Throw yo' hands up

Olivia loves to sleep and eat with her hands up next to her face.  It's so cute, especially when she is eating because she frames her face between her hands.  It makes sense given that she had her hands up by her face in her ultrasound pictures.  I'm sure in the womb that's where they often were.  Initially, we tried to keep her hands down by swaddling her in receiving blankets, with her hands tucked away by her side.  However, she always found ways to free them so that they could make their way up to her face.

So alternatively, we are now swaddling her in actual swaddle blankets or "the straight jacket" as we also refer to them as.  These do the trick for the most part, keeping her calm and helping her sleep better.

I'm pretty sure she schemes strategies to escape these blankets while she sleeps.  Occasionally she is successful in getting a hand or two maneuvered upwards.  Other times, she is successful in getting her hands free, just not up to her face. 

The good, the bad and the ugly: two weeks old

The good:

So far Olivia has been a really good and easy baby.  Her eating is great (maybe too good - see "The Ugly" below) and her sleep is even better.  She hardly makes a peep at night.  She wakes up every couple of hours to eat during the night and usually I can catch her as she starts to stir before she gets too upset.  She eats, gets her diaper changed without a fuss and goes right back to sleep.  Both Mommy and Daddy are so thankful for this.  I'm still tired, of course, from the interrupted sleep but I've been able to catch naps during the day so it's not that bad.  She does have her fussy moments.  Somehow she has a special ability to discern when we are sitting down for dinner because it seems that is exactly when she starts to fuss.  However, it's usually short lived and solved by rocking or feeding her. 

Yesterday was her two week check up.  Everything is great.  She now weighs 7lbs 12 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long.  Based on her current length and how tall Geoff and I are, the doctor's chart predicts that she will be 5' 6" someday.  However, as the doctor said, the only scientific way to know how tall she will be is to measure her when she stops growing. She has very long fingers and legs so I think she will be taller than that.  We'll see...

The bad: 
She's already developed a Starbucks habit.

The ugly:
The last week or so, Olivia has had a spit up/throw up problem.  It seems at least once per day, usually in the mornings, she heaves up everything she has recently eaten.  It's pretty gross and of course, goes all over her, me and whatever else is close by.  It doesn't seem to bother her much since she doesn't cry or get upset when it happens.  I think it makes me more upset than her, especially when it comes out of her nose.  Poor thing.  She doesn't appear to have any tummy problems from gas or allergies.  I asked the doctor about it yesterday at her appointment and he didn't seem concerned especially since she is gaining weight.  I guess this is somewhat normal for newborns as their stomachs continue to develop.  We just need to keep getting good burps out of her while she feeds, not overfeed her and keep her upright for awhile after she finishes eating.  Hopefully it will fix itself before too long.

Our family of three

Happy 1 Week Birthday, Olivia!

I can't believe Olivia has been here and all ours for a week already.  We absolutely LOVE her and are having so much fun with her already.  She makes us laugh with all her funny facial expressions that she has no idea that she is doing.  Every day she is becoming more and more alert and it's fun to watch her gradually become aware of her surroundings.  Obviously, it's been a week of many firsts for her and here's a highlight of some of them:

First time meeting her grandparents:

Geoff's parents, Mama Glory and Granddad, came down for a few days to visit us in the hospital.  We are so thankful for them bringing us dinner for two nights in the hospital so that we didn't have to eat the hospital food.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of Olivia with Granddad with our camera.  

My mom, Grandma, arrived on Thursday and has been a life saver when it comes to making dinner for us, keeping the house clean, rocking Olivia and offering helpful newborn tips.  After having seven babies herself, she knows exactly how to handle all the newness that comes with having a baby.  Unfortunately, Grandpa couldn't make the trip so she'll have to wait until Thanksgiving to meet him.

First bath:

Her first bath was a success.  She didn't really cry or seem too miserable with it.  Mainly she just squirmed around.  Naked, wet, squirmy babies are quite slippery!  Geoff and I also had a first on a separate bath occasion.  I had stripped her down and was waiting on Geoff to get the water warm.  All of a sudden, I felt warmth on my arms and soon on my feet and the floor.  My first thought was "Why is Geoff dripping water from the sink on me?"  Then I realized it wasn't water and that she had decided it was a good time to go to the bathroom.  Fortunately, it happened on the bathroom tile and not the carpet.  We laughed pretty hard the rest of her bath.  I'm sure there are plenty more of those moments to come.

First Stroller Ride:

We took her on a walk in the neighborhood to get some fresh air and stretch our legs.  Plus, we needed an opportunity to make sure we knew how to operate the stroller.  Another success and we look forward to cooler weather soon so we can have many more walks.

Welcome Olivia Rachel Streit

She's here!  After all the months of anticipation and preparation, Olivia Rachel Streit made her grand entrance into the world on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 10:35 am.  She arrived weighing 7 lbs. 3 oz and 19 1/4 inches long. 

My due date came and passed on Sunday, the 5th, with impatience that she wasn't here yet.  On Monday evening, I started to feel a little differently and even more uncomfortable.  I went to bed around 11:00.  After sleeping for about 30 minutes, I awoke to the pain of some contractions.  I laid in bed for awhile realizing that they were coming on a consistent basis.  I eventually got up and began timing them.  After they reached a regular pattern between 4-5 minutes apart, I figured it was probably time to get Geoff out of bed.  We packed up the car and headed to the hospital around 2:30 am.  I had not previously decided whether or not I was going to get an epidural, but around 7:00 I was ready for it.  I'm definitely glad I did.  It was nice to be able to rest and relax without all the pain.  Plus, it was much less stressful for Geoff since he didn't have to watch me struggle.  Around 10:00, I started pushing and 35 minutes later she was here.  

 

I can't describe the emotion of seeing her for the first time and the overwhelming love for her. The miracle of life and God's creation is just simply amazing. We are so thankful that she is healthy and that there were no complications. 

39 weeks...

and ready to have this baby