Olivia's 10 Month Update

This is a little late, but we've been busy. This girl has grown so much in two months!! At her last pediatrician appointment, she weighed 24 lbs and was 27.5 inches long. She has 8 teeth. Four on the bottom and four on the top.

Unfortunately when she was hospitalized, I fell behind on pumping, so she is on formula now. Still pumping, but she isn't getting near what she was. We try to give her as much solid food as we can now since it keeps her more full. She eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner with us. Breakfast is always oatmeal usually since we can mix her meds in with it. She LOVES meat (chicken, turkey sausage, and meatballs.)

She just keeps getting more silly each day! She is ALWAYS making us laugh. We say she's going to be a little class clown, but her daddy says that got him in trouble. She wakes up every 2-3 hours now since being on steroids. We started co-sleeping because it was easier every time she'd wake up. She wouldn't always fall back asleep, but being with us, she does. Probably a bad habit we started, but it works.

Loves: Scrambled eggs, Curious George, making people laugh, puffs, going outside, her new sit-and-ride elephant and dino, and pulling her blocks apart after we build something. Dislikes: Going to the doctor, baths, and wearing clothes. She says: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Woah, Yay, Mama, and Dada.

Napping in her toys.

She is crawling and pulling up onto her knees. She started holding her own bottle and we think she enjoys that lots. We love watching her little fingers pick up food. Recently, she has putting herself to sleep during the day. I looked up the other day and she had fallen asleep in her toys. Not going to complain about that!

When we left the hospital she was very clingy to her mama. She's getting better with that and loves going to her daddy more. Dannie pulls her around on her dino and she smiles so big! She also thinks its funny to beat up on daddy.

It's been hard to find presents for her because we want to find stuff she will actually play with and enjoy. We got her some clothes since she's going through them so quick. She's currently wearing 18-24 months since being on steroids. Once she's off of them, she will lose her puffiness. She got some new wooden alphabet blocks, a Curious George stuffed animal, some books, the sit-and-ride elephant (which I gave to her already!), a pull along elephant toy, and a foam floor puzzle mat. It's really hard to buy for her age because she's not into a specific thing.

I've also started buying decorations for her First Birthday. Colors are going to be dark purple and gold. Gold is my obsession right now and her daddy liked the purple because it was one of our wedding colors. Next, I need to find some invitations. It will be a family party with a few close friends. Nothing extravagant or huge because she has a suppressed immune system.

Christmas 2014.

We really loving her personality right now and love seeing her do new things!

Olivia's 8 Month Update

Well, once again this past month has flown by. I really need to get motivated start planning her 1st birthday.

We don't have a crawler yet, but it could be any day now. She gets so frustrated when she face plants when trying to move her legs. Dannie and I both think she gets her temper from us. Makes us wonder how she will be as she gets older.

We had a few sleepless nights when she started teething. So sad watching them go through that, but I know she needs her teeth. She has three teeth now. She has been grinding them and rubbing her tongue all over them like crazy. She also got a virus around the time her first tooth was broke the skin. It finally broke a few days later and we took her to the doctor because she got a rash all over her body. She had something like "Roseola" Glad that's over!!!

She had lots of play dates at Granny's. We tried to swim one day in her little pool, but it was too cold for that. It has started to get chilly at night, so bathing suit season is over for us.

Playing at Granny's house.

She started waving, giving high fives, dancing EVEN MORE, and eating more solids. She kind of grunts at us when she doesn't get her way or wants something. I am still trying to work with her so she can learn some simple signs. So far, she just grunts when I show her. We have been signing milk since she was about four months old. But, recently we have shown her "up" and "more". She is OBSESSED with the Taylor Swift song "Shake it off." I'm sure everyone is aware of that though because of the hundreds of videos we have of her.

Family dinner at Mojo's. 

Olivia's 7 Month Update

Holy moly! Can't believe she is closer to being a year old. I'm a little late at this post, but at least I'm getting it done.

At her check-up on the 20th of August she weighed 18.8 lbs. and you are 25.5 inches long. She definitely gets her height from her daddy.

