Month 3

Jack, you've reached a milestone in your sleeping in your third month of life: you're establishing your nap schedule. Up until a few weeks ago, your naps were 45 minutes each, but now they are getting longer and longer, typically 1.5-2 hours. We owe this development to a couple of things: from what I've read, you are just now becoming biologically able to nap for longer periods, and...YOU FOUND YOUR THUMB!!! You've been working on this since you were born, but you finally are able to get your thumb in your mouth and keep it there.

I can't tell you how excited your Daddy and I are for this new feat. Now, when you wake up at the end of your first sleep cycle (about 45 minutes into a nap), you get fussy for a few moments, and then you start sucking away on your thumb and drift blissfully back to sleep again. No more searching for that pacifier, no more going into your room to try to get you to take the pacifier and get a few more minutes of sleep. You're growing in your ability to soothe yourself, and we're so proud of you, since it's such an important part of your development. If you read this when you're older, you'll no doubt think we're crazy for being so excited about thumb-sucking, but you'll understand when you've got kids and you're losing sleep.

As a result of this we've changed how we wrap you up to sleep. We've swaddled you from the beginning, but didn't do that great of a job until we started using a Miracle Blanket thanks to two of our friends who graciously let us borrow their blankets. That thing is true to it's name. From day one of using it, you fell asleep faster and slept longer. You loved it, and would start to relax as soon as we started wrapping your arms up. We liked to call you, "our little burrito."

But since finding your thumb, we started swaddling you with your hands free; not quite a burrito anymore, but still pretty cute:

As far as nighttime sleep, you've slept for 12 hours on two occasions, but you aren't ready to let go of that last middle of the night feeding for good yet. I'm okay with that for now.

Speaking of feedings, nursing you has gone amazingly well. You like to eat. A lot. Thankfully, the good Lord has blessed me with lots and lots of milk. We're a good pair. It took about 6 weeks for us to really find our rhythm, we were both new at it, but now it feels like I've been doing this for years. I'm so grateful because I know it can be a really difficult process, and it's great to know you're getting the best food you can get. And hello, it's free!

I think it's safe to say from your weight (16 pounds) and your fabulous chubby belly, you're getting plenty to eat:

You continue to melt our hearts with your smiling, squealing, and "laughing." I don't think we've heard an official laugh yet, but you're getting there. Your temperament is starting to emerge, and we love it. I keep hearing people describe you as, "content." It's helpful for me to hear this, because taking care of your every need sometimes keeps me from taking a step back and enjoying the big picture. It's true, you are a content baby; the only times you get upset are when you're hungry or tired (or when you get a shot, like today; you had two and your sad cry broke my heart, poor guy). Though recently, you've become more sensitive to things that surprise you. A couple of times you've been startled by people and your lower lip pouts out and you let out the most pitiful little cry. But, it's just a part of you becoming more aware of your surroundings, which is fun to watch.

Another new thing you're experimenting with is grabbing. You've grabbed your feet once or twice, and you're starting to grab some of your toys. One day you were in your swing (which you still love) and as you started to drift off to sleep, you held on to a little bear you were playing with. It was pretty stinking adorable.


I could continue to go on and on about all the things you're doing and the way you're soaking in everything about your world, but to be a good mom to you, I need some sleep, so I'll end with this: we're so thankful that you're our son.