A Crazy Beginning

We spent 3 days in the hospital, and because she was earlier, there were lots of tests. They poked her feet so many times to check her blood sugar levels. Apparently when they are early, they have trouble with that. I also had a very hard time learning to breastfeed and she had a hard time learning to latch on. There was a lot of visits with the lactation nurse, and other nurses trying to help us figure it all out. Brian had to feed her with a little cup at one point and she lapped it up like a kitten. Then we tried the little tubed attached to a bottle of formula then attached to the breast. That worked ok as long as we could get her latched on. I wanted to give up and just use a bottle because it was so sad to hear my baby cry and not be able to sooth her, but Brian was so supportive and kept encouraging me to keep at it.  We just had to wait until my milk came in and then all would be fine, that's what I kept telling myself.

She was so sweet, and perfect. She hardly every cried, unless she was hungry. I relished every minute with her. I don't think I slept the first 2 days because I had so much adrenaline running through my body and I just wanted to hold her every second of the night and day.

Reluctantly, it was time to go home. I was nervous about being in pain from the c-section, nervous because my milk still hadn't come in, and nervous to be at home without doctors and nurses there to help me. I had this tiny little life now, and it was up to us from here on out. She looked so tiny in her car seat, and from day one, she didn't like being strapped down in it.

It was 2 days until our first check up with Olivia's pediatrician, Dr. Allyson Van Steenburgen. I had been contacted by her associates on previous days via phone calls, but with all the medications I was on for pain, I don't quite remember what was told to me. When we got there, the doctor was very angry. She said Oliva was badly jaundiced, and dehydrated. She was down to 6lbs 4oz. She scolded me for not supplementing her feedings, like I was told. (One of the things I didn't remember. I thought when my milk came in, we didn't have to do that anymore. My milk had come in on Sunday, so we stopped. This apt was on Monday.) She told us her levels were really high and we would have to go to the hospital to have blood taken. More pokes in her feet. I was a wreck. Here I had put my little one in jeopardy because I didn't do what I was told. Not to mention all the hormones running through me. All I could do was cry. I think I cried for 3 days straight. I was so afraid, she was going to die, or have some problem and it would all be my fault. She did get her blood tested and it came back at 18 which was borderline dangerous. At 20 they start having brain damage and other problems. She was put in a bilibed, thankfully at home, for 24 hours. This was so traumatic for me. Because the light could damage the eyes, we had to put a mask over her eyes. She immediately went into a crying fit. All I could think was that she was scared and felt abandoned. How on earth was I supposed to leave her in that box, all alone and only take her out to feed her? I knew she had to do it to get better, but I felt hopeless. It was a very long 24 hours. We had to go back to the hospital for more blood tests, and it had gone down. This time it was at 15. No more light, but we had to continue getting blood work daily to make sure the biliruben was going down. Eventually it did, and she would be ok. That following week, I fed her every hour in a half whether she wanted to eat or not. The more she ate, the more she pooped, and the more she pooped, the faster the biliruben would leave her body. I was not going to let the doctor down. She finally gained back some weight. The doctor was well pleased, and so was I. 

You can see that she was still very yellow (or tan looking) but she was going to be alright. We had made it through this difficult time. 

This is the very first outfit she wore, and it was a gift from her aunt Sarah Steed. It was so tiny, and yet still big on her.

She's Here........!

