Three Months!

Dear Owen,

We made it through the fourth trimester!  I read so many articles and books that told me about what the first three months would be like and they were all pretty dead on.  You seem closer to being a little boy rather than that newborn baby that we brought home from the hospital.  You are changing every day right before our eyes.  It's been amazing to watch you grow and develop this personality that you have. You continue to "talk" to us all the time by grunting, laughing, and making other funny little noises and sounds.  You are a loud little dude!  You have started to kind of hold us back when we pick you up.  The only time you like to be cradle held is when you are eating.  Otherwise, you want to be upright and are getting very interested in all the action in your world.  It's truly fun for Dad and I to watch you start to explore life in your own way.

You love to take baths.  It's our surefire way to get you to calm down if you've just overdone yourself during the day.  You kick and splash, smile and laugh at us.  We even brought the phone in the other night so you could do Facetime with your Grandpa River and Grandma Bean.  You stared right at my phone as they were talking to you and showed off all your fun bathtime moves.  They loved it!  It's amazing to watch you be able to grow up with that kind of technology and get to "see" them whenever you want to.

Sadly, during this last month you picked up a new "skill" and really found your voice with a few inconsolable crying spells.  You've done it now twice when we've been away from home and it's hard because we try everything and it's really hard to get you to calm down.  I'm guessing, since you can't tell us what's wrong yet, that you're just going through some intense growth spurts.  You weighed 12lbs 9oz at your 2 month doctor appointment and then had a few rough cries that following week.  When I weighed you 10 days later, the scale said 14lbs 3oz so I think the more than a pound and a half that you gained must have had something to do with it.  It's mostly sad for Daddy and me because you really sound like you're in pain when you get upset like that.

You're gaining weight like a champ, which is very comforting after your roller coaster first month of life.  You continue to be a very big boy and people are always surprised to find out that you are as young as you are.  You're so happy and most of the time when we're out, you are alert and staring at everyone.  People always tell us how smart you look and hopefully they are right!

You reached out and touched Higgins for the first time the other day.  I'm not sure just how purposeful it was because you kind of grab for everything but I'm excited to see your friendship blooming over the coming years.  Milo is still mostly indifferent to you but Higgs will always follow me into your room and I have to shoo him out when it's time for you to take a nap.

Speaking of naps, you're settling into a nice pattern of eating, playing and napping during the day.  You have been napping a bit in your crib and doing really well.  You still sleep overnight in your Rock N Play and probably our best development of all is that you mostly sleep from 8:30-9 until 7:00-8:00 in the morning.  Around 10 weeks, we went to the coast and you were so worn out from everything that you slept on until the morning.  I mostly had to learn that you will grunt and grunt and grunt in your sleep but you sound differently when you're awake and getting hungry.  My favorite thing about you is that you rarely wake up crying, just more continuously noisy.

In the middle of the month, we went to San Antonio for 10 days.  During our trip, we went to the beach to celebrate your Grandpa River's 60th birthday.  You gave him a great book that made him cry.  It's called I Love My Grandpa and it's perfect because it's all about Little Bear and Grandpa Bear.  When we got back from the beach, you stayed over night with River and Bean for 3 nights while Daddy and I were at a convention for Dad's work.  It was kind of an experiment because I was only 20 minutes away if I needed to come back but you did wonderfully and continued sleeping through the night for them.  You went to work with Grandpa River and met all of the people he works with.  Apparently, they all still ask about you.  I'm glad it went well and I know next summer you'll probably go down to San Antonio for longer to hang out at "Camp".  You also started going to Child Watch at the YMCA while I teach or work out and the church nursery on Sundays.  The ladies who watch you all seem to love you and you are always happy when we come to pick you up.

We had such a great month with you!  I can't believe how big you are getting and how much fun you are for us every day.  Your smile is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen and the way your face lights up when you're happy (which is quite often) is the best!  I can't wait to see what your fourth month is like.

Love,
Mommy

Stats and Milestones:

Height and Weight:  measured at home on 7/30- 25 inches and 16 lbs 8 oz

Diaper Size:  2's but we are just using what we have.  You have to wear a 3 at night or else we end up with a major leakage. 

Clothing Size:  mostly 3-6 months or 6-9.  your three month clothes are too small, which is sad!

First day at Child Watch at the YMCA:  July 1
First trip to the beach:  July 13th

First nights away from Mommy and Daddy:  July 14-16th
First time in the church nursery:  July 21

You sleep through the night!  Bedtime is between 8:30-9:00 and you don't usually wake until after 7:00 a.m.  We are so thankful for this.  You still love your Woombie and Rock N Play sleeper for nighttime.      

You are eating between 36-40 oz a day. You eat anywhere from 4-8 oz at a time just depending on how long it's been since you last ate.  
Generally, your routine has fallen into Eat, Play, Sleep.  You are happy for about 90 min-2 hours awake and then nap for 30-45 minutes.  You eat every 2.5-4.5 hours.  

You are doing great with tummy time and can push up onto your little forearms for awhile and even your hands for a second or two.  You like to roll over with some assistance and rolled over completely by yourself for the first time yesterday.  On your back, you play in your activity gym for 30 minutes-1 hour happily grabbing all your toys.  

Nicknames:  Owen Bear, Mr. Bear, Beary-Boo, Mr. O

Things you love:  your swaddle at night, naps in your quiet room in your crib, your Rock N Play sleeper for night time, your toys especially ones that have rings you can grab onto and really hold, taking down bottles like a champ, your hands (O- you are enamored with your hands and gave yourself a hickey this week), the Owen book that the Edwards Family gave you, Snuggle Puppy

Things you don't love:  when you finish a bottle, when you are alone for awhile you get lonely and cry for us, tummy time for more than about 12 minutes, diaper changes