Saturday, May 29, 2010
A Lap Down Memory Lane
Congrats to my cousin Zeb and his wife, Jennifer, who had a baby girl, named Zoe, on Tuesday, May 25. Olivia was very excited for the arrival of Zoe, who will be her newest playmate at Grandma Laux's. Olivia is very lucky to have lots of new friends (aka Zach & Emily's friends having babies) - including Claire, Wilson and now Zoe). We went to visit Jennifer and Zoe in the hospital this week, which happened to be the same hospital where Olivia was born. Being back at the hospital almost 2 months after Olivia was born was a very cool experience for a couple of reasons:
1. Peggy and the Nurses - We had the best nurses while at St. Vincent Carmel. They helped Zach and I learn everything we needed to know to be as confident as new parents can be when taking home their baby. All the nurses were great, but we had a special bond with Peggy, and she was our nurse three of the days in the hospital. She taught us little tricks, such as how to brace Olivia's back when she gets the hiccups (which happens on a daily basis), how to properly secure Olivia in her car seat, and she made sure that we got our rest while in the hospital and made sure I started to heal before heading home. Peggy was not only at the hospital when Olivia and I went to visit, but she was also Jennifer's nurse! Peggy enjoyed seeing Olivia as much as I enjoyed showing Olivia off to Peggy and updating her on Olivia!
2. The Nursery - Jennifer and I took a walk through the labor and delivery area, as well as by the nursery. It was a trip down memory lane for me. Jennifer and I had similar birthing experiences, from being on bed rest for high blood pressure to having to have c-sections when our stubborn babies didn't want to enter the world naturally. Jennifer and I shared our experiences with each other, and I got to see where Olivia's life started and remember all the wonderful memories of those two days.
When Olivia was born, there were very few other babies in the hospital. On the day I visited Jennifer, there had been almost 10 babies born in the previous two days. There had been three babies born just that morning, including one woman who delivered her baby alone at home while her husband was in Chicago and her two older children were asleep! I can't even imagine that, but it was fun to talk to the family and share experiences. I also enjoyed watching the babies being taken through the testing, cleaning and prepping to return to their parents.
It is amazing how quickly the last two months have gone. I know everyone tells you that the time will fly by, and I have been trying to enjoy every moment with Olivia, because she isn't going to stay a baby for too long (just look at the picture of Olivia and Zoe to see how big she has already gotten!!).
Some other fun changes in Olivia over the last month:
1. She now smiles and has even had a small laugh or two when reacting to us. I keep telling her she is going to laugh a lot in this family!
2. She has shown us that she can sleep through the night, which she now does a majority of nights (yeah for us!!) to being able to sleep in her crib instead of a swing (which has just started and I am sure we will still have some nights where we revert back to the swing!).
3. She is gaining control of her head, and this is no easy feet as Olivia has a very cute, but very round and big head to support! Add her chubby cheeks to the equation, and her neck has to do a lot of work. Of course her head still gets out of control from time to time, but she will be holding it up before we know it.
We look forward to all of the fun milestones ahead from rolling over to crawling to walking, but for now, we are enjoying every minute we can and cherishing what lucky parents we are :)
Enjoy the pictures!
1. Peggy and the Nurses - We had the best nurses while at St. Vincent Carmel. They helped Zach and I learn everything we needed to know to be as confident as new parents can be when taking home their baby. All the nurses were great, but we had a special bond with Peggy, and she was our nurse three of the days in the hospital. She taught us little tricks, such as how to brace Olivia's back when she gets the hiccups (which happens on a daily basis), how to properly secure Olivia in her car seat, and she made sure that we got our rest while in the hospital and made sure I started to heal before heading home. Peggy was not only at the hospital when Olivia and I went to visit, but she was also Jennifer's nurse! Peggy enjoyed seeing Olivia as much as I enjoyed showing Olivia off to Peggy and updating her on Olivia!
2. The Nursery - Jennifer and I took a walk through the labor and delivery area, as well as by the nursery. It was a trip down memory lane for me. Jennifer and I had similar birthing experiences, from being on bed rest for high blood pressure to having to have c-sections when our stubborn babies didn't want to enter the world naturally. Jennifer and I shared our experiences with each other, and I got to see where Olivia's life started and remember all the wonderful memories of those two days.
