Well, here it is, 10 July 2012. Madden is officially 3 months old today as he starts his 13th week of life and I've got to say, this last month did not seem to pass by as quickly as the first two did. In the past 4 weeks Madden has reached a handful of milestones and continues to grow every day --- both in terms of his physical size and his arsenal of baby accomplishments. He had his 3 month checkup earlier today and, as always, did stellar. After his scare last month we were relieved to hear that he's just fine. Here are his stats at 3 months old:
Height: 24.00" | 50th percentile
Weight: 15 lbs. 14.5 oz. | 92nd percentile
Head: 41.50 cm | 55th percentile
And here is the narrative of the past 4 weeks:
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This week Madden had his 2 month well-baby check up...and he did great. He was a little congested but nothing to worry about. A few pokes and prods and 3 shots later and we were out of the doctor's office. And then overnight he became really sick. He had a fever over 101 degrees and a nasty cough that made it hard for him to breathe. So hard, in fact, that he stopped doing it a couple times. Breathing, that is...he continued to cough. So I took him back to the doctor and then to the pediatric ER, but thankfully his symptoms essentially disappeared as quickly as they showed up --- overnight.
At his well-baby check-up, Madden was just over 2 feet tall (long?) and weighed just under 14 pounds. He is in the 90th percentile for height and weight, but only the 15th percentile for head size. Two things: 1) I hope that doesn't mean his brain is tiny and un-smart, and 2) those figures are a little surprising because his head doesn't look like a shrunken head as the figures might lead you to believe.
During his few days of under-the-weather-ness we kept Madden's routine the same (minus the going to daycare part) and he was pretty lethargic, sleeping for most of the day Monday through Wednesday of this week. As soon as the plague left his body, though, he was back to his chipper self.
He's really good at smiling and practices it a lot. His vision is improving, too, because he now responds to seeing people from further and further distances. He can only see a couple of feet away now, but hey --- it's further than before!
As always, I'll end this week by letting you know that I still haven't been peed on! Yay!
This week Madden's sleeping habits changed...but just a bit. He's still doing well with his schedule and sleeping for a good portion of the night, but during his naps he has a difficult time staying asleep through noise; like Emma crying or the TV. Gone are the days where we could set him in his reclining chair, put it on the table (so that Emma can't kill him), and just leave him be. Nope. At least he sleeps well [enough] at night.
Also gone are the days where Madden just sits there like a nonresponsive blob of cute, fat, teeny-tiny human. It seems like overnight his levels of alertness and responsiveness went into overdrive. Madden loves to smile and found his laughing voice this week --- and he does both often! Such a happy baby!
Madden is still doing well with his evening/bedtime routine, and, shocker, stills loves bath time. We've been bathing him around 8 or so for the past couple of weeks but half way through this week he started becoming super fussy in the evening, so one night I gave him a bath around 6:30 pm and he was asleep before 7:00 pm. The rest of the week he stuck to this new, earlier bedtime. He's already such a big boy --- this can't be another growth spurt already! Right?
In the way of eating, Madden is still a hungry little hippo (see comment above about how he's such a giant baby). He's been on a mix of breast milk and formula for a while now but this week he turned his nose up at the boob for the first time ever. At times he seems to prefer breast milk over formula (like when he's really fussy or super tired), but he will no longer take it from the boob --- only the bottle. I'm a little sad about this, but I guess I should've expected it. After all, he doesn't sleep in the bed anymore which means when he wakes up at night he gets a bottle, not the boob. It was only a matter of time until he began preferring the bottle. But at least he'll take a bottle. It makes it much easier for others to help *wink, wink, RJ*.
For the record: I still haven't been peed on!
This week Madden began turning his head toward the source of loud noise. He's not consistent with it yet, but it's a new skill he's starting to master. Yay for milestones! Speaking of noise, do you know what noise he seems to love and calms him down almost instantly? You'll never guess, I promise. Go on, try. Got it? Okay, here it is: country music. Ha! I told you that you wouldn't get it! His "teacher" at daycare sets the radio in the nursery to country music so I guess it's just what he's used to. I tried it out in the car one evening when he was really upset and sure enough, it worked! Weird, but whatever.
