12-Week Mark

Elliot will be 12 weeks old on Wednesday. It seems unreal to us that he can be nearly 3 months old already. This is a time of big changes for him. He is very willing to smile and talk, gurgling and even giggling sometimes. He has a lot to say in the mornings especially. He is definitely a serious little person though. He has his mom’s intense furrowed brow when he studies something. Physically, he has likely surpassed 14 pounds and is a little chunky buns. His little legs are pure chunk from hip to ankle, and he has cute little dimples in his elbows. Needless to say he is still a very good eater. He’s getting more control of his head as his neck gets stronger.

With our help, he is also making excellent progress in the world of sleep. At a friend’s recommendation I read a great book called “The Baby Whisperer”. (“Babywise” wasn’t working for us because, although we use the idea of parent-directed feeding, we just couldn’t let Elliot cry himself to sleep.) The Baby Whisperer says to put him to bed when he is still awake, but if he cries go in and comfort him until he settles, then leave the room. So that’s what we do now and it works much better for all of us. Elliot can usually slide into his bassinet just before he enters dreamland, sleep well and wake up happy. The other good piece of advice in the book is the idea of “dream feeding”. I lift him out of his bassinet and put him on the boob right before I go to bed. He eats a full meal and never wakes up, it’s amazing. Nobody else I know can eat in their sleep.

Elliot has been going to bed around 8:30p and sleeps through the night... for the most part. The last few nights he has been waking up at 4am. I hear him talking so I leave him be, but last night he started to fuss so I went in to make sure he hadn't pulled the blanket over his head (which he likes to do now). I peered down into his bassinet and these two dark pools stared up at me and then he gave me a big gummy grin. Well what can I do but get him out and give him a hug? So we rocked for a bit and then he went back to sleep. Hopefully I will be stronger tonight and let him put himself back to sleep, but I figure there are worse things. If only he weren't so darn cute. Also, as of June 1st Elliot is sleeping in his nursery now instead of next to our bed. So far so good. Our house is small so we hear any peep he makes anyway.

Meanwhile, I have only two weeks until I start back to work. The excellent news is that I work from home and can give Elliot all of his feedings so I don’t have to become a “super pumper” like most working moms. For this I am very grateful. The bad news is, I have to go back to work so will get to spend less time with Elliot. We are in the process of narrowing down our list of “nanny” candidates. We are probably going to hire a University of Texas student. We had some great applications from elementary education and nursing students with child care experience. With me here, I feel good about hiring someone who isn’t a professional. I have a feeling once I start working again and get into my groove, it will work out just fine.

By the way, several people ask us about the Fuzzi Bunz diapers. Are they working out? We can give you an absolute YES! They are super comfy on the bum… polar fleece feels better than paper I imagine. They are cool in summer, warm in winter. And best of all, they are easy to clean up. We just dump the bucket of “poop soup” into the washer, do a rinse cycle, do a wash cycle, and dry them on low. Easy peasy. So far for us they are really wonderful and we can highly recommend them.