Olivia's Favorite Things (At 6 Weeks Old)

The lack of blog entries does not represent the activities that Olivia has been enjoying the past few weeks!  She continues to grow and develop a personality!  She is very determined to get what she wants and her set of lungs has really developed ( I wonder who she gets that from...me probably)!  However she has a very cheerful and relaxed disposition as well.  She began to smile about a week ago and we have had a hard time capturing it on camera because we love watching it so much!  Here is one of the first times she smiled:

It is really neat because her entire face lights up and she is really starting to react to Dan and I's faces!  It is heartwarming!

In honor of Oprah canceling her Favorite Things episode this year we decided to capture and share Olivia's Favorite Things.  This list is much cheaper that Oprah's but just as important!  At six weeks of age here are some of Olivia's Favorite Things:

Item #1:  Her friend Mr. Fan 

After a tasty meal provided by mom, Olivia enjoys digesting her food by kicking and flailing her arms, while staring up at the ceiling fan in our room!  It will provide her at least 15 minutes of entrainment.  Sometimes after a late night feeding, Olivia will fight falling back to sleep because she is staring up at the fan. Dan and I call it her friend Mr. Fan and she quite adorable staring at it!

Item #2 The Bouncer Seat 

This has been one of our sanity savers.  Olivia slept in the bouncer seat for the first week and a half of her life.  The first night home she did not want to sleep in the bassinet, so after three sleepless hours I tried the bouncer seat, with a vibration setting, and she fell asleep quickly!  So for the next few nights Olivia and Hurley slept in their little "beds" on the floor of our room.  We were able to transition her into the bassinet about a week and a half later! Now she enjoys the bouncy seat during the day to stare at items and take little naps!  My favorite part of the bouncy is that I can put her in it during the week while Dan is at work and take a shower.  She will just lay there and sleep or just stare at the lights in the hallway!  It is a nice break for me and I LOVE that I can shower daily!  As I type this entry, Livy is swaddled up in the bouncy seat fighting off falling asleep!

Item #3 The Playtime Mat 

The other playtime activity that Olivia loves is the Fisher Price Playtime Mat!  She loves staring at the dangling toys and will lay there for at least 20 minutes!   She recently discovered that she can hit the toys when she is flailing her arms about!  It was pretty funny the first time she hit it because it surprised her and she stopped for a minute to investigate!  I am sure it will not be long before she can kick the ball on the other end of the map!  We will also have Tummy Time on this map.  She does have two other playtime mats but at this moment this on is her favorite! 

Item/Activity #4 Bath Time

The first bath that Olivia had she screamed the first few minutes and then settled down and seemed to like the bath.  For her first bath Dan was here to help, but I felt the need to accomplish the task on my own and after Dan went back to work I tried it out!  She was wonderful and seemed to LOVE the bath!  She kicked around, stared at the running water, and tried to lick the water off her hands!  We have our little routine now of bathing on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  She has even started to tolerate getting out and being dried off! 

Item #5 Her Thumb

Just like her mother and father, Olivia loves her fingers, especially her thumb!  For the first two weeks of her life she would not keep the pacifier in her mouth and to calm her down Dan and I would have to stick out finger in her mouth because she could not get her own to suck on!  Since then she will keep the pacifier in her mouth but still prefers to get her thumb!  Often she will spit it out when she is in her car seat and starts screaming, but a few minutes later you can  hear her sucking on her hands and calming down!  We also hear her waking up and putting her hands in  her mouth!  I am looking forward to the day when she can get her hand in her mouth because then we will not have to fight with the pacifier falling out.  Although I guess the dentist bills will begin to mount up as she gets older!

Item #6 The Baby Bjorn 

The Baby Bjorn baby carrier has been a saving grace for us!  During the day Olivia will have times when she does not want to be put down, so I put her in the carrier and finish things around the house!  It is wonderful as well when we go out because it is less to carry than the car seat and stroller. Last weekend we had some Christmas shopping to get done and we decided not to maneuver the stroller in the mall, so Dan wore her around the mall and it was so much easier!  She will often fall asleep in the Bjorn.  I have used this to grocery shop and on nice days we will go for a walk with Hurley as well.  I know the fresh air is great for her and Hurley LOVES the extra walk! 

So there are a few of Olivia's Favorite Things!  The first 6 weeks has been an interesting time, adjusting to her needs, learning exactly what her cries mean!  It has been challenging, but now that she is smiling it is all worth it!  Nursing is taking less time and she is feeding about every 3 hours, which leaves more time to get things down and interact with her! 

We look forward to her first Christmas!  We are venturing down to Ocean City for Christmas and are excited for Olivia to meet her Aunt Jill, Uncle Steve, and especially her cousin, Emma!  Of course she is excited about seeing her Gram and Grandpa again! 

Hope you all are enjoying this holiday season!

Love to all

Laura, Dan, and Olivia