Quick Update

Olivia is out of surgery; Brian and I have already been to see her for a quick visit.  The medical staff describes her progress as "Great".  The next 24-48 hours will be critical.  We are so proud of our little girl and I will make sure to post a more descriptive update later tonight.  Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, we couldn't make it through days like these without all of you!

Olivia the Diva

Olivia has shown us since she was 20 weeks along gestationally that she is anything but boring.  That trend has continued throught all her ultrasounds, fetal echoes, labor, delivery and time spent in the NICU.  Our daughter likes to hold her breath when the medical staff is doing something to her that she doesn't like.  Sometimes she gets her way and they just quit and decide to move on to something else, other times, they will make a 2nd and 3rd attempt to try and overcome her little attitude. 

The grandparents laugh and think it'll be great to see Brian and I try to overcome a battle of wills in the future when she's really up and at 'em.  I equate it to trying to break in a free spirited horse...I'm completely up for the challenge and think while it may bring delight to the sidelined grandparents, it will probably bring me more gray hairs than I'm ready to accept. 

As for more of Olivia's dramatic streak, her Norwood surgery is set for tomorrow.  That's right, I said TOMORROW.  Brian and I are going to go down the NICU to see her around 7am and hold her for the first time before the prep team comes to get her and prepare for the surgery.  This has come as a complete surprise to us and we are thrilled that the medical team feels that she's totally set for the surgery this early on.  Please keep Olivia in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow and we will try to keep everyone updated throughout the day. 

Love,
Lisa & Brian

Little Missy

Well as many or all of you know, Olivia finally made her debut yesterday afternoon.  In true Olivia style, she did it on her own terms after 40 hours of an induction, I finally had to concede and get a c-section.  I was awake to hear her first cries which sound like a cross between a quacking duck and an 80 year old lady who smoked all her life.  So there Brian and I were gowned up and laughing at our daughter's first cries in the world.  After that, the anesthesiologist knocked me out and Brian went off to be with Livvy while they cleaned her up and admitted her to the NICU.  


I feel a little bit guilty because I didn't get to see her at all during her first night, but I was barely able to hold conversation much less transfer to a wheelchair to get down there and make a visit.  As it was my first visit to my little munchkin this morning was less than stellar.  The transfer to a wheelchair didn't go very smoothly and I was in a lot of pain.  While we were bedside I had tears streaming down my face and the nurses patted me to reassure me saying "Don't worry Mom, she'll be all right".  My response?  "I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm in so much pain I can barely breathe".  


All the grandparents and her uncles along with Aunt Katie got to meet her today, she was like a little super star with the endless line of visitors.  I was able to make it down there a few times throughout the day which I considered to be a great accomplishment, tomorrow I can only hope for better.  In the meantime we just came back from our last visit for the night and confirmed that "Little Livvy" is the biggest baby in the NICU.  She's doing really well and so far all test results have been very encouraging.  Hopefully we'll have a date for set for surgery in the next few days.  In the meantime, we are in great hands, the staff has been wonderful and Olivia is beautiful.  That's all more than I could have asked for, so we have been very lucky.

G'Night

8 lbs. 5 oz.

At 3:17pm this afternoon Olivia Giuliana was born. Weight in at 8lbs 5oz and 21-1/2 in. long she is absolutely beautiful. Lisa is doing well and asleep right now. I will let her formally announce her arrival and select the pictures tomorrow.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

-New Daddy (apparently I am already categorized as a softie...)

Hare vs. Turtle

So remember that kids story about the hare and the turtle? What was the moral? Slow and steady wins the race right? Well that is pretty much what is going on here at the hospital. 24 hours is around the corner and the Patocin keeps getting upped to try and get this show on the road.... The important thing is 1) Olivia has a steady heartbeat and is doing fine and 2) Lisa is comfortable, has received her epideral and the water has been broken. So it looks like we got a long night ahead of us. Lisa is trying to catch an evening siesta (nap) before the curtain call and I am getting ready to make a coffee run. Karen (the nurse down the hall) was nice enough to brew an evening pot for me before her shift ended. We chatted it up this morning around 7am and found a mutual appreciation for a coffee IV.... but I digress again.

Lisa is still a little bitter about the lack of food intake (i had dinner while the epideral was being done so she wasn't teased) and now her diet consists of only ice chips.... no bueno for her. I got in trouble for stopping channels on the food network earlier, i know-my bad. I don't know what she would rather have right now - a burger or a margarita on the rocks. Mmm Mmm good. Other than that not much else is going on. There is no timeline for the remainder of the night. Hopefully the next post will include some photos of the little stubborn one we call Olivia.

