Finn at Three Months

Can we just stop to think about the fact that Finn is three months old?! Sure, he's still a little bitty baby, but I cannot even believe how much he has changed in the past 13 weeks! I am already finding it hard to think about him as a newborn.I think there are several "buckets" of development for a new baby. The physical growth is the most obvious, but there is also the brain growth, sleeping, - oh, the sleep! - eating, and the interaction with the outside world. And while we focus a lot on the growth of the baby, there is also something to be said for growing as parents! Being a new parent is hard. Not only has Finn come a long way in three months, but so have David and I!Physical GrowthLast week, we took him to the doctor after his fever spiked. Thankfully, it was no more than a little cold he picked up at daycare and his fever broke within 24 hours. However, while we were at the doctor, Finn weighed in at 13 lbs 8 0z. Last Monday, a growth spurt began, and Finn started eating like I've never seen him before. By the end of the week Finn unofficially weighs around 14 lbs 6oz. At birth, Finn weighed 8 lbs 6 oz, so he has already nearly doubled in size!Brain GrowthThere is nothing sweeter than the cooing of a little baby. Finn loves to chat with us! He has also started swatting at toys and can bring his toys to his mouth. He has found his hands and loves to chew on them. He is such a smiley guy too, and loves to watch us from across the room. I never thought I'd be so excited to see such small little victories in a human being, but it's truly remarkable to watch him grow.SleepingI'm going to be honest and say that I had second thoughts about having a baby about a month in. Don't get me wrong, Finn is awesome, but waking up every three hours to feed him was not. In the first month, I was nursing exclusively so it wasn't like David could wake up and feed him every now and then. It wasn't until about six weeks old that Finn started sleeping for longer than three hours. When we went to Colorado, everything changed. Whether it was the traveling, the altitude, or just having a slightly bigger belly, something clicked in him. At that point he was waking up around once at 3:30am. At about nine weeks, he started sleeping through the night. We also started a sleep routine. We have bath time, then change into pajamas, read a book and, by then, Finn is ready to be put down. He is still sleeping in our room, but I think that's more for me than for him. :)EatingMy man is a champ at eating! But it was quite the journey to get here. Finn never had issues with weight gain, but for the first month or so, he was quite lazy at eating. I was nursing exclusively through that time and it was wearing me out. He was not on a set schedule, and I was feeding on demand. It was fine for the first month of his life, but I knew eventually it would wear both of us out. I think I finally realized that Finn and I just aren't good at nursing. I had two goals: to introduce a bottle effectively since I knew I was going back to work, and to get him on a schedule since I knew it would help with his sleep - but I wanted to continue feeding him breast milk. As soon as we started bottle feeding, Finn was such a happier baby. He was never really a bad baby, but he was never really content. We realized quickly that he wasn't eating enough for his growing body. Once I started pumping and we could see how much he ate at each meal, our lives changed. He started sleeping better, he was happy, and so were we! Plus, David could help with feedings which took a load off of me. Now, at three months, Finn eats over 30 oz a day... which is roughly 5-6 oz per feeding. We've had to supplement my breast milk with formula, which I was hesitant to do at first, but in reality, I have to do it. Finn just eats way too much!It's been a huge learning curve being a new parent. Like I said, David and I went through a phase where we were worn down and exhausted. In the last month, our feelings have made a huge 180. Finn is so fun now! Every day it seems like he learns something new. Seeing him smile from his bassinet when he wakes up is the best part of my day. He's my favorite!Things I Don't Want to Forget

• Finn makes the cutest face when he is sleepy and getting picked up. He stretches his arms above his head, scrunches his legs like a little frog and raises his eyebrows up. He has been doing it since he was born and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen.
• When I walk Juneau and use the baby carrier, Finn is so content. He just looks up at the sky, squints a bit, and takes it all in.
• Right now, Finn likes to fall asleep on his own. I'm hoping this doesn't change, but I realize it may. Already missing the snuggles and rocking though!

A little advice for new moms: stop taking advice! There's so much information out there, it can be overwhelming. Your baby is one of a kind, and so are you as parents. As soon as David and I stopped following "directions" from what we had learned or had been told, our relationship with our son changed dramatically. We kept trying to force certain things (mainly feeding) and it wasn't working. We couldn't keep doing things the same way just because... we had to learn to bend and do what was best for all of us.