This Hetrick House: 3 Months!

Dear Addy,

I know I'll probably say this every month, but I can't believe how much you are changing right before our eyes!

You are as alert as ever! It's so fun because now when we read to you at night it seems as though you are paying attention. You really study the pages or our faces as we read. Story time is the perfect way to end your day.

You are able to sit up pretty well with just a little bit of back support from us. And you are now able to roll onto your side from your back, but we haven't yet achieved the roll over from front to back. Perhaps because you still despise tummy time, so it never lasts long enough for you to really try.

I have been admiring and loving your "peachy peach fuzz" hair. You smile every time we say that....especially when Aunt Tina says it! You hair is so soft and thin, with a little spike to it, and I adore it. I think you've lost some, and it has become a little bit lighter, which I noticed when looking back at your newborn pictures. I love to kiss your head, and I know that before long that precious peach fuzz will be replaced with big girl hair. I tried to get some pics of it, but wasn't very successful, so Aunt Tina got some when we went to visit her this past weekend. What would we do without her?

We are still trying to figure out your eye color, but they're looking like brown. Brown hair like mommy and brown eyes like daddy!

You are definitely a "girl on the go". We are always telling people that when you cry, usually what you want is for someone to pick you up and walk around a little bit. But only up on the shoulder. Upright. That is the way you like to be held. You are also not usually content when we pick you up and sit down with you. You want to be on the move. Whether it's walking, riding in the stroller, or in the car. You cry when we stop moving.

You are still eating breast milk exclusively, and I am very proud of that. You've never had a drop of formula, even though it was very tempting at times.  The whole breastfeeding thing has been a rough road for me (breastfeeding is NOT easy!), but I'm happy that we stuck with it through all of the frustrations. It's amazing to think that I have provided 100% of the nutrition that you need in this important stage of your life! You are definitely thriving and you have the thigh rolls to prove it!
I am finally feeling the bonding that moms rave about with nursing!  I used to get so upset in the first two months because I wasn't feeling that, and I desperately wanted to. I would just be staring at the clock waiting for the feeding session to be over. And then thinking that I'd have to turn around and do it again in less than two hours was very overwhelming and draining, both physically and emotionally. But it's getting easier and we are falling into a routine.

I love the way you have started looking up at me when you eat, and when you make eye contact you smile. You make this little laugh/cry noise when you know you are about to eat, and it makes me laugh every time. You get so excited!

But you are very specific with your prerequisites for eating. You will not tolerate distractions. As soon as I start talking to someone you stop eating and look up at me like "What's going on? Am I missing something fun?" So we try to minimize any extra stimulation during feeding time. Also, at the risk of sounding like a Dr. Seuss rhyme, you will not drink old milk, and you will not drink cold milk. Mike and I marvel at how you somehow know if the milk has been out of the refrigerator for a few hours. If it isn't the freshest of the fresh, you are not interested. You just let it all drip out of your mouth. Same goes for if the milk isn't warmed to your liking.  Dribble, dribble, dribble. Makes traveling with pumped milk a little bit difficult, because getting you to drink it is no easy feat, if not impossible.

You still fight us on nap time every day. You just don't want to miss anything! It's a rare occasion when we can get you down for a nap without crying. And then when you do nap, it's often for only a half hour or so. Then you are awake and wide eyed, ready to continue your day. This inevitably leads to your cranky evening time. Like clockwork, the seven-o-clock hour hits and you start to melt down. So we've started to just begin your evening routine at that time. The "5 B's"...bath, boob (or bottle), burp, book, bed. That is your bedtime routine. Lately we've been getting you to bed between 8 and 9. You still routinely only wake up once a night, although the times have been varying a lot lately. Anywhere from 11:30-5:30. And on occasion you even wake up twice, but that's rare, lucky for mommy and daddy.

Other big news is that you started to laugh! It is by far the cutest thing we have ever seen. I tried to capture it on video, but you were about done by the time I got the camera out. You started laughing at about 2 and 1/2 months, and the first time we heard it was when we were visiting Pap and Grandma Hetrick up in PA. We love your laugh and we laugh with you every time!

Right around your 3 month birthday you discovered that you can make these bubbly noises with your mouth and that is your newest trick. You can entertain yourself for awhile, just bubbling away!

Well Addy, there is your 3 month news. I know this letter seems long, but I'm sure there are even things that you've started doing that I forgot to mention. You are learning so much every single day, and we love to watch you learn and grow. I don't want to forget a thing!

Here are some pictures from your 3 month birthday: