Leah Starts Crawling

Leah started crawling for 100%-no-fooling-real yesterday. She moves in a straight line and log rolls to redirect herself where she wants to go. She isn't fast yet, but it's enough that I now have to be concerned about what is on the floor in the room all around her. We will have to start on the boys about the importance of picking up their small toys and Legos.

Leah Hits Seven Months

At seven months, Leah is still working on trying to crawl. She pushes up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, sometimes getting a few inches forward but just as often moving backward. She doesn't get far, which is good for me because I can leave her in the family room while I cook and clean up in the kitchen.

She is also working on pulling up. She hasn't quite made it all the way, but if we stand her up, especially against a toy or the sofa with toys on it, she will stay up playing for a minute or two. The excitement of watching her brothers hasn't worn off either. Now she tries to get their attention by screaming at them. For every time the two of them are annoying, there is another time where they help out by keeping Leah entertained.

Food-wise, Leah is eating more solids. She loves Cheerios and still isn't a big fan of bananas, but I put some on her tray most mornings because they keep her occupied (easy to push around, hard to pick up). I love that she can feed herself now because it is very time consuming to feed Leah, feed myself, and feed the boys. It is not uncommon for the boys to eat separately for breakfast and lunch, though we nearly always make it a point to sit down together for dinner.

The SUV of Pack'n Plays

With the boys old enough to stay on the beach for a couple of hours, we worried about what we would do with Leah. She didn't like wearing hats, and was just barely old enough to wear sunscreen, so we didn't want to slather her up too thickly.

Fortunately, we had seen a neighbor's "Pack'n Play Sport" earlier in the spring. It did not have a standard mattress, or any cloth components. Instead, it had a padded waterproof bottom, a vented dome to cover the top, and unfolded from a cylindrical bundle into a large octagon. It had been discontinued, but Eli was able to find one, new in the box, on Craigslist.

So we dragged our new Pack'n Play out to the beach every day. For some reason it never worked out as a place for naps; even when sleepy, the act of putting Leah down inside always woke her up. But she was usually content to play inside for 15-20 minutes at a time. And it worked out great for Leah's second cousin Cora (3 months) who did take a number of naps inside while out on the beach.

Leah Eats Sand at the Beach

I said at the outset of this trip that Leah would probably stuff her face with sand. Shocker: my prediction was spot on! When I put her down in the surf she was immediately excited by the waves and went crazy splashing at the water. When she does that Eli says she looks like a bird flapping her wings (it's the exact same thing that she does in the bath and at the pool).

After a minute or two she slowed down and noticed the brown oatmeal-looking stuff all around her. She reached down and felt the texture with her fingers. Then she grabbed a fistful and squeezed it out. And then, in a blink, she lifted her hand to her face, stuck out her tongue and gave it a lick.

I'm not sure what things, in a baby's mind, are not good to put in your mouth. Certainly sand does not fall into that category; Leah began to grab fistfuls and cram them into her mouth. At this point I had to put a stop to it. Dr. Eileen assured us it wasn't really harmful, but "not harmful" is not the same as "good for you". And besides.. sandy diapers are no fun to clean up.