Piper

Had I put in a request ahead of time for the perfect baby, she would have met all of my requirements. This little bundle has just been a joy.

I had been preparing myself for the worst as far as infant care would go. The long sleepless nights, difficulties with breastfeeding, hours of crying, difficulty trying to juggle a new baby with two older preschoolers, etc. And while there was definitely a transition period full of sleepless nights, difficulties with breastfeeding and juggling three kids, it was nothing like I thought it was going to be.

The sleepless nights ended after four weeks when she started sleeping longer stretches. She now goes anywhere from 8-10 hours a night. The breastfeeding difficulties I had (clogged ducts, a bout with mastitis then supply issues) are all behind us. The hours of crying never happened as she's been very pleasant and really only cries if she's hungry. Juggling three kids hasn't been nearly as difficult as I thought. EJ and Olivia show no jealousy towards Piper and if anything, may show a little too much affection at times.

I really don't want to jinx things but Piper is such a good baby. She goes to sleep for the night easily, which for me was always one of the most stressful times of the day with the twins. Trying to get two infants off to sleep every evening was never an easy task, especially with one who always wanted to be held to sleep. Now, I must add that I was pretty lucky with EJ and Olivia, too. They started sleeping through the night at 12 weeks and never looked back, with the exception of the occasional illness or teething. But, up until 12 weeks, the night shift was VERY difficult at times. There were often mornings when the sun would rise and I had yet to sleep. This would sometimes happen consecutive days in a row and I literally thought I would die from sleep deprivation. So, I was preparing myself for the same this time around. But, it never happened.

I started a nighttime routine with Piper around four weeks when I transitioned her out of my room and into her crib. I feed her, put her in her crib while she's still awake and guess what? She goes to sleep on her own! It's heaven.

She started smiling and cooing around four weeks and it's only gotten more consistent and frequent as the weeks have gone by. She now smiles at me when I get her out of her crib in the morning and it's the sweetest thing to see. I love her little smiles and coos. I love the sweet little rolls on her thighs and her triple chin. I love that her eyes are turning from gray to blue. I love that she found her fists this week and spends much of her awake time trying to figure out how to get them to her mouth. I adore this little girl to pieces and it makes me sad that it's all going by so fast. This baby time with her is flying by so much more quickly than it did with the twins so I'm trying to soak it all up as much as I can.