The Lee Family: Olivia at 5 Weeks

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Olivia at 5 Weeks

She's 5 weeks old and has entered into the "fussy" stage that it seems all infants get into.... The interesting thing about Olivia is that she's very alert and is often awake for hours without a nap (unlike Sofia, who slept constantly other than when she was eating at this age). Plus, she tends to fight sleep for a bit during the day, needing either to be in the sling and walked around or cuddled with the pacifier. Once she's asleep though, she'll sleep a good chunk. However, if we're running around, in and out of the car, she tends to stay awake for long stretches and then by the afternoon she's so exhausted that she can't go to sleep! So, she cries...sometimes for a long time. So, my goal is to ensure that she gets good long naps during the day and she's usually fine at night without any crying.

As far as her nighttime sleep, she's a champ! She usually nurses around 9 or 10pm, depending on when she last ate, and then will often go 4, or sometimes 5, hours before her next feeding, After that, she's very consistently eating every 3 hours. So, a typical night will include a feeding at 10pm, 2 or 3am, then 5 or 6am...so, it isn't too bad thankfully! Plus, she eats and goes directly back to sleep, so we are all getting a decent night of sleep.

Olivia is already a Papa's gal. He can hold her and calm her down much more quickly than I can and doesn't fuss as much when he's getting her dressed or changing a diaper, unlike with me. She's also started to coo with CK, something I haven't yet seen. With me, Olivia thinks I'm her meal delivery, so she generally tries to suck on my shoulder, arm, shirt, etc whenever I hold her, even if she's recently eaten. So, it works out well that CK hangs out with her after work and gives me a break. If she's fussy when he gets home he's usually able to calm her down, something I still can't do very quickly. So, I'm very thankful for our different abilities.

Olivia at 5 weeks