Routines.
They constantly change.
It seems that just as soon as a routine "works", baby decides, "Heck, I don't want to cooperate with this anymore." Bedtime routine, it seems to be the key to a happy baby and a happy mom. I haven't ever done anything special - massage with lavender lotion (wish I could get ME one of those every night), jammies, bottle, Goodnight Moon, and a little cuddle time before laying her down for the night. And there was actually a time when she slept ALL the way through the night. We're talking 8-10 hours. But, as all you pro mommies know - it didn't last. Recently, we changed our little bedtime routine, and so far - awesome results. At 6:30pm, Livi eats a big bowl of rice cereal (finger licking good, literally); after a quick clean up, we head upstairs for bathtime. I used to give Livi her baths in the morning, but following the sticky nature of the rice cereal experience, I decided to try it at night. Olivia LOVES it. I fill her little tub with lavender baby bath/bubbles and extra warm water; Liv will sit and soak for 15 minutes easy, playing with her rubber ducky and splashing around in the bubbles. It's darling. After her long bath, I massage her with her special bedtime lotion and put her in her jammies. By 7:15pm, I'm making her a bottle. We say good night to each person home (Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Jordan and Daddy) and then head to Livi's room to sit in my glider. Olivia loves her "night cap" bottle, and then we finish with Goodnight Moon. By 7:45 at the latest, my little princess is cooing herself to sleep in her crib. She often sleeps the entire night, with the occasional "Where's my binky?!" moment. Somewhere between 4-6am, she's ready for another bottle and by 6-8am (depending on how she slept), she's up and ready for the day!
So there's a look into our evenings. After Livi is down, I usually enjoy a snack (or dinner if I didn't have time), watch a show or 2, write in my journal, read some scriptures and head to bed myself. I've learned the hard way - staying up late just doesn't pay off.
Oh yeah - quick updates: Olivia now eats peas at lunch time! She LOVES to give kisses (it's a dive with her head and her mouth wide open) and she's even starting to snuggle (give hugs). She also has started with this grunting noise - ALL the time! At first I thought she was trying to do her "business"; nope. Just grunting. She is still the happiest little girl I know, and she giggles most at her Daddy (I wonder why!) She loves to spend time in her walker and highchair - and on her tummy. Livi actually gets frustrated when she's on her tummy and can't "go" anywhere. She flails her arms and kicks her legs, but can't seem to propel herself forward! :) She rolls over quite well from back to tummy, we're working on tummy to back.
I know I have lots of photos to share - but that will have to be for another night.
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