Emma: 3 months old!

Emma turned 3 months old yesterday.  Where has the time gone?  It's been a big month for her though, given the big trip we've taken and all of the new experiences she's had as a result.

Firsts

-sleeping all the way through the night (8pm to 7am!)

-flight on an airplane

-meeting Nana and Auntie Sarah and other Aussie family members

-first "swim" in the pool

-first visit to the beach (and "dip" in the ocean)

Growth and development

Emma is growing into her 3-6 month (or 00 in Aussie sizes) clothes well, although she does still fit in a few of her 0-3 month summery outfits (which I've been getting her to wear as much as possible while we're here before she outgrows them!).  One week ago she weighed 6.3 kg (or 13 lbs 12 oz) when we had to take her to the doctor here (due to her having a really hoarse cry and chest/throat congestion).

Emma in her "cherries" 0-3 month sleeper on her floor mat one of the first days after arriving at Nana's house

While I haven't been the best at giving Emma lots of tummy time, she is still doing great lifting her head up and looking around when I do put her on her belly.  She doesn't like to stay that way too long though.  After her neck gets tired she often buries her face in the mat and fusses until I roll her over.  She usually leaves a nice pool of drool behind on the mat from that too.

Holding her head high, checking out the books I have set in front of her

Speaking of drool, she's definitely become quite the drooler this past month.  I may need to break out the bibs to keep her shirt collars dry from her drool, but I'm going to try to avoid that while we're here in the heat (adding another layer of clothes around her neck would get pretty hot I think).

Emma smiles a lot and coos and goos and gurgles.  She loves to catch my eye and chat back and forth with me.  She also seems like she's on the verge of laughing.  She does some really big open mouth/tongue sticking out smiles too...oh they are just so cute to see.

Emma has also started watching her hands and feet more.  She also puts her hands in her mouth a lot, either to explore them or do some sucking to soothe her.  And, she has finally started taking the pacifier more lately, which has helped soothe her to sleep for some naps (a big help!).

Sucking on her hand, wearing a circle skirt (based off something I saw on pinterest) that Aunt Linda made for her.

Sleep time

Jet lag really messed with Emma's sleep schedule the past week and a half, but in general she's been doing great at sleeping through the night.  Her daytime napping schedule is still pretty variable, but I think she generally has about 3-4 naps each day now.  One in the mid-morning, one mid-day, one late afternoon, and sometimes one in the evening.  She rarely sleeps longer than 45 min-1 hour per nap (at least not here in Australia yet...back at home she had been sleeping up to 3 hours for one of her naps in her swing).  Most of her naps are in her swing here, although she has had an occasional nap in her stroller, or in someone's arms.

Snuggled up on Nana after a nap on her lap with her pacifier

Meal time

Emma nurses still about every 2-3 hours during the day.  Lately I feel like she may not be getting as much milk as she'd like during her daytime feeds, as she kind of tugs on me after about 10 minutes.  Perhaps my milk supply has not gotten over jet lag yet (or maybe she's going thru her 3-month growth spurt?)!  When John's fed her bottles, he's given her about 3 oz per bottle, but she seems to want more.  The next time we try bottles with her, we'll have to try to give her 4-5 oz and see how that satisfies her.

Play time

Emma really likes to look at colorful things: colorful picture books (including a soft book that I have for her), a colorful pinwheel that Nana got, her linking rings, and the toys that hang on the bouncy chair.  She also loves to watch TV (sigh)...it will calm her and capture her attention even amidst a terrible fuss.  She also likes to look in mirrors.  I love holding her and looking in the mirror with her now because the smiles that she gives when she sees that cute baby in the mirror are absolutely adorable!