Rolling right along… almost!

Oh, Oliver!  It’s been so long I don’t even know where to start!  Actually, I wrote a really good post last night in my head, while I was trying to fall asleep last night.  It was quick, and witty, and full of cute information about you.  And, when I woke up this morning, I couldn’t remember a dang thing.  Shoot.  

Well, that might be partially because you are not still sleeping through the night.  You decided you liked that midnight/one am feeding, so it’s back!  I’m not totally surprised, but I am a little exhausted at this point!  That sweet, sweet taste of sleep last month… wow, Oliver.  That felt good.  Seriously.  YOU SHOULD TRY IT!  But, I think that your sleeping habits have actually taught me something about this whole parenting thing.  Don’t get comfortable.  Not even for a second.  Cause the minute I think I have a system down with you… that I know what time you will get up, how long you will sleep, if you will cry in the car or not… the second I think I know something, you change it up on me.  

There have been some pretty big changes with you this last month.  You can definitely flip yourself over from your tummy to your back, although you are pretty particular about where you do it.  Pretty much you only roll in your crib, after you wake up from a nap, you get your legs under you and push yourself over.  Then you lay there and babble to yourself.  It’s pretty fun for your Dad and I to lay in bed and listen to you be happy.  And the best part is, that when we do go in to get you, you greet us with a huge smile!  

You are pretty close to actually rolling over at other times, and there really isn’t any rush to do it, but you get yourself pretty frustrated when you can’t quite get that total roll down.  I know it will come soon enough, and I know before long you will be pulling yourself up on furniture and in your crib.  You already pull yourself up on Dad’s hands, all the way up to standing, and boy do you look super proud of yourself!  

As much as we love to play with you, I have to admit that there are times when I love putting you in your exer-saucer and letting you go to town!  The first time we put you in it, there was a lot of face-planting into the toys.  But from then on you had it!  And now, you just love spending a little time in there entertaining yourself.  And that lets me throw in the laundry, do the dishes, use the bathroom by myself (such a treat!), or do a little cleaning.  I don’t know if it is the exer-saucer or the play mat or your toys, but you have got a serious little grip now, and you are really good at reaching out and grabbing things.  When we went to the doctor this month, they said I should start to watch for you passing things from hand to hand.  I looked at them like they were crazy, handed you a toy, and you passed it to your other hand.  It was a nice moment to show you off!  

Gosh, Oliver, there is so much more!  We changed you from the bassinet on your stoller to the big kid seat, and we’ve actually gotten to use it a couple of times because the weather is finally starting to warm up!  You got to visit your Grandma Annie, and your Aunt Cindy in the last couple of weeks and show off your growing cuteness.  And we scheduled a visit from your Ukki and Amma at the end of this month that we are really looking forward to!  

I promise I will try to write more often.  Daily may not happen, but I can barely remember all the great stuff that has happened with you in the last month, and even though I’m looking forward to what comes with you, I really want to be able to look back on this and remember how fun every day was!  Ok Ol, I’m leaving you with a bunch of pictures of you playing this last month.  You sure have gotten big… almost 16 pounds already!  Don’t grow up too fast, ok?  Love you little man.  

Mom

Even Pirates need baths!

Oh Oliver, I’ve gone and turned your blog from the daily oliver into the monthly oliver.  What can I say… we’ve been busy!  I don’t have time for a full post, but man do we have alot to tell!  Here’s a little taste of your cuteness… and cleanness!  

A perfect 10!

Oliver, my darling not-so-little baby!  You slept 10 straight hours last night! I can hardly believe it! Although I have to say that I didn’t get to sleep straight through, as my girls needed some pumping action, but still… we’re pretty happy about you sleeping so long.  I think we are pretty close to you sleeping through the night.  Actually, you pretty much just did.  Hopefully, you will keep sleeping through the night.  We’ll see!  

One other nice thing is that you seem to be crying less and less when we put you down.  I think you actually really like sleeping in your crib!  Tonight, when I put you down, you were relaxed but awake.  You wiggled around a little, but found your little comfy spot, settled right in, and closed your eyes.  No crying!  Yay for you, Oliver!  Sleep rocks!  I’m glad you like it!  

