3 Months 18 Days

Today was a nice uneventful day. Henry had another fun day at daycare. When i picked him up Brenda told me that during circle time when the other kids were singing a song with hand motions and clapping he was just laughing and laughing along with them.

I read up on baby signing a little last night and found out that a good time to start it is 4-6 months. Obviously Henry won't be signing back to us anytime soon, but if you introduce the signs along with the words for things it might be as early as 7 months when he can sign back to us. Obviously being able to understand what he wants that early in his life would be wonderful.

I mentioned to Brenda that i had looked into this and showed her the signs for "milk" and "sleep," two of the most important aspects of Henry's life. Brenda said that when her daughter was little she was really into signing and Brenda had books and flashcards and a whole bunch of other materials and that she would start incorporating it into circle time with all the kids. Now i just have to remember to use the signs too!

3 Months 17 Days

Well i spoke too soon. Last night i heard Henry off and on from about 3 am until i went and got him at 6. He was still super-happy when he finally woke up around 8, so i don't think he cried too much. Unfortunately i didn't sleep particularly well either, so i was stumbling a bit through work today.

It's been so hot here lately that after Henry gets home from Brenda's i've been taking his clothes off until bath time. It's fun to look at all the rolls of baby fat he's accumulating. We have his 4-month appointment next Friday and will get to find out how much he weighs.

This Saturday we're going to attempt leaving Henry with a babysitter again. Hopefully we're getting JT's firm's White Sox tickets. If not we're just going to go and sit in the cheap seats. It's an evening game so hopefully most of the time Henry will be asleep. The last time we tried to leave Henry with a babysitter he wouldn't take a bottle and i had to come home early. Now that he's been taking one three times a day at daycare it shouldn't be such a big deal (keeping my fingers crossed!)

3 Months 16 Days

I didn't want to say anything for fear of jinxing it, but for the past several nights, Henry has slept from 7 pm until i feed him at 10 and then straight through until 6 am. Eventually we're going to try to get him to sleep until 7 am, but right now i think things are about as good as anyone could want with a 3.5 month old.

When i was dropping H off at Ms. Brenda's today, i asked if he was still crying very long when he takes his naps. She looked shocked and explained that no, he just coos and plays with his hands and falls asleep. I got to see something similar tonight when i put him down for bed. He was fussing a bit in my arms but when i put him down he quieted right down and sucked his fingers until he fell asleep-- i really love these hands of his!

When i picked him up this afternoon Brenda told me that he had taken three good naps and just cooed and smiled all day long. When i got there he was sitting in his carseat in the middle of all the older kids who were practicing buttoning buttons and tieing ties, zipping zippers, etc. He was looking all around and smiling and they were talking to him just like he was one of the big kids. I'm going to have to start bringing my camera to pick him up!

3 Months 15 Days

Another good day with Henry. He took two long naps at daycare and was all smiles and giggles this evening. He went to bed easily but we'll see how the night goes.

Something i'm glad we've been able to continue even while sleep training is our morning feeding ritual. Most days Henry wakes up at 6 am and i go get him from his crib. This is when JT gets up, so i bring Henry to bed and he eats and we both fall back asleep. I get up a little after 7 but sometimes Henry continues to sleep while i shower and eat breakfast. It's such a lovely start to the day.

Henry rolled over for the first time today. He was on his stomach on his playmat and looking far off to the right and that big ole' head just carried him on over to his back. He seems to be moving around more in his crib too. I'm going in to take the bumpers off the crib before i feed him. A baby on the message board for babies born in April just died of SIDS and besides feeling very sad, i'm feeling more paranoid about Henry while he's sleeping.

Calm before the storm...

Everyone tells you that just as soon as you get things under control with kids everything changes. I can't tell you how many parents drilled that into me starting when they first found out i was pregnant. I'm sure it's completely accurate advice but now i've gotten completely freaked out that because things are starting to, dare i say, feel like they've settled into a routine, life is about to shake up again. Maybe we'll get even just a little longer to enjoy things like they are.

I took today to size up where we are with Henry and it's a fun place to be. H seems to love Ms. Brenda and being with the other kids at daycare. I'm happy to be back at work and enjoying having some structure to my day. Henry is all happy and smiles after work and goes to bed pretty promptly at 7 pm. We still haven't quite gotten to the sleeping all night point but otherwise things are looking good. I've even resumed some of my evening activities-- including my ballet class.

Lately when Henry is eating in the evening he'll look up at me and flash a big smile and then turn his head coyly into my arm. He's turning into quite a charmer and working on cooing and talking all the time now.

Inspired

I'm can't promise it will last, but i've been inspired to try to write about Henry's life on a more daily basis. This way i can record the small details of parenting and Henry's babyhood without trying to wrap all of his accomplishments up in a pithy email every month or so.

To that end i'll tell you a little bit about Henry's day. Today was Sunday so H-money was with us all day. We've been working on getting him to flip-flop his 3-4 hour and 7-8 hour stints at night so that his longest sleep shift coincides with when i'm actually asleep. I think we've had some progress with that but to be honest i can't tell because i think i might be sleeping through his crying now. Typically i feed him at around 10 and he goes right back to sleep. Then i get myself in bed and go to sleep by 10:45 or so. The last two nights he's woken up at 2 am but i just go in and tell him he needs to go back to sleep. I know he cries a bit before falling back to sleep, but i can't say for sure if he's then just sleeping until 6 or 7 or if he's crying during the night and i can't hear him. I find i'm a sounder sleeper now-- because i have to be i think.

He woke up at 6 this morning and i brought him into bed to feed him. Oftentimes we'll both fall back asleep until 8 or 9 but this morning he was fully awake, laughing and happy. Thankfully JT got up with him and they played together until i got up around 8. By then it was about time for a nap for Henry but we went out for brunch afterwards at a neighborhood restaurant. It's so nice now that Henry can go out with us (on well-timed outings) and entertain himself by attempting to shove his entire fist in his mouth or playing with a toy.

His naps for the rest of the day were brief or non-existent so he was one tired little guy by 7 tonight. When i put him down he only fussed a minute or two and fell asleep. We'll see what the night brings.

One other note, i decided to try giving him a bath in his little bathtub tonight. We used the little tub when he was first born and he absolutely hated it. He didn't really mind it tonight but it was not very convenient so we're going back to having him take baths with me or JT from now on.

15 Week Update

Henry is getting close to the 4 month mark and has been continuing to make progress on a number of fronts. He is sleeping so much better now it's amazing. He routinely sleeps 7-9 hour stretches at night and is napping 1 to 1.5 hours during the day (at least at daycare!) He still cries to wind himself down but now the sound is muffled because his hands are jammed in his mouth.

Henry is obsessed with his hands. He likes to hold them together in front of his chest and can very easily get them in his mouth where he likes to suck away on them. He can hold toys and wave them around and likes to sit-up (assisted) rather than lay down. He enjoys being bounced on the knee and will stand up and hold his head when you hold his hands.

He's doing wonderfully with Miss Brenda; enjoying watching the other kids and sleeping well. He's also been guzzling down his bottles over there and really growing. H will have his 4 month appointment soon with the Ped so we'll get to see just how much he weighs now. There are a few new pictures on the yahoo site!