clark wilde : three months

t h r e e   m o n t h s

the days pass slowly but the weeks fly by...life with a baby!  every month it keeps getting better and better.  rolling, teething, smiling, found his hands...so many milestones this month!  not to mention he doubled his birth weight and is in the 98th percentile for height!  our little sleepy bear is not so little anymore...

three month stats:

weight: 13 lbs. 2 oz (24th percentile)

length: 26 in. (98th percentile)

head circ: 16 in. (54th percentile)

♥                ♥                ♥

so I tried something new this month.  I started reading "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" by Tracy Hogg and the whole book is based around this "eat, play, sleep" schedule.  it sounded like a really great idea except for the fact that Clark's favorite way to fall asleep is by nursing!  some books (like hers) say this is bad because then babies won't learn to soothe themselves to sleep while other books (Dr. Sears) say that nursing to sleep is perfectly normal and you should take advantage of this gift from mother nature.  we do and Clark actually has learned to soothe himself to sleep.  the past few nights he has stopped falling asleep at the breast and prefers to be put down awake in his crib.  it seems to be working for him...he typically sleeps 9-10 hours every night but the past 3 nights he has bumped that up to 11-12 hours!!!

I did like the idea of getting Clark on a more predictable schedule, be it eat, play, sleep or eat, sleep, play or some combination of the two.  so this month I tracked Clark's every waking hour for 10 days straight and I was amazed at how much of a routine he had already created for himself!  this is what I found:

daily routine:

6:30 am - wake and eat

7:00 am - back to bed

8:00 am - get Clark ready

8:30 am - tummy time

9:00 am - eat

9:30 am - morning walk

10:30 am - eat

11:00 am - nap #1

12:00 pm - play

1:00 pm - eat

1:30 pm - nap #2

3:00 pm - eat
3:30 pm - play
5:00 pm - nap #3

6:00 pm - eat

6:30 pm - play

7:30 pm - eat

8:00 pm - bedtime routine

8:30 pm - nighttime feed
9:00 pm - asleep for the night!

the above times are approximate but usually happen within 30 minutes of the time listed (could be 30 minutes before or after).  and some days are totally crazy like today where he has been sleeping literally all day.  but he is teething so that explains it.

one thing I've learned with a baby is that nothing ever stays the same!  Clark is constantly changing and, consequently, so is his routine.  I'm liking his current phase...in bed by 8:30 and up at 7:30 or 8!  after all that sleep Clark wakes up happy as can be!  he is definitely a morning person (does not take after his mama).  when I come and get him in the mornings, he is all smiles, giggling and kicking his feet.

f i r s t s

♥ shower - the day after Clark turned two months old we decided on a whim to try our first family shower.  let's just say we haven't done it again.  haha,  he actually didn't mind the shower...it was afterwards that was rough.  that's the worst part of bath time too.  he loves the bath but hates getting out.  getting out of the shower was worse because I was all wet and wrapped in a towel so it took me a lot longer to get him dressed.  I think we may just have planned it out wrong...next time, I'll have him stay in the shower with Mark while I get dressed and have his clothes all ready to go so it doesn't take so long.

♥ trip to the grocery store - he slept the whole time!  we also got compliments on our Milk Snob :)

♥ Chick-Fil-A - needless to say he loved it!  all the bright colors and ketchup packets to look at (his favorite color) and listening to people talking and laughing.  and the children!  clark looooves being around other children.

♥ swim - he totally loved it!  such a little water baby...I just walked right in with him in my arms and he was so calm and chill the entire time.  he never fussed once and we all passed him around and took turns swimming with Clark!

♥ swing - one Sunday afternoon we found some swings surrounded by a bunch of trees in a cute little neighborhood and stopped to swing as a family...

♥ fell asleep in his crib - this month Clark has started falling asleep by himself in his crib!  the trick is finding the right time to put him down when he's sleepy but not overtired.  when you get it right, it's gold!

f a v o r i t e s

♥ picture books - Clark loves being read to!  he will sit and listen to book after book after book, just staring at the pictures.  some of his favorites are, "Elmo Loves Hugs," "Harry the Dirty Dog," "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Little Blue Truck."

♥ being outside - a no-fail way to get Clark to stop crying is to go outside.  maybe it's the temperature change, the different sounds or the bright sunlight but Clark always immediately stops crying and usually will fall asleep if he's worked himself up beforehand.  I wish we could get outside more but it's just too hot!  not to mention the mosquitoes.  so far he hasn't been bit but I don't know how much longer we can keep that up.  I hate mosquitoes with a passion!!!  but sometimes it's worth a few bites because...

outside is gorgeous!  we love going on walks through the green belt and around the lake with grandma.

♥ Elmo - I happen to do a great Elmo impersonation and Clark loves the color red so naturally he loves Elmo!  we are going to get him a tickle me Elmo when he gets a little older because right now I think that thing is bigger than he is, haha.

