Saturday, April 26, 2008 - March for Babies

The star of the day. . .my precious Olivia

Olivia's friend, Ella

We had to wake Olivia up this morning. She wasn't too excited about that.

Olivia's cousin, Izzy

Some of our team

Olivia got her own streamer

Me and Olivia

Marilee, Kerry, Me and Olivia

More team members

Thank you to everyone who participated and/or donated money for the March for Babies today. We had an amazing time. I'm sure that we were one of the largest teams there. Thanks to Gina, Savannah and the Brownie Troop for bringing our wonderful banner. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Sailing for the giraffe cookies and to Shelley and her mom for the bracelets. Thanks to Laura, Joel, Julia and Rebekah for making the streamers and to Kerry for the hand sanitizers and labels. Those footprints are the actual size of Olivia's feet at birth. Everybody be sure to save your buttons and bracelets for next year. We'll try to make t-shirts next year as well. Thanks also to everyone who took pictures (Can you believe that Ryan and I forgot our camera?) Please email me your pictures so I'll have something to post with this update. We got off to a late start as Olivia didn't want to get out of bed this morning. We actually had to wake her up. The weather was a bit chilly in the morning, but it turned into a wonderful day. Everybody did so much to make this day extra special and I appreciate all of you so much. Thank you again!

Friday, April 25, 2008 - Update

I'm walking to say thank you for saving Olivia's life.

I'm walking in memory of Logan William 08-27-07 to 09-28-07

Tomorrow is the March for Babies. We have raised over $2,000 and from what I understand, we are going to be one of the largest teams there. Yesterday, when I went to the March of Dimes office, I was even asked to consider being a local ambassador family sometime in the years to come. I believe Olivia would be a wonderful ambassador for I believe that she embodies everything that is miraculous in this world. (I would just have to get over my fear of public speaking. . I'm a writer, not a speaker.) Thank you to everyone for your support. This cause is very important to me. Many days I am haunted by the reality of everything that has happened over the last 8 months. I often wonder, "What if I would have asked different questions or described my symptoms differently?" Maybe they would have done different tests and caught something that could have prevented my preterm labor. . .maybe Logan's life would have been saved and maybe Olivia would have been able to grow up with her twin brother. But, I just didn't know. I was under the false assumption that my pregnancy was going great. How could they have been so wrong? After being sent home from the hospital, I began to question my own instincts. They were safe and happy one second and the next they were fighting for their lives. If I could have just postponed their delivery for a few more weeks. . .Logan might still be here. I will forever question why they had to be born so extremely premature. I couldn't save my son's life, but maybe I could help save other babies, like my precious Olivia, in the future.

The March of Dimes not only helps save the lives of babies born prematurely, but they are funding research that helps predict and prevent preterm labor. In the future, I hope no one will have to go through what many of us have gone through.

I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow morning! Let's continue to pray for nice weather. If the weather is nice, we plan on bringing Olivia. It's not too late to come or to donate money to our team. I am looking forward to showing everyone how many lives Olivia and Logan have touched!

Thursday Thirteen

I used to only be about this tall. . .
Now I'm in size two diapers. See how small my first diaper was? And, it was huge on me.

How did I get so big? I don't really know.

I think it's a secret.

Heather's site started doing a Thursday Thirteen theme that I thought I might try on occasion.

Thirteen things you may not know about me:

1. I hate getting my hands messy. I've learned that I also hate for Olivia to be messy. . .probably not the best quality in a mom.

2. I need 9-10 hours of sleep to feel rested. . .again, not the best quality in a mom.

3. I am a big baby when I'm sick.

4. Ryan and I watch reruns of That 70s Show every night before bed. For some reason, it's the only thing that we could watch on tv throughout Olivia's NICU stay.

5. I am a great speller.

6. I own a pink Nintendo DS (being married to Ryan, how could I not?)

7. I don't like chili, lima beans, spicy food, olives or cucumbers.

8. I was a huge fan of New Kids on the Block in junior high and I'm a little ashamed to say that I was ecstatic to hear of their reunion.

9. I can't swim.

10. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.

11. I am terrified of wasps.

12. I have never broken a bone in my body.

13. I love Love LOVE being a mom.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - Update

Me and Sheepy. . .friends forever.

