A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

1 month

Ok, so I'm late at posting this but better late than never. The little princess or as we affectionately refer to her as la princesa (we've been watching too much Dora) is 1 month old already * sad sigh*. She's plumping up nicely, she's quite the eater and not quite the sleeper. At her last weigh in, she'd gained 2.5 times the amount of weight the average baby gains at 1 month.

In the last month, I've learned a few things:
-how different two children of the same parents can be
-how difficult it is to walk by the children's section at Target without buying any baby girl clothes
-why sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture (must be I forgot about this part)
-that pre-schoolers are really interested in breast feeding gadgets, products and process

Certainly I've learned other things but my brain isn't functioning today so I can't think of anymore!

We are headed to NY tomorrow for the Adrienne revealing. Just kidding, we're really going to NY for a whole lot of reasons but the little miss will be meeting lots of admirers. Maybe I'll try to tame her tresses for the occasion!

Happy One Month Birthday, Adrienne!

Fast!

Ok, I'm going to try to type really FAST because I have a feeling a certain someone is going to be waking up in the next ten minutes to eat!

So speaking of fast...Matt and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary yesterday...those 5 years went by FAST, OMG! I guess it's a good sign that it doesn't seem like it's gone by slowly, huh? That wouldn't be good. Anyway, it was also Matt's 29th birthday! I like it when it's Matt's birthday because that means for the next 6 months or so, our birthdays look only one year apart instead of 2 :) Yesterday we went out to lunch at a famous Mexican restaurant in the city where we've been trying to use a gift card that we've held onto for 5 years (literally, it was a wedding gift). We've called at least once a year since we've been in Chicago to get a reservation at this place but we've never been able to get one when we wanted to. So alas, yesterday we walked in for lunch, didn't have to wait and got an awesome table. The stars must have been aligned. This particular restaurant as gotten even harder to get into since theowner and executive chef, Rick Bayliss is Obama's favorite. Too bad I had to watch Matt down 2 margaritas while sipping my fruit cooler.

Later in the evening, we dove into Matt's birthday present which was a bouquet of chocolate covered strawberries from edible arrangements - YUM. I'm embarassed to say that we ate the whole thing in one sitting. Birthdays and anniversaries are great excuses for over-indulging!

So an update on the products of the last 5 years:

Luke is the most ridiculously cute kid ever - his antics make us laugh all day long. He's been parallel parking his cozy coupe car all over the condo. He actually lines up furniture so that the parking spot is tight and backs in his little car. It's amazing how much he picks up from us when we don't even know he's paying attention. This is clearly a blessing and a curse depending on what he picks up. He's been really into the baby lately - he tells her "it's ok" whenever she's crying but has yet to learn that his flailing limbs need to be reigned in in her presence. I finally got him away from my breast pump-which he was turning the speed up and down on as I was using it - uh, not cool!

Little miss Adrienne continues to be a sweet little thing. She's so sweet and cuddly that at night she only likes to sleep on top of people, and if we're lucky, next to people. She generally sleeps in 3 hour segments which isn't too bad. She's quick to let us know when she's hungry or wants to be picked up - let me tell you, she isn't shy! She's very strong and can hold her head up for quite a while. She'll be giving Luke a run for his money before too long!

Alas, some photos!

Sitting pretty:

Flowers we got for our anniversary:

Watering the plants:

The chocolate covered strawberries:

Playing in the front yard:

Hanging out in the front yard:

A small snooze in the swing:

Going Green

We started using our cloth diapers this week - yahoo! So far, so good. I never ever thought I'd get this excited about excrement catchers, but they are so cute. Luckily Adrienne has a mimi who has turned pro at making them. Here is a glimpse at one...I'm sure they'll show up in many pictures to come!

It's a GIRL!

Adrienne Hajjar Zappia was born on 6/10/10 at 6:07 PM weighing in at 6 pounds and 12 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches.

