Olivia Goes To Austria

Livi's very first trip was to Salzburg. I find it fitting since that is where I began my pregnancy with her. Although she was technically "conceived" (via Petri dish) in Atlanta, it is Austria where we began the whole process to begin with. And what a process it was! I would do it 10 times over and more because honestly, Olivia is the best thing that has ever happened to me (us). But that isn't what this post is about. ;)

In Salzburg, we visited with many of our sweet friends. I couldn't wait to introduce them to Olivia. I left when I was only a few months pregnant with her so it was wonderful to finally introduce them. We had a lovely girl's dinner. It was so great to catch up with these sweet girls. Boy do I miss them!!

Most of our time in Salzburg was spent walking around town and meeting with friends. We had several lovely lunches and a few nice strolls around the city and market. We even went to the pool one day. The weather was amazing! I am pretty sure they stole our Atlanta summer. Olivia went to Augustiner biergarten and of course we couldn't leave without having a taste of my favorite gelato. Olivia had a little taste too... oops! (of the gelato that is!) ;) It was a fantastic trip!!

It was such a great feeling to bring her back to her roots. I am looking forward to the day when she is older and I can actually show her around. I am sure that day will be here before I know it, which is crazy.

I have and always will hold a special place in my heart for Austria. It is where we lived when Jason and I got married and started our life together. And it is where Olivia's life began. Not only is Austria one of the most beautiful countries we've been to and had the pleasure of living in, it has some of the most amazing people who I am blessed to say are my friends and it holds some of my most treasured memories. It is beautiful inside and out. And, as always, I can't wait to go back- whenever that may be.

xx

My Sweet Little Travel Buddy

I know I am behind on my posts so don't you fret, I'll catch up soon. Since my last post we have made it to Salzburg, Ohio and we are now in Singapore. Olivia has been an amazing little travel buddy. On our way to Salzburg, she slept 8 out of the 9 1/2 hours and was a dream. On our way off the flight people asked us if we had a baby with us the whole time (I wanted to say, "No, we didn't. She just met us here now.") ;) On the way back, we were in business class and everyone around us complimented us on how wonderful she was. We are very lucky! I'm not sure what we would do if she wasn't a good traveler. I guess just suck it up.

The trips to Ohio and Singapore went very well to. Obviously the shorter the flight the better since that means less feedings and diaper changes. I am not sure how people travel with infants such long distances alone. I couldn't have done it without Jason and I am dreading the day when I will have to (because I know that day will come). How do people use the toilet with a baby in that small little restroom? How do you eat if you don't have an empty seat next to you and no one to switch with you? I am sure I will figure this out but for now I will just count my blessings that Jason was with me and that we had empty seats next to us for the carseat on each of the flights. 

On our way to Singapore we did have a slight hiccup. My beloved Maxi Cosi stroller was heavily damaged on the Atlanta to Tokyo leg of our journey. When we arrived in Tokyo, we couldn't use the stroller and had to file a claim through Delta (and walk all through the airport carrying my little chunk). When we arrived in Singapore, however, the stroller was a bit more straight (not sure if someone fixed it or if it popped back into place) but was still noticeably damaged but usable. The stroller is now being assessed by a Delta representative so yesterday we had to make do without, which is very difficult when you don't have a vehicle. Hopefully we will get it back soon or get a new one. I don't think I could get by without one for the month we are here. But I'll keep you posted on that. 

Our visits to both Salzburg and Ohio were amazing. It was so great to see my lovely friends and family!! I will make sure to post about them this coming week. I will have plenty of free time because Jason leaves for Australia Tuesday through Thursday so baby girl and I are on our own. We'll have plenty of time to explore and blog. :)

For now, here are some pics of my sweet little travel buddy!! 

My Little Traveler

Olivia got her first set of shots yesterday which means we are almost ready to go on our first trip. It's kind of crazy that the first flight Olivia will be on will be an international flight. It's even crazier to think that by the time she is 4 months old, she will have already been to Georgia (duh, it's where she was born!), Germany, Austria, Ohio, Singapore, Missouri and back to Singapore again to for our big move. I know that she will not remember these times but what an amazing experience it will be for us to show her the world. Of course we will take millions of pictures (billions, maybe) so we can show her when she is older. 

In case you were wondering, like I was before we got it, a child's passport lasts for 5 years. I think it's funny because when we are traveling in a few years, her picture will still be of her as an infant. I guess they just hope the baby will look somewhat the same. Weird. And another thing- it took them 7 tries to get the final picture that's on her passport because she was so awake and was just looking around. Apparently they need to be seen straight on with both ears in the picture and my sweet girl just couldn't stop moving from side to side, putting her hand on her forehead (my little drama queen) or yawning (showing the guy that she really didn't care if she was taking up all his time). I guess it's a good sign that she already loves exploring new places and people. :)

xx

Olivia's Letter from the White House

Now you are officially welcomed into to the world, my sweet baby girl!!