Let's see we dropped your swaddle last month. It's so much easier getting her to sleep now that we don't have to worry about securing her in there. Also, one less thing to pack when we go to Granny's house. Not that getting her to sleep is any easier unless she is exhausted. She still enjoys music and sleeping on her belly during the day. At night she has been falling asleep on us lately, so we just take her to her pack & play once she's fully asleep.

Granny got her a high chair last month because I managed to break her booster seat. She loves sitting in it to eat and also to play while I cook dinner or do the dishes. Probably makes her feel like such a big girl such she's up so high.

We are working on helping her to crawl. She STILL hates being on her belly for an extended amount of time. When I lay a blanket down with toys she will scoot backwards off the blanket. If I were to leave her there she would probably scoot all over the living room. She started teething the night before last. It was terrible and I'm sad we have to continue to go through it. I know once she has all her teeth she will be able to eat so many different foods. So far her top left tooth is VERY swollen and red and it appears it will be next. But, this morning her bottom left popped out of the skin. Woo hoo! Also, her "teething necklace" that is supposed to help has done nothing. I haven't noticed a difference since I purchased it. Of course my husband has always called it the "Magic necklace" because it releases "magic." I'm not sure why I put it on her still, I guess just in hopes it'll help.

We purchased a kiddie pool because it is so hot here and we have not been able to soak up the sun any other way. I put her in her float and she loved it. Since it isn't mega deep she was able to touch the bottom and somewhat move herself around.

She has become super attached to her paci and loves teddy bears and dolls. We also purchased her some indestructible books from amazon. Within two hours they looked like we had owned them for a few months. She loves them and it's awesome they don't rip or get all soggy fro her drooling all over them.

She is doing awesome with her baby food. I am still giving her gerber fruits and veggies as well as some oatmeal. I also started her on some meats and she loves them. She eats three times a day and sometimes has a snack before bed. She is getting around 4-5 bottles a day. I am still pumping all the time and I have a HUGE supply frozen.

Current faves: bath time, dancing, sleeping on your belly, your paci (you enjoy pulling it in and out of your mouth), different textures, the roku remote, cell phones, tupperware and kitchen spoons, being naked, and water from your cup.

There isn't much she dislikes. All I can think of is getting her diaper changed. She thinks its funny to pull herself out of it. She is such a happy baby! When we run errands or go to eat somewhere she is always in a good mood.

Story time with daddy.

Quiche Recipe

Our family LOVES quiche! There are many different recipes, but I prefer an easy one. It's quick to make and usually lasts us a few days. Quiche is not only a breakfast food, but you can eat it for lunch or dinner also. I've made a few with different ingredients, but the ham & cheese is my favorite. Also, I don't follow the exact recipe. I just add ham here and peppers there. Whatever I think we will enjoy more of.

You will need:
1 Pie pan or baking dish (spray with nonstick cooking oil)
5 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 pie crust
Salt & pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup ham (I buy the ham steaks. Cook them and then chop them them into small pieces)
1/2 cup chopped green or red bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped onions


Preheat oven to 375. Cook pie crust for 10 minutes then remove from oven. Mix eggs, salt & pepper, and heavy whipping cream together. Layer the peppers and onions on the bottom of the pie crust. Second pour the eggs & whipping cream in. Last of all, sprinkle the shredded cheese and ham in. Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes until egg mixture is set.

Another favorite is broccoli and turkey sausage. You can mix it up according to what you prefer. Just substitute above meat and veggies. Make a few quiches ahead of time and you can always freeze for later :)

Our Miami Trip

Last week we drove down to Miami. Dannie had a work conference at the Trump National Hotel. It was about a 5 hour drive for us from Ocala. 10 bags later and Dannie had finally filled his tuck. I had probably over-packed, but I wanted to make sure we didn't forget anything. Plus, we don't have a large luggage bags, just a lot of smaller ones which made packing smaller harder.

Olivia slept most of the way. She woke up about half way there and I fed her. I think we stopped a total of two times. She did get a little fussy once we got closer, but ended up falling asleep again. I guess we were lucky the ride there was smooth sailing.

The traffic definitely changed once we got closer to Miami. I'll admit, Ocala drivers are pretty bad, but MOST of them at least still use their turn signals. Plus it had started raining, so I was just a little stressed in the back seat. But, we made it there safe and that's all that matters.

