Three months old

Dear Annika,

Today you are three months old. A quarter of a year!

This month you've become a really happy, interactive baby. You smile a ton--huge, wide, heart-melting grins--and now you've also started to laugh sometimes, an adorable little chuckle that we are usually able to prompt by kissing you or making funny noises. You watch us all the time, and get super excited, kicking and waving your arms, when we come into view. You also love your brother, and watch him and smile when he's near you. He's very interested in you too, and will also tell us proudly, "She's smiling at me!" whenever you give him a grin.

You've also become much chattier this month, and are making all kinds of noises--coos, squeals, grunts, shrieks, gurgles, you name it. You chat at us constantly, with your big wide eyes fixed on us, and it really seems like you're trying to tell us things when you do it. You're at the point now where if we are wearing you and you are awake, you want to be facing out so you can see everything that's going on around you--facing in will no longer cut it, and you will scream loudly to express your disapproval if we try.

This month you learned how to roll over, and have reproduced it many times since, though sometimes you can't quite manage it and then you get angry and fuss loudly. You are very strong by now, and have excellent head control--I think you'll be ready for the jumperoo in the next couple weeks.

Your other big leap this month has been in noticing your hands and starting to learn how to use them. You put them in your mouth and also hold them together over your belly, playing with your fingers. You've learned to grasp toys and are starting to be able to put them in your mouth. You've also started putting both hands on your bottle when you're eating, and in fact you've gotten so enthusiastic with your hands that sometimes you accidentally push the bottle out of your mouth and then get angry that your food has been cut off.

You're still growing closely along your curves. An estimated weight at home brings you in at about 14 and a half pounds (84th percentile) and 25.5 inches (99th percentile). You are fully into your size 3-6 month clothing, where I think you'll stay for at least the next month.

This month you've scaled back considerably on the nursing, though you still do it a few times most days. I suspect that weaning is probably in our near future, which isn't entirely unexpected as you're old enough to notice that you get a lot more milk a lot faster with the bottle. I'm pleased that we made it three months, though. As the nursing has tapered off we've seen your formula consumption go up--you've hit 30 ounces a couple times on days when you refused to nurse, but most days you eat about 26-27 ounces.

 

You continue to be a great sleeper. As long as you're swaddled, you sleep anywhere from 8-10 hours almost every night, and usually take two naps of 2-3 hours each during the day. Luckily you remain flexible about exactly when and where you sleep, so if we have things to get done you are happy to crash in your car seat while we drag you around.

I will be returning to work tomorrow, which has raised all the usual mixed feelings for me. Thankfully, I work from home and will be able to check in on you throughout the day. I know you will be in good hands (we have a German au pair), but of course having someone else take care of you while I'm away will be tough at first. But baby girl, I have so loved having these first three months together, no work, no real distractions, just us. My going back to work marks a major shift for both of us, but I know it will be great in the long run. It's the right choice for me, for you, for our family--and I know the four of us will figure out the transition together, as we've figured out everything else so far. Every month I know more and more that our little family of four is exactly right. You make us right. We are so glad you're here.

Love,
Mama