It was finally nice enough this weekend for you to go out.  You and your Dad went for a long walk on Saturday.  All over the place.  And then Dad took you to Starbucks for coffee.  Well, he had coffee.  You had…nothing.  Soon, though, we will get you kiddie drinks.  I mean, seriously, we are raising a total little yuppie kid.  Right?  When you came home, you looked absolutely thrilled to pieces!  Dad said you absolutely loved the walk, which makes us both look forward to Spring even more than normal Chicagoans already do.  I think that watching you enjoy this Spring will be really, really fun!  Kind of like seeing it through a new pair of eyes! 

Just in time for Spring, Oliver, you have started producing real tears!  This morning while you Dad was holding you, there was a brief meltdown period, during which you had a few little tears coming out of your eyes.  It is kind of crazy to think that all these months you haven’t cried a single tear.  I think if you do start crying tears every time you cry, we won’t know quite how to control all of your fluids, because you have also started to really, really drool a lot!  I don’t think that you are teething quite yet.  At least I really hope you aren’t teething yet!  But man, do you like gnawing your little gums on anything lately. And when I say anything, I mean mostly my finger is your favorite thing to chew on.  But  in a pinch, your fingers will do the trick.  And that is our first picture of you today, Oliver.  You, lying on your changing pad, chewing on both of your thumbs.  It was pretty cute, and a little of a change from you just simply trying to jam both hands fully into your mouth.  You are such a boy, my little boy!  

The other photo we took tonight too. We took you to see your Grandma Annie today, and when she held you, I couldn’t believe how big you looked compared to the last time she held you.  So when I put you in your jammies tonight, I thought we’d take another photo of you in your bassinet.  You are looking pretty cute, and I like these little nightgowns on you more now that you are older and you don’t squirm so much.  They stay down around your feet a little better.  Anyway… we may be getting close to the end of the “Oliver in his Bassinet” series of photos.  We’re almost out of space my little guy!  

Well, you are in bed, and I think that we are off to bed as well, Oliver.  See you…in the morning?

love,

Mom

 

I’m pretty sure this one is actually a cow.

Well, Oliver, I think you officially have your first cold.  It isn’t too bad…mostly you just sound really congested when you cry, and you want to be held and cuddled pretty much all the time.  Not interested in the play mat or the bouncy seat or anything else for that matter.  Just snuggling.  So, I took the day off of work to stay home and snuggle with you.  

I decided not to go in around 5 this morning, when I had you in the bed with me to nurse, and you just couldn’t get comfy.  You were more than happy to lay there and have your 1st breakfast, but when you were done….man alive, the fidgeting!  And then you started crying and carrying on.  All I could think was that you seriously needed a few more hours of sleep before your day started, and, truthfully so did I.  So after trying to settle you down, I brought you back to your crib and put you down to see what happened.  You know what?  You settled right down, and went right back to sleep.  

So, I guess you are done sleeping with us for the moment.  I hope that sometimes that changes and you might need a little comfort from a bad dream or a tummy ache.  But, I totally understand digging your own bed and being comfy all by yourself.  I mean, seriously, you can spread out wherever you want, roll over wherever you want, and if you need a cool space on the sheet, you don’t have to search around too much, because nobody else has warmed it up already.  I’ll do my best to always put you back in your own bed, but really, it’s your own fault you are so dang snuggly!

Today’s photos of you are below, and you are looking like a little grown up boy.  We got you a bumbo seat to help you sit up, and as long as I hand you toys to occupy you, you totally dig it.  Pictured with you is one of your favorite toys at the moment…we call him Space Cow.  If I hand it to you, you reach for it and put it right into your mouth.  And if we hang it from the play mat, you grab it with both hands and pull it…straight to your mouth.  It’s pretty fun to watch, and you seem to have a jolly old time with your Space Cow buddy.  

Sweet dreams little guy.  Hope you feel better tomorrow.  Mommy’s drinking lots of Orange Juice and Chicken Soup to try to help you out a little.  

Next up… flying cars…

Oliver, yesterday we had a great iChat with your grandparents.  Below are some photos that your Ukki captured from his end.  

I know by the time you are old enough to appreciate that we did this, it will probably be completely antiquated technology.  You’ll probably be able to transport yourself for a quick chat to wherever you want, and then get home in time for dinner.  And before you laugh, when your Mom was a kid, they used to talk about telephones where you would be able to see each other one day.  And… here we are.   