Aunt Kimmy and Mommy

I had been looking forward to getting my hair cut for about a month. We still have to be careful about avoiding people who have been exposed to or have an illness, etc. I didn't think that I was going to get any one to watch Olivia this afternoon so that I could get my haircut. . .Aunt Kimmy to the rescue. I just feel bad because Olivia slept most of the time (she doesn't even know that I was gone.) In fact, she is still asleep right now. . . 3 hours later. She took a long nap yesterday as well. A few days ago, we switched her to size 2 diapers. She's getting bigger every day!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - Update

Just two mommies with our Olivias

My sister-in-law, Laura, and niece, Rebekah, came over to visit me today. It was really nice to get outside and visit with them. I've needed a pick-me-up lately. . .actually, Ryan and I both have. It's like we were on auto-pilot for so long and everything is gradually catching up to us more and more each day. I think we've exceeded our lifetime stress limit.

Anyway, Rebekah brought her stroller with her baby also named Olivia. I need to get some York peppermint patties, however, to put in my stroller storage basket as well. (That's what Rebekah had in hers.) She is so adorable. . .I have the greatest nieces and nephews. I'm trying to get Olivia used to her mosquito net that I plan on using during the March for Babies walk. It comes in handy during our evening walks when the bugs are out and has the added benefit of preventing people from reaching in and touching her.

Olivia just seems to do more grown up things everyday. Because of her expressions, I feel she knows exactly what I'm saying to her. And the love. . .sometimes she looks at me with such love in her eyes. My heart just melts. (Sorry, I don't know why the spaces between my paragraphs are not showing up.)

Monday, April 21, 2008 - Update

It's another beautiful day here in Kansas. I grabbed my iPod, put on some shorts and headed out to take a walk with Olivia. That was not in Olivia's plans and she cried the entire time. We made it down the street and back. She had other ideas of how she wanted to spend the afternoon.


Ryan spent his afternoon at the dentist where he got some not so good news. Our family really needs some good dental insurance if Olivia is going to take after her parents. I actually thought of a story that I don't believe I have yet shared. It's a good story. Soon after I had met Ryan, I was unsure about pursuing another relationship. . .I was tired of getting hurt. So, I prayed for God to let me know whether Ryan was "the one" or not. A few short weeks later, Ryan and I were at my parents house one evening. My parents were up in the bedroom and we were out on my parents' deck in the backyard. We were talking about all of those early relationship things and we came upon the topic of dentists and learned an interesting thing about one another. . .so interesting that I ran inside and hollered at my parents. This may sound silly, but it was at that moment that I knew Ryan and I were meant to be. We both have a fake tooth. . .in the same exact spot. Ryan originally had a tooth there, but I never had a permanent tooth in this spot and neither did my dad. So, if Olivia has a permanent tooth there. . .most likely Logan would not have. To this day, I believe that our teeth (or lack thereof) brought us closer together and that God does indeed have a sense of humor.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Update

I was shocked when I went to the grocery store this morning and found that my bodywash was nowhere to be found. We've used Tone moisturizing bodywash with cocoa butter for years and it's always in the same spot on the shelf. It wasn't there. I bet I spent 20 minutes deciphering the different kinds of body wash and trying to figure out what to buy. I don't have that kind of time. I'm still frantically looking for my lipstick shade that was discontinued. . .Maybelline Moisture Extreme in Coffee Glaze (330.) I've almost run out. I know, change is good. . . blah, blah, blah. I think I've had enough changes in my life lately. Is it too much to ask for my bodywash and lipstick?

Anyway, Olivia is doing well. She's been taking a little bit of rice cereal twice a day plus about 23-24 oz of formula daily. This is a huge improvement for us. We may have a vomiting episode about once a week instead of once a day. We never feed her over 3 oz after 5 pm. . . I don't know why, but that works. Yes, it kind of sounds like she's a little gremlin. So, she eats about every hour and a half in the evenings. Her tummy just can't take that much volume at once. She is almost rolling over. . .I predict that she will be by the time the month is over. I am excited to try her on oatmeal this week. We are working with a nutritionist from Rainbows who will come out to visit Olivia once a month and monitor her progress. I am so grateful to all of the people (including all of you blog readers) who care so much about Olivia.