Ollie's First XMas!!

We spent our first Christmas with Ollie at home. We visited other family members back in Marshall County and here at Josh's parents' house, but Christmas morning we were here. I refuse to be somewhere other than my own home on Christmas morning now that we have little Ollie. It's just nice to be at home! Of course, Gran and Pappaw were here to help Ollie celebrate his first Christmas.

He slept through the gift opening, but he loves everything he got from Gran and Pappaw, us and of course, SANTA!!

After we had our gift opening, Gran made breakfast and we enjoyed that then we lounged around the house before going to Gran's for lunch with more family.

Prior to Christmas Day we visited my family back home. My dad got to see Ollie for the first time as did many others.

And you can see he slept through most of this, too.

All in all, we had a good christmas and we have some good memories. Josh got a gift from his Uncle John that is definitely memorable. He was handed a card that read "Open in order. Try them on as you go. No refunds. No exchanges." Josh was confused, but quickly understood when he saw a stack of gifts on the table. He began opening them in order and if you want to copy and paste this link into your browser http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275821215/a=83874118_83874118/t_=83874118 you can see what happened...if you don't get it, leave a comment and I'll explain, but I don't want to ruin it for you.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and we'll do it again next year!!

Look What I Can Do!!!

We learned more about tummy time when we saw the pediatrician. Someone should really write a comprehensive book on this parenting stuff and I don't mean some doctor who's never had kids. Anyway, I've been letting him lie on the ground and flail about when I should have been putting him as demonstrated in the above picture. Who knew he could lift his little head so high on his own? Well, we found out yesterday!! So cute. Those chubby cheeks were weighing him down so he only tolerated a few minutes.

I've inclused a couple of other pics that I took yesterday, as well.

2 Months!!!

I don't have any pictures at the moment to post, but we had Ollie's 2 month appointment today and I wanted to post about it.

He is weighing in now at a whopping 12lbs and 10.5oz. He's in the 75th percentile for his weight and the 25th for his height, so he's short and fat!!!! He's healthy!! He's 22.25 inches long. Growing boy!

He still isn't smiling consistently, but we aren't concerned. He hasn't been sleeping well so we're working on that. Tonight he's doing great sleeping all by himself. Better sleep will make him better during the day so he's not so crabby. We should start getting those smiles soon!!!

He had his shots today which really sucked for me, but he seemed to handle them like a champ. He turned Santa Red in the face when she poked him 3 TIMES, but as soon as I picked him up he gave me a few good cries and then settled right down. He's been a little sore at the injection sites this evening and he was a little crabby for a few hours, but he settled down around 10:00pm and slept until 2:30am. Josh fed him and now he's sleeping again (please don't jinx myself, please don't jinx myself). It's 4:30am, by the way! I couldn't sleep. I'm so used to be being awake, I guess!

So, about his shots, I tried to put some ice packs on his little injection sites because, as chubby as his legs are, they are still swollen. He didn't seem to care for the cold. I did break down and give him some Tylenol because he was giving me these screams that were sporatic, which told me he was sore. I can tell his cries and he definitely has a PAIN cry coming out!!

As far as other things we have going on, not much. We've been tending to his every need and now we are trying to get him to sleep on his own. It's better for him if he feels safe falling asleep on his own and so far all we've shown him is that its only safe to fall asleep if he's being held. We're learning!! I feel better that the pediatrician told us to let him fuss and cry for a bit and then comfort him, but don't pick him up. Everything I read says, "Don't let your newborn cry!!!" So I was worried I wasn't giving him what he needed if I let him cry when he was trying to sleep alone, but I feel better about it now and IT WORKED!! He fussed for a bit tonight and then fell right to sleep. I'm a little worried that he's stressed from his shots and that's why he's sleeping so well. Tomorrow night may be a different story.

I'll try to take some pictures later today and get them posted on here. We've been so busy lately that we haven't broken out the camera!! Bad Mommy!

Thanks for checking in.

Happy Holidays!!

I'm a lot behind in my postings. I apologize to you faithful followers.

Ollie is growing like a weed. He gets a little heavier everyday. He has started cooing more and making "real" noises that just make us laugh. He's tracking more and more with his eyes. He's been smiling inconsistently, but its a rare treat when he does!!

We've had a rough couple of weeks because he's been so fussy and wanting to be held all day and all night. Only in the past couple of days has he begun to chill out a little more. It's nice to have a break, but then again I don't know what to do with myself when he's being so well behaved!! HA!!

We went to see Santa at a work party and he didn't mind Santa one bit. I took some pictures myself, around the house, but they aren't that great. I'm still learning to use my camera and haven't fully figured it out. Also, he's been so tempermental that he doesn't want to be put down which makes picture taking fast and unorganized. UGH!! It's fun anyway!

I may be leaving some important stuff out, but I really can't think of anything right now. We'll be making the trip home on the 21st for an early xmas. I'm excited, but also terrified. I think he'll sleep in the car without a problem, but I'm not sure about sleeping with him somewhere other than home. Hopefully, it'll be stress free and we can get as many visits in as possible.
Enjoy the pics.

Ollie's First Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving with family yesterday and had a good visit and dinner. This past week Ollie turned 5 weeks old. He's a growing boy. We don't see the doctor again until December 22, but we are thinking he's pushing 10lbs. He's getting chubby. He's getting much more interested in the things around him and he reacts to our voices. It's neat to watch him develop these things. I've included a few pictures of Ollie yesterday. He at too much turkey and slept the whole day.

Pictures

This blog goes along with the one below it. I ran out of room for pictures so I'm adding more here.
These are simply a few miscellaneous pics I've taken.
One month old.
And hating getting his picture made. "HOLD ME"
He wore this shirt on election day. Worked out nicely.
I love the colors in this picture. And those long johns are TOO cute.
Handsome. Good looks run in my family!!

One Month Young

Today, Ollie is one month old...uhum...young. It's been an intersting day. He's been a little crabby. He did get his first big boy bath which I've included pictures of. He finally lost his umbilical cord so he got a real bath instead of a sponge bath. He hated it. He was not loving the shower like I was.

I tried taking some other pics of him today and he was not feeling it. He's wanted to be snuggled all day so getting pictures has been near impossible. It is nice to just snuggle him, though.

On Tuesday we took him to his doctor's appointment to check his jaundice level. She sent us to the hospital for another blood test and it was 7.9. This is great news because it is going down without the use of lights. We are very happy. I'm so sick of him having to have slices in the bottom of his feet!!! He weighed 9lbs 1oz at this appointment and the doctor was very pleased with this weight gain. He's eating pretty much every 2.5 - 3 hours and it's usually 4oz., but sometimes a little less and sometimes a little more.

He shouldn't see the doc again until Dec. 22. Hopefully, all will go well and he won't have to see her sooner!

He's holding his head up a little more each day. I just know time is going to fly by. He's getting bigger everyday. I've included some pictures for those of you who haven't seen him in a while. Enjoy!!
He lost his cord and has a real belly button. He's growing up so fast!!



And here he peed on me after I got him out of the tub. Thanks!!
I've run out of room for pictures so I'll post another blog with a few more pics.

Ollie is Better!!

Today we took Ollie to the hospital for his LAST blood test. His level of bilirubin was 10.2. Before we knew the test result we went ahead and decided he didn't need the lights anymore. I just wanted to hold him and snuggle him. So that's what I did, all day. So I was really happy when the doctor called and said he didn't need the lights anymore.

Now, we have a follow up appointment on Monday, but I don't think anything will come of that. They'll weigh him and check his color. He should be just fine. The last weight we have is 8lbs and 4oz. so hopefully, he'll be weighing more than that.

We haven't started him back on breast milk just yet, but we probably will tomorrow. It's easier on his digestive system. He has a hard time with the formula and he spits up so much with it. Makes me sick!! Ugh.

