Happy 1st Birthday to our Olivia

One!

Weight and Length:

21 pounds and 30 inches.  Olivia is long and lean. She never got super rolly polly. It seems that when she would start to chunk up a little she would get taller. 

Diapers and Clothes:

Size 3 diapers. We switched to size 4 for a couple of days but they are still too big. She has been in 12 month clothing for a few months already and I’ve had to pull out quite a few items from her 18 month stash.   

Sleep:

She was sleeping through the night for a long time but now she wakes up about once a night. I’ve switched her to one nap a day which she goes down for really easily. She goes to bed at 8PM and sleeps until about 9AM most days and naps from about 1-4. 

Firsts:

Olivia has learned how to blow kisses, clap and high five. She says mom and dad and babbles all the time.  She nods her head when we or other people are talking as if she knows exactly what they mean. I Love it! 

Olivia had her first ER visit and overnight stay at the hospital a few weeks ago. She had a runny nose for a couple of days but then woke up one morning with labored breathing. She wouldn’t eat and she was very tired. Olivia doesn’t sit still very often and never snuggles but that morning that was all she did.  I put Vicks on the bottom of her feet and steamed her out in the bathroom but when her breathing didn’t improve we took her in. It was on a Sunday so that is why we went to the ER. She had a slight fever and her oxygen levels were about 85-90% which they said weren’t scary low but they didn’t like how hard she was working to breathe. A chest x-ray revealed inflammation in her lungs which they called bronchiolitis. Her tests came back negative for rsv and influenza and they actually never told us the results of her viral screening. They gave her a couple of nebulizer treatments and a steroid but wanted to keep her overnight because we live 40 miles away and they wanted to monitor her longer. After the meds kicked in she was back to normal pretty quickly. She was running around in her little hospital crib giggling and shaking the bars. The doctor even said that he never sees kids bounce back as fast as she did.       

Isn't she kind of cute in her little hospital gown!

  

Andy and I had our first date night without Olivia the day after our anniversary. It was strange leaving Olivia and I wasn’t sure how long I should wait before checking up on her =) She did great without us. Thanks Kelsey!

Just the two of us!

She isn’t walking on her own yet but does well when she is holding my hand. I will even let her lead but as soon as I let go she stops, stands there for a little while and then plops on her bottom. 

Teeth:

She has 6 teeth. Four on top and two on the bottom. I think there are more coming soon though.  

Olivia’s likes and dislikes:

Olivia likes looking at books and playing with her finger puppets. We also had fun ripping up one of the many tool catalogs we have =) she giggled each time the paper would rip. I probably enjoyed it too… a little too much! Haha!

She likes eating eggs, potatoes, banana, green beans, cooked carrots and many other things. I haven’t found any food that she dislikes yet but I’m sure we will get there. Last night I gave her one of my bow tie noodles and she put it on top of her head! She ate it a little bit later but I’m curious if she really thought it was a hair bow. Especially because she doesn’t have much hair!

She loves animals and actually pets my parent’s cat very well. She lets out a high pitched squeal anytime a dog or cat comes near.

She loves it when we chase her. I am amazed by how fast she can crawl!

She LOVES stairs and goes up them very well.

She also loves to swing! She giggles so much and so hard! It is really cute!

 

Happy Birthday to our sweet Olivia!!!

I am in awe of this day. We were so ready for you to join our family and you were so worth the wait. I can’t believe that 1 year ago we welcomed you into this world. You have brought so much joy and laughter into our lives.

I Love watching you discover this world and love how I have been able to see it in a whole way because of you. Even through the tough and tired moments, motherhood has brought me more contentment than I have ever felt. 

 I Love how you have shown me a whole new side of your dad. He is such a good dad and Loves you so much. It is fun to see you light up when he comes home from work and I know that it makes his day. I Love watching him crawl around the floor chasing you and I LOVE how you will go lay right next to him with your head resting on his belly when he is laying on the floor. You are not a snuggler so it seems as though this is how you show your affection and we love it!    

  

 I Love the way that you look at me when I come pick you up out of your crib in the morning. You give me the biggest grin and even let out a little squeal sometimes. When you sleep in, I find myself anxious for your morning coos that tell me you are waking up. I Love how you truly stretch with your whole body. Your fists straight up in the air, your belly pushed out and your feet pointed out in opposite directions. 

