Colic/Acid Reflux

As I mentioned in the previous post we have been having some feeding issues with Olivia. On Monday we decided to start feeding her a new formula that seems to be much more watery and broken down that what she was originally on. She seems to be tolerating it a bit better, but has also begun to spit up a lot more because of it. Now yesterday we got a prescription for Zantac to help with the acid reflux, so we will have to see if this helps. There are some afternoons and evenings when she cries for 2-3 hours and it is getting very tiring for Steve and I. Keep your fingers crossed that she will outgrow this stage very soon.

2 Weeks

Last Thursday we had Olivia's 2 week appointment. The doctor usually likes to see that the baby is back up to the original birth weight by this time. That didn't seem to be a problem for Olivia as she was almost 1 pound over what she weighed at birth.

• Height: 20 1/2" (58%)
• Weight: 8 lb. 10.5 oz. (60%)
• Head: 13 3/4" (23%)
  
  

We also talked to the doctor about how she has been pretty fussy after most feedings. She told us to make sure we hold her upright for about 30 minutes after each time she eats in case it is reflux. Since Thursday we have noticed it getting progressively worse, so we are starting to think it may be the type of formula. Hopefully we can get this figured out soon because in the meantime she spends several hours crying her lungs out each day.

Fun day out on the town/First Bath

Yesterday, Jack went to Grandma and Grandpa Battaglia's for his nap while we took Olivia on her first adventure out on the town. We went downtown Duluth to a toy store where we were able to find a couple of presents for Jack. Then we headed to Fitger's to browse through the stores and to eat at the Brewhouse. Olivia slept through all of it, but it was fun for Steve and I to finally get out of the house. Once we left Fitger's she woke up, so we headed up to the mall. I fed her while Steve read in Barnes & Noble (what a helpful husband). After wondering around the mall carrying her because she was awake, we decided to head home and pick up Jack.

Once we had eaten dinner we decided to try out the double jogger and take Jack to the park, so we could tire him out before bed time.


Then today we were able to give Olivia her first real bath since coming home. We probably didn't choose the best time (right when she was ready to eat), but we didn't want to wake her up to do it either.

As you can see from the picture, she wasn't very happy.

First Family Outing

We had our first family outing on Monday as we had to take Olivia to the doctor for a weight check. We all piled in the car and got only about half way to the Duluth when Olivia started screeming in the back seat because she was hungry. We knew she was going to be due to eat, but we figured we could make it the 20 minutes to the clinic. So with Jack back there telling her "Shhhh" every two seconds we decided to pull over to feed her.

At the doctor they weighed her to see if she had gained at all since her discharge on Saturday. Thankfully she had, and was up to 7 lb. 13 oz. (still down though from her birth weight of 7 lb. 15 oz.). They also checked her skin for jaundice and ran through a few questions to make sure everything is going ok.

In the past few days it seems like Jack is really starting to take a liking to the baby. He now wants to kiss her all the time and hold her. Not sure how long this will last, but for now, it's great.

Olivia - 7/8/09

Well I didn't make it to my 40 week appointment as I started have contractions at home earlier Wednesday morning. Around 2:30 I woke up with the start of them and around 5:30 I finally woke Steve to tell him "This is it!" We got ready and dropped Jack off at Grandma and Grandpa Battaglia's house and then were off to the hospital.

They hooked me up to all the monitors and then it was just a waiting game. At 4:43 pm, after a very easy delivery, Olivia Nicole was born. Surprisingly she was bigger than Jack was at 7 lb. 15.5 oz. and 21 inches long. (Jack was only 7 lb. 1 oz.).

It is also kind of fun because she was born on 7/8/09 and what also turned out to be Steve's parents 31st wedding anniversary.

I ended up staying in the hospital until Saturday morning due to me not feeling quite as well as expected, but now we are home and everyone is doing fine. Jack seems excited and upset at the same time. There are moments when he is kissing and hugging her and even trying to give her 'knuckles' and then the next he doesn't want anyone holding her and he wants to drink her bottle and use her pacifier. It should be an interesting next few weeks.

I have been trying to get some pictures posted, but have been so busy. Here are a few from when we were in the hospital.





I have also started Olivia's Baby Website, similar to what we had for Jack. Although I will probably do most of my updates on here, it's nice to be able to have the site to track milestones, growth, and add additional pics.

Getting a little anxious...

Ok, so I have been anxious for a while - but really I can't wait anymore for this baby to come. Every night we find ourselves saying "Maybe this is the night" and everyone I seem to talk to keeps saying how they can't believe I haven't had the baby yet. Well technically I have 1.5 more days until my due date, so I'm trying to keep my spirits up since I'm not overdue. Anyway, tomorrow I have my 40 week doctors appointment so hopefully she will have some good news for me.

We finally got some of the pictures hung in the baby room yesterday, so I figured it was time I shared a picture of the new 'pink' nursery.



I still have a few other things I need to get for the walls and shelves, but since some of them are name related I decided just to wait until the baby is officially here.

4th of July

Although I didn't really feel up to doing much for this holiday since I'm so close to the end of this pregnancy, we still had a very busy and fun day.

In the morning we were up and headed to the parade in town. Jack really enjoyed watching it this year with all the firetrucks and people - and even an elephant. Afterwards we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's for a quick lunch before getting Jack home for a nap. Except Jack decided not to nap, so we just hung out at home for a few hours.

In the evening we headed over to Dan and Katie's for a BBQ and so the kids could play. Needless to say Quinn and Jack had a blast running around the living room and eating their ice cream outside.

Very very large...

Well, I am officially very, very large. There is still no Baby Battaglia and I am 39 weeks today. I went to the doctor this morning and my blood pressure was good, heartbeat was steady, and I'm measuring about 40 weeks (so about a weeks ahead). I am scheduled to see go back next Wednesday again, but I'm hoping I won't make it to that appointment.

Here I am at 39 weeks looking like I am going to tip over:

HAPPY 4th of JULY to everyone!