Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
You Know Where Frugal Will Get You?
In Lauren's case, frugal got her father a big pile of baby poop on his shirt!
With Lauren now being 10lbs 15oz (6 weeks old), she no longer fits in newborn diapers; yet Nate insists on using them all regardless of fit. No diaper will go unused in the Olsen household, no matter how small! :) So Lauren let Nate know what she thought about his tight-diaper policy by promptly "blowing one out" right onto his lap! Take that Frugal Daddy!!!
Family Home Evening (FHE) Crew
So we have a couple families, affectionately called The FHE Crew, that we meet with every Monday night to have dinner and spend time with... Basically good times are had by all. :0p Especially by Ms. Leah Pettet when she gets to lick the brownie beater AND hang out with her dad, Tyler, as demonstrated in the picture! :)
Speaking of Tyler, the world continues to be extremely small, and an even smaller Air Force. As you all know, Nate and I are stationed at Scott AFB, in the cornfields of Southern Illinois. The Pettet's moved to Scott AFB earlier this year and Ashley (Leah's mom, Tyler's wife) and I have become pretty good friends. A couple months after the Pettet's moved in, we were chatting about where we are from originally (typical AF first-exchanges right?). Any way, come to find out that Tyler is from Payson, Arizona, a town about 2-hours away from Pinetop-Lakeside where I grew up. It's great to know someone else from the non-desert part or the mountains of AZ...again, such a small world...
Monday, August 23, 2010
"The Heisman" vs. "Dead Bug"
So Nate found the baby's new favorite "hold", which apparently changes weekly, if not daily! She seems to like pressure on her tummy regardless of the hold, so Nate thought he'd get some bicep curls in, AND start her towards her sports related photos. So that explains Nate and "The Heisman" pose with Lauren as the pigskin! (Question: Do all new dads get a picture of them holding their babies like footballs?)
Nate then noticed that no matter how he moved Lauren, her limbs were oober limp and she was out cold! We're talking like smelling-salts out cold. So he rocked her back-and-forth, limbs flailing, and called it her "Dead Bug" pose...it was really a pretty hilarious sight to see. ***DISCLAIMER: No Lauren's were harmed in the development of this hold/pose***
So which pose is better? Or more Funny? "Thr Heisman" or the "Dead Bug"?
Winnie the Pooh Robe
Lauren sure loves her robe after her baths...unfortunately she hates the cute hoodie (Pooh ears and all) that keeps her body heat in. Yeah...the wearing of the robe lasts for about 2 minutes.
Nothing Says Adorable Like...
Big, blue eyes and a double chin! Oh, and a sweet mullet that unfortunately you can't see in this picture ;0)
Post-PT Nap
PT tired Lauren out, but check out the biceps! She's totally been working on the gun-show!
The Lamb Swing - What A Blessing!
The Lamb Swing is such a comfort (and distraction) for Lauren - we love it!!! Though if the music stops and the swinging wanes, you better watch out... Lauren goes from content to The Angry Hulk Baby in seconds! What can we say, she loves the music and movement - we must have a booty-rump shaker on our hands!
Not to worry though, we've purchased so many AA batteries now, we're pretty sure we're part owners in the Duracell Company...AND Lauren won't stop swinging until 2012!
Lauren & John LaCroix
Mid-August: Lauren got her first visit from Katy's work colleagues. We know, a whole month after she was born--we're such hold-outs! She sure liked being held by John though...trying to make googly-eyes at him and everything! :0P Next stop - AMC/A7P, to make friends with Nate's coworkers!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
One Month Old Today
Lauren is one month old today!
We weren't sure if we'd be celebrating this milestone in the NICU or not, so we're celebrating double today!!! Developmentally Lauren appears to be progressing with her fellow one-month old babies--though, for the veteran parents, you know that each child progresses on their own schedule. Lauren's mobility is excellent, she already fights Nate to hold up her own head, she just begun the random noise making (yesterday!), she's a champ at breast and bottle feeding, and can go from zero to raging-ticked in a matter of seconds!
We're thankful that she's acting like a "normal" one-month old and continue to hope and pray for her progress! Thanks again to all of you who keep her in your daily thoughts and prayers--we appreciate them...
We've Got a 10 Pounder!
