three months with Leo

We've reached three months, and you have definitely left your newborn phase in the dust. Naturally, this both breaks my heart and brings many new joys.

We don't have a well visit this month, but on our baby scale at home (which runs a bit heavier than the scale at the pediatrician), you weighed 15 lbs, 5 oz. You certainly are no slouch. You are all cheeks and thighs. I like to joke that you smile with your chins. I'm sure you have a neck, we just can't see it. You have more chins, but less hair than when you were born. It's started to fall out in a classic baby pattern creating a nice friar tuck hairstyle.

You are in size 2 diapers, but only because we have half a box left. Once they are gone, we're moving you up to size 3. You have completely outgrown 0-3 clothing. Most 3-6 month clothes still fit, but there isn't much room left in them so it won't be long before you're on to the next size. It's on my to-do list to get out the next box of Charlie hand-me-downs. I know there are things in the 6-12 month box that would probably fit right now. The onesie you are wearing in your 3-month photo is a 6-12 onesie for example.

You are really a delightful baby, and your happy disposition is on full display these days. You are full of smiles, and you do lots of chatting with goos and gahs. You can grasp soft objects and follow activity/sounds with your gaze. Giggles still take a bit of effort, but you often smile right back when we make eye contact and smile at you. This is the best feeling - especially since I know this one baby - I won't name names - who really made us work for smiles. One of your happiest times of the day is right after bath - it's when we get the biggest smiles and best giggles out of you. You also have a habit of spontaneously giggling in your sleep, which is quite adorable.

You're an efficient nurser now, which is a welcome development for this mama who is juggling the needs of two wee ones. It only takes 20 minutes max to feed you - often just 10-15 min - and you eat about every 2-3 hours. Sometimes I'll try to nurse more often to top you off before we leave the house or to get you to sleep more quickly, but you might refuse because you only like to eat when you want to eat. You don't even require the same amount of cluster-feeding at night anymore. These are all very welcome developments. I'd assume you'd be a bigger comfort nurser since you don't like a pacifier, but your favorite soothing method is just being held and cuddled.

In other not so welcome developments, sleep was really all over the place this past month. After making good progress last month and inching toward an earlier bedtime and consistent 5-6 hour stretches (with one long 7 hour stretch!), we reverted back to a more unpredictable schedule with wake-ups every 3-4 hours. Every night seems different, and sometimes the unpredictable nature is the worst part. Expectations can be the hardest part when it comes to baby sleep.

Naps, however, are another story. You usually nap on-the-go in the morning or if we are home, you might snooze in your mamaroo or rock n play. You really nail your afternoon nap, though. After I put Charlie down for his nap at 1:00 p.m., I put you down for a nap in your crib. Sometimes this involves nursing you until you are drowsy or walking around/rocking in the chair, but once you are nice and relaxed, I can put you down in your crib and you'll fall asleep watching your fish tank. Every now and then, you resist and might end up napping in the rock n play after nursing to sleep, but usually it's not much of a fight and I can get you to go down shortly after Charlie. You'll sleep anywhere from 2-3.5 hours. It's basically all my dreams coming true to have two sleeping kiddos from 1-4 almost every day. Praise Jesus.

You take a third and final little siesta in the early evening. The timing of this is hit or miss, as is the length, but it's most helpful when this snooze coincides with Charlie's dinner/bath/bedtime. Thankfully, we've had a few good nights recently - back to longer stretches of sleeping from 10-8 with just one wake-up to eat. I was hopeful we were getting back on track, and last night you fell asleep at 9:00 p.m., but then you woke up twice - around 2 am and then 6 am (even though I did a dream feed around 11:00 p.m. before I went to sleep). Sigh. At least you did sleep until 8:30 a.m. when I finally had to wake you up because we had to take Charlie to playgroup.

Despite the hiccups, I do see a natural rhythm is starting to form. And I appreciate that you are still a champ at being put down awake and falling asleep on your own. I hope this sets us up for success when we move toward instituting a schedule. Your bedtime is inching closer to 9-9:30 pm, and your wake-up is moving back to around 8:00 am. I'm in no hurry, but I'm guessing over the next month, we'll start to work toward more of a set schedule with a consistent bedtime and predictable nap times.

