Perry is 3 months!

Three months is my favorite age so far. :)  Perry has grown and changed so much this month!  She seems like a baby and not a newborn anymore.  It is bittersweet how quickly the time goes, but we are loving this stage so far!

wearing mommy's day gown

Perry likes looking in the mirror, car rides, and baths.  She really likes getting her diaper changed.  It always calms her down if she's been fussy even if she doesn't have a dirty diaper.  She just likes laying there on the changing table.  She loves when we sing and talk to her.  Some favorite songs are You Are My Sunshine, If You're Happy and You Know It, and Jesus Loves Me.  She has started cooing a lot!  She chews on her right hand non-stop and prefers it to her "bappies" (pacifier) a lot of the time.  She just recently found her feet, and it's so cute!  She will grab her left foot with her left hand all the time, often at the same time she's chewing on her right hand.  She holds her head up so well and is so proud of herself when we practice pulling her up. She hates tummy time, but we've been trying to make her do it more often.

Perry's eating has always been a roller coaster - the girl just doesn't really like to eat that much!  She never cries when she's hungry, only when she is tired.  So I have to watch the clock and feed her when I think it's "time" because she will never let me know when she's hungry.  She was diagnosed with reflux this month.  She would skip meals, fuss, and just act generally uninterested in eating.  We struggled a lot.  We started her on a reflux medicine, and I think it made a big difference.  We also moved from 6 feedings a day to 5 feedings a day (plus a middle of the night feed).  I think dropping a feeding made a big difference for her, too, because she's more hungry.  She decided she will tolerate bottles again!  Woo hoo!

I started back to work this month.  I am working 3 days a week, and we are taking her to the daycare in my office complex.  I was absolutely dreading going back, but the transition has been surprisingly easier than I thought!!  We are all adjusting well.  It has been nice for mommy to have more adult interaction and have a reason to get dressed in the mornings, and Perry has done SO well at school (I prefer that term over "daycare").  Her teachers, Miss Keke and Miss Angela, love her!  She naps in her Baby Merlin's Magic Sleep Suit in her crib at school, and they say she falls asleep on her own.  She eats 3 bottles with 5 ounces each while at school, and she has been taking her bottles like a champ!  Her class has 5 babies total right now.  They sing and listen to music, play, do tummy time, circle time, and read books.  The best part is, I can go see her whenever I want throughout the day!

A typical day for us starts anywhere between 6 and 7, depending on whether it's a work day or not.  We give Perry her reflux medicine, then feed her.  If it's a work day, we will get ready and leave the house at 7. If it's a non-work day, we will have breakfast and play for a while.  She usually eats around 6:45, 10, 1:15, 4:30, and 7:30.  Naps are still kind of random, but we try to follow the eat, wake, sleep cycle.  I still hold her for most of her naps during the day, but we are starting to work on her napping in her pack-n-play or crib during the day.  Her bedtime routine usually starts between 7-7:30.  She gets a bath, gets jammied up, eats, and goes straight to sleep.  She is still sleeping in the pack-n-play in our room, and she usually only wakes up once to eat in the middle of the night.

Noteworthy moment: She slept through the night for the first time this month!!!  8pm to 6am at 10 weeks and 5 days old!  It only happened once, but still.  :)

Perry Frances, we love you more than you will ever know!