The Play Date!

Tonight was Olivia's first play date! Beckey, Courtney, and Shayla came over to visit for an hour or so after Beckey got off work. Shayla was born January 30th (Courtney actually went to the hospital on MY due date!), a few weeks early, but she wasn't your average preemie! She has a pound or two advantage over Olivia, but she's still precious! Both babies either slept or ate through most of the visit, but both were bright-eyed for a photo session right before they left.

Firsts

Obviously since Olivia has only been on this planet for a few weeks, we are experiencing lots of firsts. First bath, first smile, etc... Here are a few more.

Two days ago she turned over for the first time! I'm not too sure if it was an accident or intentional; I just know that when I left the room she was on her belly, and when I returned she was on her back. Now, not to take any credit away from her mad skills, she was at an advantage the way she was positioned on the couch, and she rolled to the lower side. Nevertheless, she turned over, and that's all that matters. She hasn't done it since.


She also had a bath in her blue baby bath tub for the first time. She didn't enjoy bath time any more, but it was much easier on my back because it sits her higher up, so we will continue to use it.
Today she sat in her Bumpo seat for the first time. If you have never seen a Bumpo seat, they are pretty cool. They are made from a plasticky/styrofoamy/pool toy type material that helps babies learn to use their back and neck muscles. I don't think they are designed for babies under two months, but since she's been holding her head up since she was in the hospital, I thought we would give it a try. She liked it for the first few minutes...

The Update...

Because of elevated thyroid levels when O was in the NICU, Dr. Robert's sent us to get additional blood work done over at Northport DCH. We caught up with each other today and I found out that her levels were, in the words of Dr. Robert's, PERFECT! Yay! No additional tests or treatments needed! Praise the Lord!

The Last Link

I never thought I would be sad when the raisin in Olivia's belly button finally dried all the way and fell off, but I really was! This little nubbin was the only link to my baby for nine months, and now that it is gone, she is her own little person. Yes, she does rely solely on us for everything that she needs, but one day soon, she will be helping herself. I have watched her change so much in three weeks that I can already be a little bit sad that she doesn't need me as often as she did when we first got home. It's lame I know, but it makes me sad none the less.

With the nubbin gone, we were able to get a real bath. She still doesn't like it.

The Joys of Colic

After the doctor's appointment last Monday, Olivia started exhibiting the signs of colic. Colic is defined as periods of uncontrollable crying (or, screaming, as in our case) for three or more hours for three or more days a week for absolutely no reason. Although it usually happens in the early evening, it could happen at anytime. JOY. Olivia's starts around 7ish at night, and has lasted off and on until as late as 1:30am. Now, when she was in the NICU they jokingly diagnosed her with "lap colic". She is needy and loves to be held. But what we've been experiencing has not been soothed with us loving on her. We originally thought it was just gas, but the gas drops that we got just didn't seem to be working.
So, last Thursday I just couldn't take it anymore, so we got this stuff recommended by her pediatrician called Gripe Water. It's main ingredient is chamomile, and it seems to be working pretty good. I have learned in the last few days that I must give it to her before she gets too worked up, or else it takes a while to kick in. It seems to soothe her right away, and she seems to like the taste - I don't exactly know why, because when I got a drop on my hand and licked it off, it tasted HORRIBLE. Yuck! Whatever...as long as it seems to be working...

Just Pictures!

We were playing with the camera while she was in her swing the other day. These are just some pictures of the really cute faces she makes!!

The First Doctor's Appointment

We went this morning for our first doctor's appointment with our pediatrician, Dr. Roberts. They covered the basics today. She weighs 8 pounds, 4 ounces - up almost a pound in a week. Apparently this is good as a newborn. She measured 20 3/4 inches, but I don't think that was very accurate because I didn't do a good job holding her in place when the nurse stretched her leg out, so I am thinking that the 3/4 height gain may be more like 1/4 or 1/2 inch instead.
Because of the season, we were advised not to go out too much to places with lots of people. She said that there was a stomach virus that was pretty bad in the community and the obvious cold and flu bugs going around. Before we left we were sent over to the lab at the hospital to have more blood work done. Apparently she had an elevated thyroid level in the NICU, and Dr. Roberts wanted to test her right away in case there was something to be made of it in order to start treatment immediately. Other than that she is in great health. We go back in April for the first round of immunizations. We were advised to bring Infant Tylenol because she would be really cranky following. I'm NOT looking forward to this.