Three Months Old

Samuel, You are three months old. You continue to change daily and are still the sweetest baby! All of us love you so much. You have been the perfect addition to our little family.

Your brother still is crazy about you except when he gets frustrated while I'm feeding you, and he wants to play. He shares his toys with you and laughs so hard when he sees you "playing" with them. He gives you big hugs all the time. One morning I was holding both of you in my lap, Nathan reached over, gave you a hug and said, "I love you Samuel, big hug." My heart turned to mush.

You love your brother too and always keep your eye on him when he is in the room. He can calm you down when you're fussy just by looking at you and talking to you. You get a sparkle in your eye when he pays attention to you.

You always are grabbing something in your hands and usually sticking it in your mouth. I usually have a blanket or a burp cloth in your car seat, and you love to hold on to whatever is in there. You enjoy lying on your play mat grabbing and looking at all your toys. You'll play by yourself for a long time. You have a threshold though. You'll start to get fussy if you've been playing too long by yourself, and the moment we pick you up, you are all smiles. It's like you don't want us to forget about you and you just need some Mommy or Daddy time.

You eat about every 3 hours during the day for about 15-20 minutes and are getting a 2oz bottle after most feedings. You have your first real feeding between 6:30 and 7:00 and then eat every 3 hours. Your last feeding is between 9:30 and 10:00, and you go to bed right afterwards. You usually sleep until 4:00-5:00. You'll wake up and fuss, and I'll grab you and put you in bed with me. You'll nurse and doze off and on until you wake up for the day between 6:30 and 7:00. I wouldn't say you are sleeping through the night, but you're going a good stretch each night and you and I are both getting some good rest. You are still sleeping in our room in your pack and play, and I'm guessing you'll be there another month or so until you start sleeping longer.

You still doze after almost every feeding. The only "real" nap you take is after your 1:00 feeding. You usually sleep about 2 hours during that nap, which is amazing, because your brother sleeps at the same time. You two boys are awesome! That's the only structured nap you take. The rest of the day, you are usually in charge and let me know when you are tired and ready for a nap. Usually those naps are pretty short, about 20-30 minutes. We are on the go a lot in the mornings, so you doze in your car seat while we're out. You usually also fall asleep in the stroller during our evening, walk/jogs/playground trips.

You finally found your thumb about a week ago. I've caught you with it in your mouth several times since then. Sometimes you'll stick your whole fist in your mouth or a couple of fingers, whatever you can find at the time. You'll only take a paci when you're really sleepy, but you fall asleep so fast once you take it. You are still swaddled for your nap and nighttime sleep, so sucking your thumb isn't an option then :). I bet once we stop swaddling and you get a little older, you'll be a full time thumb sucker. Your daddy prefers you take a paci, but I don't think I'll mind too much. I've been dealing with cleaning paci's, finding them in the middle of the night, and worrying about taking them away from your brother for the last two years, so a thumb sucker doesn't sound too bad right now :).

We put you in the nursery at church for the first time at the end of May, and you do wonderfully in there. I go get you and nurse you during church, so I don't miss you too much. The workers always comment on what a laid back, sweet baby you are. They've had a shortage of babies in there recently, so they always get really excited when we drop you off!

I saw you roll over for the first time on 6-5-2013. You've done it a few times since then. You're not really a fan of tummy time, and now you have a way out of it :).

You are wearing 3 month and 3-6 month clothes and a size 2 diaper. You are long, so even some of your 3 month sleepers are getting too small because of your length. We don't go back to the doctor until your are 4 months old, so I don't have an exact weight for you, but I would guess you weigh about 13.5 lbs.

You are smiling all the time. We call your nose your "smile button" because touching with our finger almost always elicits a huge grin! You are blowing raspberries too and are so close to laughing out loud. You are so much fun!

Some people comment that they've never heard you cry. We've heard you cry for sure, but there's always a reason behind the fussing, usually tired or hungry or want to be held. You've outgrown some of the fussiness you had as a newborn, and are such a great, easy baby.

You talk and coo all the time, especially if someone is interacting with you. You and Grandaddy had some great conversations during Bible school week. Since you were born, I always thought you would be my quiet, introverted child, but now that you've found your voice, I'm not sure anymore. You may end up being more social than your brother. Either way, we will love you to pieces just as we do now!