and now there are TWO!

Man, it's been a long time since I've posted! My apologies if you're an avid reader who's been waiting patiently for an update... ;). Let's start with Dominic- he's awesome! He's about 20 months now and is just becoming more and more of a big boy. He loves balls and anything with wheels (car, truck, tractor...). He always goes right for those toys in any setting he's in. He knows a lot of his body parts, and loves LOVES to read. He's always carrying books around, bringing them to us, or sitting down on his own to "read" them, which means he sits there turning the pages, babbling at the book... it's adorable. He's learning so much and has such a great memory for things; I'll point out different things on the pages of the book and as we go through it he can point them out when I ask! That's probably normal for his age, but it still makes me really proud and makes me think he's just the smartest boy in the world =). He knows words and can say quite a few, but he really doesn't talk very much (speak English.. he's always jabbering but rarely says things we can understand). I think he's just taking his time, but his pediatrician wants to keep an eye on his verbal skills so I guess we'll see. He's a little tough guy- he falls all the time, but it really takes a lot to get him crying about things, and even when he does cry it usually doesn't last long. He's very tough about stuff like that, and I've actually heard that's common among gastro babies because they went through so much when they were infants. He's perfect.

On July 14th, 2010 I gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Scarlett Isabella! She was 8 lbs, 13 oz and 21 inches long, and absolutely perfect and healthy. I went all-natural with NO drugs or anything, and yes it hurt, but it was over really quickly (4 hours total in labor), and I would definitely go natural again! It was an amazing experience. Bringing home a newborn was new for Rick and I, because Dominic was almost 3 months by the time he came home. Scarlett was exactly 3 lbs and 3 inches bigger than Dominic at birth, and she's a chunk! It's so strange because I had one teeny tiny baby for so long, and now a big ole chunky monkey- she was in the 94% for weight at 6 weeks, haha. Now Scarlett is about 3 1/2 months and she and Dominic just love each other to pieces. He's so sweet and loving with her and always gives her kisses and hugs. If she's fussing, he'll go right over to her and pat her head or belly, or try to rock her bouncy seat, or just try to help in general. Sometimes his efforts lead to him squishing her a little bit, but he's never intentionally hurt her. In fact, the few times he's accidentally hurt her and made her cry, he starts whining and crying and looking at her- he gets really concerned about her till she stops crying. It's so sweet. And Scarlett just smiles and smiles at him, and everyone else. She's the happiest, smiliest baby ever and I love it! I spend large parts of my free time just talking to her and making goofy faces because it's so rewarding to get that smile from her.

Kids are healthy, husband is happy, I couldn't ask for more.
Thanks for reading!

Stephanie

14 months today!

Hello! Today Dominic is 14 months old! He's been walking since 12 1/2 months, and is almost running now! He loves to walk everywhere he goes and has mastered getting to a standing position from the floor. He used to have to crawl over to something (coffee table/me/a toy) and pull himself up, but he doesn't need that anymore =). He's such a big boy. He says "Yeah", "mmmm", "mama", "dada", and a whole lot of gibberish. He talks constantly, but only he knows what he's saying! He eats regular food, drinks whole milk from a sippy cup, and has started deciding that he does and doesn't like certain things. When he's done drinking from his sippy, he immediately throws it on the floor. We're trying to teach him not to do that, but so far no luck. He loves to feed himself- if I give him a bite of something, he'll usually take it out of his mouth so he can put it back in himself. It's so funny to see him test out his independance with different things. If we're in the house he won't hold my hand to walk somewhere, but once we're somewhere else I can hold his hand without a struggle. He's still the happiest little guy. He's so content and happy- he makes it easy on us! He'll sit and play by himself and be perfectly happy. I sit down with him to play, but he usually just takes my toys and plays by himself with them.
I'm now almost 29 weeks pregnant with a little GIRL! I'm in my third trimester and am totally feeling pregnant. I can't complain, though- aside from back aches, heartburn, and getting exhausted, I really do have it easy. I get a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions but they don't hurt. Rick and I are enrolled in Bradley Childbirth classes- which is an all-natural, drug-free birth plan. I want to experience birth how it was meant to be! I want to do it like women have done it for thousands of years, and how animals continue to give birth. God created women to be able to give birth, and technology and medicine has taken that away from us in a lot of ways. I'm excited to meet this little girl, but at the same time I'm totally nervous about have TWO kids, especially two under two! Dominic takes so much time and energy as it is and I just don't know how I'll manage with a newborn as well as him. I know people do it all the time, and I know we'll be able to do it- I'm just nervous about it. I don't want Dominic to feel neglected at all or get less love and attention, so we'll just have to step up our game when she gets here!
We're moving to Pennsylvania and buying a house in June- and I'm due in July, so while it's very exciting it's also very stressful!

