Three Month Update

Dear Lana,

You turn three months old today, and I feel vaguely like I’ve completed a marathon. The three-month milestone is something I’ve been working toward since your birth, and it seems significant for several reasons. To begin with, most descriptions of colic indicate an expected end to the unreasonable fussiness around three months. I fully intend to hold you to this end date. As of today there will be no more episodes of screaming like your arms are being pulled off unless they are, in fact, being pulled off.

Many of the books I have read also describe three months as the point in which babies become fully engaged and ready to process the world around them. The Happiest Baby On the Block called the first three months the “fourth trimester” – a time that should really be spent still in the womb were it not for the logistics of giving birth to a 13 lb baby. One of John’s books even warned us that you would look like a small, misshapen alien until you reached three months of age. I am biased, of course, but I think you’ve been beautiful and not at all alien-like since your very first day of life. You have certainly been engaged in the world for quite some time now, but you’ve recently added a new expression of intense, forehead-crinkled concentration that makes you look like you’re contemplating the meaning of existence instead of just the meaning of the lyrics “the wheels on the bus go round and round.”

Finally, three months marks the end of my maternity leave, so I’ll be getting back to work next week. The idea of returning to work has been made much easier by the unexpected but timely opportunity to work from home. I will certainly miss our time spent leisurely rocking in the recliner and watching bad daytime television, but now we can sit together and make project plans and spreadsheets. What infant doesn’t enjoy a good Gannt chart? Should project management fail to entertain, however, your Granny T and Aunt Syble will be on hand to help us out.

So, now that we’ve survived the fourth trimester, I am confident that things will just get better from here. I look forward to watching you complete that roll onto your stomach that you’ve been working on, seeing you sit up, and finding out who will win Top Chef together. You are my Lana Bear and I love you very, very much.

-Mom