Mataya Hope is 3 months old today!
She is a sweet, sweet, sweet, and very content baby.
For a while this month Mataya decided that she HATED her bath. She rarely cries, but she SCREAMED throughout her bath. . .until I bought her this bath chair/hammock. Now she LOVES, LOVES bath time once again. She kicks and smiles and coos.
She is so very expressive. She loves to "talk" and when she is really excited her eyes get HUGE like in the picture above.
Although I like to think I am her number one (smile), Mataya loves her daddy.
She also loves to sit with her back to our knees, like above, and "chat." She response with lots of coos, squeals, and smiles to every phrase we say. It is so fun!
Look at her look at him. . . they make me melt!
Chad is so very good with Mataya. Although he adored all of our babies, outside of Krissy, he has left most of the baby care to me. He always felt like the big kids needed his attention and I needed his help, so I would keep the baby and he would entertain the older kids. With the age gap between Joshua and Mataya being 6.5 years, our older kids are not the same kind of needy as they have been when we have had infants in the past giving daddy the opportunity to soak in some baby time. He still leaves the dirty jobs to me (like bath, diapers, and early morning feedings) but he has spent more time playing with and cuddling Mataya than he has been able to with many of our other babies. It is really special.
I'd love to know what she is thinking! Because she did not cry, my guess is she was thinking something similar to "Really Dad?"
This photo cracks me up! It had been a loooong week - Chad and Mataya were fast asleep by 6 pm last Friday night.
Just after I took this picture, Mataya giggled for the first time!
I was talking and playing with her and as I crawled my fingers across her tummy she giggled!
Mataya has discovered herself in the mirror. . .
or maybe she has discovered a baby in the mirror?
Either way, she likes to gaze at her reflection while riding in her carseat.
We can certainly tell that she can see farther and farther. She interacts with us from across a small room now.
Mataya also loves new toys.
Just today, Joshua put together this mobile for her.
She is thrilled with it - kicking and cooing as it rotates above her.
Joshua was thrilled with her appreciation of his hard work!
The only form of play Mataya does NOT like is tummy time!
She does love to read books, play under her floor gym, kick in the bouncy chair, swing, and rides in the stroller.
I think this photo accurately describes Mataya at 3 months. She is just so very joyful and sweet.
(Plus you can see her sweet curls! She has the most precious hair!)
One other change this month is that Mataya only looks like Mataya. Although there are some characteristics of all of us in her look, she is truly an individual. I LOVE that! Our babies have each had their own look and personality. I have NO problem identifying them in baby pictures, each one is totally unique.
The only bummer about the last month is that I quit nursing. Unfortunately, Mataya was not gaining weight well while nursing. She loved, loved snuggling close to mom - but she preferred to doze over really eating. After trying EVERYTHING anyone recommended, I finally listened to my pediatrician and switched to formula. This was HARD for me. In all honesty I am still sad - but I can also see that she is doing better on formula. She gained a pound the first week alone.
Even on formula, Mataya is not the easiest baby to feed. She wants to eat ONLY when she is good and ready. If I try to feed her even 15 minutes early she REFUSES. She has a mind of her own and is not overly interested in food.
She has decided that a pacifier is great when she is falling asleep though. Which means the new "game" around our house is called "find the paci."
We are still rocking Mataya to sleep - partially because she is still so young and partially because I adore it. She is the sweetest little snuggler. She loves, loves, loves to be cuddled close. However, she does NOT like to be swaddled anymore. Last Wednesday, when I swaddled her for bed, she "escaped" almost immediately. Her Daddy thought it was hilarious. "No more turning my baby into a burrito!" was his comment.
We do (almost always) lay her down to nap in her crib. When the kids first began their summer vacation she really struggled to nap with the extra noise all around, but we added a sound machine to her room and she is now sleeping better.
Her sleep pattern varies daily. She prefers a cat nap between each feeding - but I am experimenting with keeping her up sometimes and trying to get her to take longer naps during the morning and the afternoon. This is having limited success, in part because depending on the kids' activities she often ends up napping in her carseat. The only true routine is bedtime. After a bath, she has her final bottle at 9 pm. We then rock an snuggle until about 10:30 pm. She still sleeps at night in rock and play next to my bed. She sleeps until 5 am!!! At 5 she wants a bottle and then usually goes back to sleep until nearly 9 am. I do my very best to get all the work I do for Chad done during these early morning hours so that I can focus on family stuff the rest of the day.
I am a little concerned about driving with Mataya after the kids go back to school in the fall. She is VERY used to a high level of service when she is in her carseat. Joshua makes sure she is never "lonely" or wishing for her paci. He is just so very sweet with her, especially in the car.
Mataya Hope, you are such a precious gift. I will never be able to put into words just how thankful I am for your arrival. I simply adore you.