Thanks for reading =)

Stephanie

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Hello All! I've finally come back to continue my last post =). Dominic is almost 11 months and has been crawling since shortly before 10 months old. He is a SPEED DEMON! It's so funny- he crawls away from us, and when I walk behind him or call his name, he turns around to look, smiles at me, and then takes off even faster! It's as if he's saying "I'm outta here, Mom!". It's just too cute. He's still not saying 'Mama' yet... he says "Dada" all the time but still doesn't put meaning to it, so I don't consider it a first word ;). He's learning all sorts of new things- it's so cool to see him learning that if you push this it makes a sound, or if you turn that, it lights up... stuff like that. He sits and plays with his toys and is still the happiest baby I know. He's cutting his 3rd and 4th teeth now! It's the top two and he's handling it really well- not cranky about it at all! Rick, myself, and Dominic are all fighting a yucky cold right now and it stinks! But- I was reading something on babycenter and it said to expect your baby to get between 8 & 10 colds before his 2nd birthday, and this is his first real one... I think we're doing pretty well! I ordered his first birthday supplies- I'm really excited about him turning ONE and having a nice party for him... I just can't believe it!
Baby #2 is going great as far as we know! I'm now 15 weeks and feeling wonderful! Knock on wood, but I have relatively easy pregnancies as far as morning sickness and symptoms go! I felt awful from about weeks 6 to 9, but since then it's been pretty smooth sailing :). We had a bit of a scare when at my 12 weeks appt they couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler, but the next day at the ultrasound showed a moving baby with a beating heart. Until we know the sex, I can't really decide on any decore, names, or anything like that, so we're really anxious to know!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Stephanie

Ringing in the New Year with a New Bundle of Joy!

Most of you already know this, but Rick and I are expecting our second baby! Dominic has been doing so well and has been cleared from any specialists for a while now and we want them close in age, so we started trying! Just like with Dominic, we were pregnant the very next month and I am now 12 weeks along! I've decided to keep this blog going instead of starting a new one, and I'm just going to continue updating about Dominic, and of course info on the new baby too! ...Dominic just woke up, I'll finish this later.... =)

9 months and counting...

Hello, we just had Dominic's 9 month check-up and he now weighs 17 pounds!! How exciting! It's taken him so long to put on weight, but I still can't believe he's this big... funny how that works. He doesn't crawl- he scoots on his tummy and has been doing that since about 8 1/2 months. He's really fast, too! His favorite things to go for are dog food or water, dog toys, the entertainment center, and the Christmas tree. He's learning so much and making more sounds with his mouth- still the dada's and baba's and now gaga and yaya... still no MAMA! He's playing with his toys more and actually learning to take them out of a box- very exciting :). He has just started sleeping through the night, too- FINALLY! He's done it for the last few days and I really hope it sticks. He's also falling asleep on his own now instead of me rocking him to sleep. The Doctors say they need to be able to do this so I had to start letting him, haha- but I still rock him sometimes for naps. We're coming up on his very first Christmas and man is he getting spoiled! I tried not to buy a lot of toys for him because I know family is getting him stuff- but I still ended up buying him quite a few things. I don't know where I'm going to put everything!
His tummy is doing well- his herniated belly button is getting better as he grows. He still spits up, but not as much as before. He's eating more and more solid foods which help him to keep it down.

