3 Months

Caroline is now three months old. As Joel reminded me, I am halfway done with  maternity leave, which is only partially correct, since due to her coming early, I'll have around seven months off. This past month she had become so engaging. She loves to make eye contact and then smile and coo. Often I find her looking at me, trying to get my attention to chat with her. Despite how crabby she is at night, she is quick to throw out a big huge smile all the time.

She prefers to be held for naps (what baby wouldn't prefer that?) but with our schedule, it's tough to not. She is definitely a happier, easier going baby before lunch, but unfortunately that's when we're out doing things and since she hates her car seat, she gets held. Then after lunch she's usually a little fussy and so I hold her for about 70% of her naps. Then after 6 pm she is one crabby screaming girl and so gets held until she goes to bed. This month we discovered she likes being bounced on the ball and swaddling her arms helps too, so at least she doesn't cry/scream for as long. After she eats around 5 or 6 pm she usually goes between fussing (which means ball bouncing for us) and napping for two hours. Then she'll eat again (instead of waiting three hours) and "go to bed."  As of recent she does actually sleep in the sleep rocker, so I suppose that is considered bed, but since she wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat, it's not like we won't see her until the morning. But these past few nights, after her 8/9 pm feeding, we can put her in the sleep rocker until her next feeding. After that feeding, more often than not, she'll sleep on her own until her next feeding. After that feeding it's about 50/50 whether she'll sleep on her own. Usually she starts on her own and ends up with one of us, usually Joel since he has the magic to calm her down. So yes, she is getting better day by day, but I still think she isn't as easy as Bennett. 

Her hair is definitely growing in well. It is long enough to clip bows into, which is obviously the most thrilling thing for me. Her eyes are still a dark gray. She started blowing spit bubbles this past week. That's been some messy fun. She is on her way out of 3 month clothing, but some of the 6 month clothing is still too big. She is in size 2 diapers. She is wonderfully chubby and has cheeks that won't quit. It really amazes me how much she looks like Bennett. Even with more hair, there are times throughout the day where I catch myself thinking of how it looks like I am talking to baby Bennett again.

In some ways I can't wait for her to grow up, so that she can grow out of this colic and GERD. Plus it's be great if she could start sleeping through the night and in her own crib, in her room. But then I can't believe she is growing so quickly that she's not the weightless teeny newborn I once had. She has quit a bit of weight to her and someday won't be so cuddly (although Bennett is nearly two and still likes to cuddle). If she could just be happy in the evening, love her carseat, and sleep for 6 hours at night but stay this size for a few more months, I'd be thrilled.