Letter to Samuel: 3 Months

Dearest Sammy Boy,

You turned three months old on Christmas Day! I believe that we have learned as much about you as you have learned about this big world. We’ve cradled you when you cried and rocked you to sleep. We’ve learned how to console you and how to make you smile. We’ve figured out how to eat with one hand while holding you with the other. We’ve discovered your favorite books and toys. Each day we fall more in love with you.

You continue to develop such a sweet little personality. You are alert and curious. You respond to our voices with coos and smiles. You focus on our eyes and faces and follow our movements when we walk across the room. Basically, you melt our hearts on a daily basis.

This month you discovered your hands, which you can’t keep out of your mouth, and your feet, which you can’t help but kick and stare at — especially in the bathtub. Bath time remains your favorite time of day, though playtime now comes in a close second. You sit up like such a big boy in your Bumbo seat and play with a host of characters: a butterfly, an owl, and a giraffe. And you love to fly like an airplane! Also, you no longer lie still on your activity mat. You wave your arms and arch your back, and we are just waiting for you to roll over. It’s going to happen soon!

Speaking of squirming, it’s become more difficult to hold you, especially when I lift you to my shoulder to burp you after mealtime. You’re just too interested in observing your surroundings. And if you hear Daddy, you turn your head to try to find him. Then when you make eye contact with him, you give him a big smile. Yes, you’re our smiley Wiley.

You haven’t yet turned that smile into an audible laugh. But you spread your mouth so wide and give us a silent kind of giggle. Your entire face just lights up.

You may not be laughing yet, but you sure are talking up a storm. You want your voice to be heard! You and I spend our days chatting about puppies and birds and trains. And when Daddy calls to check in (which he does several times every day), I put the phone to your mouth so you can say “hello.” Sometimes we swear that you do actually say “hi!”

What else do you and I do during the day? Well, we joined a local Moms Club, and it’s been a great opportunity for both of us to get out and socialize. You are one of the tiniest tots in the group, so you mostly sit in my lap and watch the bigger kiddos play. I know you are anxious to join them someday!

Mommy also had her first night out, thanks to the Moms Club. You and Daddy survived almost four hours without me. Yes, there was one unplanned wardrobe change, and Daddy may have eaten carrot cake for dinner, but when I got home, you were both sitting so contently on the couch.

Mommy and Daddy had two nights out together this month, too. Nana/Poppy and Oma/Opa were thrilled to watch you, and you were such a good boy. Until bedtime. Then you screamed and screamed — with real tears — until I got back to cradle you and bathe you and nurse you. Sam, I love that you still want to snuggle with your Momma. Please do that forever, okay?

Again this month, we spent a lot of time on the road — and in the air! To Bethlehem for Thanksgiving and to both Dover and Huntsville for Christmas. You did great on your first plane ride. You only fussed on the flight home — and, really, the pressure change was so severe that I could have cried, too.

We have established a bedtime routine that works for us. Around 8:30pm, we take you upstairs, and Daddy starts your bath. You instantly quiet and watch the bubbles fill the tub. Then when we lower you into it, you smile and splash (and sometimes pee). Then it’s into your PJs and into my arms to eat. When you’re finished, Daddy reads to you, then we swaddle you and put you into your crib. You are still waking up between 4:30am and 6:30am to eat, and then you fall back asleep for another three hours until you’re ready to start your day.

Oh, and the swaddle? We moved you out of the Summer Infant SwaddleMe and into the Halo SleepSack. We made the change after you figured out how to wiggle your way to the bottom of the crib.

We also moved you into size 2 diapers this month. Again, we made the switch after a few too many pee-throughs and blow-outs.

You are still eating like a champ, and we expect that you weigh about 13lbs now. You eat five times each day, and you’ve become much better with the bottle. You take about 5oz at your 6pm feeding. It’s a nice time for you and Daddy to bond!

You don’t have the rolls in your legs like Mommy did when she was your age, but you have started to fill out this month. You are in size three-month clothing, and I love that you can now wear your blue jeans and corduroys and button-up shirts. You’re such a handsome little mister!

And you still have such expression in those hands of yours. Everyone comments that you have long fingers, and I’ve learned to read them like a book. You clasp them together when you’re content. You spread them wide when you’re upset. You rub your eyes with them when you’re sleepy. And — my most favorite — you place them gently over mine when I rub your cheeks.

Oh, my sweet boy. Every day with you is a joy. And I never tire of staring into your big blue eyes. We love you to the moon and back.