Giovanni is 3 months old

Although this is a little late to be posted, I still wanted to get it up there.

Giovanni at 3 months old:

• You can still fit into several newborn outfits although many of them are on their last time to wear. 
• You weigh just under 10 pounds.
• You are my little monster.
• You love your Nuk.
• Anytime you see Mommy or Daddy you tend to smile (unless you're wet or hungry).
• You can still scream with some of the best.
• You've become a little fussier with feeding times. We brought you to the doctor and they suggested acid reflux. We gave you medicine for it, but then Mommy realized I was drinking drinks with aspartame in them and that probably upsets your tummy like your daddy. So we've stopped drinking those drinks and you no longer need the medicine.
• You are my spitty-up boy! It's almost inevitable that you will get me at least once a day, even when I think I'm covered. And it tends to be right when we need to leave the house.
• You love the bath now. You will just chill out in the water.
• You love being on the changing table. To you that's play time!
• You have begun to grab for your toys in front of you.
• You get mesmerized looking at a computer screen or tv screen. Ut oh, you're like your Daddy.
• Fans are the greatest things ever to you. I swear your first word will be "fan".
• You still really enjoy your swing.
• You wake up about once a night as long as you've gone to bed between 7 and 7:45. 
• You still love to be swaddled at night.
• You've been on your first bike ride.
• You love the pool. You actually fall asleep in the water.
  
• Mommy and Daddy love you more than you'll ever know! 

Giovanni 2 months old

Giovanni - you are two months old, this post is going up a little late, but you still are the joy in our lives. We have so many amazing memories with you already. Your Daddy got one of the biggest smiles from you when he walked into the room and you saw him. I have gotten many of your smiles and coos that make me feel so wonderful. Here are some of the things about you at two months old:

-You can still fit into some of the newborn outfits, but there are certainly a few that I have now put away because it's a tight squeeze.

-You weigh 8 pounds 8 ounces

-You are 21 inches long

-Your smiles are infectious

-Lots of things prompt smiles from you now

-You still smile in your sleep

-You actually like a bath now, as long as the water fully covers your body - you just don't like to be cold

-We've begun sleep training and you're doing awesome!

-You will actually go anywhere from 5 - 8 hours without needing another feeding as long as we've followed the routine

-When you wake up in the middle of the night and you're hungry - you are hungry and don't just cry lightly - you like to scream

-You will take a bottle

-You will actually drink your milk cold, right out of the refrigerator

-You look absolutely adorable in dark blue

-Your eyes still have a bluish hint to them - but I think they're going to turn out hazel like Mommy's and Daddy's

-You are being dedicated at church this Sunday...May 13th, 2012 - Mother's Day! 

-You love to be held!

-You will sleep in our arms any time of the day

-We just bought you a play mat and you haven't figured out how to reach for the toys yet, but you certainly stare at the lights! (When the music and lights stop you actually cried)

-You've been on two hikes already - one was in

-You've met Uncle Scott, Aunt Meggan, Cousin Anita, Cousin Kaleb, Grammy and Poppa,  Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Lauren, and Uncle Bobby

-Anita and Kaleb absolutely love you

-Anita likes to give you kisses and hold you

-Kaleb walks up to you and points to your Nuk and says night night - if it falls out he tries to get it back into your mouth, he also talks jibberish about you - and he did say Giovanni once

-You scream if you want something and once we figure out what the thing is - you stop instantly, but until then you scream and scream and scream

-You still sleep a lot (like 14 -18 hours per day and some days it seems like more)

-We love you more and more with each passing day!

Giovanni Smiles

Yesterday for the first time with me, Giovanni smiled while he was awake. He's been smiling for a while now while sleeping. I think he's dreaming of eating, but yesterday he had his eyes wide open and smiled. I actually caught a shot of it!

I also think that he's getting a little personality to him already. Yesterday I was changing him and he stuck his left leg up straight in the air like a rockette. I laughed really hard because it was funny, and his eyes got all wide and big and he gave me a look like, "I made you laugh". He did it again 2 more times. After each time he had the same reaction...eyes big and wide looking straight at me, got that look on his face. I think he's already a little ham!

