A Wee Bit of Cake: 3 months

Dear Dylan - 3 months old

By A Wee Bit of Cake - September 11, 2018

Dear Dylan,

I can't believe I'm sitting down to write your 3 month letter, it seems like no time at all since I was doing the same for Ethan.

I prefer doing these letters every 3 months rather than monthly but it's also a stark reminder of how fast time really does go.

I remember when you were born looking forward to having the whole summer in front of us but it's gone in the blink of an eye and here I am debating about putting the heating on. It doesn't look like we will be having an Indian Summer this year.

Dylan, you were born on the 11th June 2018 in the middle of the hottest summer in years and therefore spent a lot of time in vests or simple rompers. It was just too warm to dress you in anything else. Even though the weather has turned cooler now, I'm enjoying dressing you in snuggly sleepsuits so you are nice and warm. Just like your brother, I am in no rush to dress you in proper clothes, comfort is key at this age (well any ages if I'm honest) and is there anything comfier than a soft babygro?

You were a big baby at birth (10lb 2oz!) yet your delivery was so much better than Ethan's - fast, no time for pain relief and a quick recovery even though my stomach muscles split afterwards. Born on the 98th percentile, you have continued to follow this line and now at 3 months old you weigh 17lb 6oz and are well into 3-6 month clothing. You didn't even wear newborn and were out of the 0-3 stuff within 6 weeks. Your baby cousin Willow was born 10 days after you and she was only 6lb 4oz, such a dainty little thing. Dylan, my darling, there is nothing dainty about you; you're a proper little chunk and I just adore your rolls. You are also super strong and love nothing more than standing up on us locking your legs to look around. Ethan was just the same, I think I make big, strong boys.

Milk wise, you are a total boob monster. Breastfeeding to start with was so much easier than it was with Ethan but then around 4 weeks you went through a really fussy period arching your back during feeds, screaming out in pain and refusing to latch. I didn't doubt my supply as I could see you were gaining but I did start to wonder if you were suffering from reflux or was something in my milk causing you bother. A few friends suggested that it might be your digestive system developing as your body uncurled from it's newborn state and I think they were right as within a few weeks you were back to feeding normally again.

Family wise both Daddy and Ethan adore you. We have been so lucky that Daddy has had so much time off since you were born, he had his 2 weeks Paternity Leave and then he was only back at work for a few weeks before being off again for 6 weeks for the school holidays. It was wonderful having that summer together to get to know you and enjoy quality time as a new family of four.

We were both worried about how Ethan would react to you but he loves you and we often joke that he will kill you with kindness. He's constantly kissing and cuddling you, bringing you toys when you are upset or patting your tummy to comfort you with a "there there Dilly chops." It's so cute (and yes you may have ended up with the nickname Dilly...).

Sleepwise you are yet to get into a routine and we have had one night where you slept through but I reckon that was just a fluke. Like with Ethan, we embraced the Fourth Trimester and were happy to follow your lead. Now the summer is over I am going to try to encourage a good nap routine but I know you babies set your own agendas so time will tell how that one works out. Most evenings you seem to be ready for sleep between 6:30 - 7:30pm so we bath you both together then Daddy gets you ready for bed and I sort out Ethan. We then swap and he puts Ethan to bed while I feed you and lay you down in your Snuzpod. Some nights we don't hear a peep from you until 1/2/3am but other nights you waken every two hours, it's total pot luck. The past few nights have been rough but we have all been suffering from colds and I can hear you snuffling away in your sleep so it's no surprise you keep waking up. You do end up in bed with us most nights too. Even though the Snuzpod is attached to my side of the bed with the side panel removed you are still at your happiest sleeping snuggled into the crook of my arm. I don't mind though, you might be my last baby so I'm enjoying the cuddles while they last.

At the start of the summer when you were only 6 weeks old we made the trip back to Ireland to meet the family and you new baby cousin, Willow. It was a hectic and busy week but lovely to see everyone. You did brilliantly on the ferry but hate your car seat. Even though it's less than 2 hours to Liverpool we still had to stop a few times to feed and comfort you as you were so upset in the car. Even now you still kick off in the car no matter how long the journey is.

The first month with you was difficult but you have now settled down and are such a happy little thing. You love to be cuddled, will smile at anyone and are happy to be plonked on the floor under your play gym or in your bouncer (sorry but that's second baby problems). Ethan is at nursery on a Tuesday so that's my day with you where we take things at a slower pace and generally just have a cosy day at home. When you get a little older I will enrol you at some baby classes but for now it's just us on a Tuesday. You do get lots of interaction with others though as you are always there when Ethan has a play date and lots of his little chums now have younger siblings, hopefully they will become your little crew as you get older.

