Great things in the third month

I often read books, magazines and articles on the net on baby growth and developments, mainly to see what is most likely to happen.  I use all this information as a basis.  However, I belief that each baby is different and the best for me is to monitor GM closely and see what he does, what he wants and what he prefers.  This approach also gives me joy as I do enjoy watching him.

The best development is that he now sleeps 7-8 hours at night if I time it correctly, I too can get a good night's sleep.  I put him to bed at 9pm so this
means he will wake up hungry around 4-5am which is great for me.  After I feed him and change his diapers as well as spend some time "chatting" with him, he is ready for another nap and I am ready for my Suboh prayers.  SubhanAllah.  As he often wakes up ready to eat and expresses his displeasure if I take too long to prepare his milk, I will prepare the concentrated milk at night and place it in the fridge and have the thermos filled with hot water, ready to mix when he wants it.  For me, this practice helps me as when I first wake up at his cry, I am really sleepy.  This also means that I do not leave the milk standing in a warmer for hours, something that I am not keen on.  During the day, I still "wrap" him for his naps as he seems to sleep better.

He drinks milk about every 2.5 - 3 hours during the day and he likes it at warm - not cold or lukewarm - so I will keep water in the thermos available all day.  I also give him about 20ml a day of Zam Zam water which I feel is beneficial to him.  One thing I am glad is that when he has had enough milk, he will turn his head away from the bottle.  As an experiment to see what he would do, I would put the bottle back to his mouth and he would turn his head away.  So I guess, one thing that I do not have to worry about is for him to "overeat" which is a concern for formula-fed babies.  His growth is above average and at his third month check-up, he weighed 6.8 kg and measured 60cm tall.  At this rate, he will outgrow his 0-3 mths clothes soon.  I am still continuing with the application of Telon or Yu Yee oil on his tummy and soles of his feet after his morning and evening bath and Alhamdulillah, no recurrence of colic.

He has also started to smile and laugh so I spend quite a bit of time eliciting a response from him.  He also keys off the tone of voices - when the tone is distressed, he will frown but when it is happy and lighthearted, he will
smile.  I will also interact with him, moving my positions to get him to turn his head, working his neck muscles.  GM can now see better and has started to recognize people.  When he wants to be held, he will let me know by voicing himself, albeit not in our words, but in his words.   His "words" are different for when he is hungry, when he wants his pampers changed, feels hot or just want to chat.   He can hold his head up so I have started to place him on his tummy, every time after he has had his bath and at other times, which is also an exercise to help him strengthen his back muscles.  As he only take short naps during the day, I spend quite a bit of time interacting with him which means my time is limited for other activities but I am loving spending time with him.

I tried to give him a pacifier but he prefer to suck on his hands so I have
opted to not cover his hands with mittens.  He plays with his hands a lot, moving his fingers around and not keeping it tightly fisted anymore.  I will trim his nails weekly to prevent him from scratching himself and I find it best to use baby nail clippers and sometimes blunt-end scissors as his nails are still pretty soft.  As he can sit whilst being supported, a position that he likes when he is awake, this makes the nail cutting task easier.

I look forward to what new things he will do and watching his development :)

Going mobile - things I need

I practice a mobile lifestyle, moving between my home and the farm, and all the places in between.  It means that GM also needs to be mobile so it was necessary to get "gadgets" that would make us mobile and be able to move around in comfort and safety as well as easily.  When you go to a baby shop, there are so many things that you can buy but in the end, you may end up spending unnecessarily, only finding out later that what you bought may be nice but of no real use in your baby's lifestyle.

The first item that I find is essential is a way to carry him, whilst leaving my hands free.  As he was still small, I didn't want to place him in a stroller.  To this end, I find a baby carrier with the baby placed at in front against my chest was important.  I didn't particularly like the sling-like baby carrier.

Safety is essential when travelling in a car so the next item is a car baby seat.  There are so many types to choose from and there are some designed specifically from newborn to about 3 months - based on weight.  GM has now outgrown his first car baby seat so I am looking for a new one.  Key items are that it is easy to place, solid construction, not heavy (as the car seat can also double as a carrier), with enough padding for the baby, easy to clean and of course, the color that I like.

