Today is Aiden's 3-month birthday. He is officially no longer a "newborn." In some ways it feels like he was just born a few minutes ago, in some ways it feels like he's been here forever. I decided I want to chronicle my thoughts about Aiden's newborn stage, before it all becomes a blur.
THE HARD STUFF In the future, when the newborn phase is just a faint blip of a memory, if anyone ever asks me if Aiden was difficult during his first 3 months, the answer is right here: Yes. Yes, he was. I don't begrudge the little guy for it, but, damn, has he been a challenge. We kicked off his post-womb experience with a nasty case of jaundice. After the jaundice, he let us know that he hated being swaddled and he also refused to sleep on his back.
We discovered when he was around 6 weeks that acid reflux was the reason he was so miserable on his back, but many torturous nights preceded that discovery. And, in the meantime, we had developed the bad habit of him sleeping in someone's arms, propped upright, because it was the only way Aiden and I could get more than 20 minutes of sleep at a time. With rare exception, that's the only way Aiden sleeps nowadays (and it's where he is right now, as I type this). "Sleep training" is not appropriate for newborns, so we've been in this horrid limbo phase where we perpetuate bad sleep habits, but lack an alternative.
To complicate matters, Aiden started displaying teething symptoms around 8 weeks! Yes, you read that right: 8 weeks. (Most babies start teething at 4-6 months). At first, it was just some fussiness in the evenings and a little drooling. Now, it's extreme fussiness around the clock, frantic hand chewing, lots of drooling, and all the other normal teething symptoms. It sucks. He's miserable, and that makes us miserable.
THE GOOD STUFFAiden is thriving, there's no doubt about that. He has already gained about 10 lbs since birth. To put that number in perspective, consider this: He was 7 lbs when he was born, which is a totally average and normal weight, and he is now already outgrowing clothes made for 6-month-old babies. It was weeks ago that he was wearing clothes for 3-month-old babies, and he was only in that phase for about 5 minutes.
Although it makes me superbly happy to see my little guy thriving physically, nothing can compare to this one developmental milestone: the smile. I know it sounds like a total cliche, but there really is nothing better than when Aiden recognizes me and breaks into a huge grin. I'm pretty sure I can speak for Eric here, too. The smiles are the absolute best. He has also started cooing on a regular basis, as an accompaniment to the smiling, which is really cool.
THE FUNNY STUFFAiden likes to stomp. When he's lying on his changing table in our living room (which doubles as a little makeshift play area for him), he stomps his feet with great enthusiasm. He stomps when he's really excited about his toys, and he stomps when he's really mad. Both scenarios are hilarious. Also, if he's in your lap, propped up against your chest, he can put weight on his legs, and sometimes he likes to stomp there, too. So funny.
Everything about the teething really sucks, but in one aspect it literally sucks and is really funny. Aiden figured out a few weeks ago that he can gain some quality relief from the teething if he sucks on my collarbone. I'm sporting a nasty hickey on my collarbone right now because of it. Eric got a picture recently, which I'll include at the end of this post.
Finally, mixed in with his adorable cooing are some really absurd noises. Apparently, as he exercises his vocal range, the results aren't always going to be mellifluous. Yesterday, on three different occasions, he made a weird shrieking noise that I can only describe as sounding like a pterodactyl. Not sure why I think I can claim to know what a pterodactyl sounds like, but, in my mind, Aiden's version is very accurate.
I could go on and on about all the funny things that Aiden does, and all the reasons why the last three months have been so awesome. I'm sure I could even think of some more hard stuff too, if I really thought about it. But the above synopsis includes enough highlights, so I'll leave it as is, and conclude with a picture of Aiden giving my collarbone a workout:
Aiden can now roll from his back onto his stomach. He's been working on it for weeks (and his failed attempts were making him really mad), so it's really cool that his efforts have finally paid off. He still needs a little help to get into the position in the above picture, but most of the work he does on his own. I'm so proud of him.
And, for good measure, here's picture of my birthday. Hedonism at its finest, as all birthdays should be. We cracked open a bottle of port that my mom gave me over a decade ago. It was sublime.
He looks kinda fat in that second picture, but he's really not fat at all. Not yet, anyway. He's BIG, but he has normal baby chub.
Today is Aiden's 3-month birthday. He is officially no longer a "newborn." In some ways it feels like he was just born a few minutes ago, in some ways it feels like he's been here forever. I decided I want to chronicle my thoughts about Aiden's newborn stage, before it all becomes a blur.
