Peregrine at Three Months and One Week

Apparently I can't find the time to write these blog posts on time, so rather than trying to write as if Peregrine was only three months old, I'm just going to write about where he's at right now. Things change so fast right now and it's too hard pretend that he's not doing the things that he started doing this week as opposed to last week. That said, things are changing for this little guy! He's growing so much, and he's such a sweet baby. I forget just how sweet babies are. Peregrine smiles these incredible, full-faced, big, gummy smiles that just melt my heart. He's all sweet and no sass yet. I love this little boy.

* Pictures to follow.. Eventually. :D

GROWTH
Last week I weighed Peregrine on Kendra's baby scale. With a onesie and diaper on (so essentially not as accurate as the doctor's office), he was 15lbs 1.5oz. He is getting so very big. He looks big! Peregrine isn't excessively chubby or anything like that, but he's long and full--just the way he's supposed to be. He's right on par for being one of the brothers.

SLEEP
Day Sleep: Getting Peregrine to nap is getting a little tricky. Up until this very week I've been able to walk him around facing out in my arms until he nods off and I can put him down. I finally got our Pack n Play out for the guest bedroom and I even laid him down in it last week and he slept for a full nap: 40m. However, this week things have changed. I think he's able to focus his eyes on things further than he used to be able to, so now he's more distracted and doesn't just nod off. The other problem is that we're in and out of the car so much to take Auggie and Eland to school or run errands with Griffin that he's fairly used to napping in his car seat. The snugness comforts him and makes it easy for him to fall asleep. Knowing that he needed a nap, and knowing that we were going to head out for errands in a few minutes, I put him down awake but tired into his car seat and he immediately fell asleep. Once again, this was last week.

This week I've attempted Pack n Play naps in the guest bedroom twice--and both were big fat failures. I waited until Peregrine was asleep (with plans to work backwards and eventually be able to put him down drowsy), laid him down, held his arms until they were still, made sure the noise machine was on, and walked out of the room holding my sleeping baby. Ten minutes later he was up crying. TEN MINUTES. It's actually not as distressing as it could be, but it's awfully hard to get anything done because that's enough time of actual sleeping for him to get a cat nap and need at least another hour-and-a-half before I can try again--but he's more fussy in the meantime. Ah well. I think I'm going to try swaddling him for naps in the Pack n Play because I suspect his arms start moving and he wakes himself up.

Night Sleep: Is fantastic! Peregrine is a great night sleeper. He has started doing this waking-40-minutes-after-I-put-him-down thing, but once again, it's not distressing. I distinctly remember Auggie doing that, and while it was distressing with Auggie, I know better than to freak out this time. I just nurse Peregrine again and the second time I put him down he typically sleeps for 7-8h. He's been waking around 4:30a-5:30a, and I can usually get a 7h stretch of sleep myself which is amazing and nothing short of essential to make it through the next day. Perhaps I've mentioned that Griffin did this too, and then stopped at 4 months. Soooo... I've been praying, and my dear friend Jan has encouraged me that Peregrine can do it: he can keep sleeping well even after 4 months. We'll find out soon! Even with that 7h stretch of sleep, I am absolutely exhausted by the end of the day, so I just can't imagine going back to multiple night wakings. Fourth time around I'm desperately praying that the Lord would let me have one that sleeps well every night--for my survival and the survival of my family! Hehe. I'll admit that I'm hopeful.

Peregrine outgrew the bassinet we'd been borrowing for him. He was just too long! We have so many gracious friends and found another family who had a co-sleeper for us to borrow, so Peregrine has moved from bassinet to co-sleeper, but he's still right next to me on my side of the bed.

