Life Lately with the Smiths: March 2014

Month Three

Landon William you are 3 months old (8 days ago...I'm behind). I have to say these last 4 weeks have been a combination of pretty brutal and amazingly awesome. You are very tough in some respects (sleep, my dear child), but such a sweetheart when you are full and well-rested. It has been so neat to see all the new things you are learning. You amaze us every day and we can't wait to watch you continue to grow!

At three months you:

Weighs 13 lbs 3 oz.
Are about 25 inches long
Still have a decently big head but you hair on top of your head it back!
Your hair is still dark brown with a slight wave to it. Your eyes are definitely dark brown and your eyelashes would make any girl super jealous.
Are eating about every 3-4 hours (still only nursing at this point, no bottles yet because mommy is a little lazy about pumping and bottles...)
"Play" for about 45-60 minutes after you eat and then are ready for a "nap." I put nap in quotes because you have decided to rebel against naps even though you are exhausted much of each day. You have been napping either in your Rock n' Play upstairs, sometimes in the swing, and sometimes in the car and stroller. You "nap" anywhere from 20-45 minutes, which is definitely not long enough because you usually wake up pretty cranky. We're trying to figure out how to help you nap a little longer, but I think it will just come with age.
Sleep in the Rock n' Play next to mommy's side of the bed. We will try the Pack N' Play again soon but not until you are sleeping consistently well in your RNP and/or you grow out of your RNP. You go to sleep for the night around 7:30 (give or take 45 minutes). You generally wake up every 3-4 hours to eat, sometimes a little longer. You eat and go right back to sleep. A typical night is usually; up at 10pm, 1am, 4am, 5:30am, then up for good around 7am.
Sleeping is not your forte, my love!
Wear 3 month outfits and some 3-6 outfits.
Wear size 2 diapers still (switched to size 3 at about 14 weeks).
Still like, not love, your MAM paci. You use it in the car, when you are trying to fall asleep, and when you are really upset.
Are a drooling fool! We're not sure if it's just extra saliva or if you are working on some teeth in the near future. You constantly have your hands in your mouth and you have to wear a bib some of the time because you soak your clothes!
Are really starting to interact with your toys (see post about your Big Boy toys)
Love to be bounced/rocked to sleep in someone's arms. You like to be sung to as you're falling asleep. I've been singing Frere Jacques with my own words. It goes a little something like this:

"Are you sleepy? Are you sleepy, baby Landon? Baby Landon? It is time for sleeping. It is time for dreaming. Yes, it is. Yes, it is." I'm trying to telepathically let this sweet boy know when it is time to sleep.

Love to have time with daddy in the mornings. He carries you around the kitchen while he's making breakfast and then you guys play while mommy sleeps a little more :)
Still love to ride in the car and you still like your stroller. You sleep well in the car and OK in the stroller. Both need to be going fast for you to stay asleep. If the stroller stops, you want OUT!
Still love to take a bath with mommy and are starting to enjoy a bath in your own bathtub. You kick and splash all around while you smile and laugh. It's adorable!
Got to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, you little quarter-Irish boy :)
Took your first trip to the OBX with mommy, Grammy, and Papa.
Have earned the following nicknames: Bug, Love Bug, Stinky, Monkey, Sweet Boy, Boo Boo
Were diagnosed with eczema right around your 3 month bday. We have some prescription cream and we have to grease you up with Vaseline. It is WAY better than it was a couple weeks ago.

My favorite part of this month has been watching you change from a newborn to a playful baby. You smile and "talk" to us all the time (going to post some videos of this soon) and we are starting to be able to really play with you. You are just so sweet and are so alert. You take in all your surroundings and when we look at you, we just want to kiss and hug you because you are so adorable and lovable! We truly cannot imagine a day without you; you make everything better!

The most challenging part of this month has been your sleeping--or lack thereof. We know this will come with time, but DANG are we exhausted! Since you have trouble staying asleep, you are often cranky during the day, which is hard on you and mama! Sometimes we just have to leave the house and drive so that you can get a decent nap. I feel like I spend literally half of each day trying to get you to sleep, or keeping you asleep. It's exhausting! Mama needs naps too. You know, if you ever napped. ;) We are also looking forward to longer stretches at night, but again, we know this will all come with time. We know you're doing the best you can and this too shall pass.