Olivia was pretty good at dinner that night. It was noisy and she likes noise. Also, when she got fussy no one had to hear her. Woo! We ate out every night, so that was new to us. We haven't really braved eating out here because we weren't too sure how it would go or if we would just have to order to-go once the food arrived. The 3rd night at dinner, she did AMAZING! She sat in the high chair, she ate some carrots, then snacked on some bread. She was such a happy baby!

One of my High School friends, Meghan, visited us one day. She brought a long two adorable little ones that she nanny's for. Olivia loved them! She's definitely a little social bug (she must get it from her daddy). We had lunch and played at the pool for awhile. Awesome to be able to catch up with a friend while we were in the area.

The 4th night we ordered pizza and stayed in the room. I think that was the night we got rained out. We saw a lot of rain while we were there. Just had to make plans around it. Saturday we got up decided to tour around the city. We drove to Kendall so Dannie could show me where he went to school when he lived there and also the apartments he used to live in. The schools he went to look a lot different from the small town schools I'm used to. None of his had windows and ours always did, which is just weird to me. From there we headed to Miami Beach. Since we never have cash or change on us we couldn't park, so we just drove through. It was too busy and hot for us anyway. Family pool time that evening. Olivia loves the pool and just being in any water really. Glad we were able to take some pictures of her there.

Josie & Olivia. 

Family pool trip.

Miami.

View from Conference room at hotel. 

Holy Six Months

Can't believe this little lady has been with us half a year. I feel like I need to start planning her first birthday already.  This past month has flown by and Olivia has done so many new things. We love documenting all the new stuff she does. My Instagram is full of it! 

Last month I talked about the routine we had. We probably follow that silly routine one day out of the week now. Some days are just crazy and it's impossible. One day we will get back into a routine. 

She has been so picky with food lately. She still nurses in the morning, plays, and then naps. She used to eat cereal in the morning after nap time. Now, I'm lucky if she'll even take a bottle after. Lunch time solids is give or take. Sometimes she is in the mood for veggies and some days she isn't. She will ALWAYS eat cereal and veggies for dinner, it's just hard figuring out when on HER time. 

She's still sleeping through the night and has been going to bed a little earlier also. Two nights we were able to put her in pj's that cover her hands and let her sleep un-swaddled. She wakes up a few times, but usually falls right back asleep. She still rubs her face a lot when she isn't swaddled which keeps her awake all night. 

She started sitting up around 23 weeks and has only got better at it. She's still struggling with tummy time. She will stay on her tummy for about 15 minutes and then she gets super mad. We have tried and tried to help her with rolling over, but she's still determined to do it on her time. She is such a little jabber-box now. Always talking about something! We have noticed she kicks her leg a lot and likes patting our arms. Maybe it's a comfort thing, but it's cute and makes us laugh. 

This past month we took a small trip down to the Sumtner Landing with her. It was a rainy day so we just walked around. Needed to get out of the house for a bit. Her and I packed up one day and I planned on staying at Sholom Park for awhile, but it got too hot out and the gnats were too bad. We are currently in Miami with daddy while he attends a work conference. I will have to post about it later with some pictures. She's been pretty good so far! 

Some of her current faves are: peas, sweet potatoes, sink baths, remotes, Curious George, beach sounds, sitting outside, sitting in shopping cart, and her activity jumper. 

She is currently not a fan of: squash, tummy-time, having someone hold her when she drinks her bottle (she prefers to sit-up), and a quiet room (she prefers noise). 

Dannie said he loves how excited she gets when he comes home from work now. She's also became pretty attached at the hip lately. If one or the other of us leaves the room, she cries sometimes. 

This month we will continue to work on tummy time. She has her six month check-up on the 20th of August. We will get to see if she's got any taller because she appears to be thinning out and getting longer. The pediatrician said she should be eating solids 3x a day by the time she goes back in. I was curious for the people who are BLW when and what foods did you start with? Is it better for them to have teeth first? She still doesn't appear to have any teeth breaking through yet. I think I'm really just nervous about her choking. 

