Shepherd: 3 months

7/19/19

Shepherd has changed so much over the past few weeks that it is hard to believe! I feel like he went from being my tiny baby to a chubby 3-month-old overnight. It didn't seem to be a gradual process at all! He is such a sweet, happy little guy, and it feels like he has always been part of the family. We love him to pieces!

I have been trying hard to follow Shepherd's lead when it comes to his eating/sleeping schedule. During the day he likes to eat every 2.5-3 hours, and after each feeding he is usually awake and happy for about 30 minutes before he's ready for a nap. He mostly naps in his swing or on my lap, but a few times I've gotten him to nap in his crib for 30-40 minute stretches. On any given day he tends to take one long 2 hour nap and the rest are short cat naps. It's hard to put him on a set nap schedule right now because depending on the day, we aren't always home when it would be time to lay him down. Luckily he's an easy-going baby who will sleep anywhere! I figure once the big kids are back in school, Shepherd and I will get into a more predictable daytime routine. 

As far as bedtime goes, a couple of weeks ago Shepherd started getting really fussy around 6:30pm. This made dinner time really difficult because I was hurrying to get dinner on the table early or Andrew and I would end up eating in shifts because one of us had to hold the baby. I figured it was just Shepherd's witching hour, but after a few nights in a row it dawned on me that he might be tired and trying to tell me he was ready for bed! Now we try our hardest to be finished with dinner before his fussy time begins.

I'll list the schedule he set for us to follow, but I'm not even going to list times because they change from day to day. Shepherd is all about the order of events! Most nights we begin the process around 6:30 with a feeding, and then it goes something like this:

-a quick bath- Sometimes he sits happily and kicks his little feet, other times he cries because he's tired and just wants to be done.

-clean diaper, onesie, sleep sack, sound machine- As soon as I start putting his sleep sack on him, he calms down if he's been crying. It's like he's thinking, "Finally, I get to go to bed!"

-nurse, rock, and sing with Mama- Even though he eats right before his bath, he likes one more little "snack" before calling it a night. I rock him and sing to him, and then I always read "Goodnight, Moon" even though he's usually asleep already. 

-lights off- Typically he's in bed by 7:45 or 8, and over the past week he has almost consistently slept through the night, not waking until 6:45 or 7am!!! If he does wake up, it is only once around 2 or 3am, so I feed him, change him, and put him back in his crib. Those nights aren't my favorite, but I'm not going to complain because he is such a good baby! (Of course two nights ago he woke up at 1 and 5 for some reason...go figure!)

Sizes:

diapers--size 2

clothes--3/6 or 6 months. Sadly, I have already packed up all of his 0-3 and 3 month outfits. :(

Likes: being held, being talked to, diaper changes, looking in the mirror, bedtime!

Dislikes: having a wet or dirty diaper, not being held

Developments:

• Shepherd makes lots of adorable "ohhhh" and "gggg" noises when we talk to him. He definitely participates in the conversation!
• He has discovered his hands and will hold them together like he is scheming something, or suck on his fist and thumb. When he is tired, his right hand usually rubs the back of his head while his left hand goes up to his face.
• He apparently knows how to pivot himself because when I get him out of his crib in the morning, his head is sometimes at the opposite end from how I laid him down!
• While on his back, he will pull his legs up so he can gently roll to his side. He always looks happy with himself when he does this little "trick".
• When any of us come into his line of sight and say hi to him, he will give us the biggest grin. Ryder and Harper especially love this and will say, "Mom, Shepherd is smiling at me! Did you see that?"

Shepherd gave Harper a big grin when she said, "I love you SOOOOO much!"

Andrew and Ryder were watching a car show one evening before dinner, and Shepherd was happy to hang out like one of the guys. :)

Not the most flattering of poses, but look at those delicious chubby thighs!

posing for the camera 😂

He still loves to nap on my lap! 😍

While playing on his mat, he managed to pivot enough that his face was right by the arch. I laughed out loud when I realized he was just lying there licking it. Silly boy!