3 months old

Remember at 2 months when I said I was going to attempt this picture every month on the day of birthday?

One month down, and I remembered to do it! Here is Wesley, one month later, at 3 months old.

He is an absolute doll. I seriously could just eat him up! This month he has really turned into an active member of the family, smiling, cooing, and giggling. We are used to having him around now, and it kind of feels weird when he is sleeping in the other room and it is just Jesse, Ryleigh, and I again. You can bet that when he IS in the room, he makes sure that everyone knows! He will bust out talking or just give a little squeal to remind us that he is there (like we could forget...)

I know that every child is different, and I knew that he would be different than Ryleigh. But, WOW, he is different than Ryleigh. As a baby, Ryleigh never loved cuddling. She would squirm and kick and try to crawl over my shoulder if I attempted to hold her too long. Wesley, on the other hand, loves to be held. He will crawl up my chest all right, but only to nestle himself right under my chin, in the crease of my neck, where he loves to fall asleep. And though Ryleigh definitely had a Mama's girl phase, it always seemed like she naturally responded better to Jesse. Daddy always got the big smiles and coos out of her. Now it is my turn! Wesley will literally follow me around a room with his eyes, and the second I make eye contact, his face lights up. I cannot tell you how much my heart swells when either of my babies smile or laugh at me. Indescribable feeling.

Ryleigh was not a difficult baby, per se, but her little personality has always been that of a little spit fire! Always busy, bored unless she is on the move, and always sporting a little drama. Clearly, my girl. So while I often think back to her as a baby as a time of frustration and exhaustion, it really was not her fault. She was a good baby, just a hand-full of personality and an inexperienced Mama.

And while I also would not characterize Wesley as a difficult baby, he has also given me all kinds of new challenges. He has had more health issues than we ever had with Ryleigh. Who knows if it is due to being born almost 3 weeks early, Mama not being so careful during the pregnancy, or just a different little system in his tiny body. All I know is that this boy has given me a run for my money in the health department. Thankfully, his reflux has gotten better. Our latest adventure has been trying to figure out why he hates his car seat so much. This boy literally SCREAMS from the time he gets in the car seat until we take him out. Seriously. It makes traveling back and forth to Houston pretty miserable for all involved. In fact, it was so bad, that I took him to the doctor after our Houston trip last week, because I was so worried about attempting to drive to Grandma's with him last weekend. Has anyone ever heard of a baby not liking their car seat? I have always heard that it was supposed to be the ultimate soother...you know, if you cant get them to calm down, put them in the car and drive around the block a couple times. Yeah, that does not work for Wesley. Once he gets going there is no consoling him. I've tried everything I know. We are praying that he grows out of this quickly!

He weighs about 10 pounds 9 ounces now, up from 9 pounds 12 ounces last month. Growing right on track and filling out nicely.

As of Monday of next week, (once Christmas is over and we are done traveling for awhile), Wesley will officially transition to his crib at night. He does great in it during the day for naps, and since he has been sleeping so much better at night, I'm ready to move him. I'm sure I could have done it easy enough awhile ago, but let's be honest, I am lazy. I did not want to be getting up, walking across the house, several times a night. As of Monday, we'll move the chair back in there, in case he does wake up, I can go feed him, and put him right back down. I'm kind of hoping that he will sleep better in there. Last night, he was just rolling around, grunting a little, but not upset, and it bugged me so much I just got up and fed him. Was he really hungry? I don't know. But the noise was irritating me and waking up Jesse. Somehow all those little stirs and shuffles don't seem so loud over a monitor. He can squirm around as much as he wants, and unless he cries, I don't have to do anything. So far, he seems like a good self-soother, but I guess time will tell. If I'm dying of exhaustion by this time next week, we'll know why. :)

Wesley and Ryleigh seem to like each other more and more every day. I couldn't help but add another comparison shot. This one was from Wesley was about one month old...
... to three months old.

Look at those precious faces? I'm blessed indeed. And though these three months have not exactly been a walk in the park, I wouldn't trade them for anything else in the world.