Friday, April 8, 2011

Olivia is a bit under the weather and when she started running a temp and complaining that “her mouth was sick,” I took her to the doctor.  All of the anxiety that she has always had about medical offices seems to be in the distant past.  The only time she cried was when they scraped her throat to test for strep and I know how unpleasant that is.  She was such a big girl!  And, no strep. . .just a virus so we’ll let it run its course.  Would you believe that she has not been into the doctor since her 3 year old checkup in September?  She almost made it through her entire first year of preschool without a single trip to the doctor!  How amazing is that for a 23 weeker?!  The most reassuring part of the visit was when they weighed and measured her.  I constantly worry about her weight gain because she is tiny for a 3 1/2 year old.  She weighs 27 lbs, but she is still following her curve.  Sure, she’s only in the 1% but that hasn’t changed.  Now, I don’t remember her exact height (it was over 3 ft) but she went from being in the 10% to the 40%.  So, they were very happy with that and pleased overall.  That’s such a weight off my shoulders as I want to make sure she is always growing and developing as she should.  Despite Olivia being sick, we had a pretty good day today.  Olivia is still clapping and singing as usual, so it’s not getting her down. 

Olivia’s Trains

As you know, Olivia is crazy about her trains.  She loves to play at her train table, but she doesn’t always use trains for their intended purposes.  For instance, tonight we had to push her trains on the swingset.

Her trains use the potty.

Her trains are assigned their own chapsticks.  LOL.

And, her trains look at pictures with her on my iPhone. 

I tell ya, she’s crazy about her trains.  They are like her babies.  She feeds them.  She pushes them in her stroller, sleeps with them and carries them around in her purse.  If this fascination keeps up, she’s going to be having a train party for her next birthday.  How in the world do I make that girly? Every day, I enjoy seeing all the fun ways she can play with her beloved Percy and the rest of the gang. 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

 

We had such a lovely day.  We painted Easter eggs with Shelley and Izzy.  We spent lots of time outside. The girls played so well together.  Then it went downhill this evening when Olivia forgot to duck and ran smack into one of the boards under her slide.  She has a nice knot on her nose, which I’m hoping doesn’t cause a black eye.  The evening continued downhill from there.  I have never been more ready to go to bed!   

Olivia’s Perspective

Tonight, I took the pictures off of Olivia’s camera.  I really enjoyed seeing what pictures she took.  These are just a few that I found.

She took a picture of me taking a picture of her.

She almost missed me in this one.  Good thing I leaned over.

Here’s a cute shot of her little feet.

Tobey made it in the pictures.

And, there were a lot of pictures of herself.  Sometimes she has the camera backwards and takes a picture of herself rather than the object she intends to take a picture of.

But, they are cute nonetheless. . .

This one is my favorite.

Monday, April 4, 2011

It’s spring time. . .time to get out that mower!

Izzy did a great job mowing the lawn.  And, picking all the “yellow flowers.”  Our backyard is now almost dandelion free.

Olivia’s new bubble blowin’ lawn mower was a hit!  And, while we were busy playing. . .the kitties were busy snoozing.  I thought they looked just precious and had to take a picture.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Olivia spent the day (and is spending the night) at her grandparents’ house.  But, don’t be misled. . .we did anything but relax.  First, we painted the stairwell area of our house.  We have been dreading that for two years.  Two years ago was when we painted the entry way and decided to paint the whole house room by room.  We believe in baby steps. . .LOL.  Well, now the entry way, kitchen, dining room, hallway and living room is complete!  After we finished with that, we worked outside in the yard.  I tell ya, I’m going to be sore tomorrow.  Then, we showered, got dressed up and went out on a date.  Ryan surprised me and made dinner reservations at Kobe’s Steakhouse.  What a productive day followed by a wonderful evening!

Wichita State

For those who haven’t heard, the Wichita State Shockers won the N.I.T. Championship tonight.  Being a graduate of Wichita State, I am pretty proud.  Way to go Shox!

Like Father, Like Daughter

 

Ducky

We were at a store the other day and Olivia spied him.  Her eyes lit up and she fell in love. . .with Ducky.  Being the suckers that we are, we took him home with us.  Call it an early Easter present.  Olivia immediately told us that she loved Ducky and that  he was “one BIG duck!”  He has since had to ride in the car with her, sleep with her, play with her, etc.  So, here is the newest member of our family: Ducky!

Olivia and Izzy = BFF

Olivia’s Self-Portrait

Here’s another one to frame!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

My husband’s birthday was last Wednesday and we celebrated it with my family today.

Here are my two favorite people in the world.

Aunt Shelley got a lot of love!

Sweet Izzy

Sorry for the delay in writing. . .I’ve had writer’s block, I guess.  Hope everyone had a great Spring Break!

Olivia’s First Drawing

Olivia was busy drawing when I heard her getting frustrated and saying, “I can’t draw a giraffe. . .I can’t draw a giraffe.”  I went over and found she had drawn this perfect giraffe!  I was amazed.  And, how ironic that she chose to draw a giraffe!  Anyway, I thought I’d share this masterpiece.  She warms my heart every day.

Happy Spring

Today was a wonderful day.  We did all kinds of fun and exciting things like shopping, wearing sandals for the first time, more shopping and spring closet cleaning.  Olivia was thrilled when I gave her a manicure/pedicure.  She wanted her nails red just like mama. 

She was very disappointed, however, when she learned Percy could not have his nails painted.

We also got to see some baby chicks and Olivia got to pet one.

