Sunday, July 6, 2014

Libby at 5 Months

Dear Sweet Libby,

You are now 5 months old, and it is amazing to see how much you have changed in such a short period of time!  This past month, you have really become so much more active.  When I put you on the ground, you are happily self-entertained, and are constantly rolling from side to side and sometimes across the room.  I have also noticed that you are almost starting to do a modified crawl- after a few minutes alone, you will have scooted backwards about 6-12 inches and usually facing a new direction.  You also love to lie on your back and hold on to both feet and do some exercise.  It is such a change from those early days of nonstop sleep/eat cycles.

Look at what a difference 5 months makes!
Speaking of sleeping- you have gone almost a complete week of sleeping 10-11 hours at night uninterrupted.  This is all on your own.  With Parker,  I tried all of the sleep tricks, read books, scoured websites for tips and let him "cry it out."  With you, I literally put you down awake, you smile at me, turn your head, and instantly go to sleep.  I can claim none of this success as my own!  The unfortunate thing is that your brother now decides he wants to wake up once or twice a night.  Thank you for giving me a break at night.....so I can tend to him!

You are napping really well also.  You tend to nap about 3 times a day.  You would think I would know your schedule by now, but we tend to go go go all day long, so you just adapt and do something a little different day by day.  Typically it's 8am-9am, 12pm-2pm, and 430pm-530pm.  You are getting old enough now that you don't sleep as long or as well when we are out and about like you did as a newborn.  I'm not complaining- you're still a dream sleeper!
Jack stays close to you at all times.  You are just now starting to really take notice of him- and I keep catching him give you tons of kisses!

Nursing you has become so much easier and more enjoyable.  However- you are now so distracted that it is not quite as efficient.  Every little noise turns your head and gaze.  And then after every 45-60 seconds some sessions you pull off to look at me, smile, then put yourself back on.  It is so fun to see you become so much more aware of your surroundings. We are also starting to feed you some real food including rice cereal, bananas, avocados, and sweet potatoes.

Breakfast with my babies
Your brother has lost most of his jealous tendencies, and now is obsessed with taking care of you.  I love hearing him talk to you.  Tonight, I asked him to tell you a story, and I heard him telling you about a policeman, his police car and the sound the siren makes, and how he puts the bad boys in jail.  You love when he talks to you and plays with you.  He puts a huge smile on your face and I can tell you are fascinated with watching his every move.  Of course, I occasionally still catch him trying to pick you up by himself (which instills panic in me!).  He also will lie on top of you, sit on your stomach and bounce saying "giddyup" as I race to knock him off of you, and loves to wrap you up completely in a blanket in such a way I pray you can breathe before I can reach you.  In the car today, you were crying, and he tapped your carseat and said, "Be cool honeybunny."  I love moments like these!

Parker LOVES feeding you- this is when he used his snake spoon to feed you sweet potatos
New this month-
Chewing on your fingers
- Rolling over back to front started right after you turned 4 months- now you are never still!
- You are such a thumb sucker- you are starting to not have interest in the pacifier these days and prefer to have your thumb or really your entire fist in your mouth.
- Cooing- you are becoming more and more vocal and I love listening to you experiment with making sounds.
- Sitting up- you can almost support yourself in a tripod position.  I have a feeling you will master it by the end of this month.  You can sit up pretty well if you are supported decently in a chair or on the couch.



I am filled with such indescribable love for you.  I want to remember this sweet time forever.  You have these soft smiles followed by giggles with your whole body.  You light up when you see our faces approach you.  You have this completely laid back disposition, and it will be interesting to see if that becomes your personality as you get older.  We love you Libby!

Mom

We have done a lot of swimming this month- you just lay back in your float and don't make a peep 



Beautiful girl!