Saturday, February 16, 2013

Belated Birthday Celebration

My birthday was over 2 weeks ago, but we were unable to get everyone well enough to celebrate.  So, we stuck my cake in the freezer and waited until today (and my dad was sick and could not attend.) Have I told you how much I hate flu season? Anyway, yep, it was the big 3-5.  I thought it would be a hard one for me, but it really wasn’t.  I have a beautiful family and if I accomplish nothing else in my life, I still feel I have accomplished a lot.

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I thought this would be fun to see.  Here I am with Olivia when I turned 30 in 2008.

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And here I am with Olivia at 35.  LOL!  Abigail would have been in the picture, but she was very content in her swing. 

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My mom watched the girls so that Ryan and I could go on a lunch date.  I don’t believe we’ve been out together since Abigail was born.  And, I figured we  hadn’t had a picture together in a long time either. 

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Friday, February 15, 2013

Friday, February 15, 2013

I've long suspected that something was "wrong" with my breast milk. Abigail just seems so bothered by it after eating and her tummy seems to hurt a lot. About a week ago, she started having very frequent, very loose stools. I stopped counting after she had 10 per day. Last night, there was a bit of blood in it. I have been blaming my antibiotic because that's about when it started. So, I took her into the doctor today and they are suspecting a milk protein allergy induced colitis. I am to switch to Alimentum formula and cut out all dairy from my diet. But, I think I'm officially calling it quits with breastfeeding. I already struggle a lot with what to eat because of my blood sugars and my tendency towards kidney stones. I can't cut yet another thing out of my diet and remain sane. For some, breastfeeding goes smoothly and that just hasn't been the case with me. Part of me is a bit relieved because I've been stressing about any and everything that I eat and how it will affect her. But, I'm so very sad about it too. Not only is it cheaper (especially compared to Alimentum) but it is more convenient and I love the closeness. It calms her down immediately when she's fussy. For awhile at least. So tonight I held her close with a pacifier in her mouth and I cried. Some of you may think that's silly, but for some reason it's really hard for me. I'm not 100% convinced that it's a milk protein allergy, but I realize I need to investigate that possibility. I just want to do what's best for Abigail and I no longer believe, in our case, that breastfeeding is it.

Other than that, she is doing wonderfully and now sleeps for 6 consecutive hours a night. She wakes at about 3 am and then again at 7 am. It's been lovely.



Thursday, February 14, 2013

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Today was Olivia's Valentines party at school and I feel blessed to have been able to attend. Olivia had such a good time with her friends. It's so funny because there is this particular little boy who Olivia says she does not like, he's mean to her, chases her, etc. But every time I'm in her class, guess who she chooses to sit by? Cracks me up! After her party, Olivia and I ran the van through the car wash ( she's been begging) went to Sonic, and to aunt Shelley's before picking little sister up. Fun day!







Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

What a long day! Up at 6:45 am and Abigail had her colic appointment. Then, we dropped Abigail off at aunt Shelley's and picked up grandma Glunt. The three of us had lunch at Arby's ( where Olivia ate her entire jr roast beef sandwich) then went to get our haircut. Although a little apprehensive about laying back to get her hair washed, Olivia does an amazing job. Today she didn't even want to leave and thought helping out at the salon sounded like more fun. But, finally got her to leave, picked up Abigail, dropped off grandma and made it home. Whew! That's a lot to do on a newborn sleep schedule. Someday she'll sleep all night. She actually does well and let's me sleep for at least one four hour chunk of time.









Sunday, February 10, 2013

All About Olivia

There are a few things you may not know about Olivia ( or if you've been reading this blog for 5 years, you probably do.) One is that she is very funny. Her sense of humor just cracks me up everyday. She gets confused because daddy was a wildcat and I was a shocker in college. So, she referred to me as a wildcocker the other day. And when Abigail cries, Olivia becomes concerned that her face is "burning up" as it turns quite red. Maybe that's why she likes Mr. Bean so much ( yes, the British comedian.)

Olivia is also very active. . .to the point that many have suspected ADD. Time will tell, I suppose. The thought of her having to sit down at a desk all day kind of makes me cringe though. She's always moving and she has been this way since the NICU. I'm sure her nurses will vouch for that.

She is very small at 31.5 lbs and 42 inches tall. Eating has always been a struggle. Since we haven't gained anything in 6 months, I told her that when she makes it to 32 lbs, we'd have a party with a cake. That actually has motivated her a little bit to eat more than 2 bites of her dinner. I'm sure that her high activity level doesn't help with the weight gain.

She's eccentric. Especially with how she plays. The other day, she was playing with a family of computer mice and a family of blow dryers. My hair clips were once bugs living in my old jewelry box. She loves when her balloons deflate so that she can walk them around the house on their "leash." Last night she slept with a plastic lobster shovel (it has never been outside.) And when she grows up, she wants to be a butterfly. A pink and purple one. There is no limit to her imagination and she is definitely not one who just goes with the crowd.

Her memory is like a steel trap. Seriously, she remembers things that most people would not. She remembered that we used to have a white microwave and she was maybe 3 when we gave it away. She remembered that my dad installed a CD player in the kitchen and I don't even think she was three at that time. She remembers where presents were placed under the tree from 2 years ago! I've learned not to argue with her about certain things because chances are, she's right if memory is concerned.

She is very smart. She loves to play the what if game and is always coming up with questions like, "What if there were no houses? What if my feet were my hands and my hands were my feet? What if it was always nighttime? What if there were no trees?" The only reason she is a bit delayed in a few areas is because she won't sit down to work on it ( like writing letters, numbers, doing puzzles.) and she loves to tell stories and have stories told to her. She also loves for you to take videos of her. She would be content all day if you would tell her stories, take videos with her and answer her questions.

She is very musical. She feels music with such a passion at 5 years old. She makes up songs on the piano and on the guitar. Her rhythm is incredible and she just has a musicality that astonishes me. I predict that music will be a big part of her life. She rarely sits still unless she is at the piano. It's almost a release for her to get her energy out. Currently, we are debating piano lessons now vs later.

And that's a little bit of who my Olivia Paige is. I love her so much. She has become such a loving, affectionate child. She has told me that she never wants to get married or move away. She just wants to stay with me forever. Even when she's a butterfly, she promises to just fly around the house. Near or far, butterfly or not. . .she's definitely going places.









Sunday, February 10, 2013

Abigail is doing a bit worse today, as we all are. I just can't keep the snot sucked out fast enough. Ryan feels worse. I actually feel better, but my antibiotic gave me hives. It seems to be a little too closely related to penicillin, which also gives me hives. So I'm hoping to get on a different one tomorrow. But Abigail is just miserable. And Olivia so badly wants someone to play with her. Last night, Abigail sat on my lap and was mesmerized by her sister. Olivia was singing and dancing and playing and Abigail just stared at her. It was so cute. She already knows who her sister is.