Introducing Olivia Ann McCloskey
I think it is about time that I introduce our newest member of our family,Olivia Ann. She was born on January 25th, 2007 and weighed 6 pounds and 7 ounces. She was tiny and small and born three weeks early, most likely from a cold that I caught from my son Nicolas. I was not ready to go into labor so early, but in the end, the entire experience was great. The hospital gave me a nurse for 12 hours. She (Kelley) did nothing else but take care of me all day. No other nurse(s) was there during the birth. I really enjoyed that experience. It felt more personal. I could concentrate on what was going on. The part I hated was the epidural. The doctor had to try five different areas on my vertabrae before finding the perfect spot. That was needless to say very painful and a waste. In the end, I asked them to turn off the epidural because I could not feel anything. I mean nothing at all. I could not even feel my toes, and I felt like my throat was closing. So by the time the baby came, I could feel almost everything again. My upper thigh area and lower back area were still numb. I actually pushed the baby out on my own this time, and it was easy. Labor always scared me, and since I felt nothing while giving birth to Nicolas, I was a bit nervous this time. I liked the fact that I was pushing, and that Lance had to hold my knees and tell me to push. He actually watched the head come out. Giving birth to Olivia was a very good experience, and not at all scary.
So, she is now 12 weeks old, and has just begun smiling and cooing. It is so nice. She is also starting to follow things with her eyes, like her mobile. Up until now, she has spent most of her time sleeping. We did have one bad experience. She ended up in the hospital after three weeks due to a high fever, but they never did find anything. It was probably something viral. Of course, the hospital had to perform a spinal tap, xrays, put an IV in her hand, etc., to rule out menengitis. One of the doctors told me that because Olivia was so young, she would not remember a thing an hour later. I on the other hand, would. That is why I was sent outside of the room when they performed the spinal tap. I cried for five straight days. Everything hormonal flooded my body during those days. It was dreadful. I blamed myself for not keeping her brother away from her. The head doctor told me that there is nothing I could have done. "This is very typical of winter babies", he said. Interesting philosophy.
It took another three weeks before I could touch her without her screaming at the top of her lungs, but she is a good baby. She has been gassy, with slight tummy aches every now and then, but there is no colic in this child, for which I am eternally grateful. I decided to stay away from everything dairy which helped alleviate the problems. She weighs about 10.5 pounds right now. I am still breastfeeding, thanks to my sister's and mother's relentless pushing. It was tough sticking to it. The nights are long, and you always feel like something is not right. I can understand why so many women give it up so early. I should also thank the hospital. I called them on numerous occasions, and they were always friendly and willing to spend time with me.
We are having alot of fun with Olivia, and are so happy that she is here. Now comes the tough part, where she has to sleep in her own room and cry a little to let go of mommy. The nights are still long, but I am hoping that she will soon sleep through the night. I will keep you posted.
If you click on the downward arrow, you will see that there is a page two to Olivia's pictures. These pictures are of her room. It is not finished yet, but I wanted to show off my parents work. My mom decorated and my father painted. He even painted this old military dresser that my husband wanted to throw out. I love the way everything looks. My mother sewed all the pillows on the daybed, and the pillow on the rocking chair. There is no crib in the room yet, because she was still sleeping in our room. The crib is not finished, and that will be my responsibility. As soon as I am done, I will post pictures. Thanks mom and dad.
Baby's Frilled Sundress
A cute dress made by one of the girls on the Ottobre list. She has done a few cute projects that I may copy for Olivia. Her daughter has dark hair, and the colors were cute on her. Her fabrics are definitely of a nice quality, most likely from a childrens heirloom fabric store.
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