miles.tones - three months

My sweet son has hit Three Months and with that sails out of the newborn phase forever....

This little Bear is winning every award there is for 'Most Contented Baby'. He is just so happy, so chilled, so calm.... soothes this mama's soul, I tell you what! He is a source of joy and delight for our whole family.

Happy Three Months, Little Miles!

Routine

Miles is still on a three hour routine and doing well. He is still sleeping through the night almost always and napping in two hour blocks during the day. So he is pretty much up for an hour then down for two hours, though I am starting to stretch out his wake times a little to 60-75 minutes... or as much as he can handle cheerfully! Kid likes his sleep :)

Here is his current daily routine which I thought I would record before he extends it (now he is a grown up boy and no longer a newborn)! It is a guide, more or less, of course - he is not a robot!

7.30am - wake, feed, play
8.30am - nap
10.30am - wake, feed, play
11.30am - nap
1.30pm - wake, feed, play
2.30pm - nap
4.30pm - wake, feed, play
5.30pm - catnap
6pm - wake, feed, play
7/7.30pm - bedtime
9pm - dreamfeed
11pm - dreamfeed then sleeps till next morning... rinse and repeat!


Shortly, I am going to try to drop the 9pm dreamfeed and instead give him a top up feed about 7.30pm before he goes down to sleep, then just the 11pm dream feed and then letting him sleep overnight. Also, due to life with two older siblings, I often have to wake him by 10am to go out somewhere, so that brings the routine forward half an hour and we just adjust during the day, usually by lengthening the catnap.

Breastfeeding is going fine (except I got another mild dose of mastitis last week - ugh!). He is a fast feeder like his siblings, never more than 5-10 minutes!

Relaxing after working so hard to reach three months!

Miles.tones and More...

He is cooing, gurgling, smiling and really chuckling. I just adore hearing his gaspy little laugh, and when he catches my eye and bursts into a huge cheesy grin, it's simply magic. Every mother knows how charming it is to see your baby express such simple joy at this age! It is just gorgeous and the kids are loving being able to interact with him more and more. They take great pleasure and satisfaction in eliciting laughs and smiles, and Miles is a very long-suffering babe enduring their well-intentioned cuddles, tickles and so on.

He has started batting his little fists about over the last few weeks or so. Trying to touch things but not quite able to open his little fists and grasp them yet. (Well, actually he has just started doing that a bit just in the last couple days, but I will focus on the past month). A week or two ago, we had the cutest little time together. We were snuggling in my bed, lying down and looking at each other, and he was flailing his little fists about in my face for about 15 minutes! Getting pummeled in the face is not usually my idea of a good time, but coming from my sweet baby, it was pretty darn adorable! We were just staring at each other while his little fists bumped all over my face like fluttering butterflies - it felt like he was just wanted to explore and connect with me. Awww, bonding time. Love it.

He is such a contented little baby. He happily plays on his activity mat two or three times a day, just staring at the toys, batting his fists and laughing at himself in the mirror. He will merrily kick around there for 30-45 mins - such a blessing when I have the other two kiddos to chase after as well! I have also been reading a lot of Janet Lansbury's articles on the benefits of free play for babies (and children of course - I'm already a big fan of that!), and it has really encouraged me to see how babies enjoy learning about their world and exploring their growing skills independently (and in their own time - we don't need to push them!). I don't need to stimulate or get involved when he is happy playing independently. He is plenty capable of making his own fun - even at this age! With two doting older siblings and, of course, all my cuddles as well, there is plenty of snuggles and interaction, but I'm also happy to give him space too to just 'do his own thing' - I love observing him lost in his own world staring at a ceiling light or toy, laughing at himself in a mirror or just punching his little legs and arms around!

Yessssss, I'm three months old!

So those incredible first three months are now over. A little sad as it is admittedly one of my favourite phases, when they are so teeny and snuggly and new. No more newborns here... ever? It is a strange thing to recognise - the end of a precious era (she says as she eagerly gives away all the baby gear, haha).

It feels like he has always been here and yet it also seems to have flown by. Was it really only three months ago that we didn't even know this beautiful little person who is now so seamlessly a part of our family? Funny how that happens! Family life seems to have so easily adjusted around our newest member...  like it could never have been any other way.


Baby Miles, we love you so!




A little collage of three months with Miles...