Mama Mazzarella

Back to Blogging... lots of news

2012-01-19T15:27:00.014-05:00

My blog has been callign to me... Yes, it’s been – well way to long. So here’s a VERY short and sweet recap of the past year or so.

- I got pregnant around July. Anyone surprised? Probably not. Easier pregnancy than the first time - less swelling, same amount of nausea for the first 5/6 months. Less energy since I was chasing around Dominick. Look at those lips!

- Had a great summer, fall.

- Dominick fell and chipped his front tooth. Major parent guilt on that one since he was under my watch. He just fell face first off of the kitchen chair onto the kitchen floor and I was too pregnant to move quick enough to catch him. Tooth didn’t die… but it’s not pretty either. We decided to wait a while before we did anything to it.

- Visited Costa Rica with my family! Left Dom at home, but went with my mom, step-dad, siblings, and my two nephews. It was a great time. I was 7 months preggo, but still managed to have a good time. But no zip-lining for me but we had monkees sit on our shoulders! Did have some contractions while I was there – that was SCARY! But ended up I just needed to drink more water. So I took it easy – no problem!

- Dom turned two. Had a great party at our house – while I was 37 weeks pregnant. He talks and talks and talks. The things that come out of this boy’s mouth just make me smile! I’m so grateful! - Maternity leave from end of March till August! It was heavenly.

- We welcomed our second son, Rocco John on April 11, 2011 with a scheduled c-section. Great birth date! This was another “big baby” at 8 lbs 14 ounces and 21 inches long. He is healthy, easy going, loving, happy baby. Love him to pieces and he fit right into our family.

Here's my family getting their first look at Rocco!

- I chopped my hair... not sure what I was thinking, but I needed a change. And let’s face it – I really did it to hide the fact that I LOST tons of it after I had Rocco. It’s growing back and I’m growing it out once again.

- Took a trip to Nebraska to visist my extended family. This is the boys' first baseball game. Dom didn't sit for very long. Think we made it to the 4th inning.

- Lost my dear step-mother Susan to a horrible battle with cancer in October. It's still painful to talk about. She was a HUGE part of my life.

- Just recently got promoted at work. Minor promotion, but way over do. Takes guts to ask for a promotion after being out on leave... You are your own best advocate.

- Met several celebrities at work – Bethenny Frankel reality Bravo TV star (former Real Housewife of NY and mastermind behind SkinnyGirl products), various New York Giant’s players past and present including Victor Cruz, Former Miss America Teresa Scanlan (met her while she was the reigning queen) All of these celebs come in to visit the children’s hospital where I work AND I happen to be the celebrity handler so to speak. One of the most fun parts about my job.

Dominick will be three in March. Rocco just has his 9 month check up and will be one in April.

That’s it in a nut shell. Lots more to come.

May - June in a nutshell

2010-06-30T09:22:00.017-04:00

Fourteen & Fifteen Months snuck up on me. A lot has gone done the past few months. Here’s a down and dirty recap.

Dominick is walking! He’s walking! He’s walking! Dominick took his first steps on mother’s day, May 9 and hasn’t stopped. He likes to walk on his own and will rarely hold your hand, but we’re working on that.

Here is is enjoying some bubbles at one of the many carnivals we have at our hospital.

Dominick has been doing a lot new things lately – some of his faves: shaking his head no, blowing kisses, pointing with his pointer finger, give us kisses – mostly open mouth w/ a little tongue!

He continues to sign: more, all done, milk, and eat and has added juice, book, paci, and please! AND he now strings two words together – “More please” It’s adorable.

He learns so quickly these days. I think he learned how to sign book in just a few minutes. It’s like something finally “clicked.” He just needs to work on the dexterity of manipulating his fingers. A lot of his signs look alike, but we actually know what he means. Juice looks a lot like milk and paci and eat are very similar. But we can usually tell what he’s trying to get at. We’re working on: Ozzie (the sign for O) and his Aunt Kristen taught him to sign the color “Green”

We’ve had another round of croup and a few strange viruses with high fevers. Just this past week he spiked a 103 fever with no other symptoms. He now has a bunch of green sticky boogies – YUCK!

Mother's Day 2010 - no I will not sit in this really cool riding toy! I'll push it, tip it over, but I will NOT sit in it!

Most recent family portrait - Dominick is in the "I will not sit still" phase. He is always on the GO!

We took Dominick to the St. John Vianney carnival last week and he rode the merry go round. He LOVED it! As the horse was going up and down he was holding on to the poll with a smile from ear to ear. This carnival is a family favorite. Frank’s parents have been going for decades. I’m sad to report that the food is getting worse every year. Frozen pizza, stale zepole – just awful. But I think from now on we’ll be going to the rides and not so much the food.

Out for lunch with mommy, Grammie and Aunt Kristen flirting with all the ladies!

We’re gearing up for a trip down to Jacksonville, Florida this weekend for a Wright family reunion. My mom’s side of the family hasn’t gotten together like this in years and it will be so great to see all my cousins and aunts and uncles again. Frank is staying home because it’s department policy to not ask for days off around a holiday – doesn’t that suck!

Dominick, myself, my mom and step-dad and my brother, his wife and two kids are flying out at 6 a.m. on Friday morning, returning late Sunday night. My stepdad is funding the entire trip and made the flight reservations. It’s obvious he has never traveled with small children before, otherwise he would have chosen a more reasonable hour to travel – but my motto this weekend is to “go with the flow” and enjoy every minute I can.

I’m stocked up on new toys for the trip and hopefully I’ll be able to keep Dominick entertained for most of the flight. Here are some pictures from the past few months to catch us up to speed.

June is all about the pool! This kid LOVES the water. He will litterally put his face down into the water - no fear! Catching some rays at Yaya's house - loving the pool!

Samantha not loving the pool so much.

One hot, hot, Saturday in June I went to Metuchen's street fair with Zach, his mom Jen, and my mom, Yaya.

Dominick is the newest member of the Metuchen Fire Department.

Here's my nephew, Zach, trying to eat his ice cream faster than it can melt! It was over 95 degrees out.

I took Dominick to Turtle Back Zoo - it's a small Zoo in West Orange. This is the "what the heck is this thing" look.

Here Dominick is saying "ooohh, oooohh!" at the prarie dogs.

He LOVES to splash!

The little guy was sooooo tired after an afternoon at the pool.

True Story Tuesday - One Rainy Monday

2010-06-08T11:41:00.001-04:00

This is my first ever True Story Tuesday post. I hope I linked everything right, but even if I didn’t, this story is truly worth telling. I was inspired to join in by wife.mom.nurse. Check out her TST.

For some reason, I decided to take a mental health day and stay home from work on a rainy Monday. I was working full time and loving the independence of living alone. Well, some what alone. I lived in a two family house, one of a set of three houses so close together you can hear the leaves rustling as my neighbor made it home at the wee hours of the morning. I also, so I thought, lived in a very quiet town. In fact, it’s the town I grew up in where no one ever locked their doors and let their kids go out and play till the street lights came on.

My neighbors were, um, a bit sketchy to say the least. The middle house had a man in his twenties that only used this apartment during the week and went to his house on the weekends. The house on the end had a bunch of young men living there and there was so much turn over.

Well, back to that rainy morning. It had started to pour – I mean buckets and I was looking out side on my front porch when I look to my right and see one of those young men two houses down standing completely naked. Oh, and yeah, he’s BLEEDING from his side.

Oh My God!

Just as I saw the young man come out of his house a patrol car was pulling up and the town’s sergeant got out and was going in to help.

Good, I didn’t have to call the police. But my heart is racing. What just happened? Am I in danger?

I lock my door. I lock my back door. I check all the windows.

I call my then boyfriend, who’s a police officer, and says to stay in side. Well no shit Sherlock.

I call my stepfather, who happens to be my landlord. He knows who the victim is and he calls the police to get the scoop. My stepfather also happens to be the town’s attorney so he’d have no problem getting the details. Yeah… it’s a small town.

More cop cars show up lights and sirens blazing. It’s still pouring. The poor neighbor gets taken away in an ambulance. Then the cops are high tailing it around town to find the suspects.

After what seems like HOURS, but which was probably less than an hour, my stepfather calls me back and fills me in.

The neighbor, Danny, was robbed, stabbed and locked in a closet by two intruders. The robbers left to use his ATM card. Danny kicked his way through the drywall to get out. I’m not sure why he was naked… was he surprised in the shower? Or was he sleeping in the buff? I never knew anyone who slept naked. That’s just too much information to know about a neighbor. Heck, I didn’t need the mental visual – I saw the real thing. But it was the blood that really got my attention.

My little town is small and upper middle class. It’s certainly a fact that in some parts of town we do not have many minorities. Well, if it just so happens the police used a bit of racial profiling to catch the suspects, then so be it. The cops saw two African American young men walking down a side street and picked them up. Turns out, their get away car wouldn’t start so they were trying to hoof it out of town.

A few weeks later I come to find out one of Danny’s roommates was hanging with a pretty rough crowd and they came to rob him knowing that he had money.

Just goes to show you that even if you live in a small town you really shouldn’t let your guard down. Lock your doors and keep an eye on your neighbors.

Really? Work Life Balance

2010-05-13T14:46:00.006-04:00

Really? This is my new favorite word to say when I’m dumbfounded, speechless and utterly confused.

That’s exactly what I said, out loud, when I read another mom’s post about her days being super busy and overwhelmed as a stay at home mom and trying to find her work/life balance. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand that a life of a stay at home mom can be busy and most certainly overwhelming at times.

This is probably the most “controversial” post I’ve ever written, because I know this is a hot topic that seems to divide the seas between working moms and stay at home moms.

But I felt compelled to share my feelings on this topic. I’m going to say it like I see it. I hope I don’t offend anyone because that is not my intention.

I just cannot comprehend how a stay at home mom would feel overwhelmed on a daily basis to the point she’s complaining about not having a work/life balance.

Key words here are work/life balance. I have MANY friends and family that are stay at home moms and I know they can have hectic days. I am not saying that being a stay at home mom is easy. Every day has its own challenge.

I had my “really?” moment when I was reading about this mom’s experience being so busy with her three kids’ activities and how she doesn’t have a work life balance…

First, I would never describe being a stay at home mom was a “job.” Sure it’s hard work. Sure it can take every ounce of my energy to scrub that pot, or change that diaper. But being a mom is your life. There isn’t a work/life balance to even find.

I’ve decided that this particular mom was really trying to explain how hard it is to find time for herself. This is something ALL moms struggle with and I couldn’t agree more.

Second… I am a working mom. I work full time outside the home. And as this blogger, went on and on about her day and all the things she needed to do – laundry, house cleaning, lunch making, shuttling kids etc – I couldn’t help but think: I do all of those things AND I work 40 hours a week away from home.

Let’s be honest here - I would give ANYTHING to be a stay at home mom where my only head aches and stresses where about which play dates to schedule and what school activities I would go to.

I guess another part of my “really?” moment is tied to my own disappointment that I cannot be home with my son. Instead, I have chosen a lifestyle that must be supported by two incomes. I understand this is my choice. But it is not an easy choice by any means.

It pains me to know that I may be missing out on something.

I’ve had my fair share of mother issues. My mom worked full time and I pretty much was what we called back then a “latch key kid” I’d come home from school, I’d let myself in and even start dinner. Sometimes my mom wouldn’t even be home before bed time.

I have made a commitment to myself to be a different kind of working mom then my mother was. I know that I will make extra time to be there for my children.

I know I will struggle with a work/life balance.

A struggle that I am thankful for everyday.

Okay – let me have it! I’d love to know what you all think...

Sunday Morning Play Date

2010-05-10T15:32:00.010-04:00

Dominck had a fun morning over at Grammie's playing outside and riding in his little blue push car. Here are a few pictures. And yes, I'm a sun nazi. Hats are required when we're outside. I cna't help it... too many skin scares in my family.

Practicing walking. Those first steps are coming!

Here's Dominick doing "roll it" from patty cake. This is his all time favorite LOOK AT ME move. It's adorable.

Mother's Day at the Mazzarella's

2010-05-10T15:10:00.009-04:00

We celebrated mother's day in grand fashion.

We had a bbq on Friday night and Frank made some mouth watering bbq ribs! To die for!!! They were rubbed and smoked and grilled... yum!

Saturday we just took it easy and I guess Dominick got the memo and he slept in until 9 a.m.! I was shocked! The kid went down at 6:30, got a diaper change around 6 a.m. and slept soundly until 9. Of course, I was up after the diaper change and couldn't get back to sleep. I caught up on my shows that I taped throughout the week. I don't have any time during the week to watch TV, so come Saturday, I have 5 or 6 shows to watch.

We had the plumber come and clean out our pipes. We have constantly slow drains and hopefully Joe the plumber, yes our plumber's name is Joe, won't have to come back any time soon. We are thinking about working the laundry room... that's a whole other post.

Back to mother's day. So the day actually arrives. I'm hoping Frank will spring out of bed at the first peep from Dominick so I can sleep in and maybe even enjoy a leisurely breakfast in bed that he slaved over... oh wait... some one slap me because that is far from what happened. Welcome to the life of a cop's wife. Or anyone who's husband works nights. Poor Frank was wiped out and didn't get to sleep until well after 2 a.m. So there I was up and atom with Dominick. Which I really didn't mind at all. I love spending time with Dominick. I hardly get to see him during the week, so I cherish every minute I can. And my breakfast in bed was a delicious dinner on Friday.

That said, it's nice to have break once in a while. Hint hint.

After I pulled Frank out of bed we headed over to his parents house for brunch. Grammie, as we all call her now, had quite a spread of sandwich fixings, salads, and an egg casserole. Who doesn't love a good egg casserole. Dominick ate a bite of everything and really loved sucking on the bread and butter pickles and spitting them right out. This boy eats more than any other kid his age and thankfully he isn’t picky at all. Sure, he’ll spit out the first bite of something new, but it takes him a second to realize, oh, that was good. Then he gobbles it up.

Here are a few pictures from our day.

Here is Dominick cleaning Grammie's table... he's so helpful.

No, you will not put me on this very cool riding toy, I'll push it around, tip it over but I will NOT ride on it!

Dominick is in the "I don't want to sit still for a picture" phase... we're hoping he ages out of this real soon. But if he's anything like his father, it'll last well into his 30's.

Give the boy a cell phone and he's as happy as a clam.

Isn't his outfit cute! I just had to get this shirt when I saw it and he looks adorable in jeans.

Let The Games Begin

2010-04-29T13:54:00.012-04:00

BabyRama, Babystock, Baby Olympics

What ever you call it we had one heck of a first birthday party for the “triplets” a few weeks ago. My mom decided to throw a little get together for her three grandkids who were all born last year within 8 weeks of each other. If you know my mother, she doesn’t do anything half arsed. Yaya, as the grandkids call her, planned a fun afternoon full of cake smashing and baby Olympic events.

First up, the cake smashing. My mom ordered three fondant covered cakes, one for each baby to smash all on their own. It was so funny to see how each one smashed in their own style. Dominick, the first born and already having lots of practice at his bday party, dove right in. He tore of pieces and down the hatch they went.

Samantha, our only girl, was very dainty. She didn’t want to get her little hands dirty so she just leaned forward for full on mouth vs cake action.

Chester, the youngest of the three, was just beside himself! He decided to dismember his cake starting in the middle and working his way out.

We sang, they smashed and they even shared some cake with the grown ups. The room was very festive with balloons and streamers and if you looked closely, you saw little Olympic rings made out of plastic bracelets hanging from the chandelier.

Now on to the Olympic games. Each baby had their own little outfit. There were three events: crawling, dancing and laughing. All participants had been given pre-notice of what the competitions would be, so we all came prepared. We trained long and hard and we were eager to see what the other babies brought to the competition.

We also had an official judge, namely the eldest grandson Zach who is 5. Zach was super excited to be the judge. He had a ref shirt and even a stopwatch and whistle! Several days before the party Zach told Yaya that he really wanted Dominick to win everything. Yaya had to do some teaching about fairness and making sure the best athlete wins. This kid is a riot! Here is Zach with his best bud, Dominick.

The crawling competition was set to start and the daddies were on one side of the room and the mommies were eager to coax their little babies across the carpet. We had a little something up our sleeve… namely… a lovey. Yes, Dominick is 100% attached to a little blankie and he will do anything to get to his lovey.

On your mark, get set, GO!

And they’re off… Dominick comes charging out of the gate, full steam. Wait, there’s Samantha in lane two throwing a huge fit and will not let go of her daddy. Here comes Chester cutting across all lanes to get to the toys. Dominick eased into the finish line and took home the gold. Chester won the silver and Samantha captured the bronze with her stellar dramatic performance. Here's Dominick in his post victory splendor... and clutching his lovey of course.

There were actual metals that Zach and Yaya made – very cute. A nice bottle of wine accompanied each metal.

Our next event was laughing and Samantha had found her event. With the help of her very funny Daddy, she really performed beautifully and took home the gold. Chester got silver with his silly chuckle and Dominick crapped out and was in no mood for laughing. Here's St. John making Chester crack up!

On to dancing and on came some great music! The babies lined up holding onto the coffee table. Samantha decided she wasn’t feeling the music. Chester on the other hand rocked the house! He was popping and wiggling, putting on a great show. Dominick came in at the end with some very spirited moves while we clapped and sang. Our official was having a tough time deciding. Zach said out loud, “Dominick should win, he is was the best dancer.” When we all knew that Chester put on the best show.

Yaya pulled Zach aside and reminded him of their talk about fairness, but he wouldn’t budge. Zach awarded Dominick the gold, silver went to Chester and Samantha got bronze. That’s okay because we all know how the real winner was!

It was a really nice way to end a very eventful year in the Frizell family. We were so blessed to have three new editions join the ranks of our wild and crazy bunch. I can see many baby Olympics in our future.

Here's the whole crew - The proud grandparents: Pop and Yaya; Frank, Dominick and myself; Mike, Chrisi, Samantha and Zach; St. John, Linden and Chester

Lucky Thirteen

2010-04-28T11:20:00.008-04:00

I promise not to be “that mom” that says… “my son is 28 months old.” I think it’s ridiculous. I can’t even do the math that fast to figure out how old your kid is. BUT, that said, I will continue my monthly/bi-monthly updates about Dominick and his milestones.

Month thirteen brings much of the same as last month. Dominick hasn’t decided to start walking on his own yet. Despite his Papa's constant bribery. He can cruise with the best of them and is pretty quick moving along the side of the couch or holding on to his play yard fence. He loves to be chased and I can already see him running away from us when he finally gets the hand of walking solo. Dominick’s almost there. He just needs to be a bit braver. He’ll take two steps then fall into your arms. We’re waiting for the three, four and five steps.

Dominick still eats like a champ. Even through his recent bouts with being sick, he still manages to have an appetite. Some of his favorites this month are spinach nuggets by Dr. Praeger’s. This is an interesting line of sensible food was developed by two New Jersey-based heart surgeons. Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods are all natural, low in cholesterol and saturated fats, free of preservatives and artificial ingredients and nothing fried with lots of tasty veggies. The food is also Kosher if that’s your thing. We’re working our way through testing Dr. P’s kids line.
Dominick is king of the point… well, it’s more of a whole hand pointing in the direction of “I want that!” A book, food, to look outside. The kid knows what he wants and how to get it. He’s doing great at his signing. He does “more” and is now doing “eat” and “all done.” “milk,” and “bye-bye” all look the same, but he does them on command. He’s quick to sign “all done” when he’s on the changing table. He signs “milk” when he sees his bottle. He waves “bye-bye” to every single person he sees. Just adorable. Now we’re working on “please,” “water” and “juice.” Baby steps.

Here he is super excited about his water table - he tenses all his muscles and squeals!

Dominick loves to say “Ozzie” and “dada” and occasionally “mama.” When ever he hears music he immediately lights up with a smile and claps his hands. He’s still a fan of the crazy Wiggles. They probably remind him of his dad who has been singing and doing silly dances for years. Even pre-baby.

Favorite toys – that would be the water table times ten. He LOVES to be outside, on our deck and get completely soaked splashing away. He’ll even play with it when it’s empty. His Grammie and Papa got him a cute climber, slide and swing set for little toddlers. He doesn’t care much for the swing but loves the slide and to play pirate with the captain’s wheel. He also loves his little blue car his Aunt Kristen gave him – it’s one of those cars they sit in and the adults push them around. Super easy and he just loves to turn the wheel and beep his horn.

Splashing is very serious business.

Dominick is still a good sleeper and sleeps through the night most nights. But he’s decided he only wants to nap once a day which is great for allowing us to get out of the house more often. He’s usually up by 7 a.m. and then goes back down by 11 until at least 12:30 p.m. Then he may go down for a little cat nap around 2:30/3. He’s surprised me with two, two hour naps here and there, but it’s consistently been a one, really long nap around lunch time. We usually put him to bed by 7 p.m. It works for him, it works for us.

I think this picture is hilarious. Frank has his usual, "take the picture already" face on and Dominick wants NOTHING to do with being taken away from his water table.

We’re looking forward to many more milestones we know are just around the corner – namely walking and talking!

Two Babies

2010-04-28T09:45:00.000-04:00

Has it really been two weeks? Really?

A lot has gone down the past few weeks. Mainly, the croup. Poor Dominick had an awful case of the croup… and you have to put the “the” in front of croup. I looked it up.

At first I just thought that awful sound coming out of his little chest was him getting all worked up after crying, but nope. His Grammie knew exactly what it was and off to the doctor’s we go. Poor guy sounded like he was smoking two packs a day! And it really does sound like a barking seal! Little did I know that the croup is contagious and one of his daycare buddies shared this virus around the class – each baby was out for at least a week. We didn’t have to do the hot shower thing, but we did spend a lot of time soothing him near a humidifier. After a few rounds of steroids the little guy was getting better and we were semi back to normal.