Olivia got a special delivery today, straight from the White House!! Did you know if you send them a letter about the birth of your child or a birth announcement, that they will send you this sweet letter welcoming your child into the world? I learned this from trusty ol' pinterest and I am glad I did. It will be perfect to put in Olivia's baby book. Although I am not a fan of Obama, it will still be a great memory as to what President was in office at the time of her birth. I find myself wanting to document everything. Is everyone like this, or am I just crazier than I was to begin with? I guess I will also have to put in her baby book that she cried and had actual tears today for the very first time. My baby is growing up so fast! :/ If I document every first, I am pretty sure that I am going to have to add A LOT of extra pages. Oh well, she is totally worth it! I love documenting every memory. :)

Oh and if you want to send one of your own, you send it to:
President Barack Obama
The White House
Greetings Office Rm 39
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington D.C. 20500

I also sent one to Cinderella so hopefully we'll be hearing back from her soon too!! ;)

xx

The "M" Word

The preparations have begun- the paperwork, the phone calls, the property tours, and all the stress that goes along with it. Moving. A word in my vocabulary that is becoming more and more routine. It's almost that time again... 

At the end of August we are off to our next destination. A new adventure. We will be heading back to Singapore for 2-3 years for Jason's job. Although we lived in Singapore briefly back in 2010, this time will be completely different. This time we will settle more and of course have a baby in tow. 

Even though we have lived in Singapore and I know what to expect, there is still a sense of nervousness, excitement, anticipation and sadness all rolled into one. Now don't get me wrong, I am not sad to move. We signed up for it and I am actually very excited to see what is in store for our family. I am just sad about leaving my family and friends and being half way around the world again, especially with Olivia. This short stint in the U.S. was sort of a tease because I finally got used to seeing all of my favorite people all the time which has been amazing. I guess it will just be something to look forward to when we move back again. I am nervous because I want to make sure we pick the right area, condo, etc. and because I'll be starting all over again having to make new friends. Even though this isn't our first rodeo, none of this ever gets easier. 

As I mentioned in my last post, Jason is out of town. He returns on Thursday and our moving preparations will commence. The first item on our list of things to do is to get Olivia's passport. Then we will have to meet with the moving company so they know what we want to take with us, which won't be much. Then we will take a trip out to Singapore to find a place to live, obtain our visas and to interview maids. Once we get back we will list our cars, ship our items and store the rest. All of this will happen in between visits to Salzburg, Ohio and Missouri. Then we will head back to Singapore to stay. I am getting overwhelmed just thinking about it. That's a lot to do in a month and a half, especially with a new baby. I'm pretty sure we are crazy. 

As much stress as this will cause, I know it will be totally worth it! So, dear friends, start saving your money now because visitors are welcome. :)

xx

Here we go again... 

Olivia is 1 Month Old!!

I can't believe it! My sweet little stinker is 1 month old! What a dream mommyhood has been!

Olivia is a doll. She rarely cries and is super relaxed and laid back. I can take her anywhere (and I pretty much have). I'm still not sure how I got so lucky (or how we are related). ;)

Here are 10 facts about my little girl so far:
1. She falls asleep to the sound of the hairdryer. Every time.
2. She loves her swing and loves to look up at the mirror and rotating birdies.
3. She has a lot of gas. A LOT. If I had a penny for every time someone thinks she needs a diaper change, I'd be a sugar mama.
4. She loves when I sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". I'm sure she just likes the lyrics and not my singing but I'll take it.
5. She has big feet. The sasquatch does exist. ;)
6. She loves to be held and cuddled. And I don't like putting her down.
7. She sleeps wonderfully at night- usually somewhere between 5-7 hours. I usually feed her when she wakes up and we'll go right back to sleep. Thank goodness. It's like she knows me or something.
8. She is now an Aunt. (Story to come soon!!)
9. She smiles all the time and loves to pucker her lips (this surprisingly doesn't always correlate with point number 3 ;) )
10. She weighs more than 8 lbs. 12 oz. now. She's getting chunky!

Jason has been traveling for a couple of weeks now which has been hard. Not so much about caring for the baby but because I feel like he is missing her growing up. A little ridiculous, I know. I swear she looks different than what she looked like when he left though. He comes home on Thursday and we are both so excited to have him back!! Our little family will be complete again and I know Jack really can't wait!!

Being a Mom has been and is nothing short of amazing. All of the pain, sleepless nights (well not sleepless but if you know me, I require A LOT of sleep), time and energy is completely worth it!! I love everything about Olivia and am so lucky to have her in my life. As I write this, I can't stop watching her sleep peacefully. It is a kind of love that I have never known and that I couldn't imagine my life without. To say that I am blessed would be an understatement.

