A Girl Named PJ

Dear Asa,

At your two month old appointment, Daddy and I complained to your pediatrician that you cry for hours every single night. That’s colic, he explained, and encouraged  us to continue consoling you by any means possible. Since you seemed content to swing during the day, we begrudgingly moved the Fisher-Price monstrosity from the basement to the living room. I was hoping the smaller, more modern-looking mamaRoo would be an acceptable alternative, but you just haven’t been able to fall asleep in it.

So the Fisher-Price swing is where you hang out most evenings while Daddy and I watch TV. A couple of nights we tried leaving you swaddled in your bassinet when we put Levi to bed but quickly realized the error of our ways. And once or twice this month we tried putting you in your crib for a nap, but you kept waking yourself up crying. You’re just happiest when you’re swinging, staring up at the illuminated sheep mobile overhead.

Since you aren’t swaddled while swinging, you tightly grab your new smaller-sized security blanket and hold it up to your face when you attempt to self-soothe. (We actually think you prefer blankies to pacifiers; you’re terrible at keeping pacifiers in your mouth.) You’d probably sleep better at night if you could snuggle with a blankie, but that doesn’t seem safe to me. Besides, your arms still flail about somewhat uncontrollably, so I don’t think you’d be happy not to be swaddled.

Asa, nighttime is so stressful. We haven’t figured out the best time for your last feeding or what time to put you down to bed. I nurse you every three to four hours during the day, trying to make the last feeding around 10-11pm, but you still wake to eat every three hours (or less!) overnight. There have even been several nights this month when you’ve eaten four times between midnight and 7AM.

YAWN!

Thankfully, when you aren’t fussing in the evening hours, you have a generally easy disposition. You’re starting to smile more frequently, though you’re still a pretty serious baby, and you’re becoming more generous with your little laughs. I’ll also catch you cooing to yourself at times. Your favorite toy is the Whoozit, and you’re starting to reach for the bar of toys attached to the BABYBJORN Babysitter Balance.

When you were nine weeks old, you started wearing size 2 diapers, and we moved you into 3-6 month clothing around the same time. Peanut, you’re now a big round-faced baby instead of a wrinkly, old man-looking newborn! Your still-blond hair (love!) is starting to get longer, and unlike Levi’s baby hair, yours is growing in evenly.

You’re still not a fan of the Ergobaby carrier; we even brought it with us to Hilton Head this month so that Aunt Rachel could confirm that we were using it correctly. Thankfully, you allowed me to wear you in the Baby K’tan while we traveled, making it so much easier to maneuver through multiple airports. Our vacation marked your first time flying, and you were a champ on all four flights on that trip, crying only briefly when you needed a diaper or to be fed. You even slept a little bit! (Wish your brother would’ve done the same…)

In Hilton Head, you slept in a pack ‘n play on the opposite side of the room from our bed — and you did great! Seeing you in the pack ‘n play really drove home the fact that you had outgrown your bassinet, so when we returned to Omaha, we moved you into your crib. Unfortunately, you didn’t sleep well for the first couple of nights. You cried more and went shorter in between feedings.

Here’s hoping we figure out this nighttime sleeping stuff pretty quickly. I’m so tired I can’t think clearly anymore!

Love,
Mommy

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Asa turned three months old on May 26, 2014. I’ll be taking a monthly baby photo of him next to his Blabla doll on his birthday to document his growth the first year.

PS – Asa at one month old and two months old. Also, Levi when he was Asa’s age.