When Olivia was born, there were very few other babies in the hospital. On the day I visited Jennifer, there had been almost 10 babies born in the previous two days. There had been three babies born just that morning, including one woman who delivered her baby alone at home while her husband was in Chicago and her two older children were asleep! I can't even imagine that, but it was fun to talk to the family and share experiences. I also enjoyed watching the babies being taken through the testing, cleaning and prepping to return to their parents.
It is amazing how quickly the last two months have gone. I know everyone tells you that the time will fly by, and I have been trying to enjoy every moment with Olivia, because she isn't going to stay a baby for too long (just look at the picture of Olivia and Zoe to see how big she has already gotten!!).
Some other fun changes in Olivia over the last month:
1. She now smiles and has even had a small laugh or two when reacting to us. I keep telling her she is going to laugh a lot in this family!
2. She has shown us that she can sleep through the night, which she now does a majority of nights (yeah for us!!) to being able to sleep in her crib instead of a swing (which has just started and I am sure we will still have some nights where we revert back to the swing!).
3. She is gaining control of her head, and this is no easy feet as Olivia has a very cute, but very round and big head to support! Add her chubby cheeks to the equation, and her neck has to do a lot of work. Of course her head still gets out of control from time to time, but she will be holding it up before we know it.
We look forward to all of the fun milestones ahead from rolling over to crawling to walking, but for now, we are enjoying every minute we can and cherishing what lucky parents we are :)
Enjoy the pictures!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Baptism
This past Sunday, our beautiful daughter was Baptized into the Catholic church at St. Matthew’s in Indianapolis. It’s amazing how much different it is when your child is the one getting baptized. In the past when I went to church and Father said there was going to be a baptism, I would immediately think “Great, add another 30 minutes to mass!” But standing in front of the entire congregation with Emily, Olivia, Thad and Paige (her Godparents) I thought, these people are so supportive of this occasion. But then I was brought back to reality. After mass I saw a friend of mine from Sagamore, and he said that he normally goes to the 7:30am mass, but because he went to the Kentucky Derby the day before, he came to the 9:00 mass. He said when Father mentioned that there was going to be a Baptism, he immediately thought “This is why I go to 7:30am mass!” But to his credit, he was happy that he was there because he knew me and was happy to share in the moment.
Okay, to the good stuff. Olivia was great. She looked cute as a button. She was actually wearing the same gown that Emily was Baptized in when she was a baby. It was great to get everyone together and as always, we are reminded just how much we enjoy St. Matt’s. Father Paul was amazed that Olivia slept through the entire Baptism. She moved around a bit when we were up front. Roughly 3 times Father asked “Is she still asleep?”; little did he know that our beautiful little child was tooting non-stop in her gown. But as we have found with Olivia, she is sooo good when other people are around. She was precious throughout the entire baptism. When Father poured three pictures of holy water over her head, she just smiled. Paige held her while Father baptized her and we have the best picture of Paige with a smile from ear to ear. That picture is really what it’s all about. This little girl is just starting with the first steps of her life and her family and community are excited for her. It’s great to see just how supportive both of our families are for Olivia. The sheer excitement of new life and new experiences is a feeling that cannot be described. If there is one thing that is true from the Baptism, Olivia is surrounded with a family and a community that love her very much.
Oh and the perfect little girl that slept through the baptism, afterward spit up on her gown!
Okay, to the good stuff. Olivia was great. She looked cute as a button. She was actually wearing the same gown that Emily was Baptized in when she was a baby. It was great to get everyone together and as always, we are reminded just how much we enjoy St. Matt’s. Father Paul was amazed that Olivia slept through the entire Baptism. She moved around a bit when we were up front. Roughly 3 times Father asked “Is she still asleep?”; little did he know that our beautiful little child was tooting non-stop in her gown. But as we have found with Olivia, she is sooo good when other people are around. She was precious throughout the entire baptism. When Father poured three pictures of holy water over her head, she just smiled. Paige held her while Father baptized her and we have the best picture of Paige with a smile from ear to ear. That picture is really what it’s all about. This little girl is just starting with the first steps of her life and her family and community are excited for her. It’s great to see just how supportive both of our families are for Olivia. The sheer excitement of new life and new experiences is a feeling that cannot be described. If there is one thing that is true from the Baptism, Olivia is surrounded with a family and a community that love her very much.
Oh and the perfect little girl that slept through the baptism, afterward spit up on her gown!
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