Thank you all for the continued love and support!
Stephanie

Green Beans, Carrots, Bananas- Oh My!

I apologize for taking so long to update you all, but I come bearing good news. Dominic had his high risk NICU check up at 7 months old; it's a developmental check up to see if he needs additional follow-up. There was about 7 different types of doctors in there and they sat down with Dominic on the floor to check his development. They offered him toys and watched how he moved himself and grabbed things and used his mind. Guess what- they placed him at 8 to 9 months in most every area of development! I could not be more proud of my little guy! After all he's been through, the 2 1/2 months in the hospital, and the broviac in and everything- he's ahead of the pack! My heart swells with pride =). He's the happiest little guy and wakes up smiling. He loves new people and makes friends wherever we go- in fact the other day at Panera Bread, two separate older ladies asked to hold him (I let them... they looked harmless, although it was a bit odd to get that request from strangers). He sits up on his own for a long time and he plays with his toys. He talks to us all the time, making his "baa baa baa" and "dadada" sounds. Too bad he doesn't say "Mama" yet, but he'll get there ;). We have switched his formula to a 'normal' one that you can buy in the stores- not even a sensitive one! He's also been eating baby food twice a day- we're still going through the stage 1 foods but I think he's ready for stage 2's. He loves to eat the food and gets really excited when I put him in his high chair because he knows that he eats there. Since changing his formula and giving him baby food his poops have become NORMAL!!! They used to be watery squirts of bright green or yellow, and now it's actual baby poop! Also, his prior poops would always give him diaper rash and now he doesn't get it nearly as often. He's not real interested in crawling yet, so he rolls to move around.... but he's such a content baby that he just stays put for the most part... I wonder how long that will last...
He doesn't have any appointments with his GI (gastro) doctor lined up and won't unless we run into problems. He doesn't need developmental follow-up, and we are now just on a regular schedule of appointments with his Pediatrician! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support- It seems we've come out of this relatively unscathed. Also, we finally got the paperwork sorted out and recieved the money back from the military that we had paid out the whole time we were in the hotel! Such a relief!


God works miracles, you can see it in my little boy's eyes. Thank you all.

Teething, Car Accident, and 6 month check-up... in that order!

*Sigh* As you may have read in my subject line, Dominic is teething. We haven't spotted any of those darling pearly whites but let me assure you of aomething: they're coming, and they must be upset about something. Our poor little Dominic who is usually so content and happy is fussy, inconsolable, and no longer sleeping through the night. Someone get me the Tequila. My little angel has become an angry little man, and I can't say I blame him. I just can't wait for those teethies to come in and give us a break! Moving on... Yes, we (I) got into a car accident. Yesterday I was driving to his 6 month appointment and a SCHOOL BUS (yes you read that right) merges right on over into me. I slamed the breaks and honked to no avail... they side swiped me starting at my Drivers side door on up. The door now has opening issues, as I like to call it. They didn't use their turn signal or warn me in any way that they were about to head on over to my spot in the right lane, so I'm hoping (and almost positive) that the insurance companies will side with me. UGH. On to the important part; no one was hurt, it wasn't a jarring crash and Dominic didn't even notice that anything had happened. So that's something new to deal with.
The exciting part- Dominic's 6 month appointment went really well!! He's on track developmentally and the Doctors are so pleased with how well he's mentally and physically developing! He now weighs 12lbs, 8oz and is 24 1/2 inches long! He's still not on the growth chart but is gaining and growing well so they're not concerned. Also, we got the go ahead to start rice and baby foods! I'm so excited that this is an option for him, and I bought his very first box of rice cereal today, I'm going to try it out tomorrow ao I'll have to post pics of his first time eating from a spoon =). It's just amazing that he's able to start at least trying solids, and at 6 months it's not even delayed! For a while the rice and baby foods aren't going to be as important nutritionally as they will be developmentally, so he'll be learning some different ways to use his mouth.

Thank you for reading, and for your continued love and support- I hope you are all doing very well =)

Stephanie&Dominic