Emma Joy: 3 Months Old

Our sweet baby girl turned 3 month old on Sunday! Emma changed so much in her third month and it's been incredible to see her interact more and express herself with her facial expressions and joyful sounds. This third month was full of joy but I have to be honest and say I had some really hard days, too. I feel like the first several weeks of mom life are such a blur of excitement and adjustment. I think all the emotions came crashing down on me at once this month. It's hard to explain and don't even get me started on postpartum hormones, but all I can say is the mothering has come so easy to me...it's everything else that comes with becoming a mom that takes some major emotional intelligence to work through. Pregnancy hormones have nothing on postpartum aftermath but that's a story for another day. I guess what I'm trying to say is that becoming a mommy has been the most challenging, most overwhelming, most rewarding thing I've done so far and I have never been more certain that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing in life.

Sweet Emma Joy,

Happy 3 months! Your third month was a busy one! One weekend, we hunkered down at home during your first hurricane and while we were spared from any major damage, it made for a weekend at home having lots of quality time as a little family. One Saturday, we met up with your nana for a girls day to have lunch and shop until we dropped. It was our longest outing yet and you did pretty well! You had your first hotel stay this month in Bradenton so mommy and daddy could go to a wedding. You spent the night hanging with nana and grampy at the hotel while we were out and they had so much fun loving on you! At the end of the month, we took you to your first pumpkin patch but sadly, they were out of pumpkins! We did get some great photo opps and you and mommy dressed in matching shirts so it was still a great day. The best part of that day was coming home in the afternoon and laying together on a blanket in the backyard, just you, me and daddy. We started at the sky and played with you while you wiggled around making all kinds of happy sounds.

You certainly discovered your mouth this month and when you're not sticking your hands or toys in it, you're making the most happy sounds with it. The absolute best thing is when you get so excited that you're kicking your feet like crazy then you let out a loud, joyful squeal. Along with those joyful sounds, you also did some serious crying and fussing this month. You have serious trouble passing gas and you get pretty upset about it. Daddy and I started giving you drops to help move things along and that has helped a bit, thank goodness. When mommy took you in at 3 months for a weigh in at the doctor, we discovered you'd only gained 3 ounces in a whole month which means you hadn't been getting enough to eat which explains why you'd become so fussy.

We had a rough time with nursing this month and when the doctor came in after we weighed you, I knew in my heart it was time to stop breastfeeding. I was pretty sad for selfish reasons because despite any struggles we've had, I really was enjoying that special time with you. I am thankful we were able to make it three months and our priority is to do what is best for you, so formula it is. We're only a few days in and even though I'm still nursing you once a day temporarily, you already seem happier and more satisfied, which makes me happy and so relieved.

The month you really started to become interested in toys and playtime and it has been so much fun to watch you entertain yourself! It seemed like one day I would put a toy in front of you and you wouldn't even really look at it, then all of a sudden you were checking it out, grabbing it and of course, bringing it up to your little mouth. You have a few toys you really like to play with and you love to just lay on your elephant play mat and play with your feet while you "talk" to me. You love when daddy and I sing to you, especially the song we sing with your name in it. Whenever we sing, "Emma Joy," you let out the happiest little squeal. I like to think you can see the joy on our faces when we say your name and it makes you giddy. You're grabbing onto everything in sight, especially our clothes, my hair, your wubbanub and any toys we give you.

You're still sleeping through the night like a champ. We put you to bed around 8:30 and many mornings I'm the one who wakes you up at 7 a.m. We still have you sleeping in our room but have started talking and thinking about transitioning to your crib at night. I just love waking up and seeing you sleeping so peacefully in our room. I know I'll miss it when we do move you to your bedroom.

You're still a skinny little girl only gaining a few ounces this month so you're still in size 1 diapers and you're wearing 0-3 month/3 month clothes for the most part. Some of your newborn stuff still fits you, though, and many 3 month pants hang off your little waist.

Watching you change week by week brings me so much joy and I love this stage, but it breaks my heart at the same time. It's all happening too fast! They warned us, but we could never understand how fast it goes by until we became parents ourselves. Becoming a mommy has been the most challenging, most incredible, most rewarding thing I've done in life so far. I still look at you sometimes and I am in complete disbelief. You are such a gift. Thank God for choosing us to be your parents. We love you, Emma Joy!