Grayson weighed 11lbs 1oz and was 23 inches long. He is fully in 0-3 month clothes and I have begun to pack away his tiny newborn stuff. It's so bittersweet to pack those things away. It is exciting to see my baby grow and know that I will use them for our next baby, but it makes me a little sad to know that he will never be so tiny again.
On May 19th he rolled front to back for the first time. Now, any time I place him on his stomach he flips right to his back!
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| Start of the roll... |
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| middle of the action... |
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| roll complete!! |
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| Grayson was smiling right before this picture. I hold up the phone and... this. |
Co-Sleeping:
Toward the end of this month we began to place Grayson in his crib around 7pm for a bedtime. I put him in a fitted diaper with a cover (big boy nighttime diapers - last all night), give Grayson a baby massage with coconut oil, read a bedtime story and finally nurse Grayson to sleep before placing him in the crib.
Once Tim and I are ready for bed, around 9:30 or 10pm I bring Grayson into bed with us. He is usually ready for another feeding by then anyway and he spends the rest of the night in bed with us.
Night feedings are much easier now that Grayson does not need a diaper change throughout the night. He is usually not fully awake and falls right back to sleep while he is eating. This is a huge improvement because he fully woke up and cried when he needed to be changed.
Co-sleeping is really the perfect fit for our family. We all sleep so well and I know Grayson is safe and secure.
Naps all still happen in arms. We haven't quite worked them out yet.
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| bedtime snuggles with daddy |
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| taking a nap in the ring sling |
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| napping in the car |
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| napping on my legs (one of the first pretty days outside) |
Breastfeeding:
Grayson was exclusively breastfed for his third month and breastfeeding really took off this month. We are both pros and I feel totally comfortable nursing Grayson in lots of situations now that he latches easily and has more control over his feedings. We have really worked through the lip tie issue making night time feedings easier as well.
Grayson is eating on demand, and although he enjoyed using his pacifier this month he is still eating just as frequently.
The coolest thing that happened with breastfeeding this month was eating in motion!! Grayson has been able to eat while I am wearing him, meaning we get lots more done. He spent several days in a growth spurt where he cluster fed from around 4pm to bedtime. The cluster feeding made it almost impossible to cook dinner and Tim couldn't help because he was at work until very late each evening. Once I figured out how to position Grayson to comfortably eat in the baby carrier (we used a bjorn this month - thanks for the loaner Bri!! - while waiting on the new Tula patterns to come out) we were good to go!! He cuddled in and ate while I chopped veggies. HUGE success.
We are looking forward to a long a successful breastfeeding relationship!
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| eating in the bjorn!! |
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| sleepy guy with a good latch despite the lip tie |
Cloth Diapering:
This month, Grayson moved up in the world of cloth diapers. As I mentioned in the co-sleeping part, Grayson slept in fitted diapers with a cover. He still wore the newborn fitteds and covers out and prefolds with covers at home; however, he went up a size in prefolds and is now in the infant size. Still rash free. We applied CJ's BUTTer occasionally but were still using the first 1oz sample container we had when he was born.
I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but we are also using cloth wipes I purchased from an Etsy shop in a wipes warmer with solution (from The Balm! Juice Those Wipes). This makes diaper changes so much more pleasant for Grayson and I feel like he is getting cleaner than with just water. I was worried that the warm wipes might make diapers changes on the go more difficult, since he would be use to warm wipes, but Grayson hasn't seemed to mind at all.
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| Grayson's booty is HUGE at bedtime in his big boy fitteds |
Baby wearing:
This month I started getting better at using the Maya wrap and attended a meeting of the local baby wearing group (they are now a chapter of Baby Wearing International). I learned a lot more about different baby wearing options and saw some demonstrations on how to wrap babies and use soft structured carriers. I was also able to try out a few soft structured carriers.
My friend, Bri let me borrow her BabyBjorn carrier this month. They are not ideal for larger babies due to the narrow crotch support, but it was perfect for Grayson. He was just the right size to fit perfectly, stay supported and snuggle securely for walks around the neighborhood.
I looked into the Tula baby carrier this month and know that it will be our ideal soft structured carrier once Grayson has outgrown the BabyBjorn.
The best part of baby wearing with the Bjorn is that Tim feels comfortable using it! He was uncomfortable in the Moby wrap and doesn't want to try the Maya Wrap, but the Bjorn is right up his ally. It is easy to adjust and put on & once Grayson is in it there is no more adjustment needed to make sure he is secure.
Baby wearing has made my life so much easier. For example, nursing while hands free as I mentioned above and getting in and out of stores quickly without lugging a stroller. Grayson is also much less fussy when he is worn and can see all the action!
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| Starting our morning in the Maya Wrap! |
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| sweet nose kisses in the Bjorn (excuse my wild hair) |
Support:
It is great to have friends with children around the same age. There was no family visiting during Grayson's third month and Tim was gone for a week of it! I don't know how I would get by without the great support system of friends that I have built here. I have awesome friends like Bri who let me borrow her baby supplies and watched Grayson while I went to the dentist. I also have Maurine whose son is three weeks younger than Grayson. We were able to get Henry and Grayson together while our husbands were gone for a baby playdate - and much needed mommy time! Leslie has also been showering me with sweet gifts that she found to be helpful when her kids were young. Really, I am blessed beyond belief. I have a hard time making friends, but somehow I have managed to find myself surrounded by moms who have been there - done that, moms who are right where I am, and friends who are willing to lend a hand and a prayer to help me get through!
Oh, did I mention that my friend Jamie came by to watch Grayson while I took a much needed break to go to the grocery store alone?! LIFE SAVER.
Not to mention that Tim and I continue to find ourselves on the same page for parenting decisions time after time!
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| Maurine with our little men! |
Another month of challenges and triumphs. Being a mom is really a whirlwind, I am thankful I will have these memories to look back on because I am sure Grayson will be in high school within the next week!
~Katie
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