Fast forward a few days and just after we had our new roof installed, Frank starts to come down with a scratchy throat. He first thinks it’s allergies since he spent a lot of time outside with the roofers – he even made them burgers for lunch – that’s the kind of guy I married! After a few more days Frank’s scratchy throat turned into a major sore throat and cough. He was home from work for two days then off to the doc for him. Doc gives out antibiotics and says to stay home all week! I’m glad Frank’s immune system has held strong until now, the guy’s got tons of unused sick time. Poor baby… he really was miserable and his voice was so squeaky. Kind of like Peter Brady. “When it’s time to ch**ange”

So while my husband is feeling horrible, Dominick decides to go another round with a reparatory infection coughing so hard he throws up and has boogies everywhere. Poor little guy.

I’ve been taking care of my two babies this week. Cooking up a storm and for once I’m keeping the germs at bay. I’ve been on antibiotics for a tooth infection and I think that’s was saved me this time! I have an impending root canal that I’m really, really not looking forward too. But I have found a great dentist that does sedation and I’m all for pain management – nock me out!

Thankfully, everyone seems to be on the mend.

Cookie Therapy

2010-04-12T14:36:00.009-04:00

Baking cookies, not eating them this time.

When planning Dominick’s party I found this really cool cookie recipe online for “play dough cookies.” Basically multicolored cookies swirled up on a lollypop stick. I figured the kids would love to eat these crazy colored cookies.

I decided to make them the weekend before because I knew they’d be really labor incentive. Here’s a step by step.

First you make a whole bunch of cookie dough from scratch. Easy enough. Then you have to quarter the dough and die them four different colors….

Okay, how do you actually die cookie dough? Genius me put the dough in a gallon zip lock bag and added some gel color and squished away. It worked really well. Wish I would have thought of this before I did the first color and ended up with bright yellow palms trying to need it together.

Let the dough sit in the fridge for a few hours. Once hardened, start making little ¾ inch balls out of each color. Now, get ready to sit down and put on some music because this takes FOREVER!

To make the actual cookie, take one ball of each color and roll them together to form on large swirled ball.

Then roll the large ball out into a 1 foot long snake.

Then coil the snake around itself to form the swirled cookie. This is where true clay forming technique comes in. You could so tell my first few cookies… they looked awful. Finger dents her and there, uneven thickness. By the time I rolled out my 40th cookie, I was an old pro. This was one of my first cookies, very lumpy.

Gently insert cookie pop stick and bake. At the end of the night I looked at all my cookie pops and felt they were TOTALLY worth the effort. They looked great.

All the kids loved them at the party. They couldn’t wait to pick out their cookie and take them home. I have to say they didn’t taste all that great, but they sure looked good.

Definitely therapeutic.

Easter Fun

2010-04-12T14:17:00.012-04:00

We had a great Easter this year. Much different from last year when the little guy was only two weeks old. He didn't get the whole look for the eggs thing, but he sure enjoyed dying them!

He loved eating them too! I have a special memory growing up of looking at a baby picture of mine where I'm covered in deviled eggs... we tried to recreate the special moment... Dominick happily agreed.

Frank had to work on Easter Sunday, so I was off to celebrate with out him. We spent some time at both parent's houses. I had dinner with my parents and my mom made an amazing fresh ham. I have never seen Dominick eat so much! And this was after he had all those deviled eggs!

We then went to Frank's parents house for desert. We took a few commemorative photos. Here's Dominick in his Easter outfit. His hair is so stiff from the special hair treatment he gave himself with the deviled eggs. Plus he was exhausted with no nap all day!

Here is Dominick and his two second cousins, Reese (3 1/2) and Christopher (1). Like the bunny ears? Of course that was my idea!

Yeah, they made me wear these... my brilliant idea backfired.

Off with the spiffy duds and we slipped Dominick into something a little more comfortable. This was his FIRST time sitting in grass...

He was soooo excited!

The soccor ball was also very exciting.

I made some special cupcakes, you know the kind you bake in icecream cones? I knew Reese would LOVE it, and she did.

The Prince Turns One

2010-04-12T14:01:00.014-04:00

On Dominick's actual birthday, he headed into daycare with home made banana bread muffins and bubbles for all his class mates. He wore his special b-day boy shirt. Don't you just love the suspenders?
After school we had a mini celebration on Dominick actual birthday. This consisted of watching him destroy an elmo cupcake. Fun time was had by all. He even had icing down his back!

We had quite the celebration for Dominick’s first birthday party. I’m so glad everyone could join us and celebrate. It was VERY tight and people were all over my in-law’s house. We had about 50 people come and this is just basically my husband’s extended family and a few of my friends and their kids. All in all, we had a great time.

We had an amazing punch that Kristen found online and served gigantic subs, baked ziti, salads, sausage and peppers. We had plenty of food for everyone. I really regret not taking enough pictures.

Each of the kids got to make a foam craft or color. That kept them busy for at least 20 minutes. We had the families who attended sign a commemorative plate and photo mat. We’ll use the plate every year for Dominick’s cake. We had lots of balloons and decorations.

I made a special “smash” cake for Dominick. I made the icing from scratch and I had these high expectations to make the perfect cake with rolled fondant cut outs… Well, I had a little trouble with the icing and it went down hill after that.

In the end, it looked great, but it was a really long night. I still am going to keep my promise to make Dominick’s b-day cakes from here on out! I just need some practice.

Notice anything wrong? Yeah, well, I spelled my own son’s name wrong! That just goes to show you how tired I was! Not sure if you know I am very dyslexic and letters just confuse me. Figures, I minored in English... We didn’t even notice it until the morning of his party. With a little snip, that extra o turned into an i.

Dominick enjoyed his smash cake. And smash he did.

Grammie led the group in a rousing game of Simon Says.

We ended the night with another round of food after everyone left. We had some more wonderful punch and opened all of his gifts. Dominick really made out. One of his faves is this ride on Mickey Mouse airplane! He doesn’t’ actually ride on it, but he walks behind it. Some more faves a pop up Thomas the Train play house and a Thomas the Train Tank that follows you around the house. It responds to your voice command. It’s super loud, but Dominick seems to like it.

We headed home with a very tired little boy and exhausted mommy and daddy.
We couldn’t have done this party with out the love, support and hard work from Frank’s parents and his sister, Kristen.

Looking forward to next year. It will be way less people and a lot more fun!

One Year - Happy Birthday Dominick

2010-03-24T09:49:00.011-04:00

One year ago today we welcomed our little boy into this world. Dominick Frank was born at 10:29 a.m., Tuesday, March 24, 2009. We feel so blessed and thankful we have such a healthy, happy baby boy. Read his birth story here.

Dominick has grown so much this passed year.

He’s gone from 8 pounds, 13 ounces of this:

To 25 + pounds of this:

Dominick is soooo close to walking. Everyone says he’s about to take off at any minute. But he’s just not ready yet to let go of hands, or walls – he’s still cruising. When you to hold his hands to help him walk, he takes off! He kind of looks like walking dead Berny from "Weekend At Berny" - sort of off balance, belly out, but on the go! I’ve felt the mother’s intuition that he’s going to be a handful and I’m pretty sure he’s living up to my expectations. Dominick is definitely a “boy’s boy” He’s very rough with his toys, things constantly fly off the high chair. He’s already climbing on anything and everything. Yesterday I caught him standing on his big plastic truck! That thing could have taken off underneath him, but he stood strong, trying to reach what the extra few inches he had.

Dominick really likes to climb into things... even more reason why I think he'll be all over the place once he starts walking.

Dominick has twelve teeth and eats just about everything. This month we tried Chinese noodles and he LOVED them! The boy just loves his carbs. We also tried kiwi, and he can eat an entire one all by himself. I need to schedule his first dental apt sometime around his first bday. Not sure what they’ll do, it’s hard enough for me to brush his teeth every night. He gets too excited and starts laughing at the tooth brush.

Dominick still doesn't "ride" any of his riding toys. He'll push them and crawl behind them. He'll give his sippy cup a ride, or put things in the trunk.

Our signing is starting to pay off with Dominick. He’s had “more” down pat for about a month and now he’s signing “all done” and “milk” – they both look pretty similar, but we definitely know what he’s trying to say. When I’m changing his diaper, half way through he’ll sign, “all done” and want to get up. While we were eating one night at the table, he was finished and he looks at me and signs “more.” I didn’t immediately give him a taste of what I was eating, so he leans forward and signs “more, more” giving it more umph by leaning in. That had the entire table in hysterics.

Dominick has taken up a new passed time... pooping in the tub! He's done it twice now and I hope to GOD that last night was the last...

We celebrated our Irish side on St. Patrick's Day - yes Dominick Mazzarella may sound 100% Italian, but the boy is pretty much 1/2 Italian, 1/2 Scots Irish. We had lots of festive green attire and I made homemade corned beef. Here's Dominick with his daycare girlfriend, Teresa. She turns one next week.

I’ve put on my super mom hat getting ready for Dominick’s birthday party on Saturday. Working full time AND being a mom does not lend itself to much free time. I've had lots of late nights, but that comes with the territory. We are having local friends and family come for an afternoon celebration at my in-law’s house. I am really looking forward to celebrating making it through the first year.

I never imagined I would enjoy motherhood this much. Sure, it’s a lot of work. Sure, you are constantly feeding someone or wiping something or stepping on that damn Lego piece for the tenth time… but when you see your child, your little angle giggles and smiles up at you… my heart swells each and every time.

Happy Birthday to my favorite little boy.

Double Trouble

2010-03-22T16:02:00.003-04:00

Him: “Um… honey?”

Me: “Yes…”

Him: “It’s raining, in our living room.”Me: “Yeah, I know it’s raining… wait, what?”There was a huge sagging piece of drywall that looked like it would erupt at any moment right above our couch! Oh Marrone! (an Italian phrase for ‘oh my goodness’ – I use it all the time even though I’m not technically Italian, I just married one.)

It would drip… then a few seconds later, drip again. But even with those occasional drips, our couch was soaked. Frank broke the water bag in our ceiling so we wouldn’t be surprised with a huge gush… we now have a bucket collecting the drips.

My husband has decided we have a roof issue… so we get his father’s cousin out to take a look. When you’re Italian, everyone seems to be your cousin. Vic (the roofer cousin), decides we need a new roof. Something about flashing. We knew it was coming, we knew when we bought the house that the roof would probably need to be replaced in the next 5 years… and we’re coming up on being in the house five years next October. So, right on time. But it’s still a large $$$$ pill to swallow… ouch.

So, in the same day, I’m not kidding. My husband and I have this conversation:

Me: “Honey, I think you need to take a look at this,” yelling up from the basement.

Him: “One second, I’m in the middle of something.”

I come drudging upstairs with soaking wet socks and find him busy playing mafia wars… ah, again, the life of a wife married to an Italian.

Me: “honey, the basement is flooded!”

Him: “Hu?”

Me: “There is water coming in from all sides in the basement. What part of flooded do you not understand?”

Him: “Let me get the wet vac…”

And down he went to try to keep up with the never ending streams of water trickling to the low part of the basement. We had at least two inches of water converging under the stairs. This was not new to us. We had some water back in 2007 when we had a torrential down pour for several days in a row. We prepared and had anything touching the floor made of plastic. But still, if our sump pump went we were sunk!

We both decide it’s time to waterproof the basement. It’s an ideal place to make into a play room. Dominick is starting to get mobile and his toys are starting to multiply. I’d love to send him downstairs to play when he gets older. So, we’re going to get a French drain installed. Another, very hard $$$$ pill to swallow.

Okay, two huge house costs… is there a third? Usually things like this come in threes… deaths, capitol expenses… Should I do some sort of dance to avoid anything else catastrophic from happening to our house?

I don’t think I can handle one more thing.

Especially two in one day.

Two Birds

2010-03-18T14:31:00.002-04:00

I almost managed to avoid two of the grossest "parent's rights of passage" during our first year - the dreaded poop in the bathtub and a diaper eating pooch.

Well, let's just say we killed two birds with one stone last night! Dom took an impressive dump in the baby tub and when I was cleaning Dom up, Ozz was cleaning out the tub!

DOUBLE YUCK!

First Haircut

2010-03-16T14:03:00.006-04:00

We took Dominick in for his first haircut Saturday, March 20. This was a week over due since Daddy was working through a case of that horrible stomach virus when we planned to go the week before last. We rescheduled for last Sat and glad we did. I think I needed a few more days to get used to the idea that my little baby is growing up.

The first haircut is a huge milestone and I thought for sure I’d be sad about it. But when we got Dominick in his little four-wheeler barber chair, he grabbed the wheel like a champ and away he went down the forever road of reaching milestones and end of this important first. I wasn’t sad, but happy to be sharing this special moment with my husband.

I didn’t think Dominick would cry. He’s such a happy go lucky type of kid. Nothing fazed him. He was just more interested in looking around than sitting still. We went to All about Kids and Teens, in Clark. The woman that cut his hair, Donna, was great. She was very nice and just went with the flow. She knew exactly when to cut and when not to.
She asked, “how short do you what it?”

Frank says, “Buzz it!”

I say, “Make it look like he didn’t have a haircut.”

She smiles and says, “I see we have a difference of opinion, I’ll listen to the boss,” as she winks at me.

Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Meet Up

2010-03-16T14:00:00.001-04:00

There is this website called meetup.com where people with various interests can find each other online and actually get together in person. It’s a great concept, using the internet to actually make face to face connections.

Pre-baby I went to a few meet ups for pug owners. Pug owners in general are fanatical about their pugs, but imagine when packs of puck owners get together… it was a total pug-fest. People showing off their pug’s newest tricks or collars or talking about the best this or that. It was fun, but a total “mine is better than yours”

Recently I went to my first ever official meet up for working moms. Okay, we’re talking about actual babies and their mom’s getting together for play dates and chit chat. I have to say, it wasn’t much different than the pug-fest. Moms were comparing milestones and menus, nap schedules and tantrums. All things we have in common. But our conversations steered clear of the “one upping” each other. Or at least most of us tried. When ever you bring a group of complete strangers together there’s bound to be a few, uh, characters. I’m hoping to find a few good friends and we can start our own play dates. No potentials just yet, but I'm hopeful.

I even started my own Union County Working Moms Group – hoping to expand the opportunities. Our first event is in April and I’m inviting people to my house. I’ll report on that later.

We have a few events coming up. Looking forward to play date in the park with husbands and I may even bring Ozzie.

Play Date With Mommy

2010-03-04T14:51:00.012-05:00

This is how Dominick and I usually spend our Saturday mornings...

Just being silly.

He's going for the cat!

I just love how he sits with his little feet crossed -so cute! He does this all the time.

Dominick loves to turn all of his toys upside down. He's got to look at every inch.

He loves to stick his little tongue out when he smiles!

Welcome to baby land... aka our living room.

Here he is, 11 months old. Such a sweet heart.

Dominick Eleven Months

2010-02-25T11:33:00.007-05:00

Dominick has been growing, growing, growing. He’s wearing 12-18 month size and he loves to explore the world around him. He’s much better at cruising – walking while holding on to something. He even took a few steps behind a push and walk toy yesterday. He’s not hesitant to walk, but we can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do. His personality is really starting to show.

He wants to get everywhere by himself. Don’t even try to stand him up and hold his hands to help him walk, he’ll plop right down and find something else to hold on to. He also is very rough on his toys. Throwing them all over the place! He’s starting to arch his back if he wants down or off your lap. So we let him slide to the floor and go on his way. It’s funny to watch. We’re pretty sure he’s going to be a handful as a toddler. It’s payback for being such a wonderful infant.

Speaking of toys, his favorites right now are anything with wheels. He loves to turn his wagon on its side, put something on top of the wheel and spin it to watch it go round. He’s even started to stack things on the wheel and spin it to watch them tumble.

Dominick is eating everything under the sun! He’s got 10+ teeth. He pretty much eats what ever I cook for dinner. This means, I have to cook more often. This month he’s had beef stroganoff, chicken pot pie, baked ziti and chicken tortellini. He loves bananas, pancakes and waffles. He hasn’t refused anything! I usually cook on the weekend and we have enough leftovers to make it to Thursday when Frank’s home and he does dinner.

The absolute cutest thing Dominick does is the “roll it” part from pattycake. I have to get it on video. When he wants your attention or wants to show of for new people he meets – he just does it! And he rolls his hands backwards. It’s so cute. And of course every time he does it, we make a huge fuss and give lots of kisses.

We’ve had a break through with our signing – Dominick has understood signing for a few months now. He’d get excited when we’d sign “eat” or “more”. Just last week he signed the word “more”! He pretty much just putts his hands together when we ask him if he wants more food, and he always does! He still says mama, dada and Ozzie. We’re working on Yaya, Grammie, Pop, Papa, Auntie etc.

We have been battling ear infections lately – this week he’s on his fourth. Doc says that he should be fine and prescribed a stronger antibiotic. Let’s hope this one clears up completely.

Just this week he started waving bye bye! We were at the doctor’s office and we said bye bye to the doctor and he did it! He kind of waves his entire arm, but he gets it! I was shocked. Now he does it every time someone leaves.

I’m getting teary eyed just writing this. My dear little boy is now eleven months old and we are so close to him turning the big one!

I’m happy and sad at the same time. I would love for him to stay little, cuddle and oh so cute for ever. But I also enjoy seeing him accomplish new things and grow! I’m sure lots of moms have these mixed feelings…

We’re going to have a small celebration at our house next month. Small meaning, under 50 people in our house! We have a HUGE family and this is only the locals. When we started planning, Frank and I agreed – small is best. But after we started thinking about it, we really want to celebrate with everyone! The party is really a celebration for making it through the first year! I’m all about celebrating!

Dominick Ten Months

2010-01-24T11:06:00.006-05:00

Seems like January really did buzz by. We all have been sick, pretty much since Thanksgiving. Dominick goes to daycare twice a week and just those two days of exposure seems to sabotage any efforts at keeping everyone healthy. But, they say, that if your child is sick when he’s a baby, he’s just building a kick ass immune system. Yeah, yeah, yeah… tell that to me at 3 in the morning when I’m rocking in the glider keeping my little guy elevated, with both of us dozing off. We’ve spent many a night in the glider, which is extremely comfortable. It even reclines!

Dominick has been hitting all sorts of milestones. He’s still doing a commando crawl, but he’s really good at it! He loves to be chased if we say, “I’m gonna get you” he squeals and takes off. He’s still cruising around on the furniture, making his way around the room. He’ll probably be walking by his birthday.

We’re pretty sure he says mama and dada. Now he’s added Ozzie to his vocabulary! When we get home, he says “oozzziiee” so cute.

He’s eating all sorts of food since his molars came in. Still mostly mushy, but people food. I’m so glad to be done with baby food! Here he is trying his first meatball… his Grammie made them for this special occasion. We’re pretty sure he enjoyed himself!

Here he is eating the meatball like an apple! This boy is definiately Italian. Here's the aftermath.

Family Fun with Feathers

2010-01-17T11:11:00.001-05:00

We had the pleasure of going to Frank's God daughter's birthday party. Emma turned three and was just a sweetheart. Here are a few pictures from our fun day.

Emma giving us a concert... ABC's, Isty Bitsty Spider - you name it, she sang it!

Dominick isn't so sure about Emma's singing...

Cousins Emma (3), Anthony (7?), and Dominick (10 months)

Emma loved her "feathers" that her Aunt Becca got her... She's definitely a girly girl.

Spending some quality time with his great Aunt Lena. She's so funny!

Christmas in a nutshell

2010-01-01T10:24:00.000-05:00

Well – it was Dominick’s first official Christmas. We did everything to make it a special one. Baked all sorts of cookies, wrapped each present with care, we even arranged Santa to come visit him on a fire truck! I know what you’re thinking… “He’ll never remember this!” True, but really, isn’t the first Christmas all for the parents and family anyway? So we had fun. We were festive. And boy am I glad it’s over! Here’s a recap.

On a snowy night in December we headed to our cousin’s house to wait for Santa to pull up on his fire engine. This is something that Clark Fire Department does every year. They go around town, meeting children and even delivering presents the parents secretly gave him. The fire truck is all decked out with as many lights and animatronics displays it can hold. It’s quite the site to hear all the jingle bells they have tied to the tires. We have a video and once I figure out how to post – you bet it’ll be up here. Dominick was just in awe at Santa and his very large elves – all firemen. It’s a sight I know I’ll never forget and I hope we can do it again.

As is tradition with the Frizell family, we spent Christmas Eve in Metuchen. My mom had prepared a Parisian gourmet meal including beef wellington! Everything was scrumptious and even the babies stayed up long enough to open a few presents each. Then it was a free for all. With as many “extended” families as we have, we’re lucky that we get the majority at Christmas time – this year we had Mike, Chrisi, Samantha, Catherine, Chris, Frank, myself and Dominick. Zach joined us after dinner. It would have been nice to have St. John and Linden, but we understand we have several families that have to share our time.

I have proposed we do Christmas sometime near the actual holiday and not on Christmas Eve. This will allow the kids who split holidays with moms/dads and St. John and Linden who have three sets of families to visit more time. Or even allow us all to do our own “thing” on Christmas Eve. I really do put a lot of thought and effort into the gifts I buy for every one and I really want to see them open them. Isn’t that the fun part!? Wouldn’t’ it be great once the kids get older to have everyone there to play with all their new toys? My proposal was well received I think… I just was sick of not having everyone together on the day we choose to celebrate.

After a late night at my moms, we headed back home to prepare for the big day.

