Sunday, December 22, 2013

Update

Ok so I am officially the worst blogger ever. I have been quite busy with a baby who doesn't nap. But in this rare occurrence that she is napping I'm taking advantage and trying to finish up my PPA post. Maybe this update can suffice as our Christmas letter that I never got around to making.

Olivia is 8 months old now and if I never see another pediatric specialist it will be too soon. We started with a Cardiologist, then a Urologist, now a Physical Therapist, and an orthopedic specialist. She's had jaundice, a heart murmur, two colds, a UTI, a stomach virus, and viral bug in her short time here on earth. I'm glad she's building up her immune system but I'm tired of seeing Doctors!  In spite of her health issues she is one amazing little girl. We thank God every day that her heart murmur closed, and that she's growing so very well! Her laugh is infectious and her smile is heart melting. She loves to play, suck her thumb, and be held. I don't mind because I LOVE Livi snuggles. She enjoys playing with her friends and helping Mommy with crafts. She sleeps well through the night and doesn't throughout the day. Her favorite animal seems to be Bella.45\
We did start her on a few purees so I can't say we did BLW, but we only did  them for a couple weeks. For the most part she is eating small pieces of what we are eating and still nursing. She is happy and constantly smiling and I couldn't have asked for a more precious sweet girl. Her personality is becoming more apparent each day and she is rapidly physically advancing. She can now crawl, lift to stand, and even stand on her own for seconds at a time. We love her more than anything and look forward to watching her grow.
I've decided to go back to school slowly. I guess if we ever want to buy a home in safer area I need to make more money (who would have thought!?)  ;) but for now we're taking it slow and enjoying the extra time I'll have with Olivia. I may keep my foot in the door with nursing and keep on at Macer Medical/MediLean working here and there.
Josue is still Manager at Claim Jumper in Costa Mesa and is working on becoming a regional manager. Sometimes I hope that means a move for us, but Long Beach is starting to grow on me. Especially now that we're making some amazing friends at Parkcrest and in my Mommy group. He's an amazing Daddy, and a wonderful support for me.

We're still content in our little Long Beach home, but aspire to moving to the Bixby area so that Olivia and maybe her sibling(s) can go to Longfellow with her little friends Lucas, Cole, and Nora. Olivia is going to have an amazing first Christmas and fun New Years vacation in Florida with family. She is one lucky little girl, and we are very blessed parents.

We hope everyone has a very happy holiday season. And be blessed with peace & joy.

 

 

 





Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Olivia's 5 months




Month: 5

Current Nicknames: Buggie, Lovebug, Liv, Angel, Pumpkin, Livi (yeah we call her everything) ;)

Current Likes: She loves all her new toys and singing songs. She also loves "clapping" noises.

Current Dislikes: Sleeping (well she likes it just fights it!)

This month's milestones: She sat up on her own!

Firsts: Went to Disneyland and the beach

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Olivia's 4 Months



Month: 4

Current Nicknames: Doodlebug, Lovebug, Liv, and Livi (most popular by others)

Current Likes: She enjoys her exersaucer, listening to books, going swimming, she also likes to "talk"

Current Dislikes: Having a fever :(

This month's milestones: She laughed! (best sound in the world!), she has really started grasping objects, she's found her hands!

Firsts: Laugh 7/22, Overnight stay with Grammi (8/8)


Friday, July 19, 2013

Olivia 3 Months

Ok so I'm way behind with my posts. I'm still not finished writing the second part of her birth story but I first wanted to start posting a monthly update on Olivia Nikelle.

Month: 3

Current Nicknames: Lovebug has kind of turned into Bug. Sometimes since her initials are ONE I call her one the bug

Current Likes: She LOVES her Jenny jump up and her activity play mat. She's a big sleeper these days, and loves smiling especially when she wakes up.

Current Dislikes: Doesn't seem to like teething toys or anything plush yet

This month's milestones: She has been consistently rolling from tummy to back and back to side.


Monday, June 17, 2013

Olivia's Birth Story

I feel very fortunate that I had a relatively"easy" labor and Olivia was born healthy and the most precious thing I have ever seen! The days following were not so easy. This will be a two part post. I will tell her birth story here and go into PPA in another post. I apologize in advance, I'm sure this will be long and wordy.

