k r i s t i n a k a y e: Farrah's Three Month Update

My dearest Farrah - these have been the most life-altering, emotionally-felt, and deeply-loved three months of your momma's life.

Nine Weeks

--We moved bedtime up to 8:30pm and you've been sleeping until 2:30 or 3:00am, then you wake up again around 4:30 or 5:00am.

--Always stretching and your daddy will message the sides of your back while you do and you love it. Then he will stretch your arms and legs on each side.

--Coos and laughs (a very small squeal)

--Able to sit you in bouncy seat or swing where you stay very content for quite awhile

--Nursing 7-10 minutes nursing on each side, every 3 hours

--Much easier bowel movements

--Seem to do so great at daycare! We always get a positive report. You nap well, eat from a bottle well, and seem to enjoy circle time, having books read to you, going outside in the stroller, and playing with your friends, Sophia and Arry.

--First picture day is coming up!
--You got to meet your Uncle Lonnie, and your cousin McCoy still doesn't really get excited about you. He wouldn't let you in his cardboard rocketship, or sit on his lap, but when he watched you sleep through the monitor, he gladly "fed you chips" and showed you pictures!

Ten Weeks

Last week we moved your bedtime up to 8:00-8:30pm and it really suited you. You seemed sleepy about that time each night and went right to sleep after nursing. However, you were waking up anytime from 1:30-2:30am, which was fine by me. What was starting to stink was when you would wake up again around 4:30-5:30am (when I planned to wake you up around 6:00am). I was treating this like a night feed and would just feed you again shortly after, at 6:00am, hoping you would adapt to the 6:00am feeding instead. That hasn't worked.

So one night I implemented a "dreamfeed." I fed you at 10:30pm again after your bedtime, and this time you woke up at 3:00am to nurse and that was all! I was able to wake you up around 6:00am to nurse and get ready to leave for the day. I hope the dreamfeed continues to work like a charm.

Your older brother and sister have a lot of sports events and it is keeping us very, very busy. For example, Kylie joined a new fall softball team and had a practice scrimmage Sunday night, on Monday her team had a fundraiser at Pizza Hut, on Tuesday she has double header games in Columbia at 6:00 and 7:30pm, on Wednesdays Kaden has football practice from 6:00-8:00pm and Kylie has softball practice, on Thursday Kaden has football practice again, as well as on Saturday mornings until his games begin. You have been a trooper and come along for almost all of them. Everyone eats you up, you know.

Eleven Weeks

This week you have been waking up extra times throughout the night, but you will hardly ever hear me complain. I love you, and I love being here for you. I love being your momma, providing you care and nourishment. I love picking out your outfits and matching headbands each morning. I even love changing your diapers.

Last night you woke up at 2:00am to nurse. Then you woke back up at 4:00am, then again around 4:30am, and then again a little later. I had been giving you your pacifier and hushing you back to sleep, but I finally decided to pick you up, hold you, and rock you. You instantly settled and laid so contently on my chest and fell fast asleep. I absolutely loved that. You are perfect.

You are smiling a lot, especially for Daddy. Sunday morning, your dad got up and took you into the living room with him so I could get a little more sleep. When I woke up, he was excited to show me this -- he laid you on the couch and bounced you by pushing on the cushions on either side of you. You started out by staring at him, and then you smiled, and then you giggled!!

Twelve Weeks

This mommy stuff can be a little hard. It's hard going places, even just getting to the car, trying to remember ALL of the things needed. I absolutely love your size right now. I love picking you up. You're still so little and fit snugly in my hands.

You are waking up around 3:00-3:30am and at 6:00am, plus a million times in between when I just have to give you your pacifier and you go back to sleep. But for me, sleeping after that first wake-up time is nearly impossible.

I told your dad that you're three months now and he said it seems like you've been around forever, and that it seems you've been waking him up at night for longer than three months.

You hit a growth spurt the weekend before you turned three months, and you ate every 2 hours. You stayed with Grammy and Papa for an evening for the first time while your dad took your mom out to eat Mexican and to a comedy club to see Chris Katan for her birthday! I gave them all kinds of instructions, even though I know they knew what to do. You did really great for them. They had to watch a video on YouTube to see how to pace bottle feed. Grammy read you a story, and you were sleeping soundly in their crib when we picked you up around 11:30pm.