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three months as of December 5, 2018
I’m a little behind on sharing this monthly update, but guys — December is rough. I didn’t factor in how difficult all of the regular December-y things would be, with a baby in tow. Add to that a crazy schedule at work and lots of extra activities at school for the girls and we are all a little frazzled. I kid you not, I folded seven loads of laundry in my bedroom floor last night and I had to rock the baby in between every single one. I’m not complaining, but it takes me significantly longer than usual to complete a single task. I finally ordered the last of my Christmas gifts yesterday and once I pick up our holiday grocery order, I can officially relax for the rest of the year. Yes and amen.
Height + Weight: We are right in between doctor’s visits for Miss Polly — she weighed 11 lbs 15 oz last month and she’ll visit the pediatrician again in early January for her four month checkup and more vaccinations. I don’t think she’s grown a ton since her visit in November, but she’s definitely picked up a few pudgy rolls. Josh and I don’t think she’s quite as roly poly as Ella was at this age, but she’s got more than a few pounds on Sophie!
Clothes: We are still in 3-6 month clothes for the most part, although that varies by brand. We’ve also almost maxed out our size zero shoes, so we’ve got footwear on our Christmas list. As much as I hate to pack away some of my favorite sleepers and gowns, we have so many cute things that she is finally growing into and we got to sport our first Matilda Jane getup at church last week — isn’t it darling?!
Sleep: Polly’s nighttime routine is still pretty regular and I have zero complaints about the amount of sleep we’re all getting. I do think she naps better at “school” than she does for me on the weekends, but I’m selfishly claiming it’s because she misses me so much and wants all the snuggles when I’m at home. I can tell we’re approaching that three to four month sleep regression, because getting her to sleep requires a little more work. She’s still going down around 8 o’clock, but she usually wakes up after an hour or two for one more nursing session and I often have to rock her back to sleep. I think this can mostly be attributed to arms and legs that won’t stop moving and an awareness of everything going on around her. I’m sure some of that would be curbed if she were in her own room, but we’ve got a while there, so we’re going to power through.
Schedule: Our three months schedule looks a lot like our two month schedule did. She’s still taking three bottles while I’m at work and I usually nurse her two to three more times before bed. Our weekends are a little more relaxed, since I’m just nursing on demand, but she still sticks to a general schedule most of the time. Before I came back to work, I was using an app to track her sleeps, feeds, and diapers pretty religiously, but once I started working it became too hard to keep up with. I told Josh last week, that it’s kind of been a relief. We’re just following sleep and hunger cues when she’s with us and it has been so much easier on us all. If she’s hungry, we nurse — whether we’re home in our pajamas or waiting in line at Disney World! I’ve officially become one of those women who will feed their baby (almost) anywhere.
Health: Since we don’t have a doctor’s appointment this month, I don’t have anything official to report here, but Polly seems to be doing really well. She still gets a little gassy from time to time, but I think she’s still figuring out how her body works. I’ve noticed some really dry skin on her eyebrows, elbows, and knees, so it looks like we might get to battle excema for a third round.
Crying: Polly still isn’t much of a crier unless she’s gassy, overly tired, or extremely hungry. She does have an adorable whine that we see more frequently, but you can’t help but laugh when you hear it. There are generally no tears produced and she grins as soon as she gets your attention. She’s learning quick!
Likes: Her likes are pretty similar to last month, with a few new additions. We have some patterned pillow cases on our bed right now and she is completely enamored with talking to them. We always joke that it looks like she’s smiling and laughing at us, when really she’s looking over our shoulder. She’s loving having the girls at home right now, they can officially make her giggle until she loses her breath. She’s also a huge fan of Christmas lights in our bedroom at night.
Dislikes: She isn’t a fan of playing on her own, if she can sense you are nearby. She’ll swing for hours if you’re in a different room, but she’d much rather be in your arms. She loves taking baths, but isn’t a fan of getting out and getting dressed. She also hates having a hat put on her head and tummy time. Seriously, do any babies love tummy time?!
Milestones: We’re working on lumbar support, so she’s been sitting in the bumbo seat or propped up on a pillow occasionally. She also laughs really well now and is starting to use her hands. She can also remove the pacifier from her mouth and can occasionally return it, if she’s lucky. She’s not grasping things with purpose just yet, but you can see those wheels turning. We still aren’t rolling over, but I see that mostly as our problem. We can’t put her down long enough to practice. I’m vowing to give her plenty of floor time during the holidays, so my pediatrician doesn’t fuss at me.
Places She’s Been: In November, Polly took her first flight and her first family vacation! She was amazing in Disney World and I can’t wait to share more about that with you soon. She’s also visited my sister’s house and taken a trip to The North Pole to sit on Santa’s lap.
Special Moments: Our biggest moments in her third month, were definitely in Disney World. I know she won’t remember any of that trip, but having her there with us made it infinitely more special. We are also loving introducing her to all of our Christmas traditions this year and having her apart of those memories is so special. She was completely oblivious to Santa when we had the kids pictures made this past weekend, but they turned out so beautifully! I can’t wait to hold her on Tuesday morning while the girls open their gifts around our tree. This is our best Christmas in the making.
Mama, Daddy + Big Sisters: I asked Josh last night if we were this obsessed with the big girls (I know that logically, we were). It’s a little different this time around, because we aren’t constantly second guessing our parenting choices and we can enjoy this time with her so much more. I’m not stressing about schedules or feeding or what somebody else says I should be doing. We just love on her as much as we want and figure we’ll correct all of the rotten a little later in life!
Ella has been enamored from the moment she was born and not much has changed. She regularly refers to her as my baby and will willingly hold her and help out as frequently as we ask. She was a HUGE help at the mall on Sunday and is a pro at collapsing the stroller and loading the trunk. She’s still not a huge fan of diaper duty, but can usually be convinced to do it if I really need her to. Sophie’s life is the one that has changed the least. She is definitely my most aloof child and rarely notices everything going on around her. Now that Polly is more aware, she’s definitely spending more time with her. She is thrilled every time she can make her laugh and even got to feed her a bottle a few times this week. Neither girl loves how quiet we have to be and they don’t realize how loud their every actions can be. I hate saying be quiet all the time, but it’s just a part of our story right now.
Josh is still pretty much smitten. He is the sweetest daddy to our daughters and I can’t help but love him more as I watch them all interact. He is such a hands-on dad and I know that makes me incredibly lucky to have him. I mentioned that I might have to work late on Thursday, more as a courtesy than anything, but I was just rambling on about all the things I needed to tell him before then and he interrupted with dude, I can take care of our kids. I so appreciate that the transition is seamless, even if I’m bitter that they all like him more than they like me.
I’m not including any products or favorites this month, because let’s face it — they’re all pretty similar to last month. I did buy her a few super cute things for Christmas that I think will be in heavy rotation by the next update, so maybe I’ll start sharing favorites every other month or every quarter instead! You can always see our favorite baby products, by checking out the Baby Faves highlight in my Instagram profile.
