ashford is 3 months

happy 3 months, little man! this was such a big month for you (i'm sure i'll be saying that every month)...

highlights this month: 

you took your first plane ride/trip to florida at 9 weeks, you got to meet your uncle anders who has been going to school in germany for the past 6 months, you attended a baby shower, took your first trip to the children's museum, had your first belly laughs at 10 weeks (thanks to your sister), started on reflux meds (more on this later) and my least favorite...mama went back to work :(

stats: 

no doctor visit this month, so just a guess...you are probably around 12-13 lbs, and 25 inches long. you are definitely growing and don't look like a newborn anymore!  

hair and eye color: 

you are still our little blondie. and i know that eye color isn't set in stone for a few more months, your eyes are still very blue, so i wouldn't be surprised if they stay that way. 

clothing: 

still sporting size 1 diapers. mama has gone another month without cloth diapering, oops! it's mainly a survival thing for me these days (can hardly keep up with the laundry as it is), although i don't enjoy shelling out so much $/week for diapers. you have grown out of most of your 0-3 month clothes and are mostly wearing 3 and 3-6 month now (although some of it is still pretty big). you have tons of clothes in this size, so i'm excited for you to wear them all. i'm finally getting better about putting you in real clothes, rather than just jammies all the time :) 

sleep: 

oh, sleep! everyone loves to ask if you are sleeping through the night these days and the answer is nope! haha. i have to remind myself that it's normal for you to be waking to eat multiple times each night. you still sleep in our room, but we've put you in the pack n play (as a transition before you go into your crib) and you are doing well with it. i'm thinking you will stay in our room a while longer. since your room is downstairs, i'm not ready to be so far away from you...and with your waking and crying in the night, i don't want you to wake up azalea, so this works for now. you don't officially go to bed until we do (which is usually between 9-10:30pm), so i can at least sleep the whole first chunk that you do...whether that's 3 or 4 hours. you've slept 5 hours stretches a couple nights, which were nice. let's do that more often! :) as for naps, you still take them mostly in the swing, car seat, or in my arms. (2-3 per day of varying lengths). i'm hoping that being in daycare will make you better at napping in a crib. time will tell! i'm going to try to get you into that habit at home, as well. azalea was done being swaddled by this point, but you are still mr. flail-y arms in your sleep, so we are keeping you in a straight jacket until you get that under control :) 

feeding: 

another month of nursing in the books. i'm so proud of us! we ran into some issues with you refusing the bottle this past month and it stressed your mama out quite a bit with going back to work. but i'm happy to report after the week with your grandparents, you seem to be taking them fine now. you are also spacing your feedings out a bit more. i would say every 2 hours is pretty average. the most exciting development this month is that you seem to finally be growing out of your evening cluster feeding that you did every night for the first 10-11 weeks of your life. now i can have a 1-2 hour break between feedings in the evening while you are happily entertained by your sister dancing around or just being held and walked around. i never thought i'd see the day :) we also put you on reflux meds this month. we had been thinking about it since you were born because you seem to be in pain a lot, but were never totally convinced you had it. to be honest, i'm still not sure if you have it or need the meds, but we'll keep it up for a while. the difference hasn't been night and day like other parents have talked about. 

most used gear: 

day: swing, bouncy seat, car seat, ergo carrier (you like it much better when you are asleep than awake, but i think that will improve with time). your favorite toy right now is your crinkly baby paper! i haven't gotten out the play mat because omygosh we don't have room for any more baby gear/toys in this house. :) night: pack n play for sleep. 

likes: 

you only want to be held facing forward and walked around or bounced now. it's quite the work out for my arms. and if i even think about sitting down or setting you down - you let me know you aren't okay with that. :) nursing is still a favorite pastime. you are obsessed with your sister these days and i love it! you watch her like a hawk (she is always moving and talking/singing) and just smile from ear to ear or laugh out loud at her antics. it's the sweetest thing to watch. and of course she loves being the center of attention as well. you think it's funny when anyone makes silly faces or sounds at you. baths are still a hit, as is looking in the mirror. you've been much happier being held by dada this month, too, which is great! 

dislikes: 

getting your diaper changed in the night, stoplights while riding in the car, tummy time (we should really work on this..it's pitiful!), taking your reflux meds (you scream like we are torturing you....it breaks my heart!)

azalea's adjustment: 

this subject is making a reappearance this month as jealousy has been in full force - especially when dada holds ashford. azalea screams and pulls at his legs, begging him to carry her instead. she usually doesn't care if mama is holding ashford. i'm trying not to read into that one too much. ha! however, as i mentioned above, she is loving the smiles and laughs from her baby bro. 

mama went back to work:

i had my first week back at work after 12 weeks at home with you. it was soooo nervous to go back and it even got delayed a day because i was sick. you spent the week with grandma cheryl and grandpa durant and you did so well! after some protesting of the bottle the first day, you managed to drink your bottles without much issue the rest of the week. such a relief! next week you will go to jean's house with azalea, which will be another adjustment, but i know you'll do fine. and you'll love watching all the silly kids.  

ashford, 

you and your sister continue to light up our lives! we feel so lucky to have you both. it was so fun taking you on your first vacation this month. thanks for doing so well on the plane :) i miss you so much now that i'm back to work, but i treasure our time together now more than ever. looking forward to all of the milestones to come for you! 

love, mama 

see azalea's 3 month post