 Here are a couple more photos of my sweet boy!









I think he looks like Urkle here with his pants pulled up so high.

                                                       This was this morning, sleeping soundly.

Giovanni 1 month old

Giovanni is one month old. It's incredibly hard to believe because the time has flown by so quickly. We both love him so much and are so lucky to have him in our lives.

Some facts about Gio at one month old:

• You love to be held.
• You are still wearing NB (newborn) clothes and diapers.
• You smile while you sleep. I think you're dreaming about eating.
• Your eyes are a bluish color, but I think they're turning hazel more and more every day.
• The hair on your arms and back is all still there. Yep, you're Italian!
• You really like your Nuk, but have trouble when you sleep keeping it in your mouth and then you get upset that you lost it.
• You don't really like to be swaddled anymore, but we still try at night time.
• You love to be rocked to sleep. Sometimes it takes a while to get you to fall asleep.
• The swing is one of your favorite places to be, other than being held.
• Even though I cut and file your nails, you still seem to scratch yourself pretty good.
• You can fart with the best of them.
• You will actually listen to Mommy's singing without crying (not sure how long that'll last).
• You scream when you're naked.
• Your screams can be ear piercing.
• You hate tubby time.
  
• You enjoy walks in your stroller.
• You like Daddy's deep singing voice, sometimes it startles you though.
• You sleep so much that Daddy has to tickle your armpits to wake you up.
• You sleep with your mouth wide open.
• You are already starting to support your head more. Your neck is becoming so strong!
• Mommy and Daddy love you more than anything!!!

Baby Giovanni

4/11/12

Well, sorry to all who have been following along with this and then I didn't get a chance to post my 38 week post. Baby Giovanni arrived into our lives a little earlier than expected.

On Saturday, March 3rd, Artie and I were having a great relaxing day. I got some things done around the house, but was pretty tired and didn't feel like doing much. I didn't have any urge to leave the house, even though I should have about 3 times because I needed to get a few things. Instead I took an amazing nap on the couch with the sun streaming in on my face. It was actually such a nice nap in the sun that I wore my sunglasses like I was sunbathing. :-)

Artie went for a nice 20 mile bike ride and when he came home I was going to go to the grocery store, since I'd been putting it off all day. Instead of going I decided to start dinner since it was getting close to that time. We were going to have meatloaf and I wanted to at least get the ingredients mixed together for Artie so that he didn't have to mix the onions. He even said a few times, "don't worry about it, I got this, you can go". But I was stubborn.

Around 5:40 pm I put all the ingredients in the bowl and was just about to begin to mix it, when I raced to the bathroom. I actually thought I'd peed myself. Artie asked what was wrong and I told him that I just had a gush of fluid, so I think I might have wet myself. He looked at me all funny, and said, "hunny, your water just broke". I told him there was no way because I wasn't having any of the other feelings of labor... no contractions, I hadn't had a "burst of energy", I thought I'd just not been able to control my bladder.

Artie asked me, "does it look like pee?" I told him no. Then he said, "does it smell like pee?" I told him no. Then he said to me again, "hunny, your water just broke." I still didn't believe him, but figured that I'd listen to my husband and call the doctor.

We called the doctor and they asked me a bunch of questions and then told me to head into the hospital and get checked out. They were going to alert them that I was on the way.

Well, I still didn't believe it, so I just kinda dilly dallied around here. I picked up a little, put some last minute things in a bag, ate an apple. Really walked around the house all calm and collected, just checking stuff out.

Artie was getting the car packed, the car seat put into the car, all that other fun stuff; a little more rushed and gung ho than I was. I truly believed that I'd be coming home in another few hours, and was a little annoyed with myself that I was now going to ruin a perfectly good evening that we were going to have together of watching a movie and having dinner with a trip to the hospital that I believed would turn out to be nothing more than me feeling like an idiot because I'd wet my pants and couldn't control my bladder.

When we arrived at the hospital we met up with Scott and Meggan to drop off Sydney with them. We were planning on meeting up with them the next day, so it would haven't have been any inconvenience if we did have to go home that night. We stood in the parking lot and were laughing and talking (yeah, I still didn't believe that my water had broken and Meggan was trying to convince me that it had too). Since we were just hanging out in the parking lot, it still didn't help to convince me that I was in the first stages of labor.

When we went inside they checked me out and did a test to see if my water had actually broken. Of course, it had... although I still was a little unsure, but Artie kept asking me, "now do you believe it?" Around that time is when I began having some contractions. That's when I began to believe it.

When we got into the room, we were actually put into one of the only rooms that didn't have a bathtub. I asked the nurse if I could move to a room that had a bathtub and she asked me point blank if in the back of my mind I wanted an epidural because then it wouldn't be worth it to move me. It would be really expensive. I told her the goal was to get through the entire thing all naturally. She moved us, but that was also certainly helpful in keeping me from asking for an epidural. I didn't want to say that I couldn't do it!

Once the contractions began, they were coming about every 2-3 minutes and steadily throughout the whole night. Artie and I used several of the techniques that we had learned in our "coping with labor" class... the comb in the palm, the exercise ball, the squeezing of the hands, the walking around, the tub... all very effective. Finally, around 6am I felt the need to begin pushing. I had to get back into the bed (I was in the tub), and for a little over 2 hours I pushed until our baby arrived.

Our doctor was, Dr. Kim, and he was amazing. At one point I was struggling and didn't feel like I was getting anywhere, so he had me feel the baby's head and that gave me the motivation I needed to get him out. Dr. Kim's shift actually ended while I was in the final stages of delivery and he stayed on to deliver our son. He even had a church service that he was supposed to be attending with his family, yet he didn't want another doctor to come in and deliver after he'd been with us throughout the entire night. He wanted to see it through. The nursing staff had a shift change toward the end of the delivery as well, and several of the nurses stayed in the room to help cheer me on. At one point I think I had 5 nurses in the room and the doctor all cheering me on and saying how great I was doing. I think part of it was that I was the only one on the floor at that time doing it all naturally, so they wanted to help me out. I can't say enough good things about the hospital that we delivered at, Exempla Good Samaratin's Hospital, and the entire staff there.

At 8:11 am our sweet baby boy was born. Artie announced that he was a boy, but I didn't even hear him because I was so focused on watching our son come into this world. Plus I saw his man parts right away when he was pulled out. At Good Sam's they put the baby skin to skin immediately after they're born. So Giovanni got to lay on my chest for about 25 minutes while they did all their procedures on him. Artie got to cut the umbilical cord and he really was there to help assist in the delivery. He says it was an amazing experience for him.

It was the most emotional, miraculous, amazing, painful thing I've ever gone through. I cried hysterically, Artie cried (which I love because he isn't a cryer, or one that usually lets it out at least). It was so overwhelming to go through the labor, then hear our baby's first cry, and see him for the first time.

The funny thing about Giovanni's name is that when Artie first told me the name I vetoed it right away. Artie kept on pushing the name and I kept on saying no. I even was so convinced that I didn't like it, I told people the name to get their opinion on it. We got several mixed reviews. Toward the end of the pregnancy the name was actually growing on me. I didn't want to let Artie know that he'd been right and the name was beginning to make me smile when I heard it, but it was becoming a name I like more and more. I loved the nickname Gio and I really began thinking that if it was a boy, that was going to be the name. My mom even called him Gio a few times before he was born when she was referring to our baby.

The first second that I saw Giovanni I knew that that was his name. There was no other name for him. He came out with a full head of dark dark hair on his head (no wonder I had so much heartburn), hair on his back, arms, and legs. He truly has Italian blood in him! Right away I told Artie that I wanted to name him Giovanni and then Artie began fluctuating because he knew that at first I hadn't liked it. When Scott and Meggan came to visit us in the hospital later that day we sang "Happy Birthday" to baby Giovanni, and that helped to settle it... his name was Giovanni Arthur Manfredi!

