Jonah: 3 Month Update

Weight: 13 lb 2 oz

Height: 24 inches

Milestones:

Little J is quite vocal these days, giving us plenty of squeals, coo’s, goo’s and lots of sweet giggles.

He can bring his hands together and grasps items when brought near to him.

He can follow an object (his favorite is a light up glow worm) across his field of vision.

He can hold his head pretty steady when upright and he can bear most of his weight on his legs when we help him balance.

 Favorite Activities:

-Nothing all that new here: bouncing on the exercise ball, playing on his piano play mat and sitting in laps watching the world around him.  Although one surprising item that is capturing Jonah's attention more lately is his whale mobile.  Honestly, we thought mobiles were just cute decorating accessories.  We were fairly surprised to learn that Jonah loves to lie in his crib while watching and listening to those whales!  Oh and he still LOVES to kick!

Jonah’s Sleep:

• Jonah’s nighttime sleep has been two steps forward, one step back. We had a couple days of a miraculous 8.5-9 hours straight through the night, and then a couple more of waking every few hours crying. After a week of ups and downs, we settled back into a solid 6-hour stretch.   Although the past few nights he’s been stretching his night sleep by an additional hour or two, which we’re thrilled about. And we’re slowly trying to move his bedtime earlier. We’re at about 8/8:15pm these days.
• Naps are still pretty short; most are between 40-50 minutes (although he takes 4-5 each day).  Every now and then we’ll get a 1.5 hour nap. I’ve done a lot of reading about sleep training (Babywise, Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Moms on Call and a handful of blogs) and so far nothing is really helping him extend those naps.  So for now we’re being patient and hoping he consolidates and organizes his daytime sleep within the next few months. 

Mom’s Sleep:

I’ve been meaning to mention a couple interesting phenomena that have accompanied the strange sleep rhythms of having a newborn. 

1. Phantom Cries: This has been happening since day 1 and has slowly become less common.  Sometimes when I’m sleeping and not on Jonah duty I’ll hear what I think are his cries only to learn that I was mis-perceiving the white-noise of our house (fans, air-conditioners, dishwashers, etc.).  I think it’s a side effect of a heightened awareness coupled with some post-partum anxiety. 
2. Vivid Dream Life: I’ve also noticed that I’m remembering far more dreams and in far more detail these days. It’s been kindof fun!  I think this is a result of short sleep intervals. 

Health:

Hallelujah! The gas is finally under control!  We deployed every weapon in the gas-battling arsenal we could find: infant probiotics, lactase enzyme drops, Gripe Water, and even the infamous Baby Butt Straws, in addition to the strategies we tried last month: dairy free diet and lip/tongue tie corrections.  Something is working…but we’re not sure what, so we’re just gonna keep doing it all!  And in the end we’ll probably discover that it was mainly his maturing gut and all the silly remedies had nothing to do with his recent intestinal relief.

"Baby WHAT straws!???"

Things I want to Remember:

• Aunt Sarah (my best friend from Houston) visited and it just so happens that she’s a fabulous photographer who LOVES photographing babies.  Lucky us!  We got a super special photo shoot with the most beautiful photos to prove it.  
• Visits from Uncle Ian and my aunt Helen and uncle Mike! Both visits included trips to Forest Park, a first for Jonah.  Forest Park is a very significant place for Jake and me: it’s where we first met, went on our first date and got engaged.  We love this park and we hope Jonah grows to love it too.
• I returned to work, which means Jonah is getting to know his awesome nanny, Ashley.  We’re thrilled with her so far, and we love that she can come to our house and take care of Jonah on his turf.  I definitely miss him during the day, but I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful, fulfilling job; otherwise I think leaving him in the mornings would be impossible!  Having great childcare helps with that, too.
• Sweet playtime in the mornings: Jonah’s most playful and sweet time of day is definitely early morning.  I love lying in bed next to him and watching him talk, smile and wiggle.
• One evening before bedtime Jake and I were playing with Jonah and Jake asked him “How ya doin’, bud?” With perfect timing Jonah looked up and exclaimed “GOOOOO!” We took creative license, imagined the “d” at the end and interpreted this as the best affirmation of our parenting we could ask for :)