Dear Goose,
You are now 16 weeks old and the newest development this week is raspberries! Instead of only drooling constantly, you now joyfully spit bubbles at us, too.
You are still all about things in your mouth, though we've basically given up hope on the pacifier. Fingers (yours or anyone else's) and toys are your preferred oral fix. And mostly to gnaw on, not suck, except when you're falling asleep. You primarily sleep on us, we haven't even tried transferring you to your bassinet for naps. The first thing you do when waking up is blow raspberries. So so so freaking cute.
The other new development is laughing more than a little. You kind of laugh your ass off if something strikes you as funny. Mainly your sister. You have an adorable throaty laugh and when you get going it almost sounds like hiccups on speed. You laugh with your whole body, bouncing with joy. And it's infectious, your laughter sets off anyone nearby into fits of giggles. You are so much fun!
Dear Goose,
You are 15 weeks old now and, wow, what a fun stage we're in! You laugh daily now, though what you find funny changes and is unpredictable. One day it's Daddy saying "Ba BOO!" over and over again, the next day it's being tickled on your tummy, then another just because we're making silly faces at you. You love to look at yourself in the mirror when I'm holding you, but when your sweet sitter does it, you cry. (Clearly you understand what a mirror is!) You have mastered the tummy to back roll, sometimes doing it several times in a row when I put you on your playmat. Though sometimes you just hang out on your belly, too.
Look at that strong neck and belly!!
You are drooling a TON these days. I keep a soft cloth in my pocket and in the carriers I use to wipe your chin. Sometimes we don't catch it and the front of your shirt is soaked. It doesn't bother you, so it doesn't bother us. Along with the drool is the constant hands in your mouth. You almost always have at least one hand in your mouth. You suck your fingers to soothe yourself, you gnaw on your finger joints for fun, you grab toys and clothes and carrier edges and other people's fingers and taste them...I think I say "wow, delicious fingers!" a hundred times a day
Delicious fingers!
At 15 weeks you still don't have any discernible schedule. Some days you'll take a nap for 2 or 3 hours in a row, other days you'll sleep no more than 45 minutes at a time. Some nights you'll sleep in your bassinet for 6 hours before snuggling up next to me in bed to nurse the rest of the night, others you won't transfer at all.
One long nap allowed me to actually get some work done!
No matter what your sleep/wake/feed cycle has looked like, you're most often calm, happy and content. You have started babbling more and it's the cutest thing ever. Daddy says you sound like R2D2 and I think you sound like you're singing. You are as delicious and amazing as ever and we just keep falling more and more in love with you!
Dear Goose,
You are 3 months old! And the biggest news to date is that you laugh! Oh, my goodness, what a laugh you have. You laughed for the first time in the car while we were driving up to Vermont (more on that later). I was crinkling a book at you and you laughed and laughed and laughed. And everyone else in the car laughed too. It was magical. You didn't laugh again for a few more days, and then it was at Daddy making silly noises. "Ah-BOO!" Hilarious. We are such addicts for your laughs, we'll really do anything ridiculous if we think it might get a laugh.
3 months old and very into your fingers
You wake up happy in the morning, all smiles. You still have a pretty high threshold for unpleasantness and will give us plenty of warning before going into epic meltdown mode. And even when you have gone to the dark side, once what was bothering you has been remedied, you're cool again. It breaks my heart, but often you will be smiling again with tears left in your eyes.
You eat with gusto and have gained another pound this month bringing you up to 13.
This past week we indoctrinated you to The Mommune, with your first long weekend in Vermont. You are an easy happy traveler (okay,m the car is not your favorite place, but you will tolerate it for a decent length of time) and are non-plussed at new surroundings. One night we stayed up late singing and you slept right through the singing, dancing and merriment, waking up only for a moment as I transferred you from wrap to bed.
Dear Goose,
I'm not sure if the 4th trimester ends at 12 weeks or 3 months, but either way, we're getting close. And you are SO much a yummy baby these days, no longer the curled up fetal creature we met 12 weeks ago (though you were obviously spectacular then, too). You coo, you smile, you are fairly easily appeased when you're upset unless what you really want isn't possible (mostly getting out of a carrier when we're in transit). You are already an excellent travel companion, enjoying the bus, the subway, the railroad and the car.
