I feel like the growth and changes from 4 months to 5 months has been the most drastic so far. We're definitely completely done with the newborn stage and in full-on infant/baby mode. I could have said this last month as well, but now there is no denying it! I try to keep notes throughout the month as to what Jake is doing and how he is changing, but I felt like my notes were already outdated by the end of the month this time! This is a sweet age, but I have a feeling I'll always be saying that with Jake.
Our major milestone of the month was rolling over. On February 19th he rolled from his back to his tummy. On February 22nd he rolled from his tummy to his back. He has mastered rolling from back to tummy, but then he gets a little stressed out once he's on his tummy. Occasionally he'll remember he can roll back the other way, but normally he stays put for awhile and then starts fussing until I come get him or roll him back. Once he started rolling, we stopped swaddling; therefore, we stopped sleeping well at night for a couple weeks. Actually I think it was a combination of learning a new skill (which is always fun to practice during the night apparently) and the not being swaddled that led to some sleep issues. Also, there's that major neurological growth spurt they hit around four months that also seems to impact sleep. Anyway, sleep wasn't as great this past month. I feel like we definitely took two steps back in that area. There were 3 nights in a row last week that he got me up every two hours. He has never done that! He was hungry every time though and went right back to sleep after he ate. Growth spurt??? One new and sweet thing about his sleep is that he now rolls to his left side to sleep. I always lay him on his back, but he immediately rolls to his side and puts his hands up by his face. He likes to get his sleeve over his thumb and suck on his thumb too. It's pretty darn cute!
I remember during my breastfeeding class I took before Cooper was born, the teacher talked about how you can guess the age of a baby based on how they nurse. She showed pictures of different babies at different ages, and there are times that I feel like those pictures were sneak peeks into my future with breastfeeding! Both my boys have been exactly like those pictures at those ages. She said at four months they are easily distracted while nursing and like to nurse a little, look around, nurse a little, play, etc. Yes, we are there. She also said they like to reach for and pet your face at around four months. Yep, that's true. Jake loves to reach, grab, and rub my face while he eats. He loves to put his fingers in my mouth too. He also likes to hold my hand or thumb while he eats. He still sometimes grabs and holds my hair, but he seems to prefer my mouth and thumb most. If he holds my thumb, I rub his hand with my other fingers. I love feeling that little hand in mine! Reaching and grabbing are not limited to when he's nursing either. He loves to reach and grab at toys, the mobile on his play mat, and whatever he notices that's close to him. That includes his toes. He discovered his feet this month, and it is so funny how entertaining a baby's hands and feet are to him! He raises his feet in the air, looks at them, grabs at them, and lately has even discovered he can put them in his mouth! When he grabs one foot with each hand, he gets really excited, as if he'd just realized he has two of these new toys!
As much as he loves to put his fingers in my mouth, he also loves to suck on them himself. Sometimes he sucks on his thumb, but it seems that he mostly prefers sucking on two fingers. He is sucking his thumb more and more though, so that might change. He still won't take a paci though. He'll suck on one for just a few seconds, a minute at the most, and then spits it out with a good pop! It shoots out of his mouth like a canon! His mouth has not only proven to be entertaining for sucking on fingers and toes, but also for blowing bubbles, cooing, squealing, giving kisses, and blowing raspberries. I love his kisses, and he's been giving them when you ask for awhile, but now sometimes he initiates it and just opens his sweet little mouth big and wide and plants a big slobbery kiss on you! I just love those baby kisses!!
Jake still smiles so easily. That's my favorite thing about him. He now will smile when you smile and laugh when you laugh. Diaper changes have become play time, as he gets so excited and squeals and squirms in anticipation of me tickling his big ol' belly or feet. He loves for me to blow on his tummy, and he'll start squealing before I even do it! He still gets upset when someone new talks to him and I'm not holding him or if there's a sudden loud noise. If he's being held though, he's fine. He can hold his head up extremely well now and is getting close to being able to be held on my hip; however, when I hold him, he tends to rest his head on my chest and just snuggle in to me, but when Karl or other people hold him, he doesn't typically do that unless he's really tired. I love this baby stage because mommy is the best buddy; come toddlerhood, it's all about daddy!
He's shown more of an interest in Cooper this month than ever before and has started trying to interact with him. He'll watch him constantly and loves for Cooper to talk to him. If he's crying, Cooper will come and sing to him, and Jake normally will stop crying! It's so sweet. In the late afternoon, Cooper tends to get wild, and you can tell that Jake gets nervous around him--I would too if I were him! For the most part, Jake really likes to be around his big brother though. Thankfully his big brother likes to be around him too!
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