Owen 3 months: Sept. 7th

 
Another month? Honestly this is crazy! Being pregnant took forever and now I don't even have a newborn. I have a big baby! Everyone comments that Owen looks like a 6-8 month old baby. I love love his chunkiness, but I miss his newness.

We are settling a little bit more into a routine. I feel like I am starting to know when he needs to nap vs eat, or just have some time in his swing. He is still colicky, but ever since starting his medicine he is much much better. He no longer has the chunky cottage cheese acid spit up, and he seems less fussy and smiles more. Although, giving him his medicine is the worst thing in the entire world. He is so good at spitting it out, so you have to squeeze his little cheeks so hard to make him swallow. It's enough to make me cry (Janeen and Courtney could back me up!)

Our daily schedule goes roughly like this:

Wake up at 8am, feed, play, nap at 9:30. Sleep for 30-45 min by himself in his crib while I rush and shower, or try and getting something productive done, then he wakes up and I hold him for the next 45 min so he gets a long enough nap. 12:00pm feed, play, nap (usually in swing or maybe me holding him again). This continues until about 7:00ish where I bath him (still with him or he cries) feed him, then put him to bed around 8 or 9. He usually goes anywhere for 3-4 hours for first stretch (one time he did 5.5, but it was just once.) Then wakes up every 2-3 for the rest of the night. But I am getting much more used to the middle of the night feedings, and now he goes right back to sleep after eating which is way better than having to rock/sing him to sleep for 30 minutes before he goes back to sleep. Around his 2nd or 3rd waking for the night, he usually is tired of sleeping in his rock n play and fusses/grunts until I pick up him and I go sleep on the couch *with/near him.

*So I was like 1 million percent against co-sleeping, (deathly afraid of SIDS in this house) so I don't let him come in my bed, but I just got so tired and he sleeps next to me on the ottoman with no blankets or pillows around his face and perpendicular to me where I hold his feet so he doesn't randomly roll somewhere. I know this isn't the best, but we get so much more sleep this way! No judging until you have a colicky newborn!

Morning stretch!

He is definitely still a high maintenance baby, and requires bouncing on the exercise ball several times a day. I love that thing and I hate that thing! It is definitely his favorite form of comfort.

He still needs to be swaddled or his hands rub all over his face and wake him up, but he is so big and strong I can't do a swaddle tight enough anymore. We bought one of the velcro ones, but by the time I remembered to try it he had already grown out of it. He also needs his soother to fall asleep. He gets calmed so quickly by it.. its a little miracle worker. 

He has always been a pretty good eater, hence his 95% percentile stats, but for awhile around month 2, I had to feed him while walking around the apartment and bouncing him in order for him to be soothed enough to eat.... poor little guy.  Thank goodness for prevacid and thank goodness that stage is mostly over.

Owen and Steph's baby Grace hanging out at Liberty park together! (She is 5 months and Owen is 2 months)

There is just so much to learn once having a baby. Breastfeeding was definitely not an easy feat at first. It is SO worth it and I'm glad I stuck to it. But at first, Brian was like don't you kinda just know how to do this? Or can't you just tell when your boob is empty and he has eaten enough? I was like uhh no?! It is natural and un-natural all at the same time. Definitely a learning process. Also, having to be ready to feed every 2 hours is not a large window of time by yourself. And it's painful in the beginning! And Owen had to be kind of guided on to latch for the first few months and he would break every few minutes (well he still does that) Exhausting! And I hate nursing covers! But.. that little sound sounds he makes when he latches. (arhm arhm arhm) and his little wagging face makes it all worth it. It is getting so so much easier now! I would say by week 10 I realized it wasn't hard anymore. He can pretty much latch himself and support so much more of his weight that it got way easier. I really enjoy it now and hope to do it for a year!

Owen is so strong. One day just after he turned 2 months, Brian put him on the ground and we realized he could already support his weight! No more wobbly, squishy newborn!

This month Owen:

• can hold up his head on his own, he only bobbles a little
• can support his weight with his legs
• enjoys sucking on his fist
• smiles most on his changing pad
• enjoys his fingers being nibbled
• likes patty cake and popcorn popping (likes being sung too)
• loves bouncing on pink exercise ball
• nurses with one arm up. across his face
• really likes attention and not being left alone. wants me to stare at him all day. It's not too tough of a job just tricky while driving, showering, or trying to get anything productive done
• still colicky but learned how to smile this month. i love the gummies! never get teeth!
• doesn't like tummy time anymore
• now loves his baths. he just kicks and splashes and is so happy

He mostly has a grumpy face (top left), but if I try I can get him to smile if he has napped and fed. Actually he is getting way more smiley these days and it is so fun!

busting out of his 3-6 month white onesie already!

All I want is for Owen to take pictures with me!

Hi smiley baby! The picture below was when Cassie met Owen for the first time. It was like a breath of fresh air because she had a colicky baby too. She just knew exactly how to hold him and went straight to the exercise ball. I didn't have to worry about him crying and she liked him anyways and just understood. I think that is the worst part of having a colicky baby, I just want everyone to like him. I'm so worried he will just cry the whole time when someone meets him. I want everyone to just hold him and have him smile the whole time!



Oh hey baby! You work that baby leg!

I realized I didn't have any naked bum pics yet the other day!  THE BEST!

Owen has been having a lot of blowouts this month. I had to wash those giraffe pyjamas 3x and soak in oxy-clean and they still have a stain! Owen's 2nd time to church he had another great blow out! Brian offered to change him, but then he had to end up changing him in the sink because the Men's bathroom doesn't have a changing table. What era are we living in anyways?!

Our good friends Mollie and Steve visited us this month with their cutest, happiest, baby Brooks. It was so so fun to have them and Owen and Brooks are just going to be the best of friends! Also my sister Janeen and her husband Cody came for Sept long weekend. They are like the best aunt and uncle ever because they think everything Owen does is cute and they aren't even mad when he cries! I love having company!! My mom and dad also bought Owen the cutest crib and changing table and I finally feel like he has a nursery! Let the nesting finally begin! Brian had to test it out to see if it was comfy enough for Owen. More pictures to come when it's all the way done!

Happy baby sleeping because he is sleeper being held by Aunt Janeen. So tender, only wish he would be this happy sleeping in his crib!

This picture is Owen in Lake Tulloch. At the end of August we went on a Van Blerkom family vacation and we had a house right on the lake. It was so so much fun, although traveling is definitely a little more work than it used to be. Can you even handle that baby rashguard. Thanks Annabel! I hope it fits next summer too.. haha in my dreams!

 And just a few more pictures, because I had a hard time choosing my favorite 3 month picture of him :)