3.5 months old

Spectacular drool in action


Tummy time!

Conked out in the Bjorn....

Our fun and feisty son is 3.5 months old... Hard to believe the time has gone by so fast! It's mid-July, summer (a.k.a. fog) in the Sunset, Mom is back to work, nanny Lisa is in place... Life in the Bennett household is rolling along.

For those who are interested in baby updates, here's the latest on our Ronan:

1) Thanks to Lisa, our Irish nanny, Ronan is becoming a pro at naps! She's able to put him down 3 times a day, for at least 1 hour each. We're thrilled! We find that it gets harder to get him to sleep as the day goes on... so by the time it's bedtime (~8 pm), he really fights sleep -- squirming, straining, crying. But we're working on it!

2) Speaking of sleep, Ronan has been sleeping through the night since he was about 2 months old. Occasionally he'll wake up in the middle of the night for a snack, but usually he'll go from 8 pm to 5 or 6 am without getting up. He's an early riser, that boy. Come dawn, he's all smiles and giggles in the half-light of our bedroom.

3) So far, he's doing great with the bottle. Lisa gives him 3 per day, between 4 and 6 ounces each. We like Dr. Brown's.

4) We're all amazed at how strong the little guy is. He can hold his head up with minor wobbling action. He loves standing up in our laps, on the table, on Mom's tummy... pretty much anywhere. His increased strength comes hand-in-hand with his increased weight. The boy is heavy. Mom and Dad are developing strain pains in our left arms and wrists... If his head rests on my hand for longer than 5 minutes, my fingers turn numb.

5) He loves grabbing things now! Our hands, rattles, his own knees, his bib, Mom's hair and earrings (ouch)... It's adorable. When we get close to play with him, he'll gently rest his hand on our arm and we just MELT.

6) He's still a talkative, giggle bear. Lots of "Gooooooooo" and "Arrrooooooooo" and "Oooooooh." Loves laughing and smiling. His "cough-laugh" that was common a month ago has turned into a cackle. We call him Baby Pterodactyl.

7) He hasn't turned over yet, though he loves it when we help him roll onto his side. He's been swinging his hips when we change him... And in his carseat and bouncy seat, he'll lean way forward... so funny.

8) Still drooling, sucking his fingers, and scratching his head. Now, though, he'll try to jam all his fingers into his mouth and once in a while he'll gag himself. That's our boy!