3 Months

When Little N turned 3 months last week, I could barely believe 3 months have gone by! This means I'd be back at work in another few more weeks..

Would you believe that before Little N arrived, I thought of catching up on my reading, meeting up with friends and spending time with my nephew and nieces during my maternity leave?

I don't even have enough time to cook so we resort to mostly packing food back nowadays!

The 3 months have flown by!

She has grown really fast. Physically, she has put on 2.5kg and is now 10cm longer (she's a tall baby..).

She has grown from a tiny newborn that sleeps, drinks, poo and cries to a chubby 3 month old who can now do a lot more things. She can flip herself over on to her tummy, makes multiple attempts each day to sit up on her own and mumbles "ahhs", "ohhhs" and "goos"..

Every baby has their own unique personality and I like the way Tracy Hogg (in the book "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer") talks about the 5 different baby personality types. (See below for more details)

I think I definitely have a "Touchy" baby.. though what is described about baby not liking to be dressed/ changed under "Grumpy" baby certainly describes little N well.

But I noticed she is definitely a baby who prefers predictability. Outings and vaccinations seem to throw her off a lot. Hopefully, she'd adjust well once she starts going to the nanny in January and I start work in February.

I can't help feeling a little nervous and worried about the first few months of 2013.

I can turn myself over now..

Baby Personalities (source from here)

Angel babies are good as gold. They are mellow, eternally smiling, and consistently undemanding. Their cues are easy to read. They are not bothered by new surroundings and they are extremely portable. They feed, play, and sleep easily, and usually don’t cry when they wake up. They easily amuse themselves when they wake up in the morning. They can often calm themselves down. Even when they get overtired, it is easy to settle them down again.

Textbook babies are predictable and fairly easy to handle. They do everything on cue so there are usually few surprises with them. They reach all the milestones right on schedule – sleep through the night by three months, roll over by five, sit up by six. They’ll have growth spurts like clockwork. They can play on their own for short periods (about 15 minutes) as early as one week old. They’ll coo a lot and look around. They smile when someone smiles at them. Though they have normal cranky periods, they are easy to calm and it isn’t hard to get them to sleep either.

Touchy babies are ultra-sensitive. To them, the world is an endless array of sensory challenges. They flinch at the sound of a motorcycle revving outside their window, the TV blaring, a dog barking in the house next door. They blink or turn their heads away from bright lights. They sometimes cry for no apparent reason, even at their mothers. They often get fussy after a number of people have held them, or after outings. They’ll play on their own for a few minutes, but needs the reassurance that someone they know well is close by. They like to suck a lot and this cue may easily be misread for hunger. They nurse erratically, sometimes acting as though they have forgotten how. They have difficulty falling asleep during nap times or at night. They easily get off schedule – an extra-long nap, a skipped meal, an unexpected visitor, a trip, a change in formula, etc. can throw them out of the loop. To calm them, you have to recreate the womb – swaddle, snuggle them to your shoulder, whisper a rhythmic shushing sound close to their ear, and pat their back gently. The quicker you learn their cues and their cries, the simpler life is. They love structure and predictability.

Spirited babies emerge from the womb knowing what they like and don’t like and they never hesitate to let you know it. They are very vocal and even seem aggressive at times. They scream for Mum or Dad when they wake in the morning. They hate lying in their own pee or poop and will vocalise their discomfort. They babble a lot and loudly. Their body language tends to be a bit jerky. They often need swaddling to get to sleep because their flailing arms and legs keep them up and overstimulated. If they start crying and the cycle is not interrupted, they reach the point of no return. Their crying will lead to more crying until they reach a fever pitch of rage. They’ll also notice other babies before those babies notice them. They’ll grab at their bottle at an early age and as soon as they’re old enough to develop a good, firm grasp, they’ll grab other babies’ toys as well.

Grumpy babies act like they’ve been here before and they are not at all happy to be back. They’re mad at the world and they let you know it. They whimper every morning, don’t smile much during the day and fuss their way to sleep every night. Their mothers have a lot of trouble keeping baby-sitters. They hate baths at first and every time someone tries to change or dress them, they get fidgety and irritable. Feeding is difficult because of their cranky disposition. Calming grumpy babies takes a patient Mum or Dad because they get very angry and their cries are particularly loud and long. If they reach a major meltdown, gently sway them front to back.