So, we're well and happy!!

Must be Me!!

Good news!! We took Ollie off the breast milk after his bilirubin level started going back up. We did that at about 6:00pm last night. He's been under the lights since Friday night. At 11:00am he had another blood test and this afternoon the pediatrician called to tell us his level is now 12.4.

His results have looked like this:
Friday 18.7
Saturday 18.1
Sunday 15.3
Monday 14
Tuesday 15.3
Wednesday 12.4

The pediatrician said we can put him back on breast milk and continue the lights for one more day. We are going to continue with the formula until we KNOW his level is down and isn't coming back up. We go again in the morning for his "last" test. We hope it's his last. I think we'll more than likely start him on breast milk once he's better and then we'll supplement a bottle a day with formula just to ensure he's getting what he needs to keep the level down. At least for a few weeks.

I forgot to mention that on Sunday at the hospital he weighed 8.4 oz. He's a growing boy. Today is his 3 week birthday, but we haven't felt much like celebrating. We miss him, yet he's here. It's strange. We haven't been able to hold him much without feeling guilty because we know he needs the lights as much as possible. It really takes away from just enjoying him. It's so nice to take his mask off when he's awake so we can see his little eyes. Just in a week he's come so far with looking around and really taking in his surroundings. I can't wait to get him off the lights and get him well!!!

Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated.

Breast Milk Jaundice???

Well, we went for another blood test this morning. Yesterday the level was 14 and today it is 15.3. Bad news. That means its going up and we don't really know why. It should be coming down, even if slowly. So, we're testing the Breast Milk Jaundice theory. If we take him off breast milk and supplement with formula then the bilirubin level should drop rapidly. He's eating randomly. About every 3 hours, but never more and often less. He eats between 3 and 4 ounces, but today at his 11:30am feeding he had 5oz. He just kept wanting more and more. This is good because the more he eats the faster the bilirubin can leave his body. We're encouraging his healthy eating!!

We have to keep the lights going again all night and give him formula and then off again in the morning for another blood test.

Oh and one more thing for all you parents out there. You know those little mitts you can buy to put on your babies hands so they don't scratch themselves? Don't use them!!! We had some for Ollie and we put them on his hands last night because he kept getting mad and ripping the mask off his eyes. We didn't want him to do this while we slept and then be exposed to the lights so we put the mitts on. Big mistake. This morning his little hands were swollen. It cut off the circulation and we didn't even know. We felt terrible. We should have checked to make sure they weren't too tight, but they went on easily so we didn't think about it. UGH!! Don't use them. Or at least check every half hour to make sure they don't get too tight. Lesson learned at poor Ollie's expense. He is fine, by the way. His hands must have been sleeping in those mitts though because when I took them off he waited about 1 minutes then started screaming so I'm assuming the blood was then moving around and he got the prickly feeling that we all hate!!! Poor baby! He's had it rough!

Keep checking back for more updates! Hopefully, we have good news tomorrow.

Ollie's Jaundice Terror

What a rough week. Ollie celebrated his two week birthday on Wednesday last week. He's thriving very well and packing on some weight. Then on Thursday we noticed he was beginning to look more and more yellow. Friday we decided to call the doctor before waiting for the weekend so we wouldn't have to worry all weekend about his condition. I called the pediatrician and told her my concern. She ordered a blood test at Harrison County hospital to check the level of bilirubin in his blood.

Bilirubin is a waste product from dying red blood cells. The bilirubin is supposed to be flushed out by the liver, but in newborns sometimes the liver isn't mature enough to do this. Usually it shows up on day 1 or 2 of life and goes away on its own in 2-3 weeks. When we left Norton Hospital on Oct 25, Ollie's bilirubin level was 11.7. This is an okay number so we were told to simply keep an eye on it and if his color got worse they would do a blood test. We kept watching and it was going away. When he had his one week check up his pediatrician said his color looked great and she wasn't going to order any tests.

Now, back to Friday. We took him to Harrison County and they did the blood test. That evening the pediatrician called us back and said it was a good thing they ordered the test because his level was 18.7. Rarely, does jaundice go away and then come back. This concerned the pediatrician so she sent us to Floyd County ER for admission and phototherapy. The phototherapy breaks down the bilirubin into a water soluable component that is then more easily flushed out of his system in the form of feces and urine.

Friday night they hooked him up with some lights and then tested him again on Saturday morning. His level was then 18.1. It was going down, but not very quickly. This meant another day and night in the hospital. Because his level was so high and he was 2 weeks old they were again concerned so they ordered a whole panel of blood tests. This time 6 vials of blood were taken and he was tested for many many different possible disorders. On Sunday morning we were told that everything looks normal and there is no cause for concern. Again, his bilirubin level was tested and it was 15.3. Going down still. This time we asked for phototherapy for our home so we could leave. We had a HORRIBLE room and TERRIBLE accomodations at the hospital. Our request was granted and we were able to bring him home on Sunday with home phototherapy. I've included some pics to show you how this looks. The mask for his eyes is to protect him from the lights which can be damaging.

Today, Monday, we took him back for another blood test and it was 14. Again, going down. We will continue the lights and blood tests daily until we reach 10. After that he should be good to go!! He's as tired of the lights as we are.
His soccer injury. Okay, this was actually the first of MANY needle pricks he got. His IV was the worst!!! This is a good picture to compare the color of his arms to the color of his face. You can really see the jaundice.
His suitcase of phototherapy lighting. If we have the drape up he doesn't have to wear the eye mask, but he hates the drape.
The mask protects his eyes.

Like Father Like Son?

What do you think of the resemblance? I see many similarities. The first picture is Josh as a newborn. The second is Ollie at 4 days old and the last at 10 days old.

Baby's First Halloween

Ollie really enjoyed his first Halloween. He peed all over his jack-o-lantern onesie. Ugh. I did manage to get a few pics before though. He also made his first debut at Wal-Mart. Fun. He slept through the whole experience. Yippee!! Actually, he pretty much slept through all of Halloween. At about 10:00pm he decided it would be fun to wake up and enjoy the night. That was not fun for us, but he seemed to enjoy being awake.

Enjoy the pics of our little punkin.

A Visit with the Pediatrician and Tummy Time

Today Ollie saw the pediatrician, Dr. Hall, for the first time. He weighs 6lbs and 12oz. She told us that they like to see babies reach their birth weight by 8-10 days of life. He's at day 8 and he's only an ounce away so he's doing great. His slight jaundice is going away. She said his color looks great and she's not going to do any blood tests. That's good because we were trying to keep an eye on that. She answered a few questions we had about when to feed and how much. He is demanding more and more food and we didn't want to cause stomach problems by overfeeding, but she assured us that when he drains the bottle and wants more it's okay to give him more, go figure. So he's eating about 2.5 ounces now every 3 hours. He's pretty consistent with his timing, too. It makes planning easier.

Dr. Hall showed us how to clean his umbilical cord, too. The nurses only told us to swab it with alcohol. You're actually supposed to pull it away from the belly and really get the swab around the icky part. It's quite scary because I feel like I'm going to pull the cord off, but it seems okay. She also showed us how to swaddle him. Again, much better than what they showed us in expectant parent classes and at the hospital. He was snug after she did that.

He has a diaper rash that we've been looking after. We were afraid he has diarrhea, but she didn't seem concerned. Breast milk babies tend to have runnier poopies than formula fed. She told us if it doesn't clear up in 2-3 days to eliminate dairy and soy from my diet for 2 weeks and see if that helps. He may be lactose intolerate, but doubtful. We'll see. I think it's clearing up already. Besides, I like milk. :0

So, basically, he's doing well and we got a good report from the pediatrician.

