Callie is now 3 months old and is no longer a newborn, in my eyes. She's just growing up! When I look at her and watch her, I think "She's just not a newborn anymore...," which is kind of sad to me. But I just cherish each moment I have with her.
Just for fun, here's a comparison of her first three monthly pictures:
EATING
Callie still ate well this last month, and is still packing on the ounces! At her first daily feeding, she nursed the longest she did all day (maybe 15 minutes total?)....and she never needed a bottle at this feeding. My milk supply was built up from overnight. But every feeding after that, she nursed for 5-10 minutes and then took a bottle ranging from 1-3 oz. At this point, she was content and done eating. We usually spent 25-30 minutes feeding each time, which truly isn't bad at all!! I love it!
NAPS
Callie struggled with her naps this month. Right before Christmas she started taking very short naps - maybe 30-45 min? By the end of her third month, we figured out the cause of this, have been working with her, and the last few days have been much better (1.5-2.5 hour naps each time). Hopefully this will continue!!
She would generally take 4 naps a day. While we were traveling for Christmas, I was okay with her not napping long and napping at different times. I let people hold her during naps, and didn't really care how long or how often she slept. But once we returned home, she wanted to be held for each nap. Luckily this only lasted a few days. She quickly remembered how to fall asleep on her own. Thank you Jesus that she handled this transition okay!
We reached a naptime milestone this month, and that is that she started sleeping in her crib! Another transition we tried has been weaning her from swaddling. She would sleep fine if she was loosely swaddled, and would often sleep fine if I left one arm out. But the few times I tried no swaddling - she just didn't sleep as good. So for now, we're sticking to the loose or one-arm swaddle.
NIGHTTIME SLEEP
We also had some struggles with nighttime sleep this month too. She started the month sleeping 10-11 hours at night, straight. But again, once we were halfway through our week of traveling, she started waking up in the middle of the night to eat. Of course I fed her and didn't worry too much....just assumed it was maybe a growth spurt. But it continued for almost two weeks. I was starting to get afraid she was regressing, but didn't stress too much (funny how I'm much less stressed this time around!) And now, she's back to sleeping her long stretches. She eats at 8pm, lays down by 8:30pm, and usually wakes up to eat again between 6-7am. I can only pray her good sleeping continues!
WAKETIME
During this month, Callie was usually not awake very long between feedings. She would eat, get her diaper changed and be awake for around 30 minutes, then she was ready for a nap. So, from the time she woke up until she laid back down, it was about an hour (including feeding). This gives us limited, but cherished time to play with her. Things she enjoyed doing during her waketime were:
- Laying on a blanket; smiling and cooing at us
- Swinging while staring intently at the strange baby in the mirror
- Sitting in her Bumbo seat so she can feel "big"
- Sitting in her bouncy seat while we show her toys and "play" with her
- Laying on her activity mat and trying to figure out how to hit the swinging flower so she can hear music
- Laying in her "hammock" and watching me get ready, cook, clean house, etc.
She truly is great at entertaining herself. She will lay in one spot for several minutes by herself, just looking around. This is a great age because when we go places, we don't have to pack a bag of toys - she's easily entertained by observing new places. And we can easily set her on our lap while we eat because she can't grab things off the table yet. I'm enjoying this short stage while it lasts! :)
Here's a pic of her in the Bumbo...
really thinking about somethin'.
SIBLING LOVE
Caeden loves to "play" with Callie - but I'm not sure how receptive Callie is to his love yet. He truly does love her, but is just trying to learn how to handle babies. When he hugs her, he'll squeeze so tight she'll cry. When he pats her belly, his pats get progressively harder. There's been a few times he's playing, but not watching what he's doing and she gets kicked or hit. This also results in tears. So we've had to be much more firm with him lately. My goodness - I don't want her to grow up being scared of him!!
And the other day, Caeden said, "Mommy! Callie pinched me!" Yes, our 3 month old daughter, who has yet to figure out control of her hands, was accused of pinching him. HA! Reid and I just looked at each other and laughed...so the tattling has begun... :)
Sharing his beloved
blankie with Callie
Helping to change her diaper
Brother & Sister FOREVER!!
FIRST CHRISTMAS
Callie's first Christmas was during her third month. We were in Missouri for 6 days, and she did great traveling! She still hated the car (screaming every time), but she did great being in a different place with less structure. She got to celebrate with both Reid & Ashley's sides of the family, opening presents, seeing Santa, and attending the Christmas Eve service. Her most memorable gifts were her first baby doll, and her first Bible. While she had no clue what was going on, we still involved her in all activities! :)
MILESTONES
These are some things that Callie started doing this month:
- She can control her hands enough to bring them together.
- Smiles more spontaneously, like at objects (not just in response to others smiles)
- If I hold a rattle up to her fingertips, she will grasp onto it
- Bearing some weight when I stand her up on my legs (but not for too long) :)
- Cooing and talking more...specifically saying "ah-goo" and "ah-brr" a lot
- Makes kind of a wet "raspberry" sound, blowing her lips
STATS
At 3 months old, these were Callie's stats:
Weight: 12 lbs 15 oz
Clothing size: some 3 mos and some 3-6 mos
Shoe size: 0-3 mos
Diapers: size 2
PICTURES
And lastly, here are some pictures from Callie's third month!
Caeden helping to give her a bath...
I was a little nervous, but she actually
kept smiling at him, so I guess that's good! :)
First snow...
poor girl...
but we had to take pictures!
Sweet Callie, we are loving you more & more every day! Just when I think it can't get any better, it does! I'm just so thankful to God for your laidback, sweet, cuddly personality! I truly do stop several times a day, and just cherish moments with you! Please don't grow too fast! We love you!