I also find having a mobile "bed" for him to be a plus as during his first 2 1/2 months, he slept a lot during the day.  For this, I find that baby baskets are great although it can be quite cumbersome to carry around.  So, I use this mainly when I get to a location that I will be static for a while - a couple of hours.

A baby carrier is great for short outings but for longer outings, I opt for a
stroller.  There are so many out there and the price range also varies.  I started out with the criteria for my stroller:

1. Easy to open and close
2. Solid but not heavy - under 10kg
3. Can be used long term
4. Can be placed in positions so that GM can sleep or sit up or in between
5. Has a canopy for sun/light protection
6. GM can be placed facing me when he is still small and the seat turned to face forward when he is older (12 months?)
7. Has a "storage area" where I can place his baby bag
8. Good manoeuvrability

Having my criteria helped me manage my way through selecting the stroller that I wanted.  Once I had selected the possible strollers, the final test was the GM test.  I place him in the strollers to see how he would react to it.  After all, I may like it but if he is not comfortable in it, it could lead to unhappy outings.

There are so many baby bags out there - some big, some small and some in between.  I basically settled on two types based on two different needs: (1) for long trips and (2) for day outings.  The similar set of criteria that I had was:

1. Able to place a thermos in s "fixed" position
2. Pockets to place diapers and small towel
3. Pockets to hold spare milk bottle and milk container
4. Room to place travel size toiletries

Whatever  I get, another important criterion is that it easy to clean.  Babies can be messy so if something is difficult to clean, that it will not work for me.  I guess I am rather practical when it comes to selecting items for our mobile lifestyle but it does make life easier :)

GM's second month

I enjoy watching the changes in GM.  Whereas during the first month he spent most of his time sleeping, during the second month, he would stay awake for longer periods of time after each feeding. 
I still keep him swaddled when he sleeps, choosing the material for swaddling depending on the environmental temperature.  Often he would manage to work his arms out of it.  He would wake up, making his presence known with soft sounds first, getting louder as time passes.  I would wait to feed him until he is loud.  At this time, I know that he is really hungry and would finish his bottle.  To me this was important to try and set a pattern where he would finish his milk so that he would have a more regular feeding pattern instead of drinking a bit at a time, dragging the feeding.  Except when he was breast-fed, which he would be hungry again in about 2 hours time, with milk formula fed, the intervals were about about 3-4 hours.  This allowed me to plan my time better - I get to work on the farm in between as well as doing other chores.
Having a baby carrier that allowed me to carry him whilst leaving my hands free was also a bonus as this meant that I could be mobile and he would be comfortable held against my body.  I take GM everywhere with me, going banking, groceries, etc.  I wanted him to be accustomed to all types of sights and sounds so that he would not easily be shocked or scraed.  I would introduce him to new surroundings albeit not at "rush hour".
With three supply locations, my home in KL, my farm in Ulu Langat and the car, this allowed me the freedom to be modile with GM.  His car supply pack included milk, hot water, bottled water, diapers, travel pack toiletries, change of clothes, baby blanket and towel. Of course, he had his car seat which to me looks like I will have to change in about one month or so at the rate he was growing.
At his second month checkup, he weighed 6.4kg and 54.4cm tall.  If he grows at this rate, he will be a tall man.  Many people who met him thinks that he is around 4 months old based on his size and alertness.  He recognizes me now and will look for me when he hears my voice.  It makes my "heart smile" when I see him do this.  He has started to "fill out" his clothes and I love to hold him as he feels "solid".  When he is awake he likes to be held standing up with his feet planted down.  He can hold his head up but I do have my hands on stand-by to support his head should he need it.  He has also started to smile and baby talk so we have baby conversations :).

