3 Months
His belly has me cracking up! So cute!
Growth
- Clothing: Mostly all 3 month, except 0-3 in pants
- Diaper size: 2, just moved up
- First baby giggles
- Discovered his hands and toes
Likes
- Eating blankets
- Stretching after waking up
- White noise
- Looking at himself
- Showers
Dislikes
- Being left alone
- Having his face covered
- Tummy time, still
- Sometimes these photoshoots...
General
My favorite thing this last month has been watching him change and grow literally overnight. One day he went from lifting his head to holding it up and now he wants to stand all the time. It's a little early for that bud. He used to be content laying back and lounging but now he wants to sit up. If I lay him down he will grunt and use all the muscles he has to try and sit up. It was so fun to see him discover his hands and toes. He's been sucking on his fingers a lot and I think he'll be a thumb sucker. He's wanting to grab and hold things. I can see him now looking at specific toys and wanting to grab THAT toy. He hates tummy time so I hope he's developing his neck muscles in other ways too...
Breastfeeding
If Brooks had the choice to chow down all day everyday he would in a heartbeat. He's great at eating and I'm just hoping my body can keep up with him! I held bottle bootcamp one day where I really withheld the boob and offered the bottle. He's gone 6-9 hours at night between feedings before so I knew a couple hours were fine. I picked a good day when I was feeling good and buckled down.
After I knew he wouldn't starve himself Dan and I went to his work Christmas party one evening because Dan's sister offered to watch Brooks. He only drank an ounce for her and loudly protested the bottle but hey! 1. First date away from baby and 2. He ate something. Motherhood = celebrating the little victories.
Sleeping
For the last half of December he's only been getting up once during the night! He'll sleep anywhere from 7-9 hours straight in his pack n play with white noise. I'm praying this isn't a fluke but am fully preparing for any sleep regression.
I've been reading that I need to start putting him to bed awake so he can learn to fall asleep on his own but I've already been doing that. Not by any talent of mine but that I'm not very graceful at laying him down without waking him up ha! He's drowsy when I put him down but never asleep. When he wakes up during the night I feed him and he's been pretty good to go right back to sleep.
Naps are funny. He's been doing the same routine for a couple days now. He won't take a long morning nap but two 40 minute mini naps. Yes EXACTLY 40 minutes. I've come to a conclusion that's how long a sleep cycle is for him right now. So two mini naps in the morning and a longgg afternoon nap, usually 3 hours. Then I fight to make him take an evening nap. It's like he knows he tired but doesn't want to miss out on any fun.
I've been reading that I need to start putting him to bed awake so he can learn to fall asleep on his own but I've already been doing that. Not by any talent of mine but that I'm not very graceful at laying him down without waking him up ha! He's drowsy when I put him down but never asleep. When he wakes up during the night I feed him and he's been pretty good to go right back to sleep.
Naps are funny. He's been doing the same routine for a couple days now. He won't take a long morning nap but two 40 minute mini naps. Yes EXACTLY 40 minutes. I've come to a conclusion that's how long a sleep cycle is for him right now. So two mini naps in the morning and a longgg afternoon nap, usually 3 hours. Then I fight to make him take an evening nap. It's like he knows he tired but doesn't want to miss out on any fun.
Speaking of sleep, we started finding him like this in his pack n play.
Which wouldn't be weird... except I put him in there vertically. Dan went to get him that morning and was asking me if I put him in there like that. I said no but then thought really hard to remember whatever hour in the middle of the night I fed him and concluded that no I really didn't. Our suspicions were confirmed when it kept happening the next night too. I rotated the changer/napper so he's not trapped under it when he does his night aerobics.
