5 new photos added (split between 2 – 3 Months and 3 – 4 Months)

We’ve added a video gallery.

Of course, he can’t yet, but we received a copy of the “My Baby Can Read” DVDs from a friend who used them successfully with her baby.  We started the first one today, as they are supposed to be started at 3 months.  The kids in the video are reviewing random vocabulary words/phrases, and as one of them said “arms up,” Tristan babbled and it sounded JUST like he said “arms up.”  We know better, but what I would not give to have had that recorded!

It’ll be neat if the system works and Tristan learns to read young – he’ll be able to play RPGs with us.

Last Friday I brought home some goodies from Cost Plus World Market, including some maple candy.  That stuff is the devil and managed to crawl into my mouth and down my throat, so on Monday I ended up taking Tristan back to Cost Plus to get some more.  Instead of using the back/front pack carrier, I jammed him into the Moby carrier, which is pretty much a giant strip of fabric (pictures will make their way into the gallery). 

When I set out into the world, he’d been fed pretty recently and I pre-tied the sling.  I had no idea where I planned to take us – I was originally thinking a mall but realized that I didn’t need anything and no interesting malls were nearby that I hadn’t been to recently.  Driving around town, I realized that it would be a good idea to look into bicycling supplies so I can take him out on rides with me when he hits about 6 months.  However, the Cost Plus jumped out at me and I remembered the evil maple candy, so we stopped there first.  I got a piece for both me and James (so he’d actually have some this time) as well as some imported Cadbury chocolates and liquor-filled candies.  There was another baby in the store, in a stroller instead of a sling, but Tristan’s too young to notice other babies. 

I put him back into the car seat and headed toward the bike store where I bought my folding Dahon Espresso, hoping to catch a glimpse of current models.  They’ve totally redone that bicycle, by the way – I barely recognize it.  Anyway, one baby went into the sling and into the shop we went.  The two girls working were probably in their early 20s and spoke very little English, but the moment they saw a baby, they went crazy.  One of them in particular spent about 20 minutes lavishing attention on Tristan and even said that when he grows up, she wants him to be her boyfriend.  I told her that he needs to be at least 16 before he gets to make any adult decisions.  He reacted well to both girls, doing the bashful move that a baby tends to do when amused (giggling and then sort of hiding in my chest).  So far he reacts well to just about anyone who pays enough attention to him – it’s usually females who do but there’s been at least one male at James’s job when I brought him in on Halloween who got him to giggle.

We didn’t go anywhere on Tuesday – sometimes I need a break from shopping, it’s true!

So, to celebrate his turning 3 months today, Tristan joined me on the floor to play along while I did some Yoga on Wii Fit. By joined me, I mean of course that he was sprawled on the floor, looking as though he were trying to mimic along.

Here are some of the typical “3 month old” things he can now do:

• Raises head and chest when put on tummy – He can practically look straight up!
• Lifts head up 45 degrees
• Kicks and straightens legs when on back
• Open and shuts hands
• Pushes down with legs when placed on a hard surface
• Tracks moving objects
• Recognizes familiar objects and people, even at a distance – I can make faces at him from across the room, and he’ll start giggling.
• Begins to develop hand-eye coordination
• Kicks legs energetically – he’s been doing that one for about 6 months, I think 🙂
• Holds head up with control

Things a typical 3 month old can do that he doesn’t, really, yet:

• Begins to imitate sounds – he vocalizes a lot, but no real imitation
• Grasps and shakes hand toys – he grasps, but usually for hands. Or hair. Especially hair.
• Reaches for dangling objects

Things we wish he wouldn’t do:

• Interrupt his feeding to scream, just because you started talking while feeding him.

Things he can -almost- do:

• He looks like he’s trying to roll over when on his tummy – we’ve seen him kick one leg over the other, and twist, but he hasn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet.

And some atypical things he can do:

• Perform the yoga pose – Cobra
• Perform the yoga pose – Tree
• Shoot laser beams from his eyes.
• Fling a pacifier, from his mouth, halfway across with the room, one handed.

