The journey to 3 months

That post title sounds fancy, doesn't it?!? But really, the changes a baby goes through in the first few months is mind boggling.  It isn't all about poop and milk :-)

(Pardon this announcement. I actually had this post ready right at Gabe's 3 month mark, and I had pictures as well, BUT I promised myself I wouldn't post without pics this time, and, well, the post sat ready to go for more than three weeks, so I'm backdating a bit.  I blame my ending work and my last minute trip to Houston/Waco.  And now back to the post).

And speaking of poop (like my segue?), Gabe is an efficient little man.  I'm amazed at how many dirty diapers the dude has, and how much gas he has as well!  Boys versus girls, I guess. Madeline would go up to 9 days without a BM when she was little! I was shocked and concerned (nothing to be concerned about) with her, but I have NO worries with him!

HE HAS LAUGHED! I was singing along to a silly kid CD while changing Gabe's diaper and he laughed out loud! His laughs are few and far between, but it's happened.  And I love it! If you're lucky he'll laugh at you, too. Because let's face it, when a baby laughs, it's because you've done something to evoke that laughter and it's most likely not something you'd do in public.  And if you're like me, you'll continue said behavior until the laughter all but stops and the baby isn't amused anymore in the attempt to get that little laugh again and again. Admit it, you've done it, too. :-D

One of the things that stands out to me is that Gabe absolutely loves his bath.  He'll splash and kick and smile, coo and laugh. I love that he loves his bath.  I remember that Madeline did NOT like her baths, and even now, she goes back and forth on whether she will enjoy her bath.  It makes it easy to bathe both of them together because Gabe can hang out on the ramp while I wash Madeline.

I've noticed Gabe isn't much of a napper, especially from about 3 PM on...it makes for some very long afternoons, but I can usually get him to conk out if I wrap the little dude on.  And as a plus, I've finally mastered wrapping six yards of fabric around me in an efficient and none twisted manner :-)  And yes, Gabe is still sleeping in the swing.  It's awful, I know, but he sleeps SO well in it that I've decided I'm probably going to keep him there until something like teething messes up his sleeping anyway.  He's obviously not going to sleep in a swing forever and in the grand scheme of things, it isn't that big of a deal.

I think Gabe is going to be a finger sucker.  Thank goodness.  I sure do hope he masters that little trick soon because when he finds his fingers, he calms himself down.  He loves his left hand and the pointer and middle fingers together.  Just like his Aunt Katie.

Gabe loves faces. Loves, loves, loves.  I'll catch him smiling at himself when he wakes up from his nap and looks into the mirror above his head on the swing.  He will gaze into my face (or Madeline's or Craig's) and just smile away. I love his toothless grin!

Gabe is also a drooler.  Madeline wasn't much of one, but Gabe is both a drool and spit up master.  He doesn't kid around when he spits up and he'll get me, him and whatever I'm sitting on wet.  If I'm lucky, it's just a bunch of chunks, but I'm usually not that lucky.

He's still a great sleeper, although he still goes to bed later than I'd like and will sometimes wake up between 4-6 AM, I am counting my blessings with his fantastic sleep!

And the wiggle-kick-twist diaper changes are already happening.  He's definitely a wiggler, but I'm so grateful for my little kick-a-roo man. I know I keep mentioning his NICU stay, but I'll be mentioning it a lot more. You're probably tired of hearing and reading about it, but the truth is I don't want to forget that time.  I don't want to forget how sick he was and how things could be vastly different.  We could be caring for a child with special needs or not have a child at all.  But, for some reason, God allowed my prayers to be answered in full.  So when Gabe wakes up earlier than normal or kicks his foot in his poop, I smile.  I take advantage of the quiet, dark nights when it's just me and him, or I wipe his little foot off and run my fingers along his wrinkly toes.