So much for being stress-free. . .

We weighed Olivia tonight. When she went to the doctor last week, she weighed 17 lbs 10 oz. On Sunday we weighed her and she was 17 lbs 5 oz. Today (only 3 days later) she is barely 16 lbs!! She has lost over a pound in 3 days!!! I'm thinking it's probably just a delayed to reaction to how little she ate for awhile there. I just keep telling myself. . .she's happy, she's healthy, she doesn't seem hungry. . .she must be eating enough. If she were, however, I don't think she would be losing that much weight. What in the world am I doing wrong? Do I just need to let her gnaw on a stick of butter? This is so frustrating. . . .

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - Update

I think this is better than smiling.
And I saw a model do it in a magazine once.

Some days Olivia just cracks me up. Instead of smiling like she usually does when I take her picture. . .these were the faces she made. Her favorite game to play is when she holds onto our fingers and walks around the house. She likes to look at things and have you tell her what it is. Then, you can ask where something is and she gets so excited to show it to you. Sometimes the results are unexpected. We are currently learning the rooms of the house and, while in the bedroom, I asked her where the kitchen was. She confidently strolled down the hallway and led me to HER kitchen. I guess I should be more specific. Then, because of the over-achiever that I am, I thought we would learn carbon monoxide detector. . .ya know, just to show off. But, whenever I ask where it is. . . .she happily leads me to her CAR. It seems she doesn't pay attention to the . . .bon monoxide detector part. Yes, it's a fun game until you've walked into the bathroom for the 50th time repeating scale, vent, toilet. . .

Her eating has been a bit better lately. She only takes 12-15 oz of formula per day, though, and we've decided if that's all she wants. . .that's fine. I do think the Prilosec is helping a lot better than the Prevacid did. We are grateful for that and are much happier around here. She's consistently taking 4 oz per bottle instead of 1-2 oz. Olivia definitely keeps us on our toes and laughing daily.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 - Update

Suzy Bear and Olivia

When I was a child, I never sucked my thumb. . .I never had a pacifier or a blankie. . .I had my Suzy Bear. I used to think that a Suzy Bear was a female teddy bear, but then I learned that Suzy was the name I picked for her when I was 2. If I could have had just one toy growing up, it would have been her. I think I even worked her into my fire escape plans and always took her down to the basement during a tornado warning. Ryan and I were organizing our storage room over the weekend (and he discovered that I'm truly a pack rat) and I found her in one of the boxes. I thought that she needed to come out and live in the play room. She's definitely seen better days, but she was very loved.

Prayers for Baby Miranda

Another 23 weeker was born this week. . .sweet little Miranda Rae. As you all know, this family has a long road ahead of them. Please keep them in your prayers and surround them with love and support.

Monday, January 5, 2009 - Update

Olivia's physical therapist was thoroughly impressed by her this morning. Actually, I don't know if she had one negative thing to say. In a few months, we may be able to get rid of the physical therapist altogether. She couldn't believe how well Olivia gets around on the pony. Her word association skills blew her away as well. I truly believe that Olivia just doesn't want to be a baby anymore and she's frustrated by the things that she can't yet do. If you think about it, she's been a baby longer than most. She spent the first many, many months of her life unable to do much more than lay around. She is now ready to go, go, go. She wants to walk so badly, but just can't do it without holding on to our fingers or riding her pony. We'll keep trying.

Me and my puppy
Woof, woof

Now, let's see. . .was it 10 and 2?

A Day In The Life of Olivia

Sarah M. had a great idea. She suggested that I write down everything that was offered and everything that Olivia eats to take to the GI specialist on the 13th. I thought I would share with you everything that she ate today.

Mom and dad don't think I eat enough.
Tell me what you think.

8:00 am - 4 oz of formula

9:30 am Breakfast- 2 bites of a banana, 6 Lil' Crunchies, 4 bites of oatmeal, 8 Cheerios, 6 puffs, 2 bites of peach cobbler, 1/4 of a piece of buttered toast, 2 sips out of sippy cup.
I would eat Lil' Crunchies, Cheerios, puffs and crackers all day if I could.

But, they won't let me!

11:00 am - 2 oz of formula

1:00 pm Lunch - 1/2 jar of Gerber 2nd foods Sweet Potatoes, 4 Lil' Crunchies, 8 yogurt drops, 1/2 oz of vanilla ice cream.

3:15 pm - 3 oz of formula

4:00 pm - 8 Lil' Crunchies, 1/2 Wagon Wheel, 1 bite of string cheese
6:00 pm Dinner - 1/2 Wagon Wheel, small bite of cheese, 1.5 Club crackers, 1/3 jar of mac-n-cheese, 5 yogurt drops

7:30 pm - 3 oz of formula

8:15 pm - 5 bites of French toast, 1/2 jar Gerber 2nd foods sweet potatoes, handful of Puffs and Cheerios.

No more pictures or food, please.

One last pose. . .but, that's it.

So, she only took a total of 12 oz of formula for the day and not really any real drinks in between bottles. She is currently at 17 lbs 5 oz (down from 17 lbs 10 oz last week.) I'm done stressing over it. I'm going to let her take what she wants out of her bottle and offer her many different types of food throughout the day. She normally doesn't eat as many times during the day, but we've become a bit desperate. Our household stress level has just skyrocketed and I hate that. Olivia is a very happy child overall. If she was starving, you'd think she'd be a bit more cranky. I'm going to just stop worrying about it and see what the GI says next week. Thanks for allowing me to vent and ramble on at times. :)

Funny Stories

I'll take a break from chewing on my block to say cheese!
Oh no. . .now they'll be able to track me down if I'm speeding.

