Croup

Olivia has croup!

She started coughing on Tuesday at daycare.  We got her in to see the pediatrician on call Tuesday evening who confirmed she had a ton of post nasal drip.  He recommended a cool mist vaporizer and lots of suctioning. Since we’re used to keeping an eye out for breathing difficulties he said to keep doing what we’re doing.

Wednesday she stayed home with Nana and Poppy for the day.  Her cough seemed to get better in the afternoon but she coughed a LOT Wednesday evening.

Today we sent her to daycare hoping for the best. Diana said she ate well but was very fussy.  Arnie then put a call into Dr. Heller (cardiologist) since Dr. Friedman is on vacation until Monday to find out what OTC medications Olivia can have to help with congestion.  Suctioning does very little good right now.

Dr. Heller was concerned about the cough taxing Olivia’s heart too much so she said she would call Dr. Friedman at home and consult with her.  Conveniently, Dr. Heller and Friedman are not only colleagues and friends – they are neighbors!  They agreed that Olivia should be prescribed liquid prednisone to help with her breathing.  Olivia’s cough should improve within HOURS of her first dose and thus far we can say that is the case!

I cannot say enough wonderful things about these women.  They go the extra mile and we feel so much better having talked to them.

9 month checkup

Our little miracle is 9 months old! It’s amazing to think back to where we were 9 months ago and how far Olivia has come.

Olivia weighs 17 lb, 13 oz (12 oz gain from last synagis shot on 3/29). She is 27.25″ tall (3″ gain from 11/28/04). She is in the 25th – 50th percentile for both height and weight. “Just perfect” according to Dr. Friedman.

Dr. Friedman was thrilled with Olivia’s developmental progress. Exactly where she needs to be. The only question I answered “No” to was if she was furniture cruising yet.

We have been given the green light to start Olivia on whole milk! So bye-bye expensive $22 for a 1 lb can of Alimentum formula! She just suggested we also give her polyvisol w/ iron (liquid vitamin) in a cup of OJ if she’ll drink the OJ.

We talked about our upcoming trip to Disney. She said Olivia won’t get anything out of it but she feels we deserve this trip after everything – especially our Maddie Rose who has been an absolute trouper throughout the past year. She suggested we bring Olivia in to weigh her the day before we leave. This is so if we end up in the hospital down there (due to dehydration, etc) we know exactly what she weighed before we left.

She recommended packing motrin, unflavored pedialyte and benadryl (in case of allergic reaction). I need to contact Dr. Heller to find out if I can give Olivia benadryl with her heart issues and what the dose would be. I also want to get the name of a recommended cardiologist down there in case of emergency.

So that’s all going on here right now. I’ll try and update again before our trip!

Loves swinging

Yesterday was a most beautiful day. The sun was shining. It was WARM (70º?) – just a beautiful gorgeous day. Maddie rode her bike up and down the street and I followed pushing Olivia in the stroller. Olivia “talked” the entire time.

Then we decided to go on the swingset. Olivia was in heaven swinging back and forth. She was laughing so hard! Absolutely precious! I took some pics of both girls swinging and will post them this week.

Stood in her crib

She’s doing so many new things – almost something new every day!

Yesterday when I picked Olivia up from daycare, Diana told me that when she had put Olivia down for a nap, Olivia sat up and then pulled herself to a standing position!

Diana took a picture of her standing there. I will post it when we get a copy.

Trying to stand…

Lately I’ve noticed she’s been attempting a “downward facing dog” (for those familiar with Yoga, you know what I’m talking about. For those who aren’t: click here.) Anyway, last night Olivia was playing downstairs. All of a sudden she used her toy to push herself upright! She was not fully standing, but it was pretty close!

First day of “school”

Olivia had a BALL at daycare yesterday. She did great – Mommy & Daddy were another story. We only called to check on her three times . Olivia had a blast playing with the other kids. Her naps were much shorter than what she normally takes but we’re attributing it to her being excited and afraid to miss out on any of the action. Diana called this morning to see if she could take Olivia outside (it’s over 60º today). She was nervous about Olivia getting “cold” and turning blue. I told her I thought Olivia would love being outside so they were going out to play.