70 days and counting

Olivia is ten weeks old today.  I can't believe how fast it is flying by.  Can someone please tell my little girl to stop growing so fast?  When I was pregnant, plenty of people told me how quickly children grow up and now I'm experiencing it for myself.  We had her two month appointment last week.  Here are her stats: weight - 11 lbs, 10 oz (90th percentile) and height - 23 inches (75th percentile). 

Showing off her big belly, or as we like to call it, her "milk gut".

She got her first major round of vaccinations at the doctor last week too.  I was a nervous about how she would handle it and even more anxious as I heard another little baby wailing from his shots while we waited our turn in the doctor's waiting room.  She handled it like a champ though.  She made a little whimper on the first shot in her right leg.  The second shot they gave her in her left leg is apparently the more painful of the two.  She cried for about five seconds and then calmed right down.  More good news....mommy didn't cry either! :)  Later in the afternoon, she slept more than usual and I could tell she didn't feel very well.  We gave her some baby Tylenol and by morning she was back to her usual cheery self.

Here are some updates on her development:
- I know I've said it before, but Olivia is such a happy baby.  She loves to smile all the time.  We can never get enough of them.
- She loves to look and smile at herself in the mirror.  Hopefully we aren't raising a vain daughter!
- Olivia has outgrown her newborn clothes.  She's now wearing size 3-6 months.
- Her neck is getting much stronger and she's getting good at holding her head up.  She's able to sit in her bumbo seat for longer periods of time each day before she slumps over.
- She is beginning to grab at things and clasp on to them.  She likes to grab at the little birds and monkeys that hang down from her bouncer and floor gym.
- She has been consistently going at least 7-8 hours, sometimes longer, between feedings at night for a few weeks now.  So depending on when she last eats for the day, I have been getting some pretty good sleep!
- Her saliva glands are working.  The girl is a drooler.  We keep a bib on her to catch it and the bib is usually pretty damp by the end of the day.  Wow...I wonder what it's going to be like when she starts teething. 

The last twelve months have been very difficult and painful for many of our friends and family when it comes to babies:

- Friend Jaime went into pre-term and delivered son Peyton at 24 weeks gestation.  It was a daily fight for survival for a long period of time.

- My cousin Shelly and her family lost their sweet little boy Graham at three months old when he unexplainably passed away in his sleep.

- Friend Kristen had a great pregnancy and smooth labor and delivery.  However, when Cooper was two days old, some complications developed that required him to have multiple surgeries over several months and be in the hospital for an extended period of time.

-  Friends John and Tiffany lost their twin boys, Michael & Jake, at 22 weeks gestation on September 7, the day Olivia was born.  It seems so unfair that our day of celebration will always be their day of sorrow.

- Other friends and acquaintances have struggles with infertility and miscarriages.

All of these hardships remind me that life is fleeting and to cherish each moment.  I can't take anything for granted.  I also have an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that I can hold my baby and that she is healthy.  I know there are so many who would give anything for those two things.