A car ride and a 4 month Doctor's appointment

Olive and I were lucky enough to spend last week at Fripp Island with my mom.  It was our second week at Fripp this summer, and we had a wonderful time.  Olive's first three car rides to and from Fripp were relatively uneventful.  In fact her first ride to Fripp this summer in the car with Mark and I went really well.  She slept for four hours, then we all stopped for lunch for an hour, and when we got back in the car she went right back to sleep.  She ended up waking up about 45 minutes from Fripp and was a little fussy for the rest of the trip, but all in all not too bad.  The next two trips were pretty similar; mostly sleeping with some fussing the last hour or so of the trip.  Then on Sunday when I was driving with her alone back to Atlanta, she became a car terror.

She fell asleep as we were leaving Fripp, and I figured the trip was going to be similar to the other trips.  I was settling in to drive for 3-4 hours without stopping, when she woke up after 45 minutes.  I was hoping she would just fall back asleep, but that did not happen.  Instead she started to fuss, and then cry, and then she got hysterical.  I pulled over into a gas station.  I figured I would take my time, feed her and give her some awake time so she would be ready to go back to sleep when we started up again.  I fed her in the car, changed her diaper, we walked around the gas station, I filled my gas tank, put some air in one of my tires.  After more than an hour at the gas station I thought she seemed pretty sleepy.  We got back in the car, and she proceeded to start crying again almost immediately.  Once again she was hysterical, I pulled off the highway, luckily at that exit there was a Walmart.  I hatched a new plan; I would keep her in her carseat and put her in the stroller, and we would walk around Walmart until she fell asleep, then I would put her carseat back in the car, that way she would already be asleep.  We walked around Walmart for 20 minutes until I was sure she was really sleeping.  We made it back out to the car, and even into the car.  Then the stupid stoplight leading out of Walmart's parking lot took forever, and she was once again awake before we even got on the highway.  We made it another 20-30 minutes when her cries made me pull over once again.  We were at a gas station, and I proceeded to change her, feed her, let her play for a bit.  After an hour we got back on the road, she fussed for the first 20 minutes and then miraculously she fell asleep.  We made it a good two hours, and then she woke up again right as we were approaching Macon.  I decided to stop in Macon for dinner, and was hoping if I took my time she would be ready to get back in the car and go the last hour and half to Atlanta.  Well we had a great time at dinner, and she was so happy that I just couldn't bring myself to make her get back in the car.  I called Mark and he agreed that the best decision was for Olive and I to spend the night in a hotel.  As soon as we made the decision I felt a huge weight lifted off me.  The day had been emotionally exhausting, and knowing that all I had to do was find a hotel room made me feel a million times better.  So Olive and I spent her first night in a hotel room in Macon, only an hour and half from home.  The next morning when we got back on the road she fussed a bit for the first 10 minutes and then passed out the rest of the way home.  Let's just say I am happy our next two trips involve flying and not driving.

Yesterday Olive had her 4 month well visit.  The nurse was surprised to see her two teeth, and was impressed at how much head/neck control she has.  Olive is now 26 and 1/8 in long (98%) she weighs 15lb 1.5oz (75%) and her head is 16 and 3/4 in (90%).  The doctor is happy with her progress, and said the hair loss Olive has been experiencing is normal.  I'm just hoping she doesn't lose anymore, currently we can do a pretty good job hiding the missing hair, but if she loses much more it's going to be pretty obvious.

With her Gammie.

Daddy watching her at Panera while Mommy uses the free internet to update the blog.  We still don't have internet at our new place.  And yes I recognize how ironic it is that she is sleeping in both these pictures.

    

4 months old!

 Today Olive is 4 months old!  Can I just express how much I love my 4 month old?  I love the way she smiles, she opens her mouth really wide, and her whole face lights up.  Sometimes when she smiles I catch a glimpse of the two pearly white teeth in the bottom of her mouth, they still excite me every time I see them.  I love the way she grabs for toys now, and immediately shoves them in her mouth; no more of the tentative reaching out and trying to barely grasp things, now if it is within her reach it is hers.  I love the way she will lay on her playmat and grab the toys that hang down from above her, and the stuffed animals lying around her, and that this can entertain her for up to 25 minutes.  Which means I get 25 minutes baby-free.  I love when she is in the car and she spots herself in her mirror, she gets a big smile on her face, and then sits and talks to the baby in the mirror.  I love the way she smiles at new people when she is in my arms; first she gives them a bit of a hesitant smile, and then once the person smiles back she squeals gives them a big smile and then scrunches herself up and puts her face in my chest, like she is shy.  I love when she smiles at people, even when they are not looking or paying attention to her.  I love that when she gets excited she bends her arms and legs and then straightens them back and forth rapidly, like she just can't contain her excitement within her little body.  I love how she opens her mouth to reach for things before she even puts them in her mouth so she looks like a little fish going after a worm on a hook.  I love the expressions on her face when she is talking.  I love how expressive her eyebrows are, all the more impressive since they are so light you can barely see them.  I love the way she laughs, not just little giggles on occasion, but belly laughs when she thinks something is funny.

Other exciting news and milestones:  she is rolling from her stomach to her back and her back to her stomach.  She doesn't do it all the time which I guess makes sense, because then she would just be rolling all over the place.  She can't sit up on her own yet, but is pretty good when propped up on the couch.  She really likes to stand up with assistance.  It seems like she has always liked standing, but now she can stand and "walk" if you let her grasp your thumbs with her hands she doesn't need much more support than that.

Then of course there are those two pearly whites I was talking about.  The week before our move into our new townhouse, one day she was a little fussy, and all she wanted to do was nurse.  I ended up letting her nurse/sleep on me for about 2 hours straight, when she was finally finished I looked in her mouth and there on the bottom left side was tooth.  Suddenly all the recent drooling and chewing made a lot more sense.  The second tooth soon followed a week or so later.  They are not all the way in yet, and some days they seem to bother her more than others.  Overall we have been pretty lucky with our teething experience, when they are breaking through she likes to nurse a little bit more often, and they wake her up during the night sometimes; but other than the extra drool, and chewing/sucking on everything she can get her hands on, they don't seem to bother her too much.    

We moved into our new home on June 27, we are still unpacking and get things set up including the nursery.  But she does have her own room, and once we get the walls painted, we will set up the crib, and perhaps she will start sleeping on her own.  We love the new place, and Olive has managed to charm all of our new neighbors.

Olive and I are back at Fripp this week with my mom.  We are lucky enough that my mom is letting us come and be part of her vacation.  One extra bonus besides just getting to spend a week at the beach is that Olive seems to sleep better here.  I'm sure it has to do with the extra time outside, and for some reason the windy weather seems to wear her out as well.  Olive also is meeting all of our "Fripp Friends" the people we meet down here year after year.  It is strange to think that last year when I was here Olive was the size of an almond, and I was sick as a dog.  On our way to the island we stopped at Publix, and I was changing her in the bathroom, I couldn't help but think that last year I was in the same Publix, throwing up!

And now for some new Olive pics:

Sleeping with Papa.

One of those big smiles I was talking about, if you look closely you can see those little teeth.

Good morning!

Third generation Fripp Friends.

Hanging with Mr. Doyle.

Bathtime in the sink!

EVERYTHING goes in her mouth.

Chewing on Oscar.

Worn out after moving day.

Perfect expression to go with her outfit.

Loving Zinny.

A little better teeth shot.

"I am 4 months old today!"