Baby: The First 3 Months
It’s hard to believe that my little baby girl is 3 months old already. I wish I’d written these posts monthly as the first few weeks are such a blur and everything changes so quickly! But I’m going to try it.
The first few days with Florence felt like a bit of a honeymoon period as she slept for most of the day (nights were a different story of course!). The first night home, Chris and I sat at the table with a homemade courgette risotto and a sleeping baby in the moses basket next to us. We were pretty smug and thought we had this parenthood thing nailed (ha, the tricks that babies play!). The first few weeks were basically spent with her sleeping, feeding and pooping (so many nappy changes!) and being in a little bubble. Chris would do all of the housework and I would just focus on breastfeeding which was pretty intense. Having family nearby – my Mum especially, was a godsend as she would look after Florence whilst I napped. This helped so much and made everything so much easier – just an hour of quality sleep goes a long way. I really appreciate how lucky I am to have that support.
Chris is very lucky and had 4 weeks paternity which he split so he had two weeks off, two weeks at work and then two weeks off again. It was such a good idea as when she reached a month old she did become more alert and started to become less settled so it was lovely to have him around. However, at 6 weeks we had two weeks where he was away in San Francisco and in London which meant that I was solo parenting – I’m not going to lie we had some tough nights but it did me good as we got into our own little routines, and I think made me way more confident with her. Was very glad to have him home though, and again I was lucky to have family support and would stay with them quite a bit so that I had company as it can be a lonely business, especially when the baby is teeny and doesn’t interact much!
At 6 weeks we started getting smiles which is the best thing ever and makes your heart want to burst. You can have the most terrible night and then you get a cheeky smile and the night is (mostly!) forgotten! At this point I also started going to some baby classes and this has made a huge difference – getting out and about has made me feel great and I’ve met some lovely women, and baby friends for Florence. It’s given my week some structure which works well for me. I find I go a bit stir crazy if I have no plans for a day.
Around the 8-10 week mark she became more unsettled generally – she had two colds and also her jabs (heartbreaking but obviously essential!) which meant that we had lots of crying and also needed lots of help with getting her to sleep. The game changer was reading that babies can’t go longer than 2 hours without napping and if you get them to sleep before this point it’s a whole lot easier and they aren’t being overstimulated – this has proven so true for us and if she naps well, she’s a much happier baby. Also, getting a swing to help get her to sleep (rather than breaking my back with the rocking) has helped tonnes – even though I was insistent I wouldn’t get one!
Conscious that this is a bit of a rambly post so I’ll finish on how things are now. As I write this, she’s three months old so no longer my teeny newborn. Everything feels easier as we have got into a good napping routine (trying for three a day) and have started putting her to bed for 8 so we get a bit of evening to ourselves, although sleep after that is very hit and miss – a good night is a 5 hour stint and then one more wake-up, a bad night she might wake every 2 hours. The day feels more predictable (for now at least!) which is nice! I’m enjoying have a routine to my week with classes on Monday and Friday, and then a local baby group on a Tuesday which is usually followed by tea at someone’s house.
Florence is the best. I know I’m biased but she’s just amazing. She’s a bit of a diva, very stubborn and knows what she wants (unsurprising with two headstrong, stubborn parents!!). She is a chatterbox and super strong – her head control is great and she’s so strong on her legs already. Her favourite toy is a Lamaze bird who we have named Eddie, and she loves to suck her hand/thumb/blanket when she’s tired and trying to get to sleep. She has chubby cheeks, super blue eyes and is a very bald baby at the moment but is probably going to be quite blonde. We are besotted with her.
Daisy x
