The baby chronicles #15: A large change in a short time

Weeks old: 15
I like: Chewing daddy’s hand, smacking the toys on my playmat, tummy time, thrashing around in my moses basket, boobs
Mummy is learning: That I won’t sleep in my own bed past 5am, what my different whinges mean

At 15 weeks old Little O is now more than three months old and a completely different being to the one we brought home in late June. While for an adult 3 months is barely a blip on the radar, the length of a mid-range work project or half of winter (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere), for a new human it’s virtually a lifetime. I cannot believe how much Little O has changed and how different mumming a three month old is to mumming a newborn. I was told there was quite a dramatic change at three months but I have to admit that at points I wondered if things would ever be different but here’s how they are.

New pajama excitement

Sleeping:  When Little O was a newborn he would sleep nowhere but on top of me or Mr O, preferably me. He also woke up every 1 – 2 hours for a boob or just some calming down. For the last couple of weeks he has slept in his moses basket and on a good night he sleeps for 3 – 4 hours at a time and then goes back in the basket… unless it’s after 5am. After 5am it’s sleeping with mummy time. Of course not all nights are good nights and last week we had one night where he was up between 10 and 11 and then at 1, 2 and between 3.30 and 5. The next day was not fun. He also still refuses to have day naps on his own.

Granddad time

Communication: While Little O has been smiling and shrieking with joy for a while, his range of communication has expanded, or at least I have gotten better at understanding him. I can now tell the different between a hungry whinge and a sleepy cry and a “stop holding me and put me on my playmat” grumble. He’s also become a lot more vocal and a lot less patient when it comes to me or Mr O meeting whatever need he’s expressing.

Batbaby strikes again

Pooping: When Little O was really little he used to do 4 or 5 poops a day. He now only does a poop every 2 or 3 days. At first I thought he was broken but it turns out this is not that uncommon for breastfed babies. It does mean a lot less messy nappy changes but of course when he does decide it’s time to get it all out, they’re monsters and recently he seems to have them for when I’m the only one about to change him.

Daddy cuddles

Entertainment:  Up until relatively recently Little O wasn’t happy on his own for more than 10 minutes at a time. He’d lie on his playmat and look at the colours and toys hanging from it but it wouldn’t be long before he’d want someone to pick him up. Now he grabs and kicks the toys and even shoves them in his mouth. He particularly enjoys the tail of his Purring Percival. A couple of days ago he played peacefully on his own for an hour and a half. He even watches a bit of CeeBeeBees with Mr O.

Eating: Little O used to eat all day and for ages at a time but he now manages a full feed in 10 – 20 minutes and during the day can go for up to 3 hours between feeds. Unless we go out for the whole day the distraction of so many things to look at means that he often doesn’t even think about food until we get home. Trips out are a lot easier without having to get a boob out every five minutes to avoid meltdown.

This shirt tells the truth

Me: I feel a lot more confident in my abilities as his mum. While I get frustrated and exhausted and I don’t always know what he wants, I have taken him to London three times on my own in the last 10 days without even really thinking about it. I no longer worry if I will be able to keep him alive or if anyone is going to stare at me while I feed him (when I took him to work last week I fed him while in a meeting in an open breakout area) or what I will do if he has a spectacular meltdown.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are in the chaotic throes of the first few weeks of mummery and wondering if there is any light at the end of the tunnel, things do change. I wouldn’t say they get easier but the challenges evolve and your ability to face them evolves with them. I promise.