Waiting for Baby

Hello Olivia -

Mommy says a "watched pot never boils," but that is exactly what we're doing right now waiting for you to arrive.  After your scare at 35 weeks, we've made it to 39 weeks!! Now that you're full term, we're trying to get you here before CHOP wants to induce labor on June 3rd.  They won't let Mommy go past her due date, so now you can feel free to make your appearance any day.  Mama does NOT want them to induce her with medicine, so she's been hard at work trying to get you here.

While we wait for your arrival, we've been having lots of fun.  We did a photo shoot with Mom's friend Carolyn of Carolyn Clement Photography (remember I told you she took the photos at Mom's Inspired Family Conference) at the Morris Arboretum.  Such a beautiful morning & Carolyn captured some really great shots of our family.  We love having awesome professional photos done of the family - Mom can actually get in the pictures rather than behind the camera.

After my last post, we had a BBQ with Daddy's friends from Princeton.  It was a really fun day & there were lots of kids here for me to play with.  The very next day was Mother's Day & we spent the day relaxing at home.  Daddy made breakfast for us, we did some light gardening, Mommy napped & then we brought a picnic into Morris Arboretum for dinner.

This is Mommy at 37 weeks pregnant with you.  I was not really a happy camper during this photo shoot, but look how much you're growing!

 

You've been doing great at all your doctor's appointments!  Mommy & Daddy brought me to a few of the short days at CHOP, where I got to hear your heartbeat.  I even got to play with the blood pressure cuff. 

We took our last trip to New Jersey (for a while) to celebrate Aunt Ari's bridal shower.  She officially becomes our aunt on August 1st, but all the ladies got together to shower her with gifts.  Mom couldn't drive there by herself, so Dad & I crashed the party for a little before hanging with the men.  The bridal shower was right on the beach, so Daddy took me for ice cream & we even played on the playground in the sand.  

During the week, Mommy & I have been spending lots of time enjoying the spring weather & outdoors.  We've been playing at the Smith Memorial Playground, Please Touch Museum, Morris Arboretum & gardening in the backyard.  Lots of Mama/Son time - I'm totally basking in the final days of being an only child.  

Having fun at Smith Memorial Playground

 Enjoying a rainy day at Please Touch Museum

This past weekend was Memorial Day Weekend & since Mommy can't go too far from home we did lots of fun things locally.  We started the weekend off at the Devon Horse Show & County Fair.  I LOVE horses Liv, so it was a blast.  We watched the riders in the ring, rode the carnival rides & pet the ponies in the stable.  I have never gone on carnival rides before Olivia - so much fun!  

We even got to check out Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne.  We've never been there before & it was beautiful.  I had so much fun exploring the new gardens.  It was a very warm day - we're getting ready for summer.  Hopefully when you get home from the hospital, we'll be able to enjoy the summer at the beach with Grammy & Pop Pop. 

We finished out the holiday weekend with a polo match in Brandywine.  Ponies twice in one weekend Liv!  How awesome are Mom & Dad.  We brought a really nice picnic & had so much fun that afternoon - stomping the divets & watching polo.  Daddy made lobster salad - check out the photo of me hanging with the lobsters before we cooked them.  I even have a new polo club program, which will probably end up replacing the tattered one I love to read with Daddy at night (we got it last summer). 

Unfortunately, this week playing at so many fun new places allowed me to catch Hand, Foot & Mouth virus.  It's a pretty nasty virus & I have a rash on my hands, feet & in my mouth - YUCK!  Mom is a bit stressed out right now, since you're coming any day now.  We're working hard to get rid of the virus.  There is nothing the doctor can give me - it just needs to run it's course.  Fortunately, once the rash presents itself I am no longer contagious & adults don't catch it from the kids usually.  I'm so, so sad about this Olivia because it means that I won't be able to come to the hospital to meet you when you're born.  CHOP is very cautious about letting germs in, especially in the CICU.   Mommy has been doing lots of homeopathic & natural remedy research (our Mom loves whipping up these crazy witch brews that help keep us healthy).  Hopefully all her concoctions will clear this up quickly, so I can see you soon.  

Now that we're in the final stretch & you'll be here before this week is over, Mom has been pulling all the stops to get labor started.  Her awesome acupuncturist has been working on inducing labor for the past 5 sessions & she's going to continue going daily until you decide it's time to make your grand entrance.  She's also scheduled some other appointments for induction like a chiropractic adjustment with Dr. Brandie, plus some other tricks up her sleeve that her former midwife suggested.  

My next post will be once your born Olivia.  I just want you to know that you're going to rock this labor & I can't wait to meet you!  Mom, Dad & I know you're incredibly strong & you will continue to fight during your journey to a healthy heart.  

