Yay for milestones!!!

Miss Fiona would like to share a few firsts with you!!!   She's been quite a busy girl lately.  I should start by telling you that she now weighs 11 lbs 12oz and is 23.5 inches long.  She has gained another pound and grown almost another inch in the past month! 

She rolled over all by herself for the first time on July 16th.  Her Uncle Matt and myself were there to witness it.  Here is a video:  Fiona rolls over

We also went swimming with Fiona for the first time this past weekend with our friends Sarah and Justin Halulko and their little boy Liam.  Fiona loved it!!!  Her swim diaper was a bit too big, though, and I was just praying the entire time that she wasn't going to poop!!  How mortifying would that have been?! LOL!!  Thankfully, she held it in :)  We had a really fun time and we can't wait to do it again.  Here's a picture from that day:

Fiona also ate her first solid food today.....rice cereal!!!  She did really well! We were pretty amazed, and we also captured it on camera  :)  Take a look.... Fiona eats solid food

Another thing that's been new for us lately is Dave's change of employment.  He will be leaving EDMC soon, and will be going to work for Target in HR.  Because he's changing jobs, he's had some time off. Therefore, he's had the opportunity to use some of that time and stay home with us.  Bonus!!!  Here are some photos of he and Fiona spending some quality time together:

Dave also got some fresh ink this past week.  He decided to get Fiona's footprints and her date of birth in Roman numerals on his back.  Here's a picture of it that I took just today.  It looks a little distorted because he's holding up his shirt and it's stretched out a bit, but you get the idea :)  It turned out really great.  The footprints are really realistic!!  I love how you can see how her little left foot was so scrunched up when she was born.  Pretty cool!! 

Soooo, that's about all that's new with us!!  We'll keep you updated as more things happen, which is bound to start happening pretty rapidly now.  Thanks for checking in! 

XoXo

Fathers Day 2011

What a wonderful weekend the Rs had together this weekend!! It's the first weekend since we brought Fiona home that we haven't had any visitors and had no other obligations, which is VERY rare!!  I only had one client on Saturday morning and aside from that, we were free to just spend time together, which is so nice!!

On Saturday afternoon we decided to go to the Waterfront and have dinner at Bravo and then walk around and do some shopping.  We happened to get caught in a torrential downpour but we did not let that dampen our spirits!! ;)  It was quite funny, actually.  It was one of those trips where everything seems to be going wrong.  We got caught in major traffic (thank you construction and Taylor Swift) on the way there (did I mention that the air conditioning is broken in the Jeep?!) and then my husband may or may not have not stopped completely at a stop sign after waiting for a train and a crazy yinzer may or may not have gotten into a screaming match with him over it as we tried to drive peacefully away.  So, basically, the rain was just the perfect ending.  We joked that we had commented while melting in the traffic jam that we both could have used another shower and that the universe must have been listening.  :)

Sunday we just hung out and played with Fiona and vegged with eachother on the couch for most of the day, which we rarely do.  Dave got some nice Play Station time in, and all in all we just enjoyed each other's company.    We did dress Fiona up in a nice little outfit for all of her Grandfather figures to show some love.  You can see that below.  There is also a video of Dave and Fiona having a nice time together.

Chatting with Daddy on Fathers Day

I would just like to take this time to express my appreciation for all the wonderful Dads in my life, starting with my husband.  I'm so thankful that he's my baby daddy ;)   I'm also quite lucky to have as many Dads as I do, and I appreciate all of you for all of your unique qualities that make you the amazing men that you are.  I love you on Fathers Day and every day.   All my love.  Xoxo.  