Off to hang with this little one while dad is working. Pictures to come later!

Medela Breast Pump Review

When we started searching for breast pumps I was clueless. Not only was I unsure where to start, but I wasn't even sure then if I would be able to breastfeed. I knew that I had always wanted to try, but wasn't sure how successful I would be.

Olivia never latched good and ended up only being able to nurse on one side. She will nurse on both, but she gets super fussy after awhile. So, I have been pumping A LOT!

We were lucky enough to have a breast pump donated to us from my cousin. It had been passed to her from one of her friends. I was using the Medela Pump In Style. Prior to having Olivia I contacted our insurance regarding a free pump. At the time they stated I was not eligible unless I was having breastfeeding problems. Since I had not had Olivia yet I was unable to get one before hand. I used this pump from January up until two weeks ago. I didn't really have any issues with it except it was VERY noisy and the suction had started to slow. Another disadvantage was that I didn't have a bag to carry it in. So, I just shoved it in a green bag with bottles, accessories, and a cooler bag. I need a good on-the-go breast pump.

 So after talking to some other mama's on my Instagram who had got free pumps through their insurance, I decided to try again. I contacted Avmed and they told me what was required to have one sent to me. They said I would need to have a Rx faxed from my doctor with the diagnosis code "Breastfeeding" on it as well as some insurance information and office notes. Everything was faxed within two hours. I heard back from my insurance within three hours and it was shipped out the same day. I was told I would receive a Spectra pump. After researching it and reading reviews I was excited to try a new one. I actually received a Medela Personal Advanced Double Pump. A new pump..is a new pump! I was super excited to try it out.

I'm already super spoiled with this pump. I was used to spending 15-30 minutes pumping altogether. The double pump function did not work on my old pump so I had to pump each side separately. Being able to pump both at one time it takes about 6 minutes. Now I have more time to get other stuff done. Another awesome thing that I like is that the pump, cooler section, and accessory space is all in one bag. No more carrying around multiple bags. Not only does this make me happy, but it's so much more quiet. The noise was a big concern for me if and when I went back to work and was still nursing.

It may not be some fancy hospital grade pump. But, as long as it works good and I'm able to get a good amount of milk, I'm happy girl. Pair this up with the Medela Accessory Kit and some storage bags and you're good to go.

Olivia's 5 Months Old

Time is flying! Can't believe Olivia turned 5 month's old this past Saturday. She is such a happy baby! We are enjoying everyday with her.

She had her 4 month check-up with vaccines on the 20th. She weighed 16.4 lbs and was 24 3/4 inches long. We got the okay to start her on solids, but we had already started a few weeks prior since her appointment was at almost 5 month's. She's doing really well. I started giving her cereal once a day. Then added some fruits. She is now having cereal with some fruit twice a day and I started some veggies for dinner. It's funny cause she loves foods that I thought she would hate. But, whatever works. Just happy she is eating.

The beginning of the month Dannie had shingles. It was a bit tough doing everything by myself. He could still help, just couldn't hold Olivia. I haven't ever had chicken pox or the vaccine and Olivia doesn't get vaccinated until she is about 12 month's. I feel for any single mama's out there because I now know how it feels. But, we made it through and Dannie was super excited to hold Olivia again once he was all healed up.

When I heard about getting babies into a routine, I never thought it would be so easy. Well, not that it's easy. It just takes time! The only time we didn't follow through is when we're running errands or at Granny's house. But, in case anyone is wanting to know what we do, this is it..

She usually wakes up between 7:00-8:00 am. We usually change diaper, nurse, and do some playing. She has been eating cereal around 8:30-9:00. I usually warm a 5 oz. bottle. I use half the milk for her cereal and the other half I keep in her bottle so she can have it after. Since she is sleepy by this time, if she isn't full she will have some of her bottle. Then, it's morning nap time. She's doing a lot better with napping in her crib. She will do this between 1-2 hours. Occasionally she will sleep for 3 hours. We do lunch cereal with fruit between 1-2. If she gets really messy during lunch then I will bathe her, if not I wait until after evening feeding. She usually gets another bottle after this. She will nap again between 3-5. Same routine with cereal. Then we will do lots of playing when her daddy gets home between 5:45-6. Depending on what Dannie and I are doing usually depends if she takes an evening nap or not. Sometimes she doesn't and is exhausted by her 9:30-10:30 bed time. We have been TRYING to start bed time earlier. A few nights she has went down at 9, but wakes up during the night. We have decided we would rather her go down later and not wake during the night then go down earlier and wake lots during the night.