I love you so much!

Your big brother,

Winston

Lots of Travel, Updates & Big Scare

Hello Baby Sister - 

It's been a very long time since my first letter to you.  Mommy, Daddy & I have been pretty busy these past two and half months.  It's definitely time to update you on all our travels, your doctor appointments & give you a pep talk for staying in Mom's belly until your due date.  Before I get you caught up on everything that's been going on with us, Mom said I could finally share your name.  So many family & friends have been praying for you day and night and many have asked for your name, so that they can pray with your name.  

Drumroll please...  We have decided to name you Olivia Mary Snyder.  Mommy loves the Shakespearean name that balances both strength & femininity.  It means olive tree and in ancient Greece, the olive was a symbol of Athena, as well as a token of peace and fertility.  She really wanted you to have a name that meant both strength & peace.  We love nicknames, so for short we'll call you Liv (or Livi).  It's also your mantra sweet baby sister - Live! 

Your middle name Mary has special meaning too.  Mary is Grandma Mimi's name, as well as Great-Grandma Polly on Daddy's side of the family.  On Mommy's side of the family, Mary was the name of Mommy's grandma.  She passed away when Mom was in 5th grade, but Mommy knows she watches over us all every day.  I hope you love your name as much as we all do!  I've been calling you baby every time I give Mommy's belly kisses, share my toys & food with her belly button & give you a big squeeze.  Now that you know your name I am going to practice saying Olivia (probably Liv will be easier at first).  

Me jotting down notes for our blog

Now let's get you caught up on all the traveling & happenings in the Snyder household.  After my last letter to you, Mom & I joined Daddy in San Francisco for a work trip.  We went just for a long weekend, but had so much fun.  We explored Wine Country, since it's Mom & Dad's favorite area - vineyards, rolling hills, farmer's markets & a bit of serenity.  Check out some photos from Ledson in Sonoma.

                   Mom's 26 weeks pregnant with you      

          Helping Daddy choose which reds we bring back to Pennsylvania

We spent the next morning wandering through Healdsburg.  Here's me enjoying a cookie at breakfast!  The owner, a cute, older French woman, thought I'd really enjoy it, which of course I did!

On our way to San Francisco, we stopped at Discovery Museum.  What a cool place!! I'll have to take you there & show you around when you're big enough.  We had such a fun afternoon.  This is me discovering how the salmon swim downstream.  

While Dad worked, Mom took me around the city.  We had a blast.  We took a stroll through Palace of Fine Arts, snacked at the Ferry Building & played down on Chrissy Field.  

Liv, here is a picture of me saying goodbye to our dog Bolt.  This was an extremely sad day in the Snyder house, as we gave Bolt to his new family.  They came all the way from Alabama, in early March, to take him home.  I love Bolt so much, but we all know that he'll be much happier in a house without other animals & little kids.  Someday (probably soon) Daddy is going to get you and I a puppy that will love playing with kids and is a perfect fit for our family.  We still have Toshio & I LOVE chasing him around.  I think Toshio thought he was finally going to enjoy the later years of his life in peace, since Bolt was heading to a new home.  He totally underestimated the excitement of a toddler eager to share toys, food & hoping to use him as a pillow.  

Once we got back from San Francisco, Mommy plunged head first back into the final weeks of prep work for the Inspired Family Conference.  She spent many, many nights up until past midnight making sure that everything would be perfect.  The result was incredible: 48 workshop sessions, a Marketplace with 50 vendors & an awesome keynote speaker.  Daddy & I helped her prepare & I was definitely a big asset on the volunteer committee the day of the conference.  Check out Inspired Family warehouse (aka our living room) & me bossing Daddy around as he loaded the UHaul.  

Enjoying Miss Julie's music session with Pop Pop.  Mommy got lots of family to volunteer during the day.  I had so much fun helping everyone out.  

Here are a couple shots of the conference from someone with much more talent than Mommy shooting from her iPhone.  Thank you Carolyn Clement Photography for catching Mom & Olivia's best angles! Mommy is 30 weeks pregnant here, Liv!

 I really enjoyed Carla Naumburg's keynote address.  

 After the conference, we hopped a plane with Daddy the next morning to Miami.  Mom & I love tagging along for quick work trips.  It was a great way for Mommy & I to decompress after working non-stop on the Inspired Family Conference for 6 months straight.  We had a blast, while Daddy attended his conference.

