Sweet Baby Liv! There is so much to say about her and I obviously haven't kept up on it. Luckily, months 1-4 are pretty uneventful, for Olivia at least. They were pretty eventful for Ben and I. Olivia's due date was Sept. 24 (and I quote...Kristen-"What was Olivia's original due date?" Ben-"I don't know"). I'll try to keep the details of everything clear and concise, but still interesting.
Labor and Delivery:
On Saturday, Sept. 13 I started having regular contractions, the pain level varied and they ranged from 2-5 minutes apart. I woke up early Monday morning in quite a bit of pain and the contractions were definitely getting stronger. Ben and I decided to take a quick trip to L&D to get me checked and see what the nurses said. I was (now very obviously) not in active labor and they sent me home with the encouragement that they thought I would be back within a day and actually be in labor.
I had my 39 week appointment on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 10am and the doctor agreed to strip my membranes since I was pretty miserable from contracting constantly for 3 days-let's be real, I was pretty miserable my whole pregnancy. ;) The doctor jokingly said that she couldn't break my water and then seriously said she had accidentally broken a woman's water the night before and had gotten in a little trouble. Unfortunately for her, she did it again. I felt a lovely warm gush and just like that, my water was broken! Since I was Group B Strep positive, they admitted me right away to start me on antibiotics. I didn't progress much for a few hours so they started me on Pitocin and then I got an epidural. Epidurals are so good. I took a nap and woke up at a 9.5. GUYS, A 9.5! Some people feel accomplished by enduring pain, I felt accomplished because I napped during labor. By the time the doctor got to the hospital,I was ready to push. I pushed through 4 contractions and Liv was born! We named her Olivia Elaine Wenzel. She was born at 6:39pm, weighing 7lbs .2oz, and 21 inches long. Liv's vitals had dropped while I was pushing, but after a little oxygen and love from our nurses, she was good to go! We had the same sweet nurse during delivery and the days we stayed in the hospital. She made such a difference in my post birth/hospital experience.
Olivia's nicknames: Liv, Livie, Liver, Liverpool, Tuna Chum (thanks Wicked Tuna-the tv show), Baby, Princess Baby, and Little Sister (my mother calls her this, that's what happens when you have 4 daughters!)
Birth-Month 1:
We had so much help from family during our first month with Olivia. Ben's mom stayed with us for the first week, my mom came for weeks 2-3 (and my dad surprised us for a weekend!), and then Ben's mom came again for a few days. Having so much help that first month made a huge difference. I was able to sleep and both my mom and Ben's mom would just bring the baby in for me to nurse. We are so blessed with great mothers. While my mom was here, we got to go on walks and enjoy the last days of nice weather.
Month 2:
My sister Amy came to visit for a little less than a week! It was so fun to be able to spend time with her in our home, since usually she is the one hosting us in her home. For Halloween, we carved pumpkins and dressed up as Misty, Ash and Pikachu from Pokemon-Ben's clever costume idea. Liv was obviously so adorable that she won the cutest costume at our church's Trunk-or-Treat! And my chili won a prize too, like mother like daughter. We blessed Liv on Sunday, Nov. 2. Ben's parents, my parent's and my younger sisters, Rachel and Kelsey were all there. It was so fun to have everyone to celebrate Olivia. My talented mother made Olivia's blessing dress using leftover fabric from my wedding dress (that she also made). The only notable thing that Liv did was start cooing back at us. Ben does the most amazing impression of her, I laugh every time, ask him about it.
Month 3:
Liv started smiling and loved playing with the stuffed monkey on her activity mat. She celebrated her first Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Wenzel's house, where she got to meet her Great Aunt Brenda and Great Uncle Dennis as well as her Uncle Jared! We went and picked out a real Christmas tree, which was a first for all of us and had fun watching Christmas movies and decorating. Liv was so lucky and got to take a picture with Santa at our church's Christmas party! She also started loving her book Princess Baby (she still loves that book).