Oh, Oliver, we like the Champagne!

Well, Oliver, you got your first taste of alcohol today.  We didn’t want to start you too young, but we felt like since you can roll over and hold your head up now, it was time.  So, your Mom had some Champagne with brunch today.  Good Champagne… the real French stuff!  We wouldn’t want to start you out on crap.  It was officially  the first champagne your Mom has had since the night you were conceived.  Almost a full year, which for your Mom, is a pretty impressive stretch to go without any good bubbly.  You seemed to handle it fine.  Probably because your Mom got a little loopy after less than half a glass.  Major bummer for her.  Probably good for you, and definitely good for your Dad, who got to finish the glass!  

You may wonder what your parents were doing drinking on a Sunday morning.  Well, Oliver, some friends invited us over for a lox and bagel brunch, and we took you with us.  Along with a bottle of Champagne.  Did I mention I got to have some Champagne today?  Oh… ok.  

The lox and bagels were nothing short of amazing, and it is always nice to see our friends Josh and Susan.  They were talking to us about where in Evanston we should be looking for a house.  What school districts to avoid, what streets have kind of cute houses, where we can get a bigger yard, what neighborhoods seem to be friendlier…. all that good stuff parents think about as soon as they have a baby.  

The brunch was certainly the highlight of our weekend.  Did I mention there was Champagne? Oh… ok.  Anyway, the rest of the weekend was pretty quiet for you.  Your new nap schedule means you are only awake for about 2 hours at a shot, but you are taking much, much better naps.  And, you are a happier little dude for it.  It does make it harder to do anything, particularly because we are trying to give you motionless sleep, which means no more car seat naps, except as a very rare necessity.  Apparently runs to Target for a little browsing  doesn’t qualify as a necessity.  Oh well.  It’s actually way more fun to have you playing around the house.  

So, a few photos of you today.  When I put you in the carseat today, you just looked really, really big all of the sudden, which kind of surprised me considering that we didn’t even put a coat on you, just a sweater.  We put a blanket over you too, but I gotta tell you, it hit almost 40 degrees here today, so none of us really wore coats.  Just a sweater and a blanket for you.  (Don’t worry, Amma, it was a handknit wool sweater!  Very warm!)  I’m putting the photo of you in the car seat when we brought you home from the hospital up again too.  Just for comparisons sake.  You really have gotten big.  

To show off that bigness, a photo of you in your bassinet.  Just hanging, being adorable, and showing off your robot outfit.  We put you in it a lot, with your NASA onesie underneath it.  

The last photo is of you and your Dad.  I was leaving to go to a conference for a few hours on Saturday, and saw you on the sofa with your Dad as I was walking out the door.  The sight of your little hands reaching up to his made me choke up a bit, Oliver, and I had to stop and take a photo of it, even though I was already running late.  It was just one of those moments I really wanted to remember how small you are even as you are so big.  

Love you my little man.  

Mom

There are no stupid questions.

Oliver, your Dad just asked me if babies can sleep too much.  

The answer is no. 

Look Ma, I’ve got hands!

Oliver, it has been a crazy couple of days!  And nights!  You have slept the last two nights in your crib, by yourself.  And We are getting a handle on your daytime naps.  Still on your belly, the times are starting to work themselves out a little.  You took three naps yesterday, and three again today, which is pretty much right on track with how many naps you should be taking.  

It is super duper hard for your Mom, but you do much better and take a longer nap if we let you cry when you first go down.  If I take the time to bounce your little butt all the way to sleep, you wake up in a half- hour and cannot soothe yourself back to sleep.  But if we put you down awake and let you cry for about 10 minutes, you figure it out, and sleep better.  And if you wake up at that half-hour mark, you are able to soothe yourself right back to sleep to get the nap you desperately need. But Oliver, I want you to know that if 20 years from now you are in therapy talking about the fact that your parents let you cry yourself to sleep, that I am already sorry.  But, I am not going to stop.  

