Sunday, March 24, 2013

Yesterday we celebrated Ryan's birthday with his parents and today we celebrated his birthday with my parents. Two cakes! We also had a little indoor Easter egg hunt with the girls since they won't be together for Easter. I would have enjoyed my weekend a lot more, however, if I didn't have this jaw pain!! Not sure what it is, but I'm sure a trip to the dentist is in my near future.

Shockers!

Wichita State, my alma mater, knocked off #1 Gonzaga to make it to the sweet sixteen!! What a great game!!

Happy Birthday. . .

To my husband Ryan! Our children are lucky to have you as their daddy. Love you!

The iPhone

I came upon a frightening revelation the other day. I am completely addicted to my iPhone. I don't feel this is a good thing because what I do, Olivia does. And she has been a little too dependent lately on her technological toys. And it's my fault. So, I vowed that today was a no iPhone, no iPod, no iPad day. And we both only made it until about 3 pm. Then I figured out WHY this tiny device has taken over our lives. It takes the place of about 10 devices!! For example:

It is a phone and a way to connect with people. In this day and age, you have to be immediately accessible 24/7.

The iPhone has replaced the watch and the alarm clock.

It is my calendar and planner.

It replaces a GPS. With Google's new map app, it's just as good as one.

We replaced the baby monitor with a security camera which can be viewed on my iPhone.

It almost replaces my laptop computer as I use it to search the Internet, blog, check Facebook and email.

It replaces the iPod/radio and is where I listen to all my music.

We canceled cable awhile back and now use Netflix, which I can watch on my iPhone. I also downloaded a March Madness app to watch the games on. Go Wichita State!!!

I have a flashlight app instead of a flashlight.

Olivia plays tons of games (most educational) on it.

Olivia loves for me to take videos of her at least daily.

It has replaced my camera. I haven't used a real camera in months! I love the photo editing apps as well.

I don't even use a real Bible anymore as I have a bible app.

I don't use my Kindle anymore as I just read books downloaded to my kindle app.

So, good grief. . .going a day without my iPhone would be like a day without a phone, an alarm clock, calendar, GPS, baby monitor, computer, radio, television, flashlight, camera, bible and books. No wonder I'm addicted. And as convenient as it all is, what direction is this taking our lives? I don't know. Just my thoughts for the day. :-)

4 Months

Abigail is 4 months old today. She looks pretty chunky, but she's only 13.5 lbs which is actually pretty average. Olivia, however, did not weigh quite 15 lbs when she turned a year old and weighed only 19.8 lbs at 2 years old. Abigail is a great eater and sleeper nowadays. She goes to bed by 8 pm (and we've mistakenly kept her up after that. We'll try not to do that again.) She wakes up at 4 am to eat and again around 7-8 am. It's wonderful! She still isn't interested in rolling over, but she can push up on her arms while on her tummy. We haven't heard a real laugh yet, but we are close. Abigail is still on breast milk and although she loves Alimentum, we weren't going to pay for it unless she absolutely needed it. We've switched her back to regular Enfamil and she seems to be doing okay. She likes to nurse at night, but really likes a bottle during the day. She is close to being able to hold her bottle by herself! And, she is an absolute cutie pie and I love her to pieces!!


Jodi- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Spring Break Day 2

Olivia was up last night with a sore throat and now she has a cough to go with it. I had one of my really bad headaches. So we stayed home today, although I think we had fun.

Olivia drew. . .a lot. I loved her Mr. Bean drawing complete with a red tie and mole.



I mastered the art of the Moby wrap.



Well, sort of. Fifteen minutes later she was sagging pretty low. Hmm, more YouTube videos I suppose.




And I let her sit and cut up paper in the hallway. Then, glue the little pieces onto bigger pieces. And I blew up balloons ( but that was yesterday's fun.) And I thought the sicknesses and winter were behind us. Nope and it might snow this week too. Boo!

Jodi- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Abigail

Happy St Patrick's Day

We spent the day with our entire family. . .both sides. Ryan's sister and family are going to be moving to Georgia and Ryan's brother and family are going to be moving to Arizona. So, we enjoyed spending time all together and got a few pictures to celebrate.


The cousins


The whole clan


Just us


Then, we headed over to my parents' house to celebrate my brother's birthday.



Here is Aunt Shelley and Abigail





Gotta say. . .one of the best St Patrick's Days I've had in years.

