Olivia Four Months!

Precious, precious girl. You are FOUR months old! I can't believe how fast the past four months have gone (I know I sound like a broken record saying that on each post). I feel like you've always been a part of our family and I have a hard time remembering life before you were here. 

It was a year ago this week that we found out you existed. It's amazing to see you so happy and healthy after the surgeons and doctors said chances of you surviving after mommy's surgery was slim.  You are a miracle and I thank God daily for you and for your health! You are strong and a survivor. 

You've made some big advancements this month. It's truly crazy how fast you change. People say that about babies all the time, but witnessing it is incredible. 

Right after you turned three months old you began to roll over from your back to belly. We were visiting Lolly and G-Daddy for a week in Milton and you actually rolled over for the first time when we were FaceTiming with your daddy! What a gift that he was able to witness that big first even though he was 300 miles away! 

You now prefer to roll onto your belly anytime you have the opportunity. You roll over and try your very hardest to propel yourself forward. Girl, you want to be on the move so very badly! You often fuss out of frustration because you can't move when you so obviously want to. The desire to always be on your belly made taking photos of you next to the Teddy that your Granny and Papa gave you very difficult... It's also made us be much quicker to steady you and we now have to hold on to you while doing things like changing your diaper. 

You've been waking yourself up multiple times a night by rolling yourself over onto your tummy. You're no longer swaddled, so we tried many different things to try and keep you sleeping on your back. We tried swaddling you but leaving your arms free, a sleep sack instead of a swaddle, and even rolling two swaddles up and kind of barricading you in in between them. Nothing worked very well. Thankfully, in the past few days you have just started to sleep on your belly from the get go and I'm hoping it will help you sleep more comfortably and for longer stretches. 

You're still waking up to nurse 2-3 times a night. I think if I was a little bit stronger in the middle of the night, and let you cry it out, we might make a breakthrough in how many times you wake up. To be honest though, I'm so tired in the middle of the night that I find it easier to zombie walk to your nursery and nurse you and then go back to sleep fifteen minutes later. 

Your bedtime is still around 7:30 after you have a bath and you are ready to wake up for the day around 6:00 AM.  In the morning we play for about an hour and a half and then you are ready to take a nap most days. I've been appreciating this recently as I've been able to get a few naps in myself while you're sleeping! However, as soon as we seem to figure out a schedule you throw mommy a curve ball and switch things up. I'm thinking you may be going through a growth spurt as you've been taking more frequent and longer naps lately. I'm looking forward to seeing your weight and length at your 4 month well visit next week!

Aunt Sarah brought us their jumperoo to let you borrow and you are a big fan. You enjoy being upright and it's great to be able to turn you a few degrees and all of a sudden you have something new to explore. You can also sit in the Bumbo for short periods of time, but you seem to prefer to topple yourself over in an attempt to eat your feet, so we've been taking a bit of a break from that. 

You are very interested in the world around you, spending much of your time studying whats going on and watching, watching, watching. You really enjoyed watching your cousins Karis and Evan play when we visited family for a week earlier in the month. I understand I am unabashedly biased, but I think you are super intelligent. You can look into your eyes and see the wheels turning. 

You've reached the stage of wanting to grab everything within reach and would like to stick everything in your mouth if we let you. Just in the past week you've become even more intentional with your grabbing and it's as though you have just discovered the dogs for the first time. The dogs are very patient with you, but I can speak from personal experience, that when you grab on and pull... it hurts! We are working on being gentle with them - not sure how much of that is sticking as you are only four months old haha. 

You've perfected two yoga moves this month... upward dog and happy baby. It's pretty cute watching you grab onto your feet. Another big achievement you met this month is laughing! Oh my gosh. There is NOTHING better than hearing you laugh. It shoots burst of joy through me that are hard to describe. I will repeatedly do foolish things over and over again if it makes you laugh. 

I think we have decided you must be a people person. You want to be with constantly. If you could be held 100% of the time you would be. You are always very aware of where people are in relation to you. You need to make sure that someone is with you and that you can see them at all times. It's great when we are with a big group like family and there are many hands to hold you and pass you around, but it is slightly exhausting when it is just mommy to entertain you all day long. You don't have much understanding for chores and bathroom breaks. 

