2 Months

Wow, we made it two months! 


This month was pretty crazy for us from the start. Olivia was growing like a weed! She started wanting to be upright more often too, even though she was nowhere near sitting up on her own. So to help her work her back muscles, Brad and I started teaching her how to pull herself up by holding our hands.  She really enjoyed it, and very quickly she was doing it on her own. 


My mom and Al also came to visit. Oh my, were they floored by how much she had grown! Mom hadn't seen her since birth, and Al was just meeting her for the first time. They couldn't get enough of her. Olivia was all smiles. We also took a trip to the zoo, a first for Olivia. 

We just love this photo. "What mommy?"
Because she couldn't sit up on her own, this was often how we would hold Olivia. 
A completely different view than from being on her back!

We would wrap the boppy pillow around her waist to keep her from toppling over. 

This month was also the start of the drooling and gnawing. Here she is gnawing on Le Giraffe.

At this months wellness appointment, we also learned of some other news. While doing a routine check of her heart, Dr. Brown discovered a slight heart murmur that he wanted us to have checked out further. Later that week we took Olivia to Children's Hospital and had some tests run. Things were looking positive at first, and we thought it must have been nothing. However, upon seeing the results from the chest echo and EKG, Olivia's cardiologist Dr. Thrush discovered that she had both a small hole in between the chambers of her heart and a condition called Pulmonary Stenosis (a heart valve disorder where the valve cannot open wide enough, and as a result less blood flows to the lungs). Brad and I were floored. We could deal with sleepless nights, fussy moments, poosplosions, well...pretty much anything that comes with raising a baby, But we didn't know how to deal with this. What does this mean, Pulmonary Stenosis? Is she going to have surgery? Will this affect her quality of life?  Dr. Thrush helped us understand the condition and what is expected to come of it, which really helped Brad and I start to deal with reality. The hole would heal up in time on its own, which is good. The Pulmonary Stenosis will likely require a procedure in the future, but she shouldn't be affected by it in any way. Now, we just painfully wait to find out when the procedure will be scheduled...

Olivia getting her EKG. I know this is a sad picture to see, but I want to point out how much of a trooper she is, and has been through this entire process. Look at that smile. She is such a tolerant baby, which has really made this easier for Brad and I to get through.