Thomas - 3 Months

Thomas was 3 months old last Sunday, and also 13 weeks old.  He is growing so fast!  I don't know how much he weighs since we haven't been to the doctor since his two-month appointment, but he is definitely still packing on the pounds.  He has a yummy double chin, a big belly, and leg rolls.  I love it!

Thomas' eating schedule has normalized bit.  He will consistently go 2.5-3 hours between nursings.  I have been sending four 4-ounce bottles to daycare, and after he got the hang of bottle feeding, he's eating almost all of it every day.  I usually only get 14-15 ounces while pumping at work, so I'm sending a little extra in case he's hungry (by pumping again after bedtime).  I may stop doing that so that he only gets what I pumped the day before.  He can catch up at our bedtime feeding if he's still hungry.  I'd like to drop the post-bedtime pumping session since I'm already pumping three times a day at work.

Sleeping is about the same.  He still isn't a great napper, just 30-45 minutes usually.  But this weekend he nursed after waking from a nap and fell back asleep, which resulted in a two-hour nap each day.  At night he's still doing wonderfully.  He goes to bed between 7-8 (we just can't seem to be consistent about a specific time) and wakes between 3 and 4 to eat.  He'll nurse for about 10 minutes and go right back to sleep.  Then he's up for the day between 6:30 and 7:30 usually.  Although last week I had to wake him at 8 one day so I could go to work, and today he slept until 9:30 (after waking at 6:30 to eat)!  This is quite different from Lola (from what I remember).  We didn't put her to bed until about 9 a this age.  She also would wake multiple times a night, and then sometimes stay awake for a while.  So I feel very lucky that Thomas is a great sleeper.

<Sidebar: If only we could get Lola to sleep through the night.  I would never have guessed that my toddler, not my newborn, would be causing all of our sleep problems.  She just keeps getting out of bed every night.  She was sleeping through the night pretty consistently before Thomas was born, so I'm hoping it's just a phase and she'll start sleeping well again soon.>

Also, we stopped swaddling Thomas at about 12 weeks.  He never seemed too keen on it, and he started breaking out and sucking on his hands.  We switched to the Baby Merlin Magic Sleep Suit.  It's a bit big on him since it's for 6-9 months (18+ pounds) but it works and he seems to like it.

Health-wise, both of his eyes have cleared up.  Yay!  No more blocked tear ducts and no more eye infections.  I'm so relieved.  I was worried we'd have to do the tear duct procedure like we did with Lola.

Thomas' personality is starting to show itself more and more.  He seems to be past the fussy stage (knock on wood), and only cries for a reason - tired, hungry, wants to be held, etc.  He started laughing this week, and it's just such a great sound.  He is becoming more and more smiley too.  He's a pretty resilient baby, based on how he deals with Lola.  She's almost always hovering around him, and she's a bit rough when kissing and patting him sometimes.  He just looks bewildered  most of the time.

I took Thomas to our first babywearing meeting yesterday.  He loves being worn, and we wear him a lot, so I wanted to experiment with some new carriers.  I have a Pikkolo, which both Joseph and I like, and an Ergo, which we both dislike.  I also have a Boba wrap, but I haven't used it since he was a tiny newborn (I need to learn some carries for bigger babies).  The BWI of Atlanta is a great group that has monthly meetings, and if you're a member, you can check out one carrier each month to try out.  So I plan to test out a bunch and then buy the one that is my (and Joseph's) favorite.  This month I have a Lillebaby, and so far I like it.  It provides more waist support than the Pikkolo, and it's a bigger carrier (similar to the Ergo), but you don't need an infant insert with it.  Maybe after I go to the meetings for a few months I'll feel confident enough about trying a wrap!  There are some hard-core babywearers there that know all kinds of neat carries.

We love Thomas with all our hearts and enjoy him every day!

Bath time

Cuddling with a new toy

Smiles

Asleep in my arms - the best feeling

First stroller walk in the park

Wearing one of Lola's old outfits

Sitting on our bed

Not happy

Holding Daddy's hand while driving home (he's not a fan of the car seat)

Cuddles with sister

Cutie

Floor time

Tummy time (he does not like it)

Nap time with Mommy

So sweet (ignore the pink swaddle)

Hey...

On the mat again

Time for the sleep suit!

Another one of Lola's outfits

Hanging out

After bath

Rolling around

Reaching for me

3 months!