We have started a new tradition in our house – we’ll have Christmas morning brunch. This year the Mazzarella’s came and we used this time to open all of our gifts. Next year, we’ll probably invite my parents as well since Christmas Eve is still up in the air. It will just be plain chaos, but pure Christmas fun.

I did a lot of the cooking the night before. I made two breakfast casseroles that sit over night. A stuffed French toast with a berry sauce which was to-die-for and an egg sausage thing. Surprisingly, both turned out pretty well. I brought out my china for the first time. The table looked stunning and I’m so mad I didn’t get a picture. We sipped OJ from crystal and enjoyed every bite!

After brunch we opened more gifts and Dominick sure made out like a bandit this year. He got lots of toys for 1 +, which is great ‘cause he’s starting to get board with his current set of toys. Here are a few samplings…

Dominick really didn’t seem to be into the opening part of Christmas. Like most babies his age, he was more interested in eating the paper, than ripping it. Give the boy a bow and he’s happy for at least ten minutes.

Ozzie of course got his presents, several new stuffed animal toys. He loves to unwrap his presents! He’s too funny and been great about not playing with Dominick’s toys. Once we break out the ball popper, that’s a different story.

After presents we crashed for a while. Showered, had our second pot of coffee and got ready for the third act of this Christmas celebration. We headed off to Frank’s Aunt Gen’s house. We had the usual – and it’s the same thing, every year. I can say this since I’ve been celebrating holidays with Frank for about eight years now. Here is Dominick with his cousins, Reese and Christopher. Reese is very good at wrangling the boys for pictures... we hold her back just short of a head lock!

It’s nice to have one family who does something different every year and one that sticks with traditional fair. My mom has come up with some doozies – the seven fishes cause we’re Italian Wanna-Be’s; Cuban from my grandmother’s heritage which is my favorite, French, gourmet “American” with a standing rib roast, traditional ham or duck! She’s an amazing cook who’s willing to try anything. I wish I had an ounce of her bravery in the kitchen.

Thanks Christmas in a nut shell. We’re looking forward to celebrating Dominick’s first birthday in March, just three months away. The jury’s still out on what type of “party” to have. Should we rent a hall with a band? Should we keep it small and just family? What about a restaurant? Everyone seems to have an opinion. Frank and I are keeping our’s to ourselves and deciding in the next few weeks.

The Woman Behind the Tinsel

2009-12-28T10:31:00.001-05:00

There’s a laundry list of things no one ever warns you about when you become a mom. You get over your bodily fluid phobia real fast, sleep deprivation is an art form, you will never pee alone again and quite often you’ll leave the house with spit up down your back and not even know it! One special little tidbit hit home this holiday season.

When you become a mom no one ever really tells you about the enormous amount of work that goes into making each and every holiday special for your children and family. Not only do you have to take care of your child/children 24/7, but you also have to shop for every family member, bake all sorts of cookies, decorate the entire house, go to numerous holiday parties pretending to be festive when all you really want to do is go home and finish your to-do-list so you can collapse on the couch.

When I did get in bed after a long night of to-do’s, all I could think about were the next things on my list that had to get done tomorrow. I literally had to write everything down because I didn’t trust my sleep deprived over stuffed brain to remember anything. I do have to shop for a lot of people – we have a HUGE family and lots of nieces and nephews.

Don’t get me wrong. I actually love Christmas. I look forward to it every year. But now, as a mom, it has a whole new meaning. It means that I have to plan every spare second to be sure everything gets done. It means that sure, I’ll stay up late till two in the morning wrapping Christmas Eve because the little guy was up till midnight.

I hope Dominick will some day appreciate all of our efforts into making his holidays special.

Thank you mom for all of your hard work, endless hours and loving time you put into my cherished holiday memories.

Dominick Nine Months

2009-12-24T10:22:00.000-05:00

I always begin these posts with… wow, how did time fly buy? But these past few months I’ve taken every opportunity to really sit back and enjoy my time with Dominick. Relish in every cute smile, giggle or silly game. So this month didn’t go by any faster and I hope to continue “living in the moment.” The laundry will get folded and the dishes done, but my baby will only be a baby for so long.
Let’s see – developmentally, he’s right on track with his milestones. He doesn’t crawl on all fours, he kind of does an army scoot – we call it the “wounded solder” too funny! He can now push himself up into a seated position. He had just gotten up from a nap and I walk into his room and to my surprise – there he is, sitting straight up! He LOVES to stand. He would much rather stand than roll around on the floor. Good thing he has lots of standing toys on his Christmas list.

Dominick is quite the eater – he loves to eat solids. His faves are still sweet potatoes. We’ve added apricots, pears and CHEESE! This boy loves cheddar cheese. If I’m having a hard time getting him to eat, I just sprinkle on a little cheese and down it goes. He likes to feed himself and will take the spoon out of my hand. He gets a kick out of that. I’m still making all his food which is really easy. Now I leave some texture to the fruits and veggies. He chews them like a pro! He loves his Cheerios and if he’s in his exersaucer, I’ve caught him slipping one or two to Ozzie who’s waiting patiently near by. Dominick has started to refuse the bottle a bit more in hopes he’ll get more “grown up” food. We’re introducing as many new foods as we can! He had a little taste of tomato sauce from pizza and a little bit of the crust. As soon as he tasted the sauce, he got excited. His arms started waving and he started grunting for more! He loves my “veggie medley” of broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots in a cheddar cheese sauce. We’re sure he’ll be a great eater.

Sleeping – this boy is what moms call a rack master. He sleeps hours, and hours. One night he clocked 14 hours without a peep! He has at least two naps a day, for at least an hour each. Sometimes he’ll sleep 2+ hours for me at home. And he’s sleeping much better at daycare too. That’s a relief.

Dominick is very social and loves to smile at everyone. He’s started to be a little “clingy” and wants his mommy to pick him up – which is just fine with me.

He’s had a few colds since thanksgiving. With double ear infections that returned, we had two rounds of antibiotics. He’s much better, for now.

I will be updating more often. I too have been sick since Thanksgiving. We shared two very nasty bugs with everyone in the house. We’re all better and with the holidays behind us – I’m excited to get things back to normal.

Meeting The Big Guy

2009-12-15T10:38:00.000-05:00

We took Dominick to get his 9 month pictures, which happen to coincide with Christmas. We lucked out on that one! We weren’t too happy with the service from JC Penny’s, so we headed off to the Picture People. The customer service was much better, people being very patient and working much harder to get that perfect smile. But, I was a little disappointed in the props. Again, I didn’t voice my opinions, I just went with the flow. Imagine that! I think I’ll be more vocal, especially for his first birthday pics. Not sure where we’re going. We may end up hiring a private photographer. We’ll see. Here’s a sampling of the pics. My fave is the caboose.

Along with his nine month pics we also went to see Santa for the first time. I knew Dominick would do great. He’s never once cried when I put him in someone’s arms – even a stranger.

He did take a few long looks up at the bearded man, but in general was happy to smile at us as we made fools of our selves in the mall. Doesn’t this Santa look real? He’s been at Menlo Park Mall for years… maybe he is real? He hasn’t aged at all!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-03T11:32:00.005-05:00

Dominick’s first Halloween was extremely low key. We slept in, we napped, we played then we trucked off to Grammie’s house to take pictures of him in his costume. This year we dressed Dominick as a little monkey. He was absolutely adorable! Frank even found some mini bananas!

We arrived at Grammie’s house and had a quick lunch while we waited for our cousin Jennifer and Aunt Gen to arrive with three year old Reese. Reese was dressed up like Abby Kadabby. She looked adorable with her purple pompom pig tails and cute little freckles. When Reese took one look at Dominick all dressed up, she ran over to him and gave him a big hug. She loves to tickle Dominick under his chin, or on his belly. Dominick just stared with delight. He loves to look at other “little people” like him.

On our way to see Mrs. G – a long time friend of Frank’s family who happens to live two doors down, we ran into another neighbor, Mr. and Mrs. Spees. They took one look at Dominick and said, “Oh, there’s a mini Frank!” It’s so true – I cannot deny that he looks exactly like Frank and he’s just as adorable as his daddy.

New Jersey’s a funny place sometimes. Maybe it’s an Italian thing, maybe it’s an East Coast thing… who knows, but when we pulled our stroller up to see Mr. and Mrs. Spees, they oohed and aaahed. Then, because we were “trick or treating” Mrs. Spees pulled two dollars out of her wallet and put it in Dominick’s pumpkin! To me that’s just hilarious! Anywhere else we’d have said hi and we’d be on our way. But no, not in Jersey. “Here kid, buy some candy…” I love it!

Once we get to Mrs. G’s house – it keeps getting funnier! Mrs. G’s father answers the door – he’s very old, but very sharp. Mrs. G and her dad are oohing and aaahing over Dominick. Then I hear…“Ohhhh…. I want to suck his face off….” Mrs. G says through gritted teeth.
Then Mrs. G’s father chimes in, “I want to bite his little cheek!”

We all know his very own Grammie loves to say, “I want to bite him and make him bleed.”

I know – what graphic, violent things to say to a baby!? But they mean all of these things are said with love. I hear it all the time, from strangers… “I just want to bite him,” or “I just want to squeeze the life out of him!” Is this an Italian thing? Jersey thing? Who knows, but it sure is entertaining! I'd love to find a vendor where I can get this embroidered on a pillow or something... it would be quite the conversation piece!

We spent the afternoon back at home napping. Dominick took one of his marathon naps from 2:30 until 5. I had to put a note on the front door “baby sleeping, come back later.” Otherwise Ozzie would have gone crazy barking and Dominick would have never slept.

Aunt Kristen and Uncle Fred came over the next day to have Halloween with Dominick and watch the Giant's game. Here is Dominick just gazing at his Aunt Kristen.

We’re looking forward to next year. We’re sure he still won’t know what’s going on, but at least we can walk around the neighborhood!

Seven Month Update

2009-11-03T10:59:00.004-05:00

It’s hard to believe my little guy is seven months old already. Here are a few stats:

He wears a size 12 months! His favorite food right now is sweet potatoes, can’t say I blame him. I always add a little butter. He’s eating puffs and cheerios! He is currently mastering the pincher grasp – using his pointer and thumb to pick things up. He has EIGHT teeth! He’s very ticklish and loves to stand when ever he can. He can’t pull himself up just yet and doesn’t seem the least interested in crawling. He just rolls around and spins on his tummy to get at what he wants. He sits really well by himself.

We’re still seeing our physical therapist for his torticollis, but only once a month. She says he’s made great progress.

He started to babble a lot and his favorite sounds right now are: “dadadada” and even “ththththth.”

When ever he sees his Grammie – he makes this funny “AKKKKK” sound. Like he’s so excited that’s all he can manage to get out. He also tries to mimic our sounds. It’s like having little conversations with him.

We’re still teaching him sign language. We constantly use “milk,” “mama,” “dada,” “grandma,” “grandpa,” “more,” “all done,” “bath,” and “eat,” and we’re pretty sure he knows what “eat,” “milk,” and “more” mean. Not so sure about the rest. They say the expressive language doesn’t start until 9 months or so, but he’s right on track for understanding what we’re saying or signing.
He likes to hold his arms out and move his right hand, almost in circles, when he gets excited or when he’s eating. And it looks somewhat like the sign for “milk” We’re not sure why he does it. But it’s sure darn cute!

Dominick pretty much sleeps through the night, asleep by 7 p.m. and sleeps until the “witching hour” 4 a.m. Like clock work he’s fussing around 4:15 every morning. Usually we let him fuss, sometimes he drifts back to sleep, others he gets so worked up he starts screaming. Then we head in to the rescue. He’s usually up for the day around 5:30/6 a.m. He has at least two naps a day, sometimes three.

We are incredibly grateful that we have such a wonderful, well tempered, happy baby!

Cesspool

2009-10-29T06:00:00.001-04:00

Dominick’s been fighting a cold for little over a week now. Once we hit day ten of coughing, runny nose, sneezing and sleepless nights – we headed into the pediatrician’s office.

Now, we love our doctor. We love the practice and the nursing staff. What we don’t love is when ever you go there, you feel like your walking into a cesspool of sickness! Lucky us they have “walk in hour” every weekday from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. We were sure to arrive pretty close to 8 a.m., not knowing how busy it would be and we wanted to limit the exposure time we’d endure waiting in the waiting room.

The waiting room wasn’t too crowded: a grumpy teen ager to my right, a four year old playing with his business suited dad across the way. No one looked horribly ill. Thankfully we get called in the room pretty quickly.

Long story short – Dominick was prescribed his first antibiotic, zithromax. The nurse practitioner said his symptoms were lasting too long and he had fluid in his ears that could easily turn into an infection. I wasn’t too happy about the antibiotics, but if it’s going to help Dominick get better – I can deal. I have huge issues with taking antibiotics if they’re not needed… but that’s an entirely different post.

On our way out – it was extremely crowded. We were literally stepping over patients as we made our way to the door. One little girl had a very pink eye – I tried to keep my distance… two twin boys were both hacking up a lung and god knows what other sicknesses were brewing in the several other dozen kids slumped in their chairs.
I literally wanted to cover Dominick with a plastic sheet and hold my breath as we made our way through the waiting room.

I’ve heard of some doc offices having “sick” and “well” waiting rooms. Brilliant! But even when your kid is “sick” you have to endure the torture of sitting on the vinyl covered benches, hoping that the room was disinfected just before you came.

I admit it, I have become a germaphobe. This coming from a person who would never think twice about double dipping – yes I admit it! But I’m a completely different person now. I can’t help it. I work in a children’s hospital where they constantly cram infection control down your throat… now I have to deal with other people’s sick children! That just put me over the edge.

I have since stocked up on disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer and I literally had to hold myself back from buying those surgical face masks we all know don’t do a thing.

Hopefully Dominick will start feeling better soon so we won’t have to go back to the cesspool any time soon. I’m sure we’ll be there again… but let’s hope it’s after flu season.

PS - still loving the electronic snot sucker! I get personal joy out of seeing how much snot I can get out of my child. Weird... but true!

Happy Birthday Ozzie!

2009-10-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

October 28th marks Ozzie's 8th birthday. We can't imagine life without him and have been so blessed to have him as a member of our family. He makes us laugh everyday and is always there for a special kiss or snuggle. We love you Ozzie!

He's so patient... so loving... he's just waiting for me to drop the treat I'm dangling above my head. Good boy.

First Bites, Lap Space, October Birthday Boys

2009-10-19T17:30:00.000-04:00

We tried puffs over the weekend - you know, the cheerio like cracker thing that melts in your mouth. He really liked them! He's such a happy baby. October 18, 2009.

First bite of apples... October 18, 2009. He hasn't had this reaction with anything yet! I think it's because the apples were cold. It's just adorable! Poor guy...

I'm running out of lap space, seriously. If we ever have any more kids or pets - I'm, you know what, out of luck!

Here are our three October Mazzarella Birthdays: Fred (Kristen's boy friend), Frank and Frank (AKA Papa)

Pumpkin Picking – Part II

2009-10-19T13:30:00.000-04:00

The day wouldn’t be complete without photos behind stilly cutouts. Here Dominick and I stand in Casola Farms. Aunt Kristen helps Dominick out.

Dominick has been eating "solid" food for about two months and it so happened that there was a stand selling roasted sweet potatoes, which happen to be the little guy's favorite! Here's Grammie helping him with a taste.
And no, we didn't let him have the whole thing.
Here I am enjoying a roasted corn on the cob. They litteraly shucked the corn and dipped it in a slow cooker full of butter! YUM!

Dominick and I posed for a family photo.

Here's Dominick's first self portrait - not bad, hu?

Helpful or Useless?

2009-10-19T11:46:00.003-04:00

A friend at work just welcomed twin girls into the world on Saturday. I exchanged advice and tips after I got back to work and one email turned into the "Top 10 Baby Items" and "Five Useless Pieces of Crap"

Did I leave anything out? Did you find anything particularly helpful or useless?

Top 10 Must Haves:
1. Bumpo seat with activity tray. You need the tray – otherwise they just sit there with out anything to play with.
2. Pack n Play with changer & bassinet. Extended use ‘till baby is older.
3. Sleep sacks – babies can’t sleep w/ blankets, and after they’re done with swaddling – the sack is the way to go. Halo makes a good one.
4. Bottle/baby food warmer – I have one made by Avent, but we don’t use their bottles. I swear, I used it 10 times yesterday alone. It heats up frozen, refrigerator or room temp formula/breast milk or baby food. The thing is smarter than I would be if I tried to use hot water or the microwave.
5. Swaddle me blanket – it’s a swaddling blanket for dummies. It has Velcro! You can’t do it wrong and the baby stays put and you both sleep longer at night.
6. Several boppy pillows. Many, many uses – breast feeding, baby propping etc. My husband even used it as his pillow in the hospital.
7. MUST MUST have sleepers with ZIPPERS. There’s no way you’ll get those hundred snaps put together right at 3 a.m. Once, I found Dominick in the morning, half out of his sleeper cause I got the snaps completely out of order.
8. Some sort of musical/light up soother for the babies’ crib. Think musical aquarium. I have one like this by Baby Einstein – it has several modes, even a night light to check on baby AND a remote so you can turn it on/off w/out stepping into the room.
9. VIDEO monitor. These things are priceless. You can see exactly what your little ones are up to.
10. Sleepy Wrap – one of those long pieces of fabric that you tie and twist the baby into. I know – it sounds crazy, and looks completely complicated. But Dominick LOVES to be in it. It was my savoir when he was really small and I needed to get something done. Even better when you’re out and you don’t have to bring a stroller.

Top 5 Useless Items:

1. Wipes warmer – enough said
2. Be ware of having TOO many jumpers/exersaucers/bouncey seats/swing – our living room looks like the show room at Baby’s R Us. We have one of everything. But then again – every baby is different and we did use everything at some point. Just be ready for the clutter.
3. Those mitten things to cover their hands – just keep the nails trimmed.
4. More than one diaper bag – it’s so inconvenient to pack and unpack a bag each time just to switch. Just pick one. But – you may pick one now, then realize your needs are completely different once the babies get here.
5. okay – can’t think of a fifth… but usually you learn a lot of lessons the first time around – what works for you, what doesn’t.

Happy Birthday Darling Husband

2009-10-15T07:00:00.001-04:00

October 11 marked my darling husband Frank's 32nd birthday.

We had a wonderful dinner at home. I actually cooked! On the menu - rack of lamb and roasted potatoes. I know, rack of lamb, doesn't that sound intimidating? Well, it was easier than I thought. Here's the recipe. It seriously took me 40 minutes, tops.

I was so impressed with myself, I had to take a picture.

Frank really liked it. After his first bite, he turns to me and says, "Hon, I think this is the best thing you ever made me!"

Definitely boosts this cooking novice's confidence.

We're doing presents tomorrow night incombination with Frank's father and his sister's boy friend's birthdays. October is a busy month for birthdays. For immediate family: mom, dad, step-mom, father-in-law, husband, sister-in-law's boyfriend, and long time highschool friend who I consider family. Let's not forget Ozzie's birthday is the 28th. Little guy will be eight!

My Little Pumpkin

2009-10-14T18:00:00.009-04:00

Call it a right of passage… another milestone if you will – we took Dominick pumpkin picking for the first time.

Well… I wouldn’t necessarily call it “picking” we didn’t pluck anything off a vine. Here in New Jersey, we have wonderful farm land, heck we’re even called the “Garden State!” But for some reason, when people go pumpkin picking they do not actually pick anything. Back in the day, sure! Frank’s mom said they actually had to bring a knife with them to cut the pumpkin off the vine. We merely meandered around a field littered with all sorts of pumpkins.

In some families the annual pumpkin picking adventure is an annual tradition. It sure is in Frank’s family. I can’t say that my family has ever done it.

This year was special, this year was Dominick’s FIRST ever time pumpkin picking and he really didn’t seem to know what was going on. I think a lot of his firsts this year will be more for our enjoyment than his… but we will bring on the pomp and circumstance with each one.

Grammie (Frank’s mom Theresa), Aunt Kristen and her boyfriend Fred all trekked down to Colt’s Neck to find the perfect pumpkin. It’s about a 30 minute drive through country highways – it’s actually pretty nice once you get off the parkway.

Well, we weren’t the only ones who decided Sunday was the prefect pumpkin picking day. There were people all over the place, from all over the place, PA and NY. We headed straight to the pumpkins and walked right passed the “photo area.” Think three different staged areas set up with hay bales, scare crows, pumpkins and gourds galore. Of course we stopped, waited our turn, took other people’s family pics and then headed in our selves.

We propped poor Dominick up between two pumpkins – the look on his face was priceless - utter confusion.

What the heck are these people doing? What is this scratchy stuff I’m sitting on? Can I put it in my mouth? What are these round things next to me? Can I eat them? Why is my family yelling my name, waving furiously and trying to get me to look up when I have all this new stuff to look at?

So, we did pictures then moved on to the actual picking of the pumpkins. Oh wait, more pictures. We needed to get pictures of Dominick in the actual pumpkin patch… remember, no vines. So we put him in the middle of the field, surrounded by these bright orange pumpkins that were literally, the same size as he was. He humored us and we snapped away.

Okay, now onto the actual picking. I picked ours out right away – perfect shape, size, color – we’re good to go. We have things to do! Grammie and Kristen on the other hand like to take their time and find the absolutely perfect pumpkin. Dominick and I waited patiently people watching.
There was a huge family, maybe twenty people or so. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins – all gathering for a family portrait… in the pumpkin field. They were wearing some sort of orange/black combination. Maybe this was their annual tradition. I can't wait to start some new triditions of our own.