♥ Mother Goose Storytime - we attended storytime for babies at the library this past week and Clark was in Heaven!  all of his favorite things combined...books, songs, and other babies!  he sat in my lap the entire time and was in awe!

also, a stranger said he looks just like me!  made. my. day.

e a t

the biggest thing that happened this month was finding out Clark has a cow's milk allergy!

it all started when we woke up one morning and heard Clark coughing in his crib.  Mark went to check on him and shouted to me but I couldn't hear what he was saying.  I walked to the nursery, still half asleep and the first thing Mark says is, "we need to go to the doctor."  I just stood there in the doorway stunned, terrified to walk over and asked why.  Mark said Clark had coughed up blood and that woke me up fast!  I stumbled over to the crib and looked over to find...

blood all over the crib and on Clark's night gown!  I nearly fainted.  we quickly began googling it and found out it can happen when mom's nipples are cracked or bleeding.  that wasn't the case so we waited until 8 am to call the doctor and she told us to come in.

Clark didn't have a fever and was acting perfectly normal so we weren't too worried but Mark went late to work that day so he could take us to the doctor right away.  after checking all of Clark's vitals and not being able to find anything wrong, the doctor said the most common reason for blood in the GI tract is due to a cow's milk allergy.  he didn't really have any other symptoms other than infrequent bowel movements (he only poops once a week if that!) and being pretty fussy but we decided to try no dairy for a week and see what happened.

the doctor handed me a list of foods to avoid which included things I eat on a daily basis such as milk (duh!  I have cereal every day!), cheese (cheese sticks are my go to), yogurt (I love chobani!), chocolate (WHAT!?), caramel (seriously??) and ICE-CREAM!!!!!

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

luckily ben & jerry make a dairy free line of ice-cream.  I've already tried every flavor!  I'm happy to report I can't really tell the difference.  thank you ben & jerry!!

as for Clark, he seems to be a much happier baby, has started pooping 2-3 times a week and no more blood!!!  also I've lost 3 lbs, ha.  so we will continue to be dairy free for 3 more months until we start Clark on solids and slowly bring it back.  he should outgrow the allergy before he turns 1.

ironically he wore this onesie to his follow-up appt!

s l e e p

sleep has been great for everyone this month!  like I mentioned above, Clark sleeps 10-12 hours every night, typically 8:30-9:00 pm until 7:30-8:00 am.  one of the biggest challenges has been napping, or more specifically napping in his crib.  he'll sleep for hours in my lap but try putting him in his crib and he's guaranteed to wake up, if not immediately then within 20 minutes or so.  it's the strangest thing because he sleeps all night in his crib but hates it during the day.  I think it's because right from the start we established a night routine (probably because I was so worried about the nights) but during the day I've allowed him to sleep in my lap in whatever room of the house I happen to be in because that's easier than transitioning him to the crib.  especially when I know I have a few hours of blogging, reading, or napping I can get in while he naps in my lap.  so it's become a habit for both of us.

I'm really hesitant to change things because he's sleeping so well at night.  I'm terrified if I do anything new I'll screw that up!  maybe for now, I'll wait until the nights stop being so consistent and then try.  let's hope that day never comes ;)

p l a y / d e v e l o p m e n t

we hit a lot of milestones this month!  Clark rolls to his side on the regular, has started teething and constantly has his hands in his mouth (just waiting for him to find his thumb!), and smiles readily!  his smiles are the best.

he can always be counted on to smile first thing in the morning, after waking from a good nap, and during a few games we like to play.  one of his favorite games is one I made up called "animal sounds".  it's basically just like it sounds.  I say, "what sound does the cat make?" and then meow for him and act like a cat.  hahaha, I may look ridiculous but he loves it!  I repeat this with a bunch of animals until I get to the best one...a bear!  "what sound does the bear make?" and then I make scary bear claws and do my best "RAWR!"

hahahaha!  maybe I'm such a mean mom but this face kills me every time!

my mom's favorite game to play with Clark is "stinky feet!"  it is like it sounds.  she yells, "stinky feet!" and smells Clark's feet.  always gets him giggling or at least humoring her with a smirk.

my dad loves to watch football with Clark...even though we've told him no screen time!  it's bad for babies under 2 years old.  but they do look awfully cute...

Clark is also pretty good at entertaining himself...when I get ready in the mornings I put him on his play mat and he will happily play for an hour or so.

even though Clark hates tummy time he has gotten really good at holding his head up.  I think it's because we sit him up a lot and my dad gives him a good workout every day...standing, squatting, crunches...good thing he loves his grandpa!

people have started saying Clark looks like me when he smiles.  but when I look at him, all I see is Mark.

my world

I can't remember what I did before Clark.  he makes up my every waking minute.  when I'm not with him, I'm missing him!  I don't know what I thought being a mom would be like but I didn't realize how much it would change me.  I am no longer my own person.  this quote describes it perfectly...

"making the decision to have a child - it's momentous.  it is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." - elizabeth stone

my ♥

we made it through month three!  can't wait to see what month four will bring.