Caleb Chronicles: 3 Months Old

Caleb is now 3 months old and getting cuter every week. He steals my heart and makes me laugh every day with his myriad of facial expressions and toothless grins. In the morning, he is just so happy to be awake that he might just turn me into a morning person yet. I seriously adore this kid.

This month, Caleb learned to giggle. He doesn't do it very often, but sometimes if you make faces at him, tickle his foot, or buzz your lips he will reward you with a couple chuckles. He also seems to like being surprised and smiles when he gets over the shock. It's very difficult, though, to get a reaction twice in a row with the same clap or loud noise.

Caleb is also growing bigger and stronger. At the doctor's, he weighed 17 lbs with his clothes on and is way ahead of schedule for nearly doubling his birth weight. He's developed a double chin and has big rolls on his neck and legs. Too cute! We are transitioning into 3-6 month and 6 month clothes already and several of his cloth diapers are too small. Caleb still can't balance enough to sit up on his own, but he's strong enough to support his full weight on his legs and move his head and neck freely. He's also getting coordinated enough to get his hand in his mouth to suck on the back of it. He never quite figured out how to suck on his thumb so he shoves his fist in his mouth and licks it instead.

Other "events of this month include Caleb's first and second 10 hour straight sleep, the first one occuring on New Year's Day after keeping him up until 1 am at a friend's house. (To be fair, we tried to get him to go to bed earlier!) We also tried giving Caleb his first taste of formula from a bottle in an attempt to gain some flexibility and the chance of leaving him with a babysitter for a feeding. However, Caleb would not suck from the bottle and made faces when he got any drops in his mouth. He also made a big show of gagging noises and sticking out his tongue like he does when you put the pacifier in a few too many times. (He still only takes a pacifier when he's really tired.) Oh well. At least he's the sort of baby that you can take places! He hasn't given us trouble in a restaurant yet (knock on wood)... Caleb also saw his first snow, a record 6 inches in our area of Seattle (he was not impressed, especially when a few flakes melted on his face). And we all suffered a bit through Caleb's first minor cold (eye boogers, runny nose, and some coughing/sneezing- sad day).

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