It is also really, really hard for me to put you back into your crib at night after I feed you.  I didn’t realize how much I love cuddling with you at night.  How I didn’t worry because you were right there with me.  I knew how hot or cold you were, if you needed a diaper change, if you were needing to nurse.  Now, I just have to trust that you are able to take care of yourself alone in your crib at night.  And I will just have to snuggle with your Dad instead of you.  But you know what? You seem to be sleeping better in your crib.  And I think that this will make it easier for me to go to work in the mornings.  And it will be easier for your Dad too, to get you up in a happy mood and put you down for regular naps when he is home alone with you.  But, Oliver, it is not easy for me at all.  

So one of the great side effects of all of this sleeping is that you are very alert when you are up, and you are so talkative and engaged!  You are really wanting stimulation, and are learning so much every day all of the sudden.  Yesterday I noticed when you were playing on your little mat, that you are now grabbing at the toys hanging close to you with one hand, pulling the toy toward you, and then using your other hands to help explore the toy.  It is so cool to see you consciously reach for things, and then explore with your little hands.  You’re doing the same thing when you sit in your bouncy chair, playing like crazy with the little bear/mice things that spin around.  And, as I captured in the photo today, you are starting to sit forward in the chair, holding your head up.  You have some serious focus when you are playing with those toys! 

There is one other huge development with you today.  I don’t know if it is from all of time you have suddenly been spending on your tummy, but you have figured out how to push up onto your arms quite a bit, and you can hold your head up like nobody’s business!  It’s crazy how in just a couple of days, all of the sudden you are doing things the doctor told me you wouldn’t be doing for another month or so!  And then…. then, Oliver.  You rolled from your front to your back!  So, I put you back on your front.  I mean, this is tummy time!  So…you did it again!  So, again I rolled you back on to your stomach.  And you…you rolled onto your back for the third time!  And then you did it again! You rolled onto your back, from your tummy, FOUR times!  You played it pretty cool too, considering I freaked out after the second time and called your Dad in to watch.  So, you’re apparently pretty good with an audience!  

Well, Oliver, it was a big day.  You are tucked into your crib, and I am going to have some dinner with your Dad while we catch up on Top Chef.  Some pics of you below, doing all of your amazing new tricks.  It breaks my heart a little every day to see you growing up so fast, but it is so fun too, and I just think it is going to get better and better every single day!  See you tomorrow, Oliver, for another round of surprises!

Down one kidney stone, up one crib nap.

Oh Oliver… we are to the point in your life where your parents decided that it was time to sleep train you.  Not a full on Cry-It-Out situation.  We both think that it might be a little early for that, cause you really are a good sleeper at night.  The problem is that so far, you have only been a good sleeper during the day if someone is holding you.  And so far, that person holding you has been mostly me, your Mom.  And guess what kiddo… Your Mom is T.I.R.E.D.  Exhausted, actually.  And my arms are completely wrecked from holding you so much.  And not that I don’t love holding you, but sometimes it is nice to  take a shower.  Or eat a meal without licking part of it off your head.  Or use the bathroom alone.  Or just sit on the sofa, by myself, staring at a wall.  And one thing that your Dad and I noticed yesterday, when we left you with Rae and were alone for this first time together since we had you, it is really nice when just your Dad and I are alone, together, without you.  Just sometimes.  Every once in a while.  To do Mommy and Daddy things.  

So, because of all these things and probably a few more, we are training you to take daytime naps in your crib. Starting this past Saturday, every time you fell asleep, we put you in your crib.  The longest single sleep period you had was 30 minutes, and that was a major accomplishment. On Saturday, we started at 9am, and finally got the half-hour nap at noon.  In between was lots and lots and lots of crying.  Mostly from you.  Your Dad and I just bounced, walked, rocked, shushed, sang, swang… pretty much anything we could think of, honestly.  You took two naps on Saturday, and from 9am until 6pm, one of us was back in your nursery with you trying to make you sleep. The other one of us sat out front and tried to ignore the crying.  

Saturday night around 6 , with all three of us on the sofa, you were finally content and a little smiley, and your father and I were absolutely wiped out.  We went to be around 8, and it was a fight to stay up even that late.  

Sunday went better.  You took three crib naps, all right around a half-hour.  But you went into the crib with much, much less crying, which made us all feel a lot better.  Monday went a little better than Sunday, with a couple extra crib naps.  

