Think I might do a double post tonight as I feel like if I don't I might forget the small details of yesterday and today.
Let's start with Friday shall well? Friday was a full busy day for the Fink/Siemens family. My mom, Eleanor, came over from Vancouver to visit Miss Olivia for the day. She hadn't seen her in a couple of weeks so she saw a huge difference in her growth! She was up to 897 grams friday! She'll definitely hit 900 grams for her 5 week birthday which is tomorrow (sunday). Stay tuned for her progress!
So, as I was saying above, Grandma Eleanor came over to visit friday for the day. We had a nice visit. Grandma was even so kind to give Olivia her first Happy Thanksgiving Card with a $20 as well! She's rich! Here's her super cute Elmo card she got! Thanks Grandma! (AKA, Mom:) ).
Just as my Mom arrived at the NICU it was time for my second parenting session. The topic of the day was learning how to take Olivia out of her incubator as well as how to make her nest (AKA her bed). It was just me in the session once again this time (although my mom came along as well as a parent mentor who had a couple of babies in the NICU a few years ago). It was a very exciting and informative session. So much to learn just to be able to lift my baby out of her bed and back into bed! I was lucky enough to even try taking Olivia out on my own that afternoon so we could have some cuddles! Now THAT was an experience. It was a bit nerve-racking as she's so tiny but I had the nurses there to support me if I needed. Turns out it wasn't too bad and I got her out with no complications. We had a nice cuddle that afternoon. I even got to put her back as well! I'm really moving up in this parenting world, aren't I? Speaking of parenting..
I should let you know that I submitted my forms to be a "Family Integrated Care" parent. Guess what? I'm starting this Tuesday with her! I'm so looking forward to this opportunity as it will help me bond more with Olivia and hopefully eliminate a lot of the stress that I'm going through right now. I generally find that when I'm in the NICU with her I'm more relaxed and when I'm out and about or at home it's very hard to do anything and relax. It's hard to explain unless you've been in this situation yourself. I have my moments and Jeff and I butt heads every-now and then but we're getting through it somehow. Olivia is my rock at the moment and she's doing a great job at keeping me calm. Thanks, Olivia...Mommy love's you!
Here's Olivia's new sticker on her incubator!
Here's Olivia's daily shot on Friday October 10th. Such a cutie!
Where do I start! I got some exciting new things to share with you and show you! I picked up a really awesome shirt yesterday! This is not just any shirt but it's a shirt that's specifically for kangaroo care! It's called the NuRoo Pocket Carrier. You can't buy it in the stores here on the island but I managed to use my good old Varagesale to post a wanted ad and low and behold, somebody responded! They were looking to sell their shirt so I went an tried it on and it fit! Here's the shirt and how it works:
NuRoo Pocket Carrier (for Kangaroo care)
While we're on the topic of wraps, don't know if any of you are familiar with the Moby baby wrap? It's basically a long piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself and then put your baby into it. It's very similar to the NuRoo shirt but more complex. These wraps go for about $80 in the store (yikes! They get you on these things as they know people will buy into it!). but I was smart enough to DIY it! Found a tutorial online on how to make one (they're really easy!) and made 2 myself! The fabric was a bit pricey but overall it was a way better deal then the brand one! I paid $25 for the 5 yards of fabric (yes, 5 yards!!) at fabricland and got 2 wraps out of it! And another bonus is that I could pick my fabric! Here's Olivia's new wrap!
Pretty cool, eh? I might try this with Olivia once she's off her bi-pap and tube feed so there isn't so many cables to deal with. I think she'll enjoy it though! She's my little cuddle bug!:)
Moving right along now, as I mentioned up above I got to hold Olivia twice yesterday. Before her evening cuddle time I got to do Olivia's care again. This time I got to give her a sponge bath! That was neat! I gave her a little sponge bath in her incubator with a bowl of warm water (no soap yet!) using cotton balls to wash her off. She was very well behaved and seemed to enjoy her bath. After her bath I got to weigh her again. Her weight went down a bit last night but that's okay! She's down only 7 grams at 890 grams. Today is her 5 week birthday so hopefully she'll hit 900!
Anyways, that's about it for now. That was a super long post! I'll try to post a shorter one tomorrow (right haha) and keep on top of things!
Reader's Corner:
Give me your best caption for Olivia in this photo! What is she saying? The best answer will be posted and featured in tomorrow's blog posting! Comment below to submit your answer.
-Monique