Time flies when you are meeting friends and family for the first time! Most of your 3rd month took place in the US. This month you were on an actual schedule which just makes our days less chaotic! I tried to take notes on what you were doing this month but to be honest when you jump from place to place visiting friends and family it all blurs together!
There's my happy girl!
On your actual 3 month birthday.
At 3.5 months when we finally took your picture.
At your 3 month (and 1 week) appointment you weighed 5.21 kg (11 lbs 7 oz) which is in the 14th percentile. You were 62 cm (24.4 inches) long which is in the 76th percentile and your head was 40 cm (15.7 inches) around which is the 55th percentile. Long and lean just like your sister.
Stella LOVES this little bird above the changing pad at the BVC. This was right before she got shots which she did not love.
Eating
You started to eat on a more regular schedule this month. With Linnea she was on a strict, almost to the minute schedule (#firstkidproblems). You are on a more flexible schedule but still with the main goal of eating every 4 hours in mind. You usually eat between 6:45-7:30, 11:15, 3:15, 5 and 7:15 give or take 15 minutes. According to our sleep training book you are supposed to eat every 4 hours but you really think you need a bonus feed in the afternoon/evening which you get because I want to make sure you are gaining weight and it hasn't seemed to affect you not sleeping through the night so you get to keep it up for a while.
That little hand while nursing is so sweet.
SleepingWe started 'sleep training' you around 8 weeks which meant we used the Baby Sleep Solution book and started following step 1 out of 4. Step 1 is to push your daytime feeds to every 4 hours. Then step 2 is to start eliminating night time feeds by offering a paci instead and then decreasing the number of minutes (milk) you get so that your body adjusts to not needing any milk at night. After about a week and a half of doing daytime feeds every 4 hours guess what you did? You slept through the night at 9.5 weeks (on April 9th)!! My very favorite milestone! There are lots of definitions of 'sleeping through the night' so to clarify, you slept from 7:10-7:00 without waking up to eat! You woke up a few times but went back to sleep with your paci. On April 13th you slept through the night without any fussing at all. Woohoo! During the newborn days, it feels like I will never sleep again all night and then when it happens I feel like a whole new person!
Your little hand has been creeping up out of your swaddle. If it didn't wake you up I'd think it was super cute.
You are growing out of size 56 and are now in size 62. You can wear size 3-month clothes and 6-month sleepers. It seems that your torso is pretty long. I had to find some 3-month and 6-month summer clothes for you since Linnea did have many to share with you. Thankfully one of my best friends has 2 girls and lots of cute clothes that she is letting us borrow.
I also had a blast shopping for new clothes and matching shirts for you and Linnea while we were back in the US.
Playtime
You are starting to be much more responsive/interactive during your awake time. You still don't care for tummy time and honestly neither do I since you usually spit up after just a few minutes but we are trying to get you to like it.
You've played with a few toys and Mr. Googley eyes in your bouncer.
You LOVE ceiling fans! There aren't many in the US so you definitely took advantage of staring at as many as you could while we were in the US.
Our schedule is about the same as it was last month except when we were in the US we were kind of all over the place. The constant in our days was your nursing schedule (7:15, 11:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15 - give or take 15 minutes) and thankfully as long as we are together it wasn't a problem. The rest of our day was varied especially in the US. I did run errands and go to dinner with friends leaving you with Jake or the grandparents which was great!
Coffee date with a sleeping baby!
Activities and Outings
Wed April 18th - Fly Stockholm, Chicago, KC
On international flights, some airlines have bassinets you can use for free. We used one with Linnea at 3 months old and booked one for Stella. It worked great and gave us several hands-free hours while she slept so we could also sleep.
We bought Linnea a pair of headphones for the flight and gave them to her on the airplane. She was pretty excited. This was the first time she watched something on the tablet as well!
We would have had the whole row (all 4 seats) to ourselves because our flight was pretty empty but the guy in the striped shirt asked to sit in our row. I was annoyed. Who would want to sit by a family with two small kids on an international flight? It turns out he was headed back to the US to meet his new (3 week old) grandchild and see the older sibling (about 3 years old) and his son happened to be on the flight across the aisle from us. He was AMAZING with Linnea. They talked and laughed and it was really sweet. Plus the seats on the other side of the aisle were open so I sat over there and left Jake with both girls ;).
The black thing on the wall is the bassinet.
Stella meeting Grandma Debbie
And Papa Larry
My parents picked us up at the airport around 11:45 pm. Our flight from Chicago to KC was delayed. We seem to always have bad luck with the weather in Chicago but it is still the best flight option back to KS so we take it.
My parents also loaned us a car for our time back which was great!
We finally got to Jan's house around 1:45 am and went to bed around 2:30. Stella woke up to eat at 6:45 which seemed like a win to me!
Avery, Jan's little girl, slipped this note under our door. "Hi Linnea, Are you awake?" So cute!
We hung out with Jan and two of her kids all day on Thursday, It was great! So fun that I apparently forgot to take any pictures. My parents also came over that morning to see us before heading back to Wichita.
