Olivia is Two Weeks Old!

I can't believe time has passed this quickly, but our little sweetheart is two weeks old today! Last Monday we happened to look up at the clock right at 12:40, which was exactly one week after she was born, so maybe we'll do the same thing today. :-)

Olivia is doing great--she is putting on weight every day, usually 1-2 ounces each time. And a couple days ago she hit a big milestone...4 pounds! Now she's a bit over 4 pounds and just continues to grow. Like Chad said, we are a bit obsessive about her weight, but we can't help it--it's just a really good indicator of how she's doing overall, and every ounce gained is one ounce closer to us being able to take her home with us. Another thing that makes us feel really good about her progress is how hands-off the nurses have been with us lately. They have other babies in the NICU that require a lot more attention than Olivia does, so basically they just let us take care of most all of her needs, and they really only step in when it's absolutely necessary. Another good thing about this is that it's building up our confidence level for that day when we do take her home!

Here are a few cute pictures...First, Olivia in her all pink outfit (well, one of many all pink outfits). The hat belongs to the NICU and is huge on her, always slipping down over her eyes, but it does keep her little head warm so it gets the job done.

This picture is from when she was just a few days old, so she's grown quite a bit since then, but I just love the little pose she's doing with her hand up by her face--this has been one of her favorite poses! And the little red bow that our nurse put in her hair was so cute, although eventually it fell out. :-(


Here are Olivia's "Papi" and "Honey" Contreras holding their first grandchild--and yes, they are smitten. :-)


And finally, here is Chad holding our precious sweetpea, doing some skin-to-skin time, or "kangaroo" time, with her. It's amazing just how beneficial this can be to small or sick babies--I don't think doctors even fully understand why, but they have proven time and time again that babies who are held and touched often by their parents do so much better than those who are not. So we try to do as much of this as possible every day, basically just trading her back and forth between the two of us for hours. Plus, we just really love holding her!


I just want to thank all of you again for your continued thoughts and prayers for us and for sweet little Olivia. God has truly carried us through the last two weeks, and all the prayer being sent up on our behalf by our family and friends has been a huge part of that. And the results are tangible--she is doing great! So we will just continue loving on her, praying for her, watching her grow and develop every day, and looking forward to the day sometime soon when we can bring her home with us!