Fifi Ona

Soooo,  things have been crazy around here lately!!  I feel like I'm running a part time bed and breakfast as well (if coffee constitutes breakfast) from all the visitors we've had lately.  Our friend Ann Vierkorn and her daughter Mia (who is a twin and will be 2 on August 14th) came for a little visit.  Ann is currently prego with baby #3 (Jon Jr- due Sept 9th) and since they will be done having little ones after him and they know he's a boy, she so graciously gave Fiona all of Mia's clothes that don't fit anymore!  This girl has got some clothes!!!!!! Let me tell ya!  It was amazing visiting with Annie, as she is one of my very best friends in the world and I LOVE HER and miss her dearly.  We didn't get any pictures of the girls together because Mia is quite shy these days and I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but it was a very nice visit.  Here are some of the pictures of Fiona in her newly acquired wardrobe courtesy of Mia Grace.  First is a super cute bathrobe that everyone seems to think she looks like a prize fighter in.  Second is a little hippy outfit and contrary to the look on her face, we really like this outfit :)  Had to document the pouty face-- it's a classic. 

Right after that, our friends Paul and Martha DeSante from MN came for a visit as well.  They were on their way to Erie and decided to stay the night with us for a night.  This was equally as amazing because they are also dear friends of ours that we rarely get to see these days.  Fiona was quite enamoured with both of them, which does not surprise me because they are two of the nicest people I've ever met in my life.  Truly good people!! 

We also recently took Fiona for her first shopping outing.  She slept through the majority of the trip, but we did buy her these amazing shades at Janie and Jack.  I could not resist them.  What I also could not resist were the teeny tiny bathing suits, but Dave R was the voice of reason and would not allow me to get one just yet.  Next summer......  but they were SOOOO CUTE!!!!   We settled for a nice sundress... pics to follow, as she hasn't worn it yet.    Here are some pics of her in her shades from that day.  The first is in her stroller, and the second was her totally passed out when I first took her out of the carseat when we got back home.  Too funny!!



As I said in the last post, Fiona is just really coming out of her shell.  We can see that  she's so much more vocal and alert these days.  You can see her interacting with her toys in a more alert and purposeful way.  Here's a video of her in her swing and you can see that she's totally enthralled with the mobile and the mirror above now.  She smiles and talks to herself in it all the time now, which is adorable. 

Here's a video of her during tummy time.  It's basically a small miracle that I got this video because let's just say Fiona is no longer a fan of tummy time.  We usually have a window of about oh 5-35 seconds before she completely loses her mind.  You can see that she's getting close to rolling over at times.

Well, that's the latest with the Rs!!!  :) 



Monkeying Around

:)  Thought I'd share this video and picture that I took of Fiona this morning.  Her personality is coming out more and more every day!!  I love it!!! Click on "A Chat with Fiona" to view the video, please :)

A Chat with Fiona

Fiona just had a very nice first time visit with Liam Halulko, the son of our friends Sarah and Justin.  We are hoping they will be friends :)  She also had a nice visit with her Aunt Mandy Mangano and is looking forward to visiting with Annie and Mia this weekend.  She's quite popular!!!! 

The Exorcism of Fiona Claire

I shouldn't joke about these things, but SERIOUSLY.... a miracle has occurred in the form of 1ml three times daily.

As many of you know our little Fiona has always struggled with her digestion.... we joke that she's her father's daughter because she can rip them louder than he can!! Seriously... sometimes it's literally mind blowing the sounds that come out of this miniscule little girl.  It's hysterical, and I love it.  :)  So, when I took Fiona for her 8 week check up at the pediatrician, I told him that she was still really struggling with digestion, because I had noticed an increase in how fussy she was and she seemed to be really uncomfortable with the gas and let's just say things were getting explosive.  I thought maybe she had colic.  Our doctor said that if she hadn't gained so much weight (without adjusting for her prematurity Fiona was in the 75th percentile for size) then it might be a concern, but she's obviously not having any failure to thrive issues, so it wasn't a concern and he said it would probably work itself out.