On Tuesday, June 8th, Matt and I went to the OB for my 39 week appointment with Dr. Lin. After discussing all of the options and my progress (4 cm dilated)and a handful of other factors we decided to do an induction on Thursday, 6/10/10. Originally, I had been sort of against induction but probably moreso because of having a previous preterm delivery. Dr. Lin assured us this baby was ready, that I was a good candidate for induction, and that with my history of a fast labor, that he'd like me to have the baby in the hospital instead of on Lake Shore Drive. Dr Lin scheduled us for the induction at Prentice Women's Hospital for 7:30 AM but we were "bumped" until about 2:00 PM (this resulted in a lot waiting around, frustration, and of course, tears). We finally got the call to come back to the hospital and I was hooked up at around 3:00 PM. They immediately started the Pitocin to get labor going. Because I'd been having contractions the whole pregnancy, the Pitocin contractions were really not that bad - not nearly the nightmare contractions I'd been hearing about. When I told this to my nurse, they decided to crank of the Pitocin. That got things moving along and around 4:30 I was ready for the epidural and it was in by 4:50. I loved the epidural with Luke and I loved it this time around too - it honestly felt so good. I'm still surprised so many people don't want one - what's not to like? For the first few minutes though, the epi only worked on once side of my body - that was a very strange feeling but luckily after a few minutes it was working all over. The plan was for the dr. to break my water once the epidural was placed but lo and behold, my water decided to break on its own right after the dr. was done putting the epi in. I didn't even notice it had broken but my nurse saw that I was leaking. Not sure why, but it was sort of embarassing to be leaking and not know it! I had a slight complication in that there was meconium in my water which can potentially be a large complication if it is ingested by the baby. Dr. Lin said that it meant there would be a pediatric team in the room at the time of delivery so that the baby could be suctioned really well. Apparently my babies likes to have a full audience at their births. At this point I was 4.5-5 cm dilated. Half way there!

So after my epi at 4:50 and my water breaking, I was supposed to be on the lookout for "pressure" that would mean it was time to push. Around 5:45 PM the dr. came back in to see how i was doing and to see if I'd felt "the pressure," yet. I told him that I was not feeling any pressure so he decided to check me just in case. And it's a good thing he did - I was 10 cm dilated and ready to go. He said the baby was almost crawling it's way out and I was feeling none of it! So around 6:00 PM, it was time to push. I pushed a few times (maybe 4?) and Adrienne was born at 6:07 PM.

Adrienne was suctioned very quickly by Dr. Lin and Matt was then able to cut the cord. She was screaming the entire time - very loudly. She then went to the pediatric team to be checked and cleaned and then we were good to go. Matt is still amazed by the skill needed by the Dr. to actully catch the baby. He thinks Dr. Lin should be a wide receiver in the NFL. Adrienne scored 9 and 9 on her Apgar scores and everyone kept commenting on her full head of dark hair.

This labor and delivery was very zen-like...smooth, quiet and peaceful :) Adrienne has been such a dream baby. She barely fusses, sleeps well and eats well. Our pretty princess is so sweet and so perfect!

Having a full-term baby after a preemie has been a great experience. The difference between the two is immeasurable. This time around is 100 times easier. Taking care of a preemie is stressful and very labor intensive which Adrienne has not been.

Here she is hanging out:

Big brother Luke is adjusting very well. He loves Adrienne when he notices her and likes to tell people we got her from the "hos-i-pit-al). Like we just went there and picked one out :) I think one of the main reasons that Luke likes Adrienne is because she goes out and buys lots of presents for him! She even got him the cozy coupe he's been coveting (see picture below). What a nice little sister.

So we're all doing great. Mimi left about a week after Adrienne's arrival and Matt has been on "paternity leave." Luke's been going with his nanny everyday like normal (best decision I ever made) and Matt, Adrienne and I go out to lunch everyday. Summer maternity leaves are fabulous - everyone tells me that it's such a great time to have a baby and I tell them that it wasn't luck, I planned it this way!

