Happy Monday you guys! Did you have a great weekend? Eric and I got out for a much needed dinner/movie date night. We ate at a wine bar called The Aviary and saw All the Money in the World. I highly recommend both. It was so nice to get out and enjoy some alone time together!

It’s been a crazy few weeks over in our house. So I apologize for my silence over here! We’ve had a bit of a sleep regression and all came back from Chicago with colds. I’ve been frantically trying all different tactics and methods to get my baby to sleep and all have failed. It’s just a natural progression in his development but I’m totally exhausted! So I’ve had a hard time getting inspired to sit down and write.

But CHARLIE IS THREE MONTHS OLD! I swear I blinked and he started looking more and more like a little boy. He’s a peanut. At his two month appointment he was only in the 6th percentile for weight and 10th for height. His growth curve was totally normal so I didn’t worried about it too much. I’ve just enjoyed my little nugget! I think he’s gained about 3 lbs since then. But my scale has been known to lie ;)

Motherhood has taught me so much in the last few months. Not just about babies but also about myself. I learned that I’m not as laid back and relaxed as I thought I was. EVERYTHING stresses me out, ha. I’ve had to learn to live without a routine which is totally unnatural for me. But it has taught me patience. Also, it turns out I actually can function on little sleep. But it’s hard and I cry at random moments sometimes. I’ve found that I’ll daydream about my morning coffee before I go to bed. Does that mean I have an addiction? I sometimes wonder how some mamas do life without coffee. Mad props.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that it’s okay to slow down. Life before Charlie was fast. Eric and I were always on the go, whether it was traveling or doing a million things in one weekend at home. We always felt like we needed to be moving around. Life has slowed down a bit and we’ve learned that everything takes more time with a child. It’s okay to spend an afternoon on the floor with our baby and watch football. It’s okay to have literally zero plans one weekend. It’s okay to have a single activity in a day or none at all. Not everything needs to be planned.

I know this might sound like obvious information to you, but for us, it’s been a huge transition. We’ve always enjoyed being very busy. But busy looks very different these days. Busy means cleaning up spit up and spending a half hour a day doing ‘tummy time’ with C. Busy means trying to accomplish the sleep, wake, eat routine, and pumping enough milk for the before-bed-bottle. Busy is keeping up with Charlie’s constant change.

Here are a few updates on C:

Grow, Grow, Growing! I feel like I’m having a hard time keeping up with Charlie’s growth. I pump too often and now am going to see my lactation consultant to figure out if what I’m doing is working. It’s so hard to know!

Sleep, Sleep, sleeping! It’s not the schedule that I want, but for the most part, Charlie is a good sleeper. He’ll wake up every once in a while a little too early (like 1:30/2am if it’s super hot or I fed him earlier that usual) but generally, I get up with him once a night around 3 or 4am. If I’m lucky, 5am! But sleep deprivation is sleep deprivation, so those days where I get up more than once, I often feel totally lost. ‘Tis life with a baby! (I’m won’t sleep train him until he is 4 months old).

Smiling. Oh is my boy smiley. I understand why so many people have told me the fog lifts at about 3 months. I cannot get enough of my baby’s coos, smiles, and overall expressions. He is exploring the world, hearing his own voice, and loving every second of it! It make me so happy.

Playing. He’s not quite batting toys in front of him intentionally, but he does kick and swing his arms and if his hand gets near a hanging toy, he’ll latch right onto it. He loves listening to different sounds. We have play mat with a little mirror above it and he’ll hang out there for a long time amusing himself. It’s so cute to see him entertained.

Gaining strength. Charlie is a pretty strong baby. He held up his neck pretty early… But he’s not a huge fan of tummy time. We have to make sure he is in the perfect mood before doing it. I can’t believe a half hour a day seems so hard, but it is! Luckily, he is less resistant each day.

I’ve been told the days are long and the years are short. And it’s so true. The early days were really tough and feel like a total blur. I have been taking monthly pictures of Charlie and seeing the difference between month 1 and 3 is crazy. I’m trying to take lots of pictures and videos so I can remember all the details. I wish I could hold on to his scent and the feeling of his soft skin too. He makes this mama’s heart explode.

-XO-

3 month growth spurt motherhood unplugged