Jodi- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Never Give Up

Yesterday we were outside enjoying the beautiful weather. I've been trying to teach Olivia how to pump her legs and swing by herself. She's almost got it! She just needs to give it a little more umph and keep going. But, she gets frustrated and mad and says she can't do it. So, standing outside in the backyard I told her that she gives up too easily.

Olivia gives up too easily?

My mind drifted back to the NICU where I watched a 1 lb 1.5 oz little baby fight harder than anyone I'd ever seen. Her entire life tells the story of someone who doesn't give up. No matter what the odds, no matter how hard. . .she doesn't give up. She does things on her own timetable and in her own way. But, never does she give up. Keep doing what you're doing baby girl. You're amazing!

Sisters Are. . .

Different flowers


From the same garden.



Jodi- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Oddie

Well, three posts in one day. LOL! Oh, Oddie. Olivia is in love with Oddie, a Moshi monster. She found him on an iPad app and for some reason has latched on to him. Certain things just really tug at her heart. She filled up her sticker chart and as her prize, she got a plush Oddie. He came today and you would have thought it was Christmas. Not many things inspire her to draw and she even has a picture of him that she drew in her room. Could this be the next in line of her favorite toys? Gogum, Lily, Newt, Peacock, Mr Bean, Oddie?

Not Gonna Smile

Because you want me to smile, I'm not going to smile.


Seriously, I'm not going to smile.


I'm gonna cry if you don't put the camera down.


Consider yourself warned.



Abigail hates the camera. She will smile until I get the camera out. Total opposite of Olivia as a baby. LOL!

Jodi- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mother Of The Year

Wow, if anyone DOESN'T deserve that title today, it's me. I got done feeding Abigail and noticed her nails were getting long. So, I cut her nails and it was uneventful. Then, I laid her down in her crib to go get her Zantac. I came back in and there was blood everywhere ( at least it seemed like it.) I freaked out and finally discovered it was coming from her finger. I had snipped her finger when I was cutting her nails!! I have never done that before! But, she wasn't crying and was smiling and bleeding everywhere. So, I tried to apply pressure while she's moving her arms everywhere. She seriously bled a lot!! Then, I realized that Olivia's band aids were too big for her little finger, so I desperately found some paper tape/bandages to use. Then, Olivia walked in and asked what was going on. Olivia cried for years when we cut her nails until we convinced her that it wouldn't hurt. So, I couldn't tell her what happened. She would be horrified! I just said that Abigail's finger was bleeding, but didn't tell her why. Luckily, she didn't ask questions. Sheesh. What a way to start the day! At least Abigail didn't cry or seem upset over it. That would have been even worse. I feel like the worst mom in the world right now though. I think I'll have Ryan cut her nails from now on.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

As a micro preemie parent, it's the little things that make me jump for joy. Olivia finally learned how to spit her toothpaste out. This is something we've worked on for a really long time. Last night she even tried mouthwash! She will also go to the bathroom in public over 50% of the time. She just doesn't like those horse shoe shaped seats and only wants the "circle potties." Every time I see that they are the wrong ones, I just grumble to myself. LOL! And I pray that the bathrooms don't have automatic flushing or hand dryers!

And, of course, she loves her piano. She sits now with a book at the piano and "reads" the music. I asked her how she knew the right notes and she explained that some are high notes and some are low notes and pointed them out. She comes up with some really great songs.

Upper GI Results

Well, results are pretty much inconclusive from Olivia's upper GI. While we were standing there, we had to wait awhile for her stomach to empty. She has a lot of symptoms of gastroparesis ( or delayed stomach emptying) yet they didn't even mention it on the report. So, I'm guessing it wasn't significant? As of right now, we are still dealing with constipation, but it has improved greatly over the past few months. She doesn't purposely hold it anymore. And reflux could be a culprit and she's on Prevacid for that. So I don't know why she eats two bites and is full or why her tummy hurts after eating or why she isn't gaining any weight whatsoever. But, please keep her in your prayers.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Abigail just loves other kids. Her cousin, Izzy, got the biggest smile out of her today. Izzy also got to feed her a bottle. Abigail is also starting to hold her own bottle which is something Olivia never did. So, I just look at both of my children in awe because of it. Not only did Olivia not use her hands much as a baby, but she almost never willingly took a bottle. I think of the early struggles that Olivia had and I'm so amazed at her now. It may have taken her longer to do things, but she got it.