You have definitely "found" your voice and talk talk talk all the time. Unfortunately for those around you, much of what you have to say sounds like a screeching eagle. I don't mind however. I hope you always know that I am here to listen to whatever you have to say, and even though it may seem trivial to others it will always be important to me. 

You celebrated your first Easter this month. Such a lucky girl as you received two Easter baskets! One from the bunny and one from your Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jared! So sweet and so special. You also attended a church service for the first time and you did really well. I've been slightly anxious to take you because I didn't know how you would do, but you did really well. 

Girl, I think you inherited a love for all things food. You obviously haven't tasted anything but breastmilk, but you are super interested in food. You study it, are fascinated by people eating, and lunge forward to try and reach it whenever possible. I think it will be a very exciting day for you when you eat solids for the first time. 

I hope I'm not leaving anything big out. I'm fighting a bad cold and fever so am not in tip-top shape. It's been interesting trying to take care of you and keep you healthy when I am far from functioning at my best. Thankfully, it's the weekend and we have your daddy in our lives who takes such good care of us. He's been nursing me back to health and has been on full-time daddy duty, letting mommy sleep and get some much needed rest. Being a parent is so hard, and I have so much awe for those who do it on their own. I cannot imagine going through this journey without your daddy's help. I also am so incredibly thankful to have an older sister who has kids and has already been through everything. I call your Aunt Sarah daily - seriously, multiple times most days - to ask for advice. 

Little, precious Olivia, you are so dearly loved. You are a piece of my heart walking and beating outside my chest. I cherish you and am so glad that God made me your mommy. Happy four months baby girl!

Olivia 3 Months!

Well, princess, after three months I'd say we are definitely getting the swing of things around here. Life feels a little bit more predictable these days. However, just when I think we have things figured out, you change! You have changed so much and so quickly! 

You're such a little chunk now! Okay, you've never been a Michelin Tire baby, but for you, you are chunky! You have the cutest double chin and baby buddha belly! 

You're still going strong and are full of smiles! I think you're really close to laughing. You are an absolute hoot when you're being changed and just talk to us and give us the most heart-melting smiles! Some of the most adorable smiles are the ones you give your daddy. I honestly think he is your favorite person in the world. You give him almost bashful smiles... they're the smiles of a girl who knows she is absolutely adored and loved to the moon and back. 

One of my absolute favorite things is to get you up from your naps. You stare up at me and then when you realize you're being unswaddled you give the most adorable smile of joy! Nothing, however, is better than our morning cuddles. You wake up between 6-7am and I nurse you in the rocker in your nursery and we both end up falling back asleep. It's just the sweetest most precious time to me. I love waking up and seeing your cute sleeping face all snuggled up close to me in my arms. You stretch and sigh and then settle back into our cuddle. B.E.S.T. way to start the day! 

You're on the move as much as you can be in your 3 month old body. You kick, kick, kick and wiggle, wiggle, wiggle when you're getting changed, playing on your play gym, or are in your swing. You've started doing this sit-up, flinging motion and we've had to start strapping you into your swing. You've also discovered your feet this week and it's pretty amusing. You catch them with your eyes, then flop and fold almost completely over to try and reach them with your mouth.   

You're still not taking a paci but are a big, big fan of putting you hand in your mouth. Daddy and I are pretty impressed with your determination to get that hand in your mouth. We swaddle you so tightly that we are confident nothing can loosen it... but most of the time when we go to get you out of your crib your hand is out and your little baby fist is near your mouth.  I think you'll probably be a thumb-sucker. 

You can sit up pretty well with some assistance and can sit by yourself in the Bumbo. You've started to grab on to things - not so much with intentionality, but none the less - you grab things and hold on to them fiercely. It's pretty cute when you hold onto your own bottle at night, not so cute when you grab mommy's hair and almost pull it out with your surprising baby strength. 

You celebrated your first St. Patrick's Day. This is a big holiday in the city of your birth. We didn't venture out to the parade with daddy this year, but we celebrated at home with a custom made, monogrammed onesie. 

Your favorite books are Peek-a Who? and a nursery rhyme book your Granny gave you. You love the Itsy Bitsy Spider page in particular. We also spend a lot of our afternoons dancing around to Toddler Radio. 