So Lauren officially hit 10 lbs at her Home Health Visit on Wednesday (11 August), and we're stoked she's gaining weight as she should be. Not bad for a baby one-day shy of one-month old right?! Though sometimes we wonder how she's even gaining, as it seems like she spits up and vomits just as much as we feed her. Nate and I do accept some responsibility for these episodes--we have had problems with overfeeding her (bad parents!)...so she informs us by vomiting about 2 feet out and all over her clothes, our clothes, and the beautiful blankets she's been given! Needless to say, laundry frequency has increased two-fold and we're easing up on her intake!
First PT Home Visit
Lauren had her first PT Home Visit appointment today--where she was actually worked out. Joan, her physical therapist, went through all the different movements we are supposed to do with her daily; but overall was very encouraging. Per Joan, Lauren is moving extremely well for an almost one month old baby, never mind that she's an HIE baby! Wonderful news to hear! There were two minor items she mentioned: 1) stiffness in her right wrist (most likely linked to Lauren's extreme like to keep her fist tightly wadded-up like a prize fighter!), and 2) she has a slight tremor in her right foot when Joan performed the tap-reflex test (taps bottom of her foot with hand; a reflex/action seen often in HIE babies--but Joan didn't seem worried at this either). So bottom line, it was probably as good a first PT visit as we would've asked for, and we pray Lauren continues to keep her limbs flying and progressing along with her baby "colleagues"...
Baby Gang Signs
Have you ever noticed that babies do the most hilarious things with their hands--while awake or sleeping? We've caught Lauren "throwing" a couple different baby gang signs--anyone recognize these from your own children?! If so, can you tell us what posse Lauren is trying to join?! :0P
Friday, August 6, 2010
Milk-Drunk & Banana Hands
Only Lauren can pull-off the post-feeding time Milk-Drunk look!
Also, as we've often stated before, Lauren is a very long and skinny baby--which we all know are attributes that we'd use to describe her Daddy Nate. (If she was short and pudgy, then we could give Katy a little credit :0)). Really though, per this picture, we now have another documented "Nateish" attribute that Lauren possesses--Banana Hands! Seriously! Check out her mitts in this picture! Nate is often referred to as Banana Hands due to his very large man-hands, and it looks like we've got a Mini-Banana Hands in the making.
Tummy Time With Dad & Bear
Lauren and Nate have their tummy time every day, a little after dad gets home from work. Today Lauren had a visitor during tummy time--Bear. She was wide-eyed looking at Bear, but it's up for debate if she was oogling Bear, or that perhaps she couldn't believe the goofy noises coming out of her dad's mouth. Also, only Nate (aka: tall white-guy) could make Bear's dance moves look so, well, discombobulated! But we'll take 'em, because no one is as dedicated to tummy time as daddy...
Lauren & the Home Health Nurse
Lauren had her second visit from her Home Health Nurse, Dawn, this past Wednesday. She comes to our home bi-weekly to make sure that Lauren is gaining weight and growing appropriately. So far, so good. Lauren weighed 9lbs 4.5oz during visit #2, and measuring 22" long. Which, if you're keeping track, is 1.4lbs more than her birth weight, and about the same length. Not too shabby for being 23 days old right?! With weight gain at this rate, Lauren may catch up to her cousin Kayla, who is 6 months older...who knows, maybe Lauren will follow in her mother's footsteps and be a rugby player!
Day 21 - Feeding Time
Lauren really seems to enjoy feeding time...NAKED (diaper only)! We are getting a bit better at reading her cues, though her severe tizzies every now and then would lead you to believe otherwise. 9 times out of 10, she's angry because she's hungry though. Guess Papa Nate will have to quit rationing the breast milk...he sure could give a girl a complex about her weight gain! ;0P
Sunday, August 1, 2010
This is Intense
The first night Lauren was home from the NICU was probably the longest night of our lives. We had never heard anyone scream so much. We were so excited to get her home that I think we forgot what we had gotten ourselves into. We know that all of you parents out there are laughing at us because you have been there and done that. We can honestly say that we have a new found respect for all you veteran parents out there. It seems like Lauren sleeps all day and then when the night time comes she is ready to test out her lungs.
Bath Time Round Two
Well, you have to give it to Lauren for being consistent. We attempted her first bath at home the other day and you will be happy to know we had the same result as the last bath she had. We will have to keep this in mind if she is ever having bowel issues later on.
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