Every day that goes by…

Zoe is getting bigger, stronger, and even more beautiful and more intelligent than the day before.

Week 10-11

She recognizes familiar sites and sounds.

They say at birth a baby will know her mother. This may be true, but I didn’t really recognize this until week 10-11.

When I hand Zoe off to people, she curls her lip to pout and reaches for me – she knows I’m her mama. When Erik picks her up from her babysitter’s house, her whole face lights up with excitement – she knows he’s her daddy.

Now at 3 months when we leave the room, she follows us with her eyes, and even turns her head in our direction to look for us, or wait for us to return. When she sleeps at night, in her bassinet, she turns her head to the side, to face our bed. Because of this we have been changing up her sleeping position by putting her in her bassinet the opposite way, every other night. It is important to do this because her head and face is still forming.

The other thing she is recognizing is her bottle, and the sound of her milk being stirred or shaken.

She uses her senses to explore.

As a newborn, a baby will use their sense of smell, to determine who their mother is because their sight is not yet fully developed.

But at 3 months of age, the game has changed…

She uses her eyes too…

When I take Zoe for walks, many times she still doses off to nap. However, there are also many times she is alert looking around. She loves the fall trees, the leaves – bright and colorful. Zoe can now see full colors. Did you know babies at 14 weeks prefers blue and red?!

She uses her hands…

Zoe loves to feel different textures. She loves all the textures on her play mat. She grabs her blankets to feel the softness. She loves her silk blanket her great Aunt made her, and even tries to eat it. She grabs on to my hair, clothing, even enjoys holding my hand.

Zoe now has discovered her own body parts. She touches her ears and always puts her hands in her mouth. She uses her hands to learn and explore.

When she was a newborn her hands were always in a fist, and I always had to wipe her hands down because they were full of lint. Now she keeps them open and has realized she has fingers. Now I wipe them down because she is always eating then.

At week 13 she really began to hold objects. I see her holding her pacifier and when I hand her her mermaid doll she holds it.

She uses her ears…

Zoe has always loved the sound of music. Early on, I would sing her Christmas songs, such as Silent Night to soothe her and help her fall asleep. At around 10 weeks I made up a cute song that uses our names, to teach her, that she is Zoe and that I am her mama. The music that plays from her swing stimulates her. She kicks her legs as if she is dancing.

When she was in my belly I used the belly buds so she could listen to music. I played for her a ton of Lindsay Stirling. Now at 3 months she is more playful, I want to play more classical and modern classical music, it is good stimulation for babies.

There are a lot of other noises that she loves. Her white noise sound machine is part of her night time routine. She loves the sound of water, and sits in the bathroom quietly while I take a shower. She also loves the sound of the hair dryer. She loves the sound of the bathroom fan. She enjoys the fabric that makes noise on her play mat while she kicks and plays. The dogs’ barking does not even phase her.

Sleeping

Everyone asks how is she sleeping…

Zoe has always been a really great sleeper. She loves her naps. It is my job as her mother, to make sure she is put down for her regular naps. I came up with a good sleep and eating schedule based on her natural sleep and eating pattern. Although we have a good schedule, we are flexible. On a rare occasion she is off schedule, she will cat nap on her own. (Cat naps are not as deep as her regular naps, but at least it is something.)

When Zoe is tired she tells me by rubbing her eyes and yawning. However, a regular routine is good for Zoe. It helps her attention and memory.

I just finished the book, “Bringing up Bebe.” It is a parenting book about how the French parent. In the book, the author claims, that the main question asked in France is, “Does your baby do her nights?”- meaning is your baby sleeping through the night. Well I am very proud to say, Yes! Zoe is sleeping through the night. I truly believe this has a lot to do with giving her a dream feed. I have found that as long as Zoe has a full belly she will sleep peacefully.

Bath time 

Zoe is loving her bath time. She kicks her legs and splashes hard. It is fun to watch her expressions. She use to scream her head off when we took her out of her tub, but now she gets wrapped up in her towel quickly, and once she is dry I give her a baby massage with baby oil. She is using the Earth Mama Angel Baby products. We love them.

Eating and drooling

Zoe is eating 4-5 ounces at each meal. She is definitely spitting up less, but drooling like crazy – she even blows bubbles. Drool is saliva that lines the intestines and neutralizes stomach acid. It contains enzymes that helps digest food. The body is preparing to take in solids. In a couple months she will be ready.

Talking

Zoe is now talking – baby talk. She spits out her pacifier so she can smile and babble. When I ask her a question she answers in baby talk. I still tell her where I’m going and what I am doing. We have conversations all the time.

This Wednesday Zoe will be 15 weeks. The last couple days she has been the best alarm clock ever. She has been laying in her bassinet happily oohing and aahhing, and squealing! She thinks it is fun! I love it. Loudest baby alarm clock ever.

Exercise

Zoe use to hate tummy time. It is crazy how in just a couple days she has turned into a pro on her tummy. It is a lot of work for a 3 month old to do her push ups. But she is now doing them with out crying instantly.

She loves her tummy time mat. It is important to get babies use to tummy time and getting them to associate this time as play time. She is playing and getting stronger.

Play time and Story time

It’s time for more toys and books. I read many books to Zoe. Her favorites are the pout pout fish and Boom Chicka Boom. We are starting to create a library for her.

We are also bringing out more toys for her to play with. She had a mermaid rattle but I think I might introduce Sophie to her soon.

Life with Zoe Annalise…

Every day with Zoe, I think… this is the best day, but then the next day comes, and she surprises me, yet again with something cuter and more fun than the day before.

She is always smiling, and when I smile at her… she smiles back.

© 2015 sweat1xdaily