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3 Month Update on Baby and Motherhood

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a great week and have fun plans for the weekend. A few people have asked about Camryn so I figured I would maybe start doing monthly updates? If you guys like this, I’ll keep doing them. I always keep notes for myself about Cam for my own memory (it’s amazing how much of a blur the first 2 weeks are with things I wouldn’t remember without my notes/photos), but happy to share more!

Sorry for the overload of baby pics!

In some aspects, I feel like time is flying. But sometimes, it feels normal too. I think once I get busier with my own workload, things will go quicker.

We are currently deciding what we want to do for childcare – we are waitlisted for our top daycare and I’m not sure we will get in or not. We have a backup daycare, or I’m considering a part time nanny. Part time because I’d like to have 1-2 days a week home with Cam, but be able to work a few days also, both from home and at the office. I realize I’m fortunate to be able to do so. I know for sure I want to continue working because I love my work and it brings me joy and pride. But, I also don’t want to miss too much with Cam. Those that said going back to work after having a baby is hard were so right. I’m hoping I can find a good balance.

Cam’s Personality

She is just a bubble of happiness, seriously.

I love her more and more every day and her smiles bring me so much happiness and make all of the hard moments worth it. I remember when she first started smiling, and now it’s constant.

Overall, she’s a pretty happy baby and I feel very lucky for that. I’ve learned the two situations where she gets fussy are when she’s hungry and when she’s tired. And she has a different cry for these that I’ve pretty much figured out. It’s more of a whine. When she’s unhappy, she has the cutest pouty face where she curls her bottom lip. At some point around 4-6 weeks or so (I think?), babies start producing tears when they cry so now she gets all teary eyed too. It’s so cute but obviously I hate to see her cry.

She is a mamma’s girl, for sure. I can pretty much make her smile on cue. She loves having me around. I actually think this habit is going to be tough to break, but I know with practice it’ll be fine. That first day of daycare, or when someone else watches her all day, will be really hard for me (and them!) because I think there will be a lot of tears and cries.

She’s rolled a couple times and it’s surprised me. I’ve put her down on her stomach and when I turn back, she’s on her back. She’s also drooooooling a ton, and sucking on her hands and fingers a lot. It’s adorable. I don’t know if that means teething will be happening anytime soon?!

Cam is fascinated with her hands and feet. I’ll catch her just staring at them! She’s also very animated with her hands. She’ll talk to you and throw her hands all over the place. When I’m changing her, she’ll raise her hands like she’s ready for me to pick her up.

Cam Loves…

She also loves looking in the mirror. I wonder when they figure out it’s them they are looking at? Either way, it makes her smile. She also loves morning chats. She wakes up with the biggest smile on her face, which makes the morning my favorite time of day. I do animal sounds for her and she loves it.

We’ve started doing airplane with her, which is a lot of fun. I used to think she hated tummy time, but she’s really improved her back and neck muscles that I don’t think she minds it anymore. She’ll just chill in that position for 5-10 minutes at a time. She’s also starting to grip things, which is fun. I try to work on some hand-eye coordination with her daily and have her grip what I’m holding.

Oh, and she loves Tater very  much. I don’t think Tater has ever made her cry (Tater is pretty obsessed with her and is always kissing her). It’s relieving that Tater’s bark doesn’t seem to bother her at all either! I look forward to when she’s a little older and can pet Tater and give her treats. I’m pretty sure they will be besties.

Body Thoughts

I won’t lie – navigating post partum can be tough. My body still doesn’t look or feel the same and it may never will. And that’s okay. And I still have days where I don’t love my body, but man, am I grateful for what it’s done and provided me with. I’m so grateful it allows me to feed Camryn.

I don’t have the same core or tone that I used to. And I definitely don’t have the endurance that I used to – exercise is still tough. But baby steps is important and I remind myself of that every day. Sometimes, all I need is a walk and some days, some light stretching.

Sleep

The thing I’ve learned with early motherhood is…you never catch up on sleep. You just never do. If you’ve figured it out, share your secrets! Even if the baby sleeps, I wake up and worry constantly. I couldn’t imagine not having the Snuza, at least that gives me some piece of mind.

As far as (lack of) sleep, I guess my body is slowly adapting to that. I actually think we’re pretty lucky with Cam in terms of sleep. She pretty much always gives us a 6 hour stint at first. Sometimes she’ll wake up around 2-3 and I feed her and she goes back down until 6ish. Occasionally, she’ll sleep through the night, and I check the monitor constantly wondering if she is okay! She’s done a few 11 hour straight stints that have me so grateful (and engorged). I hope my sleep will improve once I stop waking up every hour worrying, but I’m not sure the worrying ever stops.

Right now, we usually put her down between 7-8. If she wakes up, it’s usually between 2-3, and then between 6-7 for the day. We don’t have a consistent nap schedule at all and I’m hesitant to have one because if she starts daycare, I know things will change. She generally takes a morning nap a few hours after she wakes up. Sometimes she’ll snooze in the afternoon, but I’ve found it depends if we’re home or out, and how her morning nap goes. She usually sleeps for another 45 minutes or so in the late afternoon. She doesn’t seem to be a super long napper (which makes working at home hard), but I guess I can’t complain since nighttime sleep is generally good.

