The countdown to birthday #1 is officially on: T minus 19 days and counting. It's hard to believe that this time last year, I was counting down the days to my due date. I think this time every year will be in count-down mode for the Spaulding family.
Livvie had a big week this week. I was on vacation this week, and it was my major project to get her to sleep in her own bed at every nap time. Since the day we brought her home, Olivia has only slept in her bed 3 or 4 times for naps. Sometimes she slept in her bouncer chair; when she was too big for that, she slept on the couch next to whomever was home watching her that day; 99% of the time she slept on someone's chest. I didn't quite mind her sleeping on my chest at first; I got snuggle time and I got an excuse to take a nap myself. In the past few months, however, we have become painfully aware that we needed a change. She's become so long and so heavy that it has become uncomfortable for her to sleep on us. We have also become concerned that she's almost a year old and not taking naps in her own space. We have not been able to take advantage of baby-free time during the day to get chores done or just have a little adult time. So we decided that since I was going to be home every day with her, this week would be the best week to break the current nap time cycle. We started last Saturday and tried naps in the crib, but Liv was having none of it. Once we passed hour 1 of screaming and crying and throwing loveys and passies out of the crib, we thought we were done for, that we waited too long. Sunday was more of the same. Sunday night, we decided to get the pack 'n play out of the closet and set it up in our room. On Monday, Liv went down in the pack 'n play for both naps successfully. It went on like this for the rest of the week, and as of today, she averages 1 to 2 hours for both morning and afternoon naps up in her pack 'n play. I am so excited! For the first time in 11 months, I have been able to take advantage of nap time to get some much needed work done. I finally installed cabinet locks today; I didn't have to get up at 6 a.m. every morning so that I could get my shower before she woke up for the day, I could take a shower during her morning nap! I am so proud of my little monkey, now we just have to get Grandpa and Nana to follow the plan and it will be a complete success.
Livvie got her first pair of big girl shoes this week. I went to the mall on Wednesday, as well as Kohl's, looking for shoes on my own. No one had the size I thought she needed, so I came home and looked up Stride Rite's website. The more I read, the more I felt that I needed to take her to Stride Rite. My mom had told me I should take her there because they would measure her feet and fit her for the correct pair of shoes for her walking level. Turns out, it was a good thing we took her because she was not in the size I thought she was, and I would have had her in the wrong shoes. I read that back and foot problems later in life can often be attributed to wearing the incorrect shoes as a child. Olivia has a large chance of back problems already due to her family history (my Dad and David's Mom both have degenerative disk disease), so I felt like I needed to do whatever I could to minimize any outside factors.
Lastly, Livvie got her first big-girl haircut today. My Mom had done a couple of trims for her in the past, but she got to go my cousin's salon today and get her hair cut like a big girl. We had quite a bit to put in a baggie when all was said and done. I cannot believe my baby girl is growing up so fast.
