Month three began with Dash’s two-month check-up with his pediatrician. He received five immunizations in three injections into his thighs, and this was the first time that we heard him really scream. He must have realized the capacity of his lungs because he has not hesitated to use this new ability on numerous occasions since then.

He still doesn’t cry much, though. In fact, he has started laughing out loud! He smiles almost every time that I look at him, and he laughs when I lift him high in the air and when I bounce him on my leg. Everybody says that they have not seen a happier baby.

We’ve started to notice some repetition in the way that he moves his body – gestures that seem innate to him. For example, he brings his fists up to his mouth when he is especially excited. He takes a deep breath and sighs when he is content. He rubs his eyes when he is tired. He arches his back and stretches his arms above his head when he wakes up. And he sucks on his fist whenever he is laying on his belly.

He is sleeping through the night now, according to all of the baby books. He sleeps for five or six hours, and then he wakes up hungry. We’ve really got the hang of nursing. He latches on instantly, and within a minute, I feel the let-down reflex. There’s no question if he is getting enough milk after learning that he weighed nearly double what he weighed at birth at his two-month check-up. He has also become more efficient at eating, taking half of the time that it took when he was a newborn. But it has never felt like an inconvenience to nurse him, even when it did take thirty minutes every two hours, and I love the obligatory cuddle time.

We have been giving him lots of tummy time, hoping that he will learn how to roll over. Actually, at the time I am writing this in month four, he has just mastered this skill. But I’ll save those details for the next post. In month three, he was holding his head up brilliantly, but he would tire after a few minutes and lay his head down. The exercise was a sure-fire way to get him to go to sleep, though!

Eric and I are still getting out of the house plenty. I’m working nearly 30 hours every week. We go to the rock climbing gym at least twice a week. And we get together with our friends to play games every weekend. Going to the grocery store or to restaurants hasn’t been difficult because Dash is always such a good baby. And now that he’s looking more and more like a little boy and less like an infant, I’m starting to think that I’m ready to have another!

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