Sunday, November 2, 2008

Ani-Bear at Three Month

Ani is not my baby. He is not R's baby. He is not Sam's baby.

Ani is our baby.

When he cries, Sam says "Stop!" and she shushes him and tries to rock him. When he wants something she rushes to get it for him. She is always concerned when he is not around and wants to "help" change his diapers, give him baths and do his tummy time. In short, she is a mini mommy for my little boy (a mini mommy who occasionally hits or scratches him).

This has been a tough couple weeks for my littlest one. He is still a generally mellow fellow, but he has had a bit of newborn fussiness that seems to have been waiting to surface. For the past couple weeks, he has spent the "witching hour" (6-7 p.m.) largely engaged in fussy behavior. I fear it is interfering with R's ability to bond with him.

His sleep schedule is fairly consistent. He goes down around 8 p.m. and sleeps until his dream feed around midnight. Then he sleeps until 3 or 4, we bring him into our bed and he sleeps until around 5:30, feeds again and then sleeps until 10 or 11. If I could sleep in with him, it would be no problem and we are learning to deal with the sleepus interruptus, but it would be much easier if he slept through the night, so we are still hopeful.

He needs to be where the action is and will not sit in his swing or bed alone, preferring the bouncy chair and the company of others. He has no problem watching me do an hour or yoga or pilates from his bouncy seat, he just will not nap during it.

He and his sister are so different. She preferred pumped milk from a bottle, he prefers the breast (and will not take a bottle). She preferred the swing and sling, he prefers the bouncy seat and the Bjorn. It is a good thing we have $9 million in baby accessories. He is also huge (75th percentile) in weight, height and head circumference. He weighs 13 pounds, 11 ounces (probably more right now), is 24.5 inches and wears clothing meant for 6-9 month-olds. The other day I had to retire all of his newborn-3 month clothing, which ought to pay my shrink's mortgage for a few months. I am so glad he is growing, but can't believe how fast it is happening.

He still prefers me, which warms the cockles of my cold heart every day, especially given his sister wavers between hate and cold tolerance of her mommy. Ani is such a precious boy and even though I am not a proponent of the family bed, there are mornings where I wake to his smiling face and wish I could keep him this age forever. He smells so wonderful, like fresh, sweet baby and he lets me cuddle and hold him for hours. The part of me that wants him to hurry up and grow so that I can have some independence is fighting with the side of me that never wants to let him go.



2 comments:

Agent Saskia said...

He is so beautiful! It was when Penny was his age that I totally fell in love with her. Enjoy his cuddles and sweet smiles!

Kristi said...

Those eyelashes! He is so beautiful, just like his sister.