Letter to Olive

Dear Olive,

You're now 5 months old. It's hard to believe there was a time that you weren't here. I knew I would love you, my sweet girl, but I never thought I would love you as much as I do. You are an amazing baby.  This time of your life has been so wonderful for your Papa and I. You continue to bring such laughter and joy to our lives. I so wish I could bottle up this precious time with you and keep it with me forever.

Your sweet open mouth kisses are the best.  Sometimes you grab my face and plant a big one on me. And I love it!  :)
One of my favorite things right now is the way you lie back on me and we gaze into each other's eyes as I stroke your hair.
One of your favorite things to do right now is put your hands in our mouths.  It makes you smile.  I think you want to know where all of that food we eat goes.  :)
 
Your laughter is simply amazing as is your voice and I can't get enough of either.  I could hear your voice and laughter and be happy for the rest of my life.

I just love your gummy smile.  I know it won't be long until I see your first tooth/teeth and it's just another reminder that my little girl is growing up.

I never thought I'd be one of those mamas who would miss breast feeding, but I think I just might miss this special time we have together.  I love the way you look up at me and smile while I'm nursing you.  I have to watch myself because if I smile too big you will start giggling. :) I love the way you clasp your hands together. I love the way you throw your foot up and rest it on my boob.  I love the way you stroke my skin.
It makes me giggle and I'll miss how you sometimes grab my bra strap and treat it like a  slingshot.  :D  I love the way your toes grip the glider.  I love the way you rub your foot against your leg to soothe yourself.

Although I know I will miss this time in your life I just have to remember that there will be more precious and fun times ahead.

When you're 8, 10, 13, 16 etc. you will probably see me looking at pictures and watching videos of you while tearing up and you will think I'm crazy.  I'm just a mommy who loves her daughter.  My wish for you is that you get to experience something as amazing and magical as I am right now.


I love you my sweet girl,
Mama

Happy 5 months, Olive!

Age: 5 months

Weight:  ~17 1/2 lbs. (87th percentile)

Height:  ~26 inches long (73rd percentile)

Head circumference: ~17 inches (79th percentile)
Size: 3, 6, 9 & 12 months

Sleeping: She is sleeping in her crib now.  Some nights she sleeps through the night, while others she wakes up once.  There have been some early mornings where she doesn't want to be put back in her crib so we find ourselves asleep in the glider the next morning.  

Eating habits: Nursing and Expressed milk.

Favorite activity: Going on walks and looking at everything, jumping in her jumperoo, sitting in her super seat and playing with toys, reading books, being held by mommy, turning the pages of a book or magazine and talking.

Cutest Moment of the Month: Talking, Laughing, Facial Expressions, Smiling and Talking and smiling at her siblings.  

Milestones:

Signs of teething begin

Holds head up when sitting

Rolls from stomach to back

When lying on back puts feet to mouth

Voluntarily grasps and holds objects

Plays with toes

Takes objects directly to mouth

Watches objects that are dropped

Says "ah-goo" or similar vowel-consonant combinations

Smiles at mirror image

Gets upset if you take a toy away

Can tell family and strangers apart

Begins to discover parts of his/her body

Firsts:

Saying "MmmmMa" "Dah" "Ha (like Hi, but with more of a Texas accent)", "Yah", "Nah".  And it always seems like she knows what she is saying. 

Updates: This girl of ours is simply amazing.  I love everything about her, even her attitude.  :)  She is definitely a mix of both her mama and papa.  She is still not the most comfortable with others holding her, but will smile at her grandparents and friends.  I've noticed that if they ignore her, she'll try to get their attention when she is ready.  It's on her terms.  She is getting so big and just about ready to break my back.  She is the smartest baby I know, but I'm sure I'm being biased as most parents probably are.  :)  I think she may be eating solids sooner than I had thought.  She is really interested in our food.  She has her clingy days, but I think she's getting better. I can at least get some chores done now. Her laughter is so wonderful. 

Olive loves her "Owl buds"

Liv loves her owls and must have a chat with them at least once a day, preferably before bedtime.

She is just shy of 4 months in this video.

She is 

Olive finds her toes...

and eats them!  :D

Video of her in action.  

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?  ;)