Grammie and Kristen finally picked out their pumpkins and back through the photo staging area we go – it’s on our way out. But wait, wouldn’t it be cute to put Dominick on top of a pile of little pumpkins and gourds to take more pictures? Poor guy. The pictures really came out cute, but he was in no mood to smile or act adorable. Just way too much stuff going on around him. We looked like idiots trying to get him to smile.
Frank had to work, but ensured us he’d make it out next year. These are memories that I would trade for anything. I am so looking forward to his first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, first Easter… first birthday! That will be here before you know it!

Pumpkin picking part II on the way.

Frantic Pace

2009-10-14T08:51:00.004-04:00

My morning went a little like this…

4:14 a.m. hear little one talking to himself, debating getting up to put him back to sleep, I doze off, he does too

5:15 a.m. alarm goes off, baby up again and this time for real

5:18 a.m. warm bottle while trying to entertain a very hungry baby

5:20 a.m. make self cup of coffee

5:22 a.m. change baby’s poopy diaper

5:35 a.m. feed said hungry baby while trying to entertain a very hungry little pug, who also has to go outside

6:00 a.m. put baby in bumpo, stocked with toys and bring into bathroom so I can shower, also joined by cat who sleeps in the sink and little pug who is waiting patiently on the bath mat for me to finish so I can feed him and let him out before his bladder explodes

6:25 a.m. change second poopy diaper, not kidding

6:30 a.m. place baby in exersaucer, look for pug who eventually gave up and went back upstairs to sleep

6:31 a.m. head up stairs, get dressed in dark as to not wake sleeping husband. Try to figure out if my socks match and if my sweater is navy or black… crap it’s navy.

6:32 a.m. back down stairs followed by starving pug who is really excited ‘cause he thinks I’ve remembered to feed him and let him out

6:35 a.m. change baby’s THIRD poopy diaper – this is a record folk! Dress baby hoping he doesn’t spit up on his outfit before we get out the door.

6:37 a.m. place baby back in bumpo because he’s bored of the exersaucer

6:38 a.m. pack baby’s food/bottles and diaper bag for day care

6:45 a.m. try to salvage hair that has already semi air dried

6:50 a.m. make my own lunch

6:55 a.m. warm up car and bring out bags – I literally have two lunch bags, my work bag and Dominick’s diaper bag, Dominick’s coat and hat and extra bag with sheet and blanket for day care

7 a.m. come back inside greeted by little pug. He’s not giving up this time and I feel horrible for forgetting him. He dances over to his bowl and happily eats his breakfast then goes outside to potty.

7:02 a.m. fill dishwasher with dishes left by husband night before, hand wash coffee to-go cup and refill with coffee… notice there’s some residual soap left in cup. Trying to rationalize if I have time to rinse cup, make another cup of coffee, or just suck it up and drink the coffee with extra bubbles. Palmolive is non-toxic right? I suck it up.

7:05 a.m. okay, grab baby and on the way out run into a sign taped to the door “don’t forget your lunch” turn around and get my lunch

7:06 a.m. put baby in car, strap him in and off we go.

7:10 a.m. realize I left Dominick’s “communication” book at home – it’s his schedule of all things baby. I try to figure out if I’ve gone far enough to not have enough time to turn around. I turn around and hope I make it there without getting stuck behind the garbage truck - head back home and grab the book. By this time, little one is fast asleep

7:13 a.m. trying this again – on way to day care.

7:30 a.m. arrive at day care with sleeping baby. Take out all his stuff, balance bags on shoulder and hoist the seriously heavy car seat out of the car as to not wake sleeping baby.

7:32 a.m. drop little one off, touch base with teacher, off to work

8:00 a.m. actually make it to work on time and take a deep breath… now I can start my day…

What happened to the days when I’d roll out of bed, oh, around 6:30 ish. I’d take my time in the shower relishing the hot water, actually put on make up and style my hair… Those days are long gone.

Now, mornings are totally different. Usually with a frantic pace trying to get everyone out the door, clean, fed and presentable.

Life will never be the same and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Feeling Festive

2009-10-09T10:27:00.005-04:00

We’re gearing up for fall and the holiday season. I’m actually excited this year. I have way more energy then last year when I was 7 months pregnant! I’ve made it my personal goal to be FINISHED with all my holiday shopping by December 1. Hold me to it!

I can’t wait to tackle my HUGE shopping list. I have a very large extended family and often end up buy holiday gifts for about 30 people. Yeah… 30! That doesn’t count the little gifts for work buddies - just family! With the four new additions – we have a great excuse to buy even more!

I’m very organized about the entire process. We have a holiday savings account that gets automatically added to with every paycheck and I have an excel spread sheet with a budget and gift ideas for everyone. I do a lot of online shopping – why not! You can browse, read reviews and the nice UPS man delivers it strait to your door. You don’t have to fight anyone at the sale table for that last holiday snowman sweater.

Online shopping tip - use the website http://www.ebates.com/ It's basically a "broker" for hundreds of stores. Go to ebates, then shop at one of the stores listed on their site - you receive a percentage BACK! No kidding! They send you a big fat check quarterly. Some stores you earn 3% some it's as much as 10%. They also list lots of coupon codes for free shipping or extra savings. I've been doing this for about four years and received over $300 from ebates! If you do go, please be sure to say that I (Rebecca Mazzarella) recommended you. I think I'll get some sort of referral bonus.

I have yet to put out my Halloween decorations but that’s top on my to-do list this weekend. Dominick’s and Ozzie’s costumes came and they are absolutely adorable!

Remember December 1!

Getting Physical

2009-10-09T10:03:00.007-04:00

It’s been an interesting week.

Dominick had his PT session yesterday with Adrienne – his all time favorite physical therapist. Okay, she’s his only PT, but she’s still wonderful with him, and us for that matter. Today, Dominick gave her one of his “face hugs” where he grabs your face with hand and brings it close to his face. It’s so adorable and he only does it to people he really likes!

Here are a few nice pics from his last session:

This is the stretch hold we do wtih him twice a day. He actaully kind of likes it!

Daddy dressed Dominick - He tucked his thermal shirt into his wind pants! How cute is that!

Hi Mom! I'm down here!

Dominick has his "InfantSee" eye exam today. It's a free program that encourages parents to have their 6-12 month old children screened for various conditions/deseases that can potentially be harmful or much worse if htey wait until "school age" to get their first eye exam. The PR firm I used to work at did the PR when they launched the program. It really is a wonderful resourse for parents. Here's the website: http://www.infantsee.org/

Frank's birthday is on Sunday - he'll be 32. He said that "32 is the beginning of getting old. The number just sounds old" Happy birthday to my dearest husband! We have lots planned for your birthday weekend! Reports on that to come.

Yummy!

2009-10-06T22:34:00.011-04:00

We have jumped into the world of baby food. Yes, I'm one of those moms that is actually making the food at home. Listen, don't knock it until you try it! I will honestly tell you - it's way easier then you'd ever imagine AND it's cheaper too! I haven't ever cooked much and I figure I'm going to have to start cooking for Dominick anyway, why not start now.

You just steam/bake/poach then puree! That's it! Here's a great website for easy how to's and recipes: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

We have little one and two ounce containers for easy portions. Most everything can be frozen, so we have a freezer full of a rainbow assortment of fruits and veggies.

We started out with carrots. This was Dominick's first ever people food, 9/25/09.

Not too sure... what the heck is this... oh wait, it's good!

He loved it! He opens his mouth wide with every bite like a little baby bird.

Next up, peas.

Okay - he didn't like the peas as much as the carrots, but he still ate every bite. He's such a good eater. At daycare, his teacher Miss Pam can't fix anyone else's food in front of Dominick because he thinks it for him and throws a fit if he doesn't get any!

We're still trying to figure out the best feeding schedule and amounts so that he takes all of his bottles.

On his like list so far is: carrots, peas, sweetpotatoes, butternut squash and bananas. We tried avocado but he really doesn't like it. It came flying back out! Wish I had may camera for that one.

Next up - green beans, acorn squash, apples, peaches and zucchini!

He Can Do It!

2009-10-02T14:12:00.002-04:00

Wanted to fill you in on some of Dominick’s recent milestones and little tidbits:

At six months Dominick is rolling all over the place. Tummy to back, back to tummy. When I lay him down at night in his crib, he usually ends up in a completely different location in the morning. Sometimes spinning clockwise!

Dominick has mastered sitting up. He sits up so straight with great posture. He loves to sit and play and just watch the world go by. We’re still working on get him from laying down to sitting up.

Teeth - the boy has SIX teeth! Four on top, two on bottom. His teething hasn't caused him too much discomfort. We had a few sleepless nights, and Tylenol or baby oragel did the trick.

Physical therapy - torticollis update. We've been going to physical therapy at the hospital where I work for about two months to help straighten and strengthen his neck muscles. His PT says he's doing really well and can hardly notice a tilt. Now we're down to every other week with daily stretching at home. It has been so much fun to see him work with his therapist and see how much he's progressed over the past few months. She's given us great tips on helping him learn to roll each direction and sit up. We're sure he'll be pulling up and standing in no time!

Crawling - not just yet. He started a few weeks ago with picking up his little bottom and moving his feet. Now he uses his legs more and his bottom gets higher in the air, but he hasn't figured out to use his hands so he literally smashes his face into the blanket! It's too funny to watch. He'll get it soon enough. But I'm actually pretty happy with having a baby that will pretty much stay put... for a while anyway.

We’re looking forward to Halloween. Dominick’s and Ozzie’s costumes have arrived but you’ll have to wait until the big day for their reveal! They’re just too cute for words!

Say Cheese

2009-10-02T14:03:00.005-04:00

I get to check another milestone off my mama check list. Yes, mom’s have milestones too! Last weekend we took Dominick for his first professional photo session. We made an appointment for him at the JC Penny’s Photo Studio. Not so sure I would call it professional, but it sure was cheep! Free in fact. No sitting fee and we get a free portrait. But it’s all a scam. Once you see the pictures of your little angel, you’ll want to buy everyone in every size. And we did.

I definitely deserve some sort of badge because this was no walk in the park. It was a busy Saturday morning and we thought we timed it just right, in between feedings and nap schedules, to ensure we’d have a happy smiling baby. But turns out – so did every other family. Including another Mazzarella family who showed up too! No relation, just strange coincidence.

Dominick was his usual happy smiling self, but poor mom was stressed to the max. There was so much going on and other children having melt downs – I think that all added to the stress level. Dominick took it all in stride and did wonderfully.

We’ll definitely do it again, but we’re going to try different places and probably only do holidays for the first few years and definitely birthdays every year. We never did this when I was growign up and I've always looked forward to taking my kids to get their pictures done. Silly? Maybe. NExt time, we’ll just have to do our best to resist buying every single print.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Six Months

2009-09-25T15:39:00.001-04:00

Six months… really? How on earth did that happen? Exactly six months ago today we welcomed our little love bug into our family. We knew our lives would be forever changed, but we had no idea how our hearts would feel like they could burst at any moment with every smile or giggle or coo.

Dominick is just a joy. Everyone says so. Am I biased? Sure am. But when complete strangers say he’s got a great disposition, I’m starting to believe them. He’s always happy and smiling. I'm going to make a conscious effort to really enjoy every minute I can with him. This just went by too fast.

We had our six month check up with Dr. Cavuto yesterday. Dominick weighed in at a healthy 18 pounds 8 ounces (75th percentile) and measured 28 ½ inches long (off the chars said the doc!). He had his last set of vaccinations until he turns one. He took them like a champ. Just as the doc was injecting, little Dominick’s face got all red, he cried for maybe 30 seconds and he was fine.

We will be starting baby food on Saturday. I’ve already made peaches, sweet potatoes and carrots. The doc warned us he might turn a little orange with all the beta-carotene. We’ll take lots of pictures since babies usually make really funny faces during those first bites.

Since Dominick has six teeth already, the doc also cleared us to try teething biscuits. We may forgo them because most people say they’re more trouble and mess then they’re worth.

We’re also getting his first professional photos taken to mark the six month milestone. I’m sure I could take some really nice shots, but I think it’s a right of passage for parents to have pictures taken of their kids.

Looking forward to a busy weekend and spending time with my three boys – Dominick, Ozzie and Frank included!

PS – Frank picked up the electronic booger sucker. I think this has to be the best invention EVER! There’s no crying what so ever! And it works! Just try digging out a booger of a wriggling, squirming little baby. Not so fun. But turn on the fancy music and it sucks it right out. This gizmo comes highly recommended.

Day Care & The Sniffles

2009-09-09T15:47:00.005-04:00

Dominick's been in day care for about three weeks. He goes on Mondays and Wednesdays. The teachers there can't say enough wonderful things about him. How happy he is, what a joy he is to have in class, how easy going he is. It's so nice to hear that he's doing well.

He does have to work on his napping at day care. I'm sure a lot of other babies struggle with this. How can you nap with so much fun stuff happening all around you? Not to mention other cranky babies making a fus.

When I drop him off, he seems pretty happy to see his teacher Ms. Pam. Last week when I picked him up, he seemed even more happy to see me! I thought to myself, he actually knows who I am! He knows I'm his ma'ma! He was so sweet, he took his hands and pulled my face close into his. My heart just melted.

So far, so good.

Dominick did come down with his first "head cold" as the doctor put it. He started with congestion, then cough, then runny nose. I know day care and sick kids go hand in hand, but Dominick got sick the night he came home from his first day. We're pretty sure that daddy shared his germs with Dominick AND mommy too.

I got a quick education on how to use the dreaded bulb syringe. That thing is just plain scary! But, very effective. They now make an electric version. A friend of mine has one and she loves it. Click here to read about it. We may have to invest in this. It even plays a tune for the little guy to help distract him from what we're doing.

No fever, just lots of congestion. Over all Dominick battled his first cold like a champ. He did have a hard time sleeping and was a bit more clingy. But you try to sleep while sucking on your paci with a stuffy nose!

All in all - everyone is healthy again. Hopefully we'll stay that way for a while.

Still Playing Catch Up June, July & August 2009

2009-09-09T15:03:00.027-04:00

Okay, I'm putting this all out here and catching you up to speed on our little guy.

Working on his smile - he's a handsome little guy. June 1, 2009

Dominick met his newest cousin, Chester. Chester is only a few weeks old and Dominick already the jokester is practicing the art of silly faces. Frank and I trekked out to Brooklyn to meet our newest nephew - the son of my brother St. John and his wife Linden. June 4, 2009. Doing some tummy time - which he doesn't necessarily hate. June 6, 2009This is one of my absolute favorite pictures. Here are my two boys, sitting back watching the Yankees. You cannot deny who this boy looks like! He's practically a "mini-me" of his daddy. June 10, 2009.

Be ware of stopping this baby mid-bottle to for a burp. This is what you'll get... almost every time. The tear just kills me. He's sooo pissed! June 10, 2009.

First time in a pool - he didn't hate it. But he doesn't look like he loved it either. He's holding on for dear life. July 6, 2009.

Snoozing poolside with his cousin Christopher. Christopher is three weeks older then Dominick. We're sure they'll be best of friends or they'll never get along. We're hoping for the first option. July 5, 2009.

We had Dominick baptised on July 19, 2009 at Saint Helena's in Edison. A wonderful ceremony and my brother Mike and Frank's sister Kristen were the God parents. A lovely lunch followed for friends and family at a near by restaurant.

With an outfit this cute - you have to have a little fun! He looked adorable. July 19, 2009.

He was SOUND asleep when Father Anthony baptised him. He started screaming! Poor guy. July 19, 2009.

He was all smiles for our little photo shoot a few days after the event. July 25, 2009.

First bite of rice cereal. He wasn't too sure at first. He warmed up to it real fast and there's no stopping him! It's like feeding a little baby bird - mouth wide open, ready for each bite. If we don't go fast enough, he definitely lets us know. August 8, 2009.

Dominick and Hastings hanging out on the kitchen table. Hastings looks HUGE compared to Dominick. Here, they probably weigh the same, 14/15 pounds give or take. Hastings is so patient with the little guy. Dominick holds out his hand and Hastings will come up underneath wanting to be scratched. When Dominick grabs hold, and wont let go, Hastings just sits there and waits him out. Not sure how long this happy relationship will last. Oh, wait, yes I do, up until Dominick can play "chase the kitty" then Hastings will run for the hills! August 7, 2009.

Yep - we're teething. Can I fit this whole thing in my mouth! Dominick sprouted is first two teeth at the end of July - just when he turned four months old. That's pretty young. He now has his two top teeth too! We've had the occasional late night, and Tylenol usually helps. August 7, 2009.

Check out my Chuck Taylors! Now, I've always thought putting shoes on infants was just ridiculous... until Frank put these puppies on Dominick. He looks so cute! August 26, 2009.

Papa John came to spend a weekend with us and had the opportunity to volunteer at a PGA golf tournament at the Barklay's in Jersey City. Papa had a great time getting to know Dominick and rubbing elbows with Tiger. August 28, 2009.

Angry face. Not sure why. But it's so darn cute! August 28, 2009.

Just playin'. Check out all his hair! It's really filled in after he lost most of it. August 30, 2009.

That's it! Finally all caught up. I will be posting more frequently about all sorts of things. Check back soon.

A Special Place

2009-08-24T08:28:00.002-04:00

Thank goodness... Dominick actually slept through the night last night! 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.! And he ate and went back to sleep until 6 a.m. I woke up several times to check on him, to make sure he was breathing. This was after a Saturday night when he woke up every hour on the hour! We're pretty sure his teeth are really bothering him. I was a walking zombie on Sunday. He didn’t nap well either on Sunday, but I think we’re back on track.

I’m even gladder (or it is, more glad?) that he slept well last night because he started day care this morning. We decided that day care was probably the best option on Mondays and Wednesdays. He goes to his Grammie (Frank’s Mom) on Tuesdays and he’s home with Daddy on Thursdays and Fridays. He has his mommy all to himself on the weekends.

I prepared everything as best I could, labeled every piece of clothing and each paci. I sent him with three. Just in case. He had extra crib sheets, his lovey, a special blanket that “smells” like mom… sniffle, sniffle…, lots of diapers and formula.

What I could not prepare for was how I felt leaving him today. I couldn’t help but cry. At least I held it until I reach the parking lot, but that was a challenge. I’m not sure why I cried. Am I worried that he won’t be taken care of? Well, no. Am I sad that he has to stay at a day care? Well, maybe. I think any mom is a little sad that her baby has to go to day care. He won’t get that one on one attention, maybe he’ll have to wait an extra 20/30 minutes before he get’s his diaper changed or his bottle or his nose wiped. To quote a good friend, “It is what it is.” It will just take some getting use to, for both of us.

We chose the day care that was associated with my job, until it was transferred to a new owner just recently. It’s called, A Special Place – and it truly is. The people are warm and friendly and he’s in a room with about four other babies this week. Next week when school starts, the number is up to 8 babies! There will be three women at all times to care for the babies.

I’ve known the director, Pam R. very well the past three years I’ve been with CSH. I’ve also worked with the day care staff on few projects. They’ve all been there 10, 15, years. Longevity at a work place speaks volumes. I’m confident he will be cared for and loved and every need attended to.

A wife of a coworker has brought her two boys there and they really like it. She even offered to "check in on Dominick" when she picks up her boys early. She says that the moms need to stick together and she'll text me with any updates. Too funny.

Ms. Pam is the head teacher in the infant room. She’s a tall African American woman with a sweet voice and knows how to take charge. Right when I arrived, she helped unpack all my bags and put everything where it needed to go. She said I did great filling out all the forms and filling them in on his tired signs and how to put him to sleep. Things that only a mother knows… well, now they need to know. Once I was unpacked, she held him and started to play. Dominick seemed content to just stare at her, at her dark skin, at her shiny earrings. Lots of earrings! The woman is brave to wear so much jewelry when working with infants. I think I counted seven, pretty large gold hoops and a few necklaces. Hey, maybe she knows it keeps them entertained.

So, I may stop by at lunch, or I may just wait it out until 4:30. Pam, the director, said she’s going to email me when she can. Ms. Pam, the teacher, said to call any time I wanted. But I don’t want to be a bother, I don’t want to be “that mom” who calls thirty times a day.

Dominick turns five months old today. Has it really been five months?

Today is one of Dominick’s first firsts. Starting day care… sniffle, sniffle, I’ll get through this. I’m sure it’s harder for me than it is for him.

Where are the tissues?

Regret

2009-08-18T09:26:00.002-04:00

Have you ever done something you really regret... something that is life changing and you think you're doing for the good of your family? Well... I'm struggling with this now. I wont go into details, because frankly, it's awful.

So please pray for me and my family.

I hope things work out.

I hope I can stop crying.

I hope time really does heal all wounds.

Getting In a Groove

2009-08-11T09:25:00.000-04:00

I’ve been back at work for just over a month and I’m starting to feel like I’ve found my groove as a working mom. The first couple of weeks were a bit hairy.

This is how my mind works… I worry about figuring out how to get ready with an infant wanting my attention. How to get Dominick to the grandmas’ houses in enough time for me to make it to work by 8 a.m.! I know, it’s crazy early. Make sure Dominick has all the supplies he needs in his go bag. Making sure the stroller comes with and bumbo seat and the teething rings. And finding the confidence to know I can get all of these things done, and not to forget anything too important. Like bringing the baby to the wrong grandma’s house! I’ve actually headed in the wrong direction a few times.

Now, we have a set schedule. We’re up and out by 6:45 every day and I pick Dominick up at the respective grandma’s house and home we go for bottle, bath and bed. Maybe if I get home early enough, we have some play time.

I do cherish that time with him after work. It’s mommy and Dominick time. We laugh, we act silly, and we cuddle. It’s so great.

I’m in a great place today probably because I had a decent night’s sleep last night. That means, four consecutive hours. I know, not my typical 8-9 hours I was used to getting! I have a feeling that won’t change for many years to come.