Here are some pictures of you this month. Thank you for being such a sweet, lovable babe. We are so proud to call you ours:

Rock n' Play. You like it more than your face here lets on ;)

Staying warm before bath time!

We love to stare and smile at each other :)

Morning snuggles with mommy and daddy

Almost found his thumb!

Lunch at Panera with our friend, Stephanie!

Nap? Who takes naps? This is often when I see when I look at the monitor during "nap time." Good thing he's so cute ;)

We play on the floor a lot. And take selfies.

And he picks my nose.

Sleeping in bed with us after he work up approximately 8-10 times that night. Look at his sweet hand by his face.

Love his hands. And his crazy hair.

Lunch at McAlister's with Julie!

Visiting daddy at work!

Babywearing

Before I got pregnant, I thought I would wear my baby allll the time. I thought it would be so easy to carry him around and go about my daily life. Well, I have found that babywearing is a) not all it's cracked up to be, b) not comfortable for very long, and c) very hit or miss with the babe.

My sister lent me her Moby wrap and her Bjorn. The Moby wrap is just too much fabric for me. Too complicated for when you want to quickly put on your baby. I like the Bjorn but a) it gets uncomfortable quickly and b) the version my sister had is what people now call a "crotch dangler" (totally not making this up). Essentially, I think that means it keeps their hips in a bad position and can lead to hip dysplasia (probably if you wear them for hours upon hours...). Landon liked the Bjorn both forwards and facing in but my back can't take much of it.

Riding around in Costco!

Lots of people recommended the Ergo and my mom very generously bought it for me. And I really don't like it. And neither does Landon. So we are returning it. I found it to be clunky, hard to put on and take off by myself, and Landon only liked it one time (when we were walking near the sound at the OBX) and even then, he didn't like it for long. He got really hot it there!

I am now currently using the Baby K'Tan and I really like it. It's similar to the Moby but MUCH less wrapping. Landon seems to really like this wrap and he can face inward or outward. Eventually he can also ride on my hip! The only downside is that you have to buy this wrap in a certain size, you can't adjust it once you have it like you can the Bjorn and Ergo. I bought a medium but I am returning it for a small because once he gets in there, he stretches it out and if it's too big, he starts to sag really low which puts a lot of pressure on my shoulders and back. But, overall, I still really like this one!


The white thing is his burp cloth to catch the non-stop drool! I don't have a pic of him facing inward yet.

So, all in all, babywearing has been a little more complicated and a lot less comfortable than I expected! No matter which carrier I've tried, I am always ready to take it off after about 30-45 minutes. I'd still like to try a couple more carriers. Maybe I'll find the perfect carrier before Landon is too big to even be in a carrier!!

Big Boy Toys

Landon has great head and neck control and loves to be upright. Because of this, we have been trying out some new big boy toys and he seems to be enjoying them-- some more than others!

We were visiting my friend, Nicole, and she let Landon try out her Bumbo seat. He did great and sat and watched Nicole's daughter eat her lunch! He stayed in it for about 15 minutes and only needed minimal support from me.

He seems to like his play mat that my Aunt Brenda got him! He looks at all the objects with huge eyes and really loves the music part of it!

We have also busted out some of my sister's old toys that her kids used and loved. Landon likes each of these for short amounts of time and he is getting better and better at using each of them. He is just now (14 weeks) starting to really grab at toys in front of him and interact with them. It's neat to see the development :)

My dad bought this for Landon and he likes it when he is in a playful mood! It's a little hard for him to sit upright for too long, but he likes the toys. This seat has a removable tray so it can be used as a Bumbo seat and later as a booster seat! Thanks Papa!

Cousin Bryson used to LOVE this walker and cruise around the house. As of right now, Landon sits in it and does his usual, "what the *bleep* is this?!" face ;)

OBX

The Outer Banks is one of my family's favorite places to vacation. It was only fitting to take Mr. Landon on his first ever beach trip (other than when he was in mommy's belly)!

15 weeks pregnant! (June 2013)

My parents and I went from Thursday to Sunday one weekend in February and we had so much fun! We got to spend a lot of time outside and one day it was even over 70 degrees. Here are some pictures of Landon's first trip to the OBX!