Three Months Old

Yesterday, Reed turned 3 months old! My, the time flies by. I realize that this first year is going to go so fast!!

Reed has settled into a much better sleeping routine over the past month. He is now getting up only once a night for a feeding. He goes to bed every night between 6:30 and 7:30, with the goal to shoot for a 7 p.m. bedtime. Daddy and mommy change him into his PJs, some nights he has a bath, a book and then oftentimes a song. If we time it just right and pay attention to his sleepy signs (yawning, rubbing his eyes, starting to stare off into space), and lay him down in his crib drowsy, he will fall asleep on his own with no crying.

However, if we miss that golden period, he will either give some small fusses and then go to sleep or cry. If he cries, we usually let him go up to 10 minutes (or less, if we can't stand it), then go in, give him back his pacifier, rub his head, re-swaddle him if need be and then leave the room again. If it's a bad night, we do this 3 or 4 times before he finally nods off.

In the middle of the night, he wakes up once, takes his bottle and goes right back to bed. He then usually wakes up anywhere between 5:30 and 7, when I have to wake him up for daycare.

He is holding his head up extremely well. He can now sit on your lap without you have to support his head. If he is lying down, you can pull gently on his arms and he will bring his head with him. Probably because he can now hold his head so well, he loves to look around! When you enter a new room, he immediately starts to turn side to side to see everything. And if you walk out of the room he will follow you by turning his head.

Reed is also starting to discover his hands. He often holds them together at his chest, clasping them together which makes him look like a little angel. When he has them together, I've caught him staring at them a few times like he's figuring it out. And Beau and I both notice that he's more and more starting to reach for objects. He also constantly has them in his mouth. He will start going to town sucking on that fist and almost have the whole thing in his mouth!

This month was a big adjustment with daycare but he is doing just great! In fact, for the first time on Monday of this week, he slept all the way through the night! He has slept in 7 or 8 hour stretches before, but that night he slept from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. It was fabulous! Plus, since he has taken to once-a-night feedings, Beau and I have started trading nights. Well, that night was my night. I lucked out! The next morning I heard Beau say to Reed, "Listen Buddy, you get some good naps at daycare so you can sleep through the night tonight!" I teased Beau that it was just because he wanted a free night the next night :)

He is smiling all the time now and just loves to see a friendly face in front of his.

Reed is bringing us so much joy. The best part of my day is now picking him up from daycare. I was trying to remember what I used to do to relax after a hard day's work - it couldn't have been half as good as seeing his little face light up when he sees mine!

Click on the photo for more of Reed's 3-month photos. Here is a great one of him and Great Grandma Hazel.