I’ve been blessed that my baby loves to sleep! Little guy takes at least three naps a day. Sometimes that last for two – three hours! He’s down for the night by 7 p.m. and wakes for a feeding between 3 and 4 a.m. like clockwork. Then he’s back to sleep until 6:30 a.m. when we leave for work. I couldn’t ask for more than that! He goes a really long stretch, 8 hours at night with out eating. We’re hoping we lose the late night feed and he sleeps through the night soon. A ma’ma can hope, can’t she?

Most nights he wakes up if he looses his paci – so it’s a quick run into the nursery to plug him back up, then back to sleep with a few pats on the bottom. I wake up when Frank does his late night feeding. When I hear him crying for his bottle; I’m thinking, what is Frank doing to soothe him, why is he still crying? I know Frank’s doing his best, but I still think about these things, and it keeps me up.

All in all, I’m feeling much more confident about being a working mom.

And I love being a mom.

Had a Little Work Done

2009-08-07T12:12:00.000-04:00

This may be TMI, but a tale definitely worth telling.

I had an infected, ingrown toe nail. I know, disgusting! I’m pretty sure I picked it up from a nail salon in town. I tried to self medicate and did many a soaks in Epson salts. To no avail, it was getting worse, so I made an appointment with a podiatrist.

I went into the doc’s office thinking he’ll fix me up, clean out the gunk and I’d be on my way with an antibiotic cream or something… no, no, no. That’s not how it happened at all! He proceeds to tell me that he has to remove the entire left side of my toe nail. WHAT?! Are you kidding me? Now, I’m not squeamish – I’ve seen it all! Heck, I’ve been through a lot myself with several broken bones and a partial finer amputation. So you’d think I could handle a little in office procedure. But when it comes to feet and nails – I am a completely different person. It just skeeves me out at the mere thought of lifting up a nail… oh… I just got the shivers.

The doc assures me that it won’t hurt a bit. He’ll numb me up and I won’t feel a thing. Well, what he didn’t tell me is that he was going to jab me countless times, injecting this numbing medication deep into my foot that burns really bad. It was awful. I think I may have screamed at one point. The nurse comes over to me and says, “breath honey, breath” I wanted to tell her to get lost, she’s not the one getting her foot stuck like a pin cushion!

Once I was good and numb – I couldn’t watch. I literally covered my eyes. I’m pretty sure that he just cut up the side of my nail and ripped it off! I can’t even write about it with out feeling sick.

When all was said and done, he wraps my toe and asks me if I like modern art. Thinking to myself, what the hell is this guy asking me this for, now! After what he just put me through?

All I could muster was, “no… not really.”

“Well how about faces?” he says.

He gets out his blue marker and proceeds to draw a smiley face on my big bandaged toe. I couldn’t help but laugh. And I think that was his intention.

On the way out, I had to make an appointment and the ladies at the desk were looking at me a little funny. So I said, yes, that was me – the screamer in room 2. We all started laughing. I needed that!

So the lesson of today, to avoid horrific, medieval torture - make sure you cut your toe nails straight across and be wary of seedy looking nail salons.

Part of the Family

2009-07-30T14:36:00.002-04:00

Working at a special needs children’s hospital brings with it a set of challenges most jobs don’t. I often work with children with very complicated medical conditions. And I often deal with parents at their most vulnerable, when they’ve just been through a huge life changing experience, good or bad.

What I never expected was that I would be a parent of one of our patients.

Let me start by saying Dominick is perfectly fine.

We had his four month check up last week and our pediatrician suggested we get Dominick evaluated by a physical therapist because he has some tight muscles in his neck. The tightness is minimally limiting his range of motion, but we caught this at the right time. The official “diagnosis” for this condition is called torticollis. There are varying degrees and some babies have it so bad they have tilted heads or can only look in one direction.

What causes this? Many things, but mainly it stems back from the baby’s position in-utero. I was assured it was nothing that I had done, or not done. I was worried that I had caused this in some way, but both my pediatrician and PT assured me that this is perfectly normal and can easily be fixed.

We had our physical therapy evaluation today with a very wonderful therapist. She was very sweet and explained everything as she would if I didn’t work there. Dominick was very cooperative as she measured and stretched and tried to get him to look each way. Our PT found his torticollis to be mild and had us practice a few special stretches. A little stretching twice a day should fix the problem. We will probably also come in for outpatient therapy once a week, to check his progress.

Frank was nice enough to bring him in and as we walked through the halls to our PT apt, you’d think we were walking through with a celebrity! Everyone wanted to hold him, touch him, oogle him. All the employees here are like family and are very welcoming to new additions!

We also had one of our car seat checks move my car seat base from the middle to the side. We chose a car seat that can hold a baby up until 32 pounds in a rear facing position. Rear facing is much safer and we only want the safest for little Dominick! Problem is this car seat is larger than most to accommodate the extra poundage and it doesn’t fit exactly right in my car. We were jockeying it from passenger side, to middle, to passenger side again. It’s staying put now. I’m so thank full that we have such experienced staff who are willing to help when ever we need them.

Just like family.

Six Pregnancy-Child Birth Lessons This Mama Learned

2009-07-28T10:30:00.002-04:00

You can be warned, you can be educated, but until you go through it yourself, you cannot fully understand or appreciate what it's like to be pregnant and have a baby. Here are my six life lessons this mama learned first hand through the pregnancy and child birth process...

1. Pregnancy was not all butterflies and roses. It was hard work. For almost the entire ten months, yes TEN!, I was exhausted, uncomfortable, nauseous, swollen, having gall bladder attacks, had high blood pressure and let’s not forget moody! Frank, and my entire family for that matter, deserve a service medal for putting up with me! The ONLY thing I liked about being pregnant was feeling the baby move inside me – that was a miraculous feeling I will never forget.

2. Bring on the water works. You will be extremely emotional for the first week or so after you have the baby. Not post partum depression like they warn you about, but just emotional in general. I cried at the drop of a hat. And I’m not normally a crier, that’s why this was so strange to me. I remember I couldn’t even look at the pictures Frank took of the delivery without bawling! When the baby started crying, I would cry too. It eventually cleared up – but don’t be alarmed if you start weeping without reason.

3. Mass exodus. (TMI warning) Everyone tells you if you have a c-section you won’t bleed nearly as much. They’re lying. I will never forget when the nurse’s aid came in to “clean me up…” I was horrified at the amount of fluids exiting my body. Poor Frank, asleep next to my bed, laid their helpless… keeping his eyes shut for the entire process. I don’t blame him. It’s not something I’d ever want to see… ever.

4. Pain is manageable. Recovery from a c-section isn’t so bad, as long as you keep up with your pain meds. No one’s giving out medals to mama’s that tough out the pain. I’m a huge believer in pain management. When the nurses came to get me out of bed the next morning, they said I handled it better than most!

5. Gas anyone? I was warned about the post op gas pains. But not enough; not nearly enough. Holy cow that was awful! When they open you up, they let all sorts of air in and it needs to work its way out. The nurses encouraged me to take my gas pills and get up and walk around, so I did, slowly – waddling really. When I asked the nurse for something stronger, because this medicine obviously wasn’t working, she threatened me with a suppository. Needless to say, the gas found a way out, but after several hours of being very uncomfortable. You know you’re at your ropes end when you start celebrating every little toot.

6. You loose your hair. You will become semi-bald several weeks after you have your baby. Don’t be alarmed at the clumps of hair on the floor, or after you comb it – I’ve been assured it will grow back. But I no longer have the luscious, full locks I had when I was pregnant.

Catching Up May 2009

2009-07-24T15:06:00.015-04:00

Here Dominick meets his older cousin, Christopher. Christopher is exactly three weeks older than Dominick. Dominick's checking him out from head to toe. May 3, 2009

So peaceful sleeping with his "lovey" blanket. May 5, 2009

Boppy pillow phenomenon - we're not sure why, but everyone seems to love the boppy - Hastings and Ozzie included!

Hi mom! I love to smile.

Around six weeks old, most babies get really fussy. So true for Dominick! This sling was a life saver. He loved to cuddle so close and just snooze away.

First trip to Turtle Back Zoo and this is pretty much what he did the entire time. May 19, 2009

Two months old - check out the fluffy hair! Power to the People. May 24, 2009

Guess who found their thumb? And he loves it! May 28, 2009

The New Mazzarella Family May 7, 2009

Catching Up - April 2009

2009-07-24T14:53:00.010-04:00

Dominick's first full bath - April 8, 2009

Dominick at Easter. We went to both sets of parents for family get togethers. He was such a trooper! April 11, 2009

Dominick also met his new cousin, Samantha. She arrived exactly one week after he did.

Here's Dominick's first real smile. Too bad the camera wasn't in focus, but at leaste I got it! April 14, 2009

There's no denying who Dominick looks like - he's a carbon copy of his dad! Here, Frank is practicing the colic football hold. Not sure if Dominick thinks it's comfy. Can you see Dominick's thinning hair? Looks like a little old man.

Dominick at one month old - he's changed so much already! April 24, 2009

Long Over Due…

2009-07-20T09:54:00.001-04:00

This post is exactly four months over due. I have thought about posting many times. I’d think, well, it’s been so long, why even bother. Then I’d think, but it’ll be a great way to close the pregnancy chapter and begin a new motherhood chapter. My life when I was home with the babe was so much different. I’d go days without turning on the computer, and I loved it! Now, I’m back at work and sitting in front of one for eight hours a day and I feel like something’s missing. So I’m going to play catch up – I’m going to just do it quick, like removing a Band-Aid and move forward.

Welcome to the world:
Dominick Frank Mazzarella arrived at 10:29 a.m., on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ. Dominick weighed in at 8 pounds 13 ounces and measured 20 ½ inches long. Our lives are forever changed. Our hearts have so much love for our new little guy and we truly feel blessed to have him.

The birth:
The docs were concerned that he would be too big to fit the natural way, so I reluctantly agreed to have a c-section. And in hindsight, I’m rather glad I did. It was pretty much painless, accept for the recovery. Dr. Crane himself walked me into the OR – I liked his take charge mentality! No need to wait for a nurse to escort me! He grabbed my IV bag and off we went. The spinal was so easy! I didn’t feel a thing, hardly a pinch and all of the sudden; I couldn’t feel anything below my chest. Frank was waiting anxiously outside in his hospital supplied scrubs. He was so excited to wear his scrubs, to see an actual surgery and of course meet his new son! The c-section went as planned and within 15 minutes, out pops Dominick – chewing on the doc’s finger while he suctioned and screaming when they lifted him out.

I’ll never forget my first sight of him under the surgery lights, this very clean I might add, beautiful baby boy. I started tearing up and all I could manage to say was, “He’s so beautiful.” Frank followed him over to the warmer, taking pictures all the way while Dominick proceeded to pee on the nurses while they cleaned him up. Frank followed Dominick into the nursery to get weighed and measured. And of course our ecstatic family was waiting anxiously. My mom, step-dad and Frank’s parents and sister were all there with cameras ready. They were peaking through the blinds trying to figure out if the new baby that came into the nursery was theirs. When Frank came in, they figured it out! My favorite picture is one the nurse took of them all peering into the glass. I missed the entire show since I was in recovery.

There, I received an extra shot of something to take the edge off the pain. There I stayed through the shakes, which is NO FUN! A rotation of our family came in and out to wish their congratulations. We didn’t get back into our room for quite some time. And we got stuck in the old wing, right across the hall from the family kitchen and nurse’s station. My room didn’t even have a shower! But at least it was private. We didn’t really seem to care we got shafted on the room, because we were flying pretty high on the birth of our little boy.

I couldn’t help but think about what I’d just been through and the best way to describe it was, surreal. A life just came out of me – a living being with fingers and toes and lots of hair. I know it happens every day, but it truly felt like a miracle to me.

Hospital stay:
Frank was an absolute ANGEL in the hospital! He took care of me as if I was the Queen of England! After seeing what I went through with the surgery, Frank was more than willing to help. I could get used to this! He stepped right up when ever I needed anything, or when ever Dominick needed a diaper change. I don’t think I changed more than a few diapers in the hospital. And Frank instantly became a wiz at swaddling. My mom came up one morning to help so Frank could get a break. Dominick was still so new and slept a lot. We had to wake him for feedings and we did send him to the nursery at night. It was fun just staring at him, taking in every little bit of his wrinkled little body. We were ready to head home on Friday. We could have stayed an extra day, but we were ready to bring our new family home.

Home Coming:
My parents and Frank’s parents were so great in helping get the house ready. My mom cleaned the house from top to bottom to make sure it was spick and span for the little guy. Frank’s parents were there to greet us and had decorated the house with “it’s a boy” banners! They also went to the drug store to get my medicine and a few necessities for us. Ozzie welcomed little Dominick into the family immediately with a nice wet kiss in his ear and hasn’t left his side since.

The first few days were a blur. But having everything ready, washed and all the prep was definitely worth the time and effort.

Breastfeeding:
I was exclusively breast feeding and Dominick would eat every two hours. We started to supplement when he lost more than ten percent of his birth weight. It was a very tough decision for me to start supplementing. I was 100 percent dedicated to exclusively breastfeeding, but my body had other ideas. I never produced enough milk for Dominick and I was devastated. I would pump every two hours and nada. I did this for over twelve weeks and I’d get maybe an ounce between feedings. A full day of pumping would give me about 5 ounces and that was not enough for our little guy who was taking two ounces at each feeding. We even tried breast feeding him first, and then giving him the formula. But he wanted to eat so badly, he would get so frustrated because there wasn’t enough breast milk. He’d scream, and scream. Why put him through this if he’s getting so upset? That’s when we decided to use formula. As Frank was giving him his first bottle of formula, I was bawling! It definitely was a mix of postpartum hormones and disappointment. We’ll try again next time – that’s for sure!

That’s the story in a nut shell. I’ll add some posts chronicling his first four months. A blog name change is in order.

We refer to the above picture as "baby drunk." He's very satisfied after a nice feeding from mom.

It’s nice to be back. It’s nice to have a place to document all that life throws at me. And, my apologies again! Sorry this took so long!

Thirty Seven Weeks

2009-03-09T10:14:00.001-04:00

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

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.

I am THRILLED to announce that I am officially on maternity leave! We had a bit of a scare last week with high blood pressure. I started seeing that they call “floaters” in my vision and went straight to the doc. My BP was 150/100 – pretty high for me who’s base line is 120/70. I ended up going to the pregnancy ER for immediate lab work to check my liver enzymes to see if this was preeclampsia. As soon as they got me on the monitors and had me lay on my left side, magically my BP went down to 110/50. WHAT? My BP has never been that low! Wow.

My doc knew that Friday was my last day so she said to just clear up any projects on Friday and head home. After a nice farewell pizza party by my friends at work – I was tearfully out the door. I didn’t think I would be so emotional about leaving work, but I will miss everyone there. They have been so supportive throughout this entire pregnancy. Listening to me complain about every little ache or pain. They’ve all become really close friends and I’m so grateful to have them!

They’ve asked me to come in early this week to check in and get the much anticipated “sizing” ultrasound. We’re going to try to determine if this little one is too big to make it down the intended path. If he’s measuring larger than expected, we will talk about our “options.” I’m still not going to dwell on this until we see the actual numbers and discuss things with the doc.

So, now I’m home officially on maternity leave. I have about two weeks before my due date and plan to do at least one productive thing each day. Yesterday, I attempted to wash Ozzie. Now, he’s such a sweet heart, he actually jumped into the tub when I asked him! What kind of dog willingly goes into the tub to be soaped up? A very loving, very willing to please pug who does anything for his mommy. The task was monumental. He hadn’t had a bath in quite sometime and was working up a pretty good puggy stink. It was even more monumental that I was able to kneel on my knees next to the tub being 9 + months pregnant and get the job done. I did loose my balance once or twice and landed right on my very well padded bottom. I swear by behind is as big, if not bigger, than my belly. Hey – it evens me out I guess. It’s still depressing knowing the belly will recede once I have this little guy, but my but is going to remain the same. That’s an entirely different post.

On today’s agenda: get my seriously swollen feet for a pedicure ASAP! Poor things look like swollen sausages. I’ve lost sight of my ankles ages ago, but now the swelling has moved down to my little piggies…which are living up to their name! Depending on how I feel after the pedi, I may tackle cleaning out my closet. Something I haven’t done in a few years and my wardrobe could really use some “lightening”

I’ll let you know how the doc’s apt goes and what “option” we decide on.

More to come – pictures of our finally COMPLETE nursery! It’s way cute, if I do say so myself!

Thirty Six Weeks

2009-02-27T11:51:00.002-05:00

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Frizell Baby Shower

2009-02-27T11:38:00.003-05:00

I had my third official baby shower on Feb 7. This one was hosted by my mom and my new sister-in-law, Chrisi.

I’ve had so many showers because we all felt with such a large family; we’d much prefer smaller, intimate showers. I had one large bridal shower with almost 100 people. We learned our lesson.

This shower was just wonderful! Chrisi and my mom did an amazing job. We invited all of the South Jersey and Virginia Frizells and my long time friend Yogita to a very nice Italian restaurant in Deptford. Frank took the day off from work and we took the 1 ½ hour drive down. Frank went off to a special guy’s lunch with a few uncles and cousins while the ladies got down to business of eating and opening presents. Chrisi and mom decorated the “mom to be’s” chair with a blue frilly umbrella. I think Frank liked it too!

I was lucky enough to receive many home made afghans, knitted blankets and sweaters. It really was a great event. We are very fortunate to have such a talented family! Now the girl cousins of my generation need to step it up a notch.

Thank you so much to Chrisi and Mom for all your hard work. I truly felt special and it was so much fun celebrating with all of our family.

Expectant Couple at 33 weeks

I'm Still Alive!

2009-02-27T11:13:00.004-05:00

I'm still here - waiting for this baby to come. I've been busy wrapping up things at work - I have one more week then I'm off for maternity leave. I can't wait! Sorry for being so delinquent on posting, so here's a recap of the past two weeks.

I've been feeling the third trimester exhaustion. I come home from work and literally crash on the couch and am in bed by 8/8:30. The baby's huge, everyone says I look like I'm ready to go "any day now" but I know I have about a month left before he's really ready. I have a definite waddle and lots of pain in my hips and groin area. If I sit for too long, I can hardly walk. So I get up every 30 minutes or so at work. Other than that, the BP is good, weight gain is on track. I have been very swollen lately - all I can wear are my crocks, and they help keep the swelling to a minimum while still being comfy.

We have the nursery pretty much done. My mom came over on president's day and we hammered through the piles of gifts, did laundry and put everything away. Frank's mom also helped by doing several loads of laundry. Nothing smells better than baby clothes washed in dreft!

We're now putting the finishing touches on the nursery and Frank's been busy putting baby things together. We've done the stroller, co-sleeper, baby seat and have the pack and play left to go.

In prepping our first baby - Ozzie - for the new addition, we have borrowed a baby doll from my friend Leeanne's daughter, Amanda. We have been holding the baby doll, and placing it in the various baby items we have. The first night we did this, Ozzie was intrigued by the little creature. So much so, he was standing next to the baby's seat and crying for us to pick up the baby and show it to him. He doesn't seem to want to play with it, just give it a few good sniffs and the occasional kiss. So cute! He still goes over and looks at the baby every once in a while. We'll say - "Where's the baby?" and he'll shoot right over to check it out. He's brilliant, we know. We hope this training will help him adjust and not feel so bad sharing his mommy and daddy with his new little brother.

We have another doc apt today with Dr. Purdue. I'm 36 weeks and 1 day. As of 34 weeks the baby was measuring 6 pounds already! I couldn't believe it! I kept saying to myself, 6 pounds... 6 pounds... if the baby makes it to term, he'll be 9 lbs! Frank was excited, but I was in shock - I was the one carrying the 9 pounder and I don't want to even think about pushing out a 9 pound baby!

We're going to have another ultrasound in a few weeks to see how he's grown and the results from that will help determine our action plan for delivery - induction early at about 38/39 weeks or a possible c-section. I'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Thirty Three Weeks

2009-02-05T11:26:00.002-05:00

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

We have a lot to update so here’s my attempt at an abbreviated version of my usual posting:

Thirty two week check up w/ Dr. Crane went well. I didn’t gain any weight between 30 and 32 weeks, but I’m sure I made up for it this week. The baby seems to have gone through a growth spurt. Dr. Crane measured my “fundal height” and I’m supposed to measure one centimeter for each week that I’m pregnant. Well, I’m measuring three weeks ahead of schedule. This prompted him to schedule an ultrasound to check on the baby’s size. Of course I had tons of questions about “what if the baby’s too big, or what are my chances for a c-section” and he said we’ll cross that bridge after the ultrasound. Which is fine with me. Why worry or plan ahead now until we know for sure. Blood pressure was fine and Dr. Crane found the baby’s heartbeat right away. Everything looks good! I go back on Feb 13 to have an ultrasound and see Dr. Purdue.

I still have awful swelling in my feet and horrible carpal tunnel/tendonitis pain. I wear splints on my wrists 24/7 and try to keep my feet propped up most of the day. I have been assured that all of this most likely will end once the baby comes… I’m counting down the days. I feel like my hands are useless clubs sometimes! They’re so numb, I can’t even feel the keys right now. I saw my orthopedist who has restricted my typing to 4 hours a day… yeah, like that will happen!

It seems like I’ve had every pregnancy related symptom in the book, 24/7 nausea & vomiting, swelling, sciatic nerve pain, carpal tunnel pain, dizziness, hysterical laughing at in opportune moments, constipation, gall stones – so why not add blurred vision to the list! Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy to be one of those women who hardly get an upset tummy in the seafood section, or who get light headed when they stand up. Not me – let’s just say this pregnancy has been very challenging. Blurred vision is a result of water retention… So I can’t feel my fingers and can hardly see the screen… I feel like a big pregnant mess.

