Olivia is now 2 weeks old. It's been a challenging two weeks! First we were told that she had a "tight frenulum." That's the flap of skin underneath the tongue. It kept her from being able to breast feed efficiently, so her weight went from 8lbs, 10oz to 7 lbs, 3 ozs. We took her to the doctor to get the frenulum clipped, and now the feeding is going well.

A few days later, we noticed that Olivia was inconsolable for 2-4 hours at a time, and nothing seemed to help. After doing research, and talking to the doctor, it was determined that she had a "flaming" case of acid reflux. An antacid was prescribed and that has helped quite a bit. Now, her weight is up to 8 lbs, 8 ozs and the doctor said she's just perfect. We agree. She couldn't be better.

Olivia is 2 weeks old in the photo included. We have more pictures of her: just click on the link "Our photos" on the right.

What an incredible experience! You can have countless numbers of friends and family describe just how much having a child will change your life, but you're never prepared. We got to the hospital at 6:00 am and 12 hours later, we had Olivia Lauren Kirk. The labor was difficult, especially before the epidural. Trace had to push for 2 hours because Olivia was not in the proper position. Finally at 6:04 pm, she was born, 8 lbs, 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches.
Olivia was great in the hospital. She could sleep for 5 to 6 hours at a time during the night. She's one day old in the picture included.

Olivia Lauren was born on May 29, 2007 at 6:04 p.m.; weight: 8 lbs 10 oz; length: 20.5 inches. Mommy and baby are doing fine.



(posted by guest blogger Stan Taylor)

Olivia's cat is still waiting...okay, right, he's a cat. He's probably already thinking of new hiding places.

My doctor's office and the hospital both called to say that we will be safe to check into the hospital and deliver Olivia early Tuesday morning. No other health care providers at the hospital have symptoms and they have been given vaccines and antibiotics as a precautionary measure.

Chris and I went for a long walk through our neighborhood tonight but no contractions. It was nice cool weather and it sprinkled just a little. We enjoyed thinking about strolling Olivia through the neighborhood this time next week.

A nurse at our hospital tested positive for whooping cough. She worked in the Labor and Delivery unit and possibly exposed newborns to the disease from May 5th to May 25th. Needless to say Chris and I are now both thankful that Olivia was not born on time (or even a few days late). Probably half of our birth class-mates delivered during this time frame. Whooping cough is not fatal in adults but it is potentially fatal for infants.

Chris has already called the hospital hotline and our doctor's office hotline to find out if the other nurses and doctors have been tested and what measures the hospital staff has taken to ensure future newborns' safety. We will update the blog with any information we get.

Olivia's babydoll and teddy bear are still waiting...

On Wednesday, I was very frustrated to hear that my chances for being induced on Thursday were very small. Even more frustrating was the news from the nurse that I couldn't get in to see my doctor until the following Thursday. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting over a week to get induced. I begged the nurse to get me in to the doctor's office earlier but she said the holiday was making that impossible. I just couldn't believe that my doctor would allow me to go that long considering how miserable I am.
Luckily I got an early phone call from the doctor yesterday morning saying that she had scheduled me for induction on Tuesday. I was so relieved! I just knew she wouldn't make me wait until the end of next week. So 5:30 am on Tuesday the 29th, Chris and I will be driving to the hospital (assuming that I won't go into labor before then).