Dear Jensen,
You are a sweet little ducky baby. You've discovered a different kind of smile where you sort of stick your lips together and push them out like a tiny, flat duck bill.
This is not the only kind of smile you have developed, but it is your favorite and mine, because the look in your eyes makes me think you are merely humoring us by doing it. But no matter the expression on your mouth, your eyes give you away - the same big, expressive eyes that I saw when looking at your sisters at your age.
I took the leap and graduated you from sink baths to baby tub baths and you adjusted, after a time, that is. Trying to make you comfortable in the progression from me holding you to you being propped on the bathing "ramp" by yourself, I didn't think about how much of a shock placing you into the tub and letting go might be.
You. Did. Not. Like. It.
I can only imagine that you thought I was abandoning you and that there was no one who would help while you flailed about, teaching yourself to swim. Suddenly, as soon as you stopped kicking and screaming, you looked from your left to your right and realized the little tub had sides you could hang onto, and so you did. Problem solved.
Each bath after the first was a little less scary until you finally began to enjoy your quiet time. Taking you out of the bath is still an horrific event, but this is something you will overcome as well.
You, like many babies, enjoy naked time.
Most of your naked time is during diaper changes, and it only involves your legs being bare, but HOLY HECK do you do a happy baby jig every time your pants come off! It is becoming increasingly difficult to actually change your diaper and stay clean myself because once those Velcro straps are undone, your entire lower half turns into Bruce Lee doing a series of roundhouse and ball kicks to my arms. The main problem with your lower half happiness is that a few kicks in you have created a breeze, and a breeze around the nether-regions of a naked baby usually leads to a mess. I'm not going to lie, getting peed on by a baby is really not as cool as it seems, no matter whose baby it is.
This month we also introduced the beloved play mat, a lovely contraption that your sisters and a few other babies have logged many miles on in their early months of life.
We were so diligent about tummy-time and following the baby rules with Freya that she was probably forced to lay on mat much earlier than three months of age. Ilsa, we were more lackadaisical and she probably didn't see it until much later. With you, we thought bringing it out this month would be perfect since you have good head and neck control and seem to need more distraction and entertainment. Plus, we want to give you a leg up on rolling/crawling/walking so that you can get away from your smothering older sisters a lot faster.
Your first trip onto the play mat was short lived when you put your face flat down on the ground and just screamed into the mat until Daddy picked you up. I think you were telling us that tummy time will not be tolerated at this point in your life. Not that you enjoyed laying on your back that much more, but I figured we could wait on any activities that involve you facing downward for now.
As much as I love the newborn phase - all snugly goodness and sweet smells - it is so fantastic to watch a baby develop their own personality. Yours is just slowly peeking through, from your quiet morning observance to your angry squeaks and squawks when you are left alone for too long.
Just a few days ago, you started to turn your head toward the sound of your name. I still can't help but call you Jensen John when I'm talking to you, a habit your sister's have picked up readily as well. They call you a bevy of things, from Buddy to Mister to Jensey Boy (they made this up themselves) and no matter the nickname, you LOVE having them near you. We are still working on the difference between being gentle and squeezing the baby (Ilsa), but every day it gets a little better. If a mama ever needed good helpers, those two are perfect for the job whether it be fetching something from your room or just making silly faces at you or singing to you so that dinner can be made or a solo trip to the bathroom can be done. It's the little things that make life so good!
The best part of month three is that you've learned how to laugh. You have made a lot of other "excited" noises before, but there is nothing sweeter to the ears than the laughter of a baby! The funniest person in your life right now is your Daddy, of course. There is no one better at making strange noises to elicit little bursts of giggles from you. He has always had a very expressive face, but his exaggerated contortions just crack you up!
In another month, we'll go back to the doctor to talk about all of your physical and mental growth and boy has there been a lot. I don't know if it is the same in other families, but taking children to doctor appointments falls on the shoulders of the mom in this one. This is far from a complaint, as doctor visits end up being a mini-brag session and who better to share accomplishments with than someone who really truly cares on the same level about every dirty diaper, eating habit, and tiny milestone? It is my one chance to show off the hard work I've put into making sure you have been cared for and loved from the moment I knew you even existed.
Smiling or not, I think you make the perfect top to our family totem pole, little duck boy.
Love,
Your Mama
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