Traveling with your sister: near the top of things you love to do
YUMMY BABY!
This week has seen the beginnings of some laughs. No laughing sounds yet, but you've laughed silently a few times. I can not WAIT to hear what your laugh sounds like. You've been chattering a away a bit more, too, lots of fun noises.
And, oh! The drool! SO MUCH DROOL! Sometimes I put a bib on you before we go out so I have something handy to wipe your face. I didn't know it was possible for such a small human to create so much drool, but after a snuggle session, my shoulders are sopping wet. We put your amber necklace on, just in case the drooling is the beginning of teething. I don't think it is, but the necklace is cute anyway.
Dear Goose,
Wow have you woken up these past few days! Much longer stretches of awake time, much more activity, many more noises and so many smiles! You smile with your whole face, mouth open.
You are so strong and active! You basically have total neck control now and spend a lot of time looking from side to side. I'll tell Daddy "She's watching tennis again!" because it seems that you want to take in the whole world at once. You rolled over from front to back at 11 weeks, 2 days. OY! You want to sit up SO badly, essentially doing crunches every time you're on your Boppy pillow. Laying flat on your back seems comfortable and nice, though, Except for sleeping, which you prefer to do on people. And your people are happy to oblige.
neck control!
You're big goal lately is to find which finger combination is going to be your go-to to soothe yourself, fingers are constantly in your mouth. Your fingers, but also anyone else's fingers who happen to be close by. If you're awake, you usually want something in your mouth. The pacifier is still hit and miss: you like it but often can't keep it in your mouth and then you lose interest.
Dearest little goose,
You are now 10 (and a half) weeks old! Last week you had your 2 month check up and came in at 21 inches long (98%) and 12lbs 2 oz (88%)-WOW! Big girl! You are so strong, holding your head up almost all the time now and moving your body on your play mat. You make wonderful eye contact and smile more. You love your big sister and follow her voice and body with your eyes and head and smile at her most of all. You also love being outside in the park-anytime you're laying in a shady spot with a breeze, you're content.
You still sleep a TON, probably close to 18 hours a day. In the carrier, in your bassinet, on my lap, on Daddy's lap, anywhere you get comfy. But when you're awake, you are chatty and alert and hungry! It's no surprise you're so big, you are very happy drinking your milk.
You still spend most of your time sleeping, but your awake time is gradually increasing. Sometimes you will be awake and mostly happy upwards of 2 hours at a time. You like to spend your awake time observing the world and moving your body. Right now you are next to me on our futon, propped up on a Boppy pillow, wriggling your little body all around. Your tongue is moving, y our legs are kicking a bit, your arms are opening, closing and reaching overhead. You are chattering a little bit to, lots of "mm" and "la" and "ah!"sounds. I can't help but mimic your sounds back to you and we have little conversations through out the day. In the evenings, when you're most fussy, you will often shout out "LA!" at the beginning of your crying jags and I will be holding you, whispering in your ear "la la la." I'm trying to speak your language, sweet Goose.
We did your first tummy time yesterday and wow, how strong you are! You moved your head from one side to the other, you pushed yourself around with your legs, you lifted your hips up. You were grunting with effort, but didn't seem frustrated. You didn't cry, and you cry when you're not okay with a situation. I can't wait to watch you become more and more at home in your body. The discoveries are delightful.
You are trying to find the most comfortable and soothing arrangement of fingers in your mouth. You put your fist in, your four fingers in, just one finger in, still searching. I think it will be very soon that you'll find a combination that you like. I was a thumb sucker until age 8, it'll be interesting to me if you follow suit.
You are an easy going person so far, happy to go with the flow for the most part. You've had three baths, which you seem to like. You tolerate clothing changes, diaper changes, being swaddled, being unswaddled, the Beco carrier, the sling, the bouncy chair...you do NOT like the little swing we have, but that's really your only complaint. You will even transfer locations when sleeping occasionally, which is crazy to me. Not all the time, but once in a while. And if you stay asleep during the transfer (most often from my lap after nursing to the couch or Daddy's lap or the bassinet) you'll stay sleeping for an hour or more. You are such a snuggly, sleepy baby. So yummy