I don't swaddle you during naps, and you sleep in the most adorable position with your arms up in a goalpost pose. We do still swaddle at night, and save for getting one hand out once to chew on, you really haven't tried to break free. You also haven't shown any interest in trying to roll over so we plan to keep swaddling at night until one of those two things happens. We did, however, have to search high and low for a new larger swaddle blanket. Since babies are only swaddled for the first 4 months, give or take, swaddles only come in sizes meant for little babies. I guess they don't really plan on a 3-month old baby who could easily pass for 6 months or older.

Speaking of rolling over, you seem to be most content to not exercise your baby strength. I don't blame you - it's a lot of baby to try to move. I'd hate to call you lazy, but if the shoe fits...I think you're just fat and happy and happy to be just fat and happy. For example, you hold your head up just fine when being held or sitting up in our laps, but during tummy time, you refuse to prop yourself up and just prefer to flail on your stomach like a beached whale. Needless to say, tummy time is not your favorite. When laying on your back, you like to kick and move your arms resembling an overturned bug.

You like being outside and are happy to hang out in your baby seat while Charlie plays in the backyard. You discovered bubbles this month and you think they are pretty magical. Bath time is still most enjoyable. You get into the tub and kick away with great delight. Baths are also essential because you collect all kinds of fuzzies in your fat rolls.

The kitchen counter is still one of your favorite hangout spots. I have to be careful about that now too - not because I think you're close to rolling although I'm on alert because you could always surprise me - but because when you get your little legs going, you can migrate from your original position.

The bottle was a big no go again this month. We finally just took a break from trying because everyone was frustrated. Oddly enough, I decided to give it a go this week on a whim and successfully got you to drink from the bottle twice like it was no big deal. When dada returns from his work trip maybe we'll try again to have someone else give you a bottle.

You don't always love your car seat so it's not uncommon for there to be tears during some portion of car rides. You fall asleep easily in the stroller or most any other moving thing, but for some reason, you often resist falling asleep in the car. But what you hate most of all is being overtired. It's not hard to get you to fall asleep, but when naps get delayed for whatever reason and you've been awake too long, that's when the wheels fall off and you get quite cranky. You have also started to spit up more, which is always a fun development. I try to always have a muslin swaddle blanket nearby to catch any surprises. One time I was smelling your diaper to see if you needed a change, and you spit up on my face. It was really a special moment.

Your big brother is still pretty enamored with you, and you seems rather amused by him. Charlie never turns down an opportunity to burp you - gently patting you on back like he's seen mama do. He's shown quite an interest in picking you up these days. When I'm carrying you, he sometimes comes and puts his arms out to show he wants to hold you. Or he'll climb into the rocking chair after we get up and sit down and put his arms up to signal it's his turn to hold the baby. Of course, when we do help him hold you, it lasts about 10 seconds before he's ready to be off and running again. One time, I stupidly left you on the couch within his reach - I had to get up from nursing you to take away a broom that your brother was brandishing around the living room. In the 10 seconds it took to put the broom away, Charlie had made it over to you and was attempting to hold you. Needless to say, he did not succeed and you ended up on the floor. You were none too pleased about it. Thankfully, no harm was done and it's a short distance from the couch to the floor, where you landed on our cushy rug. Mama learned an important lesson to make sure you're always strapped into something safe - even if it's just for a few seconds.

Your Aunt Monica, Uncle Tad and cousins Zachary and Isaac came to visit this month and so did your Aunt Mae Mae. They all think you're pretty great. Shi Shi will be here next week to help us survive while Dada goes to trial in Charlotte, NC. And then later in June, you'll take your first flight to Oklahoma to meet Uncle Boo and cousin Abby.

We love you so much, little lion man. It's been so much fun watching your happy little personality start to emerge. Thanks for being such an easy, delightful baby....now if we can just get you to sleep through the night and take a bottle with ease. :)