On Friday morning I got to hang out with this beautiful girl! I love that no matter how long it has been we pick up right where we left off and now I actually like drinking coffee so we got to sip some coffee while the kids played. Love you Faltermeier!
Fun playdate catching up with these girls, their mamas and the new little sisters (and soon to be little brother)!
We drove to Wichita on Saturday during naptime and Stella got to meet her Grandma Janet and Pa (or Grandpa) Ken.
Hanging out with Uncle Bob
On Sunday, Aprilt 22nd we drove to Hutchinson for church at Jake's Grandpa's former church. They were dedicating a stained glass window in honor of his Grandpa Lindeblad who was a pastor at that church for
Jetlag is rough!
We spent Monday at Jake's parents' house. We went on a lunch date and stopped by our high school where we met and fell in love ;).
Once a Redskin, Always a Redskin
Naptime with Grandma
Ceiling fans are the best!
Stella got lots of head control practice with Pa while we were in Wichita. 
Botanica
Wearing her daddy's bathrobe.
My parents drove Linnea up to KC and we had a staycation with them. We had a great time visiting Deanna Rose Farmstead and Wonderscope.
Game night with my parents
(The rest of our US trip was after you turned 3 months old so it will be in the next post.)
Firsts and New SkillsLots of firsts this month! You flew on your first flight (which was an international 9-hour flight - go big or go home, right?), met both sets of grandparents and lots of friends and family.
You love to talk to me. I hope that never changes.
You LOVE ceiling fans! There aren't many in the US so you definitely took advantage of staring at as many as you could while we were in the US.
Sister Moments
Linnea saw lots of other kids holding Stella this month and she got a little jealous because she also wanted to hold Stella. I love seeing how much Linnea loves Stella.
Jake hanging out with two of her girls!
Linnea New SkillsAbout 2.5 weeks before we left for the US we started potty training Linnea. Not the best plan but we didn't know we'd be able to go to the US. I think it made potty training a little more difficult since we were moving from place to place so often she didn't always know where the bathroom was and all the new toys were hard to leave sometimes to go pee. Overall she did well but she was/is NOT a fan of toilets that flush automatically which I don't blame her.
Proudly carrying her new underwear through the mall.
Walking through the metro station during rush hour.
This isn't a new skill but something I want to remember is the way Linnea can transfer from one place to another at bedtime. We like to go to friends' houses to play games at night after the kids go to bed which means we have to put Linnea to sleep at someone's house and then move her back to our place. She does a great job falling back to sleep when we move her. She has only stayed asleep once that I can remember when we have tried to move her from our friends' house to our place. It is usually about a 45 min to an hour bus, metro and walk back to our apartment. One night, in particular, it took a long time to get home and Linnea did a great job falling back to sleep once she got home.
Linnea can spell! Total coincidence but I was surprised!
Linnea Funnies/Quotes
One evening Jake and Linnea were reading together on the couch. Out of the blue, she says "I swallowed a rock at preschool today." Jake and I looked at each other in disbelief. We asked her more questions and apparently, she swallowed a rock at naptime. We couldn't get a straingt answer from her as far as how big the rock was. A few days later she spiked a fever and had a bad cough. So the day before we went to the US Jake took Linnea to the minor emergy room for a blood draw and a chest xray. No rock in ther lungs but I think she learned a vaulable lesson.
Linnea has been figuring out new bedtime stalling techniques especially when we were in the US and switching houses so often. Sometimes it took her a long time to fall asleep and there were more tears involved than normal because she was overly tired. For several months now whenever we go in to help her with her blanket or whatever she needs help with if she was crying she'll say "Can you wipe my tears?' with the sweetest little voice. It is cute and sad all at the same time.
Linnea goes to a fully Swedish preschool. They speak Swedish all day long so Linnea's play language is definitely Swedish. When she is at home she will talk to her babies in Swedish because that is what she does at school. When we were in the US visiting family and friends she would speak to them in Swedish and we had to remind her that they don't speak Swedish. I love that she can speak Swedish so that when we go to playgrounds she can speak and play with other kids and understand the parents as well. We will have our very own little translator ;).
Linnea needed help with something and said, "Mama, can you do me a favorite (favor)?" She is so funny.
We sometimes whisper in Linnea's ear and most of the time we say "I love you" so now I think she is pretty convinced when you whisper you always say "I love you" which means if we tell her to whisper something in someone's ear she will tell them she loves them and it is just the cutest thing ever.
Remember
I want to remember how sweet you are. When I talked to you and you get excited you turn your head to the left a little and stick your right hand in your mouth with a cute grin.
You are so happy. You really only cry when you are hungry or overly tired. Thankfully now that you are on a schedule it is pretty easy to know how to fix it.
We love you so much Stella!
Love,
Your Mama
Related Posts:
Stella at 2 Months, Stella at 1 Month
Linnea at 3 Months, Linnea at 2 Months, Linnea at 1 Month
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