Peter Alan - Three Months Old!
I guess we are officially past the newborn stage with Peter! He changes so much every week that Julian and I struggle to remember the way he was just days ago. He used to hate being changed, now he loves it. He used to take a bottle, now he won't. He used to sleep in until 10, now he's up at 7:30 like clockwork.
Nine weeks was a big milestone for us - I can't quite put my finger on what changed, but it just got a little bit easier. It's not that the crying lessened, but somehow the reasons for it became more discernable. Now at 12 weeks he has changed even more and cries even less (though he is MUCH louder!) But he gets more babylike, and more human, every day. He's very interested in what's going on around him and he gives me lots of smiles every day. He loves getting kisses and acts all coy after he smiles.
He's also doing all kinds of things he couldn't do just a few weeks ago. One of his new skills is grasping things. He is starting to realise that he can hold something in his hand (albeit somewhat involuntarily) and he will try to bring his hand to his mouth to explore it. He's also able to sit up when holding onto my fingers, though he does weeble and wobble all around. It's pretty cute! He really enjoys his chimes, and his caterpillar, which plays music. He also enjoys it when you shake his "grabby elephant" at him, and he can clutch it for a few minutes at a time. Lately he will even lie on his playmat for quite extended periods entertaining himself even when I am not nearby. Trust me - this is MAJOR! We've also inadvertently discovered that he loves watching TV, although only certain channels.
Peter has also grown like a weed. He was almost double his birth weight at two months. Normally that happens in four to six months - so his gain has been pretty impressive. Kind of makes all those sleepless nights worth it! Anyway, he has now outgrown his bassinette and now sleeps in a crib in our room (at least when we can convince him to sleep there!) He is still up frequently in the night, so it's easier just to have him close so I only have to half-wake to feed him. He goes to bed much earlier too, which means that we get a nice stretch in evening to relax (interspersed with the occasional "request" for comfort.)
For the first few weeks he would typically have a "witching" time in the evening. As new parents it took us a while to clue into the fact that babies sometimes cry because they're tired. Finally we figured out he was just overtired and we started putting him to bed earlier and earlier, so now he pretty much sleeps through the witching hour. But having experimented with bedtime, we've realised that if we miss his window we set ourselves up for a long night! He's also getting to be less of a light sleeper. In early days it was impossible to set him down if he fell asleep in your arms, as he'd awaken immediately. But now we can coax him into the crib. He still needs quite a bit of help to fall asleep though, be it rocking or bouncing or simply patting his tummy.
I will admit that Peter is a bit of a mama's (and papa's) boy. He definitely knows who we are and can be quite perturbed if he is handed off to someone else. The other day I was out and I gave him to someone to hold while I went to the bathroom. (Finding a way to go to the bathroom when you're out in public with a baby is a real trick if there are no willing "holders" around!) When I got back he was screaming his head off and the holder was worried that he was in real pain. But as soon as he was handed back to me he was fine again. But I was very pleased today when I stumbled across Santa at the Oakridge Centre and Peter tolerated being held by him for several pictures! (He did however scream bloody murder when I put him back in the front carrier.) He does like to ham it up for the photos - he did the same thing at our prenatal class reunion, yelping the whole party and then relaxing as soon cameras were out.
If I could give any advice to myself three months ago it would be this: Don't get too stressed about any particular habits - the refusal to sleep in the crib, the failure to nap (he has had a couple of stretches of being awake for about 10 hours!), the occasionally very needy days. It all changes so quickly that a week later I'm completely over the last challenge and struggling to figure out the next one. Definitely the hardest, yet most rewarding job I've ever had.