I am so excited to celebrate you today. To see you rip open your presents and to watch you eat cake for the first time. To look through photos from the last year and marvel at the gift that you are to us. I’ll try not to cry today… no promises though. You are so beautiful and funny and smart and I am so incredibly thankful that I have the honor of being your mom.

I Love you so much!

~Mom~   

6 months

 

6 Months

Our Olivia has had her first half birthday! If you know me then you know that I LOVE birthdays and half birthdays.  I can’t believe how fast the last six months has gone.  I remember just after having Olivia I was talking to a mom of a six month old.  I remember looking at her daughter thinking that it will be forever before Olivia is that old. Well, here we are!  She is a little ball of joy that loves to babble and smile. 

Weight and Length: She is a full 21 pounds of healthy baby. We will find out her exact length at our appointment this week. We haven’t started solids yet but will soon.  Grandpa Dwight briefly introduced her to coffee but that’s another story =)

Diapers and Clothes: She is in size three diapers still and is in some 6-9 month things and 9-12 month things.  

Sleep: She is still doing pretty well at night. This week has been a little off because we have had company but before that she is usually asleep by 8:30 and sleeps till 8:30. 

Firsts: She has really started rolling just in the last week and now she rolls all over.  It is fun to hear her little grunts as she tries to get to different items that are scattered about. We have had to baby proof a little more now that she is more mobile.  She is also sitting up on her own very well now.  

Teething: We noticed her first tooth on April 5^th and the second tooth about a week later.  I bought Olivia her first toothbrush “sniff sniff” She is growing so fast.  

You can see her teeth!

Olivia’s likes: Olivia likes to drink water out of our glasses with our help. She grabs most anything she can get her hands on and likes to put things in her mouth.  She loves riding in the back pack carrier and seems to enjoy morning snuggles. Olivia really likes Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn is with us from 7:30 to 5:30 during the week. Olivia enjoys her friend. 

Mom and Dad Love:  I still really enjoy reading to Olivia and looking through photo albums with her.  I love that I am able to spend as much time with her as I am. We both love making her laugh and babble. Andy loves to show Olivia off and often will be the one holding her when we go places.  He also likes to watch walker Texas ranger with her =)   

4 Months

Four Months

Wow! Can she really be four months old already?! It is amazing how fast this time has gone.  I am constantly in awe of the Love that God has gifted us with as parents and I am thankful that God has blessed us as humans with the task of raising and loving children. Olivia has added more joy and blessing to our lives and I can’t even imagine life without her.  It feels as though she has always been here.  Isn’t it amazing how that happens in such a short amount of time?! 

Weight and Length: 16 pounds 10 ounces and 25 ½ in. She is in the 84^th percentile for both. 

Diapers and Clothes: She is in size 3 diapers and 3-6mo clothes. It is almost weird to see her newborn clothes and see how much she has grown.  It seems so long ago that she was that little. 

Sleep: Please don’t hate us….. but Olivia is sleeping through the night.  Her last feeding is at 9:00 and she is usually asleep by 9:30 and then I get her up at 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning.  I have been slowly trying to get her last feeding to be at 8:30 so then she would be in bed by 9 and so far we have had good luck the past couple of nights. It has been such a blessing to get the rest that we have.  It was especially nice when I had influenza A a couple of weeks ago and really needed the rest. 

Firsts: She has rolled from tummy to back just once but it was pretty exciting to see her do it.  She will often lay completely on her side but seems to be content with just that for now.  She has started grabbing everything she can get her hands on. It’s funny to hear Andy say ouch sometimes when she grabs his chest hair. =) 

Teething: We aren’t sure how long it will be before we actually see a tooth but Olivia is showing a lot of signs of teething.  She drools constantly, chews on anything she can get in her mouth, and her gums are also showing signs that a tooth is coming.  

Olivia’s likes and dislikes: Olivia is a great arm workout. She loves being lifted up and down and up and down and giggles a lot when we do that with her.  She likes looking at books. It’s fun to watch her study the pictures. I often wonder what she is thinking.  She sometimes doesn’t like loud noises and she startles easily.  She doesn’t always cry but sometimes if I sneeze she starts to fuss. 

I LOVE this face!

Mom and Dad Love:  I Love reading to Olivia. When I am reading she will look at the book and look at me, look at the book and then look at me.  I wonder what she is thinking when she does this.  I Love her last feeding of the day. She will sometimes fall asleep and then I can just hold her for a little while before laying her down.  She doesn’t really like to be held in the cradle position so when she falls asleep in my arms I take advantage of the moment and enjoy snuggling her.  Andy is a proud papa and it’s so fun to see. He likes holding her on his shoulder and making her laugh and babble.  She is super chatty most of the day which is so fun.  We both love listening to her laugh, coo, and babble.  

