Joshua is 3 months old!

I know he won't be officially be 3 months old for another 5 hours but I won't be up at 1:58 to post it so I'm doing it now. So, 3 months ago at this exact time I was lying in a hospital bed drugged up with my epidural and happy. I was contracting away and probably about 8-9 cm dilated. I can't believe it has been 3 months. It doesn't exactly feel like yesterday but it doesn't feel like it's been 3 months either. I know, I'll be saying that for the next 18 years.

So you may or may not know this past week has been a rough one. Joshua was going through the 12 week or 3 month growth spurt. While he did have 2 days he spent mostly sleeping the other days he spent mostly eating or sleeping in my lap and if I tried to move him he'd cry, so I didn't get much done. I think that's over now though, he has been a very happy baby today which of course makes Jamie & I very happy as well.

I don't know exactly how much he weighs but if we go by his past weight gains then he should be up to 12 lbs by now, maybe even 13, he's heavy! I do know that he is 24 inches long which is 4 inches in the past 3 months and since babies are supposed to grow 1 inch per month that is very good. He has outgrown just about all of his 0-3 month clothes. I had already packed up the newborn sized but now I've had to pack up those as well. Kinda sad but I'm excited he's wearing 3-6 month sized now because he has some really cute stuff in this new size. I am now buying 6-9 month sized in anticipation for his next growth spurt which is supposed to be at 6 months. He has started sucking his hands and tries to suck on his thumb or any finger really but hasn't quite figured out how to do it, he's not quite that coordinated yet.

He is mostly sleeping through the night! I say mostly because most nights he wakes up in the middle of the night but goes right back to sleep. Some nights he has to be fed but that's okay because a lot of babies don't sleep through the night this early.

I am still nursing and I am so happy about it. In the beginning it was quite a struggle. I was pumping and he wasn't nursing much at all but with persistance and dedication he has become a good nurser. He eats every 2-3 hours, usually every 3 but it tends to be more at night. When he does drink from a bottle he'll drink between 4 & 6 ounces. He is definately a comfort nurser which is fine. It means that he uses it not only for nourishment but when he is tired or overstimulated because it's comforting and familiar to him. It's not a bad habit but it's like when we read or do other things to relax ourselves, he does the same thing with nursing. It's also probably the reason he may seem like he wants to eat more when we're at my mother-in-law's because that is unfamiliar but nursing is. I am so glad I can be there for him like that. It's very important to me and it's a bond that I really want to share with him. I hope to go the full year, it will also save me lots of $ on formula.

Earlier this month we had started planning a trip up to CT & NY but we changed our plans. Joshua used to like riding in the car but now not so much. I really don't know why but I don't want to drive or fly with a crying or screaming baby so I guess it's just not in the cards for us right now. I am hoping my brother will be able to come down and visit us, maybe next month but I know he's busy so it may not happen. I think we will have to start bringing the baby carrier (where he is on your chest) to the store because he hasn't liked being in his car seat at all lately so we've had to carry him around when we go shopping. The only time he's happy in his car seat is usually when he's asleep. Hopefully this is just a phase. I am supposed to be taking him to storytime at the library tomorow but I am kind of nervous about it because of the way he has been in the car lately. I took him out on Thursday and he screamed a good bit of the time in the car. At least when we all go out I can sit in the back with him and that seems to calm him usually. Oh well, not sure if I'm going to go but if I do wish me luck.

Joshua seems to be happiest when he's at home with us. His favorite place to nap is in my lap. He has the sweetest smile that just melts my heart. I really do love him more every day and while I'm sad he's growing up I'm excited at the same time about the milestones coming up. I'm hoping to get him a Jumperoo soon because he loves to kick so I think he will like jumping in it. Lately when we give him a bath he kicks and kicks in the water. I'm also looking forward to this summer and taking him to the beach & the pool. We have already made our vacation plans for this summer and will be in Myrtle Beach the first week in June.

Here's some more big news for ya, we went to Synagogue this past Friday! I can't believe how long it had been since I had gone. I really enjoyed it. I like the congregation and the Rabbi. He came to see us at the hospital when Joshua was born and both Jamie & I liked him a lot. I plan to go again and am going to talk to him about having Joshua named there.

Valentine's Day - Whatever!

Here is how my Valentine's Day went. We got up and prepared to go to Wal-Mart. I had just nursed Joshua so his belly should have been full, well he said otherwise. He was crying so I fed him a small bottle on the way to Wal-Mart. When we got there and the bottle was empty he was still crying so I attempted to nurse him in the front seat of the car. I couldn't get him latched. I didn't have my nipple shield and he was screaming. I had to hand express some into his mouth for him to finally take it. He fell asleep after a few minutes so I suspect he wasn't really hungry. I pulled him off and he woke up and then started screaming. I couldn't get him latched back on. So we decided to leave.

He was fine in the car on the way home but I was afraid he would start crying in the store with us having a cart full of groceries and getting dirty looks from people. We came home and he started fussing so I fed him. He then slept for 4 hours! He woke up and was fed and then went back to sleep.

We went out to dinner, IHOP, while we were there he started fussing so we fed him a bottle. He didn't finish it, had some in the car but still didn't finish it by the time we got back to Wal-Mart (we had to go to get my prescription). We had to finish feeding him the bottle in the store. Even when he finished it he was still fussing. He wanted to be carried around Wal-Mart. So Jamie had to carry him around the store until we were just about done.

We came home and I got in the shower. Joshua started crying while I was in the shower acting like he was hungry. I had just fed him before I got in the shower. I fed him some when I got out but then he started screaming while I was trying to feed him so he wasn't hungry. I was so tired by this point in the day, it had already been a very long one. I just broke down in tears and Jamie took Joshua walking around the house. Apparently he burped like 8 times. He was finally able to put him down in his chair and he played for a bit before going to sleep.

During the last time when he was screaming and wouldn't nurse I was quite upset. Jamie accused me of making Joshua upset. So of course that made me more upset, something he doesn't seem to understand. He thinks he can somehow help me realize how I am acting and then maybe I won't act that way anymore. Yeah, right. First, even if I had the kind of personality that was relaxed in stressful situations I wouldn't expect to be that way when my baby is crying or screaming. Since I don't have that kind of personality I am going to be more stressed out when the baby is stressed. While I do realize this doesn't help the situation it's not like I can change my personality overnight or anything and by the time I did change it he would probably be out of this phase anyway. Oh well. I'm just glad the day is over. I'm going to bed. BTW, those are his baby legs he's wearing in the picture. Check out their website to learn more about them. http://www.babylegs.com/