CJMeyer Adventures

Collecting & Designing Beautiful Memories

Tag: Olivia’s Arrival

  • Charting Progress

    Charting Progress

    Our Parents as Teachers Coordinator stopped by this past week to check on Olivia’s progress and administer her 12 month ASQ Screening.  As I expected, Olivia passed with flying colors and even obtained perfect scores in the gross and fine motor skills categories.  Part of my homework from this session including filling out Year 1…

  • World Prematurity Awareness Day

    World Prematurity Awareness Day

    November 17th is World Prematurity Awareness Day.  The March of Dimes currently states that 1 out of 9 women will deliver prematurely in the United States.  I am now part of that statistic. Today, I’m thinking of all the sweet babies that are literally fighting to breathe and grow as quickly as they can.  I’m…

  • Inspirational Words for Mamas with Preemies

    For the second time in less than 2 months, a status on my Facebook wall has popped up about a friend (or a friend of a friend) delivering early… like really early.  26 or 28 weeks early. When these updates appear, I actually have a physical reaction.  A rush comes over me- knowing what we…

  • Our Experience with Hypnobabies

    In my baby bump updates {HERE} and Olivia’s birth story {HERE and HERE}, I mentioned that James and I took a childbirth prep class called Hypnobabies.  I promised more information about the why/how/what of the course… so, here are my thoughts: What is Hypnobabies? Hypnobabies is a birthing program that teaches women deep relaxation techniques…

  • 10 Ways to Help a New Mom of a Preemie

    10 Ways to Help a New Mom of a Preemie

    I was overwhelmed by the love and support given to us after Olivia’s early arrival.  So many people wanted to know how to help our family during this difficult transition.  Asking and receiving help, especially when you are still processing so many raw emotions and your mind feels scattered, is complicated.  On the one hand,…

  • Preemie 101

    Preemie 101

    With Olivia’s early arrival, we were welcomed into a brand new exclusive club: the world of preemies.  We didn’t ask for this entrance pass and I wouldn’t wish our experience on my worst enemy.  There were endless hours of waiting, grieving, worrying, and coordinating arrangements. As a mama-to-be, I had heard countless stories of women…

  • Olivia’s Birth Story: Part 2

    This post is a follow-up to Olivia’s Birth Story: Part 1. After arriving at the hospital and facing the reality that we were going to meet our baby almost 7 weeks early, here is how our story unfolded: The doctor checked me at 1:30am and reported that I was already at 3cm, -2 station, and…

  • Olivia’s Birth Story: Part 1

    Olivia’s Birth Story: Part 1

    I wasn’t sure how much of this story I was actually going to share on such a public forum.  Why divulge the intimate details of such a meaningful and life changing moment? Reason #1: One of the lines in this post resonated with me.  I could completely relate to Molly Mahar’s desire as a first…

  • The Day Time Stood Still

    The Day Time Stood Still

    You might have noticed a bit of a time gap from my last post… our lives have been utterly transformed by one precious event: the birth of our sweet baby girl.  Olivia Rose arrived on December 28, 2013 at 5:51 in the evening…. almost 7 weeks premature. I am not the same person I was…