Bennett turned 3 months as of the 28th of September. I can not believe how much our little baby Bennett has grown over the past 3 + months! I also can not believe it's been 3 whole months since he came into our lives. Things are finally starting to groove with his schedule and he is fitting right into our family routine.
I told myself that I wouldn't do the typical monthly baby updates this time around because, for one, not everyone has a baby or is in the baby stage of life so it may not be too interesting to all readers to read how much weight he's gained or if he's sleeping at night, etc. Second, I've started to be a bit more protective of my babes and weary about sharing too much information about them. However, I do love reading baby updates from other bloggers that are going through the same phase. So, to compromise, I will be posting a little Bennett update every 3 months. :)
Month 1 was pretty much a blur between recovery and having visitors (our parents) for the first 6 weeks. Just like every other newborn, he was very sleepy during the day, so it didn't really affect our normal routine too much. I just felt like a shut in because I was constantly breastfeeding him! I felt guilty because I wasn't spending enough quality time with Camden. But, I was so happy he was getting a lot of grandparent attention and spoiling!
Month 2 was a little bit more of a rocky road. Bennett started 'waking' up from his newborn sleepy state. The help left and we were alone around the time when Bennett turned 6 weeks. That was also the time when Bill had to start working again and I was alone with Camden and Bennett for the first time. That week Bill had to leave town for work for 2 nights and I was so nervous about being with the 2 of them by myself over night. Mostly because Bennett's sleep (or lack thereof) was all over the place at night. That first night by myself was like Murphy's law. Getting 2 babies under 2 to bed simultaneously is a challenge when you're solo! I won't even go into detail everything that happened that night, because I don't want to relive it! Just think of all the things that could go wrong with a toddler and a newborn at night and that's pretty much what happened. Toddler refusing to fall asleep... Both babies waking up crying at the same time. Dog barking and waking up baby. Blow outs in the dark... You get the drift... I will say that since then, it has got a LOT easier. Especially now that I have more of a bedtime routine with Bennett.
Around 6 weeks was also the time when Bennett started getting really bad reflux. He would get so fussy after nearly every feeding and it got worse towards the evenings. I would dread bedtime because I was so worried about him being fussy. Sometimes it would take us a good 1.5-2 hours to get him to settle down before he fell asleep. I finally caved and called the Dr to get a prescription for Zantac and I'm so glad I did. We saw a big improvement in his demeanor after he started the medication.
Right around 9/10 weeks, his reflux got a lot better and I even started weaning him off the Zantac. Now he doesn't take it anymore and hardly ever gets fussy after feedings and goes to bed just fine. It was a stressful few weeks there for a bit, but I'm so glad we are past that phase!
Month 3 has been the best time with Bennett! He is such a happy baby during the day and loves to smile and chat with us! He is a hungry little fella and chugs all his 5-6 oz bottles during the day! I am still breastfeeding him in the middle of the night when he wakes up and sometimes in the early mornings if he wakes up before his first bottle at 7-7:30am. He has grown like a weed and is now in 6-9 month clothing! Thank goodness I saved all Camden's old clothes because he is also known around these parts as the blow out king! It got to the point where he would have a blow out nearly every time he pooped! I finally realized I needed to go up a size in diapers (he's in size 3 already!) and thankfully, we haven't had as many blowouts!
Sleeping: The nights have gotten a bit more predictable. I transitioned him to his crib around 6 weeks using the dock a tot that he was used to sleeping in since he got home from the hospital. He slept swaddled in the dock a tot, in his crib up until last week when I took the dock a tot out since he was getting a bit too snug in it. Luckily, he transitioned out of it just fine. He goes to bed no later than 8pm and typically wakes up 1-2 times at night to feed (between 1-4am), but will go back to sleep pretty easy afterwards and sleeps until about 6:30 or 7. However, he started busting out of the SwaddleMe blankets and the Halo Sleepsacks, so we are just using the Miracle Blanket at night now which seems to help keep his arms in the swaddle much better. Of course, now that he's starting to sleep better, it's almost time to start transitioning him out of the swaddle! Ughhh... I'm dreading this! I'm hoping to hold on to swaddling as long as possible. He is starting to roll up onto his sides, so I know I need to start the transition soon. We've tried a few naps with one arm out and he's slept for about 40 mins both times in his crib.
Eating: I started supplementing around 10 weeks when I noticed my supply dropping and since he was starting to eat more. I had started pumping during the day and feeding him bottles because it was just easier for me than breastfeeding. This may have affected my supply, but we are on a pretty good routine now, so I'm ok with it. I will pump 2-3 times during the day and breast feed him at night and in the middle of the night. A few weeks ago we started feeding him a bottle for his last meal before bed to see if it would help him sleep longer at night (I pump before I go to bed). I think it did help a little, but he is still waking up at least once to eat in the middle of the night. He gets 5 bottles a day that are all between 5-6 oz and he normally chugs them! Baby B can eat!
Stats: We don't have a 3 month dr appointment this month, but at his 2 month check up he was 11.5 lbs and 22.75 inches long. Since then, Bill has 'weighed' him on our scale and swears he is over 15 lbs! He is a big boy for sure! He's bigger than Camden was at this age! I think he may turn out to be bigger than his older brother!
Loves: smiling at his mama and 'talking' to us! He also LOVES to watch me eat and smiles so big when he sees me chewing ha! I think he is going to be a good little eater when it's time for solids! He really loves his activity mat and smiles every time he sees the little hanging monkey! It's so funny because Camden really loved that monkey too! He loves to be sang to and loves music!
Cries: only when he's really hungry, tired or loud noises that startle him. Sometimes he gets fussy in the carseat if the car is not moving, but will fall asleep after a few minutes.
Here's a quick little run down of our 3 month schedule with Bennett:
Between 7-7:30: First bottle of the day (5-6 oz)
Nap 1 (usually in the swing or carseat if we are out) around 9am (lasts about an hour)
2nd bottle : 10-10:30am
Nap 2 (sometimes in the crib, sometimes swing): around 11:30-12pm (lasts about 1-1.5 hours)
3rd bottle : 1-1:30pm
Nap 3 (swing): 2-2:30 (about 1 hour)
4th bottle : 4-4:30pm
Nap 4 (swing or carseat): 5-5:30 (about 30-45 mins)
Last bottle : 7-7:30, then bedtime
MOTN feeding(s) between 1-4am
I don't have a real elaborate bedtime routine like I did with Camden. I try to give him his last bottle in his room with the lights off (hall light on so I can see), then I change him in to jammies and may rock him for a bit. Then, swaddle and give him a paci and close the door. I usually have to go in to soothe at least 2-3 times before he falls asleep. If he's really crying I do pick him up and rock him until he's calm. I haven't gotten to the point of having to use the CIO method and never did with Camden, so hoping I don't have to do that with Bennett! We give him a bath before bed about 2-3 times per week since he has very dry/sensitive skin, so that's not necessarily part of the bedtime process.
There you have it! A (not so quick) recap of the last 3 months with baby B! I can't believe we are already half way through his 4th month of life!
He just started daycare this week and I'm slowly adjusting to not having him around me 24/7. I feel like something is missing when he's gone... But, the ladies at his daycare are so sweet and send me updates and photos through out the day which is so nice! And another bonus is that he slept from 7:45pm to 5:30am after his first day! He was worn out! We'll see if he keeps that up!
I'll post an update after his 6 month appointment aka 1/2 birthday! :)
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