A couple of times this week Madden slept through the night. Most nights he only woke up once, maybe twice, before I got up for the day, and there was one night where he woke up almost every hour. Ugh. It is interesting to see the differences in sleep patterns between Briseis, Emma, and Madden. Madden is definitely the "easiest" baby so far, especially when it comes to bedtime!
Madden is still a super happy baby and I'm hoping that never stops! I can't say this with any certainty, but I feel like he's much happier than Emma and Briseis were as babies. Not to say that they were angry babies (because they weren't at all); it just seems like Madden is calmer, more independent, and more animated. But I didn't keep as detailed of a record of the girls' early days (sorry Briseis and Emma!) as I have with Madden's, so I can't say for sure.
Madden is still really good at smiling and laughing all the time, and he still loves being in the bath. I haven't taken as many bath time photos of him as I have with the girls --- mostly because RJ doesn't want him to be scarred for life when he realizes he was bathed in a PINK bathtub! Haha. To be fair, RJ threw in a Spiderman easter egg just to "man it up" a bit (his words).
Madden's vision is definitely beginning to sharpen because if you're playing with him and leave his sight for more than a split second he starts to freak out. It's super sad but also a little bit cute. He loves playing games, too. Games like laying him on his back and hovering over him while smiling really big and tickling his cheeks --- his smile is so big and his laugh is so squeaky and cute! Just don't suddenly leave his sight, or else he'll get pissed.
The record is still running strong: I haven't been peed on yet!
There haven't been many changes with Madden this week. He's still responding well to his evening routine, and still going to bed in between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm most nights instead of the 8:30 pm that used to be the routine a few weeks back. I'm not sure if his internal clock just decided to reset itself, or if he's going through a growth spurt.
It might be due to a growth spurt, though. This week we had to make an outing to Walmart (a store that I never recommend shopping at, except for kids clothes because they're super cheap and cute) to re-supply Madden's wardrobe. He's barely 3 months old and already 3-6 month clothing is beginning to look a bit snug on him. Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch but I think he'll be in 6-9 month clothing well before he's 6 months old. I've said it a billion times: he's a big boy!
Up until this point Madden has been a pretty independent baby, meaning he's been pretty chill with just hanging out on his own. This week, though, he started wanting more cuddle time --- and who am I to deny him of his wishes?! Madden still isn't a fan of sudden movement, though, so picking him up or changing positions while holding him have to be done slowly.
Bath time is still a simple process. Some nights he gets bored with it quicker than others. I always try my best to gauge it and take him out before the warm water stops being warm and he remembers that he's hungry but sometimes he starts freaking out in the bath out of nowhere. Most nights it's a go, though.
Mr. Madden is still super happy most of the time (except when he's hungry or tired, or when he's moved too fast) and he loves playing games. His new favorite game to play is for you to lay him down on his back, lean over and position your hands so that he grips your pointer fingers, pull him up to sitting so that his face is right in front of yours, then let him [gently] fall back down. He LOVES this game and laughs and laughs when you play it with him. He also loves when Emma gives him kisses on his face and tummy.
By the end of this week Madden was consistently turning his head toward loud noises. He's especially good at turning his head toward you when you say his name; when he hears my voice or RJ's voice he gets a big ol' smile on his cute baby face and starts feverishly kicking his legs in and out. And speaking of his head, Madden's head control has vastly improved since Day 1. Duh, I know. But in the last couple of weeks his growth and progress have been amazing.
Madden is able to control his head well enough now that I can prop him up on my hip with one hand and walk around with him. When he has tummy time he's able to prop himself up on his forearms and keep his head up. He kicks his legs so much he ends up scooting his knees up underneath him, and we wonder if he's going to be crawling early?! The doctor assured us today, though, that it is NOT an indication of if he'll crawl early...or at all. What a party pooper.
Hmmm...what else? The only other new(ish) things this week are 1) Madden not really digging his car seat (especially when you put him in it right when you pick him from daycare; he's usually pissed that he gets jipped on snuggle time when you leave him all day then lock him in a car seat right away), and 2) he is constantly moving --- his limbs are always flailing about and he never keeps his head still, always checkin' out his surroundings.
And if you guessed that I haven't been peed on yet then you'd be...right! 3 months going strong with not being sprayed in the face yet. Yay! Let's see if we can keep this record for another 4 weeks!