Colic - the bane of any new mom

Before having GM, I heard stories of how some parents had to stay up nights, comforting a baby who was suffering from colic.  I experienced this twice during the first month and I learnt a lot from the experience.  To say that it is a tiring experience is the least, the handling a distressed baby is worse.  From what I have read and gathered from pediatricians, this condition can happen during the first three months and then tends to disappear.
Both times that GM had the symptoms of colic or in Malay "kembong", I think could have been avoided if I paid more attention to details.  GM is bottle-fed mainly and this can contribute to "gas".  I learnt at the hospital that one shouldn't shake the bottle when mixing the milk with water, it is better to swirl it around so as to minimize the introduction of air bubbles into the milk.  Burping is an act of necessity and not one to be taken lightly.  I gently pat his back while holding him in an upright position.  I will alternate the patting with a gentle circular strokes.  Amazing how his burping would bring a smile to my face - simple pleasures.
During the first month, I bathed him once a day, around 9 am, followed by his sunbathing routine.  After every bath, I would apply either Yu Yee oil or Telon oil on his tummy and the soles of his feet.  I would use circular moves on his tummy and soles.  I would also apply them at bedtime.  The one time I forgot, I had to "walk the house" till 6am.  During his second
month, I bathe him in the morning and late afternoon/early evening - around 6pm and the routine has now changed to applying the oil after his bath.
I would also have him lie on his tummy a few times a day, supporting his  forehead before he was able to lift his forehead.  He seemed to enjoy being in this position although for short periods of time.  Sometimes, I would lie down and have him lie on his tummy on my tummy.  He often falls asleep while we do this.
Every morning before or after his bath, I would go through an "exercise routine" with him.  I would place him on his back and move his legs as if he is pedalling a bicycle.  He seemed to enjoy doing this.  I read somewhere that this movement helped in releasing any gas from the tummy and sure enough, he would often pass gas after or during our exercise session.
Sometimes when I have him in my arms, I would also gently massage his back even though he hasn't just had his milk.
Alhamdulillah, since he was born, he is almost 3 months old now, I only had to go through the fussiness twice,  I hope what they say is true and I will not have to worry about colic in a few more days.  However, I will continue with his routine as it seems to keep him comfortable.

To swaddle or not to swaddle

When GM was released from hospital after he was born, he was all swaddled-up.  I had always thought that swaddling was strictly to keep a baby warm so I was apprehensive he would get all hot and sweaty but he seemed to remain calm.  I also wondered if swaddling may have adverse effects on him but all that I read seem to suggest that it may be beneficial for him but all the articles seem to be from temperate climates.  I also heard from some that it is a tradition to keep the baby swaddled so that he does not get easily surprised.  However, our climate is hot so I still wasn't too sure unless GM was in a cool environment.  So, what to do?

GM is a quite big baby, born at 3.4kg and at his 2 months check-up he had almost doubled in weight, weighing in at 6.4 kg.  During his first month, I found that swaddling him keeps him calm and he slept better so I practiced it.  However, I did not feel like keeping him in an air-conditioned environment all the time as I did not feel that it would be good for him.  Almost all baby blankets are made of flannel and a standard size.  This seemed ok for nights but in the day, he would get red in the face, indicating to me that he was feeling warm so I opted to use the cloth diapers as his swaddling "blanket".  These diapers are made of cotton and able to keep him "cool" and absorb his sweat.  My indicator was his face wasn't so red anymore.  During his first month, you could say that I kept him swaddled almost all the time.

GM soon outgrew these so I had to look for options and I found that my pareo works very well so I started using these.  They are made out of cotton material and are cool.  At this stage, the swaddling was not to keep him warm but to provide him with the sense of safety and to me, of being held so it provided comfort.  I would only swaddle him before lulling him to sleep.  It is a great sleep aid.  Since my pareos were of bright colors, I would also play with him using it - I read that baby's like bright colors and it encourages his brain development.  I am never sure how they know this but if it is not harmful, why not.
My conclusion, swaddling is definitely something that is good, both for the baby and the mother as if baby gets good snooze, he doesn't get cranky and wakes up smiling and rested - definitely a stress remover for mommies :)