I cannot believe that you'll be turning 3 months in just a few hours. The last several weeks have flown by and you've grown so much, it is unbelievable. I am ending my maternity leave in one week and my heart breaks as I realize that I will likely never get such a wonderful and intimate opportunity with you again. Although my heart is breaking in a way that I never thought possible, I've also been joyously reflecting on all the last the last 12 weeks.
- You've rolled over stomach to back a few times, although it's not a common occurrence yet.
- The way you position your leg and lean, I don't think it will be long before you roll over back to stomach! And your dad and I fear that moment because we're all still dependent on your sleep sack for both naps and night time sleeping!
- You've found your hands and I love the way you hold them <3
- It's a joke with us and Nana and PopPop that you HATE Rt. 3-- you still seem to like your carseat and the car but you cry a lot of times when we sit at lights.. and that seems to happen a lot on Rt 3!
- You've really started to "talk" with "ooohs" -- sometimes you really get going and you lift your head back and let out the "oooooo"s.
- Your smile is absolutely precious and contagious! It's impossible to see you smile and not want to smile right back at you.
- Nana has come to stay with you twice and you've loved both times! The first time was especially helpful for me- she helped me get you on napping schedule, which was a game changer for you AND me. It's been great to see the relationship that Nana and PopPop want to have with you.
- It's been neat to watch you start to really enjoy your piano play mat. You now look at and talk to yourself. Tonight you REALLY kicked those piano keys and swung your arms at the dangly toys!
- We've taken you out in the boppy while we've grilled out. it's been fun to have you out there with us!
- You've started to sleep in your crib like a big girl! At first, Daddy and I slept upstairs in the guest room so that we could hear you but around March 3, we actually moved downstairs to our room and that's where we've been ever since. I think we're all sleeping better now!
- Since my last post you have slept through the night! It's not every night, but a few times you've slept from around 7 or 8pm to 4 or 5am! Usually though, you wake up around 1 or 2am and then again at 6 or 7am. The first night you slept through the night it happened to be the first night we slept downstairs and I slept HORRIBLY because I kept waking up thinking that any minute you'd wake up crying. Then.. when you didn't wake up I was convinced that something was wrong. Around 4am I decided that I just had to check on you.. so I went upstairs to make sure you were breathing and then came back downstairs to inform your Daddy that you were, in fact, still alive.
- You still LOVE bath time. In fact, you've started to cry when we take you out and put you on the changing table to put PJs on!
- Speaking of your changing table, with the exception of post-bath time, you LOVE the changing table! You love to look and smile at Baby Fox, Raccoon, Penguin, and Bear, Baby Pepp and Hera, and Sophie.
- One of my favorite times of the day is when I come to get you for the first time in the morning. When I come around the corner, you almost always have a big smile for me and it makes me so happy!
- You used to love cuddling on your Daddy's chest..and he LOVED that you loved to cuddle! In the last couple of months you haven't wanted to do that.. but tonight I brought you down to say goodnight and you laid on his chest and sucked on your fingers for just a few minutes. It made his day <3
- My nightime routine with you currently is: bathtime, say good night to daddy, get a bottle, sing "Distant Melody" from the musical Peter Pan, and then sing and hum "My Old Kentucky Home."
- You really follow us around the room with your eyes. We still struggle to get you to look at us when we speak to you or make loud noises.
- Just withing the last few days you've started to grab and hold on to toys! Okay... just one toy in particular! It's a pair of maracas.. it's so funny to watch you shake them around!
- I've enjoyed the simple things that we've been able to do on my maternity leave- walks on Fredeicksburg's Canal Path, tackling the Wegman's, little shopping trips just to get out of the house, walks around the neighborhood.
- Twelve weeks ago today we had never met. All I knew about you was that you had hair that flapped around, you got the hiccups a lot, and that you were going to make your grand appearance very shortly! Even though I still feel like I don't know what I'm doing most of the time, I do feel like you and I have had a wonderful opportunity to figure each other out and start to get to know one another.
Happy 3-month Eve, baby!
Love,
Mama
