January 31, 2012

Two great days in a row! How lucky are we?! Last night Olivia went to bed around 11pm and slept until 4am! I could really get used to this! The dogs were even tiptoeing around this morning - such good girls! We got up again around 8am to start our day, because today we had another morning play-date with Cara & Carmen. Olivia was much more awake for this one. Carmen & I were commiserating that we did not have any 'one month' measurements for our girls because the hospital here does a 'two week' appointment and then a 'two month' appointment. It seems to me that Olivia is much bigger. I know that some of her clothes are decidedly too small. We've even started a box of clothes to put away, (for a little sister someday). Anyway, I found a tape measure and we measured what we could. Olivia's head is now 40cm in circumference (that's an increase of 2cm) and she (from what I could see) is 22" long (an increase of .5"). Her 'little grey cells' appear to be growing! Yay!

After the ladies left, we had some lunch and took a quick nap. I have taken everyone's advice to heart about napping when she naps, and most of the time I do try to join her in dreamland. Sometimes I don't. During her subsequent nap & time in the swing I took advantage of her good humor and did a bunch of cleaning. It feels good to have a nice clean bathroom!

We tried out our baby wrap today. I know I need some practice. The booklet that came with it has much more detailed instructions (and is more exacting - "the wrap should overhang the shoulder 6" at this point...") than the woman in the shop was. The result of my first wrap was a little off-center (the knot was on my hip) and I kind of ran out of wrap. I think it should be neater and tighter. I'll bring it with me to the store and ask one of the ladies to watch me practice again. They had recommended the 4.1m size and maybe I need a 4.6m. It's more likely that I just need practice.

Olivia was so agreeable this evening that I was able to do some cooking. Nothing too adventurous - I made some rice with chicken stock for the dog (Paula) and then I made an apple cobbler. I was even able to talk on the phone with Jenny, Sean & Owen while puttering around the kitchen. It was a nice little break. Thank you Olivia! I had left her sleeping and framed by the Boppy on the couch. (I can see the couch from where I was working.) I noticed a little squirming and when I went over to check on her, look how far she had moved! She had wormed her way from lying in the Boppy to laying on her side in the seam between the couch cushions. No more laying on the couch for her unless I'm right next to her! We've officially become a 'mover'.

Tonight Olivia really seemed to get the 'hang' of the pacifier. She was extremely content once she had it and I didn't have to retrieve it very many times. I am not worried that she'll have any "nipple confusion". She knows immediately when the 'real deal' is being offered. She spits the pacifier out and latches right away (I swear she looks gleeful!). I think one of the reasons she slept so peacefully, we didn't have any cluster-feeding & crying moments today, was because of the pacifier.

After everyone had their dinner, (dogs included - the rice was a big hit with Paula!), Olivia & I tried out her new bath tub. We filled up the Tummy Tub to the line. It didn't seem like a lot of water, and it advertizes that it would go up to her armpits, but I was willing to see how it turned out. When I put her in, I was expecting a little crying - just from the shock of suddenly being in warm water. Nope! The water did indeed cover her nicely and she was not disturbed by it at all. In fact, I'd say it was a big hit. She splashed a little bit and made some of her new baby-noises. She didn't seem in any distress, so I kept her in it for quite a while (comparatively speaking). I think next time I'll make sure that I've baked something and leave the warm oven open so that it's nicer when I take her out of the tub. She was not happy coming out (too cold, I think) but was fine as soon as I bundled her in two towels & the puppy blankie. We put our jammies on and she was so relaxed that she fell asleep in my arms.