your thinking. He's not just hungry and confusing my face for a boob, though. After I give him loves on his cheeks, he'll grab my face and mimic my kiss. Only mine are not slobbery. Calm down everyone.

His high fives are super precious too. For the sole reason of how much joy they bring Finn. When you lift up your hand and ask this little dude for a high five, he lights up and meets your hand. He's pretty slow at it still, but what he lacks in speed he makes up for in sheer enthusiasm. It'll even snap him out of 'bobble head-noodle boy' mode.

Finn still wont take a bink. He's into chewing on fingers and chubby slobber fists. His favorite thing to suck on would be any cloth material. He will occasionally suck his thumb. It's super adorable, but we aren't promoting anything, because I don't want to have to deal with an avid thumb sucker down the road.

Finner is still not sleeping through the night. We haven't tried to drop any night feedings and just let him do his thing. Usually he's up once a night, sometimes twice. It's really not bad. He's napping really well and going down easily. With each newborn baby, I fantasize and look forward to being able to write that update. Seriously, when sleep is good, I feel like I can handle anything.

I started eating dairy again and we have taken Finn off his reflux meds. He's doing amazing with both changes.

Griffin is the most emotive baby we have had. He's so easy to smile. The girls made us super work for any smile. Finn? You just have to make eye contact. He's a happy boy. He's also really good at fussing. To be fair, he has to share Damon & I with his sister's a lot. So, when you consider how often he gets put on the back burner for older siblings, he really is pretty chill.

Finn loves having his sisters around. He loves to try to grab them as they walk by. Indie finds it really amusing and Stella finds it insulting. Finn loves to watch the big girls and will play happier and longer by himself if they are playing next to him.