3 Months

My little lady is 3 months. Dear me. That went fast ... and slow.

Right now she is laying next to me on the couch. She was in her Gymini, which she normally loves, but she got fussy. So now she is laying here, and I can hear her sucking on her fingers and thumbs. She's looking out the window. She's got one hand in her mouth now and one on her head touching her hair.

She spends most of her awake time in the gymini, but it just occurred to me in this very moment that I can get out the exersauser. I think Quinn started with that at 3 months just before we went to Arizona. Sometimes I put her in the bumbo chair, but I don't do it very often because I feel like it requires a lot of super vision. To be honest I don't give McKenna tons of that, but I try. We sing together every day, and I love nursing her. Sometimes I take her on walks to the mailbox.

She's wearing 3 to 6 month clothes now. One Old Navy outfit with stripes is almost a little short in the legs. She seems to have a long torso. Her hair is still long and dark, but a friend pointed out the other day that some highlights are growing in. She's starting to lose some hair in a strip from ear to ear along the back of her head. It's probably from ALWAYS laying down. One more reason to pull out the exersauser.

She still loves to be swaddled. We are trying to ween her of that, but she puts up quite the cry if we lay her in her crib without a tight wrap. She's not quite making it through her entire 3 hour cycle. During most of the day it is more like 2 and a half hours. But it does not bother me since she sleeps from 10 p.m. to 5 or 6 a.m. most nights. And I don't mind nursing her more often in the day because it is the one time I get to drop everything and just be Avery McKenna's mama.

At this age, we had Quinn sleeping on her side, holding her poodle. Doesn't seem to be McKenna's thing yet. I've tried out a few stuffed animals on her, and she does not seem all that interested. She loves attention, and I think in the last week she has started to cry when she is lonely or needs some love. Quinn never did this, and Quinn never actually slept through the night for over a year. (but I didn't mind because she just ate and went straight back to sleep in the night.)

McKenna giggles when you play this her. She seems to like to be tickled on her neck or chest. When she is playing in her gymini, she grabs and kicks the toys, and she loves to put her legs up in the air and swing them to her right side. I think she is trying to flip over. Just this week, I put her on her belly for a few minutes, and she did not cry. That was a first. Sometimes she'll catch my eyes when she is on the floor and I am all the way in the kitchen. She smiles brightly. She can see far.

She mostly loves the car still, but she does not fall asleep as fast as she used to. And she is kind of a stinker on a walk. She does not love the stroller and will sometimes cry for half of 2 miles.

Her fingers and toes get cold, so I always put her in bunny slippers.

She still rarely spits up, but she is starting to poop more and stain her clothes every few days. Yikes!!

She talks and coos a lot more now especially when she is all alone. Sometimes I run to get her when I hear her, but when I get there, she is happy and just talking to herself or to the duck hanging on her gymini. And mostly if you I talk to her, she'll talk back. Sweetly and nicely.

We've taken her on a few family picnics in the backyard, and she does not seem as anti-outside as she once did. But in general, I get the vibe that she will follow my lead with likes and dislikes, and if nothing else, she will have more particular tastes than Quinn does. Tim says that when she is flowing a fit in her bed, she hits this point of no return and makes this sad, sad noise. He says I do it too. It is my grunt and my wince when I am sad or at my end. He says the noises are the same. He loves it.

Kenna still only drinks a few oz from a bottle, but she does not seem to get too hungry when I am gone. And I should still be giving her the Acid-Reflux medicine at least twice a day, but I am trying to ween her because it is so expensive. I think this is a horrible idea. I'm pretty sure she still needs it.

We missed her 2 month check up. Oops. It will all come out in the wash.

But to sum things up. I love McKenna very much. I feel a deep love for her and a completeness in her presence that I have never felt before. I feel guilt when we are not together or when I do not pay attention to her, but I try to just roll with it and give her everything I can when I can.

Quinn is in love with McKenna too and is very concerned if we leave home without her to go somewhere just the two of us. She gives her hugs and kisses a lot, but is not all up in her face like some kids. However, once this weekend, Quinn picked up McKenna and dropped her gently on her head. Sisterhood is a gift in the end. Sorry, McKenna :)