Newborn to Infant: Zidaan's 3 Month Update!

My little lovebug is 3 months this week! We visited our cousin's 1 week old the other day and I was shocked at how little she was - what was more shocking to me was that Zidaan was even smaller than her at 1 week. I found myself looking back at his newborn photos (reminiscing already? Lord help me on his wedding day), it's amazing to see how much he's grown.

First things first. He's a chunker. At a whopping 14 lbs, this little guy is getting heavier by the day. I can’t believe he has already doubled his birth weight, but I guess the rolls on his thighs are getting large, plus he’s getting rolls on his arms, has a double chin and has 3 rolls on his love handles when he leans slightly to either the left or right.

He babbles a lot and is loving all the funny noises he is learning to make. He also laughs at himself a lot and scares himself with his grown man burps. It's quite adorable to watch. He reaches and grasps things now too, which is wonderful… except when it’s my hair- yowzers!

This time it makes me a little more sad because along with turning 3 months, comes the end of my maternity leave, and the end of Zidaan feeling “brand new.” By now, it feels like he has been a part of our family forever, and we’re getting settled into a new routine. He's no longer a newborn - my little baby has finally graduated to infant! What's exciting though is that all his milestones start soon - I can't wait to see him roll for the first time, shake a toy for the first time etc. He just had his first giggle the other day and I melted! 

❊ Age – Three Months

❊ Weight - 14 lbs

❊ Sleep – 5-6 hours in one stretch! HALLELUJAH!

❊ Recent Milestones – Talking and giggling at all times. He loves looking at colorful patterns and images. He has also started to reach out and grab for stuff and responding to noise!

❊ Favorite Things –  His monkey friend attached to his little Play-mat. No joke, you guys. This guy is obsessed with his monkey. He could talk to him all day. It's not the lion, the giraffe or the elephant on the mat. It' just the monkey. He loves it so much, my husband and I call his playtime: "monkey-time" every night.  

As far as his sleep is concerned, our sweetheart is finally sleeping a 5-6 hour stretch at night!! I've had plenty of you ask me how I've gotten him to sleep this long. Honestly, it just sort of happened on its own. It was April 24th. I woke up hearing his fussy hand sucking noises that hint hunger. I checked the time as I always do to make sure it's been at least 2 hours since he ate last. AND it was freaking 4:30 am! We had put him down at 11 pm. I was shocked. I woke my husband up and said "Oh my gosh! I think he just slept 5 hours!" in the craziest excited whisper voice. Here are my tips on what I think helped him sleep and what we do now to make sure he stays on routine:

1. FOLLOW routine. Always. Z goes to sleep by 11/11:30. This means we start his bedtime routine at 10:15. This includes a bath (every other day), cuddles and lots of milk. We make sure he drinks at least 4-5 ounces of milk before he's put down so he'll feel full through the night.

2. Tire him out. Remember Zidaan's monkey friend? We let him kick and play around on his mat for a good 20-30 minutes so he tires himself out and is ready for bed. 

3. To get him ready for nighttime slumber, TURN THE LIGHTS OFF! This is so important, guys. We've realized this gets him in the mood to sleep. Also when we wake up for his 5 am feed, we keep the lights off to keep him in his sleep state. 

4. Put him down drowsy. Not asleep. This has helped him drift off to sleep on his own. In the beginning, every little noise out of him made me jump. Three months later, I know his sounds so well. He'll fuss a bit and want to be picked up, but we let him be. It takes him under 10 mins to fall asleep.

I'm back at work this week and there's still tough nights and tough days. No complaints here though. I really am loving life in all of its craziness right now.  It’s like the busier I am, the more I get done because I don’t have time to sit around or procrastinate. At 3 months, Zidaan is one happy, smiley baby. 

Lots of love to all the mamas out there. You guys are amazing. Thank you for reading!