Mr. World Famous hit the big 3 months yesterday! I seriously can't believe how much I love this little chunk. He gets cuter and smarter everyday :) Here are some tidbits about Ames Anthony:
- He is all smiles! It is probably my favorite thing about him. Unless he is hungry, he has a smile on. I love when he is looking around at things (which is all the time) and you catch his eye because he'll always just give you a big ol' crooked smile, melts my heart everytime.
- He is suuuuuuuper curious. He gets so mad at you if you don't hold him facing out - dude wants to see stuff! He has just recently starting cooing and gasping at things he sees and I love it. We went and watched SUUs track team practice yesterday and he kept gasping and squawking because he was so pumped!
- He loves his Dad. He will have some serious conversations with him and ALWAYS gives him a big smile & gets so excited when he comes home.
- He loves to stand up. He already pushes himself up into the standing position when you hold him and will stay standing for a long time. He has pretty good balance and is super strong!
-Second to standing, he loves to sit up. He has already gone 5 seconds sitting up by himself! He also will sit super content in him bumbo for a long time...which has been so nice for me because now he can just sit in the bumbo and 'chat' with me while I eat or do other things. (Thanks Aunt Ashley!)
-He does NOT like tummy time. Up until last week he would cry the second you put him on his tummy. Admittedly I wasn't the best at doing tummy time with him....especially over the holidays where everyone wanted to hold the little guy. But he just decided this week that it isn't bad and will do tummy time for 5-10 mins 3-4 times a day and can lift his head up pretty well the whole time. He can't quite manage to use his arms though haha. But he does get his knees under him and pushes and scoots forward! Though his huge noggin' goes straight into the ground when he does this...dude has a fat head! :) Once he figures out his arms I bet he'll be crawling pretty fast.
- He still loves his food! He eats about 4.5 about every 3 hours.
-He is a champ sleeper...at least at night. He sleeps from about 10:00pm till after 8:00 pm every night and has for the past month. I know, I know, I'm spoiled. If it's any consolation to you Moms...the longest he naps is an hour during the day most days.
-He LOVES baths. He will talk and kick and wiggle like crazy the entire bath time. And he would stay in the tub all night if we would let him!
-His eyes are still really blue! In fact, I think they have gotten bluer. It still kinda throws me off. Nate and I both have brownish eyes!
-He likes watching T.V. I actually really like this one about him. I'm not even a big T.V. watcher at all but I love just plopping him on my lab and watching the tube for a little bit.
-He loves playing with his toys. The rings that hook together and my hands being his favorite. He already grabs stuff and brings it to his mouth to chew on it.
- He stares at me when I feed him. I LOVE it. Sometimes I just have staring contests with him, but other times I am talking to Nate or watching something and whenever I look down at him his eyes get big and he has this surprised look like "oh snap, she caught me staring at her!" but his surprise turns into smiling eyes pretty quickly. Melts my freakin' heart.
Ames really is just the easiest baby ever. I really have gotten off the hook. He is just a solid, happy little guy who doesn't get bugged easily. He is really the perfect baby for me and I just love him so much! I can already tell he has made me a better person. Weird that a little blob can make you feel better and do better :)
On a slightly different note, a few people have asked me my "secret" to getting Ames to sleep through the night. And honestly, there is no secret really. I think the biggest determining factor is just the baby...every baby is going to be different, and some just like to sleep at night! I never read any books or did anything special. In fact, I think the biggest thing that has helped is just letting him guide me. If there is one thing I have figured out as a Mom it's that babies know what they need...they want to live and they are 'pre-programmed', so to speak, to go through all the steps to grow and developed. And we as parents are 'pre-programmed' to help them grow and develop! The best advice I have gotten is to put down all the books, stop Googling everything, and just let that little baby of yours guide you as you listen to your instincts. Whenever I have the urge to 'Google' (which, I do google things from time to time...but it always makes me feel like worse Mom!) I just think about all the millions and millions of people that have been raised before we had books and the internet. I think of how Plato, Aristotle, Einstein, and the great prophets and presidents were all raised by parents who didn't have 'sleep training' books or google. And they raised some of the greatest minds in history. Obviously having more resources today can definitely help in many ways...but I think if used too much or used more than following your baby and listening to your instincts it'll just cause you more stress! It does for me :) Anyway - sorry for the rant, I do have a few things that I do that I think helps Ames sleeps so well...
He's not on much of a schedule during the day...other than him 'eating, playing, and sleeping' repeated throughout the day (come to find out that this is a method in a book for sleep training..i just followed his cues and found him doing this). But, I do try to make his bedtime somewhat consistent. So I try to put him to sleep between 9:30 and 10:30. I also am a believer of a bedtime routine (for myself too!). I keep his short and sweet though. I lay him on his changer and we chat as I change his diaper and put his PJs on. Then I'll swaddle him, kinda. I used to swaddle him for reals but lately he hasn't really needed it. I loosely tuck it in around his waist so his legs are wrapped up but his arms are free (he has never really liked his arms swaddled). Once his blanket is on, I turn off the lights and turn on the humidifier. We use this mainly as a night light and a sound machine, but it is a good actual humidifier too though I don't remember the last time we actually filled it up with water. THIS is the humidifier we have and I LOVE it. Best baby purchase we have made. It shoots stars up on the ceiling that change colors and it makes a nice humming sound. It is the perfect amount of light to put him to bed and it was the perfect amount of light when I needed to get up with him at nights. After we turn on the humidifier I rock him while feeding him. Another key thing I do is feed him an extra ounce or so at night. I know that this is hard for exclusively breastfeeding Moms...but if you are really dying you could always try to just top your baby off with a bottle before bed. Ames eats about 6 oz at night. As I feed him I sing the same 2 songs. After I sing I just sit there quitely and rock him till he is done eating. Most of the time he barely makes it to the end of the bottle before falling asleep. Some nights I try to burp him, but he burps well on his own these days so I usually just sit there and rock him a little longer for my pleasure. Then I kiss him on his little forehead, say goodnight and lay him in his crib! From start to finish it usually takes about half an hour. Some nights I will do a bath before so that will take longer, but that is all I do and he is gone for 10 hours almost every night! Like I said, no secret, but I hope this helps some of you.
Nate and I absolutely love our baby boy. He really gets more and more fun as the days go on! I feel so honored to be his Mom and canºt wait for the many more months and years we have ahead of us!
that smile in that little bear coat! really though.
this past weekend we went and cheered the SUU track team at Idaho State...he is there new little mascot.
