The Richardsons: April 2013

Cooper at 3 Months

(April 14, 2013)

Three months. Sigh. My little guy is getting so big....really. He is such a chunker. Although, what would I expect from my 9lbs. 6oz. newborn? We didn't go see the doctor this month, but he has got to be every bit of 14 lbs. Momma's arms sure do burn after only a few minutes of snuggling!

Month three started a little intense. Cooper caught a little stomach bug from his big sister which caused him to projectile vomit for 24 hours. Ryleigh had a 24 hour bug back in February and that was the first time I had ever dealt with a vomiting child so two kids in two months was not exciting for me. Let me tell you, sick infants are not fun. The minute he'd throw up, he would be crying because he was now hungry. I was feeding him 1/2 oz. of pedialyte every 20 minutes until I upped it to 1oz., then 2oz. When I finally decided to try formula again...ralph. So I was back at 1/2oz of pedialyte. It was exhausting just keeping up with where I left off in the pedialyte schedule. When he finally did keep down his formula, the weight off my shoulders was crazy. I didn't even realize how tense I was, just constantly waiting for that next bout of puke to come. But he survived...and so did Mommy.

The rest of the month was much nicer. Cooper is laughing and smiling so much. I forgot how amazing it feels when you realize your baby is actually seeing you and recognizing you. I love watching him watch his big sister run around and I LOVE it when she talks to him and makes him laugh. Hearing Ryleigh say "Baby Cooper, look at me!" and then watching her do something ridiculous to make him laugh brings the biggest smile to my face. I know I need to cherish these moments because soon enough they will be tattling on each other more than loving on each other.

This month we also traveled to Michigan to visit family. 11 hours in a car with a 2 1/2 year old, 3 month old and 3 year old dog is NOT something I wish upon someone else. It wasn't awful...but it sure wasn't something I'm signing up to do again anytime soon. Cooper was able to meet a lot of new family members. He had lots of fun snuggling with his Aunt Cristin, as well as his Aunt Lori. He also met his Papaw, Mamaw, GGpa and GGma. That leaves only one more set of Greats to go! Gammy & Grandad made sure to get in lots of lovin' and his cousins, Tyler and Kylie did too. We always love when we get to spend time with our family : )

Sadly this month Mommy had to go back to work which means Cooper started daycare. I worked part-time with Ryleigh up until she was 13 months, so going back full-time with Cooper at 3 months has been a little more difficult, but I know that I am a much better Mommy when I have something outside of the home to take pride in. When I am home with the kiddos I am much more relaxed and have much more fun with them rather than being all stressed. (I know there is at least someone out there that understands that). He has been in daycare for one week and has been doing wonderfully. There are only 4 other babies in his class and he has 2 teachers. He also has his own little crib and plenty of playmat and bouncy seats to keep him occupied. He doesn't really sleep much while he's there, which isn't a problem since it doesn't really cause him to get fussy...but it does result in full nights of sleep! HALLELUJAH!

Cooper is making his way through the infant checklist month by month. In the next month I'm hoping he starts rolling over a little more and hopefully starts pushing up on his elbows. He is cooing a lot, so I'm guessing he'll start babbling a little bit here soon as well. We'll be sure to keep ya posted : )