5 month update

I thought about titling this blog post: 5 months--the real honeymoon period.  Because in the last few weeks our sweet baby girl has come into her own and with a better routine (notice I did not say schedule cause she is still super unpredictable), bubbly personality, better sleep habits and the ability to start communicating, it has made this whole mom thing a delight (most of the time).  We have made a few changes in the last month that has helped this too, but I think it is mostly due to Olivia becoming more independent, thus easier to put down for play time and more interactive as well.  Either that, or I am just finally nailing this whole mom thing--hahaha!

I did a comparison of her monthly pictures below, it is fun to see how much she has grown.  Obviously we do not have month 1 cause we were not able to bring her stuffed animal into the NICU, but its still amazing to see:

For other monthly updates, here is month four, three, two, and one.

Olivia is a girl of many faces and personality, in a matter of minutes, I captured the following 4 pictures: 

It makes me laugh, cause I feel like looking at those you could think it was at least 2 maybe 3 different babies, but nope it is all our sweet baby girl.  

A few milestones we met this month: 

* Began talking in coos

* While doing tummy time, she pushes up on her arms and holds her head up

* Started grabbing at things other than my finger

* Recognizes mommy and daddy with a smile usually

* Sucks on her thumb (or her whole fist as her mood allows)

* Tracks us with her eyes as we move

* Blows bubbles with her spit

* Moves her head to different sounds

* Started teaching simply sign language

* Slept for over 6/7 a few nights--this is only in the last week so I am not holding my breath

* Olivia is now supporting her head most of the time, so we have been doing some time in her "Sit me up"

We have also been enjoying the beautiful weather much much more with nightly walks and cute summery outfits!

Auntie Tiffany finally got down to meet her sweet niece and I think they are pretty smitten with each other!  She told me she is looking forward to more snuggles soon, Auntie Tiffie!

She continues to amaze us with her growth!  She still loooooves to eat and is now taking in about 28 ounces a day of breast milk.  She has now officially surpassed what I make in a day, luckily we have a deep freezer full from her time in the NICU when she was taking just milliliters, so we just thaw a bag or two a day.  (This of course gives me anxiety as I want to hopefully make it to a year on breast milk, but Marc assures me that once we starts eating solid foods, she wont need as much milk),  I definitely still struggle every time a bag leaves the freezer.  But I hope we will manage okay.  As with most NICU babies things work on adjusted time, so we wont know for another month if we can try solid foods at 6 months or if we will need to wait closer to 8 or 9 months for her.

One things is for sure, this Momma is in love with those chubby cheeks after starting so little!

We met with her early intervention case worker who suggested a few things we can work on with her.  Apparently Olivia is pretty rigid throughout her torso and prefers not to bend at the waist, so we are working on some stretching for the time being but may eventually need to look into PT/OT services (this is totally normal for preemies).  At her last Doctor's appointment, she weighed in at 12 lbs 3 oz and 24 inches long.  This officiailly puts her on the chart in all categories (head circumference, weight and height) for a full term baby.  She may only be in the lowest bracket but she is catching up and fast!  So we are pleased with that movement.  Also a milestone as she is now almost 10 pounds and 10 inches more than her birth weight/length.

Upcoming appointments:
* She will have another RSV shot the week of May 21st, followed by...
* Her 6 month shots on May 25th--pray for me as I hate taking her to the doctors twice in one week for shots--it breaks my heart but they said they would prefer to not do them all on the same day.

Easter 2018

Over two weeks ago now, we celebrated Easter with some family and Uncle Andy finally got to meet his favorite (albeit only) niece.  Olivia wore a beautiful pink smocked dress from my Aunt and she was adorably precious!

One of Marc's co-workers got her this bunny and apparently she thinks it tastes delicious:

Just like most holidays, the best way to end the day is with a nap.  I love how she falls asleep with her dress all bunched up like a pillow!

Easter 2018--check!