TEARS
Tears! We have achieved tears, friends! Peregrine shed his first tear a few nights ago. He was crying while waiting for me to finish getting ready for bed, and one eye (his right??) got wet! This is kind of a big deal! Haha, at least it feels like it. :)

BREASTFEEDING
Like his brothers before him, Peregrine is a super eater. He's just begun spacing his feedings out even more and is averaging six nursing sessions a day this past week rather than his usual seven. Even though he's taking less time to eat, I'm sure he's eating more. It's kind of a nice freedom for me. Just yesterday I was able to go and help a friend with something for three hours, rather than having to race home after just two. We haven't tried bottles recently, but I do have some frozen breastmilk if the occasion ever arises. I think after pumping constantly with Auggie while I was working, it's just nice not to have to worry about bottles. And while it would be nice not to have to nurse him to sleep at night so that I could go climb, I'll have the rest of my life to do that, so why not stay home and snuggle my little guy while he's still little? He's growing so fast and this won't last long.

MOTOR SKILLS
Like all of my children at this age, Peregrine still hates tummy time. Maybe I just need to force it more, but after 4 months I expect things to get better. But he loves being on his back, and he's achieved a new milestone: Peregrine can roll to one side or the other. In fact, on the night of the first day he figured out how to roll to the side, he woke to eat and I found him laying on his side. And after I picked him up to feed him, Peregrine had the biggest, proudest smile on his face! He was so stinkin' adorable! So yes, Peregrine rolls to either side now. His narrow playmat actually made this difficult to do, but Kendra gave me a square playmat that doesn't have rigid sides and Peregrine is already enjoying the freedom of this new setup. He pivots around in it and does occasionally roll to his side now and then.

Peregrine just figured out how to grasp objects! He'd been batting at his toys quite a bit already, but he started accidentally getting a hold of them, and now he can hold them on purpose. He's even grabbed hold of my thumb a few times now while I've been holding him. Two days ago he crinkled a soft-sided book over and over again in his carseat and seemed to like looking at the faces on the pages. He's even noticed his carseat toys and stares intently at the little monkey that hangs over him. So fun!!

Peregrine also enjoys his bouncy seat and happily hangs out there in the evenings while I shower. He does, however, need me to change out the toys that hang from it because he gets frustrated playing with the same thing over and over again.

BABY BABBLES
Oh the sounds that this little guy makes! And he makes them specifically when we are making eye contact and are having a "conversation." He does a great job practicing little baby sounds. He's not doing any specific sounds, but his little baby talk is precious and it's an important first step.

DASHING GOOD LOOKS
Peregrine is such a cute little guy, but I know better than to have any idea what he's going to look like! Most people think he looks like Eland--which I get: he has dark hair and his eyes seem to be moving in the brown direction. But Griffin had brown hair at this stage and he's definitely a dirty blonde, so, really, there's no way to tell yet. I do see my dad in him occasionally, which was similar to Eland as a baby, so maybe they are more physically similar than Auggie and Griffin. Only time will tell.

SELF-SOOTHING
Not so much. Peregrine loves chewing on his fists and fingers, but so far he's not a finger-sucker. I honestly have no idea if Eland and Griffin were sucking their fingers yet at this point. He does love his little bison blanket. It usually ends up in his mouth, as any baby would, and while he doesn't get to have it at night yet, I always put his bison in his carseat with him and I've put it (safely!) in the Pack n Play with him while I can monitor him as he sleeps (or doesn't sleep, lol!)

IMMUNIZATIONS & ILLNESS
Peregrine has now gotten his third vaccine: Prevnar for pneumococcal. He slept a lot after getting it, but didn't seem to react otherwise. I'm so thankful that my boys have never gotten fevers or other more severe reactions from vaccines. It seems like they are sometimes a little tender on their legs--Peregrine didn't seem to be this time--slightly fussier for less than a day, and tired. All normal and totally within reasonable bounds.

I had originally scheduled Peregrine's nurse appointment for this vaccine just after Labor Day while my mom was in town, but Peregrine caught his first cold. Eland had brought it home from the first week of school, Griffin eventually caught it, and then a week later Peregrine caught it. It was such an easy little cold: a little extra snot--nothing a Nose Frida couldn't take care of before nursing. He had such a mild version of it, and it was over in a flash, too. Seven days max?? After one rough night's sleep where the post-nasal drip bothered him, I just put some towels under one side of the bassinet to raise his head a little, and that extra encouragement for drainage seemed to do the trick and he slept just fine after that. I still rescheduled his vax appointment, though, to be careful. I didn't want his little system doing too much virus battling at once. It actually kind of feels good to have one cold over and done with already. We're building up our little guy's immune system! And thank God for breastfeeding antibodies!