Plus, I love how happy she is when she wakes up!

Breastfeeding/Bottle Feeding

I think there’s so much truth to the tip that you really hit your stride with breastfeeding around 3 months. Breastfeeding is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. In the beginning, I wanted to quit every day – it was hard, painful and tiring. Plus I would worry (and still do) that Cam wasn’t getting enough. I actually think I have a great supply, but she’s a quick eater and always has been. Now, though, I feel like we’re much more in sync and it has gotten sooo much easier, mentally and physically. And she’s started taking a bottle…sometimes! That was probably my biggest source of stress because I could never be apart from her from long since no one else could feed her. She actually takes a bottle from me (I know that is kind of surprising) and from Ed, but is so-so about other people. But I know that will come with practice – at least she is taking one!

For those that are wondering, we tried tons of different bottles and the one we’ve had the most success with is the Como Tomo bottle. Every baby is so different! I think another huge factor to our success is heating the bottle up before giving it to her. I bought this bottle warmer and I’m so glad I did.

Pumping

I currently pump twice a day – once in the morning after I feed Cam, and once before I go to bed. We’re slowly transitioning to feeding her a bottle at night before bed because that way I know how much she gets, and eventually, others besides me, will be able to put her down. Once I go back into the office to see clients, I’ll have to start pumping more during the day, which I’m not looking forward to.

I currently have the Spectra S2 hospital grade pump and I really like it.

3 month update on baby and motherhood

How I’m Doing

Overall, pretty well. I really think I’m *starting* to find my stride with motherhood and figuring out what works for us. I still have my ups and downs, as I’m sure many new moms do. You just have no idea how much work it will be going into it. Sometimes, the days are lonely when it’s just Cam and me here. I wish I had family around. We do get out a good bit which helps, but I have been trying to work around her naps sometimes so it can be easier to just be home. If we’re going to do a walk, it has to be early in the morning because it’s just too hot after 9-10ish here. So that’s a bummer because I’d walk her for hours otherwise!

I love my mom’s facebook group and it’s nice to be in contact with some other new moms going through the same things. Instagram has been a great community too because there are so many moms willing to share advice and answer my questions. Seriously, how did people get by and communicate without social media?!

It sounds like the next month will be a tough one as she is entering her fourth leap, and this four month sleep regression I hear about!

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done and grown from?

Moms, how long did it take for you to find your stride as a mom?

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  1. Kudos mama on the loving on your baby through all the ups and downs of sleep deprivation. I’m not sure how I would function without sleep, but I hope and pray I could, because I hope to get married and have babies some day. I’m thankful you share the realness of it and how grateful you are. Those baby smiles and cuddles are just so so sweet. Cam is such a cute bubbly looking baby. I hope that the nanny that you find or daycare work well and I know there are so many sweet gals out there that LOVE to take care of babies. <3

  2. Four months is the magic age when things seem WAY easier and clicked (at least for me). I took a 24 week maternity leave (half unpaid) and it was so worth it having those great months on the end. A really hard thing for me was going back to work. I burst into tears the second I stepped into my office on that first day. I got over the baby separation pretty quickly that first week or two, but I found it extremely difficult to feel like I was being the kind of lawyer and mom I wanted to be at the same time. Good luck!

    1. I can see how that would be so difficult, Stephanie, but I’m so glad you were able to take some extra time off!

  3. Love this! There was something magical about 16 weeks for me in hitting my stride in motherhood with my kiddos. You are doing so wonderfully!

    Super jealous of Cam’s great sleeping.
    All my little ones nursed every 2 hours all night long until they were close to 6 months?

    1. Thank you Danielle! Oh the sleep mystery – some nights are great, others not so much. I’m a little nervous about the 4 month regression they talk about!

  4. What a cutie! Motherhood is by far the most rewarding, beautiful, and challenging thing I’ve ever done! I’ve learned that once you think you’ve got it, they change and grow and the learning starts all over! But despite how hard it can be somedays (hello threenanger!), it’s also the most incredible journey (aka roller coaster!) I’ve ever been on! Oh, and the Snuza was a lifesaver for my anxiety those first few months!

    1. You are so right, Kathryn! Wish I had gotten more tips from you last fall 😉 Hope all is well with your “threenager!” lol

  5. No such thing as an overload of baby pics, especially when she is that cute!!

    Fingers crossed that you get taken off the waitlist for that daycare, but regardless of where she ends up, I’m sure she’ll do just fine 🙂

    Have a great weekend!

  6. What a wonderful update (of both cam and you!). I would think these kinds of documenting are so important, and will also be so so dear to look back on in years to come. What an angel she is. If only everyone woke up that positive!! But I too want to cry when I’m hungry or tired so i feel her there :).

    Good to hear you are doing okay as well. No kidding this has been a difficult transition, and one which you will continue navigating. But it’s beautiful to read your honesty and vulnerability regarding your feelings and experiences. Thank you for being so human!