Happy 4 months, Olive!

Age: 4 months

Weight:  16 lbs. 2 oz. (94th percentile)

Height:  24.5 inches long (62nd percentile)

Head circumference: 16.5 inches (77th percentile)
Size: 3, 6, & 9 months

Sleeping: She is sleeping in her crib now.  She is no longer swaddle and is instead using a sleep sack.  She sleeps on her side most of the night.  She moves in every direction through the night.  To get herself back to sleep in the middle of the night she scratches her sheets.  :) 

Eating habits: Nursing and Expressed milk. 

Favorite activity: Eating, Feeling different textures, Being in mama's arms, Talking to mama and papa, spending time on her quilt, playing with her 2 favorite toys "owlbird" and "poppy" , smiling and giving "kisses", smiling at herself in the mirror, staring at the television, computer or iPhone.

Cutest Moment of the Month: Talking, Laughing, Facial Expressions, Smiling at herself, Giving "kisses".

Milestones:

Drooling begins 

Good head control

Sits with support

Bears some weight on legs when held upright

Raises head and chest off surface to a 90 degree angle

Rolls from back to side

Explores and plays with hands

Tries to reach for objects but overshoots

Grasps objects with both hands

Eye-hand coordination begins

Makes consonant sounds

Laughs

Enjoys being rocked, bounced or swung

Firsts:

Laughter while awake, Grabbed her foot, Squeal, Piercing (Ears)

Updates: I can already tell that Liv is going to be an active little girl.  She wants to stand up all of the time.  She is so much more alert now and likes to check out her surroundings.  She recognizes her siblings and will smile as they walk by.  She has been grabbing at her owl toy while it's hanging on the activity gym.  She is getting better about letting her grandparents hold her, but it's still only for a short amount of time.  She is so much better with her papa now.  She can sit with him for awhile, they make each other laugh and they hold conversations, but she still only wants me to feed her or calm her when fussy.  Baby steps.  :)  She takes most of her naps on me, but she has taken 2 naps in her crib.  We are amazed at how smart our little one is and how she has met certain milestones ahead of schedule.  Every night I look forward to seeing her gummy smile the next morning.  I love this little girl!

Olive moves to the crib

A little over a week ago we moved Liv to her crib.  

I did not expect to cry as much as I did.  If you saw me you would have thought I was experiencing a tragedy in my life with how much I was bawling.  I'm assuming that it's perfectly normal.  I guess it was just another reminder that she is growing up and won't be my little baby forever.  

She slept through the night that night.  I woke up every few hours to check on her.  She ended up in our bed just so I could get a few more hours of sleep. That was the first time I had tried side lying breast feeding.  I think it was pretty weird for both us, but we made it work.  :)

She has continued to do great, sleeping at least 5 hours before waking.  I think once I noticed how comfortable she was in her crib it was easier for me to get to sleep.

A shot of her in the middle of the morning

Another shot of that morning.  She moves so much.

Co-sleeping?  Only for the first few nights.  ;)

A few days ago.

Check out chickie all side ways in her crib.

It's like she's looking at the camera saying "Haha, come pick me up."

Can you see she breaks out of her swaddle?  She has been doing this since the first night at the hospital.  That's the next thing we need to tackle...putting her to bed without a swaddle.  Any tips?

Happy 3 months, Olive!

Age: 3 months

Weight: 14 lbs. (75th percentile)

Height: ~24 inches long 
Size: 3 & 6 months

Head circumference: 16 1/4 inches (72nd percentile)

Sleeping: She is sleeping 8-9 hours at night, some nights waking once & some nights sleeping until I'm ready to get up.  :)

Eating habits: Nursing and Expressed milk. She is drinking 4-5 oz. of milk from a bottle at night. 

Favorite activity: Eating and being in mama's arms.

