Don't mind me. I'm just in a puddle of tears over here. How is Olivia already big enough to sit up in her monthly photos? Time - you are just such a jerk.
Everyday is just a new day with our little Olivia. She is such a morning person and just greets the day with smiles and sunshine in her heart. We think she gets it from her Grammy (my mom) or Sue Heck from The Middle. But as I explained in her three month update, I give all of the credit to her getting plenty of sleep. We follow the Wonder Weeks app and there has been this storm cloud looming over weeks 14 through 19 (she's at 17 now). It is a 35 day learning leap (the longest yet) in her development, and I have just been dreading it. However, it's actually been pretty okay thanks to her being well rested. Although there have been a few bumps in the road (more on that below). She just has to keep us on our toes!
| STATS |
We had her four month check up this morning, and we were all SO excited to show her pediatrician how big she has grown since her two month appointment when she was still struggling with eating enough and gaining weight. He was so proud of her (and us) for being so diligent in our breastfeeding saga and working hard with her to help her grow big and strong. She currently weighs in at 14lb 11oz (65th percentile). She is 25.25" long (90th) and her head is 16.5in (90th).
| EATING |
Over the last couple of weeks eating has been a struggle. And if you follow my insta stories you probably have heard all about it. It felt like a switch flipped and all of a sudden she became the most feisty eater. She would be hungry and I would start nursing and she would just cry, yank, kick, scratch, and just had an overall terrible latch. Just out of the blue. After talking to several of my mommy friends the general consensus was that she was either teething, distracted by her exciting world, or that it was just the growth spurt / learning leap. After talking to her pediatrician, he verified that she had no signs of teeth coming in, but that she could still be teething. However, he guessed that it was probably due to being distracted by her exciting world since she didn't behave this way at night when the room was dark and her white noise was playing. He said that it would go away just as quickly as it started, which is exactly what one of my mama friends said who also follows wonder weeks, saying her son did the exact same thing around this time. She has gotten much better as her "stormy period" is passing, and I've noticed that if I play the lullaby setting on her white noise app (it sounds like an old music box) then she chills out and eats like her old self, so that's what we're doing for now. She is still eating every 2-3 hours, and we went from 30-45min on each side to 10min which is SO great for me because I was starting to feel like a cafeteria 24/7 and now we have more time to play and read during her awake hours.
| SLEEPING |
Olivia is still sleeping like a champ all by herself in her crib. In case you missed it I have a whole post on how we sleep trained her here. We also have her fully napping in her crib as well. With how heavy she is now, I have no idea how I would have been able to hold her and rock her to sleep in my arms all day everyday. On average she sleeps about 8-10 hours every night with one nightly feeding around 2:00am. However, some days (especially during her growth spurts) she will sleep for 12-13 hours straight and not have a night feeding. She takes 3-4 naps a day depending on their duration, and her naps range from 40min (typical) to 2 hours (during growth spurts). I try and keep her awake and active for about an hour and a half in between naps, which helps us get her to her 16-16.5 hours of sleep a day. For someone who lives for schedules and structure, this mama is very pleased with our new routine. We've chugging along this way for the last 5 weeks, which has been so great.
| DOING |
Now that Olivia is consistently napping throughout the day, we have setup a bit of a routine for her awake times. I try to keep her awake no longer than 1.5 hours (which includes feeding time). During this time we will alternate reading books, tummy time, her activity center, and a couple times during the week we will go on an outing. Although with the temps already over 100, I'm not sure how long we are going to keep this up, especially since it takes 20min just to cool down the car. After asking around and doing a little research, we ended up getting her this activity center. We love the simplicity in design, and how it transitions as she gets older. She absolutely loves this thing. The base is a little too far for her short legs, so right now I have it boosted with books haha. But since she loves standing so much we thought this would be a great way for her to independently explore, while still being safe. During the week we try to get out of the house and do something different just to keep the both of us sane. We'll meet up with friends for lunch or shopping just for an hour or two and then we'll go back home to nap. It's so funny to take her places, it's almost like she realizes "wait a second, there is more to the world than the same four walls in my house" haha.
| MILESTONES |
Mastering her nap schedule has definitely felt like a huge milestone. I am able to work and get things done around the house during her naps which makes me feel more like a productive member of society ha. We ventured out to a restaurant for lunch a couple weeks ago for the very first time and she barely even fussed. I think she just loves seeing all of the new people, sounds, colors, etc. We also took her to my best friend from college's wedding this past weekend. I was so so nervous about this because 1. it started after her bedtime, and 2. I didn't want her to be screaming during the ceremony or toasts. But this girl was perfect. She had THE best time. Seriously. She fought sleep on and off, but once the music started she just wanted to dance. As long as she has her carrot to munch on this girl is content. She also started full on laughing for the first time. It first started out as more of a pity chuckle, and then turned into a giggle fest. My heart just melted. She is also showing the beginning signs of teething and has become a drool factory and is chewing on anything she can get her hands on, so we go through bibs like crazy. She is still in size 2 diapers and 3-6m clothing, but on the brink of jumping up to 6-9m. This girl has a long torso and short legs just like her mama.
| FAVORITE MOMENTS |
Her personality is really starting to come through, and her eyebrows are just so expressive. It's so funny when she meets a new person because you know right off the bat how she feels about them. Girlfriend has no filter. Making her laugh is probably at the top of the list for our favorite moments. It's hard to get her to do it again so you really have to soak it all in as its happening. I also just love seeing her take in her surroundings, everything is so new and exciting to her. It makes you realize how much you take for granted until you can see things through a child's eyes. It just makes me SO excited for the holidays. Every morning when I change her she'll just gaze out the window and watch the birds and smile. Her little heart is so full of sunshine.