VISITS
My mom came to ABQ over Labor Day weekend while my dad was on a sailing trip on Lake Michigan. It's always nice to have her around, and this time it was extra helpful while Dan and Micah made an attempt at The Casual Route on Long's Peak. (It was a bust, but that's another story, and I'm sure they'll have no problem next time they go.) That said, we won't see my parents again until October, and it was so nice to have my mom out to see how big Peregrine has gotten since he's been born. We had a blast with her, and she got lots of great grandma time loving on sweet Peregrine.

CLIMBING BABY
Peregrine has taken several trips up to the Jemez with our family during his short life. He loves being outside. There's so much for him to look at. (This is actually making me excited to take him up there again now that he can see farther than before.) He's also napped beautifully so that Dan and I can climb in addition to the big boys.

BROTHERS
Peregrine has loving brothers who want to play with him, get in his face to make him smile, pull his carseat toys to stop him from crying, who talk to him, and dote on him big-time. How fun to be one of four boys. He's part of the team.



MONTHLY NOTES

(I'm including the "Month 4" notes up until today.)

MONTH 4


09.16 - This little guy is up a whole hour or two earlier to eat tonight. Usually it's been 5:45a, then last night was 5a, and now I'm nursing him at 4a. I hope this trend doesn't continue! I honestly don't mind 4a because both Dan and I can continue to sleep a good amount afterwards and there's still a good chunk to start with, but any earlier would be pretty painful. I think I may have woken him up when I rolled over in bed. Hmmm.. But he also must have been ready. Hard to tell.


09.15 - Peregrine isn't totally able to grasp things on purpose, but he's really, really close. Today he held a crinkly fabric book in his hands in his car seat twice and crinkled it purposefully over and over again. He seemed interested in how manipulating the book caused the crinkly sound.


As I've mentioned before, his ability to focus farther than breast-to-mom is developing quickly. He enjoyed being held facing out after school today, watching other adults talk and kids play.


We had a nap fail today. I nursed Peregrine to sleep this morning (just how the timing worked out) and laid him down in the pack n play in the guest bedroom. He was awake within 15m. However, I was loading things into the trunk with a very loud Griffin, so perhaps all the activity in the hallway despite the sound machine was what woke him up. Peregrine eventually slept in the car seat for nearly two hours. It's just how it has to go, much to my chagrin.


Kendra gave me a new playmat for Peregrine and I think he's going to like it much better than the old one. It's a big square with an X of poles across the top that toys can be hung from. Our current playmat has a narrow space to play in with plastic pieces on the sides that don't allow the baby to roll around. This new one really gives Peregrine space to potentially roll and pivot around--and he did just that today. Not rolling all the way over, but he did roll to his side and pivot around while playing. It's pretty fun to observe. I think he really enjoys a chance of pace, too.


He cried tears in one eye again tonight. Now if I could just remember which one!


09.14 - Peregrine cried an actual tear for the first time tonight--or several I suppose. Just in one eye, though, and I can't remember which!


09.13 - It's been harder to put Peregrine down to sleep at night for the last several nights. Even if he looks like he's out cold, he wakes almost immediately and I have to pick him up and nurse him again. I don't entirely mind because I'm essentially topping him off for a better night's sleep, but it also means I'm potentially up a little later than I'd like to be.


09.12 - Peregrine's second vax appt is today at 9:15a: pneumococcal.


This kid is pivoting some more while playing on the floor. He hasn't been rolling onto his side much, but if I can I like to lay next to him to encourage him to roll to his side. He LOVES eye contact and smiles so much when he sees someone looking at him. Peregrine watched Dan walk around the room and can clearly see farther than before now.


09.11 - Peregrine napped for the first in the pack n play in our guest room. He predictably slept for about 40m. And I didn't put him down until he was out cold--but we'll gradually work backwards.