The process of pregnancy and raising a child is one that has drawn Andy and me closer together and closer to God.  It was about a year ago that we found out we were pregnant and I have had the privilege and blessing of listening to my husband pray for our child every single day since.  It’s amazing how our added roles of father and mother have strengthened us, humbled us, and have caused us to dig deeper into God.  I am thankful that we are on this journey and my prayer is that we wouldn’t lose sight of what God has in store for our family and that we will draw near to him and trust him through all that will come our way. 

Olivia's Arrival... Part II

So now that Olivia is almost 3 months old… here is the rest of my story.  I’ve had a hard time writing it all down.  Not because I’ve forgotten but because there are so many things that happened in this 21 ½ hour process.  I think another reason this has been hard for me is because this was me at my weakest and most vulnerable.  Things didn’t go exactly as I wanted them to but I wouldn’t change a thing and I am so thankful for how God blessed us on this journey.

      

So I left off with Eliza and me waiting for Andy to get to Jamestown because my water had broke in Pizza Ranch. (Oh my goodness, I still can’t believe that happened!) It really was great to just be able to sit and chat about what was going on with Eliza while Andy came to get me. On the way to the hospital my contractions were coming about 5 minutes apart and sometimes 3 minutes apart.  We weren't too nervous though. It was a fun giddy drive. 

The original plan was to wait to call my parents until we got to the hospital so that they wouldn’t worry about us on the drive but after what had happened I just had to call home. The funny thing is, I called about the same time I normally do just to chat.  So I started off my conversation like I normally do, “Hey Mom, Just calling to say hi.” p.s. When you are 9 days overdue, it’s torture for your parents to have you call just to chat. They will enjoy talking with you but really, they want you to just have the kid! So I told mom how I’d gone for a walk with Eliza that day and how we decided to have supper in Jamestown and she politely listened while rolling her eyes at the fact that I was calling just to chat (I know she did!).  And then I finally mentioned how Andy and I were probably on our way to the hospital because my water had broke. =)  She screamed with joy and started crying because she was so excited! Then I told her all that had just happened and we had a great laugh together.  It was so fun to tell her everything and it made the drive to the hospital go pretty fast.

       

We got to the hospital at about 10 PM.  The midwife that was on call wasn't the one I normally saw and I had never met him before. This made me a little uncomfortable but it ended up being a great experience anyway.  We went in and I signed a couple of forms and then a nurse came with a wheel chair and took us up to the 6^th floor.  I changed while Andy brought our stuff in and then the nurse took all my vitals and talked us through different things.  My blood pressure was pretty high so that was something they monitored very closely the whole time. They also kept checking my feet and ankles because they were so swollen.  They said my swelling was a level 3 pitting edema. That means super duper swollen =)  I was only 2 cm dilated and not long after we got settled in my contractions were coming about 2 minutes apart which made for a very long night of labor.  The nurse said that it wasn’t typical for them to be that close together so early on.  I spent a little bit of time in the whirl pool tub which was a little relaxing but then decided to try to get some rest.  The nurse suggested that I have a morphine shot and a sleeping pill so I could sleep through the early labor. She said that is normally what they do to help women in labor get some sleep and that once the contractions get stronger I would wake up.  She said most likely I would get between 4-6 hours of sleep. At first I said no, but once 1AM hit with no sleep I decided that it would be a good idea to get some rest.  So the nurse gave me the morphine shot right in my butt cheek =) and gave me a sleeping pill.  At first the shot really stung and then I got really hot and started sweating.  She said that was just my body reacting to the morphine.  I was able to sleep solid for about 2 hours but the contractions started getting much stronger which kept me awake. 

After about 12 hours of labor

So after 3 AM I was awake off and on.  I slept a little between contractions and by 6AM I was ready to be out of bed.  So I got up and got ready. It was kind of funny to have to stop every few minutes to breathe and sway through my contractions while doing my hair and make-up.  After getting ready we walked laps in the hall.  It was a funny feeling to be THAT woman... you know... the one in labor, walking around with her hand on her back, stopping every couple of minutes to grab the wall and breath through a contraction while her husband rubs her shoulders. haha.  I still laugh when I think about it.  Not that I'm making fun of myself or women in labor it's just that it is kind of a funny sight when you think about it! At about 8AM it was time to check my vitals again and my blood pressure was so high that I had to stay in bed.  It was hard not to be able to get up and move through my labor.