In total labor from the beginning of when my water broke to when Gio was born, was a little over 15 hours. I didn't realize how long it actually was until it was all over. During the process I wasn't thinking about the end, I was only thinking about the next contraction and getting over the next one. That's the only way I think that a person can truly get through labor without wanting an epidural. Taking it one step at a time instead of the whole shebang all at once.

I was able to accomplish my goal of having no pain medication at all. The delivery was completely natural. That had been my goal! There were so many things that got me through the labor, but one other reason that got me through it all was that Artie didn't think I could do it. Before it all began he'd said that he didn't think I could handle the pain because I jump for much smaller painful things. I wanted to prove to him that I was stronger than he though I was. I think I showed him a thing or two! :-)

Another side note about the hospital that we delivered at: They give you a large meal to take home. We got a huge pan of lasagna, a full loaf of garlic bread, a large salad, cookies, and a six pack of soda. They also do home visits after delivery. Artie and I have had a nurse stop by the house every day that we've been home with Gio except for this weekend to check in on how he is doing and how I am doing. They normally only need to come by once, but he had a little bit of jaundice and they wanted to keep checking on him to make sure he was okay. They are coming by again tomorrow, hopefully for the last visit that he will need. I think it's awesome that they do this. It certainly has made me feel more comfortable as well.

It's been a week today since Giovanni was born and he is more precious than anything. He sleeps a lot! (I guess he's got some of Mommy's genes in him.) I even have to wake him to feed him most of the time. His feeding was a little difficult at first, but it's gotten much better and hopefully it will continue to get even better from here on out. He makes the most adorably cute faces. He hates being naked. He doesn't like the bath. He loves to be swaddled and cuddled. He has big bluish/grey eyes. He's got my nose and eye shape and Artie's chin and shape of the mouth. He smiles nice and big and is such a blessing in our lives.

I love my little guy!!!

38 Week

38 Weeks

2 weeks to go!!!! Whoot whoot! I am so excited to meet this little one and find out what gender it is, what it looks like, and so many other awesome things! I don't feel like I've dropped yet, so we'll see when this child decides to make his or her arrival. We're taking guesses for a poll in case you haven't guessed make sure you send me your guess soon with the date, gender, and time of day.

Other than not being able to bend over pretty much anymore, having to pee 5 times a night, and feeling exhausted, I'm doing pretty good. This week has been a long week. I feel like I didn't get much sleep (even though I know I really did) and that began my week off making me more tired than normal. I'm still plugging away at work trying to get myself ready to leave and everything in my room ready to be taken over by a sub and my student teacher. It does take some of the tension off me to know that the kids will at least have a familiar face in the classroom once I'm gone. I think it puts them at ease too.

We are pretty much almost ready for the baby. Artie has been working really hard on the changing table. It looks absolutely great! He has to do a little sanding, then some rounding of the edges, then we stain it, and it'll be ready to go! I am excited to get it in the baby's room. Our first round of cloth diapers and the set-up arrived. Really happy about that. I am ready to get it all in the baby's room and have it even more prepared. This weekend my goal is to make the baby's room as ready as I possibly can. We still haven't found a bureau for the room yet because nothing seems to match the other stuff. So what we might do is look for an unfinished furniture warehouse and then stain the furniture ourselves. We'll see.

Since today is the first day in March it's official that we'll have a March baby. That means I'll be having this child this month! That's so insane to think about! I am very excited though.

Well, I'll get on to the weekly quiz.

38 Week Quiz

How far along: 38 weeks and 1 days today

Weight gain: I'm up about 33 pounds.

Maternity clothes: I am most comfortable in pj pants relaxing at home with a nice big shirt on.

New Baby Items: We received a really nice new blanket, a changing pad cover, and a picture frame from Artie's cousin Diana. I absolutely love it all! We also got some good books from the shower that I had at school. I can't wait to get to read them to this baby. Artie also bought me for my birthday a rocker/glider and ottoman. So we looked around and one of my friends mentioned to me that a close friend of hers was selling hers. So we went and looked at it, and for half the price, we got a really nice glider and ottoman set. I am excited about it. It's very comfortable.

Stretch marks: Please no.