Cutest Moment of the Month: Talking

Milestones:

• Begins to bear partial weight on both legs when held in a standing position (Olive has been able to do this for awhile now).
• Able to hold head up when sitting but still bobs forward
• When lying on stomach can raise head and shoulders between 45 and 90 degrees (sometimes)
• Bears weight on forearms
• Grasp reflex absent
• Holds objects but does not reach for them
• Clutches own hands and pulls at blankets and clothes
• Follows objects 180 degrees
• Locates sound by turning head and looking in the same direction
• Squeals, coos, babbles, and chuckles
• "Talks" when spoken to
• Recognizes faces, voices, and objects
• Smiles when she sees familiar people, and engages in play with them
• Shows awareness to strange situations

Firsts: Rolling on side, Teething

Updates: I've recognized that Liv is a "high needs" baby.  She fits every characteristic: Intense, Hyperactive, Draining, Feeds Frequently, Demanding, Awakens Frequently, Unsatisfied, Unpredictable, Super-Sensitive, Can't Put Baby Down, Not a Self-Soother, Separation Sensitive.
"High needs" baby + teething + growth spurts + gas pains = 1 tired mama.  I'm left exhausted by the end of the day.  Some days are better than others.  Lately she has allowed me to get more things done around the house, but I have to be quick.  :)
What this means for the blog?  If not I'm not with baby girl I'll be keeping up with household duties, so blogging will take a backseat for awhile.  (Hey she won't be this clingy forever...I hope).  I'll still update her monthly pics etc. and if I get the extra time I'll be here venting about meddlers. ;)


Other than Liv wearing me out we are truly enjoying our little girl.  She is such a sweet girl.  She makes us smile and laugh.  She is such a joy and brings so much more happiness to our lives. I just love her smile.  It simply lights me up and is contagious.  Every morning I look forward to seeing that gummy smile.  :)

Letter to my Olive

Dear Olive,

You are now just over 2 months old.  My have you changed.  You are talking and smiling a lot.  You recognize our voices and faces now.  I just love the sound of your voice and your beautiful, gummy smile.

Friends always said, "Enjoy this time, they grow up so fast".  I had no idea how true this was until a few days ago.  The first month and a half was really tough with growth spurts, inconsolable crying, wanting to be held constantly and little sleep.  I wanted nothing more than for you to just grow up and get to the "fun" stage of walking, talking and playing.  And now as I watch you grow before my eyes I kind of want to stop time and have you stay this age for a little while longer.  You are so innocent.  Your only needs are to be loved, held, fed and changed.  I'm the only one that can console you when you are upset.  You're my sweet baby girl, but you will not always be as sweet as you are at this moment.  I fear that one day you will break my heart when you yell, "I hate you!".  I hope that never happens.  Those will be the not so "fun" years, but we'll get through it.

I now cherish every single moment you are awake (except when you don't want to go to sleep and it's 11 pm).  I take a lot of pictures and videos because we'll never get this time back and I want to be able to look back and see just how precious this time was for us.

Having you here is the "fun" part.  And although I get a little emotional thinking how all of this will be gone one day I know there are many more amazing days with you to come!

I love you sweet girl.

Mama

Liv talks

Liv has found her voice and I absolutely love it!

She is the most talkative in the morning and at night.

Enjoy!  :)

Liv talking to her mama

Liv talking to her bird friends on her mobile

First Date Day

Thanks to my wonderful mama, Dan and I enjoyed our first of what I hope will be many date days.  

I missed her the moment we pulled out of the driveway, but I knew she was in great hands.

Olive somehow always ends up in our conversations now...and I love that.  :)

We enjoyed lunch and a movie.

We had delicious sushi and I didn't have to swallow my food, I got to savor every bite.Yum.

We went to see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Great action movie. It was also nice to feel my milk let down midway through the movie.  Thank goodness for manual breast pumps.  :D  Don't worry, I pumped in the restroom.  

My mom was able to get Olive to nap in her swing for a good 45 minutes. WTH? She never naps that long for us.  I'm lucky if I get 15 minutes.

The 4 hours away from Liv was a bit hard, but was just what we needed.  We always have to remember to put each other first.  

Thanks again Mama. <3

Now when are you available again?  ;)

Olive's 1st Christmas

This was our first Christmas as a family of 5.  And it was wonderful!  Sure it was exhausting at times and most of my day was spent nursing and changing pampies, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  :)

A week before Christmas we had "Christmas" with Dan's family.

Dan made a scrumptious meal of turkey, pork, gnocchi, greens, rolls and pound cake.

She got clothes from her aunt Angie and a beautiful bracelet and keepsake from her grandparents.