Pregnant women often say that all the lack of sleep during pregnancy is getting us ready for taking care of a new born. I think it’s a bunch of crap and people say that just to make us feel better about getting up multiple times a night to pee, or turn over or just wide awake for no reason at all. On the weekends, if I’m feeling really sleep deprived, I’ll take two Benadryl. Doc approved of course. And they put me right out until about 10 a.m. the next morning. I think it would help if I could nap during the day, but right now, that’s not an option. I’ve thought about it, but don’t think my work would think highly of me for snoozing the afternoon away.

I’m so happy to report the nursery is painted and the furniture is up – thanks to Frank, his dad, and our neighbor Scott for the extra muscle need to get the dresser upstairs at a moment’s notice. I’ll post pics once I decorate. I’m really happy with the paint color and we still need to find a rug and order shades.

I’m also happy to report I have officially made March 6 my last day of work before I go out on maternity leave. I am looking forward to not having to get up and get showered before the crack of dawn everyday and to spending some time really getting ready for the baby.

My mom and sister-in-law Chrisi are hosting a baby shower for me on Saturday. This will be my third… I have a huge family and we all thought it would be better to have several smaller showers so I can actually spend time with everyone. Chrisi has done an enormous amount of work for the shower on Saturday, despite herself being 31 weeks pregnant and having some early contractions. Thank you so much Chrisi for stepping in and helping my mom throw what I’m sure will be a great shower. I’m looking forward to seeing all of my National Park relatives and my good friend from high school.

My mother-in-law – Mom Mazz, has been really great by washing a few loads of baby cloths for me and last night went with me to ShopRite. Last time I went food shopping I ended up with horrible Braxton hicks contractions – the loading and unloading proved too much. When I asked if she would go with me, she eagerly said of course and it was nice to spend time together.

Sad news – we had to find a new home for our cat Charlie. We have exhausted our efforts in getting him to use the litter box. We surrendered him to the rescue where I adopted him. They willingly took him back with open arms. He really was a great member of our family – the family jokester, always making us laugh! We’ll miss you Charlie!

The to-do list is long, but I’m feeling like I have more energy to get things done around the house. Last Saturday I found myself cleaning the bathroom and kitchen well before Frank was up. Has nesting started? I hope so! I’m still wiped out after work, so maybe I can use this new found energy this weekend.

I did what?!

2009-02-04T09:19:00.002-05:00

Ok - after a long day at work I had to stop in at Costco to pick up a few things and of course as soon as I get in the check out line I have to pee. I hurry up and get checked out and make a b-line for the bathroom.

I headed into the bathroom (which I've visited many times before) and wondered why they didn't have any little trash cans in the stalls. Once I came out I saw a line of urinals! Still it didn't click, and I thought, "isn't that funny, they have urinals in the lady's room!)

Once I got outside it hit me - I just used the men's room!

Thank god no one was in there, but could you imagine if I walked out of the stall to see a line of guys standing up at the urinals?!?

I have felt so absent minded lately - this one just tops the cake!

Anyone else have any funny stories about being pregnant and doing things you normally wouldn’t be caught dead doing?

Thirty Two Weeks

2009-02-03T10:41:00.004-05:00

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Since this is so late, I’ll save my personal ‘update’ for Thursday. I leave you with a list of my current cravings...

Hawaiian Punch, I think we've gone through four gallon jugs in the past two weeks. Frank's been helping too.

Pizza, pizza and more pizza. Plain, pepperoni, sausage, veggie - I like it all and could eat it everyday.

Mashed potatoes - I think I get this from my mom who is the queen of mashed potatoes.

Salad, guess this is a good craving to have.

Rainbow sherbet. I love the citrus lime, orange, raspberry combo.

Have you have any cravings during your pregnancies?

Thirty One Weeks

2009-01-22T10:05:00.001-05:00

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

We’re in the final count down… 9 weeks to go. Exactly 63 days left before we get to meet our little baby boy. I’ve said from the beginning that I think he’ll come early, but who knows! He’s consistently measured bigger on each ultrasound, 10-15 days a head of schedule. And I think my docs are on the cautious side and wouldn’t want to risk the complications of me trying to deliver a 9-10 lb baby! We may get another ultrasound in the next week or two to really get a track on the baby’s weight. At my last OB visit, last Friday, Suzanne the NP, said I’m still measuring “big” and that I just had a pretty big growth spurt. She said we’ll talk about our options once we get closer to D-day. I’m assuming she’s hinting at induction, but we’ll see.

My BP was fine at this last appointment and I’ve gained another two pounds. The heart rate was in the 130’s and Suzanne’s pretty sure that he was in the breach position. Again, that’s another conversation we’ll have once we get closer to D-day. Possible c-section?!? Let’s not think about that just yet.

We also talked about when I could leave for maternity leave/short term disability. In NJ, moms get 4 weeks before and 6 weeks after to collect short term disability. I’ve officially given notice to my job that my last day of work will be March 6. That’ll give me a few weeks to get things in order for the baby and most importantly rest when I can! I’ve found it increasingly difficult to just get up out of bed each morning. And the whole showering, drying the hair, getting dressed, make up takes so much out of me that I’m ready to call it a day when I get into the office! You should have seen me trying to get my pantyhose on this morning – it was hysterical. I was making all sorts of noises! I think that’ll be the last time I’m going to do that for a while – totally not worth it.

We will be seeing Dr. Crane at our next appointment on January 30. It’ll be the first time I’m actually seeing him. I’ve called him a few times for various reasons. He seems nice and I wanted to be sure I saw him before I went into labor since he’d be one of the docs that could possibly deliver the baby.

We’re getting more and more excited as time passes – I think I’m ready for the baby to be here already! We still have to set up the nursery, I know – I didn’t make my Jan 1 deadline. In fact I’m way past it, but it will get done! Frank has purchased the paint and he’s anxious to get it done too.

Twinkle Toes Ozzie

2009-01-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

We have been battling a reoccurring sore paw with Ozzie since his surgery in July. Not sure if you all remember the drama we went through with his cancer and surgery. His “lucky” foot as we call it now, minus two toes, was healing fine and all of the sudden he isn’t using it at all! He may as well be a three legged dog! We took him to see Dr. Fry at Garden State Vet Specialists and she said she couldn’t find the source of the pain either. So we’re trying rimadyl, an anti-inflammatory, for a while to see if that helps.

So on top of his sore lucky foot, Ozzie broke a nail on his good foot! Straight in half and his quick was showing, but not bleeding. The nail was hanging there like a loose tooth. I didn't want to pull it off. I was worried about pain and bleeding so Frank took him into the vet.

Ozzie is notorious for not liking people touching his feet. Frank said he put up a huge fight. At one point Ozzie was so nervous he lost his bowels all over the table! Poor Ozz… Poor Frank! Frank definitely gets the Gold Star Daddy Award for comforting Ozzie through that ordeal.

The vet took the nail off, stopped the bleeding and now he has to wear a bandage for 10-12 days and be on antibiotics! $220 later – his nail should be fine!

So, he's not even using his lucky foot and he's hopping around on this bandaged foot poor guy! He looks so pathetic. I sat with him last night and made sure he was comfy with extra pillows – he just loves lounging on mounds of fluffy pillows.

Just another trial and tribulation of parenthood. I’m sure we’ll have more once our little guy arrives. But instead of bandaged paws, maybe we’ll have stitches, or fevers, or casts…

Baby Shower Photos

2009-01-21T15:39:00.004-05:00

Here's a pic of the presents we brought home from our first shower. Ozzie is dutifully guarding all the baby gear.

How could I not put this cute blue gingham bow on our boy!

Here Ozzie is enjoying a lick of icing from the baby shower cake. I think he likes icing as much as his daddy does!

Lamaze 101

2009-01-19T16:23:00.001-05:00

You know how Lamaze classes are usually very relaxing and the couples are very focused on learning breathing techniques. And you know how people get really into it and are concentrating?

Well, my experience was none of the above. If you know my dear husband at all, you know he’s not the quiet type; he always cracks jokes and doesn’t necessarily pay attention.

So here we are in a room full of 20 very pregnant women and their coaches, sprawled out on mats with pillows strewn about. Everyone is trying to focus on learning the new breathing techniques and listening to the teacher. I start to hear whistling right in my ear coming from my coach. Then my hair starts flying around, Frank really getting into his breathing. And Frank’s gentle caresses on my tummy start to feel a little less gentle, and I instantly become more ticklish. I immediately start laughing the uncontrollable, hysterical type of laughing accompanied by tears streaming down my face. I was so embarrassed, but I couldn’t help it. I’ve noticed that throughout this pregnancy, I have had the uncanny ability to laugh hysterically at things that I would normally just brush off and now, at in appropriate times.

This one was a doozy and Frank was getting a HUGE kick out of it. Good thing we only practiced breathing for a few minutes, otherwise I would have had to excuse myself from the room.

I’m so thankful the class wasn’t 100% about Lamaze. We also covered birth from start to finish, pain medication options and what a new born may look like – what’s normal and not to freak out if you see something you’re not expecting.

Over all, I’m glad we did it. I can’t say that I learned a great deal, but it was a memorable experience.

I have signed up for a breastfeeding class for later this month. Just the mom’s this time! I hope I get the same instructor. She was great – very funny and kept us laughing the entire time. So maybe I won’t feel as bad this time if I break out into another round of hysterics – just as long as instructor was initiating the jokes.

Thirty Weeks

2009-01-15T14:20:00.003-05:00

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

This week has seemed to fly by. I have another doc apt tomorrow with Suzanne, the NP in the office. I’m sure all is well – I feel the baby a lot. He gets the hic-ups all the time and yesterday he must have been facing head up cause every time he hic-upped my tummy moved in the same spot!

We’re also taking Ozzie into see his specialist tomorrow, he is not putting any pressure on his “lucky” foot. Even when he sits down he pathetically holds it up so it doesn’t even touch the ground. Something must be bothering him, so we’re off to see Dr. Fry at Garden State Veterinary Specialists on Friday. Ozzie actually really likes Dr. Fry and I think the feeling is mutual. She’s really great and hopefully she’ll help him get back to his normal, jumping, running self again.

We have a busy weekend. After the doc appointments tomorrow we go to our first Lamaze/Child Birth Prep class. We’re taking an accelerated two day course. We go tomorrow night and then all day on Saturday. It worked out with Frank’s schedule so he didn’t have to take any time off work and we’re taking it at our local hospital, JFK. It’s not where I’ll be delivering, but I figure, the information will be just as useful without the 45 minute drive each way.

I’m so curious what we’re going to learn and what the class will be like. I remember seeing Lamaze classes in movies and on TV with the couple on the floor with pillows doing all sorts of breathing. Wonder if it’s like that? Don’t get me wrong, I fully believe in pain management and plan to get my epidural as soon as they will give it to me. I thought I was good at handling pain with as many broken bones as I’ve had, but having gallstones brought me to a whole different level of pain. I’d like to learn some positive ways to work through the pain rather than resorting to my usual, “*&#$%@! #*$&#@” I have a mouth like a sailor if I’m in serious pain. God help Frank and our nurses for that matter!

We’re taking this class just to be a bit more prepared for the actual process. My dear husband has more experience with child birth than I do! He’s delivered three babies! He is a police officer in a small town and there is a woman there that would rather deliver her babies at home than go to the hospital. And when things become too much for the husband, she calls the police. Frank has dutifully delivered a set of twins and then a few years later another healthy baby. With this particular woman, Frank said the babies just “fell out” and I keep telling him there’s usually a lot more that goes into actually delivering the baby. I’m interested in seeing how much information he offers in the class or if he plays dumb like most husbands. Maybe we’ll both learn something we can take with us to the delivery.

We’re in the 10 week count down! We’ve got lots to do and we’re kicking it into high gear to get it done. My goal is to have everything ready by 34 weeks – that’s in one month. I have a feeling this little guy is going to come early, but I could totally eat my words and he’ll be two weeks late! Imagine that! Oh boy…

Showered With Love

2009-01-13T14:12:00.004-05:00

I had my first “official” baby shower on Sunday. It was not a surprise. I think surprising a 7 ½ month pregnant woman is the last thing you want to do! Plus I wanted to be prepared and look my best because God knows I’ve been forgoing a lot of my regular beauty routines to save my dwindling energy.

The shower was so great and everything was perfect. My mother in law, Theresa Mazzarella and her daughter, Kristen co-hosted the shower. We had a lovely sit down lunch at Lucas restaurant in Edison. All of my husband’s family came, a few friends and coworkers of mine and the “Women of Winfield” – the women and wives of the people who work with Frank. We had about 50 people in all and we had a great time.

Each table was decorated with shiny blue confetti and a small balloon bouquet surrounded by four story books. “Story books” was the theme and each guest brought their favorite book to put in a “story book wishing well.”

Each guest received a bag of chocolate marshmallow bark, homemade by Kristen, to take home along with a scratch off game to get the party started. This was a special baby shower scratch off game where you had to match the three items and we had several winners.

It was so nice to see everyone and I am still astounded by everyone’s generosity. We had many, many presents to get through and we had an assembly line of sorts. Kristen enlisted the help of my friends Jen and Leeanne along with Ali, a long time friend of the family. Kristen and Ali would open the card and semi unwrap each gift. I had a chair next to me to place the gifts so I wouldn’t have to bend. Jen dutifully kept a log of who gave me what. The guests were playing Baby Shower Bingo, so I had to be sure I loudly announced what I was opening. I heard lots of “BINGOS” and the winner got to choose a prize out of a basket. Leeanne was our muscle who picked up each opened gift and carted it back to the pile.

We received some really nice gifts – most from our registry, which is exactly what we needed. Being first time parents, we are starting from scratch. So everything from the high chair to the baby bath tub to the adorable little outfits – we are extremely grateful.

Frank’s Aunt Lena made us homemade flannel receiving blankets – one with a puppy dog pattern with pugs on it! We also received a beautiful hand made afghan from Colleen, the daughter of one of Frank’s colleagues. The afghan had a matching pillow and ducky! Colleen also made us a beautiful blue sweater with matching booties - just adorable. She has her own business I think, making these gorgeous creations! The blanket and sweater came with personalized tags and washing instructions. I’ll get her contact info and post it.

It was an amazing and humbling experience to have so many people who cared so much about us and our little one-to-be. Special thanks to Kristen and Mom Mazz for doing such an outstanding job. Making sure every detail was covered and everyone had a splendid time.

It took two SUV’s to get everything home and thanks to Frank for being a trouper and carrying everything in. We now have a HUGE pile of gifts to sort through and I have many, many thank yous to write.

We’re getting down to the wire – about 10 weeks to go before little Mazz’s arrival. We have one more shower, for my step-dad’s side of the family on February 7. My mom and sister-in-law Chrisi have been keeping busy and I’m excited to see what they have planned! It will be nice to celebrate with all of my south Jersey and Virginia family and friends.

Twenty Nine Weeks

2009-01-09T15:13:00.002-05:00

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

We saw the gastroenterologist yesterday. He confirmed everything we had thought – stay on the low fat diet, we can’t do anything about the gallstones now, wait until after the baby’s born and see if you return to normal. He did give me a prescription that will help if I have another attack. So far, I had one minor one this week, but nothing like the one that sent me to the ER. I’ve been doing really well with my eating and am hopeful I’ll return to normal once the baby comes.

Frank and I de-christmassed the house this week and are getting ready for the mass explosion of gifts at the first shower this Sunday. It’s so funny, I have friends who are invited to the shower, but they haven’t mentioned a word to me about it. I think they think it’s a surprise. So, I’ll just play along until I see them on Sunday. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m one of those people who loves baby showers! I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Feeling okay this week. Definitely more tired. I'm usually asleep by 9 p.m. each night. And it’s way harder to get up or roll over in bed now. Like my stomach muscles don’t even exist! As we entered the third trimester, Dr. Purdue suggested we start keeping track of our baby’s movements. She calls them “kick counts.” I should feel the baby move 10 times in an hour and often he does twice that! I have been making a conscious effort to lie on my side, usually after a meal, and feel the baby start moving. It’s the neatest thing. Sometimes I can even see him kicking from the outside! He has also been getting the hiccups, which is just adorable.

I now start seeing my OB every other week. So I have another appointment next Friday. My job has been so great with flex hours and doctor’s appointments.

We’re expecting some snow tomorrow, 3 to 6 inches. I’ll head out in the morning for a mani/pedi and then back to the house to clean. I have an increased desire to clean my house and get things ready for the baby, I’m just waiting for the increased energy. When does that nesting thing start again? I’m waiting… not so patiently…

Hastings says "hi" He likes his new box, it's a little small, but I think it suits him.

Ozzie

2009-01-05T11:02:00.003-05:00

Ozzie - assuming the position - on mommy at all times, when ever physically possible. I like to think he's already bonding with the new baby!

In his other favorite spot - under the tree.

Twenty Eight Weeks

2009-01-05T11:00:00.003-05:00

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

I wanted to wait to post my weekly update until after my monthly doc apt.

We saw Dr. Purdue on Friday and she said everything looks normal and the baby must be growing because she found his heart rate on the first try. I gained another three pounds, doc is happy with that. My blood pressure is a respectable 120/80 and I didn’t get the heart rate this time, but we all heard it and it sounded wonderful.

We talked a bit about my gallstones and Dr. Purdue will be interested in hearing what the GI specialist says. We all agreed that we’re not going to do anything surgical until after the baby’s born. I’ve actually been feeling better since I’ve reduced my fat intake and really watched what I’ve been eating. It was a huge challenge over the holidays – but I was really afraid of having another attack – so I laid off the fattening foods. Maybe this is a kick start to a healthier lifestyle? We’ll see after the baby’s born. If I get any more attacks – this puppy’s coming out pronto!

I got my rogham shot, right in my rear end. This is the shot that protects me if our little guy is born with a + blood type, since I’m A- and Frank’s O+. I can’t remember the last time I had a shot in my bottom. I didn’t even know how to stand, but the nurse practitioner was really nice. It really wasn’t a big deal. I was a little sore, but forgot about it before we left the office.

Not sure if I mentioned it, but I passed my 1 hour glucose test with flying colors! I kind of surprised myself. I thought for sure with my mom’s history of gestational diabetes, and my weight, I’d be stricken, but NO! Instead, it’s my gallbladder that’s calling the shots this pregnancy.

I’ve entered the dreaded third trimester. I’ve noticed I’m much more uncomfortable and am sleeping a lot more. I was in bed on New Year’s Eve at 9 p.m. and couldn’t be happier! I’ve also noticed that my appetite has finally increased, and I have the “I want it NOW” kind of hunger, but I can only eat small meals. I’m still having bouts of carpal tunnel pain/numbness and bending down to pick things up off the floor has become a huge pain. Ozzie’s really good about taking all his toys out of his toy box and throwing them around the living room. I end up shuffling them with my feet into one huge pile and picking them all up at one time.

Over all Frank and I are really excited about our new addition and we’re in count down mode – 80 days to go! We have lots to do in the next couple of weeks – painting, assembling, washing… We are very thankful to have help from our close friends and family. We may be taking them up on their offers to help just so we can get everything done in time. How about a painting party? Beer and pizza go a long way!

Christmas Recapped

2008-12-29T10:54:00.004-05:00

Christmas this year was full good food, quality time with family and friends, great gifts and of course belly rubs!

Christmas Eve was spent with the Frizell’s of Metuchen. We got off to a late start, but everyone really enjoyed being together and eating a wonderful Italian meal. St. John made a scrumptious Manhattan clam chowder, Mike and Chrisi made home made crab cakes and my mom made an amazing standing pork roast! It almost looked to pretty to eat, but fear not, we devoured it!

We used to have these long Italian meals with several courses, but I think we’re evolving into a simpler dinner and more time for the kids to open gifts. It’s a challenge to keep a four year old and two year old at the table for many courses and then still have enough time before they have to be shipped off to their respective parent’s houses. Wait until we add a 9, 8 and 7 month old to the mix – things are sure to change even more!

All the moms- to-be posed for a photo to commemorate this unusual occurrence – all of us pregnant at Christmas. I’m due March 26, Chrisi’s due April 7 and Linden is due in early May.

Something that won’t change is that the family dog will ALWAYS lay in the middle of the floor during the present opening madness and eventually get covered in all the paper and bows. Here’s Haggis looking a little confused about what’s going on…

Christmas Day was spent with the Mazzarella family. We had a great time eating and catching up. Reese, who’s two, wasn’t really into opening presents, but managed to get through a few before running off to find something else to do. Here’s a pic of Frank enjoying the new massage chair at his aunt Genn’s house. He was pretty excited how his belly moved side to side… it was actually quite funny.

On Saturday, I headed to National Park, NJ for the BIG Frizell Pollyanna party. My step-dad’s side of the family is so large; we have outgrown having our annual Christmas celebration in a house! So off to the VFW. I think we must have had 60+ people and that’s just aunts, uncles, cousins with spouses and their children. I’d have to say it wasn’t as “homey” but it still was nice to see everyone and I got to meet the newest addition, Gavin. At just six weeks old, he handled the Frizell Family chaos with ease.

We all exchange gifts – grab bag style, we call it Pollyanna. There’s some sort of computer program that was created to choose the names, very high tech. Children running around with wild abandon, while the younger cousins (who I swear were just sixteen last year!) were sitting around playing beer pong with their new spouses or fiancés, the cousins my age were comparing pregnancy/labor war stories and the aunts and uncles started breaking out in song. It truly is a memory I look forward to every year.