I was diagnosed with gestational hypertension and mild preeclampsia towards the end of my pregnancy. It continued to get worse so my Doctor thought it would be best to induce me at 38 weeks. We drove to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, CA to be there at 5am on Monday April 8th to start the induction. After getting all settled in we started the process of adding pitocin to my IV at about 7am. I was already 3cm so I would probably have gone into labor on my own pretty soon. The contractions were getting intense and I had the feeling my water broke. At about 11am I was at 6cm and the Dr. said that indeed my water had broken on it's own. A little later my nurse told me that the anesthesiologist would be going in to surgery so if I wanted the epidural before he went in I needed to get it now. I decided to go ahead and get it as I'm a big wimp I knew I would eventually need one. It ended up being good timing because just after I agreed my contractions got even worse. Labor was really progressing! I had some family and friends come to visit me but unfortunately my blood pressure went super high and my nurse kicked everyone out! Plus I soon started to feel very intense contractions again. I had to get two addtionional spinal flushes because my epidural stopped working for me twice! I tried to distress by talking to Josue or play games on my phone. I think we may have even watched an episode of Full House on the TV. My nurse gave me a cherry Popsicle and some ice chips, I even got a major dose of of BP medication to help bring it down. Finally just before pushing at began at 4pm my blood pressure came back down to a reasonable number, but of course still not great. I pushed and breathed and pushed and breathed for about a 1/2 hour and at 4:30pm Olivia was born! She was placed straight on my chest for a few minutes of snuggling then they whisked her to get cleaned up and her apgar score. It was beautiful. Josue ran over to her and I've never seen him so in awe. I cried just seeing what a good father he was already. He brought her back over to me and she nursed. Olivia Nikelle Esquivias was born on that day April 8th, 2013 at 4:30pm. She was 7lbs 1.1oz and 20.5inches long. I had never seen a more beautiful thing in my life, bringing life into this world was amazing! I did have a second degree tear that needed to be stitched up, but I only felt the pressure and tugging no pain.

Josue and I had decided that it would just be us in the delivery room. Though sometimes I think that it would have been nice to have my Mom in the room for support, I'm glad it was Josue there to hold my hand. He was a great support and really helped me through the pain and then the pushing. I know he was nervous before it all began but in the room he wasn't scared at all. He was a big part of the day and even cut her cord. It all went by so fast I'm happy he was there to help me remember that special day. Just don't remind me about the pain or the rhogam injection, ok?!  ;)

 Just before we had my Mom and sister come in to meet the newest member of our family we had to make sure we wanted to go with the name Olivia. We were pretty positive that would be her name but hadn't really disclosed that to many people as we were not 100%. Naming Olivia was tough for us. We went back and forth and back and forth. In January Josue was positive he wanted to go with Emily, then in February it was Sophia. We pretty much had Olivia as a front runner since back before she was even conceived but we couldn't 100% go with it. Josue was so wishy washy and I wasn't sure I wanted to go with such a popular name for her. Just around my birthday we decided to each write a list of our top five names separately and see what we came up with. Josue's list was Alexandra, Emily, Sophia, Olivia, and Allison. My list was Aria, Sutton, Alexandra, Olivia, and Alexandria. We decided that since the two that matched; Alexandra & Olivia those are the names we would bring to the hospital and decide when she was born. Even though we were both almost positive it would be Olivia. When she was born we both knew that Olivia was the right choice! Nikelle is a name that we chose to honor close childhood friends of mine that passed way too young. Her name totally fits her and her initials O.N.E are just perfect! Although I think she could totally be an Aria or Sutton too, just don't tell Josue ;)

My Mom and Sister just adore her and took their turns holding her. They were followed by Nina & Nonno, great friends, and more family. It was the most amazing day in my life. It felt perfect. Her apgar score was a 9 and she looked like my perfect little angel. Even her cry was precious. I couldn't have prayed for a better day. It all went so smoothly and I was blessed with the most amazing gift at the end of the day. Josue and I wanted this day to come for so long, it was even the perfect timing. But as they say, that was only the beginning. And not to discount my perfect day or perfect daughter the story gets a little gray from here on so I will make that a different post. Now if you got through that you get pictures, yay!!



 This was just after the nurse took her for Apgar/cleaning and we finally remembered to grab the camera!
 
 First family photo :)
 
 
Grammi & Livi


Sunday, June 16, 2013

Olivia is here!!