 After our quick trip to Miami, we repacked our bags for the next trip.  I was headed to Grammy & Pop's for a fun long weekend, while Mommy & Daddy took you to Riviera Maya, Mexico for their babymoon.  I had so much fun playing with Grammy & Pop. Here are a couple photos of me having a blast:

While I went to playgrounds, children museums & out to dinner, Mom & Dad had a great time away.  They slept in, lounged on the beach, stayed out past 9PM (that's usually the time I demand they put me to bed while we're away) & went on an all day excursion to see the Mayan ruins - Chichen Itza. Mommy said it was a nice treat to take a nap on the plane, which I don't let her do when we fly (Dad sometimes can nap, but I make sure I keep Mommy on her toes).  

 

                                                                                                          El Cenote

                                                                Chichen Itza

                                                                                                      

In early April, Ellie's Mommy threw Mom a wonderful Mother's Blessing.  Aunt Emily even came down from Rochester to surprise Mom.  She said it was a really spiritual way for her to continue to prepare for your birth.  All the ladies brought Mom gifts that can be used while she is giving birth to you.  

Here are the beads the ladies brought for Mama's birth necklace.  Each bead has a special meaning & will help give Mommy strength & courage as she delivers you.  

These are the birth flags everyone made.  They have poems, words of encouragement & mantras to help Mommy keep her focus on bringing you into the world peacefully and ready for your big hospital stay.

Here are the candles that signify special meanings, special colors & Mom can use these to help bring peace to the labor and delivery room.  

Mommy is very lucky to have a core group of mamas in Philly that have come together to make sure she has support during this difficult transition & can bring some tools to your birth to keep her strength for delivery and your surgery.  I don't think Mom needs to worry so much about leaving our birth center behind & having you born at CHOP, since she can create a wonderfully, peaceful environment. 

Easter was a very fun day at the Snyder household, Liv!  I got to go on an Easter egg hunt - my very first one!  Don't worry, I will make sure that I go easy on you once you're big enough to find the eggs. Early in the morning, we had an egg hunt at our house & I got to open my Easter basket.  This year the Easter Bunny gave me an elephant backpack filled with books & new toys.  Mom said he must have  known that I'll be traveling a lot this summer while you're in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, so now I can carry my toys in my cool new bag.  We had brunch at the Elmwood Park Zoo with the Easter Bunny & got to see all the animals bright and early in the morning.  The Easter Bunny intrigued me - I waved to him and blew him kisses from the picture line.  However, I was not at all excited to sit down for a picture with him.  Something about a giant bunny scared me I suppose.  We did manage to get one decent picture as a family, but only while Daddy held me. I also got to do a second Easter egg hunt at the zoo & my prize was stickers and a bookmark.  How cool!! I put the stickers all over myself on the way to Grammy & Pops house in New Jersey, where we had Easter dinner with lots of family.  

 Our last mini-trip was to New York City.  We went so Mommy could get her hair cut at Devachan (her curly hair salon).  While Mom got pampered at the salon, Dad & I went to the Farmer's Market & to the playground at Washington Square.  We met Mommy at the Scholastic store, so I could pick out some new books. After some book shopping, we headed down to Tribeca for the Tribeca Film Festival's street fair.  It was so much fun!  Everything was geared towards kids.  I was really glad that we were able to get up to the city on such a beautiful weekend.  Spring is here & it's lovely Olivia!  By the time you arrive, the weather will be much warmer & we'll be getting ready for summer.  We'll probably head to NYC with you in the fall before the weather gets cold.  Spring & fall are the best times of the year to visit, since it's not too hot or too cold.  New York City is where Mommy & Daddy met.  They love this city & every time I go with them I experience something new.

Now that I've shared photos from our travels the past 2 months, I'll get you caught up on your heart appointments.  Mommy has lots of appointments weekly to make sure that she is doing everything she can to keep you healthy.  We go visit Dr. Brandie for chiropractic visits.  Dr. B has birds Olivia!  I love the birds, so I'm usually really entertained while Dr. Brandie works to make sure Mommy is ready to have you.  Mom also goes to acupuncture weekly & they work on increasing oxygen levels, sending you lots of vitality & prepping Mommy for labor.  Since she transferred care to CHOP, she also sees the midwives weekly for "Mama Care" centered OB appointments, where she is evaluated and participates in a support group with other moms expecting babies that need the special care of CHOP doctors.  I know this has been really helpful for her.  Each week they focus on a different topic & begin to get more comfortable with the Special Delivery Unit.  

