Back on Track

It's been a while since I've posted...seems I have been keeping myself pretty busy with our precious little O.

At Olivia's last doctor appointment - her 2 week check-up - she weighed 8lbs 8oz and 21-1/4" Long! That meant she had gained a pound since we left the hospital and only 10oz since she was born. But she got 2 inches longer!! That is an inch a week :) The doctor wasn't too concerened, but she wanted us to bring her in again 2 weeks later to check her weight because she had gone from the 51st percentile down to the 38th.

So today we went and saw Dr. Jean again. And guess how much our chunker-butt weighs?? 9lbs, 11oz!! That is crazy, right?! She weighs almost 10lbs and she's only 4-1/2 weeks old! It is amazing how much she changes in such a short amount of time.

We had a great week with my mom last week- we spent a lot of time sitting around loving on Olivia and chatting about this and that. We went furniture shopping and she took me clothing shopping to find some jeans to fit my newly unpregnant body (thanks, Mama!)
Side note: (I'm going to brag a little bit here and thank my daughter for being such a good eater). I gained 22lbs during my pregnancy and I am down 29! Did you know breasfeeding burns and extra  500 calories a day? Well it does - pretty sweet, right? I think that means I can just skip the gym until I quit breastfeeding. Except that losing pounds doesn't tighten my jiggly belly! Who knew growing 10 inches around the waist would leave my stomach muscles a blubbery mess!!
So back to the week - I had a ton of fun with my mom. I haven't gotten to spend that much time with her in a really long time, and it's so cool now because I am grown and learning how to become a mommy and who better to learn from than the best mommy in the world?! And we have become great friends over the years, so girlie time is great!

Livie is starting to smile - it's the cutest thing EVER! It doesn't happen a lot yet, but when it does it melts my heart. Daddy came home from work last night and gave her kisses and she lit up so bright and gave him a big fat smile. She loves her daddy so much - it's pretty awesome to see them bond. I love my little family.

Here's a couple of pictures to enjoy!

I think this is her signature look!

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Grammy and Livie

Being way too big for her britches:)

Daddy feeding her mommy's milk for the first time:) How cute are they?

HAHA - Playing around...She's so stinkin' funny!



Asleep during tummy time

Oh How She Grows

If we ever thought life went by too fast, we didn't know anything about it. This coming Thursday Olivia will be a month old! In some ways is seems like she has been a part of our family forever, but it's also hard to believe she has been with us for 3-1/2 weeks.

Josh and I are very lucky and thank God that she is such a good baby. Everyone has always told me how tired and worn out and busy I was going to be with a new baby, but that's just not the case...Getting up every 3 hours at night has not been a big deal. I think there are a couple of reasons for that:
1. I have never been one who required a lot of sleep
2. I think when you become a parent, the needs of your child take precedence over your own

I love my husband. Just a random thought there :)

Olivia is apparently going through a really long growth spurt. I read that they are only supposed to last a day or two, but we are on day three and she just can't stop eating! And it is starting to show - she is now over 9lbs!! What a little chunker! Sometimes I am sure she thinks she is 6 months old. She picks her head up and looks around with way too much control and she likes to stay awake and hang out during the daytime hours. Seems she doesn't want to miss anything going on around her.
We started using the cloth diapers this week and is has been going really well. The first time we put one on her she got really quiet - who wouldn't though if your butt was swaddled in fleece?!! They are still a little too big for her and give her a little ghetto booty but they are cute. 
Also new this week - She has discovered her tongue...She is constantly sticking it out - it's pretty funny to see. 
My mom is coming down to spend the week with us while my dad is in Isreal. It's going to be pretty fun and it will be nice for Lil' O to get some QT with her. And speaking of my dad's trip - please keep in him your prayers for safe travel and a fulfilling experience. 

 

Pics & Videos

She loves the Moby wrap...She made the little noices the whole time she was in there  - Just like she did right after she was born :)

Our first family photo

First bath - She never cried - just looked like she was going to...She actually LOVES having a bath!

Daddy/Daughter nap...How cute!

Uncle Nic loving her <3

Uncle Brod doing the same

G-Pa admiring her beauty

Nana loves her, too!

Aunt Katie snuggling close

She loves her boppy

Skin-to skin with Mommy on day 1...Precious

First time in the Moby - Loving it:)

And We're Back...Plus One!

So I realize it's been 2 weeks since we updated this thing. But what do you expect?? We have a brand new beautiful baby girl named Olivia Grace Banta!!! Olivia was born October 21, 2001 at 7:54pm. Weighing in at 7lbs, 14oz and measuring 19-1/4 inches long.