Ok well she has been here for awhile now. I've been so busy I haven't had time to update, but I promise her birth story and first few month posts very soon. Olivia Nikelle Esquivias was born on April 8th, 2013 at 4:30pm. She was 7lbs 1oz and 20.5inches long. These are the announcements we sent out. (Well most of them have been sent, I'm a little behind. I'm distracted by spending every moment I can soaking up my little girl!)



Sunday, March 31, 2013

37 Weeks, full term!!

Well it's been a few weeks, but I figured I should make a post for making it full term, yay!! Things have been a little nutty the last few weeks. I've had blood pressure issues which led to to hospital trips, fainting at work, and ultimately being put on bed rest until the end of my pregnancy. The Doctor is thinking about inducing baby girl a little early because my blood pressure just won't stabilize, but only time will tell.


How far along: 37 weeks

Fruit Size: Watermelon

Sleep: I've been needing naps in the middle of the day, and quite tired. But having some insomnia which I'm sure is due to anxiousness over baby girls arrival.

Best Moment this week: Getting the nursery together. It's almost ready, just needs bedding and a bay ;)

Miss Anything: Feeling comfortable. I'm not miserable but definetly uncomfortable.

Food Cravings/aversions: Not really, strangely haven't had too many cravings or aversions over this pregnancy.

Symptoms: Heartburn like crazy, movements, and contractions!

Signs of labor: 2cm dialated and contractions

Looking forward to: Meeting this little girl. I can't wait!!

 
Development:
At 37 weeks, your baby's body is developed enough to survive outside of the womb. Her lungs, now filled with amniotic fluid, are ready to take her first breaths of air. Her eyelids flutter open and shut preparing for her first view of you.
This baby is just about done growing inside you. That means it could be anytime now!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Tiffany inspired Baby Shower

This past weekend my Mother & Sister (along with the help of others) hosted a beautiful baby shower for me and our Jellybean. It was lovely! The decor, the food, the company it was amazing! I loved every minute of it. Baby girl was very blessed with many of things she will need to get her life started off right! Here are some photos so we can one day reminisce on this wonderful occasion Jellybean. I can't wait to share you with the world.




Sunday, February 3, 2013

29 Weeks!

Well little one I've had a hard time keeping up with our online journal. Work has been insanely busy and I only foresee it getting worse until we hire a new nurse. I'm trying my hardest to keep my stress level down and stay healthy for you.

How far along: 29 weeks

Fruit Size: Cabbage

Sleep: It's been easy to fall asleep but I'm having my own 3am wakeful. I think I just have too much on my mind, but I'm trying hard to get a good nights sleep.

Best Moment this week: Unfortunately this has been a pretty awful week. I love the weekends when I get to spend a little time day dreaming of you and planning your nursery. I also got an invite in the mail for our shower. I'm so excited to celebrate you!!

Miss Anything: I'm dreaming of a Vegas trip, but will hold out another year or so.

Food Cravings/aversions: Nothing too crazy.

Symptoms: Heartburn like crazy, movements, insomnia, and back to getting sick. Daddy has been a real gem in helping to get me HB meds and cleaning up my messes. I love that guy!

Signs of labor: Not yet thankfully, but still having braxton hicks a few times per day.

Looking forward to: Picking up your nursery furniture and starting to put it together. 

Development:
Your baby is filling out this week. She's adding fat to insulate her body for the day she leaves her cozy home. You can probably distinguish between feet and hands, head and bottom when your baby-to-be moves inside you. She takes practice breaths but won't breathe air until delivery.
Your baby's growth has begun to slow down now, but she will still gain approximately four pounds between now and birth. If she were born now, she would be able to breathe, but might tire easily and need assistance. Her little eyes are sensitive to light.





Monday, January 21, 2013

27 Weeks!

How far along? 27 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 6lbs
 
Baby's Fruit Size: Rutabaga  (Baby is 2.2lbs)

Sleep: Sleeping lots. Getting it all in now ;)
 
Best moment this week: Spending time with Daddy during his time off, painting your new room, and dwindling down your possible name.

Miss Anything? Cold medicine, Daddy got me sick again and oh how I wish for some Nyquil or a hot bath.
Movement: Lots of pops and kicks
Food cravings/aversions: I was craving a PB&J all week. Finally ate one today.
 
Symptoms: Heartburn, braxton hicks, and some sciatic pain. I also threw up again a few times, but hopefully thats a fluke.

