Noah's 3 Month Update
Noah Bear,
Time is going by so much faster than it did with Sophia. I can’t believe you’re not a newborn any more. It feels like just yesterday that we brought you home.
Some new skills / developments this month include: Lifting up your legs and bum more; pooping once every few days, but it’s a huge poop!; having back-and-forth conversations with us; and reacting to different facial expressions we make. You also prefer to practice tummy time on my belly instead of on the floor and you're becoming more interested in sitting up and standing as opposed to resting against my legs.
After leap 3 (around 10/11) you started sticking your tongue out a lot and putting it in different positions; blowing spit bubbles; and kind of giggling when we tickle your feet and armpits. We can’t wait to hear your true belly laugh. You took your first bath with Sophia and she was so excited. You seemed to enjoy it as well. :P
On 9/30, we took a last minute weekend trip to Pacific City, Oregon with our good friends. We spent the weekend relaxing, walking along the beach, playing in the sand, and eating yummy food. It was so fun to get to know our friends better and see the girls play (and work out their power struggles). I was so impressed with all of the kids, as there weren’t any issues getting them to take naps or sleep at night.
October 3rd, Sophia switched from daycare to a Christian preschool and seems to really enjoy it. She often doesn’t want to go home at the end of the day as she is in love with all the baby dolls and the giant teddy bear. She also has been practicing her breastfeeding. ;) This makes me feel a little bit sad, but I’m so thankful she loves school so much. While we miss her during the day, it is also nice to have one-on-one time with you.
Since starting preschool, Sophia has been extra snuggly. My best guess is that she is feeling insecure about our love for her since you’ve been born and with all the transitions. She often wants to sit on my lap, especially when I’m holding or feeding you. It breaks my mama heart to see her feel sad and I wish she could fully grasp that we still love her the same and that you aren’t taking away any of her love. The only benefit is that I get to snuggle her often and hear her say “I love you mommy.”
Speaking of snuggling, my favorite thing to do before we leave for preschool is get all of us in bed and snuggle. Such sweet moments.
Your sleep habits are so different than I remember Sophia’s being. She was a great carseat napper, but with you I have to be strategic on my errands and sometimes go to a store farther away or put you in the stroller right after getting home so you'll finish your nap. It’s been so hard getting in a consistent routine for more than a few days. Things will be going well and then you’ll be extra hungry or take a short nap. I’m struggling to maintain your routine while also planning it around Sophia’s schedule. It is also hard to find a predictable time to get important work tasks completed.
Aside from being unpredictable, you sleep really great from 8 PM and on. Usually, I can only get you to dream feed on one side because you're sleeping so heavily. Hopefully this means you won't have too hard of a time dropping the late evening feed. During and after leap 3 you started taking short naps (45 minutes to an hour), but extending your nighttime sleep. On 10/8 and 10/9 you slept 7+ hours, getting up around 5 am. Since I try to start our day at 6:30/7, feeding you at 5 makes that challenging. Either I’m too tired to get up or you’re not hungry. On 10/11, you slept the whole night! You’ve slept through the night a few more times, but you’re not quite doing it every night. You are so close!
It feels like you’re more often than not, going through a growth spurt. Some days you can’t go more than 2 hours without nursing and take short naps. Often when you wake up early from a nap, out of laziness I just get you up instead of trying to get you to go back to sleep; I’m working on this. You’ve also had more of a difficult time falling asleep on your own. Lately, I’ll have to go and check on you multiple times, before nursing you to sleep because I know that will do the trick. I don’t like that we’ve created this habit, but some days I just need you to sleep so I can take a break.
For a few days, I thought my supply was decreasing since I don’t pump during the night, but it was just you drinking a lot extra. Once the growth spurt was over my supply was back to normal.
We’ve started extending your wake times to see if that helps with your short naps, and while you still take some shorter naps, it has helped make it easier for you to go to sleep on your own. You now will stay awake for around an hour in the mornings and then can last 1.5-2 hours in the later afternoon. It is fun to have the extra play time with you.
Daddy's work invited everyone to The Donkey Sanctuary and pumpkin patch. Sophia loved picking out pumpkins and petting the donkeys. You slept through the entire event. The next day we skipped church because Sophia was sick, and we drove to Forest Park area took a long Sophia walk around the zoo entrance, the Max station, and a trail in the forest.. When Sophia was about a year old we would take what we called "Sophia walks," where we would go on a walk and let Sophia set the pace. If she wanted to stop and play with some rocks or smell flowers we would let her. It was so nice to slow down. Again, you slept through the entire thing. Those two days, happened to be your longest naps in the past few weeks, so we were glad you actually slept.
We had another fun month with you in our lives and are looking forward to what is to come. Next update, we’re off to the beach again, this time with Grandma Karen.
Love, Mom and Dad.
