Thursday, November 5, 2015

Three Months!

I say it every month, and I'm sure will continue to say it for forever, but time is just flying. I can't believe that, as of October 17th, is 3 months old!! A quarter of a year!! Cue the mama tears. I just want to put the brakes on a bit, and be able to savor each moment.

Yes, this is ridiculously late. Yup, she's less than a couple weeks from 4 months, but I want to be sure to document these monthly updates.

So here we go...

Britta Boo,
3 months. 3 months?! It seems like yesterday that you were born...and actually just yesterday that I was pregnant with you. You've had a big month...lots of changes and milestones. More and more we are realizing what a content, peaceful baby you are. It will be so interesting to see your personality take shape! Here's what you've been up to in the last month...

You started daycare!
Probably the biggest transition this month for you (and me...and the whole family really)... I went back to work on October 8th, and you started at Magna's that same day. The combination of you being an all-around rockstar baby, and Magna having some sort of awesome voodoo magic skills means that you have been doing AMAZING!

Much like with your big sister, Magna managed to get you on a schedule right away. You take 3 bottles at daycare (9:00ish, noonish, and 4:00ish) - between 4 and 5 ounces each time. You take a morning nap around 9:45/10:00 for between an hour and an hour and a half. You take an afternoon nap from around 1:00 to 3:00/3:30.

Magna reports you are happy, very chatty, and snuggly for the vast majority of your days there. You are getting better at tummy time each day, and love watching the other kiddos play and interact.

We had a bit of a scare right before you started daycare - you were refusing to take a bottle. I panicked BIG time, but discovered just in the nick of time that it was a temperature issue. You are a bit of a diva, and like your milk REALLY warm (body temperature, thank you very much!). Daddy and I had a date night for our anniversary the week you started daycare, and you cried (LOUD) for Grandma for most of the 2 hours we were gone. You are SO chill usually, but will definitely let everyone know when something's wrong.

Thankfully, we figured it out just in time and you have had ZERO issues with bottles. Wahoo!!

In addition to starting at Magna's, you are joining big sister for what is now "Linnea AND Britta Day" at Grandma and Grandpa's. I think it's a bit of an adjustment to have two to take care of, but they are enjoying it.

You took your first vacation!
We've had a few overnight out-of-town trips before this, but this month was your first REAL vacation. We had planned long before you were even born to take a trip up north. Since I was still on leave we took our usual trip to Grand Marais with Grandma and Grandpa, and then headed over to Bayfield, WI for another couple nights.

Admittedly, it was a bit crazy. Almost a week gone...staying in three different places (we stayed in Duluth the first night)...sleeping all in one room. Sleep was never really great...you had a bit of a cold, and didn't sleep super well in the pack 'n play.

All of that said, we had a really good time. It was so fun to introduce you to all our favorite places up north. We look forward to many, many more years of time up north as a family. I look forward to throwing rocks in the lake with you in a few years.

You started laughing!
This one took me by total surprise! I was "chatting" with you before dinner one night when we were in Bayfield. You were smiling and cooing (per usual), but all of a sudden you were laughing! It happened so fast that by the time I realized what you were doing, it was over! I called Daddy over to try to get you do it again, but I didn't have any luck.

We've had a few more little laughs since then, but not regularly quite yet. It was like a little gift for mama, to have the laugh from my Britta girl!

You've grown and changed a lot too...
You continue to be a big, happy baby!!

We haven't had a doctor's appointment since the beginning of September, so I'm not really sure how big you are. I won't be surprised if you are well over 15 pounds by your next appointment mid-month. You are regularly mistaken for older than you are...which doesn't really surprise me. I think you look older than you are too...not just because of your size, but because of your head and neck control, and level of alertness.

You are still squeezing into some 3 month clothes, but are mostly in 6 month clothes. Pants and sleepers in particular got too short/small practically overnight. It's a bit of a bummer, because I think we'll end up being off the right seasons with the clothes that Linnea wore as a baby. I suppose there are worse things, but it's fun to be able to give new life to old clothes.

You are fully in size 2 diapers... well actually, we found a few 1s here and there and used them to get rid of them - crazy how quickly they went from fitting fine to WAY too small!

You continue to be alert and attentive. Nearly everyone who meets you/spends any sort of time with you comments on that. You are SUCH an observer. Maybe it sounds silly, but you can tell that even at 3 months you are just wanting to take everything in.

Like I said before, we are realizing more and more what a content baby you are. It's rare that you will cry or get upset. When you do it usually means that we aren't feeding you soon enough...or you have a little gas bubble...or are a little overtired. But as soon as your needs are met you calm down. Even when you wake up at night you don't cry...you just grunt and fuss a bit to let me know you're hungry.

It's fun to watch your relationship with Linnea continue to develop. She loves to talk to you and get you to smile - and she's good at that. She loves to lay with you and say sweet and silly things to you. She gets mad at Daddy and I if we "hog" you too much. It's so fun to watch how sweet she is with you. I can't wait to continue to watch you become friends!

You continue to eat well. Depending on when you last ate, you nurse a bit in the morning before Magna's. You take 3 bottles there (between 4 and 5 oz.), and then nurse once or twice before bed.

Your bedtime has moved up again this month...usually between 7:30 and 8:00. It's nice that you stay up a bit later than your big sister did at this age because it's nice to have a bit of time with you when we all get home for the night.

Bedtime sleep has not been as good as it was previously... I'm not quite sure what to attribute that to. You are pretty much always up once, and usually twice. Times vary a bit, but are usually around midnight and then again around 4. Those times are my least favorite times because it breaks up my sleep in a bad way. However, I am thankful that you continue to go back to sleep very easily. You wake up, eat, and are back out without much of a peep. That makes it a bit more manageable.

Naps have become more consistent now that you are at Magna's (yay Magna for helping me get you on a good schedule!). Like I said before you have a shorter nap in the mid-morning, and then a long nap in the afternoon. (It's awesome that you and Linnea nap together in the afternoon!). We can't get you to nap quite as well when you're home with us on the weekends (like I said, Magna has some sort of awesome voodoo magic).

You are so awesome, Britta! You are sweet, observant, strong, and calm. I love learning who you are...I love being your mama...I love watching you learn and grow.

You have brought so much joy to us in your short little life!

We love you so very much, Britta girl!
Mama (and Daddy & Linnea too)