Clara's Third Month - Boston Family Photographer

Clara is THREE months old! We’re officially out of the newborn stage and the “fourth trimester.” We are finding our rhythm as a family and life definitely feels a little easier!

The big updates this month:

We’re getting 7-9-hour stretches of sleep from her at night as well as a long nap in the afternoon, which feels like a miracle! I hear scary things about the four-month sleep regression, so I’m just trying to enjoy this easier stretch while it lasts.
Clara has become so interactive and it’s a ton of fun! She started “chatting” with us and we have lots of conversations where we just repeat everything she says. Sometimes she furrows her eyebrows like she’s talking about very important business…it’s adorable because you can tell she really thinks she’s communicating with us!
It was hard saying goodbye to my mom. She came to live with us when Clara was five weeks old and left when she was 10 weeks, so she was here for half of Clara’s life up to that point. We feel lucky that she was able to safely stay with us for such a long time.
Physically, I started feeling more like myself this month and it’s been a lot easier to get outside for walks with the stroller. Clara and I walk for five-ish hours a week now! It’s quite a feat getting everything out the door since we live in a third floor walk-up apartment, but we’re getting the routine down.
This is Clara’s first Christmas, and it’s beyond sweet enjoying it with her. I’m really feeling the magic of the holiday season and I feel truly grateful to have her with us.
With my mom gone and E back to work full-time, this was my first month as a true SAHM. Even though E is still around since he’s working from home during the pandemic, it can get a little lonely at times since Clara and I aren’t able to get out and socialize or run errands. I’m very grateful for ongoing text threads with friends and a weekly zoom meeting with a moms group. They keep me smiling!
I was originally planning to go back to work part-time in January, but due to COVID I will most likely extend maternity leave until I’m able to get vaccinated. I’m missing my clients a lot, but I’m incredibly thankful that I’ve been able to spend so much time with Clara.

Other favorite memories and updates from this month:

Clara was a champ for her first big round of shots! I was sooo worried beforehand, but she came out of the doctor’s office smiling (go figure!) and slept like an angel afterward.
E and I celebrated our 36th and 30th birthdays the day before Thanksgiving. I wished for Clara to have a good day of sleep, and she gave us a 2.5 hour nap in the morning!!! Birthday heaven is sipping iced coffee on the couch while your baby sleeps peacefully! 🙂
We decided to make Thanksgiving an early Christmas and wore our family jammies while watching the Macy’s Parade. We thought cooking with a baby might be a bit overly ambitious for our skill level, so we heated up takeout from Flour Bakery. No regrets!
She looooves being walked around in her carrier and pokes her head out from the top to look around at the world. She has figured out that if she cries when I sit down, that I’ll get back up and keep walking. Good exercise, I guess?
This has been the month of books, books, books! When she’s not sleeping, eating, or playing, we’re usually reading. Our faves are Pout-Pout Fish, The Not-so-Scary Hairy Spider, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Sometimes we just loop those on repeat 🙂 Clara will sometimes start “talking” at the pages and exclaiming when she likes something!
We’re reading a lot of rhyming books right now because they’re fun for both Clara and me. Dr. Seuss is a favorite! When Clara gets fussy, I walk her around in the baby carrier and read “Cat in the Hat.” Three out of four times it puts her to sleep…I guess it’s pretty boring to her at this age, haha!
Reading to her on the daybed in her nursery has been super special because I dreamed about doing that while I was pregnant with her!
I got her a snowsuit, which seals the deal…she’s officially a Boston baby now! We go out for a walk even on cold days and she’s pretty chill about it…she still falls asleep in the stroller!
She used to stare at her black & white cards while we changed her diaper, but now she prefers to stare at us instead. It’s fun seeing her become more social!
Smiles are a lot more frequent and they still melt my heart every time. When they’re extra big, she crinkles up her cheeks and I die of happiness!!
She still haaaates tummy time on the floor, and I’m sure our neighbors are not a fan either due to her shrieking. Yikes! She does tolerate it for a little longer when we prop her up on a pillow or on our chest, but we still have a long way to go!
One of my favorite parts of the day is unwrapping her from her sleep sack in the morning! Her face lights up with a huge smile and she does these adorable full-body stretches. Freedom!!!
Nicknames lately: snuggle bunny, wiggle worm, love bug, and Clarita (“little Clara” in Spanish)
Along with gurgling and cooing, she picked up a new skill: shrieking 😳 One time she shrieked in the middle of her sleep, and it was so unexpected that it made me scream! And then she went right back to sleep, haha!
She’s a lot more independent this month and will happily hang out on her play gym or in her rocker for a good chunk of time. She especially likes the little hanging bell on her Lovevery mat and has figured out how to hit it and make it ring! She also started hitting it with her feet sometimes, and we joke that she’s going to be a soccer player because that’s E’s favorite sport.
We’ve gotten a lot more diligent about setting up a good sleep routine, but once in awhile I still indulge in letting her nap in my arms. It’s so sweet.
I’m still having a blast dressing her up in her little baby clothes. I keep saying, “all dressed up and nowhere to go!”
At 14 lbs, she is already growing out of her 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers 😭 Sometimes she’ll grow overnight and I’ll do a double-take in the morning when I see her…like, who is this giant baby?! And what did you do with my daughter?!
She looooves her hands, just like she did when she was born. When she puts them in her mouth, E and I say, “Nom nom nom! Hands for breakfast!”
December 17th was her second Nor’easter, but her first time experiencing snow outdoors! And a LOT of it…12 inches! I was surprised that she was so happy since it was really cold outside – I guess she is a true Boston baby 🙂
It’s been so sweet seeing some packages of Christmas presents arrive addressed to Clara Rose!

Bandaids from her first shots…her badges of courage!

Three generations ♥

I love this picture of my mom! Clara makes her sooo happy!

Blowing out our birthday candles!

We took our holiday card photos with a tripod and we got one smile! A Christmas miracle, haha!

This is a more accurate depiction of how tripod family photos really went 😉

Matching jammies for Grandma too!

Thanksgiving dinner, takeout style:

Some of our favorite books this month:

Saying goodbye to Grandma…Clara’s huge smiles made it extra hard for her to leave!

…but then Clara farted and burped at the same time, and Grandma was like, OK I’m out! 😉

First Christmas hanging three stockings 🙂

She loves to look at the lights on the tree with her daddy!

She actually loves to be in her snowsuit, but this grumpy photo makes me laugh! It reminds me of Randy in the movie “A Christmas Story” when he says, “Mom! I can’t put my arms down!”

More cozy clothes…all dressed up and nowhere to go!

E took these photos of the two of us together and I treasure them so much.

Christmas jammies! 🙂

I will never get tired of her grabbing our fingers.

Since this is our last monthly post for 2020, I had to end with this picture! This year has been a wild ride, starting with a positive pregnancy test on January 2nd and ending with a giant baby. We never would have guessed that we’d be starting our family during a pandemic, but Clara has been the best silver lining to keep us smiling throughout the challenges of this year. Cheers to 2021!