This is a picture of her sleeping right next to me right now but yy little miss is starting to wake up as I finish this post so I must go. Be on the lookout for many updates to come!

Lukey playing in the pool in the front yard:

Lukey wearing daddy's running shoes:

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

The mall:

The Beach:

The Park:

What more could you ask for?

We had a such a great time the Memorial Day Weekend that my writing simply can't do it justice so I'm just going to show some pics. Plus I don't have the focus or patience to sit here and try to be clever as my brain is no longer functioning at 38 weeks + pregnant. And by the way, I'm convinced this child is never coming out.

Does sarcasm/frustration translate through the internet?

Back to my fabulous weekend...

Monkey on the monkey bars:

Friends in the front yard:

What's wrong with this picture?

The Chase:

The Catch:

This is gonna be fun!

Up High:

The ginormousness:

Naked Computing:

Chillin on Southport:

To the Beach!

Summer weather returned to Chicago yesterday at a healthy 90 degrees. Given the chaotic weather patterns in this city, we had to take advantage of it while we could. Not sparing a minute, we hit the beach at 8:30 AM and it was already hot. In true Luke fashion, Luke immediately starting throwing his body around and rolling in the sand, making sure every square inch of his body was covered before we were even there for 5 minutes. In fact, Luke decided everyone should be covered in sand and proceeded to exfoliate my back by rubbing it with handfuls of sand. I've got a bunch of pictures here - take a look! There are also some of my big boy swinging on the monkey bars by himself!

The baby Zappia #2 headline of the week: Full Term - YAY!

So now that I accomplished my goal of making it full term with this baby, I'm ready get on with it! I was kind of hoping the baby would be born some time this week, but according to the dr. this morning, that isn't looking so likely. I've moved passed to waddle stage and my gait looks more like a swaying kind of motion. There is a full moon on Thursday though - a girl can hope!

Soon to be baby Zappia#2 headline: Please exit the womb!

3 Years Old

I'm posting a little late about Luke's 3rd birthday but better late than never! Ah- the old cliche "where did the time go?"is all too true - where did it go? How can the day he was born be 3 years ago already when I can remember it so clearly and vividly. Maybe sleep deprivation makes you forget time?

It took us about 3 full weeks to celebrate Luke's 3rd birthday- that's normal, right?!?!? I hope that it doesn't continue this way because the next birthday would take a whole month! Gma and Gpa were in town for the occasion (among other occasions) and we celebrated with a huge ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. And yes, we've been eating the ice cream cake for 3 weeks - a nice bonus. Luke's a huge fan of candles so everytime we got the ice cream cake out for the first few days, we had to light candles and have Luke blow them out. Luke is so incredibly spoiled, the gifts kept on coming - a guitar, "dingers" for the guitar, a drum, special model cars, giant chapstick, building blocks, clothes, a "skateboard" attachment for his stroller, money for his college fund, yada, yada, yada.

I took the morning off from work on Luke's actual birthday and daddy and I took Luke to his favorite indoor play place - Fantasy Kingdom. He basically had the whole place to himself and he definitely took advantage of that. He was beyond excited to go there and every time he asks now, he says he wants to go to his birthday party. The world is your playground, Luke.

When you ask Luke how old he is now, he proudly announces that he's "free," while holding up 5 fingers. Please, no one teach Luke the real meaning behind 5 fingers and "free," or the cops will be coming after me because I just broke your 5 fingers.

In other Zappia happenings, Mimi is in town this weekend helping us get ready for the baby. I'm 36 weeks and I've completed all of my lovely weekly shots so all bets are now off! I've done so much to prepare for this baby coming early that I will surely be distraught if baby is still cooking at 40 weeks+...my bladder and my ribs just can't take the beatings anymore. Today we we went to the zoo and ended up doing a lot more ride riding (carousel and train) than animal viewing. Plans for later include a trip to Target - yay, Luke's other favorite play place :)

Pictures!