Quarter 1 Update

Now that Dade has turned 3 months old, a lot of changes have taken place. Let me update you with what he’s been up to these days and how we as first-time parents are coping with his growth.

At 3 months old, he can now sit on his Bumbo Seat with support from a pillow. We use his boppy pillow most of the time. Until he has a better head control, we will keep that pillow to keep him comfortable.

During tummy time, he is able to raise his head to 45 degrees, move it from left to right, and keep it steady. Sometimes he likes tummy time, sometimes he doesn’t. But trust me: this boy sure knows how to kick his legs manically when overstimulated.

The little monkey finally discovered his feet. the LO developed the habit of rubbing his feet together when cradled by Ryan in his boppy, and he seems to be fascinated when watching his feet move. With or without socks, he would rub all the way. Just the other day, he started lifting his legs together, and would rub his feet in the air. It’s a funny sight, I tell ya!

He now enjoys hearing himself babble so imagine how much he baby talks these days. Say hi to him, and you’ll get the cutest coos & giggles ever!

Sometimes we find him trying to roll over on his left side. He’s still unsuccessful, but 10,000 brownie points for him for trying :)

He can now grasp on to little things, like his binky for example. When he holds onto my finger, he would clutch ever so tightly.

Unfortunately, he still isn’t sleeping through the night. He still feeds every 2 hours – on the dot! Because of that, he ended up co-sleeping with us so he can easily nurse when he wakes up hungry. It also saved me the trouble of getting up many times in the night. At first, I was against this because I was so afraid of the risks that come with co-sleeping (because he does sleep in our bed, not on a separate co-sleeper cot), but I've come to realize that I had to do it for both of our sakes. We just had to take some precautionary measures to keep our bed safe for Dade.

During daytime, he prefers sleeping on Ryan. It leaves the hubby no time to eat, sleep properly or even take a bathroom break! Poor Daddy!

We always hear comments that Dade is a “long” baby. He has grown so much that I had to bring out his 3-6 months sized clothes earlier than planned. He’s outgrown his frogsuits so quickly that he’s now using his jammies when sleeping. Picture his onesies not fitting his torso vertically not horizontally.

It was also time to bring out the Level 2 nipples & the 3-6 months binkies. We had to say buh-bye to the Evenflo dummy he loved so much. He’s still in the transition stage with his new dummy that every so often, he would push them out of his mouth through his tongue and cry when he couldn’t pull it back.

To help me keep track of his medical records, I got the newly released Dr. Mom Health Journal from Indigo Manila. I saw this journal by chance as I was ordering some milktrays and Baby Legs for Dade. Good thing I was able to grab one at their introductory price of PHP1,500. For more info about this product, please visit their site: http://indigomanila.multiply.com/. I bought a lot of cool stuff from them, too. Go natural! Go Pinoy!

Dade’s is now 5.6 kg :) no wonder why the Dad is complaining whenever he carries the baby in his car seat. I was happy to learn about that from last Saturday's check up. His pedia was supposed to see him by end of this month for his booster shots, but I decided to bring him to the doctor to check if he's developing according to his age. I wanna keep a close track of his weight gain since he's a breastfed baby.

So far, the hardworking cow in me is still working so very hard to keep my milk production stable. As much as possible, I pump every 2 hours at work. The most is 3 hours. I'm so lucky this country recognizes the value of breastfeeding. *yay UAE & the Employment Law of DIFC!* Every breastfeeding Mom gets an extra hour of break for 18 months. That's why I leave at 4:00 pm instead of 5:00 pm everyday. Yep, extra time with the baby :) And oh, I just wanna share that I've heard enough comments about the breastpump bag from my colleagues (i.e., You going to the gym? What's the bag for? Oh, no, you're late! *assuming that I've jsut arrived for work). I just had to tell them what it's for, and trust me, it's really AWKWARD to tell that to my male colleagues.

Speaking of breastfeeding, as they say, there's always a first time for everything. I've already breastfed Dade in our car a couple of times, and even in a fitting room at the mall! :) Thanks to the kind sales person at the Gap Store in Deira City Centre, I was able to BF my son at the kids' fitting room. I remember that feeding quite well because when I burped Dade, he gave out a very load belch :D And because I was able to nurse successfully inside the mall, whenever we go out these days, we preferred going to malls that have breastfeeding or mother & child rooms. No more bottles to bring so the milk in the freezer are kept solely for his consumption while I'm away at work.

With all these changes, I say we're A-ok and doing great as a young family. It may be an overwhelming first quarter (especially in the first few weeks) for us, but hubby and I are so thankful that we have a blessing this wonderful in our lives. The happiness we feel with our dear Dade is the best we've ever felt, and we couldn't ask for more! :)