Olivia's Birth Day

Olivia Olga Nelson
Born 8:10 am on October 22, 2013
6 lbs 9 ounces, 18 inches long

Her life verse:

Psalm 52:8-9

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. 

For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. 

And I will hope in your name, for your name is good. 

We are so in love, and so thankful for our baby girl. I was on cloud 9 after having her, and I was incredibly grateful for a smooth cesarean, and smooth post-op experience (I had a somewhat difficult experience with my last c-section with Jadon). This time around, I couldn't have asked for it to have gone better. Anesthesia went well, Jack Johnson was playing in the operating room, Justin held me and sang to me...and then we heard Olivia's cry for the very first time...it was so beautiful, and reminded me of a little kitten.

We were thankful Baba and Philippe flew up for the birth, and enjoyed precious Olivia right away

At first, they placed me in a shared room, which wouldn't be able to accommodate Moriah's wheelchair. Thanks to some strong advocating from Baba, we were moved to a private room, and Nano and Maji and Nurse Elaine brought the kids right over. 

Moriah was so happy to see us, while Jadon was a little apprehensive. 

But he quickly warmed up, and gave his baby sister a kiss on the cheek

Nano and Maji were so helpful, taking care of the kids for the following two weeks as I recovered from surgery. Needless to say, Moriah and Jadon were spoiled during this time.

The kids were also ecstatic to open the gifts that Olivia "bought" them (a little bribe to like their sister couldn't hurt =)

 Justin and I feel blessed with the 3 best gifts in the world

The next day, Papa came up to visit his granddaughter. This is when we first shared Olivia's middle name with him... 

Olga.

Papa's mom, Grandma Olga, passed away one year ago on July 1, 2012. We wanted to honor her, and keep her memory alive through Olivia. We pray that Olivia will have as big of a heart as her great grandmother, and be as loving and kind as she was.

One thing is for certain, and that is that GG loved her great grandchildren!

We know that she would have adored you too, Olivia...just like we all do.

Please Meet Our Baby

After being hospitalized this weekend due to bleeding, and hearing things like "placenta abruption," "lose baby and mom," and "baby might not get enough nutrients," I was crying tears of joy and relief when we found out at the ultrasound today that the placenta tear had healed, and that the baby looks perfect. Additionally, the fetal echo and anatomy scan both looked great.

With that said, I would like you all to meet our baby girl, OLIVIA, who is already turning into be quite the fighter like her sister. And really, she has been the feistiest one yet in my belly doing kung fu kicks to my bladder and abdomen. I was hoping and praying for at least one calm child, but I don't think that is going to happen. 

Besides making sure to not eat anymore Chinese food (I ate it the day of the bleed and Olivia was going crazy in my belly), I will be taking it easy for the rest of this pregnancy. Being on bed rest was really difficult so I am happy to be up and about, but at a much slower pace this time around.

It has been a bit of a roller-coaster pregnancy starting off with the subchorrianic hematoma and now this bleed this past weekend. However, from the beginning I have told Justin that I've had God's peace with this pregnancy even when hearing that I would most likely miscarry in the very beginning.

This brought me to her name, Olivia, one of the meanings of her name is Peace...along with fruitfulness, beauty, and dignity.

We actually named her before it was even confirmed it was a girl...before I was even pregnant, Justin had had a dream that we were having a baby girl...so we knew. 

We cannot wait to meet her, but definitely want her to wait at least another 4 months before she makes her appearance. 

I have a feeling she will be ready to take on her brother and sister. Jadon and Moriah will be meeting their match =)

P.S. So sorry for all the lack of updates. Between Justin traveling to Serbia and to Florida for work, me traveling to LA and to Colorado, taking care of the kids, and my exhaustion, I really do not have any energy or time to open my laptop. Now that I'm being forced to slow down, I hope to finally upload the few pictures that I have taken and record some special family moments. This is, after all, my cyber scrapbook, and I love looking back at all the memories we have on here.

