three months

Three months! My goodness. You are no longer my little newborn, and you make that more and more evident each day. Gone is the sleepy little baby. Hello to an alert and active baby. We have had so much fun watching you become more aware of the world around you this month.

You don't stop moving. Your little legs and arms are going all the time. I'm sure all this flapping has a purpose, but it still looks pretty spastic to me. You are also a prolific head bobber, and an even more prolific finger chewer. You seem to always be playing a game of "how many fingers can I fit into my mouth at one time."

This month, we've been working on getting you into more of a schedule. I'm not hard and fast about it, but we've been trying to follow your natural rhythms to develop more of a routine for everyone's sanity. You basically sleep from 9 to 9 every night, getting up once or twice to eat. We have been attempting to put you down for naps in your crib during the day. Some days we have been pretty successful. Other days, we both just end up crying.

We still swaddle you at night, and you are still sleeping in the bassinet next to mom. I'm afraid both of those things will probably come to an end soon, but I'm not in a hurry. You still seem to enjoy the comfort of a tight swaddle, and I'd really like to be down to one consistent early morning feeding before we transition you to the nursery.

You went through another big growth spurt while we were on vacation in Mexico. Over the course of that week, you started making new sounds, grabbing at more objects, showing interest in a few toys, following things with your eyes consistently, and even giving us a slight chuckle. Since you were in summer clothes, it was harder to tell that you had grown physically, but sure enough, once we got home most of your pants were too short!

For most of this month, you have still been very serious, much preferring your old man faces to smiles. As your Aunt Megan pointed out, you are very much your parents' child. I was a very stoic child, and I don't think anyone would use the word gregarious to describe your dad. However, you have been coming out of your shell these past few days. You have been talking up a storm, smiling more, and you gave us your first really good giggle. Dad was playing with you before bed time and you just thought it was sooo funny. Naturally we've spent every waking moment since then trying to get you to laugh again - you've acquiesced a couple of times, but I suspect you'll be as stingy with your laughs as you are with your smiles.

You've really been enjoying your rocking chair. We often rock you to sleep before naps. I love watching your little eyelids get tired. You try so hard to keep them open, but the rocking motion wins [almost] every time. You enjoy your baby swing, but it doesn't put you to sleep, much to my chagrin. Luckily, you also still enjoy being in your baby wrap or ergo carrier, both of which will often lull you to sleep, much to my relief. You continue to love being in new places or really being anywhere outside the house. Bath time is your absolute favorite. We give you way more baths than you probably need because you like it so much. Right now, your favorite toy is the Baby Einstein piano that lights up and plays music.

You are still pretty content as a baby, but (and this is a big BUT) you do need attention all. the. time. You don't really like being left alone to entertain yourself. Someone must be holding you or paying attention to you to keep you happy. Even if you like something, you get bored pretty quickly. We've also run into problems lately with riding in the car. Instead of falling asleep like you used to, you get bored and angry when we aren't paying attention to you from the front seat.

You don't like being on your back so you haven't enjoyed your play mat too much yet. You much prefer sitting up so you can look around and study your surroundings. I have to prop you up against pillows on the bed so I can brush my teeth and get ready for the day! You especially love being held upright and walked around to check things out. You also like being outside. You love going on stroller walks. Taking you outside on the front porch even for just a few minutes is a magic bullet when you are really having a meltdown.

You still fuss when you are hungry (duh) and lately you've been having major meltdowns when you are overly-tired. It's a vicious cycle - when you won't nap, you get too tired; when you get too tired, you won't nap. Those are the hardest days for me and you. We tend to do lots of nursing, holding, baby wearing or stroller walking when this happens.

Whew, these monthly posts are getting longer. I'll probably have a whole novel to write by the time you hit one year. ;) We love you so much, Bub. It's such a joy watching you grow up...but it's also totally OK if you want to stay small forever.