Abbey Cakes
Well it's been one hot minute since I've blogged anything. Mostly because when I get any free time, I don't spend it in front of the computer. Although I should. It wouldn't hurt me to spend a few minutes of a day, or two, each week, to update friends and family. You will all just have to deal with getting it when I get around to it. HA HA!! Just kidding. But seriously, now that things are becoming more structured and routine, it should definitely be a lot easier to start blogging regularly.

Speaking of structure and routine, we have all of that now. It is definitely a beautiful thing. I read one place that "A happy baby is a well rested baby." How true I have found that to be. We still work on a feed/wake-play/sleep routine, but the times of day that each cycle occurs is basically up to her, but mostly contingent on what time she wakes up. She still eats every 3 hours, so if she wakes up at 5am, she eats again around 8. After she eats, she "plays" for a little while (usually about 1 1/2hrs),then (more often than not) an hour before she eats again, she takes a nap. She has gotten quite great at sleeping for almost an hour on the dot! I'm amazed. This has been going on for about 2 weeks now. Before that, she would have to be put in the crib about 30min before I needed/wanted her asleep. Now, she just rolls over on her tummy, sticks a couple of her chubby little fingers in her mouth, and lays there staring at whatever. That's my cue! So I pick her up and whisk her away to the crib where she's welcomed to nap blissfully. Here recently, her first nap after waking up, has been 2 hours. Then each one after that is an hour. At 5:30/6pm when Carl and I eat dinner, she's put in her high chair, and eats with us. It's mostly a social thing. She gets about 2-3tsps of her mommy's homemade brown rice cereal and eats with us. She loves it! Monday I started adding bananas to it (once a day). At 7 she gets a bath. Let me just tell you how she loves her baths now. I do believe we have a little fish on our hands. But, when 7:30pm rolls around, she is READY for bed for the night.

She is sleeping pretty well these days. Or should I say, "Nights!" She still wakes at least once during the night to eat. Lately, it's been around 12:30/1. I'm fine with that. Then she goes right back to sleep and she's up again any time from 5a to 6a. I guess it just depends on how tired she is. She still won't sleep past 7a though. I did have a bad habit of not changing her diaper during the night. It was only because I didn't want to wake her. Now, I change it at the 12a feeding. I've found she sleeps better and longer.

Speaking of diapers. We've been using cloth diapers for a few weeks now. It's so nice. She does still wear disposables at night though. But, a max of 2 disposables a day, I can deal with that. A $10 pack of diapers (which is about 52 diapers) can last us about a month now. NICEY NICE!!! We also use them when we run errands, if we're going to be out for a while. I'm sure that will change soon. I just finished 2 AIO's (all-in-one's... they have a waterproof liner inside!!), and have 2 more to make. I'm sure they'll get used when we're out and about, as well as for bed time. I love saving money.
Abbey Cakes

This picture is just too cute for words, as far as I'm concerned. I can't get enough of it. I've even made it my desktop wallpaper!!


This one I like because that's how she likes to be... cheek to cheek!!!
Abbey Cakes


Last weekend we started feeding Olivia cereal. Why is it called cereal when it's really rice? HMMM? Who cares. All I know is that I made it myself and she likes it. A little bit of brown rice (which we already had), thrown in the coffee grinder until it's a nice powder, a little time on the stove, and she eats for a week (twice a day). Talk about saving money and staying healthy!!!
Abbey Cakes
This past Friday I decided that the pacifier was to no longer be a part of Sweet Baby Olivia's repertoire. I snatched it from her slobbery, fat fingers just as soon as I had the chance. I took the opportunity while Carl was gone to do this. I knew that the first few days would be the hardest, and with him gone, she could cry all she wanted. It is now almost a week later and SUCCESS!! There were a few bad days, and we're still dealing with some moments now as well, but over all, the pacifier is gone. We had a few nights that were rough at bedtime, but we prevailed. There were even a few nights she woke me up trying to suck through my shirt. And silly me thought she was hungry, but she just wanted something to suck on. Much to Carl's dismay, she has now found her thumb! YIPPY! I woke up a few times last night to her sucking the business out of that tiny, stumpy, little thumb.

We are now in the process of working out a structured day for her, hoping that will resume the night time sleeping. I know that it will take up to a week, or even two, to get a fluent routine going with her, but I can do it. The better her days are scheduled, the easier my days will go, and the easier it will be for me to plan. Not to mention, the easier things will be in the future!!!

Man, I'm starting to really feel like a Mommy!!