She is showing more interest in what we are eating and drinking lately. The other day Dannie was drinking some water while holding her and she reached over to kind of help him hold the glass. Anytime we start eating something she isn't, she's curious to know what it is. I gave her a small taste of some mashed potatoes last night and she seemed to like them just like her mama. Can't wait until she tries her Granny's. She can sit up for about a minute on her own, then she falls forward.

We are still using cloth diapers during the day. I will admit sometimes I'm a slacker and put disposables on her...I need to STOP! Last week I set us back a little on purchasing disposables. They are so expensive and we go through so many!! She has pretty much passed up 3-6 month clothing. I was telling Dannie yesterday that it stinks I have to go through her clothes almost weekly because she is outgrowing them all. When she has cloth diapers on she's wearing 6 months clothes for sure! When she's not a few 3-6 month's still fit. I can't see myself saving all of these clothes. I tried re-selling some, but that didn't go so well.

Olivia's favorite time of the day is when she wakes up. Non-stop smiles from this little lady! We love it, she loves it. I recently purchased her a pool float. She's been in the water three times now. She enjoyed the pool at Granny's and we recently went to a friend's house that had a pool and she loved it. Our goal is to make her a water baby! Our next adventure will be the beach once we purchase a tent.

I have a new breast pump coming in the mail also. It's a Spectra double pump. Not sure what to think about it yet since I have been using a Medela. I looked up reviews on it and watched a few YouTube videos. Just hoping I like it. Have any of you used it or known anyone who has?

At the end of July we will be traveling to Miami for a few days. Any tips you have on traveling with a baby and pumping would be greatly appreciated. Not only that, but since she has started solids, it'll make meal time more complicated since she isn't sitting up yet. We can't pack our whole house up and take it. I'm wondering what I will feed her in. I'd even like to know what you packed. I'm a bit nervous that we will be away from home and an atmosphere we are used to with Olivia. Dannie will be working during the day, so I will be with Olivia during the day in a hotel room.

Olivia's Nursery

I've been wanting to talk about Olivia's nursery for awhile now, but just haven't had the chance. Originally when I found out I was pregnant I had decided on teal, orange, gray, and white. I wanted it to be a neutral room. Everyone kept saying that if it was a girl I would want pink and I was sure I wouldn't. Well, to my surprise, the pink won me over eventually. Either way, one thing I was sure of is that I didn't want a theme. I wanted it to be as simple as possible. 

My mom had agreed to make a quilt for Olivia's crib like she did for my two nephews.  She first made one with the original colors I had picked out. After we found out we were having a girl, she quickly started making a new one. Once the quilt was done, everything came together afterwards that matched it. The crib was probably the toughest decision we had to make. Almost all of the ones I picked out were sold out. We finally decided on a white Graco brand from Amazon. 

I fell in love with Katie Daisy's artwork awhile ago. I already had one print in our house prior to setting up her nursery. But, I knew for sure that I wanted to incorporate some into her room. She has two over her crib and one above changing table/dresser. I love that it's very flowery (but, not too feminine) and springy. She also adds beautiful quotes to them. The "dream" sign I picked up at Kirkland's. It has little crystal hooks on it that match the knobs on the dresser. The dresser was purchased from Ikea. It came in a birch color, but we painted it gray. 

The bunting over the changing table/dressing was made by a sweet friend on Instagram. I love that it fits so perfectly on the wall with everything else. Olivia already enjoys looking up at the colorful ABC print on the wall. while getting changed. The embroidery hoops were put together with left-over fabric from the quilt. The hoops were easy to put together and it makes it easy to change them out when you are in the mood to redecorate.  

The glider was purchased from Amazon. The bookshelf was a steal from Closetmaid, as was the square bins. These bookshelves are great because you can always add to them if you need more space. 