In addition to all the weekly appointments, Mom & Dad meet with Fetal Heart Program once a month for ECHO's and OB ultrasounds.  These appointments take all day, but are really important for monitoring your heart development.  Since our initial appointment, we've had three ECHO's.  The good news is that all three ECHO's have been pretty consistent, but we won't know for certain what the official diagnosis & surgical plan will be until you arrive.  At this point your cardiologist  believes you will have 2 viable ventricles, which is HUGE Liv!! If your left ventricle remains strong enough, then you won't be diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  Your left ventricle is definitely much smaller than it should be, as is the entire left side of your heart.  However, they think it should be able to do it's job (again they'll need to monitor you after you're born to watch how it functions).  The mitral valve on your left side has some thickening that could be a concern, but they can't be sure until you're here and they can do further testing.  The major concern right now is with your Aortic Arch, which is hypoplastic.  You have a Coarctation of the Aorta, a thickened aortic valve (which likely means a bicuspid aortic valve) and a left sided superior vena cava (which hopefully shouldn't give the doctors anything to worry about).  All that being said, the doctors think it will likely be one surgery.  Fingers crossed!  Now we just have to keep hoping & praying that all your other body systems & organs function well.  Mom is really worried about your lungs, which is something the doctors can't really see until you take your first breath. 

Mommy is beginning to feel more comfortable with delivering at the Special Delivery Unit at CHOP.  It will be a very different experience than she would have ever imagined - complete with a pizza window.  What's a pizza window?  It's a window in her delivery room where there will be a team of about eight doctors scrubbed in & ready to stabilize.  Basically the midwife will pass you through the window once you're born & put all the tubes and wires you need to stay strong for surgery.  Hopefully I will get to meet you right after you're born - before they take you to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.  

It's really hard for Mom, Dad & I to picture not being able to hold you.  We're trying to remain really optimistic that we'll get to hold you before surgery & that post op goes smoothly.  Mom used to wake up a lot in the middle of the night worrying about what it's going to be like before, during & after the surgery, but now she's come to realize that all the worrying isn't going to give us answers.  Your fetal heart docs & surgeon reassure her every time they meet that we'll be able to see things much more clearly once you've arrived.  They do the best they can to make predictions based on the ECHO's, but a much more thorough ECHO will be done once your born to determine exactly what path you'll be taking.  

Now that I've caught you up on everything, time for our pep talk, little sister.  It's very important that you stay in Mama's belly until it's close to your due date.  Doctors will want you to be born within the 39th week, so try & listen to them.  Stay put!! You gave us all a VERY big scare last week when Mommy had to go into CHOP in pre-term labor.  Monday afternoon she started to feel nauseous & within an hour got violently sick.  She felt contractions start about an hour after the vomiting began & by that time Dad was home from work.  Dad fed me, did bath time & put me to bed, so Mommy could rest and track her contractions.  They were between 5 & 6 minutes apart.  The team at CHOP wanted Mommy to go in so they could monitor things.  

Uncle Jon & Ann Marie came over around midnight to watch me.  Mommy was hooked up to lots of machines to check your heart rate, track contractions & give her IV fluids since she wasn't even able to keep water down.  The midwife isn't sure if her pre-term labor contractions started because she had a GI bug or if Mommy got sick because she was in labor.  Thankfully the midwives were able to get Mom's contractions to stop by giving her 2 bags of IV fluids.  The released Mommy really early in the morning & she was exhausted.  She is now 3cm dilated & 75% effaced (labor terms apparently).  The midwife said she could stay that dilated to 39 weeks (although we're all on pins & needles fearing you'll come any day now).  

Check out this funny picture of Mom in birth gown that looks like it's out of the 80's! She was so nervous & hoping they wouldn't admit her that she left the bags in the car, which had her cute birthing gown.  

I went to school so Mom could rest.  That afternoon Grammy & Pop Pop picked me up, so Mommy could continue to get better.  Her whole body ached & her temperature was borderline needing to call CHOP again.  I spent the rest of the week in New Jersey & every day Mom got better.  

We thought you'd be arriving at 39 weeks, but now we need to be ready to go - just in case.  Mommy has her bags packed & Daddy sent out a calendar to family so they can sign up to babysit me.  We don't know how long you'll be in the hospital once you're born, so we're scheduling care for a month & then we'll play it by ear.  Right now we have to make sure the house is ready to go.  We're stocking the pantry, so I have some of my favorite foods.  Mom & Dad have also been working hard to get your room ready, even though they know you won't be using it until mid-summer.  Once you're born, they will be spending all day at the hospital with you, so they know getting a nursery ready won't happen unless they finish it now.  

I hope this helps you understand why you need to be patient & wait until 39 weeks.  Mommy & Daddy really want to make sure your lungs are developed & that all your other body systems get as much development as possible.  You're going to need to be strong Olivia, so rest up & keep cooking!!  

I can't wait to meet you!! I love you so much already & I haven't even seen you in person yet!! Here is a photo of you in 3D from yesterday's ultrasound.  I think it's kind of creepy looking, but Mom says she can pick out your smile & features just fine.  You've got some chubby cheeks Olivia!! 

Lots of hugs & kisses,

Your Big Brother - Winston 

XO