Maybe we should have primed Olivia better and decorated her room with rabbits and watched a lot of bugs bunny and Nascar racing to help move this thing a long....

Greetings from Room 235A

So Lisa took the day off today, and I was in the office for about 4 hours before I left at 10am to get home in order to leave for the hospital around noon. Or at least that is when we were going to get the phone call to show up. Well we got the phone call... "I'm sorry there are no rooms available at this time, we will call you back this evening to let you know but potentially it might be in the morning". Not a good way to start the whole process. Either way we let everybody know that the baby train was being delayed and the one response that summed up exactly how we felt was a text from Lisa's boss. "ugh..." I entertained myself by packing up the car and finishing my case study for school while Lisa took a siesta. Somehow when the hospital called at 6:15 we were still in a rush to get everything out the door but we had an 8pm deadline to make and we still needed dinner...

We had a good old fashion "pasta party" at Francesca's on 95th. Since it was going to be Lisa's last meal until she delivers we decided to load up on the carbs. After that everything went very smoothly (probably because I packed my lucky shirt). We got a fantastic parking spot with minimal walking to the hospital, checked in easily, and got settled. Lisa was a champ with all the blood drawing and question answering while I struggled how to figure out how to convert the couch into a lounger. Once Lisa was cozy and there wasn't much to do we got to relax and turn on the TV, at which point I saw that Syracuse lost and my NCAA bracket was ruined, but I digress.

Back to Lisa and Olivia. Not much to really update. Lisa's induction has officiallybegun. The approximation of 18-24 hours seems to be a popular choice for the hospital staff so we shall see if we will get to meet Olivia by tomorrow evening. Speaking of the hospital staff.... they are pretty awesome (at least the night shift) They have been nothing but extremely helpful and comforting. They even showed me the access to the wi-fi for the hospital. Thank you to everyone who has called, emailed, and texted us today. We appreciate every "good luck" that we got.

Stay tuned for the next update... Same bat time, same bat channel.

Excited?

Well in about 48 hours from now, I'll already be well underway with the induction.  Yesterday was my official last day in the office before the start of maternity leave and the common question was "How excited are you?".  The answer, much more complicated than I can actually form into words.

First, I can't imagine that many women are excited about the prospect of labor and delivery which is the first hurdle we need to cross to meet Olivia.  I am going in with the thought process that it's going to be sucky and anything better than that will be a bonus in my mind.  Secondly, we're only going to have about 15 minutes with Olivia once she's born before they whisk her off to the NICU for observation and testing.  While I'm so incredibly happy to have any time with her at all, I'm already having a pity party for myself about those few short minutes that will have to satisfy us for hours before we're allowed to see her again.  Lastly, the first week of her life is going to be filled with tests and the Norwood surgery.  I know she needs the surgery, I know that it's best for her, I just can't look forward to it.

So that my friends and family pretty much sums it up.  I cannot wait to see what she looks like and to see her little personality on the outside, but I can also say that I'm not thrilled about our immediate future.  This too shall pass and I'm sure that once we get the surgery done, regardless of the struggles and complications that may arise that I will feel better that we've at least started on this long anticipated journey as our little family.  One amusing tidbit while I was feeling a little sorry for myself late Monday, I did some retail therapy but instead of for me like I would have in the past, Olivia is now the benefactor of my stress outlet.  She has some pretty cute outfits to show for this first trip.  Oooh I can't wait till I can buy her some shoes!

The Nursery is done!

So after much blood, sweat and some tiffs, here's what the nursery looks like tonight.  We don't have any of the wall art or window coverings up yet, but hey, we've got a whole other four days to get those things done.  One of my favorite parts is the smell in the room, I love how cozy Dreft can make the whole room feel.  We probably went a little overboard with some of the details because obviously it's not like an infant is going to know the quality of the work that went into their room, but it was fun and most importantly Brian take take a huge amount of pride in the fact that he did everything on his own.  From putting in a new wall, to installing the floor, molding and closet, as well as painting the room.  It'll make quite the story for Olivia when she's a little bit older. 

Last Pre-Natal Appointment!