MONTH 3


09.06 - Haha, Peregrine just woke up to eat at 4a, and when I got him out of the co-sleeper (this is his second night in it--he outgrew the bassinet) he was wiggling around rolled onto his side and had a great big smile on his face when I laid him on the bed before feeding him. He was clearly so proud of himself! It was adorable!! I have a feeling that Peregrine will be doing a lot of involuntary tummy-time very soon!


09.05 - This little kiddo is seriously amazing us! He rolled onto his right side this afternoon from his back--and did it again this evening! He was kind of stuck in his playmat, so I'm wondering if he'd go all the way onto his stomach if the mat wasn't in the way. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!


And I know I already mentioned this yesterday, but Peregrine is making big progress with his hand control. Today we spent a considerable amount of time reaching his arms out in front of himself watching his hands open and flex. If this isn't a milestone itself, he's pretty darn close to one. He is also really working on getting his hands in his mouth--but it's still not related to self-soothing. And now that my mom is back in Chicago as of tonight, I'm going to have to set up a pack n play in the guest bedroom and have him start napping there flat rather than in the rock n play. It may be a painful transition, although I'm hoping it won't be since I'm not planning on putting him down awake yet. I think I'll let him either fall asleep or get extremely drowsy/blinky before trying it.


09.04 - Peregrine is really concentrating on watching his hands move and he's just beginning to be able and interested in holding objects. It's seems like he's "accidentally" gotten a hold of things a few times in the past week, but today at dinner he held a baby toy with purpose and was fascinated by the colors as he held it near his face. What progress!--this is a big deal! I even felt at church yesterday that I wish I had had a toy for him to hold. Not long now and he'll be able to bring things to his mouth! Speaking of which, he's a perfect shot at bringing his hands and fists to his mouth. It's usually open hands now, but he doesn't yet suck particular fingers. It's more of a teething thing than a comfort thing.


Peregrine's sleep is starting to get a little more predictable. He naps about an hour and a half after he wakes up, usually for 45m but if he's in his car seat he can go for up to 1.5h. If it's just a short nap he'll nurse, then play, then be ready to sleep in another hour and a half. This repeats with two more naps in the afternoon and sometimes he takes a long afternoon nap in which case it may be his last of the day. He typically falls asleep while being carried around facing out in my arms. He just kind of slumps down and nods out. Lately I've been attempting to put him down drowsy but not totally asleep and it's been working. Peregrine has been napping in Dan and my room in the rock n play with a sound machine nearby to drown out his big brothers' racket. However, within the next couple of weeks I'm planning on transitioning him to naps flat in a pack n play in the guest bedroom. Grif still naps a few days a week so his room isn't a viable location yet. I'm amazed at how P's sleep is organizing so rapidly. Before long he'll be sleeping longer chunks during the day. Pretty incredible how it just clicks.


Peregrine was supposed to get his first pneumococcal vax tomorrow, but his cold is lingering. It's not a bad cold and hasn't interfered whatsoever with feeding or sleeping, but his nose is occasionally runny and he is coughing every once and awhile, so I rescheduled the appointment for one more week out. I'd rather play things on the safe side.


09.02 - Dan left at 3:30a for a big alpine climbing trip over Labor Day weekend with Micah on Long's Peak. My mom flew in last night at 10p and our gracious next door neighbors Marilyn and James picked her up from the airport. I'm so glad she gets to see Peregrine before she and my dad come out in October. He's grown so much and I know she'll enjoy getting to see his  gummy smiles and bright eyes.


08.31 - Tomorrow is that glorious day I always look forward to with my babies: twelve weeks.


Loves watching his fingers move--and feet.


Enjoys laying on the floor (not on the playmat) and somehow pivots around even though he doesn't roll or crawl.


Twice today Peregrine was too angry to nurse. It was really strange and definitely frustrating, too. The first time was in the morning when we had friends over. Maybe he was distracted by them? He ended up gnawing on my nipple a couple of times with his gums in anger. It hurt.


08.29 - While laying on the floor fuss-crying for me to come pick him up, Peregrine started a new--and extremely disturbing--cry: a cry with a little scream mixed in. It was so sad, and so weird. On that note, still no tears while crying.


