Olivia's New Favorite Toy

Friday, January 30, 2009 - Update

When Olivia decides to do something new, she does a bunch of new things all at once. Every day, I cut up strawberries for her and she either chucks them off of her tray or ignores them. Last night, she started eating one and then another and then another. For lunch today, she had more strawberries and some of my pasta. She pulls up on everything and I often find her standing in her crib. She is making all sorts of new sounds and attempted to say Desitin today. Um. . .maybe you could say mama first? Please? She sticks her tongue out at you and was waving to the birds at grandma and grandpa's yesterday. She knows most of the rooms of the house and you only have to tell her once or twice what something is and she'll remember it. Then, if you ask her where it is, she'll lead you right to it. It's amazing! She blows my mind every day.

Olivia Pulling Up On Couch

Olivia has got this down. . .she has started pulling up on everything. She is even in the beginning stages of furniture cruising. I'm so proud of her! Pardon my silly voice. . .I tell myself "don't talk, don't talk," and what do I do? I talk throughout the whole thing.

Thursday, January 29, 2009 - Update

This is perfect, mom!

I've been trying to upload a video that I took of Olivia yesterday. For some reason, I keep getting errors. So, here's a picture of her that I took. Our basement is extremely cold and when we go downstairs to watch Baby Signing Times, her little hands are freezing by the time we come back upstairs. So, I made her a new seat to sit in out of the bean bag chair. . .complete with comfy, warm blankets. I think she approved.

Olivia spent the afternoon at Grandpa and Grandma Glunt's and Izzy is with Grandpa and Grandma Murray. . .so, Shelley and I went out to lunch. It was really, really nice to talk just the two of us. We'll have to do it again soon!

Pray for Cora

I just found out about this little girl tonight who is in the ICU at Wesley Medical Center. She is 10 months old and was found to have stage 4 cancer. She has begun aggressive chemotherapy and is fighting for her life. Please say a prayer for this family. You can learn more about her at:

http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/

My Backwards Life

Just stoppin' by for some snacks.

Too bad that's the only food she'll eat. In a world driven by the need to lose weight, it always feels backwards to beg Olivia to eat. It's sort of like that time when Olivia had her EEG. I had to keep Olivia, a 2 month old adjusted baby, awake from 5 am until her EEG at 9 am. I realized that everything is geared towards putting a baby to sleep, not keeping a baby awake. That was tough and felt so backwards. I just kept changing her diaper and her clothes because that's all that worked. Speaking of sleep. . .

I have not been getting much of it lately. I don't know how I can be so tired all day and then completely unable to sleep at night. How backwards is that? The last two nights have been impossible and I didn't fall asleep until 3 am. I can't take any sleep aids because 1)they make my legs horribly restless and 2) they make me very groggy in the morning. I do, however, take magnesium glycinate and progesterone that is supposed to help. I count sheep, count backwards from 999, try to think of "nothing." You would think that if you laid down long enough you would eventually fall asleep. I have realized that when you are tired, you are amazed by many things, such as:

*How can my husband fall asleep the second his head hits the pillow?

*How do those morning newscasters get up and dressed and ready to be in front of the camera so early? It's after 3 pm and I still can't manage to get out of my pajama pants.

*Or, those construction workers building houses out in the freezing cold at 7 am in the morning?

I will admit, however, that every poem or piece of writing that I've written in my adult life was written in the middle of the night. So, maybe my insomnia is good for something. Do you remember the poem that I wrote for Logan last year? I never liked the ending verse and it always bothered me that I couldn't think of anything better. Well, the other night at 1:30 am, I thought of a better ending. The poem is now posted on the sidebar. Wish me better luck with sleep tonight! I just want my life to begin feeling a bit less backwards.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - Update

Stacie and Me - I don't know where our prom dates were.

Bus trip to Chicago

I have been having a little too much fun on Facebook lately. My friends and I have been posting old pictures of each other. Last night I sat at my computer and laughed and laughed. It reminded me of something. Lately, I've thought of myself as only a mom and a woman who lost her child. I'm so much more than that. I'm a wife who is married to a wonderful man (and after thinking of my dating life. . .I'm so grateful.) I am a daughter of wonderful parents and a girl with amazing friends. I was in high school once and did goofy things without a care in the world. I had so much fun with my friends on band trips and at prom and in college. I was a professional who got ready and went to work and had clients who still ask about me. I think when I remember myself as all of those things too. . .it makes me a better mom. Anyway, just thought I'd share a couple of my favorite pictures. I'm hoping that some of the rest of them will somehow go away.

Monday, January 26, 2009 - Update

I am my mommy's daughter!
I love pickled okra just like her!
Okra lovers unite!

I found this hilarious for many reasons. Olivia won't eat hardly anything lately. . .no baby food, no table food, not even macaroni and cheese. Yet, I gave her one of my pickled okras and she chowed down on it. For a little girl with a few sensory issues, she didn't mind the texture at all. It was pretty funny. Our honey bear cup is not working too well. She won't let the straw anywhere near her mouth, so our transition from a bottle isn't really working. The good news is that she is taking her bottle great and continues to drink over 20 ounces a day. I put some goldfish crackers and such on the coffee table. She can ride her pony up to it and have some snacks. You can tell she feels so proud of herself. At least now, she's no longer eating only carbs. . .it's carbs and okra!

March for Babies

Well, I've only raised $20 so far, so I've gotta kick it into gear. Last year, the local March of Dimes office took notice of the Olivia and Logan team. We were one of the largest family teams and received a plaque for raising over $2000. I don't know whether we can do that again, but it would be nice to try.

March for Babies

April 18, 2009 10:00 am

Lawrence Dumont Stadium

One thing that helps me is knowing that I'm doing something to help other babies. My son, Logan, could not be saved and my hope is that fewer families lose a child to prematurity. This hope cannot be realized without the help of the March of Dimes. Without their research, Olivia would not be here or doing as well as she is. The money given by wonderful people in the past helped save Olivia's life. The money given by wonderful people now will help save babies in the future.

You can help in various ways. If you click the March of Dimes banner to the right, you will go to my personal page. From there you can:

Sponsor My Walk: Even the smallest amount of money can accomplish amazing things (just as the smallest babies can.) You can donate by credit/debit card, PayPal or cash/check. This does not sign you up on our team. This is a good option for those who wish to donate, but are unable to walk on our team.

Join the Olivia and Logan Team: Just click on Walk With Me. From there, you can begin collecting donations to meet your own goal which will go towards the team goal.

What if you want to walk, but do not want to collect donations? Just click on Walk With Me and set your goal to be the amount of money you wish to donate. Then, donate to yourself and show up to walk.

What if you want to walk, but are unable to donate yourself? Just click on Walk With Me, set a goal and begin collecting donations from others.

I totally understand that in times of economic hardship, it's hard to find funds for anything other than daily necessities. I also understand that there are many other causes that are so very important and deserving of funds. March of Dimes touches my heart personally and I hope our contribution is something that Olivia can be proud of as she gets older. It's even been discussed for Olivia to be the local ambassador in a few years. Thank you to everyone for your amazing support.