Signs of Labor: Not really though I have been having a few Braxton Hicks

Looking forward to: Finishing your nursery and putting together your furniture.
 
 
Development:
 
Your baby's lungs and brain are beginning to mature. Although he'd have a good chance of survival if he were born now, he could use a few more weeks of growing. Added layers of fat are continuing to form. These layers will help your baby regulate his temperature once outside the womb and help keep him warm.
Remember to count your fetal movements. Every fetus has its most active times (and often it's late at night when you are trying to catch a few zzzzs!). During his active periods, your baby should move 10 times an hour. Choose an hour, and mark each movement on a piece of paper. If your baby hasn't moved 10 times, drink some juice and count again for another hour. You should call your doctor if the baby hasn't moved at least ten times during any two-hour stretch.


This is the color we painted your room, with a white beadboard on the bottom.
 

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

25 Weeks!

How far along? 25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 6lbs
Baby's Fruit Size: Cauliflower

Sleep: Getting good sleep, but still feel pretty tired
Best moment this week: Getting sometime this weekend to just relax and think about your nursery

Miss Anything? Not right now.
Movement: Yes, not a ton but pretty regular movement, which is exciting!
Food cravings/aversions: Nothing too notable
Symptoms: Kicks! Heartburn, and fatigue.

Signs of Labor: Not really though I have been having a few Braxton Hicks

Looking forward to: Well not exactly looking forward to, but it will be good to find out soon if we pass the GD test or not.
Development:
Your baby-to-be's lungs are developing rapidly, although she'd probably need a little help breathing if she were born at this point. Her respiratory system continues to develop, her nostrils are open, and she can breathe—but she won't take her first breath of air until delivery day. By your 25th week of pregnancy, her reproductive organs are formed (in boys, the testes have descended). Her skin is translucent and wrinkled, and she can hear your stomach when it gurgles and your voice when you sing. Your baby is becoming more aware of how she can move—she's wiggling her fingers and toes!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Cauliflower Flatbread

This totally carb free appetizer was a hit at Christmas, so I thought I'd share it here.

What you'll need
1 head of cauliflower
2 cups mozzarella
1/2 cup Parmesan (or add more if you want it to be more cracker like)
1 clove garlic
1T Italian Seasoning (oregano etc, you can add more to your taste)
Salt to taste
1 egg (if you want it a little more bready like for pizza dough you can add 2 eggs)
Olive Oil
Parchment Paper

Directions

Pre Heat Oven to 375
Wash well and then grate entire head of Cauliflower
Steam
While cauliflower is hot add cheese, beaten egg, grated garlic, and seasonings. Mix Well
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and grease pan well with olive oil
Press Cauliflower mixture onto pan in an even thin layer.
Bake 15 minutes or until bubbly and brown.
Cool and slice

Enjoy with your favorite dip, sandwich fixings, or pizza toppings.


Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Year!

We spent New Year's Eve with our friends. We got all dressed up (and forgot to take pictures) and went to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Then we changed and went to a dance club in Fullerton. It was fun to dance but I did feel a little outta place and pretty sober. Of course all worth it :) It was a fun New Year's Eve, and we're hoping for an amazing Twenty-Thirteen. So here's to a happy and healthy new year to you and yours!




24 Weeks!

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up 5lbs
Baby's Fruit Size: Cantaloupe

Sleep: Sleeping too much! I feel tired if I can't sleep in, oh well better get my sleep in now while I can
Best moment this week: Celebrating the New Year. 2013 is your year baby girl, and we can't wait to meet you!

Miss Anything? Not right now.
Movement: Yes, not a ton but pretty regular movement, which is exciting!
Food cravings/aversions: Trying to get back on track with my eating. Lots of salads and trying to eat more protein.
Symptoms: Kicks! Heartburn, and fatigue.

Signs of Labor: Not really though I have been having a few Braxton Hicks


Looking forward to: seeing you again on the U/S soon!

Development:
In your 24th week of pregnancy, your baby is filling out. Part of your weight gain goes straight to helping him gain weight, too. Since he's still on the scrawny side, his skin wrinkles on his body, but he looks like a miniature version of what you'll see on delivery day. His face has formed, ears are in place, and eyes are complete (although his lids are still closed). He has eyelashes, fingernails, and may be growing hair. Rapid eye movements (REM) are beginning, too.