William's 3 Month Update

My sweet William is now a three month old... Not sure how to feel about that!! He's no longer the tiny infant anymore, and already is developing some big boy independance such as today when he made it clear he'd rather nap like a big boy on the bed instead of in mama's arms. I often think it's God's grace to us moms that everything happens so gradual, and with each growing stage comes sweeter milestones, so the transition of phases isn't near as rough on a mama's heart; that is until you look back... and then it hits you!

The first few weeks of his life were mainly spent staying home with lots of cuddles and skin on skin time. I should mention that "home" for us during the first couple months of his life was actually staying in a hotel in Idaho for David's work. It might sound depressing to some to be stuck in a hotel for months, but I honestly didn't mind it so much at all. It gave me time to fully concentrate and bond with my new baby and heal without feeling the pressure of having to visit with people and go places.

(one month old)

I was actually always scared of motherhood and was NOT a baby person at all!! In fact William was the first newborn I had ever held. However it all has come so naturally to me and I've truly loved every moment.

(one month old)

For the first few weeks as his little tummy got adjusted to digesting breast milk he did have some gas that was uncomfortable to him, and dealt with a little bit of colic. It didn't last that long and praying for him always gave him relief.

(his first time on the bike, haha!)

He's been a great sleeper pretty much from the start!! There were a few nights he would be up for a couple of hours before he would fall back asleep, but by about 6 weeks he was pretty much sleeping through the night with dream feedings.

(two months old & first Father's Day)

With David working long hard hours, it was very important that he got his sleep. There were probably less than a handful of times that he didn't get a full nights sleep, and I attribute that to co-sleeping.

I understand that's not for everyone, but for us it's been so amazing and we wouldn't have it any other way.

I've never done a feeding schedule, he just nurses on demand and is only fed breast milk.

For the first several weeks I didn't have a nap/sleep schedule either. Obviously newborns sleep a lot, and I think it's important to pay attention to your baby's natural sleep cycles and use that as a starting point.

When he was about 4-8 weeks old it seemed like if he wasn't in bed by 8-9 or even earlier then he would stay up for another whole two hours!! But now that he's older it's easier with bedtime because he's a lot better at actually falling asleep when he's tired. Although I do try to get him down by 9-9:30.

I've found that his whole day is SO much better if he goes down for his morning nap 45 min to an hour or so after waking up. And then all his other naps are pretty easy and he can sleep anywhere.

We also made it a point to not be quiet while he sleeps, so we can just bustle about like normal and he'll stay sound asleep!! I can even run my obnoxious smoothie blender without waking him, score! (I LOVE my smoothies)

(three months)

He loves to chatter and tell us about his day, and he smiles all the time!! It's so fun seeing his little personality unfold :). He's such a little gentleman and charmer. He's still working on his giggle though; sometimes he'll get lucky and get on a roll laughing but he still doesn't quite know how to repeat it when he does laugh.

He loves being outside, dipping his toes in ice cold mountain lakes and rivers, and campfires. We have a lot of campfires in the evenings and he has learned that if he fights bedtime just long enough after I've already put him down then he'll get to come back outside and sit with everyone around the fire. And he doesn't even get crabby like he usually does if he stayed up way past his bedtime. He just loves it so much and somehow always knows when we have one even if I try to get him to bed before we start it.

In his first three months he's gotten to meet family, travel to Idaho and California. Go to Glacier National Park and nap at Lake Mcdonald (so jealous!!). He's been on three hikes in the mountains. Been to the lake lots of times as well as to the river. And got to celebrate the 4th of July and see fireworks!!!

He just adored meeting his grandparents on my side! Plus my sister and her family and his newest cousin Nathan who is just two days older than him!!

He's been showing signs of teething now for several weeks and is all drool and bubbles these days haha.

He's now getting better at reaching for stuff and will hold onto things when you hand it to him.

Also he is quite fascinated with food and can't wait to start eating, but he's got a few more months before that!

He tries to rollover but hasn't quite mastered it by himself. However around 4-5 weeks old David was playing with him and he learned how to do little squats, so that was all he wanted to do when he was awake for the next several days. And then David taught him how to take steps, and I kid you not that little child could walk around with us supporting his weight!! It was the cutest thing ever and he loved it. I have a feeling he might just skip crawling and go straight to walking haha!!

Adjusting to mom life has been very easy for me. He's such a low key and good baby, so I feel very blessed. But also I believe that the mindset you enter post partum with will entirely set you up for either success or failure. I do realize that it's all so much easier with a good birthing experience and proper bonding with your baby to have a better recovery time.

But I'm here to say that in the same way that you have the power to choose your birthing experience, you have the same power to choose how post partum will look for you. The path to get you there will look different for each person, but none the less it's possible to have a good experience.

I never dealt with any of the baby blues, I truly believe that flooding your body with good nutrients and wholesome foods daily helps tremendously with that. I was very intentional with supplements during pregnancy and have remained that way since giving birth. I was more emotional the first couple of weeks and could cry super easily, but that's honestly quite normal with all the hormones adjusting in your body and that's why I can't stress enough how important it is to be fueling your body with supplements and whole foods.

Sometimes it felt like I'd never be strong again like I was before pregnancy, but it just takes time and patience. I started doing light workouts with resistance bands and body weight at about 5 weeks, and going on a lot of walks which William just loves. I would say about the 2-2.5 month mark I felt pretty much completely back to normal and could do things without my body reminding me I was still freshly post partum ;)

I wish I could get back into the gym as weight lifting is what I love, but that's kinda impossible right now with a baby and that's totally ok. The gym will always be there, but he won't be little forever.

I've so loved watching him grow and mature these past 3 months, and I'm so looking forward to the next months and the milestones that come with it!! But for now I'm gonna soak up as many baby snuggles as I can, and I feel so blessed that I'm able to stay at home with him and be there for every sweet little moment.