By 11 AM I was only at a 3 1/2 and Olivia’s vitals weren’t where they wanted them so they started me on pitocin to try to move things along faster.  That really kicked my labor into gear and then things got a lot more intense.  Remember when I had that contraction that made me throw up when I was still pregnant. Well…. That happened when I was in labor. Luckily that only happened once because that was the only time that I cried during my labor.  It is so hard to have no control over your body and to be having contractions and puking at the same time is very overwhelming.  

I think it was about 2 PM and I was at a 5 and decided to go in the whirl pool again to try to help my body relax.  While in there I started to have the feeling like I was supposed to push.  It is one of the strangest feelings and it is so hard to control.  I had Andy get the nurse so I could tell her what I was feeling.  She told me to try to relax and to try not to push. 

Side note: After your water breaks they want you to deliver within 24 hours to avoid infection for both mom and baby.  If you don’t deliver within 24 hours then they do a c-section.    

 

So there I was with 20 hours of labor under my belt. (Under my belt, haha)  The hardest part of my labor was at this point.  I was exhausted and had to fight my body. It was about 3:30 PM.  I was only at a 7 and my body was still trying to push.  My nurse told me that I really needed to try not to push. This is because the pressure placed on the cervix too early will cause it to swell which is not what you want to happen.  This was when we decided that I should do an epidural.  I needed my body to relax so that I would be able to get to a 10 and with how slow my labor had been and with having to fight my body I didn’t feel like that was going to happen. 

So about twenty minutes later the anesthesiologist came in and we began the process of the epidural.  After she was finished and got me laid back and got the medicine started I still felt the urge to push.  So they checked me and I was finally at a 10.  So literally about 5 minutes after the epidural I was at a 10!  It was such a relief to finally be able to push for real and not have to fight it anymore.  Fortunately I still had quite a bit of feeling so I could tell when a contraction was happening and knew when to push. At this point the nurses brought in the warming bed for the baby which was sooo exciting because I knew that soon (hopefully) we would have a baby in arms.  I pushed for an hour and 10 min and then Olivia was born at 5:10. So about 21 1/2 hours of labor. whew!  

As soon as she was born a feeling of relief washed over my body.  I was so glad to be done with labor and to be holding this little baby.  I actually had a really hard time keeping my eyes open after she was born because I think the relief and exhaustion just took over.  It was so incredible to have them lay her on my stomach and to finally have her here.  Andy was able to cut the umbilical cord and he was the one that said, "it's a girl!"

She had swallowed a lot of meconium (baby poop) when she came out so they had to suction her stomach and check her lungs. Luckily she didn’t inhale any so she was just fine. When they took Olivia to check her and suction out her stomach my midwife had to kind of message/push my abdomen very hard because my placenta wasn’t detaching like it should and he said that I was bleeding a lot more than I should be.  Luckily after a lot of hard messaging it detached and I was just fine.  My midwife then showed Andy the placenta and kind of stretched it out and was like, "this was your baby's home for the last nine months." He then went on to talk about how the process of birth is such a miracle. I appreciated our midwife and how he valued life so much!

Finally a family of three!

             

Our time at the hospital was good and we enjoyed our time together as a family.  It was a strange feeling when everyone left the room and it was just Andy, Olivia, and me.  It took us a little while to make the decision on her name but when we really looked at her, Olivia Jane just seemed to be perfect.  We had two girl names and two boy names picked out so we could have our options when we found out if we had a boy or girl. It was fun to be able to call and text the news to family and friends especially since Olivia kept us waiting for so long! 

The next day, Phil, Marissa and the kids were able to visit and then my parents and sister came to see us and then our good friend Toby came as well. It was fun to finally have a baby to show off instead of just my very pregnant self =) 

 So this is our story. This is how we became a family of three.  

Here are some pictures from our stay.  

 

Proud Papa!

Andy made himself cozy

One of the nurses giving Olivia her first bath

Proud Cousin Gideon

Proud Auntie Marissa and cousins Gideon and Lydia

Cousins!

Proud Uncle Phil

Proud Auntie Cora

Toby!

Proud Grandma Amy

Proud Grandpa Tom

All ready to go home

Going home!