Well, the following week it just continued to get worse and worse until it reached the point where if she was awake, she was screaming and just plain inconsolable.  Now, Fiona has also inherited a bit of a temper (can't imagine from where..... oops) and so things were getting pretty ugly (read: I'm pretty sure this baby hates my guts).  As you can imagine, this was extremely upsetting to me for a variety of reasons.  First of all, I was just feeling upset because I felt like I waited SO long for this little girl and during my pregnancy I didn't allow myself to really bond to the fullest extent because to be completely honest, I didn't really believe that she would ever make it here and I've been down that road numerous times before.  So, now that she's finally here I just want to take every second I can to cherish her and bond with her and just love her to pieces.  Well, that's a little hard to do when her head is spinning in circles and she's vomiting pea soup (read: punching me in the face and trying her hardest to scratch my eyes out and make my eardrums bleed).  Secondly, I'm working full time from home, and that is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT when your baby is screaming 24/7.  Our corporate clients don't take kindly to screaming infants when trying to relay information about a crisis.....  Talk about stress and exhaustion... for both Fiona and myself. 

Fiona isn't scheduled to go back to the pediatrician until her 4 month checkup in July, so I finally broke down and just called the office and told them after a week straight of this nonstop screaming that I needed someone to exorcize the demon from my child.  Actually, I told them that I thought she had colic or possibly reflux (because my mommy friends had suggested that this might be the issue).  They told me I could bring her in the very next morning, which I was very grateful for.  She is still gaining weight, she weighed in at 9lbs 11oz that morning, and all else looks good.  The doctor said that she doesn't think it's colic because the crying is day and night, and started so late (she was 11 weeks at the time).  So, the doc asked me some questions about symptoms and we came to the conclusion that Fiona has reflux, and they put her on Zantac and told me it might take a week to work. Over the weekend we really started to notice a difference, and it's honestly like she's an entirely different baby!!!  It's amazing!!!  She remains quiet and alert when awake, she's smiling and laughing more and has more interest in interacting with us and playing with toys, etc.  I'm extremely grateful that we found a solution, and I'm loving how much she is changing and developing every day!!! 

She's growing so quickly that I'm trying to put all of her outfits on her that she still fits in because I feel like next week she'll be grown out of them.  Right now she's wearing 0-3m in most things, but some of her outfits/sleepers are 3mo and fitting.  Crazy!!!!  I hold up her preemie sleepers and cannot believe she was ever that size.  I'm proud of her and a tinge sad at the same time!!!!!  :) 

Here are some recent pictures of the fashionista:

This outfit was given to me by my hairdresser, Jenn.  Love her. 

In these next couple, she's channeling her inner flower child.  You know that being my daughter, she's going to be a hippie, there's really no getting around it.  :)  She's lucky I didn't just name her Scarlett Begonia or Rhiannon......

 And finally, here's a little morning snuggle.....  post-Zantac, obviously ;)

So, in closing, I'd like to send a big THANK YOU out to all of my mommy friends who suggested I talk to the pediatrician about reflux, and who provided me with many suggestions for relief! :D  I appreciate all of your advice and support!  It's so great to have the support of so many great people!!!  You are a wealth of information, and it's always good to know that someone else has gone through what you are going through, and for that, I thank you!   :)

I'll try to get a video of her sometime soon, now that she's back to herself and you can see what a silly little goofball she is.  I just love what I've seen of her personality so far.  I really think she's going to be silly.  I can just feel it, and I see it in her eyes... I'm sure she will be providing us with years of entertainment ;) 

Love to everyone!!xoxo <3

Mothers Day 2011

What can I say?  BEST. DAY. EVER!!!!!  I cannot express how grateful I am to have been blessed with this sweet little girl. 

For the past 8 years Mothers Day has been a painful day for me, and to have it once again be joyful was inexplicably wonderful!!!  Dave's parents came to visit and his dad helped him with some projects around the house and Gail did my gardening, which is AMAZING because I hate doing it, but love the finished product!  We have a lovely little flower garden in the front and she also planted me a lovely herb garden.  Dave and I really enjoy cooking so we're really excited about that!  All in all it was a great day spent with loved ones which I'll never forget.   I started the day snuggling in bed with my favorite boy and my favorite girl. 

Now that's a happy mama!!!  :D :D 

Here's a photo of Fiona who was representing well on Mothers Day.

For my first joyous Mothers Day, Dave created a really delightful and sentimental gift.  He took Fiona to a place in Squirrel Hill called Color Me Mine where you can decorate your own pottery and he made me a giant coffee mug with Fiona's hand and footprints all over it.  I LOVE it!!!! 