Thank you all for checking in. 

Lots of love,

Victoria

Father's Day and 37 Weeks

Happy Father's Day to one of the BEST Daddy's I know. I love watching the bond between Justin and Moriah - she is such a Daddy's girl. I love watching him hold Moriah, and sing to her. It is one of the sweetest moments that I will always cherish, witnessing it since she was a newborn. I am so thankful to have Justin as the father of my children...I can never say this enough.

And here I am, 37 weeks pregnant, getting in some cuddles with my tired girl before bedtime. Poor thing. The belly is totally in her way so she can't sit very comfortably (I hear you Moriah), but I am taking in these last few weeks with my firstborn, knowing there will be a very different dynamic with the baby coming soon.

Love you guys!

35 weeks (almost 9 months)

That smile is just for show. I have not been smiling that big lately. I've been beyond sore, totally uncomfortable, and feeling like I can't move. You get the point? =)

I am almost 9 months, and I can't wait to have this baby boy.

I have an OB appointment this Monday, and I'm expecting good things, considering my last appointment, which was two weeks ago, went well.

I am measuring on track again, which is a relief. I know I look a lot bigger than 9 months, and I kindly ask you to refrain from telling me how enormous I am - I hear it everyday when I step outside the door. I didn't realize how much of a beating a pregnant woman's self esteem could take until now =)

I haven't gotten the results back from my blood tests, but the doctor thinks that pregnancy is just doing a number on my kidneys, and hopefully everything will return back to normal once I have the baby. I will continue to keep you posted on this.

We have a busy month coming up with Moriah's procedures and appointments- GI, blood tests, Xray to check for scoliosis, Neurology, a Lung Perfusion scan which will be done as an outpatient procedure, Pulmonology, and Cardiology. I hope and pray that I will not go into labor while I am in the Dr.'s office with her, but I guess I will be in a good place if this baby does decide to come!

And to end on a fun note, I'm re-posting a link our friend, David Brown, sent us.

A pregnant flash mob

Even though I know that the break dancers aren't really pregnant, I still wish I could move like that =)

Lots of love,

Victoria

The Best Baby Shower

I seriously had the best baby shower on Sunday.

Baca, Grandma Olga, and Papa all came in to town to celebrate with us

(I started off wearing the same dress that I wore to Moriah's baby shower, but between Moriah thinking she was so funny pulling up my dress and the wind blowing it up while we were walking to the car, showing off my knickers to the gardeners, I ran/waddled back to the house and changed at the very last minute!)

We finally had our home nurses in the same place at the same time - Lauren, Dona, and Shannon...M is so lucky to have them!

My good friend, Hannah, just had her sweet baby boy, Luke, and we all got to meet him for the first time...M loved him =)

Our shower wouldn't be complete without Jana!!

Sue, Baca, our cute Nurses, and Lauren's hubby, Daniel, and daughter, June

I was so honored to hold Luke...and nervous at the same time...I've forgotten what it's like to hold a newborn...they are so tiny...and ohsoverysweet!

All our peeps...everyone who came is someone we have met through CA Heart Connection, LPCH, CRC, the Ronald McDonald House, or the Charge Syndrome Foundation...each holding a very special place in our hearts

GG, Papa, Gary, Patricia, Jana, Jesse, Justin, Bo and Tawny Aye

Sarah, Sophia's Mommy, and I

Huong, Hop, and Henry's new baby sister, Hillary...don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?? =)

Our CRC crew who we still keep in touch with!

Izra (who's expecting any day!), Jay, Gary, Sujata, Poonam and her baby girl

Family pic

Opening presents! This baby boy is going to be set with his wardrobe =)

Rachael and Mercedes

GG, Sue, and Baca

Lauren and Patricia - who we met through the RM House and the CVICU. Patricia has the cutest twin boys who we spent time with as newborns, and now, I can't get over how big they are!

