Nine Month Check-up and I'm it!

Sorry that I’ve been such a slacker with the updates lately! Now I’ll bombard you with tons of info though!

Little Miss Olivia is now officially a member of Little People of America! Joe and I felt it was important to join for her sake and ours. This will give her the opportunity to interact with other little people as she grows up so she hopefully won’t feel so different. It will also give Joe and I an opportunity to interact with other little people and their families. Because there are so many issues that can go along with dwarfism, we feel that it is critical to keep ourselves involved and educated so that we can be the best parents we can for Olivia.

Olivia is officially off of the prednisolone. That is the steroid she has been on to help her lungs since long before she came home from the hospital. She seems to be doing well without that. The next step is to begin weaning the cortef. That is the new steroid she was started on to help things go more smoothly while weaning the prednisolone. The endocrinologist was on vacation this week, but next week she will devise a plan for us to begin weaning the cortef. Then Olivia will be steroid free for the first time since she was two weeks old. We will still have to keep some steroids on hand to give her if she gets sick.

We went for Olivia’s nine-month check-up today. Dr. Keil said that Olivia looks great, especially considering her rough start. Her lungs still sound good and clear! She weighed a whopping 12 lbs 4 oz and was 22 inches long. That’s 10 lbs heavier and 9 inches longer than when she was born!

Olivia has started rolling over now. She scared me one day when she rolled and her head banged on the floor. She laughed about it though! What a tough little cookie!!!

She is still not a huge fan of cereal. We have tried oatmeal, rice with pears, and plain bananas. She just does not like it! She watches me eat and starts smacking her lips every time I take a bite, but doesn’t want anything I have offered her. I guess she’s just holding out for the good stuff!

I promise it won’t be so long before I post again!

Olivia love sitting in her tumble form chair and playing with this toy!

Her favorite toy is her tube though!




Olivia seems to really like books and being read to lately!




Olivia loves the cats! Lily tolerates her really well!




Look at me, holding my head up all by myself!




Look at that beautiful smiling face! No she didn't lose the oxygen yet, I just took the picture while I was changing out her cannula and the spots that hold it in place.

I was also tagged by Jennifer, so here goes:

10 Years ago I:

1. Was in the beginning of my freshman year at UW-Whitewater
2. Just started working at Wal-Mart
3. Drove a 1988 Delta 88
4. Living in the dorms
5. Are you kidding I don't remember that far back!!!

5 Things on Today's To-Do list:

1. Call the insurance company with questions about coverage for Olivia's geneticist visit
2. Make snack mix for tomorrow night
3. Learn how to use my sewing machine to shorten some of Olivia's clothes
4. Make a list of things to go over with the baby sitter tomorrow before we leave
5. Play with my favorite kid in the whole wide world!!

5 Things I Would do if I was a Millionaire:

1. Have my brother build me a new house
2. Pay off my car and buy a second car for us
3. Ensure Olivia's future (ie: lifetime member of LPA, college fund, etc)
4. Travel
5. Help loved ones

5 Places I've lived:

1. Deerfield, WI
2. Marshall, WI
3. Whitewater, WI
4. Lake Mills, WI
5. It's OK Kim, I've only lived four places too!

5 Jobs I've had:

1. Hostess, Busser, and Cook at Pizza Hut
2. Teacher Aide at Little Family Daycare
3. Multiple positions from cashier to support manager at Wal-Mart
4. Teacher at Lake Mills Schools
5. Hostess at Tru Tavern and Grill

I'll tag whoever hasn't been already. I think Cat has escaped all this tagging so far! I am also going to tag my sister in law, Teri. She's been thinking about creating a blog, so maybe this will motivate her!

Bringing down the Os

Olivia saw the pulmonologist on Friday. He was really impressed with how well she was doing. Her oxygen levels were really good, so he decided to try turning down her oxygen. She was at 0.4 liters per minute and we have decreased it to 0.3. Not a huge change, but it’s a step in the right direction. If her numbers are as good next time he said we’d take another step down. I much prefer these baby steps to drastic changes anyway! She also got her first flu shot. When we go back next month she’ll get a flu shot booster and her first RSV shot.

Olivia also tried cereal for the first time last week. She wasn’t a huge fan, but she didn’t hate it either. We’ll keep working on that with her. Hopefully she’ll grow to like it. The photo is before the messy cereal face.

Talking with the med. students went really well. They had some good questions. Olivia behaved really well through the whole thing, except pulling her cannula into her mouth a couple of times. I hope they invite us back to do it again next year.