Olivia also has her upper GI X-ray tomorrow morning. I'd appreciate prayers because I know Olivia is pretty nervous about it. I should know the results by tomorrow night too. Thanks.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Abigail adores Olivia! Seriously, I walk into the room and I get a smile from Abigail. Olivia walks into the room and Abigail's entire face lights up. And Abigail will start crying in her crib and Olivia asks if she can take care of her. A few minutes later, she walks out of the room and Abigail is back to sleep. Huh? I ask how she did that and Olivia just laughs. Those two are going to be so close, I just know it. Olivia has thoroughly enjoyed getting out her old baby toys from storage and, wow, they've brought back memories. Funny how you can still remember the songs. LOL!

My Olivia

Man, I love this girl! She is at that stage where she can't tell me that she loves me enough. And she tries to find the right words, so she says things like:

My heart beats like thunder for you.

I love you with my whole life.

I love you the most much and Abigail loves you the least much. (She was trying to convince me to put Abigail in her crib and play with her instead.)

She is still struggling a bit with having a baby sibling, so I try to make her feel extra special. She looks forward to the weekend because she gets to sleep with me. We are planning a trip to the circus soon along with a vacation just the three of us. I hope both of my girls always know how loved they are.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Olivia has struggled with eating all of her life. Lately it has gotten worse and she has started gagging after eating. It's frustrating as a mom who has always known of this difficulty and yet doctors shrug it off. So we wait until her weight gain starts to be distressing and then decide to do something. Anyway, she goes in for an upper GI X-ray on Tuesday. What I believe is that she has esophageal stricture, or a narrowing of the esophagus. This can actually be caused by scar tissue due to things like a ventilator and NG tube. This would explain why she can't swallow certain things like meat and carrots. An hour later, I always discover she is still chewing on things like that. It would also explain why she tells me that she has a froggy stuck in her throat after eating and her difficulty gaining weight. Add to that some oral aversions and the fact that she never put things in her mouth as a baby and no wonder she doesn't eat. I'm slowly learning to never underestimate a mother's intuition. And it doesn't hurt that we are switching to a new doctor who listens a little better. Please keep Olivia in your prayers so that we can help her eat better, grow and continue thriving!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Today was just a fun day. . .nothing really specific, just fun. We started the morning with a puppet show for Abigail. Those two are really interacting now. It is so cute.



Abigail is really taking an interest in toys too. She loves to bat at them. I always have her firefly on the side of her crib and the first thing she does when she wakes up is play with it. At 4:30 am when she woke up, it wasn't there and she got really mad. So funny! It's back now though.


We are finally getting on somewhat of a schedule too and that has been wonderful. Abigail has no problems sleeping 6-8 hrs per night. Of course, if I went to bed sooner that would help. She's a good eater AND a good sleeper! That never happens. She does not take good naps though, just like Olivia.


She is just as cute as can be and on the verge of laughing any day. I'm so blessed with my girls.

And we had sausage and tortellini soup for dinner. I still need to do a blog post on emeals. I can't rave enough about them! After over a month of meals, there have only been 2-3 that we haven't liked.


Jodi- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Bumbo

At least one child likes it. LOL!

Kitty Kelsey

Last night Olivia was having a hard time going to sleep so I let her kitty Kelsey stay in the bedroom with her. When I woke up about 1:30, I opened her bedroom door to let Kelsey out and they were snuggled up in bed together. I left the door ajar so she could leave when she needed to and that cat stayed with Olivia all night long. This made Olivia so happy this morning. However, Olivia just came to me crying asking how long Kelsey would be here. How old is she? When was she going to die? Don't know what brought this all up. She loves her kitty, though, and Kelsey loves her just the same.

Thank You

Thank you to the very special blog reader who sent me my giraffe overalls. I'm wearing them today.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

I always say that Abigail has eating days (where all she does is eat) and sleeping days (where all she does is sleep.) Today was definitely a sleeping day. How I got blessed with such amazing girls, I'll never know. While Abigail slept, I was able to spend a lot of time with Olivia playing with bath toys, Play Doh and coloring (of which she literally took an interest in yesterday.) Ryan worked all day yesterday, so he got a day to recover. And, I made delicious crock pot lasagna that even Olivia enjoyed. Pretty good day.