Since taking these pictures I have added two wall shelves beside the window. I'm having a hard time finding things to put on them. But, once I get them filled. I will take some pictures. 

Our Little 4 Month Old

 I'll start off by saying...I'm not really prepared for this post. Our little one has grown so much over the past month. I guess when people tell you they grow up fast, you don't realize it until after. Olivia goes to the pediatrician on the 20th of this month for her four month vaccines. I have weighed her a few times on our scale and she is around 15 lbs. I tried my best to check her length a couple of days ago. I'm not sure how accurate it was (since she kept kicking her legs), but she was close to 25 inches.

Last month, she was still not a fan of tummy time. She will allow us to lay her down with toys around her for about 10-15 minutes now. She gets so smiley and talkative during this time. Once she's fussy though, she's back over on her back. She hasn't ever showed interest in her pacifier and actually started sucking her thumb for a week or two. That has officially ended. It was cute while it lasted. She's tried to hold her bottle a few times during feedings, we allow her to do it until she drops it. She has mastered nap time in her crib. She went from 30-40 minutes to 2 hours. Since Dannie works during the week and it's more rough to lose sleep during the week, we started laying her in her pack & play during the night. She slept through the entire night in there! We were very impressed.

We started her on rice cereal two weeks ago. She was a little unsure at first, but we continued it daily and she's got the hang of it now. We have also slowly begun giving her some fruits and veggies. So far, her favorites are apples and sweet potatoes. She started giggling this month too. Which we LOVE.

I have always wanted to be able to wear her in a wrap so that I would be able to still do things around the house. When she was younger, we tried it out a few times and she would cry and get really hot. We have started putting her in a wrap daily now and she enjoys it. She has gone to Target, thrift stores, and grocery shopping with me in it. Her daddy wears her around the house and loves it too. If you have a baby and need to get things done around the house or need help shopping, I highly recommend it. I didn't have money to purchase an expensive one, so, this has saved us some money.

1. Look for cheap jersey or muslin fabric. (Check Wal-Mart's clearance section)
2. Purchase 6 yards and check width of it too. It should be between 60-72 wide (one long piece will usually make two wraps)
3. Cut the fabric in half length wise so it's 30-36 inches wide and 6 yards long.
4. That's it! No sewing required. After you have correct fabric size, check out YouTube for different ways to safely carry baby.

Olivia is definitely starting to get her own little personality. We can already tell she is going to be quite the little jokester. She is always making us laugh and is always smiling. She is always so happy. Like Maroon 5 said, "It's not always rainbows and butterflies" because she has her grumpy days, which that is mainly only in the evening. We were blessed with such a good, sweet baby.

Happy 3 Months!

I decided to start this blog because I wanted Olivia to be able to read about her childhood once she is older. Since she won't remember most of the adventures we take her on and all the memories we have of her, she will be able to read about it and see for herself.

Our sweet little one has definitely stolen the hearts of many. I feel like so much has happened this past month, but it's really just because she grows more and more each day. I honestly try not to flood my Facebook and Instagram feed with photos of her, but it's hard not to when she's so cute.

At her two & a half month check-up, she received three vaccinations and one orally. To our surprise she handled them pretty well. I thought I would actually cry, but I held it together pretty good. You seemed to have a small fever the day after, but we gave you some Tylenol and that took care of it. You had some grumpy days after, but we weren't sure if that was from your vaccines or normal grumpiness.

You weighed 13.15 lb. at your appointment on April 11th. You're currently drinking 4-5 oz. in a bottle and nursing every few feedings. Those beautiful blue eyes are still with you although we know they are going to change to brown. You have your daddies long eyelashes and you're mama's temper. You have been sleeping through the night since around the end of March. You're the happiest baby in the morning and pretty grumpy in the evenings from 6-10. You started out with a head full of hair, but it's slowly turned into a mohawk like your daddy used to have. You're full of smiles and a constant chatterbox.

You enjoy: being swaddled & sleeping in your swing, bath time, when Mama makes silly faces and sounds, spending time outside, evening strolls in your stroller, when your daddy pats your bottom; it puts you to sleep, Olivia The Pig, your rattle and squeaky elephant (Kiki), Granny & G-papa, and visits from Abuela.

