7 month / crawl / walk madness???

[Kat]

Hi there,

I was just curious about whether anyone else has experienced a kind of crazy (in the 'oh golly this just got HARDER!!!! kind of way) at the stage we are at:

* Eating lots of solids but Mummy can't keep up with new foods and hasn't yet worked out how to do 'non-mushy' first chewy foods
* crawling and pulling herself up to stand up
* falling over all the time
* teething
* sleeping interupted often
* 7 months old

Is this normal?

Do you get a bit ga-ga at this point?

a friend suggested I get a playpen for some 'calm' time when I know she won't hurt herself without needing eagle eyes....

I would just like to know what others have experienced?

Kat

[mumof2girls]

I had one of those children who just had to do everything early and nothing was going to stop her, she was climbing over fences at 9 months old :eek: Fortunately for me she was very intelligent (still is!!) and if I told her not to touch etc she would just listen and do what I asked. The playpen works well as my sister used this for her children just so could get stuff done (never for long though). As for the food question, my daughters loved mashed vegies so as they got older I would make them a bit thicker and also cut up meat finely and cook it and then add it to their vegies and they had no problems. I also never had problems with teething or sleeping (mine slept for an average of 6-10 hrs at a time from the day they were born.

Good luck, the fun is just beginning :D

[draught]

Kat
My 8 month old started crawling at 6 months, and for the last few weeks has been into everything, teething, had a cold, waking at least 3 times a night for a feed (the comfort boob) and puts everything in the house in her mouth (I didn't realise we had that many fluff balls in our house that I vacuum every day!).
I do have the advantage that she has an older sister so our house is basically baby/toddler proofed already - although her older sister is also very good at leaving things around for the baby to eat (playdough, books, socks, toast, strawberry and the list goes on). So I understand that you feel a bit ga ga! All I can say is that it does improve - at some point you can leave them in a room and put the washing out, knowing that they and the room will be okay for a few minutes! I have always meant to buy a play pen but have never got around to it. I do know of people who use their portacot as a play pen, but my daughter is so active I think she would be whinging within seconds of being restrained which would probably drive me more insane! The other option is to have one room which is safe for her and use baby gates on the doors so that you can leave her there and know she is fine, and still get things done (like going to the loo etc!!) in relative peace!

[Chickadee]

Hi Kat,
We tried the playpen, it lasted about 2 months before having her in it was more trouble than listening to her frustrated yells. I really only used it for a few minutes at a time in the house, mainly to keep the dogs off of her! It was handy to set up on the lawn when I was working outside, but again, she wanted to be out exploring. I basically wound up babyproofing our lounge, dining room and kitchen which was mostly one open area, and then kept other doors closed or used baby gates.

One thing that my brilliant hub thought of though - we had hardwood everywhere and I was paranoid about her falling over and hitting her head. He got out our sleeping pads for camping and put them under a rug to create a relatively soft landing zone for her. A clean sheet overtop (easy washing of spills and vomit) and we had a great play area in the lounge for her where I didn't have to worry so much about her falls.

Want to know the scary thing? I don't think I've ever actually gotten ahead of my daughter's increasing skills! It's always a challenge keeping up :)

[Xavvysmum]

Kat I'm going through the same things as you. My almost 8 month old has turned into a fussy eater only wanting to eat what we are eating (we draw the line at pizza though) and thinks he can stand by himself now (lots of spills, lucky we have carpet). I have pretty much baby-proofed the lounge/kitchen, baby-gated the stairs and closed doors to other more 'dangerous' rooms. We reached a milestone when I left him in the lounge room by himself for 5 minutes while I had a shower the other day! Another mum I know has a port-a-cot set up in the lounge as a playpen so she can put her bub in there for 5 minutes to get things done. Otherwise, there are always nap times to rush around, trying not to make noise, like an idiot getting things done or to just relax and watch that TV show you videoed 3 weeks ago!

[Kat]

Thank you all for your feedback.
I'm glad its not just me, though a bit freaked out that I may never 'get ahead' of our DD new skills. Today was a no blood when falling over day. This is good.

We haven't totally baby-proofed the bedroom/ kitchen / dining area however it is the 'safe' areas that give me grief with the falling over being the worst part. I am crossing my fingers that that stops but I have some suspicions that falling is going to keep on happening fora while yet :eek:

I will try the porta cot before the playpen and see if it works for a short while.

As for naps that is one of the reasons I am struggling. Our naps are lucky to be 20 mins 3 times a day!

Cheerio

Kat

[JessandKirra]

I find even though its recomended to eat play sleep in that order. If you know they are tired, feed before putting down for a nap. I now get an hour. instead of the old 20 minute thing.

[jasminesmum]

My dd is doing exactly the same things.She is now 7 1/2 mths but has been crawling and pulling herself up on anything and everything since she was 6mths.She discovered the kitchen cupboards today. :eek: Time for those latches.
She also is teething but we are yet to see any teeth.Hopefully soon, as she has been very whingy lately and follows me everywhere whinging.
If I need to do something when she is awake I put her back in her cot with some toys. It gives me a quick 5mins to at least go to the toilet. :D
Although this time is hard they do grow up so fast and will be out of this stage before you know it.
Have fun.

Michelle :)

[Sarie]

PJ started crawling at 6.5 months. He's 9 months old on Friday, he's tried to walk on his own a couple of times and fallen on his face. He's trying to stand up in the middle of the room with nothing to hold on to, but doesn't quite have the balance! His teeth are a nightmare at the moment too, not that he actually has any. He's grumpy most of the time and doesn't want solids or his bottle.

[jasminesmum]

Our poor little grumpy toothless babies.
Has P.J. still not eaten anything today Sarah.

[reAllytee]

Im so glad in some way my bubs is a slow learner in the motor skills area !
As i can still get some things done quickly without worrying about him getting into too much mischief ! Although he figured out the other day how easily he could move on the new foam floor tiles i got to make things softer for him as compared to our floorboards. My bubs doesnt crawl as such he does this caterpillar movement hehe.
But i know all about the teething as he has been teething since he was born & im thankful he cut his first tooth over a month ago but he has been going through 2 giving him heaps of drama in the last few weeks but they dont seem to want to cut through. Which meant he would wake up screaming in pain & wouldnt sleep well through the day as well as just being plain old grumpy. He also wouldnt eat or drink. Dont worry Sarie i found it comes in waves soon he will be back to normal but will then stop again & you cant blame em really it hurts.
I also found bubs goes through waves on what he wants to eat etc a few months back he refused all meats but now has a little every now & then when he is happy enough & it was the same with mashed food he went from eating it happily to refusing it & spitting the lumps out at me & getting all cranky yet the last week or so he has been quite happily eating his lumpy foods. Ive found he also wants to "join" in more with us eating & gets all excited to be handed a little piece of boiled carrot or potato & sit with us & eat. Maybe thats something else you can try cause maybe she wants to be a little more independant. I found this diffuses a lot of the grumpiness at meal times.