January 27, 2012

Uff da. That's all I have to say about last night. Between Paula needing to get up every two to three hours and Olivia feeding every three hours, it was a night of little sleep for me. I even tried ignoring Paula's 5am request, thinking surely she must be alright...bad idea. Always listen to a dog who has explosive bowels, they don't ask twice. After cleaning, I didn't want to disturb Olivia, who was sleeping in the nest, so we both had to suffer through the lingering stink. I had the blankets up over my nose, and Olivia kept trying to pull hers over her face too. I sympathized, but kept pulling them back down. Things settled down at about 7am and we all slept well until just before noon.

Olivia had my arm trapped beneath her, so I took the opportunity to call Uncle Kyle & Aunty Jeri. It's so nice to catch up with them. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful and loving family. After our phone conversation and after Olivia finished nursing, I took advantage of a calm moment and did a bunch of chores. Olivia enjoyed swinging in her swing for about 45 minutes, so I got a lot done! After that we got bundled up - a snowsuit was required today because it was very cold - and went on a Wal-Mart adventure. It was just a quick trip (we managed to get only the things on our list - a real feat!) and then grabbed some lunch.

It was a good thing those were our only errands because as I was pulling away from Wendy's, Olivia began to cry. She cried all the way home which, fortunately, was not very far. The guard checking our ID was, mercifully, speedy and as soon as I could un-bundle her she had her lunch, and I had mine. I'm getting very good at eating over her head.

The evening was one of lots of eating and crying. Thankfully, the crying was punctuated by sweet moments when she would smile up at me. It made all the crying seem a distant memory. Olivia just seemed to feel a little insecure and wanted to be kept close. We tried out the baby Ergo, and that worked for a while. I think it will be more secure to wear if walking around a lot, while the Snugli is more comfortable for sitting. It's nice to have options. Fortunately, most of the things we 'needed' to do today were already done, so the evening could be devoted to comforting Olivia. She was particularly good after Jessica Abel called and spoke to her. The next time she woke up after that she was consoled by watching the end of The Longest Yard (Sandler version).

Things are winding down now. The dogs are tucked in their beds. One more feeding and I think we'll sleep well. Good thing because we have more 'adventures' planned for tomorrow! Time to snuggle up with a warm baby and be thankful that we're so cozy on such a cold night.