4 month (+3 week) update

(I started this blog like 3 weeks ago, and surprise I am just getting to it--as is the story these days)

On March 18th, we officially have a 4 month old baby, which is still weird cause she was really just supposed to be like 6 weeks old.  Anyway, I digress...Olivia has really shown her personality more in the last few weeks.  Smiling when we make funny faces and fighting sleep like it is her job.  We agree that she will probably be pretty stubborn--being that she decided to arrive early and does most everything at her own time.  So if she does not want to sleep, she clearly is not going to sleep and no amount of rocking, white noise or blankets will trick her into falling asleep.  Which by the way makes for very LOOOOOOONG days.  A few days, my schedule looks like this: I take the 10 minute 'nap' in the morning to use the bathroom and put away some laundry and then use the next 10 minute 'nap' at 1pm to have lunch. Then trying everything possible to get her to sleep for even just a little bit.  Marc and I have been taking nightly walks with her in her baby carrier because is almost always a guarantee that she will sleep while we walk, so we get a little time to catch up with each other!

I tend to plan out my days based on when I might get a shower, get to pee, and get to have lunch--oh the joys of motherhood!

We are constantly surprised by our little miracle baby.  She is hitting all her adjusted age milestones like a champ and sometimes ahead of schedule.  She loves to smile at herself in the mirror, loves to coo and make noises, and loves kicking her feet.  At tummy time now, she barely puts her head down, so we know her neck muscles are getting stronger and stronger.  Though when you hold her upright, she still sometimes flings her head back, so there is a little bit more strength training to do. 

Let's talk about Adjusted age, I feel like all the NICU mom terms are so common to me, but I get they are not as common to the whole population.  When a baby is born pre-term, they have two ages:
1. Their birth age, aka how old they actually are.  Olivia is almost 4 months and 3 weeks old actual age
2. Their adjusted age, aka how old they would be if they were born at term.  Olivia is 8 weeks adjusted age, based on her due date of February 6th.

When deciding how well a preemie baby is progressing, they only base it on the adjusted age until they get to about 18 months -2 years.  So when the doctors and OT and PTs look at what Olivia is doing, it gets based on the fact that she is 8 weeks adjusted age. 

So for Olivia being almost 5 months, you might expect that she should roll from belly to back, but no one expects her to be able to do that yet, cause in the doctors eyes she is measured on her 8 week birthday, and 8 week olds don't roll from belly to back. If that does not make sense, just ask!  I love explaining why we cant yet expect Olivia to do the things of a almost 5 month old.  However, when she is 18 month we fully hope and expect her to be mostly caught up with her full term baby counterparts and her actual and adjusted age should just merge together.

One thing they do not wait on for preemies is vaccinations, so though she is little, she still got her 4 month shots at her 4 month doctors check up  She is really very sweet, laying there naked waiting for the shots (the pink wall color was the perfect backdrop).

A beautifully happy baby!  In just a few short minutes and 5 shots later.....

Then the next few days after shots are basically like this...

 Poor Baby!

At her appointment, we did fine out she was nearing 10 pounds and now my guess is that she has surpassed 11 pounds!  Our little 4.5 month old baby girl is in 3 month clothes and getting close to moving to 6 month clothes.  I know we say it a lot, but she loooves to eat!  She is taking anywhere from 26-32 ounces of milk most days, definitely at the top end of what she should be getting! She loves to grow and we love watching her grow!

One thing is for sure, her mommy and daddy love her some kind of big!!

Happy Easter!

He is risen!  

We are so thankful for the blessing of prayers and love over the past few months.  Hard to believe our tiny baby has these beautifully healthy cheeks!  Hope this Easter you are surrounded by the love of family and friends and maybe get to enjoy a chocolate Bunny or two!  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We feel so LUCKY to have so many great supportive people in our lives!  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

16 weeks

It is unbelievable to think that 16 weeks ago, I was in the hospital not knowing that in just 2 days we would have a baby.  A baby we were not expecting for another 3 months!  How long ago that seems, but also how quickly the time has flown.  I can hardly remember our daily routine of work and NICU visits, now the days just blur together.  

Marc, Olivia and I are getting into a routine of really no routine, as is the case with a newborn I suppose.  Just when we think we have a little bit of a routine established, Olivia throws us off the path.  How can such a little baby have so much power?

