Maggie's third Month!

I know you've been waiting with bated breath for this month's slightly delayed update. My apologies! Here are the things I most remember from the last month.

- I think Maggie's sweet, happy smile is my fondest memory of this month. The amazing moment when your face comes into her field of vision and she just lights up with this big smile as though you are the most wonderful thing she has ever seen. It just melts me into a puddle and I forget whatever I was doing and instead work to win more of those smiles....ah, sweet innocence.

- Miss M is turning out to be quite the talker! (I wonder where she gets that...) No, obviously my three-month old doesn't have any "words." She does, however, vocalize very frequently. One day, for example, I was talking to my Mom on speaker phone and we litterally could not get a word in edgewise as Maggie had so many things to tell Grandma. The flip side is it is also quite clear that what she is doing is complaining rather than telling you a story. She is already developing a "tone." Love the chatting though.

- Sleep, as you may have guessed from prior postings, has been mixed. At two months she dropped to waking up two times a night and just before three was dropped down to one. Then something wacky happened and she popped back up again to a random number and seems to be settling in nearer to one again.

- I think some of the issues with the sleep is that she is suddenly eating more per feeding and thus, I suspect, growing quickly again. Most of the last month she drifted around 4oz every 2.5 hours. In the last week or so though it is up to routinely nearer to 6oz every three hours (or oddly more often in the afternoons). There was also about a week of random fussiness every later afternoon with no apparent cause. Humorously, whenever left with her Daddy in the afternoon during this phase I would come home to find her stripped to her diaper and often just fallen asleep. Miss M does prefer life sans clothes just now.

- She continues to enjoy time in her swing and falls asleep there periodically as well. She also will spend more time in her activity gym and just playing on a blanket. Sometimes when I'm using the Wii Fit she will lay there and watch. I will come down and play with her briefly between exercises and we're both pretty content getting both some exercise and some snuggles.

- She loves B and he loves her. This is another melting moment for mom. He hugs and loves on her frequently and "watches" her for me occasionally. (Please, no panicking this involves sitting next to her on the floor while I brush my teeth nearby. She is safe and he is just telling her stories. I caught him recently explaining about Lightening McQueen). B is also trying to help soothe her in the car. He will sing a little song or tell her it is OK or that we're all with her. Basically, all the things he hears us saying. It is so touching.

- She continues to work on rolling over, but no mastery yet and I think we're all OK with that:)

- She had her first plane ride this month to STL and did great throughout the travels. She loves Aunt Audra's Pack 'N Play!

- She had her first Halloween and was, as you saw, completely adorable.

- She got to visit with most of her Aunts and Uncles this month (save Uncle Carl) and all her Grandparents as is our normal habit. She met Uncle Zach for the first time and he was a bit hit.

- She met her care provider for when I returned to work and seemed to like her.

- M is beginning to interact with toys just a tiny bit. Mostly grabbing items such as small rattles or things hanging from her gym. Her favorite toy/items of interest are her hands. She is fascinated with them and spends a lot of time working with them. She will intertwine her fingers or maneuver some combination of them into her mouth whenever possible.

- Maggie is primarily wearing 3-6 month clothes, but there are quite a few 6-9 month clothes in rotation now as well. She got a lot of new clothes this month from Aunt Audra and I as many of the 6-9 month clothes we were given had short sleeves and October was just too cold for that.

- I am using the sling less and the Bjorn more. We are also able to put her car seat in the stroller for little trips more often as she is tolerating it better now.

- Her hair is this fascinating golden blond/light brown/slightly auburn color depending on the light. So soft and I love it.

Overall, she remains a generally sweet, snuggly baby and we're having a wonderful time. Before she turns 4 months old I will "go" back to work and M will have her first experiences in child care which, as expected, makes me nervous. I am trying to be optimistic though. Also coming up is a visit from Aunt Audra, Thanksgiving and plenty of fun activities with our family and friends. It all goes so quickly!