One thing I haven't talked about is new mom anxiety. The more I see anxiety being talked about on social media (whether it's severe, high functioning or just feeling anxious) it seems to me that a majority of people have experienced having anxiety (severe or not) about something. I definitely have had a lot of anxious feelings about taking Brooks out but it didn't kick in until about 6 weeks. The first time I took him to church, he had a meltdown and I couldn't calm him. Of course that's a stab to the heart and ego of any new mom. I was suddenly afraid of him crying in public and mostly that I wouldn't be able to calm him down. Weeks 6-10 had him crying a lot because sometimes that's just what babies do. I guess I'm sharing this for a couple reasons:
1. I want other new moms who might have a crier (or a screamer) on their hands like I did, to know that it gets better. Crying will peak at 6 weeks and usually taper off at 3 months. In the last two weeks of December it's like I had a new baby. It happened slowly but day by day I saw a significant change as he learned to calm and soothe himself. I could finally set him down!! This is so common for babies, life outside the womb is hard! Can you imagine being snuggled, warm, fed on demand for 9 months then suddenly you were shoved out of your home into this cold, bright world where you have to work for your food? It's almost like they need 3 more months until they learn how to function outside the womb. If you have a baby with highly developed lungs and vocal chords (or even if you don't..) you NEED to read Happiest Baby on the Block. If I hadn't read that I might have lost my mind. If you don't want to buy it message me and I'll give you a summary!
2. All mom's are just trying to figure it out. I know I was told this before I had kids but I didn't believe it.. now I do! I was feeling anxious about Brooks crying, me not being able to calm him, other parents thinking, 'Wow what's wrong what that mom?' BUT really all other parents have totally been there and completely understand. We're all just trying to do our best and keep our kids alive and happy.
3. Plan smart but don't let it take over your life. During the times Brooks hadn't learned to self soothe yet, if I had to go somewhere I'd plan to do it in the morning when he was generally happier. Yes some evenings we couped up because the five o'clock fussies were here. But on the other hand, the times where we had something we had to do in the evenings there were times where Brooks pleasantly surprised us. Sometimes a new environment was just enough to distract him. And if not we had no problem running some moderately soft white noise by him in the grocery store to tide him over. Don't feel trapped, be prepared with soothing items and plan smart. Sometimes babies just cry!
I hope that's helpful for someone out there. I have to give a big shout out to Dan, he's helped me with this so much. During the times where I was anxious and worried he grounded me; he was my support, my rock and my roots. He supported me, understood my fears and helped me realize that whatever I was worried about was not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Like I said now that we've hit the 3 month mark my anxiety is gone and my confidence is up... just in time for my hair to fall out right? Doesn't that happen around now?
1. I want other new moms who might have a crier (or a screamer) on their hands like I did, to know that it gets better. Crying will peak at 6 weeks and usually taper off at 3 months. In the last two weeks of December it's like I had a new baby. It happened slowly but day by day I saw a significant change as he learned to calm and soothe himself. I could finally set him down!! This is so common for babies, life outside the womb is hard! Can you imagine being snuggled, warm, fed on demand for 9 months then suddenly you were shoved out of your home into this cold, bright world where you have to work for your food? It's almost like they need 3 more months until they learn how to function outside the womb. If you have a baby with highly developed lungs and vocal chords (or even if you don't..) you NEED to read Happiest Baby on the Block. If I hadn't read that I might have lost my mind. If you don't want to buy it message me and I'll give you a summary!
2. All mom's are just trying to figure it out. I know I was told this before I had kids but I didn't believe it.. now I do! I was feeling anxious about Brooks crying, me not being able to calm him, other parents thinking, 'Wow what's wrong what that mom?' BUT really all other parents have totally been there and completely understand. We're all just trying to do our best and keep our kids alive and happy.
3. Plan smart but don't let it take over your life. During the times Brooks hadn't learned to self soothe yet, if I had to go somewhere I'd plan to do it in the morning when he was generally happier. Yes some evenings we couped up because the five o'clock fussies were here. But on the other hand, the times where we had something we had to do in the evenings there were times where Brooks pleasantly surprised us. Sometimes a new environment was just enough to distract him. And if not we had no problem running some moderately soft white noise by him in the grocery store to tide him over. Don't feel trapped, be prepared with soothing items and plan smart. Sometimes babies just cry!
I hope that's helpful for someone out there. I have to give a big shout out to Dan, he's helped me with this so much. During the times where I was anxious and worried he grounded me; he was my support, my rock and my roots. He supported me, understood my fears and helped me realize that whatever I was worried about was not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Like I said now that we've hit the 3 month mark my anxiety is gone and my confidence is up... just in time for my hair to fall out right? Doesn't that happen around now?
Love your blog! Yes, all very normal! Hais keeps falling out until you are sure you won't have any left. Then you just have less hair for a long time and the cute fringe of regrowth! Relax, we have all been there. And been there. :) Brooks is adorable!
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