I thought I would take a break from our feeding woes to tell you a few funny stories. When she's not eating, she is a very happy girl.

The Vacuum:

I have told you that she is mesmerized with the vacuum. Yesterday, she rode up to it on her pony, but when daddy turned it on, she had a look of horror on her face. I don't think she had ever taken off so fast on her pony. But then, she rode back to the vacuum. When she got too close, she screamed and rode away. This continued 10, 20, 30 times or so. The vacuum would be in another room, but she had to ride to the vacuum and every time she would have a look of pure terror. We couldn't help but laugh because usually if you're afraid of something, you don't want to go near it. Silly girl.

The Shoes:

Olivia has gotten very good at leading you to certain objects if you ask where they are. She is super smart. She knows scale, vent, car, pony, penguin, Olivia (she finds a mirror and smiles at herself) mommy, daddy and we've been working on shoes. Tonight, we were in the bathroom oohing and ahhing over the scale (she loves to look at that thing) and I asked her where the shoes were. Our closet full of shoes is right off the bathroom. She led me out of the bathroom, however, without even glancing in the closet. I figured that she hadn't quite learned shoes yet. Then, she led me out to the kitchen and there sat a pair of my shoes (I have a bad habit of leaving shoes anywhere and everywhere.) Those were the shoes that we were using to teach her the word shoes. She doesn't say many words, but she is learning about them every day. I am so proud.

Saturday, January 3, 2009 - Update

Thank you for all of your advice and emails, etc. This has just been a difficult subject for us. Most micro-preemies (especially 23 weekers) have feeding tubes and we're very grateful that she doesn't. That fear is always in the back of our minds. Micro-preemies always seem to have their share of feeding issues. . .I don't know exactly why that is. . .maybe they've had more than their share of things forced in their mouth. I think our attempts to make sure she takes enough of her bottles has inadvertently made her hate them even more. She doesn't like things forced in or around her mouth. . . bottles, straws, sippy cups, spoons, food. That makes it even more difficult to get her to eat and drink. She likes to do it herself, so we're trying to find a wide assortment of food that she can pick up and eat herself. It would be great if she could hold her own bottle, but she hates her bottle and all she does is push it away. She is an extremely happy baby as long as it's not feeding time. That's one reason we decreased the amount of bottles during the day. We have tried everything. Sorry this is another depressing post. Ryan is feeding her in the other room as she's screaming at the top of her lungs. I attempted to get 2 ounces in her, but I just couldn't do it anymore. And. . . now I heard her just throw up everything! What a way to start off the new year. . . .

Evening Update

All was going well until her last bottle. . .she wouldn't even take an ounce before bed. That's 11 oz total for the day. (First bottle: 3 oz, second bottle: 7 oz, third bottle: 1 oz.) She did try some bologna, bread and a chocolate Santa, however. I think there are multiple issues going on. 1) Reflux that we don't quite have a handle on, but she has an appt with a GI on the 13th. 2) She just isn't interested in her bottle anymore, but has not yet mastered a cup or straw. 3) Those two evil teeth on the top coming in. Like I said in a previous comment. . .I'm demanding double from the tooth fairy when she loses those teeth. We didn't have this much trouble with the other four that she has. It has been a nightmare. Please pray that the switch to Prilosec helps her reflux and that those teeth come in NOW. We're all going crazy.

Friday, January 2, 2009 - Update

Last night, Ryan and I sat in bed and discussed Olivia's feeding issues. We're two intelligent, well-educated people. . .you'd think we could figure out what is going on. We're not happy, Olivia's not happy, so something has to change. One thing that Olivia has always excelled at is communication. She may not say many words, but it's easy to know what she's trying to tell us. When she screams and cries and pushes her bottle away, she's naturally trying to tell us that she doesn't want it. Right now, she takes her bottle 5 times a day. It's the only way that we can get close to the 15-20 oz per day. Well, we're cutting that back to 3 times a day in hopes that she'll begin taking more at each bottle and eat more baby/table food. We'll also offer her a sippy cup or straw continuously through the day. It's a long shot, but we've got to try something different. Worst case scenario. . .it doesn't work and Olivia loses weight. Maybe then her doctor will help us figure out something else to do. I feel like I spend every ounce of energy trying to make sure she gets enough to eat and it's exhausting. I don't want to continuously force a bottle on her and make her resent it that much more.

This is going to be difficult for me because I worry a lot about making sure she eats and drinks enough. I want her to stay hydrated and healthy. Wish us luck.

Thursday, January 1, 2009 - Update

I've gotta go check out the vacuum cleaner.
It amazes me.

I'll just pack it up and take it with me.

I could watch dad vacuum for hours.

I hope all of you had a great New Year's Eve. I think this was the first year that I actually didn't make it until midnight. Olivia only took 2 oz at her nighttime bottle, so I was expecting her to wake up hungry in the middle of the night. I figured I'd better get some sleep while I could and sure enough. . .she woke up hungry. I do believe this latest battle is because of her teeth. Combined with her reflux issues (that I don't believe are completely under control) it makes it impossible to feed her. This last week has wiped me out. I think she's already developed an aversion to her bottle and trying to make it a pleasant experience while also making sure she eats something is a difficult task. I did order her a honey bear cup in hopes to transition her off the bottle since we haven't had much luck with sippy cups or straws. It seems as if she won't have to suck as hard with the honey bear cup. Luckily, Ryan's home for the rest of the week which provides me with some much needed assistance.

Today, we've been busy putting the Christmas decorations up. Olivia has become totally obsessed and fascinated with the vacuum cleaner. It's very cute. Every time it's out, she has to be right next to it. Hopefully, this fascination will continue as she gets older.