Olive turned 3 months old today! In the past month, most of the hair on the top of her head fell out, so she looks like a little middle aged balding baby. She also has a bald spot on the back of her head from sleeping in her crib. Charlie’s hair fell out around this age too — just not this unevenly. So until her hair grows back and evens out a little bit, Olive will be wearing lots of hats!

The biggest change in Olive’s little life the past month is that she’s become a champion nurser. She went from being exclusively bottlefed, to bottlefed most of the time, to eventually loving breastfeeding so much that she flat out rejected the bottle. She still fights the first two bottles of the day, but she’ll eventually take it with some coaxing. We have to give her a bottle every day because just one day of exclusive breastfeeding gets her off track!

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Breastfeeding is a bond I share with Olive that I never really got to experience with Charlie. I wonder if I’ll be sad when I have to wean her one day. Life would certainly be easier if I didn’t have to breastfeed and pump. But I have to admit that I’ve come to love breastfeeding in a way I never thought I would. Plus Olive loves it so much, how can I deny her? She always gives me the biggest, goofiest grin before I’m about to nurse her, even in the middle of the night.



MILESTONES

Olive’s big milestone for the month is she finally started smiling and cooing daily. I remember the exact date — December 21, 2011 — when she was 2 1/2 months old. I didn’t care too much about  milestones with Charlie. But for some reason I’m particularly anxious because Olive was born 5 weeks early. I’m constantly wondering whether something is wrong with her, and the only way I can reassure myself that Olive is perfectly healthy is if she hits milestones. It’s a little difficult to track when she should hit a certain milestone though because she has her birth age and her adjusted age.

I’ve also been worried because her right eye started crossing inward recently. It’s normal for newborns under 2 months of age to have their eyes cross because they’re still figuring out how to use their eyes. I remember when I was worried that Charlie was cross-eyed! But Olive is old enough that it should have stopped by now. I’m just going to have to keep an “eye” on it hardy har har. Luckily it’s easily treated with early intervention.

SLEEP

I’ve come to the realization that Olive is not a good sleeper. She was just sleeping well the first two months because she was a newborn! Now that she’s transitioning out of the newborn phase, her sleep has gotten a lot worse. She regularly does 4 hour stretches at night, which isn’t bad. But she doesn’t fall right back asleep after a feeding, and needs me to hold her for a long time before I can put her back in her crib. That means I’m often up for over an hour in the middle of the night, which is way too long to be up in the middle of  the night! I’m often so tired that I fall asleep while nursing, and wake up hours later!  Then some nights she’s very fussy from 6pm – midnight, and will only sleep if we hold her. After the magical midnight hour, she usually sleeps fine in her crib.

As far as the glorious 3 hour naps she used to take, they are no longer. Once in awhile we luck out with an hour+ nap, but her naps are becoming shorter and shorter. Looking back at Charlie’s 3 month update, the exact same thing happened with him.

I was really hoping that we would have a naturally good sleeper in Olive. We’ve been trying to instill good sleeping habits by putting her in her crib drowsy but awake, and it sometimes works in the daytime. My resolve is a lot weaker in the middle of the night when I’m exhausted however, and all I want to do is get back to bed. I’m really hoping that it doesn’t come to sleep training!

PERSONALITY

Olive was a pretty mellow baby up until recently. The only two times she really cried was when she got her 2 month vaccines, and then when she rejected the bottle. But now fussing and crying seems to be a regular occurrence.  She doesn’t like sitting in her bouncer that long, and wants to be picked up. Then she doesn’t like being held in one position for very long either! We have to mix it up to keep her happy. I really hope this is a phase.  I guess with babies you never really know how they’re going to change and you just have to roll with the punches.

GROWTH

Olive weighs 11 lbs 10 oz. That’s between 10-25% for 3 month olds, and between 25-50% for 2 month olds. She went from having scrawny chicken legs that I was afraid I’d break when I changed her, to having rolls of fat on her thighs and a double chin. No one would even think that she was born early anymore!

These pictures of her in the hoodie were taken shortly after Olive turned 2 months old. I can definitely see her face has changed since. Her complexion is becoming lighter, almost all of her baby acne is gone, her eyes are becoming bigger, and I can really see Charlie’s face in hers. They even have the same little dimple in their right cheek! But Olive’s features are more delicate — her face is smaller, her eyes are more almond shaped, her ears are much smaller, and she has fat cupid’s bow lips.

Here is our silly little Olive sticking out her tongue. Just kidding! It’s Charlie with a headband when he was 2 1/2 months old. Do you think they look alike?

Life is definitely very difficult with two kids. Honestly there are some days I just want to cry when I think about everything I need to do!  But we’re taking it one day at a time as a family of four, and I know it’ll just get better and better.

Olive’s Monthly Updates part 5 of 19

1. Olive's Birth Story by Mrs. Bee
2. Olive - 12 Days Old by Mrs. Bee
3. Olive's 1 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
4. Olive's 2 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
5. Olive's 3 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
6. Olive's 4 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
7. Olive 5 Months & Charlie 27 Months by Mrs. Bee
8. Olive's 6 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
9. 7 Month & 29 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
10. 8 Month & 2 1/2 Year Update by Mrs. Bee
11. 9 Month and 31 Month Updates by Mrs. Bee
12. 10 Month & 32 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
13. 11 Month and 33 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
14. Olive's 1 Year Update by Mrs. Bee
15. 13 Month and 35 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
16. Olive's 14 & 15 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
17. 20 Month Update by Mrs. Bee
18. Olive's 2 1/2 Year Update by Mrs. Bee
19. Early Intervention, Parenting Over the First Five Years (and Olive's 3 Year Update) by Mrs. Bee