Our once easy going little girl, is being ever so more feisty and opinionated.  She has taken to really not wanting to sleep when its nap time or bedtime.  She very clearly fights sleep.  I for sure thought we had at least 5-6 years before we would be fighting over bedtimes.  As such, Olivia has ended up in the K'tan baby carrier much more frequently.  But even still there is so much beauty in the everyday life.  I snapped this picture a few days ago whens he was looking at me, it is one of my favorites (despite the double chin--I actually love that we are both sporting one!)  But honestly if anyone has tips for babies fighting sleep, please let me know! 

Last night she was awake from 5-11pm, but would scream if you tried to sit down, or turn her this way or that, or try to hold her upright, or hold her craddled, or bouncing her, or putting her down, or in the swaddle, or trying to giver her a pacifier......you get the idea!
 

I was going through some of her newborn clothes to put them away with her preemie clothes and I just had to do a side-by-side comparison.  Look how far she has come!

In a drastic change, below is a picture of her in a 3 month outfit!  Still a bit big but she is getting there! Just maybe she will be in those 6 months clothes by summertime after-all!

Olivia's Uncle Andy got her this sweet Nirvana onesie and she just had to wear it before she outgrew it! I'd stay she still has a few more days to ROCK out this outfit!

We head to the doctor tomorrow for another check up, any bets on what her weight or height will be? As a point of reference a week and a half ago, she was 9lbs.   Feel free to comment your guesses :)

And because, I just love these two, I found it fitting to end this post with my two favorite people!

3 Months!

Little Olivia is already 3 months old, how is that possible?  She continues to gain weight well and though we do not have official doctor's scales, she seems to have surpassed the 9 pound mark and is creeping toward 10 pounds.  She is officially outgrown her newborn clothes (for the most part--she still wears a few select outfits), so if feels surreal that the little baby that started at 2.4 pounds is doing so well now.

Good news: At her eye exam on Friday, the doctor said her blood vessels have officially attached to the retina, so we have no more need for check ups every few weeks.  We will now not have to go back for another 4 months and at that point, its just a check up (none of those scary eye tools). 

Olivia as a unicorn

 Olivia is starting to really develop into a more predictable little girl, she loves looking at the mirror at herself and having her hair brushed, she loves snuggles and eating!  She tolerates tummy time and bath times and hates having her diaper or clothes changed (despite the factor that her mom wants her in ALL THE CUTE OUTFITS). 

We think her rock n play is a lifesaver, as are baby carriers.  Both of these help me keep my sanity!  This past week we were blessed with beautiful weather, so Olivia and I got out for quite a few walks--nothing like a little fresh air.  And even got to model the cute dress below (those thighs make me smile considering how tiny her legs were to start).

Olivia got her these beautiful bracelets from her nephews and she looked so stylish wearing them!  Every girl loves her accessories!  Her favorite position is to be laying against your chest, it reminds me of all the kangaroo time we did with her when she was so little.

After her big ER scare, we have made some changes to the way she eats.  She now gets just under 3 ounces about every 2-3 hours during the day and about every 3-4 hours at night time, she consistently takes in about 24 ounces a day of milk.  This less food more frequently has helped her little tummy digest and she seems to be happier for the most part, though she gets some gas discomfort every now and again. 

I wish I could claim that she is a perfect little angel all the time, but that is not so.  She has her moments, thankfully they are few and far between!  But there are still nights when she cannot be calmed with anything it seems.  It is those nights when we wished she were more fond of a pacifier.  We basically have to force her to take one and even about half the time we try to get her to take it, she gags herself on it (anyone else have this problem?)  So the crying nights are the hardest cause after we have fed her, changed her, cuddled her, tried a pacifier, we are at the end of our rope.  Any thoughts on other options would be lovely.  

We still feel so incredible blessed by this little bundle of joy.  Her faults all seem to be washed away when she looks up at your face with those beautiful eyes and ever so rarely gives a smile (even if its just gas).  Her dad and I fall more and more in love with her every single day :)