08.28 - Peregrine caught his first cold from his brothers and woke last night quite a bit with congestion and choking on phlegm. I think it was problematic as well that he was lying flat. Tonight I tried to put him down in the rock n play, but he work almost immediately. I guess he prefers the bassinet. I am attempting to nurse him back to sleep now. Hoping it works!!

Interestingly, Peregrine nursed less than normal by nearly 20m, but still had the same number of feedings--and definitely favored my right side which produces less milk.


08.27 - Opening and closing hands more, pushing up with his legs--a first!


08.26 - Little One has decided he doesn't like waiting for diaper changes in the middle of the night--which makes sense because he typically hasn't eaten in roughy eight hours. However, that current wait was only four, so I'm not sure what the big hurry is!


Peregrine is getting more expressive in his baby conversations with me. I wish I could have recorded the one we had yesterday afternoon. He was speaking mostly in gurgles, but he varied the length of them and moved his lips and tongue around to make different sounds. It really seemed like Peregrine was deliberately working at experimenting with his sound-creation.


I just had a crazy thought: Peregrine will be six months old in less than four months! It's astounding.


The bassinet is nearly too small for Peregrine! But I'm not ready to put him in a different room, and I like having him up high next to me. I'm tempted to post on Facebook to see if anyone in ABQ has a pack n play that we can borrow/trade for a little while that has a base that elevates. None of our PnPs do that. ... I'm going to miss the bassinet! It has really nice storage underneath it.


08.25 - This little guy is really growing and moving! I officially have to buckle him into his bouncy seats from now on--and especially the baby swing! Unless he's buckled, he is wriggles down the bouncy seats till he ends up in awkward positions.


And he's also outgrowing size 1 diapers. I've been forcing them because I still have about 50+ left, but I think I'm just going to have to give them away. Peregrine's thighs seem a little squeezed at the top and the one's are getting harder and harder to fasten. Big boy!


08.24 - Peregrine slept so well last night! He went 8.5h between feedings, which is spectacular. I'll never cease in my appreciation for a sleep like that. (Lately he's been going 6-7h and once only 4.5h.) Griffin slept that well, and then went through the four month sleep regression, so I suspect this won't last--and yet I find myself optimistic, hoping that just maybe Peregrine won't have a sleep regression. Is that naive? Don't answer that.


Also, when Peregrine goes 7-8h between feedings at night, I have a serious amount of milk ready and waiting for him by the time he wakes up. Peregrine is an incredibly loud eater when this happens and ends up slurping and coughing the milk down. If Dan wasn't already awake, he is when Peregrine starts eating.


I cleaned out our NB and 3m baby clothes bins into piles to either give to a single mom at church or sell. It felt so good!


Peregrine is starting to exhibit that 12-week sleep predictability. He can go about 1.5h after waking for the day before he needs to take his first nap. Unfortunately that now often falls when we're taking the boys to school, but yesterday Dan took them and I was able to put Peregrine down in the rock n play for a non-motion nap. I typically can expect him to sleep for 45m, but yesterday he slept for 1.5h! It was great! And I'm so impressed that he was able to link two sleep cycles.


The rest of the day is kind of up for grabs--picking up the kids from school really throws a wrench into things. But we'll figure out his pattern eventually.


I got away for an hour or so and wrote Peregrine's 2m blog post. I am DETERMINED to make sure that he gets the same amount as his brothers, but it is just about impossible to find the time to do it. Yikes! I literally can't sit and write at home. I can't even imagine taking on any freelance design projects--what a joke!


08.23 - I've been giving Peregrine his bison blanket during all this daytime naps, when we drive in the car, and when I need to set him down briefly. I think he's becoming attached--which is the goal!--and really likes it.


Pacifier is a chew-toy now. P hasn't sucked on it for weeks, but he does gnaw on it.


7-8p on any night is a rough time. It doesn't matter how rested or unrested Peregrine is, he's generally a crying mess and there seems to be very little we can do about it. Some days it doesn't bother me too much, and some days it's exhausting.


