Self-portrait Tuesday: Tess at Three Months

Yesterday Miss Tess turned three months old.  She is, I dunno... 12+ pounds at least.  Probably around 24" long?  Maybe?  I mean, this is the fourth child, who has time to weigh and measure a baby when Cole is running around naked because he thinks it's fun to take off his diapers and Josh and Spencer are in a battle to the death over some computer game?  Not me.

Back to Tess.  Where to start.  Is she a joy?  And little piece of heaven?  A princess among babies?

Yeah, not so much.

Tess has decided she no longer needs to sleep during the day.  At all.  For a while there she was taking at least one (sometimes even two!) LONG naps during the day.  This meant I could get stuff done around the house and could even give the boys a little attention if they wanted it. 

Now I have a super grouchy baby on my hands.  A grouchy baby who wants to be held all the time.  And if her paci falls out and not put back in right away?  The end of the world.

Tess has also decided she no longer wants to nurse. Well, not without a big fight, that is.  She's fine for the first feeding in the morning, but the rest of the day is one battle after another.  She's not sick, she's not teething, she's not being pricked with needles, although that's what she sounds like when I try to nurse her.  I think what the problem is is that when she eats she wants her food RIGHT THEN, and with nursing you have to work just a little bit to really get at it.  With a bottle it's instant gratification. 

I'm a mean mom and won't let her have a bottle as often as she would like, because I already know that if I do that she'll stop nursing altogether.  Lazy, lazy baby.  (Don't worry - she's not starving.  If I nurse her for a good long while and she's still hungry I'll give her a bottle.  Even then she generally only drinks a little of it.)

Tess used to be a superstar at going to bed at night.  We had a whole routine and we both loved it.  Not anymore.  Now she cries and cries and then falls asleep and then wakes up and cries again.  I'm not sure what changed, but it's no fun.  Mainly because once you get used to getting all the kids into bed at a certain time, having that not happen anymore makes you feel really picked on. *pity party*

It's not all terrible.  When she gets enough rest she is quite happy and content.  She smiles and coos and has started wiggling all the time, which I delight in with my babies.  She definitely knows and prefers me, which is sometimes a little rough (why can't you like Daddy as much?) but is also quite flattering.

Oh Tess.  You're a lot of work.  You're a lot of baby.  You keep kicking the keyboard as I type this and I wish you would stop.  Despite all of this I love you very much.

Now please, for the love of all that is holy and good: go to sleep.