Throughout our entire celebrations I couldn’t help but think how different next year’s celebration is going to be. I lavished every relaxing minute - sleeping in until 10 on Christmas day and taking an extra long shower – all things I know I won’t be able to do next year, or many years to come. The new baby will bring many changes that will cherish.

Eighty-seven days and counting!

Twenty Seven Weeks

2008-12-25T10:49:00.000-05:00

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.See what your baby looks like this week.

We’ve had an eventful week! We have been both running around getting ready for the holiday and celebrating with friends and family.

Christmas Eve is spent with my mom and the Frizell family. I’m looking forward to seeing my brothers and sister. It’ll be nice to all get together and enjoy the holiday. My mom has planned an outrageous holiday meal as usual. Not sure what I can eat, but we’ll figure it out. I’m sure I’ll find something.

It’ll be nice to see Linden and Chrisi, my two sister-in-laws who are also pregnant. Chrisi is about 24/25 weeks and Linden is probably about 20 weeks.

Frank is working Christmas Even so he’ll miss the festivities with my family, but luckily he’s off for Christmas day when his family gets together. The Mazzarella’s celebrate at their aunt’s house. Frank’s cousin Jen is also pregnant, she’s about 29/30 weeks.

Frank's parents - the ones who were adamant we decorate this year for the holidays are the proud winners of their town's holiday decorating contest! Frank's mom was so excited! She won first place for the "Traditional" category and has a sign on her lawn that says "winner!" Congratulations! You definitely deserve the special recognition for always making sure your house and family celebrate each holiday with festive, yet tasteful decor!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and Merry Christmas! Enjoy your time with your family. I’ll post photos and happenings some time next week.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Pregnancy, With a Side of Gallstones

2008-12-24T10:24:00.004-05:00

I had a special holiday lunch on Monday for work and we went to one of my all time favorite Italian restaurants, La Grillia in Kenilworth. Before we ordered, the topic turned to gallbladders, I know – not typical lunch conversation, but the table was full of nurses. I briefly mentioned my previous bouts with “gas attacks” and they all agreed it was probably my gallbladder. Not even thinking that I should probably avoid rich, fatty foods – I ordered a very creamy pasta dish with pancetta and mushrooms. You think with a table full of outspoken nurses, one would have spoken up that maybe I shouldn’t order the pasta… well…

About an hour later, before we even got in the car, I felt another attack coming. It was getting hot, very nauseous and the pain started. I didn’t make it twenty minutes before I was in agony and vomiting in the office bathroom, non-stop.

I finally came to my senses and called the doc – they said, “how soon can you get here?” I told them I’d be there in 20 minutes.

Dr. Purdue took one look at me and sent me to the hospital’s PET unit. It’s a special pregnancy ER department. I called Frank to let him know what’s going on and that if I’m admitted, then he should try to leave work. As I’m getting checked in, I’m resisting the urge to vomit all over the nice lady’s desk. You think they would have a quicker admitting process and not ask me the same questions over and over again!

I finally get into a room, and my nurse tries desperately to do a blood draw and put in a hep-lock – a port for an IV. I have very “deep” veins. I think it’s a nice way of saying that since I’m so curvy, it’s hard to find my veins. They finally got me hooked up to the fetal monitors, which was pretty cool! That’s another thing that doesn’t fit perfectly on this curvy belly, the monitors kept falling off, but when they’re on, you can hear the baby’s heartbeat and hear him move – it’s really neat. I wasn’t having any contractions, and the baby’s heart rate was good. My blood pressure as a little high, but with all the pain I was in, the docs said it was okay.

The resident came in to talk to me and said we’d be running blood work and getting an ultrasound of my gallbladder. She was very nice – probably younger than me, which makes me feel old.

Frank arrived around 6:30 or so. At first I thought I could go it alone, but it was nice to get some moral support and much needed comic relief. Frank’s really good at both. He tried several times to hook up my monitors himself, or take a peak in all the cabinets labeled “vag” something or other.

At 7 p.m. we got a new nurse, Kim, who was great! She was so nice; she listed to all my concerns and apologized profusely for having to draw more blood because the lab needed another sample. She tried once, but then brought in the big guns – another nurse who struck gold on the first try. I still feel kind of like a pin cushion and have the black and blue marks to prove it.

This time the pain from the attack was lasting way longer than the first ones. It was going on 7 p.m. and I was still in pain. And they couldn’t give me anything for it. So frustrating! I’m a huge believer in pain management, but when you’re pregnant – that kind of goes out the window.

We waited several hours for the ultrasound. The transport staff wears blue scrubs, so I named them the “Blue Men.” The Blue Man took us down to radiology. Frank came right from work, so he was in uniform and people really seem to act differently when he’s Sergeant Frank – rather than daddy Mazzarella. I think people probably thought I was under arrest or something with this special “escort” but the radiologist said that maybe people think I’m a VIP with hired security.

The radiologist was so nice. She was so funny and sweet, just what I needed after being in so much pain and discomfort. She said, “Can you keep a secret?”

Of course we said “YES!”

“You have gallstones – see them down here. You have several small ones.”

Then she proceeded to tell us what she thought we should do, and what the doctor would tell us. We took her advice with a grain of salt, but were glad that she told us immediately rather than waiting to hear back from the doc.

The resident consulted with Dr. Crain, who’s in my OB’s practice. They didn’t see any immediate need to remove the gallbladder that night, or to keep me over night. They discharged me with instructions to follow up with a gastroenterologist. I have an appointment with the GI specialist for January 8. But for now, I've been advised to eat a low fat diet - just what I want to hear around the holidays.

From the research I've done: women are more prone to gallbladder stones, more so if they're over weight and even more so if they're pregnant. Three strikes against me! A lot of women expereince gallstones postpardum, but the lucky few like myself, get to expereince them durring pregnancy when we really can't do anything about them until the baby's born.

Rest assured that we will do something about it after the baby's born. We'll see what the GI specialist says, but I do not want to go through with another attack if I can help it.

We got home around 11 p.m. Frank headed back to work to finish his shift, and I headed straight to bed. Great news is that the baby's doing fine. While we were hooked up to the monitors, we heard him have the hic ups. It was the sweetest thing I have heard in a long time.

Twenty Six Weeks

2008-12-18T10:50:00.003-05:00

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days. See what your baby looks like this week.
One more week of the second trimester and I’m feeling better this week. The carpel tunnel is still there, but I’m learning to wear my splints every night. I still get some numbness during the day, but it’s manageable. My heart burn has subsided a bit, but I’ve had several what I call “gas attacks” which could possibly be gall bladder attacks. Very painful, and the last one I had lasted about an hour. Frank wasn’t home, so I called my good friend Leeanne to come over. She dropped everything and came over – patted my back, force fed me Tums and held my hair when I puked. It was awful, but I’m so lucky to have such a great friend – so close!

Frank now has me stocked with all sorts of doctor approved gas relief, but my gut feeling (pun intended) says it’s my gall bladder. My mom, aunt and cousin have all had issues with their gall bladders. My Aunt Jayne, who’s had four daughters, says hers hurt more than labor! There was one point when I was trying to get through this last one, pacing around the living room, and admittedly swearing a little, thinking to myself, if I can’t handle this, how am I going to handle labor?! I always thought I had a high pain tolerance and I’m glad my Aunt Jayne said that these attacks can be even more painful then labor. Makes me feel a little better.

I’ve been feeling the little guy move more and more. He’s getting bigger and his kicks and punches are getting much more forceful. Not painful, but definitely noticeable. One night, I looked down at my tummy and noticed it quivered with each kick! That’s just weird! I couldn’t believe it, so I tried holding my breath and yep, there was another quiver! I quickly took a deep breath – don’t want to deprive this guy!

If you know me at all, you know I’m very clumsy. I’ve fallen on countless occasions and sometimes resulting in broken ankles, feet or wrists. Well, we all knew it would just be a matter of time before I fell during this pregnancy. I just didn’t think it would be this morning! I was walking out to my car on my way to work and all of the sudden my feet were out from under me and I landed squarely on my side. There was a patch of invisible black ice on our drive way. I’m happy to report there are no twisted ankles or sprained wrists; just a scraped knee, sore arm and a bit of a bruised ego. I admit I was shaken up thinking about what could have happened. I called the doctor and she said just keep an eye out for contractions and make sure the little guy keeps moving. So far, he hasn’t stopped! I’m so thankful that I landed the way I did and that I have so much… um, extra cushion! Lesson learned, TAKE YOUR TIME and watch every step.

No Lights and Kitty Dilemma

2008-12-15T14:43:00.004-05:00

Had a great weekend. Well… great in the fact that I didn’t get sick! Yay! But then when the alarm woke me up for work today at 6 a.m., I promptly ran for the bathroom. I hope I’m paying my dues now and this little boy will be a saint when he comes home.

We got our tree up and it looks great. I even got a little teary looking at all our old ornaments and thinking about memories. Totally not like me.

When word got out that we weren’t decorating the outside of our house this year, Frank’s parents immediately offered to come over and “throw some lights up” or “decorate the window.” Very sweet, but really – we’re taking things low key this year. They were very willing to help – I think we turned them down several times! I think we broke some Italian cardinal rule about not decorating, but we really do have more important things to focus on this year. We have to get the nursery ready by January. I think once we get past the holidays, we can really focus more on getting things done.

On a completely different subject - We're having cat dilemmas - Not sure if Charlie’s sensing the changes coming, or he’s pissed off about something, but he refuses to use the litter box. We're going to "retrain" him and send him to kitty purgatory- aka locked in the office - with his very own litter box. We'll see how he does in there. If he does ok for a few days - we'll let him out. One “accident,” he's back in lockdown. I’m sure Hastings and Ozzie will torment him through the door. I feel so bad he has to be locked up, but we have to get this taken care of.
Know of any good enzyme treatments to get the smell out of hardwood floors? I'm at a loss and I know if I don't clean everything well - he'll be really tempted to go there again.

We love Charlie, he’s a great cat. He makes me laugh almost every day and he’s certainly an important member of our family. Look at that face! He has a mustache! We named him after Charlie Chaplin, becuase of his crazy antics - and he lives up to it every day. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Doc Apt in Review

2008-12-12T11:55:00.001-05:00

All checks out okay at the doc’s office.

Blood pressure was fine at 110/80.

Heart beat was little tough to find this time. Dr. Purdue thought maybe the baby had his back to us, but she heard the placental blood flow, which is as good as a heart beat at about 130 bpm.

I’ve gained a total of 13 pounds during this pregnancy – so not bad, but I’m sure I’ll gain more now that the baby is growing more. I may just stop posting the poundage… depending on how much I gain!

I had to choke down the glucose drink this morning. I think I was a little queasy from seeing a mom-to-be puking in the parking lot! Oh, I remember those days, not fondly, but I remember them! So I had to hold back my own urge when I was drinking the drink, but managed to get it down.

We saw Dr. Purdue, who is really a nice woman. She’s very though rough in answering all our questions. She gave some great advice about how to ease the heart burn, carpel tunnel and sciatica. We also talked about Frank’s role during delivery and she said if all is going well and the baby is behaving, then we could talk about the options then. But she makes no promises.
I don’t think we’re set on him helping too much down there because we know I’m going to need him playing coach rather than catcher. I think he would get too caught up in the moment of not dropping the baby to really experience what’s happening. So we have some more to talk about. We also have our Lamaze class in late January and that will help define our roles a little more, once he knows what’s expected.

Over all – good visit. We see Dr. Purdue again in three weeks when I get my RH factor shot.

Twenty Five Weeks

2008-12-11T10:34:00.004-05:00

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.See what's going on in your uterus this week.
This week has been tough. With the holidays coming, I have been running around from errands to house cleaning. I think Frank and I collectively decided since we have lots to do this December, we may not unpack all of the Christmas Decorations this year. Our goal is to get the nursery up and ready by January 1. Just in time for my first big shower on the 11th. That way we can unpack everything into the room. So this year, we will for go the massive amounts of LED lights Frank usually puts up outside. Our neighbors will probably be grateful. We literally have the BRIGHTEST house on the block! The bright lights gleam at you once you turn the corner. It takes all of my driving expertise to stay on course and not head straight for the lights.

We’re putting up our tree tonight. We have an artificial tree that looks so real; we fool almost everyone who sees it. Each branch has THREE different kinds of needles on it – giving it a very real texture. We got it at a warehouse that makes the trees. They open to the public for two weeks in December and we got a great deal on a very life-like tree. It’s kind of like a secret operation, once you find out when they’re open – you have to find the actual warehouse in a very sketchy area. It was fun!

This past week has brought an onslaught of new symptoms…

Bring on the heartburn! I have never been one to have heartburn, or agida as Frank says. So I had no idea how painful it can be! I’m downing Tums like no tomorrow, they help for a few minutes. Some surprising foods that cause heartburn – peanut butter and chocolate… I’m beside myself. Those are my two staples! But I think I might have to stay away from some acidic foods and visit my cousin’s ice cream shop a little more often. Oh poor me ;)

Carpel tunnel syndrome? Whose brilliant idea was it to tack on this new side effect of pregnancy to an already swollen, grumpy, tired pregnant woman? I think this is a pretty new side effect, or more women are complaining about it! Either way. I get numbness in both hands, with shooting pain up to my shoulder. And best of all, the numbing pain is mostly at night. So I have a very attractive wrist stabilizer that I wear to bed. Now that it’s affecting both hands, I’m going out tonight to get another. Last night I was up several times trying to regain the feeling in my hand, the one without the splint. Telling myself, just ignore the pain… you can do it… I finally found a comfortable position, then wham – a kick to the bladder from our little guy. Thank you so much.

I still know exactly where my sciatic nerve is. Seems the baby really likes to lay on it causing pain and me to have this really awkward limp in my right leg. Kind of like I need a hip transplant or something. But it’s really awful. I may ask one of the PT’s at work for some advice. But these are pediatric PTs – how many 10 year olds have problems with their sciatica?
The swelling is back in full force. I can no longer wear my wedding ring, and I’ve reverted back to wearing my crocks. The only shoes I can fit in. I tried some cute Mary Jane type flats, but when I took them off, my feet still looked like they were wearing the shoes with the indentation!

I totally feel like I’m whining. I got myself into this mess, right? Any suggestions from the readers would be so greatly appreciated. I’m sure someone has a magical potion for heartburn or a special pillow to recommend for sciatic pain.

We have our monthly doc apt tomorrow with Dr. Purdue. I’ll post the updates next week. I’m sure she’ll say that everything that I’m feeling is normal and to take it easy when I can. I have to take my second gestational diabetes test. I'm not worried about that. We are also going to talk about writing our “birth plan.” We’ll see how that goes.

I’ll end on a good note. I don’t think I mentioned when Frank felt the little guy for the first time. It was at about 3:30 a.m. on morning, he just got home from work. I was almost 23 weeks along. We had to get up early the next morning to fly out to Nebraska and I was trying desperately to get back to sleep, but the little guy was up, doing his own little jig. Frank waited patiently with his hand on my tummy, then all of the sudden, thump thump.

“Did you feel that?” I asked.

“I did!”

We both were so excited that we couldn’t sleep and ended up staying up and talking into the wee morning hours.

Our little guy was sweet enough to give me a few wakeup kicks this morning that I felt from the outside. I’m definitely bonding with this little one. And I’m excited for others to feel him too.

First Shower

2008-12-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

Last week I failed to mention that my wonderful Nebraska family threw me a girl’s pedicure party/luncheon/baby shower when I was visiting. We all lined up for pedicures and at 82 – Grandma enjoyed her first pedicure! Grandma said, “If a pedicure feels this good, I wonder what a massage feels like?!” Don’t worry Grandma, I’m sure you can find someone to take you to get a massage. I see another girl’s day out in your near future!

Grandma made me a beautiful afghan and a special receiving blanket with soft crocheted edging. It was very sweet and what a great excuse to eat at the Cheesecake Factory! Thank you ladies for helping me feel so much part of our family, even though I live so far away. I miss you all already!

Twenty Four Weeks

2008-12-08T09:18:00.007-05:00

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.See what your baby looks like this week.

It’s kind of alarming that my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball – that just sounds HUGE! I’ve been experiencing some aching pains and can tell the baby’s stretching everything it can to get more space.

Frank and I trekked out to Nebraska for Thanksgiving and it was so much fun seeing everyone and meeting the newest cousins – Addi, Ellie and Drew. We had plenty of quality time, sitting, talking, playing Wii, singing karaoke, shopping and of course eating! It was really nice to catch up and it’s like I never left. We did find out that my cousin, Susie, is expecting number two! Her little girl Addison is 10 months old, so these two will be nice and close. Congratulations Susie and Anthony!

We had a karaoke party and when everyone was singing, the baby was doing flips! I think he could hear everyone. Here’s a pic of my cousin Becky feeling the baby boogie inside me.
The flights were tough ‘cause we missed our connecting flight on the way out and had to spend a few extra hours in the Milwaukee airport. And let me tell you, there’s not much to do in the Milwaukee airport. We did a lot of people watching. On my way back they literally held the plane for me while I waddled across twenty gates. I made it by minutes. I definitely learned my lesson that paying a little more for a nonstop flight is sooo worth it, especially being pregnant and especially with kids.

I caught a cold on the way back home and was out for the count last week. I missed two days of work with a mild fever. The worst part about being pregnant and having a cold is that I can’t take anything! I can take Tylenol and Benadryl in moderation. So I took Tylenol for the fever and one Benadryl to help me sleep. It’s now been about a week and I’m still fighting it. Lots of soup and liquids and rest. Last night I went to sleep around 7 p.m. and didn’t wake up until 6 a.m. I haven’t had much of an appetite the past few days. And if you know me, you know that’s completely out of character! I think I even slept through dinner last night, but I know I have to force myself to eat, at least small meals throughout the day. So this morning I got a decaf peppermint mocha late and a bagel – both with huge calorie counts that should make up for my sleeping in last night.

We had another ultrasound with the specialist on Thursday and all looks great! Dr. Smith at NJ Prenatal Associates is really nice and made it a point to mention that “we had a beautiful baby.”

I smiled said, “you probably say that to all your patients.”

He said, “No, sometimes I just tell them you have a baby.”

Here's a pick from our 24 week ultrasound - the first is the 2D and the seond is the 3D. The second looks like the baby has his hand near his mouth.
Stat Updates:
Baby weighs about 1 pound, 4 ounces
Measuring about 10 days a head of schedule
My blood pressure was a respectable 100/60 – it keeps doing down!
Gained one or two pounds, which is great!

So far, we won’t have any more ultrasounds unless I have gestational diabetes or to check the position of the baby towards the end. Right now he’s been breech, but we’re hopeful he’ll flip around.

We have our monthly doc apt on Friday with Dr. Purdue. I’m taking my second glucose screening and I’m not worried. I passed the first with flying colors, so let’s hope that continues. I’m going to start talking to Dr. Purdue about the delivery and share Frank’s amazing story of his three deliveries! I’d love if there was some way he could safely help deliver his son, but not sure what the doctor will think.

Twenty Three Weeks

2008-11-27T11:11:00.000-05:00

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Wanted to include an update – we’re traveling, so we’ll update once we get back.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Twenty Two Weeks

2008-11-20T10:11:00.002-05:00

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.See what your baby looks like this week.
Breaking news – my brother and his new wife Chrisi are having a GIRL! She’s one of the “triplets” arriving this spring. So, two boys and a girl. Poor thing will be tormented at family gatherings, but I’m sure she’ll be one tough cookie with two brothers and two boy cousins to contend with. Congratulations Mike and Chrisi and bring on the pink!

I’m feeling really good this past week. The morning puking ritual is becoming less of an every day thing. I have more energy and feel more like myself. We’re getting ready for a trip out to Nebraska for a Watson family reunion. I am so excited to see my extended family. I was very lucky to have gone to college out in NE and had the chance to spend some quality time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I feel that time was a true gift in disguise being able to bond with my Midwestern family. And they welcomed me with open arms, fun weekends together, hockey games, school musicals and many a trip to the airport. You all have such a special place in my heart and I just wish I didn’t live so far away.

Here’s a picture of me and my grandma – isn’t she lovely?

The whole family will be in NE next week celebrating Thanksgiving together and I get to meet three new additions, cousin Amy’s twins Drew and Ellie and Susie’s little girl Addison. We have a full agenda planned, thanks to my very organized aunts! And they’ve even decided to throw a small baby shower for me, which was completely unexpected, but so sweet!

Ok, now that I’m all mushy and feeling hormonal – I better stop before the water works start.

Good Night Sweet Pup

2008-11-19T16:30:00.003-05:00

Wow! I hope Frank has these same skills when putting our little one to sleep... I had to share this.

Twenty One Weeks

2008-11-14T09:02:00.003-05:00

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.See what your baby looks like this week.
Lucky 21. We’re just over half way to the finish line and I’m feeling great. I thought I was catching a cold earlier this week, but my super pregnancy immune system kicked it right out of my system. I’m still puking almost ever morning – this week it was 3 out of 5 days – so I’m doing good so far.

I saw the nurse practitioner, Suzanne, yesterday for my monthly check up. She said all looks good. Blood pressure was at 110/70, which is great! Fetal heart rate is about 140 – right on track. And she felt for my uterus which is just above my belly button. Total weight gain so far is 11 pounds. Not bad, but the doc doesn’t want me to gain more than 20 – so we’ll see how that goes. I have a feeling a lot of it is water weight, really, cause I’m just swollen all over.

Do you know where you sciatic nerve is? I do – I know exactly where it is. Cause this little baby likes to rest on it and that causes shooting pain down my right leg. It comes and goes, but mostly comes when I’ve been sitting for a while. So my new charge from the doc is to get up every 45 minutes and walk around. Not only will this help with my sciatica, it’ll help with the swelling I still can’t seem to get rid of.

