Mungee, Little Brother and Me: November 2009

Dear Mungee,

Yesterday you were 3 months old! I cannot believe that three months have gone by already. You are growing and changing every day. You smile at me and your Daddy all the time. We have even experienced the joy of a few deep belly laughs. I cannot wait for the time that you will be constantly laughing.

You have discovered your tongue and are always sticking it out - we are wiping up a lot of drool these days. You love to put your hands and fingers in your mouth. You comfort yourself by sucking your thumb. Your hand doesn't always stay in your mouth at this point so you do get frustrated, but I think you will be able to self-soothe better soon.

You are starting to grasp onto things. You grab a handful of my clothes or your clothes when you're nursing. You can grab your teething apple and teething keys. This early practice will come in handy. The other day I think you grabbed Daddy's glasses off his head, but I am sure that was an accident.

The stripes on your toy bar on the bouncy seat and swing seem to fascinate you. I've seen you grab the bar a few times.

You are tolerating tummy time more and hold up your head for longer periods of time. You have not tried to roll over yet, but I am sure that you will soon.

You've discovered your voice and are cooing and talking to us a lot more. We engage you during diaper changing time and sometimes I think you're going to leap off the table in excitement!

The first time you really laughed a hearty laugh, Daddy was threatening to "eat you". We got this on video and watched it 25 times in a row (give or take). Different things make you laugh. Sometimes, some action that made you laugh consequently makes you cry. Sometimes I sing a song and clap your hands together and say "YAY!" and it makes you laugh. Sometimes Daddy flies you through the air. The other day I leaned over you and said "Who's your mama?" and you squealed. We just keep experimenting because the sound of your laughter is such a joy!

When you smile, your whole face lights up and your eyes sparkle. You have dimples on the corners of your mouth, over your lips and on your cheeks.

You are not quite teething, but you do have a small white spot on your gums, which appears to be your first tooth. I bet it will start peeking through soon.

Your eyebrows are growing in and your face just keeps getting more beautiful. I am still having trouble trimming your nails because you don't hold still for long - this results in you scratching your face a lot because you flail your arms around if you're just waking up or we set you down when you're not in a deep enough sleep.

You are pushing off with your legs when we burp you. I wonder if you're going to be an early walker. Your Daddy thinks you may skip crawling and go straight to walking. I hope I am not chasing you around the house before I am ready.

You sleep about 8 hours a night - THANK YOU! We put you down between 10-11 and you sleep until about 6:30. I look forward to when you go to sleep earlier so I have some time to relax before going to bed myself. Taking care of you requires a lot of energy.

Your favorite songs are:

ABCs

Doodie Everywhere

Doodie in Your Pants

Mommies Have Boobies

Who's A Pretty Girl?

Baby in the Mirror

Big Girl in a Big World

It's Okay - To take a little nap

You can lift your legs straight up in the air when you're laying on your back. I wonder how long it will be before you can get your feet in your mouth.

I try to take you for a walk around the neighborhood every day. Sometimes you are awake the whole time to take everything in and other times you fall asleep. I've started wearing you in the Moby Wrap recently and you nap very well in it. In fact, you are napping now as I type this - I wouldn't be able to do this otherwise, because I was previously holding you most of the time you napped.

You can sit in your Bumbo seat, but you don't like it for long periods of time. I am sure you will like it better once your head is a little less bobbly. I need to get you the play tray so we can trap you in it. Then you can sit on the table while we eat dinner and feel like you're a part of things (Disclaimer: I know you're not SUPPOSED to use the Bumbo on an elevated surface ...)

You love to do "kick kicks" and "cha chas". During "cha cha" time I grab your legs and pump them up and down. Then I say "Again?" and you kick your left leg a few times to let me know "Yes, again!"

You lift up your butt during changing time for your new diaper. This lets Daddy and I know that you are brilliant.

Mungee, these three months have flown by quickly. I am happy to be home with you and still nursing you exclusively. It is so important to me and amazing to know that I keep you nourished from my own body. I really did not know what to expect life would be like once you were here. It has been challenging, but I am working on trying not to dwell on the little projects around the house that go unfinished and enjoy the time I have with you while you are small. I'm sure I'll blink and you'll be off to college.

Love,

Mommy