The lack of urgency in my latest entry should calm anyone who was looking for a post yesterday.  I had our last pre-natal appointment before the Big Dance next week.  The non-stress test looked great,  my BP was the best it's been in weeks, Olivia's got plenty of fluid to swim around in and she's weighing in around 7lbs 8oz right now.  I wouldn't put too much stock into that weight guesstimation for any of my family members that are trying to bet on a baby pool, but it'll at least serve as a guide for an over/under.  The only complaint from the entire visit was that my feet were really swollen and dubbed "Flinstone Feet".  That was a bit sad, but quickly resolved by taking an hour to put them up and let the fluid drain. 

In regards to Brian and my preparation for next week, well I'm pretty much all set.  All it took was a little scare that I thought I was going into labor on Sunday morning to let a fire under me and get things put together for the hospital and subsequent stay at hotel or Ronald McDonald house.  The nursery needs a few more touch ups this weekend and we should be set there as well.  Nothing like a little nudge to get both of us going in the right direction of baby prep.

My latest discovery (and a tiny bit sad) about Olivia is that she does not appreciate my singing along to the Dixie Chicks in the car.  I had such hopes for us to rock out in the future to the Chicks and judging by her fit earlier this week, it would seem that she intends to bawl if I try to sing.  I'm hoping that I can pursuade her that there's nothing better on a hot summer day then rolling down the windows and singing to our little hearts' desire. 

Other than that, I feel great, my ear infection seems like it's much better and I can't wait until next week when Olivia will make her long awaited arrival.  I feel like I've been pregnant for eons given the amount of ultrasounds and appointments that I've had since week 20.  Olivia's over it too, she pushes the probes off of my tummy during ultrasound and when they try to scan her head she puts her hands over her face so we can't get any good pics.  I'm not sure if Brian's hoping that she takes after me or not at this point.  :)

Two weeks and counting

First, the nursery update: we put in the floors this past weekend and they look amazing!!! The only things left to do are the crown molding, baseboards and ceiling fan installation.  It even sort of resembles a nursery now that the crib is assembled in the middle of the room.  This project is no different than the downstairs powder room, if I lose track of Brian chances are he's in the nursery admiring his work.  I can't wait to get all of the furniture and bedding in there and snap some pics to take with me when I go to the hospital.  They'll be mine and Olivia's motivation to get well and get home!

Today's doctors appointments presented the last fetal echo with Dr. Cuneo.  I love the woman but I'm not sad about not having to come back every three weeks for the echoes.  Unfortunately, my fetal echoes will be replaced with monthly echoes on Liv, but I'm hoping they will go faster without having having to scan through me to get to her. 

MFM appointment was fine, Liv was a mover and a shaker during the NST (we attribute this to the fact that Brian and I split a Rice Krispie treat before the appointments and the baby was on a bit of a sugar high).  She still has plenty of amniotic fluid, I had minimal contractions, my BP was stable so we get to stay on track for a 3/25 induction date.  The only downer was that I have a double ear infection and need to take an antibiotic (yes it's safe for the baby).  I'm actually hoping the antibiotic brings me some relief since my ears have been bugging me for the last few days and I've had a headache that is probably related to sinus issues.

Next week is my last OB appointment and they're going to do a growth check and the nurses are hoping for a "Ginormous" baby.  I can only laugh, I know the bigger the better so who am I to root for a more reasonably sized munchkin?

3 Weeks to Go!

Thankfully yesterday was another non-eventful visit to the doctors, albeit it was slowwwwww.  First I had the non-stress test and Olivia decided to take a snooze, so they kept me on the monitors even longer than usual.  Finally when they weren't getting the results they wanted, they decided to give her a buzz in utero and see if that would get her moving.  I don't think she was particularly happy about being woken up so she made her displeasure known of course at my discomfort.

That little 'tude continued when we went and did the bio-physical scan to check amniotic fluid levels.  Olivia just continued to bounce around and push back against the probe wherever it was just out of spite I suspect.  Fluid levels all look good and Olivia continues to look good. 

Next week is the last fetal echo and I'm going to see if maybe we can move the induction date up a day or two to make sure that they get all the pre-op tests done before the weekend so that we really can schedule surgery for 3/29.  Of course all of this would fall under the realm of the "Best Laid Plans", so I'm not putting too much stock into any of it at this point. 

All in all, no news is good news.

The nursery is still a work in progress and I don't have my bags packed for the hospital.  Brian hopes to get the flooring in this weekend while I have to at least get some things together for Olivia and I to be packed up.  Here's to a productive weekend!