You dislike: tummy time, being dressed, having to wait while we warm a bottle, and a quiet house (you constantly need to have music playing or TV on).

We are still working on tummy time and sleeping in your crib.

Having a pep talk with dad before vaccine time.

Those baby blues all swaddled up.

Naps with dad.

Today (3 month's) was spent with Granny. We took your 3 month photo, she watched you while I ran to the store, and you napped on her for 45 minutes. When your daddy got home, we fed you and then took a walk around the neighborhood. I tried reading "The Three Little Pigs" to you, but I got half way through the book and you lost interest. We're ending the night with you passed out on your daddy.

Birth Story

Dannie and I woke up on the 27th thinking it would be just the two of us all day. We made breakfast and I had started cleaning the house in preparation to be induced the next day. He was actually working from home a bit. Usually, my cleaning consists of what you would see if you came over. As I was cleaning the shower, I noticed I started having some pretty bad cramping on my right side. I figured I was just cleaning too hard and it was my round ligament being pulled. 

Jodi had messaged me that morning asking if she could come over during Malakai's nap. Of course, being my OCD self, I wanted to make sure the cleaning was done before then and that I had showered. She ended up coming by around 2:45 and I made us some grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. We really just sat on the couch and chatted. She was asking how I was feeling and we were discussing the items I had ready for Olivia's arrival. As I was sitting on the couch, I heard a small "pop." I never would have thought my water would break naturally or what to expect, so I didn't say anything. I felt like I wet my pants, so I told her I was going to go to the restroom. As I made it to the bathroom door, it kept flowing. At that point, I yelled out the door to Dannie and Jodi. Jodi actually yelled, "Did your water just break?" By that time, Dannie was at the door and I was in shock. I definitely didn't think things would start naturally. At this point, I was trying to control the flow, which was uncontrollable. I changed clothes but ended up just wrapping myself in a towel. We rushed to pack hospital items and get Boomer ready to go to Abuela's.

I felt pretty calm on the way to the hospital. I wasn't feeling any contractions and traffic wasn't really bad, so I knew we would be fine. As we walked into the hospital, one of the volunteers asked if I was in active labor and I replied "No, my water just broke". Just being asked was enough realization that this was real and it was finally happening. At that point, we thought we would have a baby by the end of the day. 

We finally got settled into our room around 5 PM. I changed into my gown and they began checking my vitals and seeing if I was dilated at all. At my last OB appointment, which was a week prior, I had only been 1 cm. Of course, I was still at a 1. By then my midwife had stopped by to check-in. They had decided since I was going to be induced the following day, they would go ahead and start me on Pitocin to try and move things along quicker. I was pretty nervous because I had heard that it makes contractions stronger. 

 

I figured it would be well into the night before anything exciting began happening. Dannie returned to the car and brought in the rest of our bags. We started getting some visitors around 6:30. My parents, Dannie's mom, the Ekker's, Jodi, and Marcella came by. It has just become tradition to visit before baby, and after, with all of us. My mom was planning on staying the night anyway. Since I had last eaten around 2:30, I was beginning to get hungry. I was always used to eating while pregnant, so it took awhile to get used to ice chips. By now, I was just relaxing and making constant trips to the bathroom with all the fluids they were giving me. 

After a few hours, I started feeling some contractions. I am pretty sure around 10 pm I was feeling pretty bad cramps and my nurse offered to give me pain medication to help. They gave me Nubain. I was super nervous to take these because I had never had a positive reaction to pain medication in the past. After the medication, I was able to rest for a little bit. I would say they made me feel a little loopy because I kept falling asleep and having awkward dreams. I would wake up and tell Dannie about them between my laughter. My nurse wanted to see if I was progressing at all and said I was 2 cm. I was pretty disappointed at this point because I knew it had turned into an all night thing. 

