Never Dunn Dreaming: barrett matthew: 3 months

Barrett is 3 months old!

Growing like a weed! Long and lean with a chunky belly :). His cheeks are starting to fill out and his still skinny arms and legs are sporting a nice thigh and elbow roll these days, he is definitely not missing a meal! Barrett is hanging out in 3-6 month clothes now, although a couple of his one piece outfits are creeping on being too short. I still think we will get awhile more out of it all though.

Talking and smiling are the name of his game. It seems like everyday he gets chattier and happier. He loves when we read books to him, he will talk along with you and just smile away. Still loves being sung to-it helps at night when he is fighting sleep if I start singing he will usually nestle into my neck and conk out. He had been mimicking me babbling my tongue for awhile and actually did it back to me the other day! Moving his tongue in and out and making noises. He thinks it's the funniest thing in the world. Loves when you look at him and talk with him, talks to his playmat and toys, and even tells sad stories sometimes :). He even laughed for the first time! Ok, so he laughed in his sleep for the first time but it still counts! And then on his actual 3 month birthday he chuckled at me while I was tickling him. I did the whole "MATT! He's laughing!" and luckily he was laying right there and heard him :).

Still sucking on those hands and fingers. It started out as him randomly finding his thumb, then sucking on his hands while I tried to burp him or tummy time, and now he does it a lot! I've even woken up to him sucking on his hand in the middle of the night or early morning when he's escaped his swaddle :). Part of me doesn't want him sucking on his fingers because that could end up being a bad habit to break, but for now it's super cute :). He likes putting toys up to his mouth now, especially the holey ball that hangs from his playmat. Still rolling over from belly to back. Speaking of that, he is really starting to like tummy time! He will play for an extended period of time now just looking all around, lifting his head, and pushing up onto his elbows. He even pulls his knees in sometimes and when he gets mad he somehow move all around the blanket and ends up in a different place. He likes reaching and grabbing our faces now (melt my heart!) and grabs and bats at his toys. He had been trying to get my face for awhile, but one day he actually made the connection and when he grabbed my lip he got the hugest smile. So proud of himself!

LOVES being naked!

Barrett likes pushing up on his strong baby legs and will stand for a little bit if we hold him. He also is getting great head control and likes to be pulled up by his hands to the sitting position. We even tried the Bumbo seat a couple days ago and he sat there like a big boy! Still a little bobble-headed, but we will keep working, He kept trying to get to his feet, It won't be long now before he's grabbing at his toes. He loves when I stick his feet up to his mouth and having his feet rubbed with lotion (but who doesn't?). He loves having a stuffed toy or a blanket to hold on to and grab or even put in his mouth and loves wrapping his arms around his blankets while he sleeps.

Sleeping is still one his strong suits. I know we are so lucky with a baby who will "sleep through the night" He has always been a fairly good sleeper once we get him to sleep at night, really only getting up once, but when he was 9 weeks did an 8 hour stretch! I didn't really know what to do with myself. Then, at 10 weeks he did a 9 hour stretch and at 11 weeks did a 10 hour stretch (!!!!), but hasn't really done that since. 8 hour stretches seem to be the norm now with a couple random longer nights and I am definitely ok with that. He usually eats between 9/930 and then will sleep until 4/5 am, sometimes longer. He had been taking naps in the Rock and Play, Mamaroo, or really wherever worked, but I tried him in his crib for the first time for a nap when he was 11 weeks old. First time slept 20 min, then next tim 30 min, then once I put him in his sleepsack and swaddled his arms he then was doing 1-2 hour naps in his crib! He just lays there and looks up at his mobile (sometimes talks to it as he's falling asleep) and falls asleep. Sometimes needing a couple sucks on paci, but sometimes not at all. Will usually spit it out before he actually falls asleep. Some days are great nap days and others are just cat nap days... and most evenings are wrap carrier nap times. Sometimes putting him in the carrier is the only thing that will calm him and then he usually will doze off.