Big Week

This week was a big one for Olivia. On Tuesday, she went to the doctor for her 4-month check up. There we found out that she came in at 15 pounds 10 ounces (84th %) and 26.75 inches (98th %). We also found out that the nurse practitioner was a little concerned with the shape of her head. The back of her head is pretty flat (no surprise since she spent most of her days laying on her back). The NP told us to get her an infant chair that helps her sit up so she's not spending so much time lying on her back. She said that most cases resolve on their own, but the 5-month mark is the time where the decision needs to be made whether or not to treat with a helmet if the shape does not work itself out. So we went out to Babies R Us after the appointment and bought a BebePod; and Olivia LOVES it! She loves sitting up like a big girl and being in the middle of the action. She sits in her chair up to an hour at a time, and loves to play with her toys; mostly she likes throwing the toys off to the side so that Mommy and Daddy have to fetch them for her. She is also spending a lot more time on her tummy.

At her appointment, the NP asked how her sleeping habits were. We told her that up until Christmas, Olivia had been sleeping 8 to 10 hours straight through every night, but since the craziness of the holidays, she had been waking up at least once during the night pretty much every single night. The NP told us it was time to start teaching her to put herself to sleep; that way if she wakes up during the night, she can put herself back to sleep instead of us having to get up and do it. So that night, we decided now was as good a time as any. We went through her usual bedtime routine: jammies, diaper change, one last bottle, bedtime songs; after the songs, she usually gets rocked to sleep, but this time, we put her in her crib while she was still awake, swaddled and kissed her, told her good night, and left the room. It took a few minutes before she realized that we weren't coming back, and the screaming ensued. I was down in the basement doing my run on the treadmill, and David came down and said the screaming was like nothing he'd ever heard before. We went up every 5 minutes to put her pacifier back in and tell her that she was okay. This went on for about an hour and a half before she gave in and went to sleep, and slept the whole night.

The second night, we did the same exact routine, but went up every 10 minutes, and she screamed for about 35 minutes before going to sleep. The third night I had to close the pharmacy, so David was on his own. He said that he increased the time to 15 minutes and only had to go up once before she was asleep. She did wake up during the night, but we did not go into her room and she put herself back to sleep. As I finish this post, I can tell you that we put her in her bed tonight, she whimpered once and went right to sleep. Ferberizing seems to have worked. My project for next week while on vacation is to get her to sleep in her crib during nap-time. She currently will sleep in her bouncer, maybe in her pack 'n play, or on someone's chest, but never in her crib. I want her to associate being in her crib with going to sleep.

Another big milestone this week is that Livvie is really starting to roll from tummy to back with assistance. She needs a little help with positioning her arm and leg, but once that's done she's rolling all by herself. Hopefully by this time next week she'll be doing it all on her own. At that point, we will probably be taking the bumper pads out of her crib.

One Year Ago Tomorrow

One year ago tomorrow, we found out that wishes really do come true. One year ago tomorrow, our prayers were finally answered. One year ago tomorrow, Hope had been restored in our hearts. One year ago tomorrow, we found out Olivia Hope was on her way.

The past year has simultaneously gone so slowly and flown by so fast. The weeks of pregnancy seemed to drag on with the anticipation of meeting our miracle baby. Once she was here, it was like we blinked and four months had flown by. On Friday, Olivia will be four months old. She holds her head up very well and sits up well with support. She is starting to work on rolling, having almost rolled completely over from back to belly (which is backwards, most babies roll from belly to back first -- she may still do this). I have contradicting wishes every day: on the one hand, I cannot wait for her to be able to sit up by herself so she can sit in her high chair while we eat/do chores. On the other hand, I want her to remain a baby for a long time. I'm not ready for her to gain her independence. I'm not ready for her to want to get down and not want me to hold her all the time. I honestly have to make myself stop thinking about it so much because when I stop to think about how it was only a few short months ago that we brought her home from the hospital, or when I have to pack away her baby clothes that she has outgrown, it makes me want to cry. However, when I start to have these thoughts, I try to think about the upcoming summer and her first trip to the beach with her friend Gabe, and her first time in the swimming pool, and I cannot wait to experience these firsts with her.