You LOVE to be held and honestly are quite fussy if you're not in someone's arms or sitting in their lap. I love that you love to cuddle, but it isn't always possible. Whenever I put you in your swing or bouncy seat, you cry in angry protest. You definitely let me know when you are upset. You generally cry for 5-10 minutes before you settle down and accept that mommy can't hold you, but it absolutely breaks my heart to hear you cry! 

Love you, princess! I'm so thankful God made YOU our daughter! Happy 3 months! XOXO

Olivia 2 Months!

My precious Olivia... how are you already two months old?! This past month went by way faster than your first month of life! We are only two months in and I already want time to slow down! You're growing up too fast! We had to pack up a bunch of your newborn size clothes and you've transitioned from newborn diapers to size 1. 

You've made some big, positive changes in one month too. You started smiling and are full of  those smiles! I seriously cannot describe the joy I feel when you smile at Mommy. My heart just absolutely bursts from my chest. You are most smiley in the morning and when you wake up from your naps. We put you on your diaper changing pad and you just wiggle, kick, and smile at us. It's the cutest thing! You also smile a bunch when we sing to you. Neither Mommy or Daddy are the best singers, but luckily you are too little to know that yet ;) 

We started taking you to the chiropractor twice a week to help with your latch when you nurse. It's helped a lot! You are a much happier baby after you get adjusted... you sleep like a champ, your bowel movements are more consistent (the first 5 weeks of your life you only pooped once a week!), and you nurse better. Your neck control is impressive and you've also rolled over from tummy to your back! I googled when babies usually start to do that and it says the average is at four months and you rolled over at six weeks! I think being a "chiro-baby" has a lot to do with your strength. 

After some advice from some Facebook friends we started you on a schedule. We aren't sticklers with it and are pretty flexible, but the routine has been a lifesaver! It has given me a sense of sanity and a timeframe to get things done when you are sleeping. You also seem to be much more content with a schedule. 

Part of your nighttime routine is spending time with your daddy. When Daddy comes home from work he comes in and almost immediately picks you up to cuddle. You're quite fussy in the evening and being in your Daddy's arms is pretty much the only thing that makes you comfortable. You still like it when he holds you on your belly on his forearm.

After dinner we start your bath. You like your bath and it's sweet time together as a family. Daddy bathes you and we sing "Wheels On The Bus" until we run out of verses. Animals go on your bus... like the pig on the bus that goes "oink, oink, oink" or the bee on the bus that goes "buzz, buzz, buzz". 

You're not sleeping through the night just yet. However, you are sleeping in your own room and in your crib!!! This is helping mommy and daddy to sleep so much better! You still sleep swaddled up, but you protest this, and you can Houdini your little arms out every night! We keep it loud in your nursery while you sleep to help block out noise. You sleep with loud white noise, an air purifier, and a cool mist humidifier. I hope we aren't setting you up to not be able to sleep like a normal person later in life, haha. 

You're still hit or miss with the swing, especially when it is actually in motion. But you love to look at the mirror on it and you smile and talk to the baby looking back at you. It's pretty darn cute. 

Let see, what are some other things going on with you in your second month of life... you have gotten to be quite the pro in spitting up. We burp and burp you but you still surprise us with some pretty impressive spits. I've learned to live in sweats and grungy clothes while at home during the day with you because I know we're both going to be covered in baby spits by the end of the day. Your nails are also surprisingly sharp for a baby. Mommy attempted to cut them this past month and I nipped your precious little finger and you bled so much that I'm way too scared to try again. I'm also happy to report that your hair is growing back and you don't look so much like a balding old man anymore. Though, it is important to tell you that you are beautiful even without any hair. Mommy and Daddy would love you and think you are the most beautiful little girl even if your hair never ever grew back! 

You had a lot of visitors this last month too. G-Daddy and Lolly came for a few days and you really bonded with them. Lolly can get a lot of smiles out of you and it's adorable! Your Aunt Jessie and Uncle Juan came down for your first Valentines Day and actually babysat you while Mommy and Daddy went out to dinner. This was a big deal because it was the first time that both of us left you at the same time! We knew you were in good hands though and you did great! 

Olivia Jane, it still surprises me each morning when I'm nursing you while the sun is coming up and I'm looking down at your precious little face how much my love has grown for you in the past day. It multiples each day even though I swear each day I cannot possibly love you any more than I already do! You are so so so loved. I thank God daily that you are our little girl! These past two months have been the best of my life!