Happy 3 Months!

Well, it hardly seems like it is possible that another month has passed, but it has! I have been really lax about updating the blog lately – SORRY! I started back to work a few days a week so “extras” have slowed down a bit. I have several blog posts rolling around in my head though so stay tuned!

But on to today’s celebration! Isaac is 3 months old today! I am continually amazed at how much he is growing and how big he is getting. He is an absolute joy. As I have had to go back to work a few days a week Ben and a good friend of the family, Tammy, have been keeping him. It has been so wonderful to come home to raving reports of how good that he has been. (I would like to think some of my mothering skills are the reason but I think the real story is that he is just a GOOD baby).

So here are some 3 month milestones we would like to share:

1. Shortly after my 2 month post, Isaac started getting really active with the play mat. He has really enjoyed it but he began pulling on the links and other animals pretty regularly. He really gets his arms moving now and not just his legs. The first times he started doing this it was really funny because occasionally he would get his arm caught in a link. I would walk into the room to find him “shackled” to the play mat. . .I think cops and robbers might be in his future!

2. He began to talk and coo a lot more this month. It started out as warbling in his throat early on in the month and has progressed. The first times he didn’t even move his lips, I thought maybe he was going to be a ventriloquist, that has changed a bit the last week or so. He especially likes “chatting” after his first morning feeding and before bed. I love to just sit him on my lap and talk about the day.

The funniest is that his favorite person to talk to is himself. I stand in front of the mirror with him and he just jabbers away. Apparently he might take after his mother and talk to himself!

3. He finally is consistently smiling! I thought this might never happen! Not really, but he is quite the serious baby. His most frequent stance is a serious, contemplative face. But now he is really starting to respond with smiles and even silent laughs. It is awesome. Some of his favorite things to smile at are: himself in the mirror, mom (of course), dad when he makes his many sound effects, when you jostle his arms around (see video coming soon), and when you kiss at him.

4. He is really grabbing at objects this month. I mentioned earlier his love of grabbing things attached to the play mat. It is fun to watch him find something and grab on to it. The funniest is when he grabs something and then gets this completely surprised look on his face when he starts swinging it around, it’s like “where did that come from?”

5. He is a man with a schedule! Honestly, I had great intentions to do Babywise with him when he was born. I couldn’t really bring myself to do it full force the first few weeks but we started at about 5 weeks and have been working from there. I don’t know that we really follow it to a T but we are definitely working on it! But as I said before he is a really GOOD baby. I do think that Babywise (this is a great reference website) has helped with the going down for naps. Occasionally he will fuss for a minute or two but for the most part, he just stretches a bit and falls into a slumber. It is WONDERFUL!

One of the great things for me is that he really does like his schedule; the days that we don’t follow it he makes sure I pay the price the next day. And makes sure that we return to it quickly. His daily routine looks something like this:

8:00 am Rise and Shine, bottle #1

8:00-9:00 am Play, talk, etc

9:00 am Nap time!

9:45-11:00 Wake time!

11:00  Bottle #2 – and immediately into a nap (this is the LONG nap of the day)

2:00 Wake time (yes, he sleeps for a whole 3 hours – almost religiously), bottle #3

2-3:00 Playtime

3:00 Nap time (the rest of the evening naps range from 30 min – 1 hour)

3:45 Wake time – play, etc

5:15 Bottle #4

5:30-6:30 Nap time

6:30-8:00 Playtime

8:00 Bath time, pajamas, bottle #5, to bed for the night!

(2:00 am) sometimes wakes and wants a bottle here, other times, doesn’t so much care!

4:00 am – usually doesn’t make it past this mark – but hey – 8 hours is 8 hours!

6. His first overnight adventure! Perhaps it was the fact that I made the adjustment to letting other people watch him, perhaps it was the fact that Ben was contaminating our house with germs, or perhaps it was the fact that I had a weary mind and body after returning back to work for a couple of days; but last Friday night we allowed my mom to take Isaac overnight for us. When I first asked Ben if we could do it he was hesitant. We both agreed that we would really miss him. But in the end we decided that healthy parents would be the best thing for him. So he had an overnight at Grandma and Grandpa Gallivans. He said he had a good time but really missed us. We missed him too but oh how amazing it was to get 12 straight hours of sleep!

7. He is getting really good at holding his head up. Whether it is tummy time or just being held in a sitting position to sit and talk to us, it is obvious that his neck is getting much stronger!

8. Ah, the thumb! He sure does love that thing! And now that he is discovering his hands he is finding his thumb a lot more often. Sometimes I just have to laugh because he is trying to suck it so hard! I think he thinks it should be as big as his pacifier!

9. Growth! If you haven’t noticed from this month’s pictures he is really starting to fill out! His cheeks are so chubby these days. I measured him tonight and he is up to 25 inches long. I am not sure how much he weighs as we don’t have a scale but suffice it to say he is well nourished! He has moved into his 3-6 month clothes this month but I am certain he will only be in them a week or so more (except for his pj’s which seem to run a bit bigger).

Of course, being his parents is an absolute joy! The past 3 months have been amazing! If you are interested in seeing more of our adventures over the last month feel free to visit the 3 Month Gallery.