Where Did the Time Go!?!?

My Baby Olivia,

Okay, so many people would argue that you're no longer a baby now that you have just celebrated your first birthday....wait, what!?  Where did that year go?  It has been one of the most amazing and challenging things, being a mother of two, but I wouldn't change it for the world.  I am going to reminisce a bit now, so if I lose you, I don't blame you :)

You sure started things off with a bang, and didn't really stop until you were 7 weeks old!  I went into labor at 1:30 a.m. on June 1st, 2013, and you were born 5 1/2 hours later at 7:00 a.m.  I think I may have said some things to my nurse that one never should, but after being poked 4 times for them to try and find a good vein for the IV, and going through massive contractions, needless to say I felt that it wasn't entirely out of place :)  Then, when you were but a wee babe at a week old, we got a phone call that no parent ever wants.  Your pediatrician called and said that your infant cystic fibrosis test came back funny/suspicious, and that they wanted to retest you right away.  I cried and cried and asked how it was that our perfect little girl might have such a terrible, and ultimately fatal disease.  The next day we rushed to the hospital for them to take blood for the retest, and were informed that it would take 2 weeks for the results to come back.

In the meantime, around 3 weeks of age, you began to run a fever of 102, which was high for a newborn, so you were hospitalized for 3 days, had to have a spinal tap (cringe,) bloodwork, and an IV.

  It was the most pitiful little sight that I never wanted to experience again.  However, little did I know that 3 weeks later, just about the time you turned six weeks old, you would spike another high fever, and be hospitalized for the second time.  The first time you were in, it was determined that you just had a virus, but this time things were more serious.  After asking the doctors numerous times, and getting no answers, it was determined that we would be there for a week.  Towards the end of the week we learned that you had Sepsis, which is a reaction when the body is fighting a severe infection that has made its way into the bloodstream, and could be potentially fatal.  When they finally said the word "sepsis" I about panicked, because I knew that it was severe.  After 7 days of Rocephin, 3 IVs (because they weren't wanting to stay in), another spinal tap, and even a kidney ultrasound, you were finally cleared to go home.

So as you can see, you provided us with more worry, fretting, and sleepless nights than we could have ever imagined!  But, as I sit here typing this, knowing that you are sleeping peacefully in the next room, I wouldn't go back and change any of it, as strange as it may sound.  The reason is because you and I got to bond in ways that many parents never do, in the face of serious illness.  You are now a vibrant, healthy little lass who is crawling, learning to pull up, and loves to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider."  When I first found out I was pregnant with you, I worried about how I could possibly divide my love between two little beings.  However, math has never been my strong suit, and I didn't divide my love, but rather it multiplied!  Thank you so much for choosing me to be your Mom!  I love you more than words can say  XOXO

Love-Mom