Around 1 a.m. contractions started getting more painful, I was still only 2 cm dilated. My nurse had mentioned giving me more Nubain or getting an epidural. She said if I get Nubain again, it may not work as well the 2nd time and it would be about a 45 minute process to get an epidural. I thought about it for awhile and talked it over with Dannie and my mom in-between crying. I finally decided on the epidural. The anesthesiologist and my nurse came in around 2 a.m. They began running through medical history questions and telling me what to expect. My nurse stood in front of me against the edge of the bed and allowed me to lean my head on her chest for support. I felt some pokes and pressure a few times in my back, but nothing like I had worked myself up for. It was no time before I began feeling the epidural. I remember my legs and feet feeling tingly and heavy. 

The epidural allowed me to sleep more. Mom was on the pull-out bed sleeping and Dannie in the chair. They would rotate every once in awhile depending on who needed more rest. They were coming back in at 7 a.m. to check vitals and see if there were any changes. At some point, they had to give me some oxygen because baby's heart rate had dropped some. My midwife, Jackie, came in around 7. At this time, she completely broke my water. By then, I was 4 cm dilated. Baby girl was not allowing us to keep a monitor on her on my belly, so the midwife inserted a monitor on the top of her head, which would give them a better reading. The change in dilation gave me a little hope that I would deliver her soon.

Contractions had picked up some and Dannie was helping me breathe through them while mom had stepped out for a bit. Since they had been so bad, I called my nurse in. She said she didn't think there was any progress and that they couldn't continue checking since my water had been broken for so long. In the thirty minutes mom was out of the room, contractions were so bad I wanted to cry. Mom had said if anything happens to call her. I ended up calling the nurse in because I couldn't stand contractions anymore. She came back in and checked me and was shocked that I was at 10 cm. I couldn't believe what she had said at first because it happened so quickly. I immediately began texting  people to let them know. Dannie called mom and told her and she passed along the news to the waiting room full of visitors.

The nurses and nursery staff began bringing in more equipment to prepare for after-care and birth. My midwife had been called as well. During this time, I was extremely nervous because I was unsure what to expect and what to do. The nurses pretty much walked us through each step. Once our midwife was there, we began a few practice breaths. It was hard for me to breathe consistently at times because I had a cold and was congested the whole time. My mom was on the right side of the bed and Dannie was on the left. My midwife was there as well, as was my awesome nurse and another that was training. 

Everyone was helping me breathe and when it came time to countdown and push they did such an awesome job being supportive. I would take in a deep breath and push for 10 seconds, three different times. By the time the third push came around, it was harder to hold my breath at the beginning. The nurse kept asking if I felt the beginning of a contraction because she had just been watching the monitor and telling me when one was coming.  After a few minutes, I started noticing when they were building up and I needed to push.  After pushing for what seemed like an hour or so, I got really tired and things started slowing down. They ended up calling my doctor, who was 30 minutes away. We all agreed when he came in, he meant business. I remember saying "I can't do this" and he said something along the lines of "Samantha, you can and you will!" Unfortunately, Dannie was unable to cut the cord because it was wrapped around her neck. She was born at 12:17 pm and was 8 lb & 21 3/4 inches. They passed her to me for a second,but I wasn't immediately able to hold her since they were stitching me up. Everyone kept commenting on all the dark, thick hair she had, which I still love to this day. 

The overall experience was not too bad until the horrible contractions in the early morning. By that time, my epidural had begun wearing off and I was feeling more pain. I could feel my legs and move them by this time. I am very thankful that my mom could have been there to go through it with me.  Although it has scarred her for life, it gave me a new love for her. One day, Olivia will learn that her grandma was one of the first people to see her big head of hair. My sweet hubby was there next to me the whole time feeding me those lovely ice chips and telling me how proud he was. He was the first one to hold Olivia and I will forever remember that memory. 

After delivery we were moved to recovery where we were welcomed by lots of family and friends. The next few days were tiring and spent getting to know our little one. We were released on the 30th, but stayed an extra night because Olivia had to stay due to some abnormal labs. We decided to come home on the 31st, but she had to stay an extra week until her CRP levels were stable again. We made daily trips to the hospital twice a day. Once in the early afternoon and again around 9:00 pm. It was the hardest thing for us to leave the hospital without her each time.

The board in my recovery room. 

The day we went to pick her up. We look mega sleepy here.

Going home attire and a tired baby.