I know I could keep writing but it's time to draw this letter to a close. We all love you so so much, our beautiful baby boy.

All my love Mama xxx

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3 months

Dear Ethan - 3 months

By A Wee Bit of Cake - June 08, 2016

Dear Ethan,

How is it that you are 3 months old already? I considered writing you monthly letters but instead I've opted for quarterly ones as they mark some bigger milestones.

We have now officially left the "Fourth Trimester" and the newborn days behind. Daddy and I were keen to follow your lead in these first few months slowly finding our feet and adjusting to life as parents while you got used to life outside the womb.

I suppose I should really go back to the start when we first brought you home from hospital. You were born on Monday 7th March at 2:51am (after a long labour) and we took you home on the Tuesday evening. I was in no rush to get home as I was keen to get breastfeeding established and thankfully you took to it really well.

When we got home Granny and Granda were there which made things a lot easier. They looked after Daddy and I while we focused on you and even had a few lovely cuddles with you while Daddy and I caught up on some sleep.

Most of that first week passed by in a blur of visits from Daddy's family, the midwives and some friends. Uncle Michael, Uncle Christopher and Uncle Stephen all came to separately over the following weeks with Granny and Granda coming back for almost a week after they had all gone home.

By the time we got to 6 weeks old you had been on a plane back to Ireland to visit the rest of the family, we had had a few trips on the train in to Leeds and you seemed to take any amount of travelling in your stride.

As I mentioned earlier I was really keen to get breastfeeding established. Even though I knew it would be hard at the start I really had no idea how difficult it would actually be. Once my milk came in you found it hard to latch so we had to hand express a little before each feed to encourage you. Then you started to dislike the right side and kept slipping back once you latched which resulted in a cracked nipple. I had to express for a few days to allow myself time to heal and thankfully you took a bottle with no objections. Since then we have found our groove with breastfeeding and dare I say it, but actually now it's really easy. My initial aim was 1 week, then 6 weeks and now I'm hoping to get to 6 months before we start weaning.

You aren't too bad with sleep although I'm still waiting for you to sleep through the night. In the early days nights were horrific and I used to dread bedtime but now you tend to have a 30 minute nap between 6 and 7 then go down for the night around 9. Sometimes you will sleep for 6 hours and other times only 3-4 hours but generally there are only 2-3 wake-ups a night and you feed for around 10minutes before going straight back to sleep. You tend to spend most of the night in your Snuzpod but by 5am I usually end up bringing you in to bed with us just so we get a guaranteed sleep until 7am. Day time naps are totally hit and miss. Sometimes you sleep lots while other days I'm lucky if you nap for more more than an hour - total pot luck!

You have now had 2 rounds of vaccinations and you weren't too bad with them although I wasn't keen on the nurse who did the most recent ones. Let's just say I don't like being told what to do in a patronising tone. Daddy reckons I'm being too sensitive - I disagree! Seeing that look on your face when you have not one but three needles stuck in your legs was awful but sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind.

We meet up with the NCT babies every Tuesday and the Twitter babies every other Wednesday. I also take you to baby group on a Monday and Thursday but you seem to be making a habit of falling asleep at them - perfect timing eh?

You have now truly mastered the art of smiling and will smile at anyone, you just love attention and to be cuddled. We often joke too that you will be walking next week as you are so strong and love to be stood up all the time (although Granny tells me off that it will give you bendy legs). Right from the start you have had great head control which makes carrying you so much easier. Your new favourite thing is for Daddy to gently pull your legs from side to side. You give the biggest smiles when he does that. Hopefully soon you will be rolling over but if I'm honest I'm in no rush. I'm cherishing you being my little baby boy for as long as possible.

We have also been to look around nurseries and have put a deposit down on one near Daddy's work. I'm aiming to go back to work 3 days a week and we hope you love the place we have picked for you. It was hard to have to make this decision when you are still so tiny but we want the best for you and were worried that if we left it until the last minute we would be left with somewhere awful. Honestly, some of the nurseries we looked around were horrendous but this place seems really special.

Ethan, my darling, I could talk about you all day and how amazing the past 3 months have been but for now I think it's time to draw this letter to a close. Daddy and I love you more than you will ever know. You really have changed our lives for the better.

Your first 3 months in photos