Backing up a bit...Josh blogged last Wednesday when we got checked into the hospital - he mentioned the balloon - it was awesome - by 9:30 Thursday morning when they took it out, I was 5 centimeters dilated! We were really excited - half way there already:)
They began increasing the Pitocin every half hour until finally around 11 I was feeling strong contractions every 3-4 minutes. Still, though I was staying around 5 cm.
The day kept moving along - I tried the IV pain medication (Fentinol) and that made me feel drunk for about 15-20 minutes, and then wore off. The contractions were very painful - I was not expecting them to be so bad! So I finally ordered an Epidural, and it only worked on the right side of my body and eventually wore off, too, so they gave me another...It worked on both halfs, so I was pretty content for the next few hours.
Dr. Mintzer (who by the way was awesome and is going to be my doctor from now on) came in around 6:30pm and I was still at 5cm. He told me he wasn't going to rush me into a C-Section so I could keep waiting a couple more hours and see if there was any change, but that if I didn't progress, I would likely be taken in for C-Section. Josh and I said a prayer that things would progress - we wanted to avoid the C-Section as long as me and the baby were healthy. Just under a half an hour later I started feeling a lot of pressure and I asked the nurse to check me for progress. Nancy (the nurse) said she would do that, but that she doubted there will be any change in such a short amount of time. Josh went to use the restroom and when he came out, Nancy announced that I was fully dilated and we were ready to push the baby out!!! It was awesome news to hear!
Unfortunately it was right at 7:00 shift change, so Nancy was leaving and Trish was coming on..They were trying to get the NICU team gathered up (Olivia had pooped inside of me, so they had to be sure she didn't aspirate any of the meconium), do their shift change reporting, get Dr. Mintzer to the room, and get all of the equipment ready for delivery. It was a zoo in there and I was in the middle of having a baby! I wasn't getting any direction at that point - Josh and I were just doing it on our own, but I had enough and finally yelled out that I didn't know what I was doing and needed some help! Trish then came to the bedside and she helped coach us through the contractions. Dr. Mintzer showed up, they broke the bed down, and Olivia was on her way. It was a rough hour, and there were some funny things said and done that helped to keep my spirits up and my motivation going.
Josh was amazing - he was completely supportive and never got frustrated or mad or anything. He counted me through the contractions, held my hand, pushed the hair out of my eyes and reminded me of everything I needed to do. As soon as Olivia came out, he was with the NICU team holding her hand and loving her...it was beautiful to see him so happy and proud of his little girl. I knew from the very beginning he would be a great dad and he is.
I could never know how much you can love someone you've only just met until you have a child. It is something hard to explain in words - it's pure unconditional love from the start.

So that is the basic story of Olivia's arrival into the world. It was the most awesome experience in our lives, and worth every bit of pain and waiting we went through!

Here are some picture of our beautiful daughter...She has changed so much already in her first 2 weeks of life. We know that time is going to go by way too quickly and before we know it she will be crawling and walking and talking. We are trying to enjoy everything about her while it lasts - and there is plenty to enjoy!

All Checked in...

We arrived at the hospital around 7:30 and got checked in.  We felt like we were packed for an extended hotel stay so that was kind of strange.  Our nurse is LeAnn and she is great.  The doctor was awesome tonight.  She is the best one that we have seen so far.  They put Tasha on a balloon which should help with prepping her for the labor tomorrow. She is about to take an Ambien and get some rest.  We included some pics for your enjoyment.  Not sure we will get another chance to blog so most likely the next time we do, we will have a baby!!!

Looking back

Here are some of my growing belly pictures. It is weird to see because I didn't ever notice the day to day growth. It was like one day I didn't have a bump and the next thing I knew I had a basketball under my shirt! The belly is soon to disappear. I am kinda sad about it. It has been something undescribable to have our baby as a part of me for the last 9 months. But it will soon be in my arms, so hopefully I won't miss it too much...



4 months







5 months



6 months







8.5 months








9 months









D-Day is just around the corner...

Last Thursday we had our 38 week OB appointment. And of course there was more lack of communication between doctors. But you know what? WHO CARES - We are going to have our baby 5 DAYS from today!!! We ended up scheduling my induction for next Thursday, October 21st :) We are praying and would appreciate your prayers that the baby comes before then on it's own or that the induction goes smoothly on Thursday.

As of last week, my body was "unfavorable" for delivery, but all of that can change overnight. We have our last appointment Tuesday morning and are hoping things have progressed some. If not, we will have to go in Wednesday night and I will have to get some medication to prepare my body and then Thursday morning they will start the pitocin and hopefully before Friday we will have our beautiful baby in our arms!

The last 10 months have been very life-changing for Josh and I, but the actual birth of our child is obviously going to be even more of a change. We are so excited and so ready to meet our little creation. It is absolutely going to be the most awesome moment of our life when he/she joins the world.
I think I have known this all along, but it keeps occuring to me recently that this baby is going to be ours FOREVER! What a responsibility - an amazing responsibility.

We appreciate all of your support and your prayers throughout our pregnancy, and appreciate your continued prayers this coming week. You are all in ours !

Something to look forward to:

A woman goes to her doctor who verifies that she is pregnant.
This is her first pregnancy. The doctor asks her if she has any questions.
She replies, "Well, I'm a little worried about the pain. How much will childbirth hurt?"
The doctor answered, "Well, that varies from woman to woman and pregnancy to pregnancy and besides, it's difficult to describe pain."
"I know, but can't you give me some idea?" she asks.
"Grab your upper lip and pull it out a little..."
"Like this?"
"A little more..."
"Like this?"
"No. A little more..."
"Like this?"
"Yes. Does that hurt?"
"A little bit."
"Now stretch it over your head!"