Saturday, March 16, 2013

CJ at 3 months: Mr. Moo!

In my post on CJ's first month, I commented that time was going nice and slow. Can I take that back now?? It feels like I wrote his 2 month post yesterday! Our little guy's growing toooooo faaast!

If I hadn't used Mr. Happy as the title of my last post, I'd choose it now. Because we really are blessed with the smiliest, happiest little man! When he's not freaking out wanting to nurse for 2-3 hours straight, that is - something he's prone to do in the evenings. Which led me to the current title (and oft-used recent nickname)!

Official 3 Month Photo:



(Compare with his 1 Month and 2 Month photos.)

Physical Development:  

Weight: 12 lb (25th percentile)
Height: 25" (between 50th and 75th percentile)

So yup, long and skinny like his mom!

He's meeting his strength and agility milestones nicely. He can now hold his head up almost perfectly and will press down with his legs when held upright. He also likes to work those leg and neck muscles in his bouncer and car seat, lifting both up together into a baby "boat pose". (His sister used to do this too!)


Near the end of the month, he gained the ability to hold and mouth objects - a whole new world of discovery and stimulation!


He has also taken to grabbing and playing with my shirt while nursing. {Heart!}

The other day, I went to grab a diaper cover and some clothes and found him on the playmat like this.


Half way there, Buds! Nice work!

He continues to give us a run for our money during changes. His latest move is to lift his bum up in the air and simultaneously kick back off the diaper (grinning the whole time, of course!).

His hair is getting thicker, longer and a little coarser. It's still brown (and appears to be darkening) but S' was the same until about 5-6 months when she went light blonde, so no conclusions to be drawn just yet. Though his eyes are definitely darker than hers were at this point. We'll see!!

One less awesome thing - his spitups have increased during Month 3. Mostly standard milky ones but sometimes nastier, smelly puke ones. Looks like we're dealing with some reflux (which may explain the crazy night nursing too), but seems it's in the realm of normal so not too worried at this point. We give him lots of upright time to help ease any discomfort. My Moby Wrap's certainly getting a lot of usage!


Cognitive, Social & Emotional Development:

Really, same theme as month 2. Smiles, coos and giggles galore! The patented "Kisses are coming!" move in particular rarely fails to elicit a chuckle. I've noticed that he smiles like his Dad - he uses his whole face and his forehead even raises up. Now that his vision is better, he loooooves looking at himself in the mirror!


He is also captivated by books with bright, bold illustrations.


People-wise, he continues to prefer looking at me. No real mystery here - I'm kinda pertinent to his survival & all. :)

His crying continues to be easily "diagnosable" for the most part. Hungry, tired, wet bum, bored/lonely, yucky tummy - that generally sums up the possibilities.

He has started making some interesting sounds when he's grumpy and in the pre-crying stage. Waaaah-o waaah-o waaa-o wooooo type noises. I'll have to catch a video of this as it's pretty amusing! (Yeah I know - I'm a mean mommy!)


Sleep:

Things have gone from good to great in the night sleeping department! For the last few weeks, CJ has slept for about 10 hours straight every night (approx. 11-12 pm to 9 AM). If I'm aloud to complain a li'l, though, things could be peachier in the nap department. He's starting to settle into a 3-nap routine (late morning, mid-afternoon and mid-evening), but recently they tend toward being cat naps - a mere 20-25 minutes each. This can make it challenging to get stuff done, and my back is beginning to feel the effect of one-hand blogging at the kitchen table while he nurses! (Like we're doing right now. :) He also doesn't go down nor remain down easily. Generally he needs to be nursing, carried/wrapped or in motion to fall asleep and remain that way for longer than a few minutes. S was like this too early on; it wasn't until we switched her to a single nap per day at about 11 months that she slept more independently and for much longer stretches. We're also trying to move his bedtime earlier as it'll be nice to claim back some child-free time.
 
We moved CJ to his crib just before 3 months - a tad later than we moved S. He only had an inch or two of room left so it was definitely time!


He took to his new big bed like a champ, continuing to sleep just as well as he did in the bassinet.


Adjusting as a Family:

Definitely still finding our rhythm here, but I'm also working on being more gentle with myself and more accepting in general. Simple fact - some days are going to be easier than others. Sometimes the house will be clean and sometimes it'll look like a bomb exploded and I won't have the time or energy to get things in order. Some days I give myself mad creds for my parenting skillz and other days fear CPS may come a knockin'. :) Such is life with a spirited toddler and a non-napping infant! But overall, it's all good - we have two beautiful, healthy children, financial stability, a wonderfully supportive family network and many other blessings. It's so easy to focus on the negatives, so I try to take a moment here and there to appreciate all the good stuff too!


What were your children like at 3 months old? What did you find the most rewarding and/or challenging? Do you practice affirmations, meditate, or use any other techniques to keep a mental and emotional check when life gets chaotic?

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