A hard few weeks

Olivia's language continues to develop at a fairly steady pace and she surprises me sometimes with words I didn't think she knew. Yesterday she said camera while holding the object in question. She also says "momo" when she sees Elmo on the computer or on her diapers. The past few weeks have been very hard on both of us. She's been teething non stop for at least 3 weeks and is sporting 4 new teeth, 2 of which are molars. She must be in a lot of pain at times because she can't seem to calm down. Her sleeping habits are off and she's not the happy girl I'm used to. I'm sure this will end soon, I mean it has to right? Once these teeth are fully through, she'll have 10 out of the 20 she needs. I wonder how many of those will decide to emerge simultaneously? We're going to visit the grandmas and grandpas in a few weeks, I'm sure she'll enjoy that. We'll also be visiting with Auntie Nikki who is in Korea right now but will be back for a few weeks when we're in Thunder Bay. Olivia hasn't seen her Aunt since she was just under five months old. I can't imagine how startling the differences will be to Nikki. Olivia is certainly mischevious. When I asked her to come see me yesterday for a clean diaper, she ran into the kitchen, did a few circuits and then crawled under the kitchen table...I was not impressed. She has her definite tastes and preferences. Today we're going out to lunch with a friend, I hope she will eat what we get her!

Words words words

Lately Olivia's language is increasing at quite a rate. Over Christmas she gained quite a few words and just today added 2 more. She learned girl, pretty, cold and Elly (her grandma's cat). Today she came up with papa for grandpa and car. I find it amazing how fast they learn these words and although they aren't as clear as what you and I would say, the meaning is still there and she understands. She also learned to give Squishy hugs which are hugs that you have to squeeze really hard and grunt with effort LOL. Christmas was good to her, she made out like a bandit and is enjoying her toys at home. She also had her first professional haircut and I think it's really cute. She was happy to visit with all of her family but she was also very glad to be home. We're just getting back into routine today and it's going a bit rough for now. At least mommy is no longer bound by the cast and we can do a bit more. As I type she's fighting with a chair and moving it all over the room and complaining about it although I'm not sure what the problem is. As you can see, the language isn't enough to express her frustration just yet.

Life is a constant source of wonder

Well by request of my friend Claire, I've decided to do an update. It's been awhile since I've said much about my little darling/devil so here we go. She's been sleeping in a bed for the past 3 weeks and most of the time we don't have any issues. She has been challenging naptime though and gets out a few times most days only to be taken back to bed. At night she usually stays put and goes to sleep right away. As of last Monday she had achieved a weight of 21.5 pounds so she is up a pound and a half since the beginning of November when she was weighed by the pediatrician. She's still 29.5 inches tall so her height has not increased at all. Her vocabulary is really increasing. Her latest words are please, uh oh, cracker, cookie, baby and Keri (the name of my friend's dog). She still doesn't call me mom on a regular basis, usually just in the car where she will say it over and over. She loves to chatter to herself while she plays and it sounds like she is telling some pretty wild stories. She now can walk pretty fast when she wants but is still a bit clumsy because she doesn't look where she's going. Her favourite tv show is the Wiggles and she just loves the movie Wall-E. We are looking forward to her second Christmas because this time she knows a bit more about what's going on. She hasn't taken much interest in our little tree but she likes the singing snowmen I have in front of it. I'm eager to see how she reacts to seeing her grandma's and grandpa's after being away from them for so long. I'm sure she'll be tickled pink. She loves all people but especially her family. Today she actually fell asleep on me in bed for about half an hour. It was so sweet being able to hold my baby who isn't a baby at all. However, when I woke up, she had drooled all over me!

