Our First Hospital Stay

Ollie had a monthly check up this past Friday. All checked out pretty good. I say this because the main concern for CF patients is bacteria present in the lungs that could turn into an infection. At each monthly visit they swab Ollie's throat to see what grows. Therefore we wait on pins and needles for a few days to hear what is going on. Usually, the longer the wait, the better, meaning nothing has grown and Ollie can resume normal life without inhaled antibiotics. If the call comes within a few days of the visit it's not good.

As soon as I saw the 205 number on my phone screen this morning my heart automatically started pounding, my palms grew sweaty and my voice became weak. I could barely muster out a simple "hello". I instantly knew it was bad. I was right. It was Dr. Hoover. Ollie's main CF doctor. He has never called. It's usually a nurse. Bad, bad, bad! Anyway, the pseudomonas we have been fighting basically since birth is still present. Don't get me wrong, it was gone for a short month, but has returned and has no plan on leaving. Our only option is to admit Ollie into Children's hospital to receive antibiotics through an IV. Our goal is to wipe out this bacteria with a strong 2 week dose. Yes, we will be in the hospital. Dr. Hoover let us know that she would need to stay for a minimum of 5 days with a posibility of staying the entire 2 weeks. If and only if we can leave after 5 days, Ollie will still have the IV. She will just have the IV in the comforts of her own home. We will be checking into Children's in Birmingham this Thursday morning. Keep in mind that Ollie is not sick. She's not on her death bed (I have to put this out there cause of the silly rumor spreading people in our town). She shows no symptoms and behaves like any normal 5 month old.....I hope all the crazy things she does is normal. We just have to be proactive. Please keep Ollie in your prayers. Pray that the pseudomonas will go away and pray for strength for Ollie, John, myself and our family as we try to keep our hopes up while away from our normal and comfortable life. I will keep you updated.



As for the walk....

I will try to be there. I want now, more than ever to kick CF butt!! If I am not able to make it, please go and walk for Ollie. We need your support now more than ever. My sister Lesley will be there to lead the way. I want everyone to realize now the importance of raising money, awareness and finding a cure!

Newest Hobby

Most of you know that due to CF, Ollie is unable to attend daycare. John and I decided, along with our doctors, that it is not worth the risk. Especially in her first years of life, we want her to remain healthy so she can grow big and strong. Without daycare, I cannot work. Besides the few days a week Ollie and I venture to Elba to help my mother in law at her Real Estate business, we stay home. This has been wonderful! Ollie and I have formed the most amazing bond. We sing and play all day and she has become quite the mama's girl....I love it!! Although, I love spending every moment with her, I needed something else to do. I wanted to try and earn a few bucks of my own (without asking the husband), that I could use to buy "fun things". This meaning clothes for me and Ollie, shoes, purses, etc. I have come up with a way to hopefully make a little money as well as enjoy doing at the same time. You all know that I love, love, love hair bows and Ollie ALWAYS has one in her hair. I have a hard time finding those "special" bows to match her outfits or the season or our favorite football team (Auburn ;). Therefore I decided to give it a whirl and make em myself. I got a little carried away and made a ton! It is my mission to accessorize all the BBG's! (Big Bow Girls). I have created an easy way to coordinate several outfits at a low price......mix and match. I have headbands of all sizes and beanie caps. You simply buy a headband or beanie and buy a few bows or flowers to match. Each bow and flower comes with a clip that can either be worn in the hair or attached to a headband or beanie. The beanie caps are for small children (think NB-2 yrs), and the headbands fit all sizes. I will soon have caps for older children as well. Please take a look at some samples below. My darling Ollie was really not in the mood for a photo session, but you get the drift. Let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions as to how I might sell these or if you are interested in taking a look, let me know. Keep in mind, that because I am doing this for fun and am not trying to turn into a big bow distributor, the prices are a 1/4 of what they typically retail for.

Headbands & Bows

Halloween

Beanie Hats & Flower Clips

Andalusia Bulldogs or Alabama

Auburn-War Eagle!


Headbands

Beanie Hats

Funny Mama and Yummy Squash

Ollie has begun to laugh but usually by the time I can stop laughing at her and round up the camera she stops. She has the cutest laugh I have ever heard. Here's Ollie enjoying her squash and laughing at me, her funny and always entertaining mama.

Baby Divided

War Eagle

Roll Tide!

War Eagle!

Roll Tide!

War Eagle!

Roll Tide!

What's it gonna be? I'm guessing Roll Eagle or War Tide!

Green Bean Girl

On a whim today I bought some solid food for Ollie. At her last appointment with Dr. E, the nurse asked if we had given her any food. That got me thinking....guess we could try some. Ollie has been eating applesauce and enzymes before every meal since she was 5 weeks old so we knew she would know how to eat it. We just had no idea if she would like it. Her first taste of real food (besides applesauce) was green beans. She loved it! This is what she looked like when she was done. She almost ate the entire jar and then went on to finish an entire 5 oz bottle. Although it's apparent that O likes veggies, we will need to discuss her calorie intake with her CF doctor and her nutritionist. Her next appointment in B'ham is this Friday. When we first learned of Ollie's diagnosis, we learned that she needs more calories than other babies. We were told that adding melted butter to her food is the best way to add some good ol fat to her diet. (If there is a perk to CF, this is it....YUM!) We will just need to learn how much to add and so forth. Hopefully her doctors will be happy with her weight gain and her progress. We also pray that the pseudomonas will be gone and stay gone! I'll keep you posted.

CrAzY! Thats How She Rolls!

Ollie has been rolling over for quite a while now and prefers to be on tummy. Once we lay her down, she immediately rolls to her stomach. She can also roll from her tummy to her back. She rolls all over the place...it's quite impressive. This is the first time I caught it on video. (I've been a slacker with the camera lately) Anyway, remember how I mentioned in other posts that Ollie had become very vocal. Well, you ain't seen nothing yet. This is the latest. When she gets excited this is what she does. Throughout the football games last Saturday, she bounced her right leg (I have no idea what promted the leg bounce. Thats a another story/blog), and made this sound. She's CrAzY and this is how she rolls!

Ollie Phelps

Our little girl LOVES the water.

Here is Ollie Phelps showing off her freestyle at Blue Lake.

Lets just say she is serious about her water sports!