Still more about this baby (the third month)

By the time the third month got underway, our snuggly little Monster was starting to learn lots of new tricks.  His quiet cooing became loud proclamations.  Sometimes it sounds like he is actually saying "cooooo!"  Sometimes it sounds like "Ah! Ah! AAAH!" or "Oooo!  OOOO!"  No matter what he's got to say, we hear it.  And we talk to him a LOT.  It's easy since he's my or Ben's only company a fair amount of the time ... it will be interesting to see what he starts to pick up eventually.

Our little boy is quite serious.  He likes to stare at new things and gets quite the quizzical look on his face.  However, by month three he had started smiling regularly, too.  We finally heard his first laugh in early October while we were visiting Ben's family in Ithaca.  We're not sure what he was laughing at - he was just staring off into the sky over the roof of Wegman's.  My friend Rebecca thinks that babies can see angels and my mom said she heard of a little boy who claimed to see and be talking to his deceased grandmother.  Who knows - I'm sure babies are hyper-aware of their surroundings since they are learning so much so fast.

We get these half-smiles a lot. :)

Things that almost always make Rowan laugh/smile: Mom or Dad talking to him, having his chin tickled, Mom tickling his face with her hair, the mirror next to the front door, looking out the window in his room, the ceiling fan in the living room, the larger artworks around the house (sometimes Mom's drawing in the bedroom elicits more of a startled response.)

Rowan tends to be a little impatient and he wants to be held most of the time.  We love holding and snuggling him - but you know, we have to use the bathroom and eat occasionally.  I remind myself often how quickly this time will pass - and when he's a teenager and will barely let me hug him, I'll miss the days when I could scoop him up in my arms.

Still, he did start to branch out a little bit during the third month to tolerate hanging out in places other than mom or dad's arms.  He slowly built up a tolerance for the Bumbo seat - now he will occasionally enjoy it for almost a half hour at a time!  But usually it's only a few minutes.  His favorite place remains his changing table where he can stretch, look out his window, and look at his birds.

Look!  Look at these birds!!

Rowan also took his first trip to Ithaca at the beginning of the third month.  He met his only great-grandmother and saw the Ithaca Commons and Farmer's Market for the first time.  Unfortunately, he could only watch as we gobbled up delicious Viva Taqueria food - soon enough he will be able to enjoy his own quesadilla.

Man, he's such a little hulk!

Snuggling at the Ithaca Farmer's Market

We like to take Rowan out as much as possible, but he really despises being strapped into his carseat.  Once in awhile he will tolerate it, and a fair amount of the time he falls asleep, but often he just screams and screams in the car.  It makes us hesitant to take him out.  We hope he grows out of it soon - we feel bad sometimes taking him out because he gets to upset.

Since he likes to be held so much, a baby carrier would seem to be a logical choice.  However, our picky baby isn't always up for it - I have a standard, front-loading Chicco carrier and a more simply designed Hip Hammock by Playtex.  He would have nothing to do with the Chicco during the third month, but we had a little success with the Hip Hammock.  Ultimately, he knows we're cheating and he doesn't like it. :)  Perhaps this will change when he gets bigger.  We hope.  I have had a little success with the Chicco in the last couple weeks.

 

Nom nom ... hanging out outside and eating his fist, two of Rowan's favorite thing

 

Lil' pumpkins ... UNITE!

Rowan has always had gas and tummy troubles.  We started him on Enfamil AR early on - mixed with the Newborn formula at first as approved by his pediatrician.  By the third month he was on AR only.  He still spits up quite a bit most day and seems to have gas/stomachache fairly often.  But it's not too severe and his doctor says it's just part of being a baby.  We're hoping he grows out of it soon - he goes through a LOT of bibs and burp cloths.

Rowan's Likes: Looking at his fist, putting his fist in his mouth, stretching, being outside, being held, looking around, eating, apple juice, sitting up (with some help)

Rowan's Dislikes: Being strapped in the carseat, waiting, being bored, being hungry, tummy time (usually - he gets on board about once every three or four tries), waking up in the morning* 

(*During the first week of month four he began to wake up in a much more pleasant mood - now he'll talk to himself, look at his hands, and suck on his fists for awhile before he decides it's high time mom or dad got him up and got a bottle in his mouth.)