8 Months Already

The past eight months have been a whirlwind of activity. It recently occured to me that I should be writing all this down as I won't remember it down the road. I regret not starting earlier and worry about the things I may have already forgotten.

Here is a quick overview of life in our house over the last eight months.

February

Feb. 20, 2010, we welcomed our sweet baby girl into the world six weeks sooner than expected. She weighed in a whopping 3 pounds 14 ounces and was 17.5 inches long. She was small, but she was perfect.

After she was born, I cuddled her for a while before they took her to the NICU. She stayed in the NICU for 10 days. The doctors, nurses, and staff were wonderful. She had her own room too!

This is the sign the nurses made for Olivia's door in the NICU. And those are her tiny footprints!

March

All strapped in to the car bed.

She stayed in the NICU for 10 days. We brought her home on March 2, 2011. Because she was so small (4 pounds 4 ounces the day we brought her home), she couldn't ride in her carseat. We brought her home in a car bed. But first she had to pass a carbed challenge. The hooked her up to an apnea monitor and she had to stay in the carbed for 90 minutes. She passed the challenge with flying colors!

Once we were home, we spent most of March cuddling on the couch. Like most other new parents, we were sleep deprived and spent most of our time in our jammies. When I look back at the pictures, I am just blown away at how small she actually was. She's getting so big now. I sure do miss the sweet cuddles on the couch. She's a busy bee now, and hardly has time for a cuddle with Mommy.

Baxter loves Olivia!

The animals did really well when we introduced them to Olivia. The cats were interested and the dog was excited. To get them ready for her arrival, Pete brought home a blanket from the NICU that she had used for them to smell. After a few days, Baxter was ready to join Olivia for a cuddle on the couch.

April

In April the weather was still pretty bad, so we stayed home most of the time. We celebrated her due date on April 2. Pete surprised me with a beautiful amethyst and diamond necklace and earrings. Amethyst is Olivia's birthstone (diamond was supposed to be).



Easter morning.

April also brought Olivia's first Easter. The Easter Bunny was very kind to her. He brought her a Gator Easter basket filled with chocolate, which she shared with Mommy and Daddy, and some ring toys for her play mat. Her cousin, Ellen, also sent Olivia her first stuffed Easter lamb. She woke up to find them in her co-sleeper.

After opening up her Easter presents, we took her to Grandma's for an Easter buffet. Olivia's other grandma, Ya-Ya, joined us. Olivia wore an adorable bunny outfit.



May



Winter finally ended and nicer weather allowed us to leave the house a little bit more. In May I took Olivia swimming for the first time at our gym. We went in the baby pool, but it was still pretty cold for little Olivia. She likes the water much better now than she did then!

About this time, Olivia started smiling regularly. And playing with her toys more and more!

We took her for her first hike. Pete wore her in the Piccolo. She did great. Olivia loves to be worn and outside is her favorite place to be. I'm dreading the return of winter. And thinking how different next summer will be!

I joined a local moms' group, and have made a lot of wonderful mama friends. Because the weather was so nice, we attended many park play dates. Olivia and I sat on a blanket in the shade with her baby friends and their mamas. We watched the moms of older children running around the playground after their kids. We talked about how different next summer will be when all our little peanuts are running around. We're enjoying the stationary baby play dates. They're really for the mamas at this point anyway!

June

June was an exciting month for us. Pete and I celebrated our 6-year wedding anniversary on the 4th. Grandma offered to babysit. It was the first time we had left her for the whole day. We decided to spend our anniversary doing things we can't do with Olivia. We love the outdoors, so we went to the state park for the day. While we were there, we rented paddle boats and paddled around the river. Afterward, we grilled out under a pavilion. And then we went horseback riding. It was a wonderful anniversary, but we called home several times to check on little Olivia and Grandma too. They did great!

Later in the month Olivia's grandpa, Popeye, came to visit. He arrived on his motorcycle.



Popeye and "Olive Oyl"

While Popeye visited we hiked at a county park, went to the farmers' market, and took Olivia to her first garage sale. When we were home, Popeye and Olivia watched basketball, and he taught her to count to five. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating with us, and Popeye had to go home a day early.

July

July brought more visitors and more excitement to our house. Olivia's Aunt Lesa came for a weekend. We took Olivia to her first arts and crafts show. It was miserably hot, but the art was fantastic.

That weekend Pete got Olivia to laugh for the first time. He tickled her ribs with his nose. Her little giggle is the sweetest sound I've ever heard. I tried and tried, but I couldn't get my sweet baby to laugh for me. Aunt Lesa, however got her giggling in the tub. Of all places... up until then Little Olivia hated bath time! We had so much fun with Aunt Lesa, we forgot to take picture until the very last day of her trip, right before I had to take her back to the airport.



In July we also went on our first ever family vacation. We went to the mountains of North Carolina where we used to vacation when I was little. We spent a week hiking, painting, woodcarving, and hanging out with our huge, crazy extended family.

Triple Falls in Dupont State Forest

Traveling with a new baby is a lot of work. They require so much stuff! We had to borrow a shell to put on the roof rack for all our things. We had to pack the stroller, pack n play, toys, clothes, carriers, diapers, etc. And don't forget all the things for Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma!





Olivia and cousin Ellen



The drive was about 12 hours. Normally, it's only about 10, but we had to stop more frequently to let Olivia stretch and eat. We left around 5am and arrived in North Carolina just in time to have dinner with our family. 