Who ever knew life could be so sweet?!

xx

Happy Birthday, Olivia!!

Just one short week ago I became a Mommy. Olivia Ann was born on June 6 at 11:10am. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 14 oz and was 20 inches long. It is still all very surreal. As I write this, I am looking down at my sleeping baby girl and I can't stop smiling. I'm pretty sure it's been this way since the moment she was born and I already couldn't imagine my life without her!!

Here's Olivia's birth story (I hope none of it is TMI for you):

On Wednesday morning, June 5, I had my last doctor appointment. At the appointment, I requested that my doctor sweep my membranes since I was so close to my due date and because my doctor was on call the following day before she left for vacation. I knew that there was a possibility that it wouldn't induce labor so we went ahead and scheduled my induction for June 12 in case it didn't work.

Later that afternoon, I started to have severe cramps. My doctor informed me that this would happen, so I didn't think anything of it and to be honest, I really didn't think the membrane sweep would work and make me go into labor. I figured it was a long shot but I really wanted my doctor to deliver my baby as opposed to one of the other two doctors in the practice.

That evening, I started to have contractions. I started timing them at 9:15pm and they were 4-6 minutes apart. I called my doctor's office and the call center could not get ahold of my doctor after 3 attempts. After nearly an hour, they finally connected me to the midwife on call and she told me that "you're probably not in labor if you aren't crying and can walk through your contractions." She told me that unless I felt it was necessary, that there was no reason to come in. I couldn't believe my ears because I just KNEW that this was it and quite frankly I thought that the midwife could just shove it! At 11:00pm we were out the door. After a quick stop to Burger King (so Jason could get food) and a stop at the gas station (Jason needed a 5 hr energy), we arrived to labor and delivery. I checked in around 11:30pm and was hooked up to the monitor and then we waited.

After about an hour my contractions didn't really seem to pick up. I was starting to feel a bit disappointed because I knew that the nurse was thinking about discharging me because I was not progressing. Luckily, my contractions started to pick up and when the nurses checked me again, I had started to dilate further. Between 1am and 3am, I was dilated from 2cm to 4cm and I was finally admitted and was told that I was not leaving without my sweet girl. I was so excited!!

At 6:30am my contractions started to get very strong. I first had a morphine shot, then another pain killer and finally an epidural. I am not sure why I waited so long for the epidural but was so glad that I got it when I did. The nurses then decided to start me on Pitocin to get things going.

Around 7:30am, my parents arrived at the hospital and a short time later my brothers and sister-in-love arrived. They all got to hang out in my room before things really started to pick up.

Around 10:15am I called my nurse and told her that I really felt like I had to push. She didn't believe me and told me that since I was a first time mom, labor usually lasted hours and that I probably didn't progress much yet but that she would check me "if it made me feel better." I told them that it would, in fact, make me feel better. I was checked and my nurse was quite shocked when she found that I was dilated to 8-9cm. They quickly set up everything in my room, called my doctor and scrubbed up. Somewhere in between all of the madness and tears I told my family to leave the room because I was having a baby. Oh my gosh- I was about to have a BABY!!

The doctor came in and of course my contractions slowed down. We waited a little while and finally another contraction came and I started to push. About 12 pushes (20 mins) later and my sweet girl was in my arms. Olivia Ann was born at 11:10am weighing 6 lbs. 14 oz and was 20 inches long. With Jason by my side and our sweet baby in my arms, it truly was the happiest moment of my life. I was in LOVE!!

Olivia was cleaned up, I was taken care of, and then she was brought back to me and we had some quality family time just the three of us. It was such an intimate time that I truly will never forget. After a while, my family came in to meet the baby for a bit and then we were moved upstairs to a recovery room.

It all went by so fast and the pain really wasn't that bad compared to the overwhelming sense of joy that I felt that entire day. I was on cloud 9. I still am.

We stayed in the hospital for two nights/three days. It was so nice to be taken care of and to get to know this little person that we created. Jason stayed on the couch in my room so it was the three of us the whole time. We had lots of visitors, which was perfect because I couldn't wait to show off my sweet girl.

We arrived back home on Saturday evening. We were welcomed home with tons of decorations, balloons, flowers, posters, etc. It was so sweet of my Mom to decorate our house while we were in the hospital. She came over later that evening and brought us dinner. So sweet!

This week we have just been adjusting to life with a baby. Olivia has been a dream and she is already an amazing sleeper. She is so calm and rarely cries. A perfect little girl! I still can't believe she is mine!

Of course, my Mom couldn't resist and she had a mini photo shoot with Olivia. She got some amazing pictures! Could she be any cuter?!

Thank you all for the well wishes and love sent this past week. We couldn't feel more happy and blessed. This truly has been the best week of my life and I know it is only going to get better from here! Love to you all! xx