Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Nice to meet you...

Olivia got to meet my dad this weekend.

What shall I call you? Grandpa? Pappy? Let me think it over.It's the Pappy Pillow...


Thursday, September 25, 2008

Some cuteness (taken on 9/19)

Here is Olivia pivoting to see what's going on in her room....She is wanting to crawl so bad!!

Here she is loving her mommy. I must say that I love this video!!!

Monday, September 22, 2008

First trip to the ER...


Last week, Olivia caught at cold at daycare (which she has lovingly shared with Mommy) and had become Queen of the Snot Goblins. She couldn't sleep Friday night-since she sleeps sucking on her thumb and the amount of snot in her nose was making it impossible for her to breath. Saturday night was a repeat, but with even more snot and some coughs added in to the festivities. I called the on-call pediatrician to see if there was anything I could give Olivia to help clear up the congestion and was instructed to take her to the Emergency Room so they could make sure the infection wasn't getting into her lungs. Chris and I proceeded to load her up and drive (incredibly stressed out) to the ER. They took a sputum sample, sucked her nose clean with the Booger-Be-Gone and sent sample to the lab. They put her on Bactrim 2x/day for 14 days and they said her lungs still sound clear and that we need to keep aspirating her nose to keep the stuff from getting into her lungs.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Back to normal.....finally.

I think Olivia is finally all back to normal since being away from home this weekend. She was having a lot of fussiness, spitting up, some gas, not napping during the day, etc.. She took a good nap from 6:30 pm - 9 pm and then slept through the night the last two nights. I think she's all squared away again. Now mommy and daddy just have to get all sorted out.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Knit with Love

Chris's family has this family friend, Iris, that knit the sweetest bonnet for Olivia. I can't wait for it to get cooler so she can wear it and the beautiful knit sweaters and hat that Mary Anne, a friend of my family, knit for Olivia!




Barfy the Carpet Slayer

We went to Cookeville yesterday for Dean and Sandi's wedding and Olivia has spit up on the carpet so many times since we've been home!! I don't know what it is about any kind of travel and her little tummy, but everytime we go anywhere for the entire day or overnight she is Barfmaster for the rest of the day. Carpets BEWARE!!!

Friday, September 12, 2008

6 Month Checkup

Olivia had her 6 month checkup today with the best pediatrician in the world, Dr. Blevins!! He said she looks great!

-Her length is 26 inches (60th percentile).
-Her weight is 14 lbs 13.5 oz (28th percentile). This makes her Body Mass Index down just a touch since Clinic (17%) - she is at 15.4% today and they want her around 50%.
-Her head measurement is 42 cm. (42nd percentile).

She got her vaccinations and when it comes to needles, she is exactly like Chris! Poor little thing...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Happy 6 Month Birthday!!



Celebrate good times - WooHoo. Today is Olivia's 6 Month Birthday!!! I can't believe it has already been 6 months. It has gone by so fast and seems like a lifetime ago all at the same time.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Things my genius daughter can do...

For those of you who don't get to see her often (which is pretty much all of you), here is a list of things that Olivia can currently do.
-Roll from back to tummy and reverse.
-Prop herself on her elbows while laying on her belly. (The better to see you with...)
-Sit up on her own (most of the time), but she can definitely sit up while propping her arms on you.
-Babble with the best of them.
-Drool at will.
-Eat solids, even though we have since put her back to formula with cereal in it. I think they changed too much of her diet at once, but I'm not a doctor. She was having her joyous constipation again and all of the crying, gas and spitting up that goes along with it.
-Hold her own bottle.
-She is wanting to scoot, but she hasn't quite figured it out yet.
-She reaches for EVERYTHING and when she gets her little hands on it, it goes right into her mouth and comes out covered in glorious goob.
-Laugh at random silliness.

She is just basically awesome. I think she will begin penning a bestseller soon...

Olivia and the "B"...

This video is from August 11, 2008 but I had to share it!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

The Signifigance of "65 Roses".

This is just copied from www.cff.org...

"'65 Roses' is what some children with cystic fibrosis (CF) call their disease because the words are much easier for them to pronounce.
Mary G. Weiss became a volunteer for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 1965 after learning that her three little boys had CF. Her duty was to call every civic club, social and service organization seeking financial support for CF research. Mary's 4-year-old son, Richard, listened closely to his mother as she made each call. After several calls, Richard came into the room and told his Mom, "I know what you are working for." Mary was dumbstruck because Richard did not know what she was doing, nor did he know that he had cystic fibrosis. With some trepidation, Mary asked, "What am I working for, Richard?" He answered, "You are working for 65 Roses." Mary was speechless.
He could not see the tears running down Mary's cheeks as she stammered, "Yes Richard, I'm working for 65 Roses."
Since 1965, the term "65 Roses" has been used by children of all ages to describe their disease. But, making it easier to say does not make CF any easier to live with. The "65 Roses" story has captured the hearts and emotions of all who have heard it. The rose, appropriately the ancient symbol of love, has become a symbol of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation."

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Beautiful Dreamer...


How I wish I slept this soundly.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Quick Introduction-

Greetings and Salutations!!

Welcome to Olivia's little chunk of cyberspace. Here's a quick synopsis of the events that have taken place since Olivia was born via cesarean section on March 10, 2008. On March 11, she was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for a bowel obstruction and stayed in the NICU for 12 days. It was a very stressful 12 days, Chris and I shed many tears and just prayed that our daughter would be okay. At one point, there were 2 possibilities as to what caused her obstruction (also known as meconium ileus). It was either Hirschsprung's Disease (which is correctable by surgery) or Cystic Fibrosis. After a few days of ups and downs and the scare of surgery, she passed all of the meconium that was backed up in her. We got to take her home on Easter and it was wonderful to have her home with us! Over the course of the next 2 weeks she just wasn't gaining weight and her hunger was never satisfied. She was deemed as "failure to thrive". On April 10 (her one month birthday) she was given a sweat test and on April 11 we got the results that our daughter had Cystic Fibrosis. Her two gene mutations are delta F508 (67% of CFers have this mutation) and 3859 delta C (0.095% have this mutation). Since getting the diagnosis, we have met with her CF Team once a month to monitor her and get her on a routine to keep her wonderful, happy and healthy (and she is gloriously all three). She starts each day off with her Vitamax (fat soluble vitamin) and she takes a pancreatic enzyme (Creon 5) before every meal to help her body break down and absorb the yummy fats in her food. She takes Xopenex through an aerochamber twice a day and Pulmozyme with her nebulizer one time a day. She gets some Miralax with two of her bottles each day to help keep things moving along and Prevacid for her acid reflux. It's a lot for two first time parents, but her doctors tells us that she's doing really well and so I guess we're doing a pretty good job. At her most recent clinic (August 27), they told us that her lungs sound clear and like she can take a good, deep breath. Her Body Mass Index (height to weight ratio) is currently 17% and they want it to be 50% so we have a ways to go, but it a vast imrovement from last month which was 3%.

Ok well, that should bring everyone up to speed.

Please check back often for updates and pictures of Olivia!! Oh and check out www.cff.org for information about Cystic Fibrosis and to see what you can do to help with finding a cure!

Have a great night!

Courtney