Olivia in the fancy dress cousin Ellen made her

  



Once we arrived, Pete and I were chopped liver. Aunt Jean grabbed the car seat from me, and Ellen announced that she was going to hold her first. For the better part of the week Olivia played with her many many cousins. I only got to hold Olivia when it was time for her to eat!

 

Olivia and cousin Madeline



Olivia and cousin Margaret







After we got home from vacation, Olivia was invited to a friend's birthday party at the zoo. She had never been to the zoo before. Out of all of the animals for her to look at, her favorite was a squirrel! While we were there, we rode the carousel. We had to sit on the bench because they said she was too little to have me hold her on an animal. I think holding a 5-month-old would be easier than holding a toddler, but maybe that's just me. All in all, Olivia had a great time. She also loved the party favor so much the birthday boy gave her two: stuffed gorillas in neon pink and lime green.

August 

In August Olivia turned 6 months old and she started solid foods. We decided to follow the baby-led weaning method when it came to feeding Olivia. Basically, she eats what we eat. We don't puree anything unless it is naturally pureed, like yogurt or applesauce. For her first meal she ate sliced avocado and brown rice. By the end of the month she had tried cantaloupe, oatmeal, banana, steamed carrots, hummus, sweet potato, and summer squash. She feeds herself either with her hands or I'll hand her a spoon and she puts it in her mouth. It's messy, but it's a lot of fun. So far the only thing Olivia hasn't really liked is watermelon and hamburger. But chicken is a winner!

Olivia also started attending a Morning Out for Moms program one day per week. She loves watching the older babies in her classroom. Her teachers are really great too! On the first day, Olivia made her first craft: Painted Footprints.

September

In September, Olivia continued to experiment with different foods. She still likes almost everything we give her, but bananas are her favorite.

One very exciting thing that happened this month, Olivia learned how to sit up. We were at a play date where all the other babies were sitting. And she did it! She sat up for the first time for about 10 minutes straight. I guess she's the kind of girl who won't try something until she knows she can do it.

And yes, that is drool all over her shirt. She's been teething for a while now, but no teeth yet.

Now that it is officially fall, it's the season for GATOR FOOTBALL! So it turns out we are those parents. We took our baby to a bar. Well, technically, it is a restaurant. And it was at dinner time. And we did eat dinner. And the owners are Gator fans. So that makes it OK, right?

Olivia wore her Gator cheerleader uniform (Thanks, Auntie Kim). She was a big hit. The bar owner and his wife thought she looked so adorable in her little outfit. Turns out they go to several games every year. Jealous. 



Daddy almost bought
this for Olivia,
but it would take
too long for her to
grow into it!

September was a big month for Olivia and her Daddy as well. I went on my first overnight (2 nights) trip without Olivia. My women's group went on a winery tour down south. We had a blast. I'd been pumping for seven months in anticipation of this trip. And it was worth it. But I missed her terribly. I only got weepy once. Luckily I still had pictures on my camera that I could flip through. She and Daddy had a great time together. Daddy even took her to the Moms of Multiples garage sale looking for a high chair. He didn't have any luck, but he did get a couple of cute outfits for her. He also took her out to breakfast. I think it was important for them to get some daddy/daughter bonding time.

October

This month is always fun. Living in the Midwest now leads us to many harvesty things. This year I took Olivia to a dairy farm. She liked the individual baby cows, but when there was more than one at a time, she really wasn't interested. The weather was great to be outside. And the cheese was delicious!

Later the whole family (Mommy, Daddy, Olivia, Grandma, and Ya-Ya) went to the pumpkin patch. They had a petting zoo, and Olivia really liked the goats. There were also chickens, roosters, geese, sheep, pigs, alpacas, and bunnies. Pete played on a hay castle, and Olivia "rode" some toy ponies. 

This month Grandma attended Olivia's Kindermusik class and her swim lessons. At Kindermusik, Olivia plays with other babies, listens to lots of different kinds of music, dances, and learns about rhythm and melodies. At the class Grandma came to, Olivia played with egg-shaped shakers and colorful scarves. We also danced and sang. Because it was Halloween, Olivia got to dress up in her costume. Chomp!

At swimming, Olivia is learning not to be afraid of the water. She does really well as long as the water isn't too cold. She has started splashing with her hands, kicking with her feet, and reaching for the wall when it is time to get out. She doesn't cry when her face gets wet or when she goes underwater. She's going to be my little fish!

October is also my birthday. Pete surprised me with a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo on my birthday. Later that weekend we finally carved the pumpkins we bought at the pumpkin patch. We let Olivia play in the pumpkin goo. She really liked it. It felt slimy and squishy. Pete made an owl, and I, of course, made a Gator.

After pumpkin carving, we got dressed up for Halloween. I was a bumble bee, Pete was Friar Tuck, and Olivia was a little Gator.

November has just begun. We'll see what this month holds for us. We have two trips planned before Christmas. We're going to see Popeye for Thanksgiving. And then we are going back to Florida in early December to introduce Olivia to all our friends and meet a few new babies as well.

Time has flown by. Before we know it, Olivia's first birthday will be upon us. It's been a roller coaster of a ride so far. I'm conflicted. I want to keep her my little baby forever, but I'm so excited for what the future holds and who she will become. It's amazing how much she changes every month, every week, every day.