12 Weeks: My Baby Can Read...Sort of

Starting to look a little more like Mama this week? What do you think?

Cashman is 12 weeks! Its not quite 3 months exactly because he was born on the 13th, but we're almost there. He is growing like crazy, and he's had so many new milestones recently. I think of new post ideas to start almost daily, and I don't have the time to write them all. So where should I begin?

Physical: I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but I wasn't sure of what it was until now (and I'm still not really sure). I think he may have a little birth mark over his right eye. Its a little light red patch that he's had since he was born. Its one of my favorite things about him. He also has a few little red dot type birth marks on the back of his neck. I love them because I had the same red dots when I was born. Another fun physical fact is that his fingernails seem to grow about three times faster than they should. I have to file them down at least once a week, if not more. Maybe this is normal? He is in size 2 diapers, 3-6 month jeans, and 3 month shirts/onesies.

Milestones: As previously mentioned, there are many this week. I kept hearing that Cash's hands would "open up" to be able to grab objects around this time, and for the past few weeks I've been waiting, and waiting...and waiting for that to happen. He has been grabbing handfuls of my hair for several weeks now, but he hasn't shown and interest in grabbing at his toys until this week. My mom bought him a little cloth Elmo book with squeaky toys built into the pages, and little pieces of fabric that make different noises, or are attached with string. Cash LOVES it! We started to use his high chair this week (which is related to another milestone to be discussed next) to assist in playtime among other things. We would sit him down in it, and put several of his toys on the tray. He grabbed the book immediately and proceeded to look at the pages like he was reading it. I have a video of it that I posted on our family YouTube channel, but I'll post it here also. Another milestone this week was the introduction of "solid" foods. We gave him pears on Sunday night and he LOVED them! We have a video of this also. Cash seems to be very flexible with everything in general, but especially with eating. He mainly nurses, but he also takes a breast milk bottle, formula, and now solid foods! Its been such a blessing because sometimes there's no place to nurse when you're out in public and its easier to give him a bottle. At dinner on Wednesday night, Cash was getting antsy at the table, and instead of me having to go to the bathroom to nurse him, I popped my little container of bananas out of my diaper bag and fed him in his carrier. SO easy! We bought some vegetables, and other fruits as well. Cash will be trying some new cuisine over the next few weeks, so I'll keep you updated on his likes and dislikes. So far he likes both bananas and pears and is kind of indifferent about carrots! I don't know if the next milestone I'm going to discuss is directly related to the solid foods, or he's just turned over a new leaf, but this is by far my favorite milestone...his new sleeping schedule (discussed in the next section). We've also started trying to mentally stimulate him during playtime. We lay all of his toys out on his mat, and show him how to play with them. We've also started the "Your Baby Can Read" program! I wasn't sure how much he'd like it, since the first step in the program is to show him words with no pictures. The directions say you should show the word, and repeat it several times while running your finger under the word from left to right, to show the direction in which you read. He LOVES it! I couple of times, Colt and I have thought we heard him try to mimic our speech. His favorite words are, "wave" and "arms up". They are the two words (or phrases) he seems to mimic most often. Of course, he isn't "saying" the words, but he makes noises that sound like our tone of voice when we read them to him.

Sleeping Habits: He's been sleeping for longer periods of time. He's slept 6 hours straight 2 nights this week, and about 4 to 5 hours straight the rest of the nights. This is a far cry from the 2 1/2 to 3 hour stretches I was getting. Now I suppose I should explain his normal sleeping "schedule". He's on the "no schedule, schedule". :) We don't put him down at a certain time, he sleeps when he wants to. He sleeps on and off throughout the 24 hours in a day. The only time I'm certain he'll be sleeping is between the hours of 6 and noon (because that's when I usually sleep). It might sound crazy, but that's the schedule we've been on since before Cash was born. I think I mentioned in a previous post that Colt and I haven't gone to bed before 2am since we've been married (alright, maybe once or twice). So far, its been working out. I know it won't last forever, but it works for now. He's not sleeping all the time, contrary to popular belief. We have plenty of playtime, and outside time everyday. He is still sleeping in bed with me most nights. I don't know who is going to have the harder time when he goes in his crib, me or him. I love sleeping with him. I always start him off in his cradle, but after about 15 minutes, he's starts making noises, which eventually leads to a scream. Not a crying scream, just a scream. I'll give him his pass (pacifier), and he'll calm down for a second, before he drops the pass deliberately and then screams again. After a few minutes of this, I bring him up in the bed with me. Colt and I were both laughing the other night when we were going through this routine. I picked him up to lay him in bed with me, and he started smiling and babbling in excitement. What a booger! He sleeps on a pillow, snuggled up next to me. Most nights we fall asleep with his forehead to my chin. I think the feeling of my breath on the top of his head calms him down because he falls right to sleep. I will miss that so much when he gets older.

Favorites: Currently, his favorite song is "Happy Together" by the Turtles. Colt had to learn it for a wedding he was playing. He started practicing it on his guitar in the guest room while I was nursing on the couch. After the first few chords, Cash, who was half asleep at the time, started to chuckle. At first I thought it was just a fluke, but then he woke up completely and started to do this grunt type laugh that he does. I called Colt to come in the living room where we were, and he started playing it again. Cash started smiling and chuckling again. We don't know why he likes it so much, but he does. His favorite toy this week would have to be his Elmo soft book. He also really likes a book I bought him about trucks. He seems to like books in general.

Nicknames: If I'm not careful Cash is going to think his name is "my sweet love" because I call him that more than anything. Its either that, or "my love", "my boy", "my baby", or "Cashy". Colt has recently taken to calling him "Goose" because the back of his hair looks, and feels like goose feathers. I think its a sweet nickname, but always makes me think of Top Gun. We both call him "Cashman" or "Loveman". I've heard my dad call him "Scooter", and my mom calls him "Cashy" but it sounds like "Cassie", which drives my sister and Colt crazy. I like it though. :)

The second month of Cash's life is ending just as great as it started. His personality is developing more and more everyday. We feel so priviledged to be his parents and watch him grow.

YouTube Channel Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/CACFamily?feature=mhw5