For some reason, I have been waiting for the 3 month old mark with excitement as everyone would tell me "the first 3 months are the hardest." And it's true...it really does get easier. Here's what's going on with Cooper at 3 months:
Eating: I am starting to transition him to a 4 hour eating schedule instead of 3 hours and that makes a world of difference for me! I'm nursing him about 5 times a day instead of 8 so it saves so much time. He sometimes wants to eat at 3 hours but so far he is doing well with eating every 4 hours. It still takes him 40 minutes to nurse and I'm still waiting for him to get quicker at that. I still struggle with low milk supply but I'm not near as stressed about it as I was at the beginning. It is true that some women just don't have as much milk and without getting into too many details, it's obvious that I don't have as much as most women. I have tried EVERYTHING to help increase my milk supply..including nursing him around the clock and nothing has helped. For any other women who struggle with low milk, please don't feel guilty or bad if you have to supplement! I felt badly for the first month and it made me way more stressed which is not what I needed at the time. I'm thankful for the moms who reached out to me at the beginning with their struggle with breast feeding/low milk and it was so encouraging! My doctor told me that two thirds of his moms have to supplement and if I didn't supplement, Cooper would have to go to the hospital to get an IV (since he was losing weight). All that to say, some women have to supplement and it is OKAY! :)
Sleeping: Cooper is sleeping so good at night! Last night he slept a record of 10 hours straight...yay! He usually averages about 8 hours a night but the past week he has been sleeping about 8-10 hours so he is improving. I'm hoping by the end of the month he'll be sleeping 11-12 hours...maybe wishful thinking :)
Napping: Cooper is a horrible napper! I guess it's a trade off since he's sleeping so well at night. His naps usually are not longer than 30 minutes. It gets very frustrating and discouraging to me since I really can't get anything done since he doesn't nap well anymore. I have tried putting him down later, putting him down earlier, letting him cry it out, going to comfort him...pretty much anything I can think of, but he just won't go back to sleep after he wakes up. I always put him down well fed, and changed so that couldn't be it either. Sometimes, he doesn't even seem that tired. I'm at a loss...any moms have suggestions to help him nap longer??
Temperament: Cooper is the sweetest baby! He is so smiley and seems to smile every time I talk to him. He is so happy in the mornings when he wakes up and smiles so much when I start talking to him after he wakes up. He just melts my heart! He is not near as fussy as he was before...he mainly fusses when he's hungry (which he is hungry a lot). And then after he eats he is back to smiling nonstop. He still has acid reflux and is taking medication for it, which seems to help. He spits up non stop which is the most frustrating part, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him like before. I still pray everyday for healing from this reflux. Sometimes I think that is what wakes him up from naps as he has spit up all over him, but not sure why that wouldn't wake him up during the night?
Size: Cooper is just starting to grow out of his newborn clothes. Yes, I know he's 3 months old, he's just not a huge baby...yet :) He is wearing 0-3 and 3 month clothes now. He is also wearing size 1 diapers. I didn't think I would be as sad as I felt when I was packing up his newborn clothes, since I've been waiting for him to grow out of them for awhile...but I was sad :( I couldn't believe these clothes he would never wear again. My baby really is growing too fast!
Likes: Going on our daily walks (unless it's rainy or too cold), nursing, being read to, being sung to, watching the TV, being talked to, car rides (for the most part), baths, Aggie football!!
Dislikes: The Swing, napping, being left alone for too long, being hungry (but who does like that?)
Milestones: Cooper rolled over this month! He was 10 weeks old and it was way cute. He also went to the church nursery for the first time and did great! I hope to do another post on some other small "firsts" of Cooper's :)
We love our sweet boy SO much and are thankful for how much joy he brings to our lives!
Love to keep up with the day to day progression and changes with Cooper and your joys and challenges as a mom. I look forward to reading your posts. Cooper is so blessed to have you and Justin as his parents. He is so adorable. Love, "Mimi Cummings"
ReplyDeleteHe is so cute! I don't have any advice for the naps - sounds like you have already tried everything. It is very frustrating when they are that short because it is not really long enough to get anything accomplished besides going to the bathroom and getting a snack :). However, I will say, babies change so quickly so don't stress too much if something is not working because in another month it may be a different story. Next month he may be taking great naps. But then he may randomly start waking up more at night, ha! At least that is how Cambry is - she is always changing - so at least if something is really challenging I know that it probably won't last that long. That challenge will get better soon, and ill get a different challenge :) Babies keep you on your toes like that.
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