Eight Months

It seems like a week ago that I was writing her 7 month update, but apparently that is how motherhood goes, you blink and you have an 18 year old.  I feel like a name for month Eight would be the month of sickness.  After starting daycare, Olivia got a cold, which she seemed to fight well enough; then she got a stomach bug, which she so lovingly shared with the whole family.  The best part about this is that Marc and I actually took her to the doctors and got the okay that she was likely just teething, so she should get over the slight fever and spitting up in a few days. Well then we had some family over on 4th of July and our whole family got it.  Another fun side effect is that her sleep has been all over the place.  It was only at her 6 month appointment that we got the go ahead to let her sleep through the night, and she started working up to that and last month she had just gotten to sleeping through the night from about 8pm-6am.  Well that got all messed up, so we have spent the last 2-3 weeks up multiple times a night with her.  It is hard to practice "cry it out" when you know the baby is not feeling well; so we are optimistic she will get back to being a good sleeper!

Little did we know, this happy smiley baby was carrying a nasty stomach bug!

Let's talk physical therapy!  We have meet with her PT four times now and she is making strides, we have been really practicing on rolling over (she still is not doing either tummy to back or back to tummy); it is funny when we practice cause she will throw her arm back in protest; so she is actually choosing to not roll (even when she hates tummy time).  We have also been working on sitting up and she is doing well with this. We can get a good 5-10 seconds of her sitting unassisted and she is learning to push up on her hands when they are in front of her. So it is nice to see her making strides there.  The PT is optimistic that by 18 months she will be fully caught up, so we are hopeful for that!

Our sweet baby girl is growing out of her 6 month clothes rapidly and we are slowly moving her into 9 month clothes.  It seems that as soon as I get her other clothes put away in the attic, she has then outgrown the next size!  Mostly this month has been a moth of adjustment, figuring out schedules with both Marc and I back to work full time, managing a baby drop off/pick up, how to cook meals and get Olivia to bed at a reasonable time.  It is a juggle for sure!  I seriously do not know how people do it with 2, 3, 4 or more kids!  TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!

Milestones:
* Sat up unassisted for 3-5 seconds on her own--we are definitely working on the balance!
* She now grabs EVERYTHING and puts it right to her mouth, so we are keeping a close eye on her.
* We went back to visit her NICU nurse and I love this side by side of her on the day of discharge (on the right) and last month (on the left), my how she has grown.

 * She still loves, loves, loves being stood up on your lap