and 3 days, to be exact.
it’s such a cliché — i’ve read it on countless other blogs. but it’s true. the past 3 months have gone by like lightning, yet i feel like i can hardly remember what it was like B.A. [before annabel, of course]. i can’t believe our tiny newborn is now a full-fledged BABY.
it seems normal to wake up every day to this:
starting every day with a smile
month 3 was a big one. so many new developments and changes in lifestyle — all pretty much for the better. annabel was never a terribly high-maintenance baby, but there were some trying times in those early weeks — crying spells we couldn’t fix, erratic sleep habits, and some rather specific preferences about how she liked to be held and handled.
now she’s more flexible, more portable, more smile-y, more predictable, and more FUN.
she now enjoys her carrier and i’ve taken her to the grocery store a couple of times [i’ll be doing it today!].
she loves to play on any flat surface. the world is her gym . . . and our bed is a particular favorite.
she still doesn’t really roll over, but when she gets in the mood to try, she gets close!
and toys are suddenly much more exciting than they were previously. especially colorful and shiny toys. and [to my dismay] toys that makes music/sounds. i will only tolerate a MINIMUM of these though! toys that play jubilant earworm songs are banned from the premises.
sleep
i read bringing up bébé, and apparently a. should be faire ses nuits [‘doing her nights’] by now. well — i’m not sure what those french babies are eating, but a. definitely cannot make it through the night yet. however, she has settled into a very predictable bedtime between 6:30 – 7 pm, and most nights makes it until 1 am or later [MOST. not all.]. she usually gets up again at 4 or 5 am. both times she seems legitimately hungry, so i feed her.
it’s not perfect, but it’s much better than she was previously and i haven’t collapsed from sleep deprivation yet. plus, the predictability has made it much easier to do things like get out for date night! last night my sister came over but we actually ended up putting a. to bed before we left — and she slept through the whole thing until 1 am.
she’s also napping better these days [currently 90 minutes into one . . .] so that’s also another bonus.
and we haven’t stopped swaddling, nor have we weaned her from the rock ‘n’ play to the crib. i’m sure at some point her size will force our hand, but right now i’m just sticking with what works. she does nap in her crib at day care, so i’m sure we’ll get there eventually.
other developments this month
she now enjoys spending fairly long stretches prone, as long as there’s entertainment.
she started giggling [inspired by her poppy, shown here!]
she seems very interested in other babies/kids and overall is much more interactive:
she loooooooves her bath. and we had to move out of the sink due to her zealous thrashing.
she survived her first virus [still a little sniffly but sooooo much better. and no fevers!].
vital stats
weight: around 12 lbs [unofficial and probably not exact — using our scale!]
clothing size: some 0-3 still fit [baby gap runs huge!] and she’s in a bunch of 3 month outfits from carter’s. 3-6 are still mostly too big, but she’ll be there soon!
eating: she now gets bottles of pumped breast milk at day care [usually 12 oz/day] and otherwise breastfeeds at home. supply has been able to meet demand, but it’s been a challenge at times, so i am trying to come to terms with the idea that if i have to supplement, it won’t be the end of the world.
favorites: the mirror, being picked up and held on her feet, kisses, being held upright in a seated position
hates: really almost nothing at this point. i can’t complain!! ♥
mother of 3 // MD // south floridian // ESFJ // upholder.
into: planners, great food, running, reading, writing, mornings, podcasting, and coffee.
13 Comments
Remember, those French babies are formula-fed. 🙂 I’ve heard (and it was true for me) that getting to 12 lbs can make a big difference in sleeping much longer stretches. Annabel is just about there so hopefully easier nights are just around the corner for you!
Jealous of how she likes being on her tummy — Will doesn’t seem to understand the point of tummy time!
I can’t believe our babies are no longer newborns either. How did that happen???
She’s so cute!
she is just so adorable!!!!
I think it’s a combination of weight and neurological development. And establishing routines. And LUCK.
Sarah — Annabel is a GREAT sleeper. I read somewhere that 11-12 lbs was crucial for making it to 5-7 hours of consecutive sleep, and 15 lbs / doubling of the birth weight was when a lot of babies started sleeping through the night with 0-1 wakeups. Dylan’s birth weight doubled at around 5 months on the dot, and she started sleeping better then as well. Who knows if it was neurologic development vs. metabolism.
Really, hang in there. You’ve got a great baby. She’s doing exactly what she’s supposed to. It’s just hard.
Such a cutie pie!
That picture of her on her tummy and sticking out her tongue is too cute! She looks like she has great head/neck control. Andrick is so not interested in doing anything during tummy time. Also, since we’re about a month behind you, you give me hope for sleep! He’s still up about 2-3 times a night. Last night was 4, sigh
Happy 3 months to your beautiful girl :). We are right behind you and it’s amazing how much they developed this month.
Not only are they formula-fed, they are also given sugarwater during the night to sleep. Honestly, here in Europe the French are NOT considered role models when it comes to bringing up children. They are known for horrible methods of corpal punishment, most of all. 🙁
A book like that would SO not sell on this side of the Atlantic!
omg sugar water!?!? for real? that’s horrifying. and was not mentioned in the book 🙂 did you read it? it’s pretty interesting and i’d love to know if it’s even TRUE. my sister in law is french (from paris, moved to US in her 20s) and definitely does NOT parent even remotely close to the women in the book. so i did take it with a grain of salt 🙂 ps: where in europe are you from?
(i’m guessing a scandinavian country. i am DYING to visit that area of the world some day!!!)
I just want to set the record straight. It is not a matter of whether a baby is formula fed or breast fed that results in better night time sleeping. Sarah herself was breast fed and slept through the night at six weeks as did her sister. Possibly bigger babies sleep through earlier (Sarah weighed more than Annabel at birth.), or it could be just characteristic that the baby is born with. I don’t think we can really generalize unless there are some studies that demonstrate that formula babies sleep differently than breast fed ones.
She is so cute!
Mine are 11 weeks, so we are a bit behind you but it’s funny I could have wrote a lot of this post myself. We tried moving from the Rock n plays to cribs back around 8 weeks, but it did not go very well. I think that was most most sleepless week. And the bath! The splashes are starting to get too big for the kitchen sink 🙂
We had a big stretch last week from 9:30pm – 5:30am. I of course jumped out of sleep at 4:30 and checked on them. The problem we have is I’m pretty sure my daughter would sleep through the night each night, but my son is the one who wakes up. With twins, the schedule is king, so we wake the other to eat if they aren’t awake. The longer stretches of sleep give me hope!
i think i agree with the theory that weight has something to do with sleeping through the night…iris was a big baby (9lb 3oz!) and she slept through the night by 6 weeks. she also had a great all-around personality so i think that helped a bit too.