Our friends, Lacey and Lucas, who Moriah hasn't seen since she was 1, while in the CVICU

M with her most favorite Nurse Practitioner.

Can you tell that Moriah had the best time too?

I think that smile says it all...

While all are not pictured nor could we invite everyone, we feel so blessed by the special people in our lives. They have impacted us greatly and either influenced, inspired, or encouraged us along this journey in some way or another.

Justin and I feel lucky that our children will be brought up with such love and support surrounding them...

I couldn't have asked for a better day with our friends.

Sigh Of Relief

Hi all,

Today I had my ultrasound at LPCH's Perinatal Diagnostic Center to check on everything...and everything looks good! Everything is measuring well, and so is my amniotic fluid. Baby does have a big head, but my mother-in-law kept telling me that that was it...and she would know since she had the same thing with Justin =)

We are relieved...and once again, thankful.

I still have yet to go in for some more blood work concerning the high sugar in my urine, but I am hoping that this too will be okay.

Once we finished with our appt, we rushed down to the Heart Center, where M was with Nurse Shannon, just beginning her echo. Between the echo and EKG, everything continues to look stable with Moriah's heart. We will be getting her in for a lung perfusion scan within the next month, but this can be done as an outpatient procedure so it shouldn't be too bad. Then we will also discuss weaning M from her Sildenafil which is used for the pulmonary hypertension, since her pressures are within normal range now.

Nurse Shannon, Daddy, and Moriah taking a break during the echo. We have been extremely busy lately, and Justin's immune system is starting to take a hit, hence the mask. I am on the verge, but have been downing tons of Emergen-C's.

Dr. Wright and Moriah!

And then a quick stop at the CVICU, where we saw our beloved Nurses and Doctors. I just got this one photo of Case Manager Lupe and Dr. Roth

All in all, a great day for me and Moriah! Like I mentioned before, we have been crazy busy between buying a wheelchair accessible van!, a baby shower, family visiting, and training a night nurse (I only got three hours of sleep last night, which you can see from this picture). But I will post pictures from all our exciting events when things calm down.

Again, thank you for your prayers and encouraging comments.

Love you all!!

Not So Good

That would be my answer if you were to ask me how I'm doing right now.

I had a 31 week OB appt today with my new Doctor.

I knew I wasn't going to like how the appt would start because the Nurse told me the sugar in my urine was really high - AGAIN. Every time I go, I give a urine sample, and the sugar in it has been high since the beginning of my pregnancy. But I have had two glucose tests which have come back completely normal, and my blood pressure is totally normal.

So, the new Dr. looked at my charts, and told me that this was definitely not normal, and she was going to consult with a specialist to make sure I don't have some underlying kidney disease...once I heard that, I was totally bummed...and scared.

Then, the Dr. measured my belly, and it is now measuring 4 weeks ahead of schedule! I'm only 31 weeks, and it's measuring 35 weeks - two weeks ago at my appt., I was measuring right on track. Upon seeing this, the Dr. said that I have to get another ultrasound at LPCH to check everything out.

Now, my thoughts and emotions are running wild, my heart is heavy, and I don't know what to think. I practically ran out of my appt, and cried hearing all this news.

I just don't know how much more my heart can handle, and want everything to be okay.

So, yeah, I'm not doing so good right now.

Sept Mois

That means 7 Months in French. I took 4 years in high school and 3 years in college, and all I have to show for it is a very limited vocabulary because I've forgotten most of it. Don't ask me why I chose French over Spanish. The only time I ever really used it was during one summer that I was home from college and I worked at my mother-in-law's old surf shop. There was a family on vacation from France who spoke minimal English. I was really proud of myself for being able to communicate with them...not to mention I sold them some cute Roxy board shorts and tank tops. Yeaah.

Anyway, enough of my tangent. Let's get back to the fact that I won't be fitting into any Roxy board shorts or tank tops =)

I don't know why I had Justin take my picture at the end of a long day because I look so tired, but it was the only time I thought about doing it.