Peregrine has been doing this really strange thing lately while nursing: only on my left side, he'll progressively turn his head further and further toward my arm while he nurses which makes it very difficult to keep him latched. I'm not sure why he does it, but it's been consistent in the last few weeks. I suppose it's possible that he doesn't even realize he's doing it.


08.22 - Griffin and I read a baby book to Peregrine today. It was the "Animals" book with pictures of animals in it. He seemed to pay attention and I have a feeling he liked the bright colors in the backgrounds. I've also propped this book up next to him while laying on a blanket on the floor and he seems to be captivated by it for a little while.


08.18 - Peregrine will lay on the floor on his back and lift his legs and stomach clear off the floor. He seems to love doing it. It's like leg lifts for a baby. He's going to have some wicked baby abs soon if he keeps it up. He's also still working on getting his fists in his mouth and is getting closer. And I've been giving him his bison blanket to snuggle with and I think he really likes it.


08.17 - I took Peregrine's "Two Month" pictures today, lol. 2m8d. Ah well. He did smile a TON!


08.16 - Just went 10h between feedings--what?!?!! Baby Extraordinaire! I'm loving this so much that I'm starting to get nervous about the twelve week growth spurt and the four month sleep regression. Grif totally did that, so we'll have to see about Peregrine--but I'll admit that I'm optimistic.


Peregrine is such a doll. He'll have conversations with me in his baby talk where I talk and then wait for him to respond, then he talks and waits for me to respond. And he has these incredibly expressive eyebrows and his sweet little expressive mouth and great big smiles. It's too cute.


He is still working on his fists so hard!! He doesn't open his hands yet and he looks like a little boxer all the time. He really tries to get them to his mouth to suck on them but just can't pull it off unless he's in the baby carrier.


Peregrine had his two-month well baby check-up two days ago. He is doing great! He's 13lbs 0.5oz, 23" long, and 16" in head circumference. The doctor was impressed with his head strength, and told me not to worry about his head shape which is currently great. Peregrine got two vaccines: TDaP and Hib. I'm always pretty relieved when the kids get TDaP because of the pertussis vax. More than any other disease, that's the one I fear most. Peregrine was fussy the day of the shots, but seems back to normal now. Phew. Lots of prayers involved for heathy processing of the vaccines.


Two peculiar things that I forgot to ask the pediatrician: 1) Peregrine gags about once a day plus or minus. It's not while eating but is generally if he found a fist or something else to suck on and is going at it. And 2) Peregrine coughs about once a day--typically related to nursing.


Oh, and now that he's sleeping so well consistently, he's not typically awake early anymore--meaning that either Dan's not taking him so that I can sleep or I'm not putting him awake into the swing so that I can crash for another pathetic 25m. Life is good. :)


08.11 - Really starting to love sucking his fists when he can get to them. Slept very well again tonight for the first time in several days. More alert and attentive when spoken to.


08.09 - 13lbs 1.5oz w onesie and clean diaper on


Peregrine has been consistently fussy in the evenings and cried a lot. Not unusual, but certainly requires energy on Dan and my part. Tonight while Peregrine was crying, I laid him on the bed and began speaking to him. His response was remarkable! He quieter immediately, made beautiful eye-contact, and watched me with big, attentive eyes as I spoke and smiled. He absorbed every word like a delicious morsel, the transformation was amazing to watch. My sweet boy!


He seems to be doing that more and more: stopping, smiling , and absorbing with great big eyes.


Speaking of, no certain color yet.


And for the first time today, Peregrine deliberately reached out his arm toward my face. He's not able to consciously grasp yet, but there's no doubt this reach was a choice. It was so sweet, and neat to watch since he's been practicing on his play mat.


Sleep was great for about eight nights in a row, with Peregrine waking around 4 or 5am. The past three have not been so, with early wakings. It seems like he's ramping up my milk supply again.


Peregrine is getting harder to transfer into his bassinet at night. The movement seems to disturb him more. Oh, and he's still not ready to be put down a second before he's fully in his deep sleep stage. I tried last night and what a mistake! Fully awake baby at 1:40a paired with one desperate mommy. We walked around the downstairs which we haven't done in ages. Yikes! Not trying that again anytime soon!