Never A Dull Moment

My dad came to visit us last weekend and see Olivia again! He hadn't seen her since she was two weeks old (still hovering right around her birth weight of 1lb 5oz). My, how she's changed! I was so beyond excited to reintroduce him to his first grandchild! He was absolutely smitten with her. When he was holding her he said to me, "Wouldn't mom just have a fit over her?" I thought, yes, yes she would. I often get sad that Olivia will never get the chance to know my mom, and that my mom won't ever know my babies. But, as a friend recently pointed out, my mom does know my babies. She knows Madelyn, Catherine and Mary Grace. It's such a comforting thought. Olivia, You have such a special Pawpaw! He thinks you are pretty special, too! Seeing him hold you and talk to you was so fun for me. You were so content and happy to be with him. At one point you smiled one of the sweetest smiles I've ever seen. Daddy said you could even see the smile in your eyes! I ...

Olivia is doing so well! She weighs 4 pounds 10 ounces. I can't believe how much she's gained just this past week. She is doing great with breast feeding - she ate two entire feeds on her own yesterday and didn't need to be given any extra through her tube. It seems like yesterday a light went off and she got into a good groove. We will introduce a bottle this coming Friday and I'm interested to see how she likes it. She is down to 1L on the nasal cannula and hasn't had any issues with that change. She truly is our little miracle! I don't claim to have the smallest hands in the world, but this picture will give you an idea how small four pounds is! Mommy and Daddy love you so much, Olivia!

Olivia is 34 weeks gestation! She weighs 4 pounds and is literally growing by the hour. Each day brings new changes. Her little features are becoming so much more defined with every ounce of weight gain. She looks just like me in most of my baby pictures, especially the picture below without the nasal cannula. There's definitely a strong Dickey/Bain (my mom and dad's families) resemblance. She has a little dimple in her chin just like my mom had when she was little. I think its the sweetest thing and it makes me smile. I love that there is a little bit of my mom in my daughter. :)

Happy first Father's Day to Olivia's daddy and my incredible husband! Olivia, Daddy has been so amazed that today is a day he gets to celebrate... because he's a daddy now - your daddy. I can't even begin to describe the love that he has for you. He tells me over and over through out the day how wonderful he thinks you are. You are wonderful, Olivia, and so very blessed to have such a special daddy. Love, Mommy

Olivia was 10 weeks old yesterday. To celebrate she got to breast feed for a little while (sorry if that's tmi, but this is her baby book and I'd like to remember). She did great and now we are on a two week exclusive to get her used to breast feeding before we introduce a bottle. She was moved down to 2L on the nasal cannula and has been doing great! Last night she weighed 3 pounds 13.4 ounces - almost three times her birthweight! A few of her preemie outfits are still too big, but the micro preemie ones are way too small. I think by the end of next week the preemie outfits will probably fit perfectly. She's eating one ounce of milk every 3 hours through her feeding tube. Whatever she gets from me is just a bonus right now while we work on developing the "suck, swallow, breath" reflexes. We are so thankful she is doing so well! Last week her doctor, with a smile on his face said, "Now we just wait for her to keep growing." It will be the end of July bef...

I still have to pinch myself when I look at her... She's really my baby! Being her Mom is one of the most amazing gifts I've ever been given. I fall more in love with her everyday. It gets harder and harder to leave the hospital without her. I want the coming weeks to fly by, but I also don't want to miss anything. She is such a sweet baby and I'm so proud that she's mine!  We decided to take monthly pictures with Sophie so we can really see in pictures  how much Olivia grows! Smiling when she found out she's already two months old! Snoozing away... So alert and watching Daddy. No more pictures, please! Snuggling with Daddy. All cozy in bed wearing her pretty hat.  Daddy holding her like a "real baby" for the first time.  It's hard work to be a baby... and get so much attention! She loved her new outfit! What girl wouldn't? Sweet baby Livi! Snuggli...

Olivia got moved to a big girl bed this morning! She's regulating her body temp really well on her own! We are so excited! She's up to 3lb 10oz and is growing like a weed. She changes so much every single day. She is the sweetest, cuddliest little thing in the world! I still can't believe she's really ours! We've completely filled our computer's hard drive with the 2,500+ pictures we've taken of her so far. :) Finally got a second external drive today so new and better quality pics will be coming soon!

Today would have been my mom's 61st birthday! Knowing how much she loved to worship I can imagine today, her first birthday in heaven, will be her best one yet! Love you, Mom!

Olivia weighs 3lb 7oz! Sometimes I can't help but wonder how a three pound baby can look so chubby. :) It is so hard to believe she's almost three times her birth weight. Tonight Reid and I got to give her a real bath in a tub and dress her in a onesie. I chose the smallest one she has thinking it would still be too big and it was almost too small! She's growing so fast! Lately she's been so much more alert. It makes it a lot harder to leave her, but I just have to tell myself she is with the best "babysitters" in the world. We are so thankful for all the nurses who take such wonderful care of her! I don't have any pictures from tonight, but I do have a few cute pics of her from this afternoon. She cuddled with daddy for a little while and got to wear her new hat that was passed down from her bestie Amelia Jane (her mom, Kirstin, is one of my best friends from high school and college). Isn't this hat PRECIOUS?! I'm sure it helps that the little gir...