Month 4:
We spent Christmas and New Year's with Ben's family and Liv was so spoiled by everyone. This was also the magical month when we started force swaddling Liv and she started taking a pacifier! If at first you don't succeed, buy every pacifier brand and periodically try every one until the baby agrees to take it. That was a game changer for me. She went down for naps and went to bed so much easier, it was heaven. Liv was a dolly and giggled for the first time too! We were at a doctors appointment and she giggled while I was talking to the nurse.
Month 5:
Liv got her first pedicure in bed on a Saturday morning, she loved it, obviously. She also went on her first airplane! Liv was an angel baby while traveling, she barely cried and was happy to nurse and sleep during the flights/layovers. Our trip to CA also included a quick weekend trip to UT to visit my sisters/bro in law/nephews. It was so fun to have everyone together again (minus Ben because he had to work). Liv loved meeting her cousins and they were so sweet. Carson loved to hold her hand and Eli wanted to give her lots of hugs. Liv rolled over for the first time on Feb. 10 (Happy Birthday, Mom!) We also started trying a few solids, which she LOVED. The main thing we did was oatmeal, but also peaches and bananas. As soon as we started solids, she started going to sleep easier. I know people claim that this isn't proven to help, but for us, it did. While we were in CA, Olivia got to play on the grass for the first time. I was sad to bring her back to the cold because she was so excited when we were outside. She also got her first bath that wasn't in an infant tub. Liv was only waking up once a night but has been waking 2-3 times ever since we were in CA. She loves looking in mirrors, watching videos of herself and FaceTiming with family.
Month 6:
I love this age of Olivia. She is very interactive and I finally feel like we have gotten into a good routine/ I kinda know what I'm doing. She did stop taking a pacifier at about 5.5 months which was really hard, but I think its because of teething (no teeth have popped through yet). She loves chewing on Sophie the teething giraffe and pretty much everything else. About the same time she stopped taking a pacifier, she started rolling ALL OVER. I can't leave her alone in a room anymore because she ends up getting into everything and we aren't baby proofed yet. She rolls and rolls and rolls and has started inching forward. At least once a day Ben or I comment on how big she is getting. We can't believe how grown up she is. She loves peek-a-boo, reading books, singing songs before Family Night, when Ben rubs his face on her belly and grabbing everyone's faces. Liv sat in a shopping cart without her carseat for the first time and that's what we do for every shopping trip now. She squeals and shrieks, if you go to church with us, you have probably heard her. She does it all hours of the day and at night when she wakes up. I had been exclusively breastfeeding but we completely stopped a couple days before she turned 6 months and we both love it. Now that she isn't nursing, she is finally starting to chunk up! Last weekend I told Ben that every time I go to the store, at least 1 person tells me that she is tiny for her age or calls her "Little Peanut". Sure enough, we went to 2 stores and had 3 people tell us how tiny she is. I love that she is so tiny but I'm excited for a few more leg rolls to squeeze!
Her stats for the first 4 months were:
2 weeks (9/30/14) : 20 in (39%), 7lbs 9oz (27%)
2 months (11/19/14) : 22.5 in (63%), 10lb 9.5oz (40%)
4 months (1/19/15) : 24.5 in (58%), 12lb 5.5 oz (21%)
We haven't taken her in for her 6 month appointment yet because she has had a cold, but it's scheduled for this Thursday. We took her in 2 weeks ago to get her weight checked and she was 12lbs 13oz (5% maybe!).
Besides baby Liv, everything else is going great! We are loving the warmer weather and all the fun things that the outdoors brings. Ben started a new position at John Deere a couple weeks ago and will be there until March 2016. He is still working at their Headquarters in Moline, IL, but works in a different department. He signed up for a summer softball league; Liv and I are excited to go and cheer him on! I'm doing the SAHM gig. It is by far the most difficult and most enjoyable thing I have ever done. I love that we can make our own schedule and play all day. I definitely wouldn't trade this for anything, even with all the poop, tears, and milk that motherhood involves! I'm hoping to sign up for some races this summer and spend our days swimming.
That's us from the past 6 months! Maybe I'll keep up a little better from now on....maybe.
-Kristen
 |
| Sept. 2014 |
 |
| October 2014 |
 |
| November 2014 |
 |
| December 2014 |
 |
| January 2015 |
 |
| February 2015 |
 |
| February 2015 |
 |
| March 2015 |