 This outfit shrunk a bit when I washed and dried it.  Oops.

Liv's 1st visit with Santa went well.  I know next year will be very different.  :)

I decided to hold her this year.

Christmas Day was spent with my parents.

Dan again made a delicious meal of goose, dressing, turnips (which I now know I love) and carrot cake.

 My girl is so big!  Her looks are changing. Some days she looks like Dan of course, but there are some days or moments in those days where I see myself.  

It's pretty amazing how much she has changed in 2 months.  :)

Olive got an outfit from her Tio Adam, Tia Melissa and cousins.  She also got a Christmas blanket, paci holder, gift card to Target (will be great to use on more clothes because she is growing out of everything) and hair bows from her Nana & Poh Poh.

We got her an outfit, some Dr. Seuss books, her playgym/mat and her learning tower that we bought from a consignment shop.

My dad began to feel under the weather by the end of the night so that is the reason for the no smile.  Olive was exhausted at this point.  :)

 I keep thinking how different it will be next year.  She'll be unwrapping gifts and walking.  Wow.  

All in all it was a great holiday and we look forward to many more Happy Christmases with our baby girl and our families.  

Happy 2 months, Olive!

Our beauty is still growing and just about to break my back.  :D

I see other babies that are 3-6 months and she is as long as them, just unable to hold her head up.  
I hope she walks earlier than most babies because my back and knees can't take too much more. lol

Age: 2 month

Weight: 12 lbs. 12 oz. (85th percentile)

Height: 23 inches long (85th percentile)

Head circumference: 15 1/2 inches (49th percentile)

Sleeping: I am nursing closer to every 2 hours during the day.

Sleeping at night has been wonderful. ::knocking on wood:: She sleeps anywhere from 5-8 hours straight sometimes.  Thank god because I need it some nights.
Eating habits: Nursing and Expressed milk. I give her about 3 oz. of milk in a bottle at night and that has helped her sleep longer. Sometimes she'll get 2 bottles a day depending on if we need to run errands and I don't feel taking the boob out.  :)
Favorite activity: Eating and being in mama's arms.
Cutest Moment of the Month: Smiles, Laughter and recognizing our voices and faces.
Milestones:
Lifts head almost 45 degrees when lying on stomach
Head bobs forward when held in sitting position
Grasp reflex decreases
Follows dangling objects with eyes
Visually searches for sounds
Makes noises other than crying
Cries become distinctive (wet, hungry, etc.)
Vocalizes to familiar voices
Social smile demonstrated in response to various stimuli

Firsts: Laugh, Smiles and vaccines.

Olive's First Thanksgiving

You can tell how busy Miss Liv as been keeping me seeing as I'm just now blogging about Thanksgiving.

Dan, Olive and I enjoyed a low key Thanksgiving with a wonderful meal. My parents came by later in the evening for leftovers and dessert.  :)

It was very hard to help Dan with Thanksgiving lunch when Little Miss Liv wanted to be held constantly, but we managed and everything turned out great.

Can you tell I had little to no time to put on anything "nice" for Thanksgiving?  Oh well. The day was perfect.  :)

My little turkey

Growth Spurts

Holy hell.

Liv already eats about every 1.5 hours and when she goes through these growth spurts it just about does me in.

She gets super fussy and wants to eat or just be near my boob.

She hit a growth spurt at 2 and 3 weeks and then again these past couple of days at 6-7 weeks.

I'm left exhausted by the end of the day.

There are not enough arms in this house.

She wants to be held all of the time.
And she is no lightweight.  She is a whopping 12 lbs. now.  

I can't put her down in her pack & play or rock & play for more than 15 mins. before she starts crying.

She does sleep 4-6 hours at night so I'm definitely grateful for those hours of rest. Maybe I need to start eating and doing chores in the middle of the night.

It's a good thing we love her so much. :)

I dream of the days when she can go 2-3 hours between feedings.  Will that ever happen?

When Olive is not crying she is so wonderful.

She does really well in the car and we've gone to the grocery store a few times. She's great. She is starting to smile when she sees my face or hears my voice and I just love it.

In the other news, I'm back on the pill. Yippee! We CAN NOT have any unplanned babies any time soon. :)