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Saturday, January 10, 2009 - Update

Mama wishes she had my energy. I like to go, go, go!

When I decided to be a stay-at-home mom, I didn't mean it in quite such a literal sense. I'm going out of my mind this winter. Last winter, I think I was so happy to be home and not up at the hospital every day that it didn't bother me quite as much. But, this year. . .talk about cabin fever. It doesn't help that I have yet to beat this fatigue. I'm getting so frustrated and I'm starting to rely on caffeine again, which is a big no-no for me. Truth is. . .Excedrin and iced tea make me a better mother. I hate going through the day feeling like I'm in a big fog and only "half-alive." It's awful. I have learned that when you go over 2 months without a Pepsi, it begins to lose it's appeal. Not my Sonic iced teas, though, for 73 cents during happy hour. Ryan took care of Olivia all day and sent me out of the house. I spent some gift certificates and did some shopping and it was nice.

As I mentioned last month, the March of Dimes "March for Babies" is coming up on April 18th. Last year, I was so gung-ho about it. I don't know where I got the energy. I must have still been in survival mode. I believe that clicked off sometime around last summer when I fell flat on my face. March for Babies is, however, very important to me. Please be thinking about whether you will be able to donate to the Olivia and Logan team and/or whether you would like to walk on our team. We'd love love love to have you. I know that economic times are tough, but even a $5 donation would be very appreciated. If anyone has any ideas where to have t-shirts made (online or in town?) I'd love to hear from you. I'm sure I'll pull this all together this year as well. . .I hope.

Friday, January 9, 2009 - Update

I got a new friend yesterday.
I love her!

Her name is Sophie la girafe (it's French.)

It is gorgeous outside today and Olivia and I enjoyed getting out for some fresh air. We're taking a quick break for some Baby Signing Time and a bottle and then we might head back out. These are the kinds of days when I wish we had a swing set.

How was there a giraffe that I didn't know about. . .especially one that's been around for 40 years? Olivia seems to like her. . .especially when she squeaks. I wish I would have gotten it for her sooner. Olivia still has lots of teeth waiting to wreak havoc on our lives, so hopefully this helps.

Prayers for Angie

Angie is Bennett and Ellie's mom. I have felt such a connection and friendship with her. She, too, suffered with infertility, gave birth to twins prematurely and lost her precious son. Our daughters give us both strength and peace. This week, Angie was told that she has cystic fibrosis. I have learned a lot about that disease through Nate Lawrenson's blog and am grateful for people like him who spread awareness to so many people. It's frightening that CF would go undiagnosed until adulthood (but, also a good sign that it has been managed throughout her life.) Please say a prayer for Angie and her precious family. She is an incredibly strong woman who has been through a lot, but will continue to persevere.

Thursday, January 8, 2009 - Update

It's very important to. . .oh, wrong way. . heehee
It's very important to brush your teeth.

Don't forget!

For a little girl who doesn't like a lot of things in and around her mouth, she doesn't have a problem with letting me brush her teeth. Of course, sometimes I have to sing a song (singing also works well with nail clipping.) Afterwards, I let her play with her toothbrush and she actually attempts to brush them herself.

Oh, and a bit of good news. Our baby scale has always been very accurate, but lately it has not been giving us a consistent reading. So, we don't really know how much she weighs, but we do believe it is over 17 lbs (not 16 lbs.) That made me breathe a little sigh of relief. Every day this week, she has taken more in her bottles. . .today we were up to 19.5 oz! Of course, we had to implement a rule that if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she gets a bottle. I can usually get 3-4 more ounces in her that way and it doesn't really take any more time than rocking with her. I do believe that she needs some feeding therapy, so hopefully that can be implemented soon. What sounds so simple (using a sippy cup, straw, eating certain foods) is incredibly difficult.

I also wanted to make sure that you visited The Glunt Quartet to see what cousin Rebekah made in school. I tell ya, Olivia has the most amazing cousins. . all of them are so thoughtful and caring and just all around incredible people. I love you all!!

Exciting News

I have some exciting news to report. Many of you may remember Nurse Holli who took care of Olivia while in the NICU.

Here's Nurse Holli when she came to visit Olivia after she'd come home.

Holli is one of the nurses who followed us up to Special Care. We grew very attached to Holli and hope that we keep in touch for years to come. She was the nurse who was with us when we were discharged and walked us out to our car. Many tears were shed. Holli and her husband have been trying for a baby for many years. After countless prayers and with the help of Dr. Tjaden (gotta love that man) I am happy to announce that she is expecting!! Please continue to keep her in your prayers. I'll never forget that before my difficult NICU journey, I understood all to well the pain of infertility. My hope is to someday announce the good news of all my blog readers who suffer with infertility. There are definitely miracles all around us. . .sometimes we just don't see them. Holli, we are thrilled for you. You will make a wonderful mother!

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. :)