Just an ordinary day

I just thought I'd update the blog since it's been nearly a month. Olivia hasn't walked all too much since the last time I posted. Just a few steps here and there. Today she did stand up unassisted in the middle of the room. I can't help but think she will be walking consistently very soon. I've been looking into when she can go into a regular bed and it looks like it could be as soon as 4 months down to road. I'm not rushing it though, we'll play it by ear and see how she is doing in the crib by then. I would like to have her pick out her own bedding or perhaps she'll get it for a gift for Easter or something like that depending on when she transitions. Right now I'm looking at good quality snowsuits as I'm thinking the one I have will still be too large by the time snow falls. We also need to find boots that will fit. Olivia's favourite word right now has to be Up. I'm trying to get her to say Up mama but she refuses to say mama at all. She figures that she knows who I am, I know who I am, why say it? The child development worker Angie is happy with her progress and won't be back until December and then February to do her 18 month assessment which will be more involved. Livvy also enjoys watching the Backyardigans. I think it's the only tv program she's ever paid attention to for more than 10 minutes. Not that I'm complaining that she doesn't watch tv, I think it's great she'd rather entertain herself. Today after she got up in the morning, she was still so tired that she was able to lay in my lap and fall back to sleep for a few minutes. It made me miss the times when she would sleep in my arms for much longer than that. She's also getting big, but never too big for mama's lap. I put her to bed about 45 minutes ago and I can still hear her mischevious laugh. I wonder what she's up to but I'll just leave her to it. She and Ittybit the 2nd are sure to be cooking up some scheme in there.

One small step for man, one giant step for Olivia

Well she did it, she walked! I knew she had the ability in her, all she needed was the confidence to try on her own. In true Reedhead/Wagg style she decided to ever be the showwoman and do it in front of all the teachers at a get together this evening. So holding a tiny green tomato in one hand and a smallish apple in the other, she decided to take her steps. Not one or two, but at least 4 on 3 separate occasions. She even walked on a rocky driveway as if she'd been doing it for ages. A repeat performance wasn't in the cards for at home though, she was tired and hungry and needed to get to bed quickly. I'm hoping tomorrow holds more attempts so I can catch it on video.

Plan of Attack

Here's our game plan to help Olivia gain some weight. We'll try this for a month until we see the dr again and find out if it's making any difference. Also if she's still not gaining well by then, I'm going to ask for a referral to a pediatrician.
1. cereal in the morning with added yogurt
2. Enfagrow (for awhile at least until she's more into eating)
3. Balkan style yogurt added to cereal at other meals (6%mf)
4. Instead of spoon feeding we're teaching her to spoon feed herself and letting her try it out.
5. As much snacking as she'll do
6. keeping a food diary to show the dr

Keep us in your prayers please!

Olivia's 1 year checkup

Well my little girl is indeed that, little. She has fallen behind in her growth and is now only at the 10th percentile for weight. This is a drop of two curves from her previous appointment where she was in the 50th percentile. As of today, she only weighs 18lbs 8oz. I was sure she weighed more than that after getting nearly 20 pounds when weighing her on several different home scales but I know the scale at the doctors office is more accurate...or at least I would hope so. She is now 28.5 inches tall as well. The dr was concerned with this drop in growth, as am I now. She said that there is a risk for failure to thrive (I didn't know that was possible this late after birth) as well as iron deficiency. Now I was pretty sure we were ok on iron because her cereal gives her 100% of her daily needs for it. I'm going to purchase a multivitamin as well, although they are very expensive. She talked about trying to get her to eat more dairy with higher fats, that we can try. But grinding up her meat again...I don't think Olivia will go for that. She wasn't eating pureed foods well in Calgary so I don't think she will eat them now. She has 2 teeth with 3 more coming in, I would think chewing would be a priority for her. The dr also said she should be drinking 3 cups of milk a day. Three cups? I can barely get 1 into her. It's disappointing to find out that your child isn't growing well and that it's basically your fault. But we will strive to fatten this little girl up because we want her to be as healthy as possible. She's otherwise just fine. She plays well, sleeps well and is really smart. She understands tons of words and will complete simple tasks when you ask her to. She is very strong willed and has a great personality. Now all she needs is some meat on her bones.