Today, we played tummy time. He did very well as you can see from the pics below. He was so into it. Not really, he only found the belly down position very comfy and wanted to sleep. We got some really cute pics though. I put together his rain forest exercise set so we'll see if that helps with tummy time. At least he's not opposed.






That's about it for updates that I can think of. Tomorrow is Halloween. Stay tuned for that.

Celebrating One Week of Life

One week ago today Ollie was entering this world. He didn't look to happy about it at the time, but I think he's more positive now. Eating, sleeping and getting tons of kisses seems to be alright with him. It's alright with us, too. He is such a good baby. We couldn't ask for better. He's eating about every 2 - 3 hours depending on how many ounces he takes. We offer 2 and he usually takes that or 1.5. He's doing great. No spitting up and no upset tummy!!! That makes all of us happy.

Tomorrow is his first doctor's appointment. We think he's doing great so we hope to get a good report from the doctor. His pediatrician that we selected hasn't met him yet. He saw the other two doctors in the practice while in the hospital so we are excited to work with the peditrician we selected.

We're having trouble with breastfeeding so I am pumping and he is still getting some good old fashion breast milk. We have formula just in case, but recently haven't had to use it. He tolerates both very well so we are happy with the decisions we are making.

We couldn't be happier. We could be more rested, but hey, that par for the course, right? We aren't wishing one day away. I look at it like this. When he wakes me, or rather I wake him, at 3:00am for a feeding that one more hour I get to spend cuddling and feeding him. Someday, he'll have grown to a man and I'll look back and wonder where the days went. We're just enjoying him!! He's so darn cute we can't stop staring at him!

Well, I've posted a few pics here, but if you want to see more you can go to the follwing link. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=731060482&ref=name

Stay tuned for more of Ollie's Escapades.

John Oliver has arrived!!

On October 21, I went to my regularly scheduled appointment with my doctor. We had an ultrasound scheduled to see how big Ollie was getting and he really only scheduled that because I really wanted to see Ollie again. So, I went in for that and the nurse doing the u/s said the amniotic fluid level was a little low, but she estimated him at about 6lbs and 14oz. He was also breech. I had to go back to the waiting area and wait for the doc, but within 5 minutes the nurse had me back there. Usually, I wait around 10-15 minutes for him, but not this time. He was in the office before I even put my purse in the chair. He confirmed that the fluid level was low and he was concerned so he was sending me to the hospital for overnight monitoring and fluids to try to get the level back up.

Over at the hospital they put me in triage and we waited for a room, and waited, and waited. I got there at 3:00pm and we got in a room at 10:00pm. Seven other women were in labor so we weren't exactly priority. We had a very nice labor and delivery room though. So all night we waited and I was pumped full of IV fluids. The IV part was NOT FUN!! Not a very IV educated nurse. OUCH!!! That's a whole blog in itself.

Early the morning of the 22nd, we had another ultrasound with the high risk specialists at Norton Hospital and again the fluids were low. It had increased by one ounce, but that was still only 5.6oz. Normal range that doctors like to see is between 8oz. and 20oz. That's quite a range, but even with that it's still below the range. The doctor on call that day came by our room and told us that she had consulted with the high risk doctor and they'd decided the fluid was dangerously low and we'd be delivering that day. The funny part is that she told me she was going to induce labor and I had to tell her Ollie was breech. She went back and looked at the ultrasound again and agreed that he was breech so we'd be doing a c-section after 4:00pm. We were scheduled for 4:30pm, but he didn't arrive until 7:34pm. Other emergency c-sections took precedence. He weighed 6lbs and 13oz at birth and was 19 inches long. Soooo cute, too.

After the c-section we are all doing great. We had to spend an extra day at the hospital because of the c-section birth, but other than that all has gone very well. Ollie is slightly jaundice so we have to keep an eye on that. He came home weighing 6lbs. 2.5oz. I'm going to post a few pics of little Ollie. He's the cutest baby I've ever had!!!!! HA! Enjoy the pics!


And a little tiny baby in a great big world.