Yes, it’s beginning to look a lot like Easter. . .especially with the rabbit ears Olivia found at the grocery store.  She wore them for quite awhile.  If only I’d taken the tag off before I snapped the picture.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Last week, I emailed our local news stations about the P17/Makena drug.  This is an injection that helps women who have had preterm labor carry another pregnancy to term.  Many of my micro-preemie mom friends have used this with subsequent pregnancies.  For those who haven’t read my previous post, this drug is now FDA approved and the price went from $10-$15 per shot to $1500 per shot!  The problem that I have is this:  Even if you have insurance, the insurance companies are now going to be really strict about who qualifies for this drug.  This could leave thousands of women at risk for another premature birth.  If I were to get pregnant again, I now may not qualify since I went into premature labor with more than one baby.  This is a huge step backwards in the fight against prematurity.

Anyway, one of the local news stations responded to my email because they are doing a story on this very subject.  They were looking for a family to help personalize this issue.   They are coming to our house on April 4th to do an interview!  Honestly, I’m terrified because I’m not an “in front of the camera” type of person.  But, this issue is very near and dear to my  heart and if I could help educate people on this subject. . .that would mean so much to me.  I think many people still have a biased opinion about those who give birth so prematurely by believing they must not have had prenatal care or they used drugs, etc.  That just doesn’t include the vast number of amazing women I know who did everything right and still couldn’t carry to term.  So, I think our voices are being heard and hopefully this news story will help educate others on the importance of this issue!  I’ll know next month whether or not we’ll be on the news and I’ll be sure to let you know when it will air.  I’ll try to post a link to it on the blog as well. 

Friday, March 18, 2011

Olivia and Izzy

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Most little girls carry around their dolls. . .Olivia carries around her trains.  She keeps them in her purse.  I cracked up today when I saw them all sitting around the table in her dollhouse.  I went upstairs to grab my camera to take a picture of the three trains comically sitting around the table and found they had all been put to bed.

Poor James had to sleep on a table without a blanket.  That would never happen to Percy.

KV Pharmaceuticals

I have been very disheartened by recent news regarding the prevention of premature birth.   If I were to ever get pregnant again, there are a few things that would need to be put into place.  One is the placement of a cerclage.  The other is the possible use of a terbutaline pump, which the FDA has recently declared unsafe for pregnant women.  The other is the use of a weekly progesterone shot, P17. This week, KV Pharmaceuticals won FDA approval to be the exclusive manufacturer of this drug, now called Makena.  What once was a compounded, widely available drug that cost $10-$20 per injection will now soar to a cost of $1500 per injection!  That’s a total cost of $30,000 per pregnancy.   I just wonder how many babies will be born premature because of this company’s greed.  This is terrifying to me and completely unacceptable.   I know many micro-preemie moms who have gone on to have full term babies with the help of this drug.  The March of Dimes, who I have whole-heartedly supported, were in favor of this FDA approval, although they say they had no knowledge of the price increase that would transpire.  I think, however, that if the March of Dimes truly cares about saving babies. . .they need to take action and try to make this right.  You cannot be in support of KV Pharmaceuticals and preventing premature birth.  Many fellow micro-preemie moms are boycotting the walk for this reason.  To be honest. I haven’t decided whether we are or not.  I still believe in the goodness of the organization and what they have done for babies.  But, it literally makes me sick because I have this belief that if I do ever become pregnant again, I would never have to go through what I went through again.  Nobody else should either.   We are talking about women who have been through premature birth once before and deserve a chance at a full term pregnancy.  Babies deserve to have a fighting chance!  Maybe this doesn’t affect you personally, but it will definitely affect your health care rates.   I will, however, be writing to the March of Dimes, KV Pharmaceuticals and to my congressmen.  I hope some of you will as well.  The following blog post by Eliza Grace’s mom gives you the contact information that you will need.

Blog Post about KV Pharma/MOD
http://eliza-grace-micro-preemie.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-of-dimes-and-kv-pharmacueticals.html?spref=fb

http://delangefamilytx.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-of-dimes.html

http://ok-corral.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-of-dimes-and-kv-pharmaceuticals.html

If anyone has anything they would like to add, please feel free to leave a comment.  Many of you are more familiar with this drug and can provide additional information. 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Olivia had a dentist appointment today (she had her first one six months ago.)  She did really really well.  She cried just a bit, but they are really good with kids at this pediatric dentist office.  Olivia got a good report, which I was very grateful for.  Because she had rickets while in the NICU, I have worried about what that might do to her teeth.  Dental caries and misshapen teeth can be linked to rickets.  She also drinks Pediasure, which is really high in sugar, for weight gain.  And, she has these perfect, white, straight, beautiful teeth.  The dentist could not believe how white and straight they are and that they had no plaque on them.  We have a hard time brushing her teeth as well as I’d like since she has some oral aversions. . .so, I consider it quite miraculous.  Seriously, it is just a miracle that leaves me in awe of God’s power.  He continues to take care of my beautiful, little girl. 

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I had a fabulous day today.  As some of you know, I’m not the only one who has struggled with depression.  My husband has had his fair share of struggles as well over the past few years.  He has finally found a regimen that has lifted his spirits and has been doing quite a bit better.  We had such a great day today. . .just the two of us.  We went shopping and Ryan actually let me pick out some of his clothes!  I got him some of those cute plaid shorts. . .I’m sure he’ll appreciate me calling them “cute.” We even got new iPhone 4’s.  For the first time in years, it felt like we were out on a date.  It was wonderful!  Olivia has been an angel this weekend and has continued to delight us by singing almost all the words to her Veggie Tale songs.  Someday, I’ll have to get her singing on video.  Hopefully, our amazing weekend continues tomorrow and we can always remember how great it feels to be happy again.