Piper - 5 Months

You always hear people say that all babies do is eat, sleep, and poop. And for the first couple months, that's pretty true. But then something remarkable happens and they start to become an actual person. With thoughts and desires. Separate from yourself. Sometimes when Piper and I are both desperate for sleep (she just doesn't realize that's what she wants), I hold her close to my chest and breathe deeply to slow my heart rate down. My thinking is that this will slow her own heart rate and relax her and sometimes I think it actually works. But other times, it strikes me that she is no longer something inside of me, something I can envelop and control. She is her own person with her own mind and will. Even at 5 months old.

 

Which leads me to...

At 5 months old, Piper:

is constantly sucking on her fingers, thumb, or her entire hand. She won't take a pacifier. 

drools like crazy (she doesn't spit up at all, but we still have to change her clothes sometimes because they get soaked with drool). She also vibrates her lips and turns the drool into foam.

has rolled over a couple of times, but is still pretty stationary. She does manage to spin herself around on her back (like the hands on a clock) so I have to be careful about leaving her on the bed/couch.

still nurses on demand and I never think to look at the clock, so I'm not sure how often she eats. Probably between every 2-4 hours. She is a pretty speedy eater (5 minutes is generally enough) unless she is distracted by Libby or Jared or the TV or the light or the fan or...you get the idea.

has started to grab anything she can reach while she's on our laps (books, plates, food, etc.).

gets put in a straight jacket to sleep. I've been swaddling her for the past few months, but she consistently breaks out no matter how tight I pull the blanket. (We also have a swaddle bag with velcro, but that won't contain her either, even though I sewed on extra velcro.) So I finally got the idea to put her in a sleep sack and tie the arms closed. This way, her arms can't escape to scratch her face and she can't suck on her hands. She LOVES to suck on her hands, so I feel a little guilty preventing her from doing it, but it wakes her up more than calms her. 

[And speaking of sleep, Piper started out sleeping 6 straight hours at night from the day she was born (a feat I had heard other babies had achieved, but didn't quite believe). Around 2 months old, the newborn sleepiness wore off and her longest nighttime sleep shrank to 4-6 hours. And recently, she's been waking every 2 hours. If she'd still sleep next to me in bed, it wouldn't be so bad, but she can't hold still and really needs to be swaddled to sleep well (and I don't like to swaddle her when she's in our bed because she gets too hot). I think we're going to transition her to her own room soon (just as soon as we finish painting) and maybe that will encourage longer sleep stretches.]

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I brought Piper into this world. Her birth was such an awesome experience, I still replay it in my mind all the time. I am so grateful for this little girl!