3 Months Old

I can't believe three months have come and gone since the birth of our little man! I know everyone says it, but it really does go by extremely fast when you're not paying attention.  So far, this has been my favorite month for a few reasons: Myles is passing some exciting milestones, we have a new breastfeeding relationship (that isn't making me cry), and I'm no longer exhausted all the time and finally feel like I'm getting somewhat of a routine together.

Myles is getting more and more in-tune with his body and realizes that he can control his hands and fingers.  Since then, his fingers (and sometimes his whole fist) have been in his mouth! So far, he hasn't been the thumb-sucking type, he's the opposite...most of the time all four fingers, excluding his thumb will be in his mouth. Even in the middle of the night, while swaddled, he becomes a little Houdini managing to get his hand out, just so he can suck on his fingers.

Swaddled and got his hand out to suck on his fingers

Which brings me to my next milestone he's reached, being swaddled. About a week before his three month mark, we transitioned him into his crib instead of being in the bassinet right beside my bed. After a few nights of him doing perfectly fine in the crib, we decided not to swaddle him at night to try and get him used to sleeping this way. He's come very close to rolling over, and we know that at that point he can no longer be swaddled, so this is our way of slowing weaning him off of the swaddle (I would like to mention, that naps during the day he hasn't been swaddled for a few weeks now). Night #1 without a swaddle...awesome! His first stretch of sleep was six hours, then every three hours after that to eat, and up for the day at 8:00 a.m. We did it again the next night, and it went just as good. So, weaning him off the swaddle and transitioning him to his crib went much smoother than we envisioned, but we'll take it!

This kid and his smiles...I'm in LOVE! This has been a big step this month, of whenever we talk or sing to him, he responds with one of these beautiful smiles! He's such a happy baby, and I love that we can get him to smile like this. It's amazing!

Another exciting thing that happened this month is a change to our breastfeeding/pumping relationship. If you've read my previous month post Two Months In! I had a rough start to breastfeeding, and ended up pumping exclusively for a while, then needing to supplement because he wasn't getting the nutrition he needed from my breast milk alone. So one day, right around the three month mark, I was home with him and needed to pump. I also knew he was going to be hungry soon, so I had a decision to make: pump and risk him crying out of hunger, or try to latch him on early before he was super fussy and get frustrated because he wasn't used to being latched on to my breast. I chose the latter. And guess what...it was a breeze! He latched on right away, calmly might I add, and didn't get upset when it took a little longer to get the milk than a bottle would give. It was amazing! Not only did he latch on correctly on my left, but I switched him over to my right and he did it again! There must have been so much oxytocin flowing through my body and through the milk because I was so happy, that he felt it too. It was great! Since then we've been breastfeeding one feeding a day, and I'm pumping for him the rest of the time. I'm only doing this because I'm not sure my supply is up yet from his sucking, but it's also giving my nipples a slower transition back to what it's like to have him latched on, which is what I need in order to get myself to continue down this path. We'll see how it goes!

This month I'm seeing a huge change in his routine, and it's really allowing me to get things done around the house. When he's up for the day around 8:00 a.m. I'll feed him, then he's awake and content lying on the bed with me while I pump. I'll keep him entertained by talking, singing, or reading to him and he's happy just being there with me. Next we'll go downstairs and I'll put him in the play yard with the piano mat (as seen in this post Our Newborn Must-Haves) while I put a load of laundry in the wash, make myself something to eat, and soak the bottles from the night before. Right around the time that gets done, he's had enough play time and is ready for his first nap. Sometimes I'll rock him to sleep while he's in my arms, other times I'll put him in his glider and he falls right asleep. Nap times are now on average forty minutes to one hour in length which is great! No more twenty minute naps. During this time I'll get my laundry into the dryer and possibly start another load (if I'm doing our cloth diapers this day I'll put them out in the sun on a rack), finish my breakfast, and wash/sanitize the bottles. And the routine continues into the night time with other chores in-between. Some days I'm even able to get a nap in while he's sleeping! 

This month has shown the most growth in him, and I'm loving all of his new abilities! We even heard his first laugh the other day before mass...such a beautiful sound! (You can see video's here Myles' laugh and Myles trying to talk)

-Heather Ortiz, new mama