Here’s the thing, Oliver.  Even with the crib naps, you looked tired.  Your little eyes get all red around the edges, and you are just a little crankier than you normally are.  You startle a little easier to loud noises, and you have trouble focusing when it is time to nurse, even though very often nursing is the only thing you want to do.  When you get really tired and we try to nurse, you turn into what I have taken to calling a rabid monkey, mostly because that’s what it feels like is chewing on my nipples.  

Well, Oliver, I must say it is no fun trying to nurse the rabid monkey.  And, you are so tired you can’t play on your mat or in your bouncy seat, which are two things you really like.  So in complete and total desparation this morning, I have put you down on your tummy to sleep.  In your crib. And you know what?  You are asleep!  For almost an hour and a half now…AND  you woke up after a half hour, fussed for about 30 seconds, and went right back to sleep!  That is what I am talking about!  I keep checking on you to make sure you are still breathing, but so far, you are just snoozing away in your crib.  Sweet, Oliver.  You have made me one happy mama today.  

Love you buddy.  Here’s a picture of you sleeping before. On me.  Just for old times sake.  

It’s a bird… It’s a plane…

Oliver, we seem to have made a breakthrough with you.  Right now, as I type this, you are hanging out on your Dad’s lap, and you are loving every second of it.  He’s telling you about Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and somehow relating that to your outfit, and you are watching him and laughing at him and talking back just a little bit.  And I am in the room.  

You know what’s even better?  Yesterday while I was at work, you were apparently a little fussy for Betsey, your Friday morning babysitter.  Mom had a few things to get done, so she was going to be a little late, so your Dad sent Betsey home at 10:30, and when he took you from her…. You stopped fussing!  And when your Mom got home 20 minutes later, you were smiling and chatting up a storm with your Dad.  It made both of us very happy, and your Dad felt he had scored a major victory!  

This week you were really digging your bouncy seat with the wooden bears on it.  You are more than happy to sit in it for a while so your Mom can get some things done.  Like work in the kitchen, or take a shower, or eat some lunch.  It’s been great.  And what is really cool is watching you actually spin the wooden beads and bears around.  You know you can reach out and touch the toys when you are on the chair, and you are just starting to figure out you can do the same thing when we put you on your space playmat.  

I should say though, Oliver, that there is some diagreement in the house between your Mom and Dad as to whether or not they are bears or mice wooden cut outs.  Your Mom says bears, but your Dad thinks they look like a certain Disney character.  I say that if they were mice, and they were made to look like a certain Disney character, that would have been something they used to market the bouncy seat, and it would have been all over the box that we had purchased a Disney bouncy seat.  The problem is, Oliver, that your Mom doesn’t seem to know her animals very well.  

You see, there are some toys that we have that are on your carseat.  You love to stare at them, and when I put you in the carseat, I very often talk to you about your animals, and tell you to look at pink pig, white chicken, and blue cow.  I have thought it was a little odd that the makers of your toys made the chicken and the pig colors that you would find the animal in nature, and yet chose to make the cow blue.  But, blue cow has been one of our favorite toys since you came home from the hospital.  I talk to you about your friend blue cow all the time.  

Well, last night, your Dad pointed out to me that blue cow has horns, which makes your Dad think that blue cow might not be a cow.  I told him some cows have horns, and your Dad told me that bulls have horns, not cows.  I told him whatever, and then he told me that the cow not only has horns, it also has a beard, and cows don’t have beards.  I was stunned into silence.  Then you Dad said he thought blue cow was actually…. blue goat.  I think, Oliver, that he might be right, although I still question your toy makers, as neither goats nor cows are blue.   The point, Oliver, is that your Dad may have a small point about the bears/mice on your bouncy seat, given that he figured out the great cow/goat debacle of 2009.  Can I just say in my defense that I am usually looking at you, not at your toys, and that may be one reason this all escaped my attention?  

Ok, Oliver, it is off to bed with you for a morning nap. We probably won’t do much this weekend, as the temperatures are back down toward the single digits, and you are a little baby that should probably not be out for too long.  So between that and your Mom getting surgery on her kidney stone, you probably aren’t leaving the house for a few days.  I know, boring… but we’ll do our best to entertain you.  

We love you, Oliver.  Thanks for showing your Dad some love back.