Baby E update

From Late October

Mr. Eli is twelve weeks old today. He'll have his three-month birthday a week from tomorrow; that three-month point feels like a big milestone to me, and our little guy is definitely growing up and becoming a baby rather than a newborn. :) He has a little cold right now, given to him by his big sister. He's handling it well--his nose is stuffy, particularly at night, but he's just fine.

He's losing his birth day hair (which was quite dark brown) and seems to be growing into his real hair color, which seems to be the same dark blonde that Maia and I have. His eyes are blue, of course, joining the rest of our family as we expected. He hasn't been weighed with any accuracy in the last few weeks, but I suspect he's around 19 pounds right now ... something like that. His rate of growth doesn't seem to have slowed at all, and he's wearing 6-9 month clothes and #3 diapers. I've adapted well to the demands of keeping him full of the calories that he needs to sustain this rate of growth; my milk supply is just fine and I'm pumping my milk here and there to try to save up a freezer stash for the doula work days that lie ahead in my not-too-distant future.

Eli still expresses very clear preferences for nighttime sleep right next to me, but he now takes his naps either in his swing or the bassinet in our room, which is a welcome change that allows me to get more stuff done around the house. His naps have also consolidated, and he now takes three pretty dependable longer naps a day. Eli's naps also allow me to cuddle and relax with Maia, who's been very expressive with her "I love you"s lately and clearly needs to check-in with me with hugs and snuggles in the moments that her brother isn't occupying my arms.

All the average baby milestones are coming and going for Little E (as Maia calls him) ... holding his head up, reaching and grabbing onto things with more focus and confidence, laughs, babbling, etc. Eli's gotten very drooly and has begun chewing on his fingers a lot more often, which prompted Brian to wonder today if teething might have begun ... I'm hoping not, but I suppose it's possible.

Eli's motto for life these days is "Go big or go home." He talks big, lets loose with big farts and sneezes (his sneezes actually sound like a full "AAAAAHHHH ... choo!"), kicks his feet with a lot of force, and just seems to enjoy taking up a lot of space literally and figuratively. Even this early in his babyhood, he seems to have a big personality to match his big sister's. :) Look out!