Austen started her third month sleeping in the snuggle nest in Mommy and Daddy’s bed, but when Mommy and Daddy got sick (thanks Mark) they wanted to keep Austen as far away as possible, so they decided to put her in a basinet located next to their bed – it doubles as a changing table. Austen has adjusted well to sleeping in it. Daddy is proud of her but doesn’t think Austen even notices that she’s sleeping elsewhere. The only downside is that Daddy doesn’t get to semi-cuddle with Austen during the night.
Notwithstanding her loud crying spells (that usually last less than five minutes), Austen smiles and laughs a lot, particularly when people approach her with words or a smile. Often she even initiates the smiling. So far she’s not shy like Mommy was as a child. She’s a high intensity baby with emotions that span the entire spectrum. Austen also giggles with a wide-mouth smile. This is a tricky situation however since she often smiles at Daddy during the middle-of-the-night feedings, tricking Daddy into playing, talking, and laughing with her, which is not conducive to going back to sleep. She’s a tricky little booger.
Austen is already a coach potato. Just the other day she was fixated by Ricky Martin on the Oprah show. It’s probably the lights and colors she’s interested in. She loves to look up at the flashing lights dangling from her play gym.
Toys are starting to play a roll in her life. She notices them and reaches for them, especially the rings on her play mat.
Austen just started her first baby class, a birth-to-six-months play group at Gymboree. They sing songs, stare at bubbles and do baby massages. Most of the other kids are older than Austen, but she usually manages to last the entire class (note: entire class = 30 minutes).
Swaddling is still a part of Austen’s daily life. She has trouble sleeping or napping without being swaddled. When she starts to fuss, Mommy announces, “You’re getting swaddled now!” and rocks her to sleep.