The Third Month

Slow down, slow down, slow down!

I can't believe that I've already packed away almost a full tub of clothes that my baby boy's too big for now. While I'm finally getting back into a few pairs of my old pants, Reid is quickly outgrowing his. At two and a half months old, we were already moving on to 3-6 month clothing because of long he is, especially in the torso. And, since then he hasn't slowed down much - even some of the 3-6 sleepers are getting too short when he tries to stretch out his legs.

This past Saturday I spent a good portion of the day pulling out Caleb's old 6-9 month clothes for my three month old to wear! I kept trying to keep those 0-3s in the dresser drawers, but when the new clothes showed up there wasn't enough room for all of them. 

In denial, I kept thinking, "maybe these still fit," but when Dave came it to assess the situation after I complained I didn't have enough room for Reid's new clothes, he gave me a reality check. "He's still a baby," I protested. "Those still fit." But, he just gave me the "Are you serious?" eye and laughed at my pleas to hold out those snug fitting outfits just a little bit longer. (Yep, he's the practical one.)

Reid can still be a pretty serious chap, but Mommy is getting very good at getting some wonderful smiles out of her sweet boy. With a little bit of sweet talking, he lights right up these days and coos to boot. I can hardly stand it some times! I just want to eat him up!

Laying on his back to play is fun, but we do a little tummy time to mix it up too. Reid is not so fond of this activity. He'd rather be facing up smiling and cooing than struggling to move on his belly, mushing his face into the blanket. Just like Caleb, I think he got chubby so quickly that it's made it hard for him to do much moving on his tum-tum. I don't expect him to be rolling over or crawling any time soon, but he'll get there in his own time and I'm not going to rush him. :)

Those rattles and baby toys he's been too small to do much with are now making an appearance too. He is good at grasping, shaking, and making a small ruckus with them. 

Reid recently even began to reach for toys hanging above him. We can tell he gets excited when his hand hits one or he gets a hold of it because he really starts moving, kicking his legs and swinging those arms.

Reid no longer wants to sit still either. That's for sure! With two older siblings running around, who would?

Since I often have to lay him down to tend my other kids, clean, make meals, etc., we make good use of the two bouncer/rockers we have. However, now this adventurous child thinks he is too big to lay back like he's supposed to. Instead, he tries his best to sit straight up. Often I look over to see Mr. Chunkerson crunching his abs, trying to do sit-ups so he can be upright. 

What three month old does that? One who has to watch out for his two older siblings who accidentally step on him when he tries to relax on his baby quilt, especially Hadley who's been known to try to sit on him on occasion.

I don't blame you, Reid! I'd be trying to get moving too!

In other news, pacifiers are a thing of the past. Caleb and Hadley loved them (well, Hadley still LOVES them), but Reid has his own preferences. Though he took a pacifier a little at first, it seems to gag and frustrate him more than comfort him. Instead he prefers to nurse or suck on Dave's finger to calm down. Often, he even shoves the side of his miniature balled up fist in there. He's gnawed on it so much recently that his poor little hand is beginning to get pretty chapped, and sadly there isn't much I can do about it since I don't want him licking off any lotion or cream I try to apply.

I thought he wasn't really going to attach to anything, but over the past several days, he's found HIS THUMB! I was a thumb sucker (until I was seven! SHHH!), so I find it pretty endearing that he's following his momma. If he sticks with chewing on that thumb, it will be nice not having to hunt for "woo-woos," make sure there is always one packed in the diaper bag, or worry about it falling on the floor. On the other hand, we may have to worry about keeping his hands washed more often and trying to figure out how to break the habit when it comes time since we can't just take it away like we can a paci. I guess we'll cross those bridges when we get there, but for now I think he is super cute and love that he can self soothe.

If only the days would listen to me and keep Mr. Reid from growing up so fast!