Great news on the family front. My cousin Wendy and her husband Jay welcomed their newest addition, Gavin Ellis, into the world on November 11. What a cool birthday – 11/11. Wendy is the first of us cousins during this baby boom to have hers and we couldn’t be more excited. Gavin weighed in at a healthy 9 ½ pounds, 21 inches long. Jay is a pretty tall guy, so we’re sure he’ll take after his dad in the height department.
Our little guy is still measuring a little over a week a head of schedule. The ultra sound tech last time said he should probably be due on March 19. So, I’m not anticipating making it until my due date. Especially if he’s already big – I think they gain the bulk of their weight at the end.

I had to catch myself from making plans for work in April – not thinking that I’ll be on maternity leave by then. The end is getting closer and closer every day.

Nursery on Order!

2008-11-10T15:48:00.004-05:00

I’m heading out after work to order our nursery furniture. We hope to receive the furniture by December/January. Our very generous parents have collaboratived and given us this great gift. The crib is convertible and changes into a toddler bed, day bed then into a full size bed. We also ordered two dressers, one high and one low. The low can double as a changing table. We will get a very nice glider and autumn. It’s so comfortable and it reclines!

Here are a few pics:

We also finalized our registry at Baby’s R Us. Check it out

Here is our nursery bedding collection click here to view all the pieces, and check out the picture below. Think lots of wild animals, in a fun, festive sort of way. Lots of tans and greens. We like the monkey the best, so we'll have lots of monkey accents.

We did not register for much clothing. I always find it’s more fun to pick out your own little outfits when you give gifts. We just ask that you get a wide variety of sizes – if the baby’s anything like us, he won’t be in 0-3 months for long! And one can never have too many onezies!

I’m sure the shower process has started. I know the north jersey folks, my in-laws, are hosting a shower for me on January 11. My mom is hosting a south jersey shower on February 7. I thought I wanted to be involved in the planning process, but as we get close, I think I’ll just enjoy the day and not worry about the little details. We have so many other things to worry about!

Thanks to my two very loving moms for hosting these showers for me. And for my sisters for their hard work too! I’m so looking forward to celebrating this new baby with friends and family.

Pregnancy and Pets

2008-11-10T14:48:00.003-05:00

You know, they say that animals can sense that a woman is pregnant and tend to become more loving, or affectionate. We have none of that in our house - none at all...

Here I am after a long day at work, I prop up my swollen feet on several pillows, hoping to alleviate some of the swelling and here come Ozzie and Hastings to take their positions. Don't think I'm reliving any swelling with a 25 pound pug laying on my legs!

The pets have definitely become more affectionate and this photo happens almost daily. I hope they're sensing that a new baby is coming. Granted, I will watch everyone like a hawk, but I know Ozzie will be great with the baby. We even got an infant seat/bouncer that sits up higher off the ground to avoid any drive by kisses for the baby from Ozzie, or cat but in the face of the baby from the kitties.

I read some where that we should set up the nursery furniture way a head of time. We will also use a baby doll to place in the crib. This will give the cats a chance to explore and learn the rules - if there's a baby in the crib - stay out!

Ultrasound Findings

2008-11-07T15:50:00.002-05:00

We went for another level two ultrasound yesterday. Our first level two ultrasound found a "downs syndrome marker” in the baby’s heart. My doc sent us to a specialist and yep – there it was clear as day. It’s called a echogenic foci spot. Whish is basically a small calcium deposit in the left atrium. There is only one, and it’s very small. These deposits never grow and will never hinder the hearts ability to work properly.

Doctors only started seeing these calcium deposits in the past ten years, so they wanted to find out the significance. Well, turns out that 3% of all babies have one and a very minute percentage of these babies have downs syndrome.

However, doctors do not take this marker into account UNLESS there are two or three additional markers for downs syndrome – small pinky bone, different shaped nose, small ears.

AND we were fortunate enough to have a first trimester screening which put us at a greater than 1 in over 10,000 chance for any chromosome abnormality, including downs syndrome.

The doc says that he sees patients every day with this marker and 99% of them go on to deliver an average baby. AND even if we did an amnio, our risk is 10 times greater of having a miscarriage than having a baby with downs syndrome.

Long story short, we are not worried in the least. We are not going for any further testing. We have every faith that the baby is fine.

Twenty Weeks

2008-11-06T17:10:00.000-05:00

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)

Wow – Half way to the finish line! Feeling really good. Still getting sick every morning like clock work. Hastings, my kitty, has gotten in the habit of following me into the bathroom to watch… strange I know.

I had a stranger notice I was pregnant last weekend! That was exciting. A man at the Hyundai service center asked it “it” was our first, and I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but then it clicked! Oh, okay, he meant the baby!

We have another ultrasound today. The doc wanted to get a better look at the heart to make sure everything was ok. I did some research on my end and it turns out that it’s really difficult to view all for chambers of the heart in moms-to-be with a little extra padding. So waiting a few more weeks and doing another ultrasound is standard procedure. But wish us luck anyway. I am starting to worry, but I’m sure we’re fine!

Just found out some very exciting news. My brother, St. John and his wife Linden are expecting their first baby!

They just told our parents this morning and I believe the baby’s due in May. I haven’t heard from the proud parents to be just yet, but I heard through the grape vine that they’re having a boy! We are well on our way to a full basket ball team! With my other brother Mike and his wife Chrisi also expecting – all the women in our family are knocked up! Accept for my mom of course! Mike and Chrisi will find out their baby’s gender on November 19.

This is so great. So far all the mommies are healthy and doing well. All the babies will be born within three months of each other. So in one year we went from one grand child to five, with the addition of Thomas, Mike’s new two year old step-son. My mom and step-dad Dave are on cloud nine!

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-05T11:00:00.004-05:00

We had a blast on Halloween this year. My nephew Zach and his mom Jen came out dressed to the nines. Zach was a scary skeleton! We trick-o-treated with our neighbor Lee Ann and her two kids, Amanda and Jason. Amanda was Abby Cadaby and Jason was an Amazing Race contestant! Oh - and Ozzie was a hot dog! His Grammie gave us this really cute costume! Fun and a sugar rush was had by all!

Glowing?

2008-11-04T16:13:00.001-05:00

People have been saying that I’ve been “glowing” lately. I’m glad I’m not has pale with nausea as I used to be, but I’d say my “glow” is merely a flushed feeling I have. My face is pinker than usual and I’m feeling rather warm throughout the day.

So glowing? Sure!

I’ll take that over pale and nauseous any day!

Nineteen Weeks

2008-10-30T13:16:00.002-04:00

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you. Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.See what your baby looks like this week.
I’m feeling great this week! I still get up every morning and say my little prayer to the porcelain god, but then I’m fine. I just puke and get it over with and go on with my day.

I have been feeling the baby move more often. Still not at any specific times of the day and not hard enough to wake me up from a dead sleep. I’ve had a bit more energy, but I still have my days when I’m dead to the world tired.

Another pregnancy necessity I’ve recently found that makes pregnancy so much more comfortable is sleeping with a body pillow. I’ve heard women talk about the wonders of the body pillow and I wasn’t sold until I picked up a body pillow on sale at Target for $10. It helps me sleep so much better! They sell really expensive pregnancy pillows for $70+. They’re a certain shape and have curves. I’m in love with mine from Target! I got a really soft, fuzzy cover and I just snuggle up all night. Ozzie doesn’t like it because it takes up his usual space behind my knees. But he’s adjusting.

Cravings? I get cravings for what ever I see on TV. My mom used to eat Burger King Whoppers like they were goin’ out of style when she was pregnant with me. A Whopper sounds great right about now. I’ve noticed that I’m enjoying food much more now than I did during the first trimester. Eating used to be a chore, now I enjoy it again! I guess if there’s one time in your whole life you can really give into cravings it’s now. But remember, everything in moderation. I’m just waiting for the holiday season with all those extra treats! No eggnog for me, but pass me another cookie please!

We are registering this Saturday. It’s a busy day and we’re trying to fit it in after my nephew Zach’s fourth birthday party. I’m sure I’ll be exhausted, and hungry and most likely cranky, so we’ll have to take it slow and I’ll probably do some more registering online. Right now we’re going to register at Baby’s R Us and possibly Target.

The Watson/Daniels, Mazzarella and Frizell parents will giving us a joint gift of the nursery furniture. This is a huge gift and we couldn’t be more grateful! Thank you all for sincere generosity and continued support. Now we just have to choose! We’ll post pics as soon as we make the final decision.

I’ve been asking around about must have items and items that aren’t worth a penny and I’ve already been warned about the wipes warmer and how useless it is. I think I’ve decided being first time parents, sometimes having a lot of stuff helps build confidence and we’ll learn our own lessons on what we need and what’s frivolous. Also the baby will eventually decide what he needs/likes.

That’s the news for now. Looking forward to another week of feeling better and next week I’ll be half way done with the pregnancy! I can’t believe it, it’s gone by so fast.

My Husband, the Big Softy

2008-10-29T14:52:00.000-04:00

This little story should give you a glimpse into my dear husband’s heart. He’s a very carrying man, very sweet natured. And the fact that he’s a former fireman and current police officer shouldn’t shock anyone. He’s always willing to help at a moments notice and gets turned on by the sound of sirens.

Lately I’ve noticed that his usual hair cut has been, well, awful! Frank’s hair cut isn’t that complicated. It’s just a number one clippers around the side and I think a number two up top. Easy, right? It’s either lopsided, or has a few stray hairs around the ear. One time he came home with bangs!

Frank finally explained to me the man who cuts his hair has a bit of a shaky hand and doesn’t always do a good job. I asked him why he doesn’t go to some one else? We have a swanky new men’s salon that opened up down the street with huge flat screen TV’s with sports on 24/7 – a real men’s den so to speak.

Frank says that he feels bad for the old man, that he doesn’t have that many customers. So he continues to go. He often “fixes” his hair cuts when he gets home. There’s a lot you can do with spray gel.

I just look at him and his horrible hair cut and smile.

I am one lucky wife.

Emotional? Nah… just hand me the tissues!

2008-10-27T10:29:00.001-04:00

Ok. I admit it. I have been very emotional lately. This new pregnancy symptom has kind of caught me off guard. I was never a crier. Even at the saddest of movies, I usually kept it together.

But lately – forget it! If there is a hint of an animal dying or even a come from behind football team, I’m a goner. I found myself crying with every extra point the team scored in We Are Marshall. Let’s not forget that the entire football team dies in the first ten minutes! Don’t worry, I didn’t give away the movie – that’s the whole premise. It really is a great movie. I thought I’d push my pregnancy hormones to their limit by watching My Dog Skip. Word of warning – DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE if you are pregnant! It’s about a boy and his dog. I’m getting teary just thinking about it.

This one caught be my surprise. I was actually perusing YouTube during my lunch break at work and found this…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QaMv6I78Lg

It’s about a little girl named Abby and her best friend Rosco the pug. It’s a slide show of photos and video of the two growing up together all set to Some Where Over the Rainbow. Let me tell you – it took about two seconds for me to reach for the tissues.

Then there’s the complete opposite of crying is the hysterical laughter. It’s something I cannot control and it’s completely spontaneous. It really doesn’t matter what’s funny – I just start laughing hysterically at something I normally would just chuckle at. Frank’s really good about getting me to of tears because I’m laughing to hard. I think he really enjoys seeing me laugh so hard, that I grab my…well…you know… and run for the bathroom. Another joy of pregnancy!
It’s from one extreme to another and I kind of feel like I don’t have any control. That’s really hard for this self described control freak. I heard that you don’t get your normal emotions back until several months after the baby’s born. Hey, I’m ready for the roller costar ride if you are!

I’d love to hear your war stories of pregnancy – please feel free to leave a comment and let me know I’m not alone!

PS – Frank said I actually looked pregnant this morning. It was really cute and he said it with such excitement. I’ll post some pictures this week.

Eighteen Weeks

2008-10-23T12:00:00.002-04:00

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.See what your baby looks like this week.
Welcome to month five! I’m officially five months pregnant. The pregnancy calendar doesn’t work like a typical calendar – I can’t even explain it, but at week 18 I’m in my fifth month.

Frank and I are still settling in that we are having a little Oscar as Nana Susan likes to say. Boys are fun, boys are energetic, boys break things… but all in all, we are ecstatic! Sharing the news at work was fun. Right when I announced we were expecting a little boy, all my friends immediately told me why boys were so much better than girls:

“Boys love their mommies” “Boys are so much easier to raise.”

And of course the negatives with raising girls:

“Girls are so much more emotional, once they hit 11/12, watch out!” “You don’t have enough closet space for a girl”

I’m sure if we said we were having a girl – the complete opposite would have happened. They would have shared all the great things about raising girls. It’s just fun to see people’s reactions.

I am feeling much better. I still puke almost every morning, but I just do it and get it out of the way. I have more energy and now realize how awful I felt before, knowing how good I feel now! I will definitely put this new found energy to good use. We have lots to do – get the nursery ready, clean out the garage (just something that has to get done!) and pick out furniture.

My appetite has returned and I find myself drawn into almost every commercial on TV for the newest food or snack. I haven’t had Frank on any craving runs yet, but I have a feeling it’s coming.

We made the appointment for the second level ultrasound to check out the baby’s heart. It’s scheduled for November 10. We aren’t worried about finding anything wrong, but of course we’ll be relieved when we get a clean bill of health. We’re just glad we get to see our little guy again!

Full speed ahead! Lots to do and feeling great!

Paint the room blue – we’re having a boy!

2008-10-21T09:45:00.005-04:00

We found out on Friday that we’re expecting a little boy on March 26, 2009.

I was so worked up about my swollen feet that I had the nurses where I work take my blood pressure. It came out 145/64 - which is high for me. So I called the doc and he wanted to see me on Friday instead of Monday. Lucky us, we got to find out the gender three days early. Long story short - my bp is fine. Lesson learned - not all cuff sizes fit all!

We're so excited! With the last minute rescheduling, Frank almost missed the ultrasound because he couldn't get out of work early. When I arrived for my 8:30 a.m. apt, I begged the receptionist for a later appointment and she didn’t have anything - I burst into tears! I felt so bad for that woman to have to deal with me all emotional. I'm not a crier at all! I’ve been very emotional and moody lately.

Frank did make it - he raced up the parkway and made it there just in time to see me getting off the table. The tech was so nice; she put me back on the table and showed us everything. He sucked his thumb, gave us a wave, was flipping and kicking throughout the test. We could definitely see his little pee pee :) It definitely looks like a boy!

The ultrasounds to the right are as follows – I’ve become an expert at deciphering the fuzzy black and white images… 1. Is the money shot with his legs and in between his legs you can tell he’s a boy! Look for the white arrow. 2. His spine and skull. 3. His face and he’s giving us a wave. You should be able to click on the photo view a larger version.

The baby has a healthy heart rate of 140 bpm, my blood preasure is a respectable 120/70 and I've gained a total of 8 pounds from day one. Not bad!

The swelling hasn't returned, I think a lot of it has to do with me sitting at my computer all day. My ankles were back to normal all weekend and yesterday. I'll make sure I drink more today and take frequent breaks during the week.

The ultrasound tech did find a marker for downs syndrome in the baby's heart. We're not too concerned, and neither is the doc, because we had the first trimester screening and we have a greater than 1 in 10,000 chance of having a downs baby. And the tech said that she couldn't get a clear picture of the heart, so we get to go to a specialist in a few weeks. I think if there was some chance, I would definitely be worried, but I'm not. Mother's intuition, maybe.

Feeling better most of the time. Have some pretty bad head aches and I toss my cookies about 3 times a week and that usually happens if I get up really early. Like today, but after that, I'm feeling good.

We’re still letting the baby boy Mazzarella sink in for a while. It’s nice calling it a he rather than an it. We are keeping the name a secret until he arrives. There’s got to be some sort of surprise on b-day!

Thanks to everyone for being so supportive and sharing in our excitement.

Seventeen Weeks

2008-10-16T09:06:00.001-04:00

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.See what your baby looks like this week.
Who stole my ankles?

My one crowning glory, my one delicate and thin body feature – gone to the water retention pregnancy gods.

When I got home yesterday after a normal day at work, I looked down at my little tootsies only to see two swollen stumps where my delicate ankle bones used to protrude. I thought to myself, “Isn’t this a little early for swollen feet? Doesn’t this usually happen in the eighth or ninth month?”

So I got out my trusty Pregnancy Week by Week and found that swelling is completely normal because of all the extra fluids moving around in your body. I cross referenced this advice with What to Except When You’re Expecting and it said the same thing – just be sure my blood pressure stays low and I’m not spilling protein into my urine. Well, I can’t find out either until I see the doc on Monday. The books suggested that I drink plenty of fluids and that I keep moving or do not stand or sit for too long and wear comfortable shoes. I’m on the comfy shoe wagon, I just need to remind myself to take frequent breaks and walk away from the computer after a few hours. One benefit of working in a children’s hospital is that I can take a break and always find someone to play Uno with or go for a stroll in our new therapy garden. Propping my legs up on top of my computer monitor (which is a huge no no according to our IT dept) may be too high, I need something in between. I’ll bring in a little stool for under my desk – just another thing we have to purchase!

After the purchase of the car, I was full steam ahead on to the next big purchases and I think Frank was getting a little overwhelmed by all this talk of buying this or needing that. He sweetly asked me not to talk about any big purchases for a week. I like how he put a time limit to it, but honey, seven days and counting and we’re off to look at baby furniture.

I’ve been feeling the baby move more. Still not at any special times of the day, just when she/he feels the need to flutter. I have noticed it’s moves often after I have something sweet or after I eat. It still feels like a flutter, or a pop here or there.

We have our next doc apt on Monday. I’ll definitely ask him about the new swelling, about some stretching pain I’ve been having – both of which I’m sure are normal. And of course we have our BIG ultrasound!

Check Out Our New Ride - The SantaFe!

2008-10-14T10:10:00.007-04:00

I just had my first cup of caffeinated coffee in five months and the baby is doing flips! I think he/she likes caffeine as much as I do! A word to the pregnancy police - It’s safe to have up to 300 mg of caffeine a day and today I really needed a boost after staying out way past my bed time last night car shopping.

We finally closed the deal and Frank and I are the new proud owners of a cherry red 2008 Hyundai SantaFe! We came up with a nice compromise – I wanted all the bells and whistles, but couldn’t afford the bells and whistles with “top of the line” brands… so we compromised with a Hyundai. And I’m not so sure we even made a compromise because Hyundai has been top rated for safety and performance for many years and is affordable!

You should have seen us – bargaining with the sales man. I thought we made out pretty well. The sales man even started to get loud with us and we eventually settled on a nice price with a free LoJack thrown in.

Feeling a little more prepared for this baby.
- Family car...check!

Next on the list:
- Baby furnature
- Paint Colors
- Registries

The picture is from a Hyundai website – I’ll upload pics of me and the actual car. Promise!

Just a reminder we go in for our next doc apt on Monday! And we get to have our gender ultrasound! Do a little dance or say a prayer that the little one cooperates :) We'll of course post our news as soon as we find out.

Sixteen Weeks

2008-10-10T10:08:00.002-04:00

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.See what your baby looks like this week.
At times I feel better, more energized, less nauseous.

But then it hits me – I can hardly find the energy to get off the couch – or a wave of nausea comes over me that I have to start my “do everything in my power not to throw up routine” which consists of swallowing the excessive amount of saliva brought on by the nausea, then clenching my teeth, taking several deep breaths then pray that everything stays down…

Tonight we’re celebrating three birthdays – Frank my darling husband, my father-in-law Frank and my sister-in-law’s boy friend Fred. All of these birthdays are within a week of each other.

Then next week I have my mom, dad, step-mom Susan and Ozzie. October is a huge birthday month!

Lots of cake for the baby!

Fifteen Weeks

2008-10-03T11:47:00.001-04:00

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")See what your baby looks like this week.

Over all I am feeling better. Today the nausea and fatigue have crept back and I’ve been getting the occasional heading. But I’m definitely on the transition to the feeling good second trimester.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve felt the baby move. I know it’s early, especially for us curvy girls, to feel the baby, but I swear I know the difference between digestion and a little one moving around inside me. I feel “flutters” every so often. Not all the time, and not at certain times. The technical word for this is called quickening: meaning quite literally, “first subtle kicks.” I’ll place my hand on my tummy and I think to myself… holy cow – there’s a real baby in there! I’m sure I’ll feel real kicks when I get closer to my 20th week.

I just scheduled our 18th week gender ultrasound and doctor’s apt for October 20. That way we’ll see the doc, Dr. Crane this time, and do the ultrasound the same day. Two appointments at once instead of two in two weeks which saves on time away from work! I will be seeing Dr. Crane, he’s the practice’s male doctor and I’ve never seen a male OB/GYN. Granted, he could quite possibly deliver this baby and this appointment he’s not getting up close and personal. But I was still concerned and I mentioned my hesitation to the nurse who I made the appointment with. I said, “I’ve never had a man down there before.” And she pauses, and she simply states, “Well, you got pregnant didn’t you?” And I just cracked up laughing! Sorry if that was too much information, but I literally laughed for a good 60 seconds.

Best Thing Ever!

2008-09-30T12:18:00.001-04:00

The holy grail of maternity inventions… one of the major positives about being pregnant that no one talks about until you actually slip on a pair. Yes ladies, I’m talking about maternity pants. Hallelujah something that pregnant women can actually enjoy! The lovely stretchy fabric that replaces that awful constricting waistband with buttons and zippers holds the pants up and helps round out my curvy belly.

Well… ok, I’m taking it a little far, but after struggling with my baby bump and everything I tried on in my closet was so uncomfortable – these miracle pants have made my day.

Oh happy day.