Three Month Update

Dear Samantha,

You turn three months old today. Shortly after writing your two month update in which I complained about your reluctance to sleep at night, I gave my old friend the Miracle Blanket one more shot. I swaddled you up nice and tight, laid you down in your crib, turned on the Sound Spa Lullaby ceiling projection and held my breath as you squirmed around in the blanket. Darned if you didn’t settle down almost immediately and drift peacefully off to sleep. And you stayed asleep for a whopping SEVEN HOURS! I was a new woman after a full night of sleep and you were a new, much happier baby in the morning. Instead of screaming at me to GET YOU A BOTTLE NOW!!! you emerged from your Miracle Blanket stretching calmly and flashing your beautiful, dimpled smile.

Your amazing sleep transformation continued for most of the month, save for one night when you woke up at 3 am. I stumbled into your room and found you almost entirely out of the blanket, waving your arms around and grinning at me like a miniature Houdini. Anyone who has ever used a Miracle Blanket knows they are almost impossible to escape from since they use a baby’s body weight to restrain her arms tightly at her side. And no offense, Sweetie, but you’ve got a lot of body weight to keep that sucker wrapped up tight. Apparently you also have a lot of strength because I wrapped you up even tighter when I laid you down again at 5 am and by 7 am you had busted free once more. You seemed thoroughly amused by your new escape act, but I was downright devastated. Luckily, a switch to Lana’s old, magic Miracle Blanket (instead of the new one scored at a consignment sale) and some aggressive swaddling put a stop to your break outs and you resumed sleeping peacefully through the night for stretches up to 10 hours.

Sleeping through the night not only saved my sanity, but also provided you with the energy to spend more time awake and alert during the day. You thoroughly enjoy sitting in our laps and watching Lana run around, dance, and play. She rarely slows down enough to actually interact with you, but when she does you reward her with some of your brightest smiles. Lana’s done a great job of adjusting to your addition to our family and I know she's very happy to have a baby sister, even if she doesn’t show a ton of interest in you yet. One day we went to pick her up from school and I set you down on the floor in your car seat while I gathered Lana’s things. Several little girls crowded around to see you, and Lana proudly announced, “That’s my Baby Samantha. She’s so cute!”

You’ve also spent some time at the end of this month trying your hardest to roll from your back onto your stomach. You came dangerously close to completing the roll for the first time on my very first day back to work. I guess you were showing off for your grandparents, who were at the house watching you that day. Fortunately, I am still working from home where I can see you throughout the day and make a mad dash downstairs when you start attempting milestones like your first rollover. I’m also incredibly lucky to have some great family to care for you while I work. You have so many people who love you dearly already, my Moon Pie, and none more than me.

Love,
Mama