3 months

Livi turned three months old on Wednesday. She has changed a lot since just last month! She no longer spends most of her day sleeping and/or crying. She is awake and alert most of the day, minus a few cat naps.  She interacts with people and her surroundings. She swats at toys hanging above her, follows moving things and , my personal favorite, turns her head to the sound of my voice! Every day when I come home from work, I bend down to talk to her and she moves her head until she sees me, then flashes a big smile. Sure makes my heart happy.

She is still eating all breast milk (yay me!) and must be going through a growth  spurt because she has been downing milk left and right! We haven't been to the doctor since her two month check up, so I am not sure of her weight, although I'm pretty sure she is close to 11 pounds now. She is still in her 0-3 month clothes, but is going to be too long for her sleepers very soon!

Speaking of sleep, she usually sleeps about 4-5 hrs before waking up for her nighttime feeding. She is pretty good about eating and falling right back asleep, so it typically isn't too painful. Just this week, she has started to roll herself from her back to her side to sleep, which makes me very nervous!

She has discovered her hands, and almost constantly has them in her mouth. She even puts her whole fist in there sometimes. She drools a lot and makes a mess. She also loves to grab our fingers and pull them up to her mouth. She sits in her Bumbo seat for a few minutes at a time, all by herself! She also loves to put weight on her legs and "stand up".  She does not like being cradled like a newborn very much, unless she is sleepy. She much prefers to be turned around and watching what is going on around her.

Olivia loves bath time! She loves being sprinkled with water, and often opens her mouth when we squirt it near her face or shoulders. She smiles and laughs and giggles the whole time. After bath time when we are drying her off and getting her ready for bed, she just talks and coos and kicks her sweet long legs. It is another one of my favorite times with her.

A few pics from the day of her big 3 month birthday!

Mothers Day

A Mother's Day letter...

My sweet Olivia,

My perfect little girl. I am forever grateful that I will celebrate my first mothers day as your mother. My love for you is like nothing I have ever experienced. When I look at you, I am overwhelmed by the amount of joy and pure happiness I feel. 

You see, my girl, everyone always told me I would love you more than words can explain. That it would feel like you were literally a part of me. Like I wasn't whole without you. And I had no idea how very true that is.

You are my sidekick. We spent the first 10 weeks of your life together, all day, every day. And, even though I won't always be there all day, every day, I will always be there. I will always be here to hold you when you're upset and feed you when you're hungry and snuggle you, well, just because.

My precious girl, you are the best snuggler. In the morning, when I pick you up, you place your head right on my chest, like that is exactly where you want to be. And when I finally get home from work after a long day, you snuggle up against me because you know that's exactly what I need. And before bed, when you rock with your dad in his favorite chair, you lay on your side with your paci, giving him a turn to have some of your sweet, sweet snuggles. We both love them so. 

I'm not sure you will ever fully understand how much joy you have brought me, until one day, you have a child of your own. You have made our family complete and I am so thankful God chose me to be your mother. What a wonderful blessing you have been!

So, on my first Mother's Day, I am not hoping for flowers, or jewelry, or time away.  I want only to soak in my time with you. I want to snuggle you and feed you and change your dirty diapers and pick out your clothes and play with you until I see that big, toothless smile. I want to always remember these times, because I know they go by entirely too fast.

I love you, my perfect girl, and I always, always will.

Love,

Mommy 

We made it!

My first day back to work is over and I'm home with my girl, who is currently taking a post-dinner nap, as we speak!

I have to admit, putting her to bed last night and leaving the house this morning was tough. The drive to work was tough and walking into the school building was especially tough.

But, once the kids started rolling in around 8:30, and I saw those big smiles and heard the "Mrs. Hayes you're back!" screams, and saw kids literally running down the hall to hug me, I remembered why I was there in the first place. Those kids need me.

And yes, my daughter needs me, but those kids at school need me too. They need their sense of normalcy back. They need my rules and expectations and sometimes crazy mood swings (hey, I have been pregnant all school year!)

And I realized, this morning, that I need those kids too.

Because, unfortunately, the harsh reality is that I am now, and probably always will be, a working mother. And I need those kids. I need their hugs and their crazy stories and their funny looks. I need them to keep my mind off missing my baby. And that, they did.

Not only were the kids wonderful, but I was welcomed back with open arms today by my co-workers, who hugged me and told me I would be ok. My sweet daughter (who must have used her dad's debit card) sent me beautiful flowers. And I even had a parent throw me a surprise baby shower at lunch time, including gifts, pizza & donuts!

So, if I had to go back to work, I'd say this was the best way possible :)