It was a crazy day on January 18, 2012. To start off, I didn't get much sleep because the night before I was having contractions from around 7pm til 2am when I finally fell asleep. I didn't realize they were contractions as I was expecting something totally different. What I was feeling were very strong menstrual cramps and that is not what I thought it would feel like. The next morning sometime around 8am, I woke up and thought I had peed the bed. Still not fully awake, I went to the bathroom and it just kept coming. I tried calling Brian, but he was at his BNI meeting and didn't answer. I sent him a text saying, "call me now!" He did, and I told him what happened. He told me to call labor and delivery. I was still embarrassed cause I still wasn't sure what was happening. Labor and delivery said I should come now, that my water had broke. Ok, I'm still 3 1/2 weeks early. I called Brian back and he said, "Ok, I'm on my way, but it might take me awhile cause it's snowing pretty bad out there." I called Amy, my sister-in-law, and with panic in my voice told her what was going on. She was very excited and helped calm me down a bit. I was already packed and ready to go, but for some reason, my brain had stopped functioning. I had to tell myself over and over: "pants, shirt, socks. pants, shirt, socks." just to get myself dressed. I just kept walking around the house completely confused. Finally Brian got there. It took about an hour. We loaded up and made the long drive, which should only take about 25 minutes, to St. Luke's downtown. This was the first snowfall of the season and man, the traffic was bad. It took us over an hour to get to the hospital. Good thing I wasn't in pain or it would have been a miserable drive. Brian and I just kept laughing because when your water breaks it's not just one gush of water, it trickles out continuously, so I was completely disgusted that I had to sit so long in the car. We finally made it safely to the hospital and into labor and delivery we went.

 So I wasn't even dilated when I got there, so they let me sit for awhile, and got me all hooked up on I.V. They sure know how to make you feel beautiful when you are having a baby. I mean check out the hat they made me wear. I sat for a couple hours waiting for something to happen. Finally Dr. Lowder came in and told me that since I wasn't dilating, I needed to have a c-section. With the waters broke, there was a risk of infection if I didn't have her soon. Of course I had planned on doing it  the other way, so I was a little bummed. Then the panic set in. Something about having a needle stuck into your spine is a little unsettling. 

 The nurse took our picture before I was wheeled off, without Brian, to get anesthetized. They would let Brian in the operating room until I had gotten the spinal. Good thing Dr. Lowder is a patient, nice man who held me through the whole thing and talked to me to keep my mind off what was happening. It really wasn't as bad as I expected, but it did hurt a bit.

 The last c-section I had, 15 years earlier, I don't remember feeling all the tugging and pulling as I did this time. It was very strange. I kept asking them, "Am I supposed to be feeling this?" Then they would say, "Does it hurt?" Well it didn't hurt, but it felt very strange. Being strapped down on a table with arms out, like a crucifix, not being able to feel anything from the breast down is a bit frightening especially for a control freak like myself. Then at 2:51pm my sweet little miracle joined us on earth. When I heard her cry for the first time, I was so relieved. I asked Brian to make sure she had all her parts, and he assured me she was perfect. The doctors even said her color was amazing. Her umbilical cord was nice and thick, and she was very healthy looking.

 I was very surprised by her weight, especially for being 3 1/2 weeks early. She weighed in at 

6lbs 11.4 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long.

 And so the journey begins with my sweet little miracle, Oliva Nicole Owings.

36 Weeks and Counting......

Well today marks the 9 month mark. That means potentially I only have 4 weeks to go! It's just a waiting game from here on out. 

Idaho Baby Shower

Today was my 2nd baby shower with my friends and family from Idaho. It was lots of fun. One of the games was making a baby out of play dough. The little yellow one on the bottom left was the winner I chose. I liked the cute little binky. Some were very creative.

 Food, oh yeah!

 Cute decorartons

 My wonderful friends and shower hostesses, Jen Merrill and Lynette Rushton

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, so I didn't get any body else that was there, or me opening gifts. I got lots of baby clothes for Miss Olivia, and some adorable home made blankets. Lots of fun, especially watching the "tinkle" game where you had to hold a quarter between your legs, walk to a jar and drop the quarter in the jar. It was hilarious.

More Cheerleading.....

The girls continue to cheer, only this time it is basketball season. It's been a very long December with all the practices, basketball games, and competition coming up in February. They haven't had any time to do much else other than cheer.  Despite all of it, Nadia is looking forward to trying out again for next year, while Caitlyn is not. She is excited to start the job hunt and start making money.

 (If she only knew......)

Nadia cheering for the JV girls basketball game against Mt. View High School. It was a fun game, but unfortunately they lost by 2 points.

Nadia stunting between periods. She was nervous about doing the lib and half hitch, but she pulled it off. Wish she were facing me, but oh well.

Caitlyn cheering during the Varsity girl's basketball against Rocky Mt. High School. Rocky was expected to win, but Meridian came through. It was an exciting game.