Okay, so one of the above might not really be true, but I’ll let you figure out which.

Tristan’s sitting here on the couch, behind Kirin, who’s on the floor. He’s desperately trying to kick her in the back of the head, and seems to be getting frustrated that he doesn’t quite have the reach. Wonder what she did to deserve that. Perhaps he’s jealous, as he knows he will not get to partake (directly at least) in the Deep Fried Cajun Turkey we’ve ordered from KFC for Thanksgiving. (Yeah, we’re lazy, but c’mon. Deep fried turkey, how can you go wrong.)

Also: tomorrow marks three months of babytasticness. 

Also also: we’ve taken to occasionally putting Tristan in the middle of the seat in the couch – there’s a depression in the back, and it generally holds him up in place, so he can sorta sit.   Which worked fine, until tonight, when he’s managed to tuck his shoulder and roll onto his stomach, twice.  Troublemaker.

Added 16 new pictures to 2-3 month gallery.

(This post contains breastfeeding references, you know the drill.. if not, you’ve been warned.)

I’m still feeding Tristan through exclusive pumping.  I was down to two sessions per day, but my supply seems to have dropped by about half.  I’m cycling through the frozen stash and finding that it’s not being replaced as fast, so I now have only about 12 bottles of excess as opposed to the 18 I had about two weeks ago.  I’ve been trying to add in a third pumping session to restimulate a bit, as we’ve got 1-3 months before we’re ready to get into the world of formula and/or solids.  I figure whatever’s meant to happen will, but it’s still somewhat disappointing, especially considering the massive oversupply from before.  I’m hoping that feeding formula the next time we try won’t result in the same fountain-puke that it did when we first tried back in his first month.  I’ve tried the Mother’s Milk tea that’s sold in grocery stores, but that doesn’t seem to have much of an effect – perhaps I am not drinking enough.  In any event, the frozen stash is meant to make up for when I can’t provide the fresh stuff, so it’s at least being put to good use.

Tristan has been somewhat fussy for the past few days and way hungrier than usual, wanting additional milk once his bottle has been drained and wanting to feed more frequently.  We originally thought he may be teething, but we think it’s a growth spurt.  He does seem to be a bit bigger, and he’s almost to the point where we will have to switch him to his crib because he’s almost too tall for the bassinet.

On Monday, we took the local lightrail train out to the store to get a new brush, as we had a casualty this morning.  One baby all dressed up, changed, and placed in the back/frontpack carrier and attached to me, and my walking legs, proceeded to the train station about half a mile away.  The trip there was uneventful – we met some Spanish speaking ladies who were fascinated with Tristan, although the one who asked his name kept calling him Christian.  Another one had a baby of her own who was a little over a year old and very grumpy.

We got to the shopping center, went through the beauty supply store to get the brush and then to the Mexican grocery store (I love ethnic grocery stores).  By this time, Tristan was beginning to get fussy so on our way back to the train, I brought out the bottle I’d packed and put it together.  I carried him and fed him simultaneously – that was sort of amusing.  He was doing well until the train came, and then I found out that he doesn’t particularly like eating while moving.  Two stops later, we got back off of the train because he was screaming, and we finished the feeding and got onto the next train.  He fussed his way through the ride and spit up on me a little bit, but he was quiet enough that we didn’t have to get off of the train again. 

On Tuesday I put him in the carrier for a repeat, this time to the Great Mall.  He did well for about the first half of the walk, and then he got very fussy whenever I tried to go into any store.  I think he was just sleepy and overstimulated.

On Wednesday we stuck to the stroller and went to the Valley Fair mall.  He had the usual older Asian lady fawning over him and asking a million questions in broken English, but he loves the attention.  It’s funny because whoever accompanies these ladies usually looks entirely embarassed, but the ladies are so lost in the fact that there’s a real live baby sitting there that they don’t notice.  He didn’t fuss too much and he took a small nap in the stroller.

I’m not sure where we’re going to go today – I don’t need anything that I can think of, so we may stick to local scenery.  I hope it’s not too cold out – I hear there’s snow falling in other parts of the country.