Sleep: I am up at least 5 times a night to pee. How is that possible by the way? Because it's not like I'm drinking in the middle of the night... Oh man! I guess it's just preparing me for what's to come.

Best moment of the week: Seeing what the changing table is going to actually look like now that it's mostly put together and realizing that this baby is coming anytime now!

Movement: The movements are crazy. The other day my stomach was literally going from side to side, in and out, up and down... It was insane to watch. Artie kept on being like "Whoooo".

Food cravings: I am not really wanting much of anything right now. Food sounds good, but I can't eat a ton because then I'm so full. I do get excited about brownies and desserts now more than ever before though.

Labor signs: Not yet. The braxton hicks contractions are still fairly normal. Mostly I get them when I have just walked quickly or tried to get something faster than I should have. It's interesting when they appear. Other times I will just get them when I'm standing around. I don't really know what to expect, but I know that soon enough I will find out.

Belly button in or out: It wants to pop out, but it won't!

What I miss: I miss having the energy to vacuum and do a couple of the other things around the house I need to do.

What I'm looking forward to: I'm so looking forward to meeting this little one! I can't say enough about how excited that makes me feel!

Weekly wisdom: "You can do all things through Him who strengthens you!"

Milestones: Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

37 Weeks

37 Weeks

By the way, the Swiss Chard is the worst picture ever... Really??? Okay, so holy cow 37 weeks... 3 to go... could go at any time... knowing 4 people recently who've all been early; and with their first... WOW!!! It's crazy to think that in only a few short weeks we'll be meeting this little guy or girl. That's so exciting! I feel like the week has flown by since last week.

On Sunday I had the most amazing hour of relaxation! Artie had given me a pregnancy massage for our anniversary back in November, but I hadn't used it. So I went and it was unbelievable. I was so relaxed and calm afterward I didn't even know what to do with myself. I loved it so much, thanks hunny!

We had a doctor's appointment this past Tuesday. We found out that the baby's head is down :-) Good job Babyfredi! I'm still 1 cm dilated and the doctor said I was about 30% effaced.

We have gotten a lot more of our baby stuff. People at work threw me a baby shower today which was fun! We got some really cute hooded towels, diapers, and some good books.

I'm trying to get things settled at work, and it is a little stressful. I have a sub lined up, which is great, but getting things prepared is not easy.

Our bags are packed, other than the last minute throw in items. Having them packed is a mixture of emotions because I'm glad they're packed, but slightly stressed that it means that any time I need to be ready.

Well, I know I'm rambling a little. I will go on to the weekly quiz.

37 Week Quiz

How far along: 37 weeks and 3 days today

Weight gain: I'm up about 31 pounds.

Maternity clothes: I am definitely comfortable in some of my baggier/bigger clothes now. It seems like some of the cute maternity stuff doesn't even fit.

New Baby Items: We got our hamper for the baby's room, several packs of diapers, some cute onesies, and several hooded towels. We also got some car seat essentials (thanks Claire)!

Stretch marks: Here's hoping they don't just pop up.

Sleep: I seem to not get enough sleep. It's a little annoying.

Best moment of the week: Realizing that I'm going to meet this little one really soon, and get to hold it in my arms!

Movement: The head is down, which is great. But I do get kicked up high now. It's more rolling movements that I feel now instead of just kicks like before.

Food cravings: I got pizza. But what was actually funny was that I wanted pizza so badly and we were in the area of the place we love, so we stopped by. I got in to the restaurant and all I wanted was a calzone. So we both got calzones and then brought a pizza home :-).

Labor signs: No, not anything more than these braxton hicks. Soon though.

Belly button in or out: Innie, innie, innie, innie, innie all the way!

What I miss: I miss feeling rested, but I guess that's not going to come back for a while even after this baby is born.

What I'm looking forward to: I'm looking forward to so much, but mostly just getting to hold this baby and have Artie hold this baby. I think that will make it all the more real for us both!

Weekly wisdom: Have patience!

Milestones: Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

37 Week Belly Shot!

And one for people who don't want to see my stomach! :-)