12, 13 and 14 weeks old

On 12/13/13, Little E was 12 weeks old

 On 12/20/13, E-man was 13 weeks old, and 3 months old to the day

This past Friday, on12/27/13 E was 14 weeks old

He is doing very well, he is about 12 lbs now, firmly in 3 month old clothes (if not already growing out of some of them). He sleeps well at night, only waking to eat (usually twice after I've gone to sleep) and then going back to sleep. He has good head control but can't push himself up on his arms during tummy time (well, he's done it once). We are not anywhere close to sitting up yet. I have to remind myself that his adjusted age is only 8 weeks old right now. He loves bath time and could lay in there for hours. He has only pooped in the tub once! He also loves being carried in the moby wrap. He has not found his thumb but is instantly calmed by a pacifier. He is typically breastfed but will eat from a bottle and will take 5 oz if you let him (and then spits up 1-2 oz...he is not a good burp-er). He is wearing cloth diapers full time and has been since about 8 weeks old.

This is my last update before I return to work. My first day is January 2 and I am not looking forward to it. I will have had almost 15 weeks off of work and I simply don't want to go back, but know that I have to. We have had essentially no income for the last 7 weeks after my sick leave, vacation, and Afla.c pay all ran out. I have to say that I am lucky that I don't have to take him to daycare. Nate will be a stay at home dad for the foreseeable future, I don't know that he knows what is coming. He has already stayed home with him when I go out and about, but has never done more than 1 feeding without me.  He will figure it out, and I will try my very best to avoid being a backseat driver while he does. At worst, I am a phone call away.

I will have to put some of the cutest photos back on my phone to tide me over while I'm at work and away from E.  Here are some recent cuties:

His favorite place to sleep

Giraffe Hat I crocheted to match his outfit (I had extra yarn from another project)

Christmas parade downtown

Modified tummy time

Walk on Christmas day, first time in the stroller without the carseat attachment

His Christmas presents from my brother, my sister and us

Christmas santa hat on Christmas day

Dad has a matching hat (we didn't have a corncob pipe though)

same hat without the beard

Grandpa J visiting on the day after Christmas

Grandma S visiting day after Christmas and first time meeting E

11 weeks old

Oh man am I behind on posting. I've got a couple posts in the wings waiting to be posted and all of my updates to do!!!


On 12/6/12 (nearly 2 weeks ago) Ethan was 11 weeks old!


He is as long as the basket now!

He weighs in around 10.5 lbs now and officially does not fit in any of his newborn clothing. I packed away everything that was in the closet and am putting everything else away as it is washed. I found one sleepsuit in his diaper bag labeled 5-8 lbs, talk about busting out the seams! He is officially in our 3 mos clothes.


By the way, baby clothes make me crazy. How are some 0-3 month clothes bigger than 3 months clothes? How are some 3-6 months clothes smaller than cloths labeled 3 months? Baby clothes manufacturers should get their act together!!!


He has never been a real crier but cries even less now. He smiles more regularly and is testing his buttons and levers to start to figure out how to laugh.

A day in the life of our (nearly) 3 month old

I have been reading "The Baby Whisperer" and the author's methods seem sound. So I've decided to follow her advice. They had him on a 3 hour schedule in the NICU, but then when we got home, he worked himself down to a 2 hour routine and then back into a 3 hour routine since he has gained weight. Because he was already on a 3 hour schedule on his own,  incorporating the new routine was easy.

The author recommends an EASY routine. E-eat, A-activity, S-sleep, Y-time for yourself. I wanted to follow this routine for a very specific reason. I need something that will be easy for Nate when I return to work. I also want him to be a good sleeper because I need my rest too. I don't want to have to nurse him to sleep every night and for naps. This routine teaches babies over time to settle themselves down and put themselves back to sleep if they wake during the night. Also, this will be easier for Nate to follow as a stay at home dad. For some people, not nursing a baby to sleep seems ridiculous, but actually, for us, it is already working well. He eats as soon as he wakes, so he is more alert and eats better and more. He spits up less because he is not laying down right after eating. When he is fussy and yawning it is time for a nap, not a rush to get the boob in his mouth to calm. He is not outright showing signs that he knows what is coming next in the routine, but he does seem more content and less agitated.

For his age and weight a 3 hour routine is recommended, but then at about 4 months the author recommends a 4 hour routine, so after I go back to work, we will start transitioning. As of right now, he still is on the 3 hour routine around the clock, but we are trying to get him to drop at least one feed during the night in favor of a longer sleeping time. As a side note, you skip the A-part of the routine after he "goes to sleep for the night" around 8 pm. Also, you don't do a diaper change overnight unless necessary. As he gets older, the A-Activity part will increase in length and the S-sleep with decrease.

Other reasons I like this plan is because it is a routine, not a schedule, the order is specific but the timing is less important. Also, this routine has nothing to do with Cry it Out and the author firmly states that she is against CIO. She has recommendations for children who have trouble with the S-sleep part of the routine and it has nothing to do with CIO. 

For right now this is what our routine looks like:

7:00 AM: E-wake up and eat
7:30 AM: A-diaper change and time in the swing while mom eats breakfast and feeds the dogs
8:30 AM: S-1st nap, usually about 1.5 hours, in bassinet in our bedroom
8:45 AM; Y-mom makes bed, showers, does laundry etc.
10:00 AM: E-wake up and eat
10:30 AM: A-diaper change and time on his play mat, usually tummy time, sometimes this is time to run errands
11:00 AM: S-2nd nap, usually about 1.5 hours, in bassinet in our bedroom
11:15 AM: Y-Continuation of chores, also eat lunch
1:00 PM: E-wake up and eat
1:30 PM: A-diaper change and hold him on the couch or time with daddy
2:30 PM: S-3rd nap, usually about 1.5 hours, in bassinet in our bedroom
2:45 PM: Y-Continuation of chores, workout if haven't done it already
4:00 PM: E-wake up and eat
4:30 PM: A-diaper change, time in swing or hold him at computer
5:00 PM: S-nap in swing but he may not sleep
5:15 PM: Y-cook and eat dinner
7:00 PM: E-wake up and eat
7:30 PM: A-bath, diaper (load up on diaper cream), read a story
8:00 PM: S-bedtime in bassinet in bedroom
8:15 PM: Y- enjoy short evening
10:00 PM: E-dream feed then go to bed myself
1:00 AM: E-feed and diaper change, lots of diaper cream
4:00 AM: E-dream feed
7:00 AM: Start over

Do what works, right? For an almost 3 month old, this is what our daily routine looks like.

10 weeks old

On 11/29 (yes I'm a little late) Ethan was 10 weeks old.

We had a great week including his first Thanksgiving, as well as yet another doctor's visit. Ethan wasn't supposed to go back to the doctor until he was 4 months old, but I had a concern about how his circumcision was healing. It turns out that all is ok, but as a bonus he did get weighed in at that appointment. He was 9 lbs 6 oz.

We finally got control of his diaper rash this week by switching from a diaper rash cream to a powder.    

He has also started to smile at us and it seems to be under his control rather than a reflex.

He is bursting the seems on his newborn cloths but still wearing them. Same goes for his newborn cloth diapers.

Other than that not much is new. So here is his weekly picture, and there is a bonus picture with the hat I made, this hat did not fit him this year but probably will for the next 4-5 years.