3 months old

I am sitting up in bed typing this and Dylan is laying next to me asleep. It is 9:28pm and it is crazy to think that tomorrow at this time he turns 3 months old. I don't know where the last 3 months have gone. It feels like we were just bringing him home, but at the same time it feels like he has always been in our lives.

It's amazing how much Dylan has grown/developed in these last few months. I started reading the book, What to Expect the First Year when Dylan was about a month old. The book broke up the each month and told you milestones the baby should have for that month. When he was one month old I remember reading ahead to the second month and thinking there was no way he would be able to do _____ the following month, but he did and it's amazing to see him actually grasp a new concept.

We broke out the bumbo this week and Dylan loves it. It's like it is a whole new world for him. He is so used to laying on his back (or stomach) under his play mat or in his swing, that he loves the new experience of sitting up and playing. The only thing we have to be careful about is waiting a good hour after a feeding to put him in it. His legs and belly are a little chunky (he weighs 16.6 lbs) and they don't have too much room in the bumbo, so if we sit him in it after a feeding he spits everything back up. We learned the hard way and after he spit up two feedings. I then read online that chunkier babies need to wait an hour after feedings to sit in it.

This week Dylan is on a napping strike. He USED TO wake up around 9am, nap at 10:30 for an hour, nap at 2pm for about two hours and then again at 5pm for about 45 minutes and then go to bed around 8:30pm. This week he decided he had better things to do (like hang out in the bumbo) than nap. He still wakes up around 9am, but now only takes about three twenty minute naps a day...not good. He is so tired and will fall asleep super fast, but as soon as you lay him down he wakes right back up and will not go back to sleep. I am so hoping this will pass soon...momma likes nap time and hasn't gotten much done this week.

Also something fun (not really)...he decided he likes to gag himself until he throws up. He loves his hands in his mouth and about a month ago he started gagging, but not throwing up. Now he will gag himself 'till he throws up. I can't wait to go to our Dr.'s and ask him about it. If any of you reading this have any suggestions for stopping this, I would love to hear them. I try and keep his pacie in his mouth, but he would rather have his hands in his mouth, so he takes his pacie out and puts his hands in...fun times. I was really excited when he started taking his pacie out and putting it back in all by himself, but now he sucks on the pacie for a while, then gags, then sucks on the pacie, then gags , etc.

Aside from gagging and not napping, Dylan is a great baby. He is really good at entertaining himself for about 30 minutes at a time. He likes when we sing, loves when we dance around and loves watching Baby Einstein. About two weeks ago we hung a toy giraffe (Jeffrey) from his car carrier. It has made a world of difference in the car when it is just the two of us. Today Trey was driving and I look over at him and Dylan is half asleep with Jeffrey's foot in his mouth...the kid puts everything in his mouth! I tried to get a pic, but he woke up before I could. I will leave you with three cute pics. The last two were taken today when we got home from church. He is not eating any foods yet, but we have to keep a bib on him because he drools uncontrollably.

Fat Boy in the Bumbo!

Hotshot Standing up!

He's so big!

Tummy Time=Not So Fun Time

As you can see by the title of this post Dylan is/was NOT a fan of tummy time. Tummy time has been a struggle since he was 3 weeks old. I tried it for a couple days in the beginning, but he disliked it so much that I just stopped trying. I kept putting it off and kept thinking it was not THAT big of deal.

When he was 6 weeks old I was talking to a friend and she was saying how her doctor told her she had to give her baby at LEAST 30 minutes of tummy time a day. He stressed how important it was to build up their neck and back muscles AND that inadequate amounts of tummy time can lead to bad posture later in life...not what I wanted to hear.

Poor Dylan didn't know what hit him. That day I laid him on his tummy and for about 5 minutes he was fine and then he started whimpering. Before my talk with my friend, whimpering = end of tummy time, but not that day. I was determined to have a child with strong neck and back muscles and good posture...it drives me crazy when I see someone with bad posture!!!

Our first day of tummy time lasted 15 minutes and Dylan spent the whole time with his face in the carpet screaming...no muscles were strengthened, just his lunges. Our second day of tummy time lasted the same amount of time, but this time he held his head up for about half the time...all the while screaming :) Days 3-7 he held his head up and stared right into my eyes screaming bloody murder, but he held his head up for about 15 minutes. And on the 9th day Dylan got smart and realized it was just easier if he laid his head down and went to sleep...tummy time turned into nap time.

I am somewhat stubborn and I wasn't going to let this get the best of me. I decided that 30 minutes in one sitting was way too long for him to be on his stomach. I broke tummy time up into 10 minute intervals throughout the day and it actually started working. Dylan still gets fussy after 5 minutes, but he usually holds his head up for the full 10 minutes and he will occasionally play with the toys on the floor or will look at Momma...who is also getting her tummy time in :)

I can definitely tell tummy time has helped. My sister had not seen him for about a week and the first thing she commented on when she saw him was how good he was holding his head up. I can tell his neck and back (and lungs) are stronger, so I guess the struggle has been worth it. I just hate to see or hear him cry and him not understand why we are making him do it.

I will leave you with a picture of him in the happy stages of tummy time.

Our Chunky Gagger Who Likes to Roll

We just got back from Dylan's 2 month doctor appointment. He weighed 14.3 lbs and was 23 inches long. He is in the 93rd percentile for weight and the 43rd for height. He didn't get any shots today. We (Trey, me and our doctor) have come up with an alternative vaccination schedule and Dylan won't get any vaccinations for a while...yes, I am THAT mom :)

This past week was bittersweet. Trey had to travel for work for the first time since Dylan was born, which was hard on all of us. I was a little nervous being by myself so I called in reinforcements - my Mom and Aunt. Dylan and I had a great time hanging out with them. We went for walks in the park, shopped, ate really good food and just...hung out. It was fun, but we definitely missed Trey.

The night before Trey left I laid Dylan down on our bed to change his diaper. I went to the bathroom to get something and I came back in and he was on his stomach. I rolled him back over and he lifted up his legs and swung them hard to the left and rolled over again. It's ironic he is rolling over to his stomach because the kid hates to be on his stomach...it makes him fightin' mad, but he still does it.

Dylan's new trick...gagging himself with his thumb and forefinger. For the last month he has been sucking on those two fingers and about a week ago he decided it was fun to stick them down his throat. He really likes doing it when it's just the two of us in the car and no one is in the back to stop him. I try and distract him with his paci, but he will take the paci out and hold it with one hand and gag with the other...fun times :) I am hoping this is a phase that will soon pass.

Trey and I were talking the other day and Dylan is at such a cute stage. He is starting to get such a cute personality and it's amazing to watch it develop. We have laughed more in the 9 weeks that Dylan has been alive than we have in probably the last 9 years. He makes these goober faces that are just adorable and Trey and I die laughing at.

We took some pics today while we were at the Dr's. He looked so little laying on the table. The other pic is of Dylan in the car. We have to unbutton his pants so he can sit comfortably in his car seat...the pants were 6 months, and he's only 2 months!