Updates...

Disclaimer: Once again, this is written more for my record. But please, feel free to read.

Olivia can now roll from her back to her tummy. She's been close to doing it for a long time, but since she hates to be on her tummy I knew it would be a while before she decided to do try it. She did it yesterday, and once she rolled over and lifted her head up she looked around with furrowed eyebrows as if to say, "What just happened? Where am I?" She looked up at me, smiled, and then rolled onto her back again.

She is also moving around like crazy. I can set her in one spot and only a minute or two later she'll be across the room. She's not crawling, of course, just scooting on her back like a little spider. I have to keep everything off the floor now because if she sees it, it will go right in her mouth. A few days ago Tyler left a few computer cords in the corner of the room. I laid her on the floor (no where near the cords) and went into the kitchen to get breakfast. By the time I got my oatmeal made and out of the microwave (about 1 minute), she had made her way over to the cords and was playing with them. They were draped all over her little body! So, no more leaving stuff in the corner to take downstairs with our next trip.

Olivia has also found her feet and toes. She loves to grab them and stick them in her mouth. I think it is so cute. I love how she folds herself in half and rolls from side to side.

And, it seems as though she is getting back on track with her sleeping! The last two nights she's slept at least one 5 hour stretch, and only woken up twice a night (instead of the seven times like Sunday night). So, we're getting back to normal... I hope. I'd better knock on wood before I jinx myself! I have figured out how to use those teething tablets to my advantage! And I am sure that moving her into her own room (we did that last week) added to her wakefulness.

And since I mentioned it, I must add that moving her to her room was like torture for me. I thought about doing it for a couple months, but couldn't bring myself to actually do it. And the only reason I finally went through with it was that I was afraid that her teething problems would finally go away and she'd be sleeping through the night and then we'd have to start all over when I moved her into her room. And, since I like sleep, I decided to tackle both the teething and change of sleeping arrangements in one fell swoop.

After I crawled into bed without her bassinet a foot away from me, I said to Tyler, "I feel lonely." Yes, even though Tyler was cuddled up next to me I felt a little lonely without her. "Nothing against you, but for the last 5 months it's been me & Olivia, together... all night." So, I laid in bed, wide awake, for about one hour, just staring at the monitor, waiting for the lights to flare up as her little cry. Yes, I had to turn the monitor on. I am sure I would hear her wake up just fine, but I like being able to hear everything that goes on in that room... every cough, every whimper, and even every car that drives past the front of the house. It makes me feel like she is still laying close to me. Don't worry, I'm used to waking up to all those sounds (minus the cars, of course). I've become a very sensitive sleeper since Olivia was born.

A few rough nights later, and things seem to be getting better. Maybe it was a good move, although I'm not sure yet. I still stare at the monitor for a while before I fall asleep, and if I wake up and she isn't crying I do drag myself into her room to make sure she is still breathing. I know, I've turned into one of those paranoid and crazy mothers that I never thought I would be.

I must add that although Tyler usually doesn't get up with her at night (in fact, he usually sleeps peacefully through every cry), it isn't because he isn't willing. I figure there is no sense in waking him up if he can't do much. During the first few weeks, when we changed her diaper during the night, I would usually feed her and then hand her over to Tyler for the diaper change (we don't change her at night anymore-- she would wake up and then have a hard time going back to sleep). If she has a bad night and doesn't need to be fed, I will sometimes wake him up for help, and he willingly takes over. And, every Saturday and Sunday morning he takes her and lets me sleep in. He is so good to me. And he is such a great dad, too. I couldn't ask for a better husband!