Looking forward to all of the Mothers Days to come....   :) 

Fiona's "un-birthday"

Today is Fiona's "un-birthday".... AKA my original due date :)  I'm celebrating by eating copious amounts of Easter cut out cookies and chocolate, naturally.  ;)  I can't believe she's already been here for almost 7 weeks!!  I'm so glad we got to spend all this extra time with her!!

Life at home has been great! Dave and I took two weeks off together to just bond and spend with Fiona when she came home from the hospital.  We didn't take any visitors and we just spent some real quality time together as a family.  It was truly amazing and I feel blessed to have had the ability to do so. 

I have been really impressed by Dave! He never had much exposure to babies, or any real interest in holding anyone else's baby, so he was a little apprehensive about Fiona but I have to say that he really is a natural.  Fatherhood looks very good on him, and I feel lucky that our little girl will have such a great male presence in her life.  He changes a diaper like a champ, and he survived his first time being a victim of a projectile spit-up quite well :)  I love seeing them snuggle together and how she recognizes the sound of his voice as well.  It has made me appreciate Dave on an even deeper level and I'm so looking forward to raising her together!!

Today is my first day back to my full time job, and I'm working from home.  I can't even begin to express how grateful I am that I was afforded that option.  Every time I thought about taking her to daycare somewhere I was literally sick over it. I'm not knocking daycare, trust me.  I was a nanny for a few VERY young infants myself, and I know that you have to do what you have to do to pay the bills.   I have just always had a very strong desire to be at home with my children, at least until they were school age, and this is a nice compromise.  Thank you, Universe!! Much gratitude!!

So, what's a day like in the Reszkowski household?? Let me fill you in.  Fiona is still feeding every 2.5-3 hours day and night.  She usually stays awake after one of her feedings for sure, sometimes after two of them, but which feeding that might be is always a surprise to us.  When it's after the 2AM feeding like last night, it's not always a pleasant surprise ;)  Our poor little one has been really struggling with her digestion.  They say it's normal, and that her digestive system just isn't fully matured yet, but we feel so bad for her sometimes.  To begin with, our little girl is not very ladylike :)  She farts more than any human I've ever met, and you wouldn't believe that sound came out of such a teeny little peanut.  SERIOUSLY.  There's been times when I would have SWORN it was Dave, just blaming it on Fiona, but, nope, that's our girl!!  Anywhooo, I digress...  Sometimes when she's trying to sleep after a feeding she just struggles.... squirming all around and pulling her knees up, grunting like crazy, etc. etc.  She's pretty miserable and sometimes inconsolable so we're hoping that clears up sometime soon, being that she was supposed to be born today.  Other than that, she's aces!!  We have a person from the Alliance for infants and toddlers come to the house monthly to track her development, since she's a preemie, and at her first visit Fiona did very well and even exceeded some expectations.  She's a rockstar, so we weren't suprised ;) ;)  She can focus very well on objects and our faces, and she's even tracking them back and forth.  Her muscle tone looks good and we're doing some stretches with her legs and feet to help them straighten out a bit from being so squished up in utero.  We spend at least 15 minutes a day when she's quiet and alert doing "tummy time" so that she can work on lifting her head.  She's getting pretty good and turning it back and forth, and she actually seems to enjoy being on her tummy.  She is very alert when she's awake and you can see her just taking everything in.  She always looks like she's just about to say something profound.  :)  I think she's going to be a chatterbox (I know I was)!! 

We have been taking some video of her with our flip video and sometimes posting them to Facebook and YouTube. The link to my YouTube channel is: http://www.youtube.com/user/MsScarlettBegonia?feature=mhum if you'd like to follow those. 

We had her photos taken and they turned out really wonderfully. Some of the pictures are on Facebook.  We were just thrilled with how well they turned out!!  She's just so darn cute that we can't believe we made her!!! 

All in all, we are crazy in love with her and just taking everything day by day, trying to stay fully present and savor each moment we have as a family.  Thanks for following!! 

xoxo