I’ll start the blog with giving updates on how Liv is doing health/development wise, then I’ll share some fun pics of Olivia’s latest adventures, and then updates on our family.

Eating has still been a challenge. We believe Olivia has bottle aversion, which is very common in preemies. And I did not make it better. It’s drilled into your head how much she should be eating and then you end up trying to force her to eat to try and get to the number. So, it makes sense that she would get bottle aversion. Who wants to be forced to eat. We have been trying a method I was referred to by another micro-preemie mom. It has been going better for Olivia to not fight every feeding, but we haven’t really been able to increase on quantity. Trying not to stress about it, which is sometimes easier said than done. We don’t always hit our minimum, but we watch her diapers to make sure she is hydrated. In the last blog, I mentioned that Olivia was having an appointment with Outpatient Pulmonology and going to see a dietician there. They decided to up her caloric intake on her formula to 24 calories per ounce. This has been effective because in her initial three months of being home she gained around a pound, but in the last month she gained 13 oz, so I would say we are moving in the right direction 🙂

In my last update, Olivia was still on a breathing treatment once a day and is now off that too. In case she gets sick we still have the necessary equipment and medicine, which is comforting.

Oxygen. A few weeks ago we took the sleep test. It is basically a special pulse oximeter that records Olivia’s numbers so the doctors can see if she is ready to be off oxygen. She had a little cold the week before we did it, but in any case, she was not quite ready and did not pass. Since then she would go two days of not needing oxygen and then need some overnight for a night. But the last five days she has not needed any oxygen overnight, so we will see if that continues. She has still needed oxygen if she falls asleep in the car. Not sure how long that will continue. Stinking car seat. We will try another sleep study test at the end of July.

Here are some of Liv’s latest milestones:

Upcoming Appointments:

• On Friday we have our first appointment with High Risk Infant Follow-Up. This will be an appointment we have at 6 months (adjusted), 12 months (adjusted), and 2-3 years after our NICU discharge. It is a long three hour appointment where they do a development evaluation, medical exam, then discuss the findings and they will provide any care recommendations.
• Next week we have our 9 month appointment with our pediatrician.
• And then the following week we have our next follow up appointment with Outpatient Pulmonology. In this one appointment we see a social worker, a nurse practitioner that works with our pulmonologist, a dietician, and a respiratory therapist. As of right now, we see them every six weeks, but I am sure at some point that will change.
• We are still seeing Physical Therapy and Child Development every other week.
• We will also be seeing an Opthamologist for a follow up in the next couple of months.
• And last but not least we see Speech. The therapist we have been seeing and love is going out on maternity leave until January, so we will have to go downtown for those appointments now, and they are booked out, so we are hoping for a cancellation since we typically see speech once a month.

In May, Livy enjoyed going to watch her cousin play baseball:

She went to her first Memorial Day BBQ:

And so far in June she has had her first pool days, the picture below is with our niece Reese:

Here are some other cute pics of Olivia over the last month:

Some updates on Jeremy and me:

Jeremy’s new job that I talked about in the last blog did not work for our family. The hours were too demanding. We would prefer as a family to have Jer home more than what was happening, so Jeremy moved on from that job at the end of May. The good news is that Jeremy already found another job! One that he is very excited about and will start on July 1st! It is for a biotech, chemical and pharmaceutical company that has been around for over 120 years! He is excited to still do sales, but to also use his biochemistry knowledge that he received at UC Davis. Jer will be able to work from home most days, but will also get to go in the field a few times a month, which is the perfect set up for us.

I am still on track to go back to work on July 10th. Both my therapist and primary care physician are providing options in case I feel like I am still not ready as we get closer to that date. On one hand I am eager to go back, but it is also going to be hard to let someone else take care of Olivia especially with her eating habits. But, it is comforting that I am able to work from home.

When it comes to volunteering with Sutter, I am on Step 3 of 4. After I give them my vaccination records I will get to attend a hospital orientation and then shortly thereafter I will be able to begin volunteering. I am so excited!

Alright, I think that wraps it up!

Lil’ Liv’s Numbers:

• Age: 38 weeks + 3 days
• Adjusted Age: 24 weeks + 1 day
• Weight: 12lbs and 8.9oz (5th percentile)
• Height: 24 inches (41st percentile) – have not measured since 5/15
• Head: 39 cm (45th percentile) – have not measured since 5/15

Until next time…