One Stubborn Girl

From the beginning Olivia's personality has stood out. She has never been a difficult baby really...just very, very stubborn! She knows what she wants and she will go to great lengths to get it! Well she has been testing everyone with her stubbornness quite a bit lately. I have mentioned the problem we were having with separation anxiety. Whenever I would leave her with someone she would cry and cry and cry, only giving up once she had exhausted herself so much that she just could not continue any longer. We have also had problems getting her to take a bottle. She will throw such a fit, crying so hard that she turns bright red and can hardly breathe. There have been a few times that she has gone many, many hours without food because she refuses to take it from a bottle. We used to give into her, but lately we have not and have allowed her to throw her fits. We figured that when she gets hungry enough she will eat, no matter how it is given to her. Working through these issues has been very challenging. But I think I can say that things are improving a little bit...thank goodness!

Last week Olivia did very well at the babysitter, and has done quite well this week also. She only fusses for a little while, right after I walk out the door. I think that she is starting to get used to bring there and realizes that crying is not going to make me come back any sooner. She is also more occupied with her toys now and that helps immensely! Also, over the weekend we tried to feed Olivia with the bottle as much as possible and I am proud to say that she took them without a fight! What a relief! As happy as I am that I choose to breastfeed, I need to know that she will not have trouble getting her food if I am not around. Her protesting is partly my fault, as I did not give her a bottle as much as I probably should have in the beginning. But I think we are working through that issue as well. There are still a few more things we have to work on...like taking better naps and not being so dependent on the pacifier, but I can only tackle one problem at a time!

We did visit the pediatrician last Friday for Olivia's four month appointment. She weighs 17 lbs. and 3 oz. and is 25 1/2 inches in length. The doctor is very pleased with the way that she is growing. We discusses starting solid foods and I think we are going to give her a taste of rice cereal later in the week. That should be interesting! Overall she seems to be developing just fine. She rolled over last week one time, but hasn't done it since. And she is getting very strong as we work on sitting up on our own! But I can tell that this is a child that will do things when she is good and ready to do them...and not a minute before!

It is amazing to watch her grow into a more independent baby. Her smile can light up a room and she can throw a fit like you have never seen before. She seems to be catching onto things very quickly and sometimes tries to do things that she is just not physically able to do yet. This shows me that she is developing very well and that she is also going to be a lot of work for her mommy and daddy. She is our wonderful, stubborn girl!