Pregnancy is still going well. Been getting lots of Braxton Hicks contractions so I just make sure to take it easy when I start feeling them a lot. The last thing I want is for this baby to come early. We have spent too much time in the hospital, and I will do everything I can to make sure that he stays in!

We do not have a night nurse still so I have tried my best to take on the shift so that Justin can sleep and be ready for work in the morning. My body is finally adjusting to the different sleep schedule, but I figure any type of schedule will all go out the window when baby boy comes.

My OB will actually be leaving to have her baby soon, which means I will be meeting my new Doctor soon. I hope it works out well - I'm really sensitive about who I pick to be my Doctor. After having our share of horrible Dr. experiences with Moriah, it is very important to me that I feel comfortable with this person, and that they take the time to answer our questions. Doctors who smile are always a plus for us =)

I think that's pretty much it. We've been meaning to do some posts about Moriah's current ventilator situation, the outreach ministry for LPCH patients and families, and our wheelchair-accessible van. We have both been very tired, especially since M had a really bad Cycle of Vomiting that lasted 24 hours on Friday, Justin being busy at work, and some more of our nursing shifts being canceled, it has been adding up. But we will get to it eventually.

Thanks for checking in.

Love,

Victoria

6 Months: Apples to Oranges

I have made it to 6 months (actually, I will hit the mark on Sunday, but we have a busy weekend coming up with some special friends coming into town to visit so I'm doing this post now).
My belly is getting bigger by the day. I can feel baby boy shakin' his groove thang every single day.

He's probably dancing to this Black Eyed Peas song because it has been my new favorite (although Justin might insist that his son is rocking out to his current fav by Temper Trap) =)

And big sissy can only cuddle with me at my side because of the basket ball that is in the way. Ha. Pregnant bellies are comical to me.

I have my 6 month appointment coming up this week. Sciatica has been bothering me on some days, and by nighttime I'll be limping along. Warm, hot showers have helped ease the pain a little bit. My weight gain has been pretty much on track even though on some days it feels like I weigh a lot more than I should. I'm not really concerned about it because I know I will eventually lose it like I did with Moriah. No, I won't be wearing my pre-preggo jeans soon after like some people can, but I will get there soon enough.

With Moriah, I did not read any baby books because I knew my experience was going to be very different, and that we were going to be in the hospital for a while. I didn't want to have any idea of what things "should" be like, and feel bad because that is not how it would happen with her...so I just stayed away from preparing-for-baby-type books altogether.

I think it's going to be a very different experience this time around, and I have been reading up on as much as I can. I feel like I won't know what to do with baby boy! Ask me how to start a feeding pump, vent the g-tube, or work an oxygen tank and I'll be fine. I don't know anything about breastfeeding, burping, or not having to deal with some type of cords being in the way. I know we will learn as we go along, but as far as baby experiences go, it will be like comparing apples to oranges...then again, I know that no child is alike, and I'm sure that's how it is for a lot of parents...

It's A...

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

And everything looks "beautiful and perfect" from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes

Baby had his arms crossed with hands above his head, and legs crossed in a total "this is the life" lounge pose =)

We are so thankful, crying tears of joy.

Thank you God...

19 Weeks Today

...and my belly is HUGE already! (at least I feel like it is)

I'm about to go to bed, but I thought it would be fun if I got Justin to take a "belly pic." I don't do these often, so these will be few and far in between.

I feel like this whole pregnancy experience has been very different this time around...my morning sickness ended at the end of the first trimester, I've been feeling the baby move a lot, and I have more energy at this time than when I was pregnant with Moriah.

We're getting excited to find out the sex on Tuesday, but at the same time, we're nervous about finding out about the baby's health.

We will post as soon as we know anything.

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow...my wonderful husband already surprised me to a dinner at my favorite restaurant...Cheesecake Factory ;-)

Lots of Love,

Victoria

P.S. A very Happy Birthday to Baba, Moriah's Grandmother!