Mason Shoma

I’m not quite there yet, but I’ll get there. I’m working on rolling over from my back to my belly. It’s weird. It feels like my body could get there, but this darn head is to heavy and is holding me back. I’m not giving up! I’ll get there soon! Stay tuned.

The hands down easiest way for me to fall asleep is during nursing. My appetite is sated and I’m comfy in Mommy’s lap, then I drift off to sleep. Sometimes I drift off to sleep before I’m finish eating, but I still keep going. My eyes are closed, my bodies limp, but I just keep suckling. This is a great no-stress way for me to fall asleep at night or for naps, but often it immobilizes Mommy. She is stuck on the couch with no safe way to move me without possible disturbing my sleep. So she sometimes follows the common advice to sleep when I sleep, or she relaxes with the TV or her phone. But she is usually stuck where she is. Bathroom breaks and a snacks are out of the question. Even TV is out of the question if the remote is out of reach. How could you risk waking a sleeping baby when he looks this cute and content, even from the side.

My nursing naps are usually so deep that I wake up quite rested, but also groggy. I’m usually not aware of where I am, but I am at least comfy with Mommy.

The older I get, the more interaction time I have. I like talking with Mommy and Daddy, watching them, listening to them, and smiling and laughing at them. I do this from my mat a lot, but the best way to really engage with someone is a face-to-face talk. For this, I recommend Mommy Chair or Daddy Chair. Not only can I look at them while being held by them, but it gives me a different upright view of the world around me.

Today in my Mommy Chair, I laughed a lot, talked a bit, move my arms a ton, did some serious listening, and also had a decent bowel movement. I’d call that a very productive Mommy Chair session.

I spend a lot of time on my playmat these days. I still find it really entertaining and I am slowly exploring the different parts of it with my hands. But, for the most part, I still just like staring at myself in the mirror while moving my arms and legs continuously. This is MY time where I can do what I want. This playmat time also gives Mommy some time to update my baby log and do other household chores.

Whoah! What happened here? I was being carried, then I was fussy, then I was put in my sling and rocked to sleep. How did I end up on the floor asleep? The sneaky sling sleep slip off! I can be put down without being disturbed. That’s an advantage over my baby carrier. It’s sneaky, but I like it.

Mommy and Daddy thought that I might enjoy sitting in my high-low chair during dinner so that I could be a part of the dinner conversation. As you can see, I was somewhat uneasy. I don’t know why. Maybe it was the height. Or maybe with the 5-point harness I thought I was ready for some kind of launch. Either way, I was a bit suspicious of my new seating situation.

It wasn’t bad at first. In fact it was kind of interesting to have my own chair at the dinner table. I liked the conversation part of sitting in my own chair. It was kind of fun!

But after a while, when I realized this wasn’t a roller coaster ride or a rocket ship and that I was just rocking in place, I started to fuss. I ended up sitting on Daddy’s lap at the dinner table, as I have been doing more regularly recently. My chair will just take some getting used to.

Do you remember when I was younger and had an antenna? Well, I have a new and improved antenna. As you can see, it is much bigger and it gets better reception. I’m more aware of my surroundings with this thing. I can also sense when it is feeding time.

Is it time to eat? I think it’s time to eat. Let’s say that it’s time to eat.

I FaceTime with Grandma and Grandpa pretty regularly, once or twice a week. We always have good talks and I impress them with my growth and development. They love just watching me do my baby things. I’ve gotten better at finding them on the iPad screen and often react to their voices. FaceTime is great and I appreciate the fact that it allows us to communicate when an ocean apart, but I can’t wait for some real face time. I can’t wait to see them in person. Grandma often says that she wants to reach through the screen and hold me. I feel the same way. I wish there was a way to do that. Apple, are you listening? A new feature for FaceTime+ perhaps?

Hey, this is different. Everything is upside-down-ish. How did it get like that? It’s different and kind of cool. I think I like this new angle.

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Daddy is such a goofball! He does the weirdest things. I know he is doing it just to entertain me, and I appreciate it, but he is so goofy. But I have to admit that I love it! The things he does gets me rolling with laughter, goofy laughter! Today I was sitting on my Daddy chair and…wait, you know what? Just see for yourself.

I’m the larger model of a regular baby. I am a Baby Plus. And I’m still steadily getting bigger and bigger. I can confidently say that I am now off the charts. I am beyond the 98th percentile for a 3-month-old baby. Most baby growth charts have the upper end of baby weight at about 7.5 kg. As you can see I am 8.36 kg. Sure, I’m wearing clothes, but Daddy weight my clothes and they are only about 160 g. So that means that I’m still 8.2 kg (18 lbs.), well above the upper end of 7.5 kg for a 3-month-old baby. That’s more than nine 2-lbs bags of flour. That’s more than two gallon-containers of milk. And remember, I don’t come with a handle. And I can squirm. Do you feel sorry for Mommy and Daddy’s arms? Well, I do. Poor things. On the plus side, I am a solid built baby. They don’t have to baby this baby. I’m not a fragile little thing.

Can you believe that this is all from breast milk? What’s going to happen when I start on solid foods? Yikes!

I’m just lounging on the couch, petting me dog. I’m practicing for when I’m older and can see the TV and have a real dog. For now this is just practice.

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Yep, that looks about right. Poor Mommy and Daddy are diverting all their energy into taking care of me. They are literally running on empty. The late night feedings and diaper changes. The carrying, rocking, and cradling. The constant care. It sure can be draining. I wish there was something I could do to charge their batteries.

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That’s it! I just have to be happy and healthy and Mommy and Daddy are fully charged! Well, not quite fully charged, but they can operate at any battery level and my smiles make it all worth it! My full battery is all thanks to them. Thank you Mommy and Daddy! I know I’m taking a lot of energy from you, (literally sucking it out of you, Mommy), but I promise that it isn’t being wasted. Just look at how much I’ve grown! Actually, I think you can cut back on how much energy you give me and keep some for yourself. I’m not sure how you’re going to handle me if I get any bigger.

Tummy time is usually easier when I use my hands, but sometimes I either forget or my arms get tired. Tummy time is not as successful at that point.

But I’ve been working on my core muscles and I think I might be able to do tummy time without any hands pretty soon.

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Look at my cute jimbei. It is a piece of traditional Japanese summer clothing. It is similar to women’s yukata. It is often worn at summer festivals. There are no summer festivals to go to, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dress the part. Very summery looking!

I can’t quite hold up my head on my own, but when propped up I can sit quite comfortably. This makes many things much easier and much more interesting. First of all, I can see more of my surroundings when I sit like this. Also, it makes book time a lot easier and a lot more comfortable.

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I’m so heavy that I’ve been giving Mommy and Daddy some muscle aches and some early signs of carpal tunnel syndrome. Mommy and Daddy can’t wait until I’m big enough to hold my head up on my own. That will make carrying me so much easier. Daddy even started practicing carrying me on his shoulders.

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I’m still loving inai inai ba! So exciting that I can’t contain myself. I’m having so much fun that I’m shedding tears of joy!