7 months old!

I'm a few days late but Gabriella turned 7 months old on Saturday! While some of our days are long due to the start of teething and resisting naps, these months are flying by.  She is a very observant little girl and studies her toys, surroundings, and people. She likes to do things at her own pace, and even at a young age, is very opinionated and will let us know when she is not happy with something!

And as always, a look back...

She makes us laugh everyday- she will literally be crying/ yelling/ sort of whining and then just like that, will break out in a huge smile and make the cutest cooing/ talking noises. When she gets "talking" she babbles for so long and will have long conversations.  She giggles and gets so excited when she sees something she likes. She loves her high chair and loves eating.

Foods: Apples, bananas, pears, avocado, oatmeal, peas, butternut squash, sweet potato, broccoli, prunes, and carrots

It turns out that she has an allergy to peaches- when she tried those for the first time, she broke out in a rash, got really red cheeks and lips, and was licking her lips a lot which usually indicates lip numbness or tingling. She is too little for Benadryl so our pediatrician said to avoid apricots as well and we'll retry peaches and apricots when she is big enough for Benadryl and see if the reaction is still there.

Sleeping wise, we're doing okay. For the most part, Gabriella is sleeping through the night but she has woken up in the middle of the night several times over the past couple of weeks, sometimes ending up in our bed for a couple of hours. So, it's a work in progress :)

Here are a few more photos of our growing girl!

xo,
Mary

The Perfect Day

Sunday was as close to a perfect day as I could ever imagine! Not only was it my very first Mother's Day, but it was Gabriella's Baptism and we were surrounded by so much love. Our road to parenthood was long and rocky, and celebrating my first Mother's day with family and friends was more than I could have asked. The weather was beautiful, albeit HOT, so Gabriella went bonnet, sock, and shoe-less during her Baptism but she still looked beautiful!

The Baptism was so nice; Father McHugh who married us, performed the ceremony and Sandy and Thierry are Gabriella's godparents. We are so thankful to them for being her godparents; they are so important to us and Gabriella is very lucky to have them in her life!

For our family and friends that read this blog, THANK YOU. Having grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins present for such an important day in our lives meant more to us than we can ever express. Ever since Gabriella was born, we have been surrounded by so much love and support and we are forever grateful.You gave up your own Mother's Days to spend the day with us and we loved celebrating with you! And a few special shout-outs- to my Mom for coming over at 6am to walk Gabriella while we set up and got ready and for making Gabriella's gown (out of my wedding dress!!), to my Mother-in-law for making the most beautiful cake, to my aunt and Godmother Marilyn, for taking amazing photos,and my sister-in-law Rachel for setting up all of the food and taking control of the kitchen during the party. 

Four generations

Nana and Grampy

Great-Nana

Nana and Nonno

Love this family photo!

xo,
Mary

Growth spurts and new tricks

I think a certain baby may be going through a growth spurt! She has been eating so much; yesterday she ate apples, prunes, and oatmeal for breakfast, avocado and pears for lunch, and peas for dinner along with 6 ounces of formula every time! She also woke up in the middle of the night last night to eat which she tends to only do now when she's hit a growth spurt.  I am also wondering if she is entering the early stages of teething; she has been drooling so much more and chews ferociously on everything she can get her hands on. Only time will tell!

We had a great visit with Sandy and Thierry on Saturday and on Sunday, I brought Gabriella to Hartford to watch Gianni finish his first 15K race. He did so well and I am so proud of him! He has a few more races coming up over the summer to get him ready for the Hartford 1/2 marathon in October. Who knows, maybe one day Gabriella will be joining him on his runs!

And a few laughs we've had over the past couple of days... Gabriella has figured out that she can turn on the lights and music on her crib aquarium by turning sideways in her crib and kicking the start button. I think the first few times were by accident but now she does it on purpose and it always makes me laugh when I hear the music start through the monitor.

And what do you do when you realize that your baby is too long for all of her pajamas and the next size up is still packed in the basement?  This. Easy solution that made us laugh so hard! The next day I pulled out larger sizes and the poor kid is now wearing normal pajamas again :)

The rest of the week we are slowly starting to pull everything together for her Baptism. We are really looking forward to seeing family that we haven't seen in so long and the weather is looking like it will be great!

xo,
Mary

TGIF

It makes me laugh to say TGIF when I don't work, but I really am happy it's Friday and always look forward to the weekends.  Gianni is home, the weather has been great for the past few weekends, and we usually have something fun planned. Tomorrow we are going to visit Sandy and Thierry for lunch; it will be Gabriella's first time at their house and I am very excited to see Sandy's growing bump....Baby D is growing like crazy and she sent me a video of her stomach literally moving from side to side which is amazing, funny, and crazy all at the same time.  I won't share it here because I don't want her to kill me :)

Tonight Mom and I are going to a giant kid's consignment sale in town; I've never been but most  people who I know that have been in the past have found some great deals on lightly used baby items so I am excited to check it out. Gianni will be home with Gabriella so I am sure that they will bond over the Sox-Yankee game :)

We are finishing up the planning details for Gabriella's baptism and I am really looking forward to it! We have family and friends coming, many that I haven't seen in so long, and most who haven't met Gabriella. Some of my aunts and my Nana met Gabriella when she was in the hospital and I can't wait for them to see her- she's probably 8-9 pounds heavier than when they last saw her!  Another detail that is so special to me is her Baptism dress.  Mom made it for her and  used my wedding dress to make it. It is absolutely beautiful and something that I know will be passed down for years.

This week we had Birth to Three and I wasn't sure how it would go this week because someone fell asleep right before her therapist arrived.....

Seriously this was 5 minutes before we started. But, she woke up, participated for about 20 minutes, had a little meltdown, but then recovered for another 10 minutes or so. We are continuing to work on core strengthening and sitting independently. Her therapist brought a bumbo chair for us to use and Gabriella is a big fan!

She's also moving all over the place, especially in her bed. We find her at the opposite end of her crib almost every morning which is so funny. She's out of her sleep sack now because she moves so much and we really don't use a blanket that much because it ends up all over the crib as well.

She continues to be a very opinionated baby... she's either really happy, really mad, or studying people and things to see what's going on.  She makes us laugh every day!

Have a good weekend!!
xo,
Mary

Weekend activities

Yesterday was the March of Dimes Annual March for Babies and we were so happy to donate to a wonderful organization and walk with family and friends for a great cause. We were a little nervous that the weather wouldn't cooperate but it was a beautiful morning. I was holding back tears (occasionally losing that battle!) all morning because when I heard and saw so many stories of loss, heartbreaking diagnoses, and roads much longer than ours, I realized once again just how lucky we are. The March of Dimes was very supportive of us during Gabriella's hospitalization and knowing that we weren't alone in our journey was comforting. I am hoping that we will be able to pay that forward one day.

Feeding has continued to go really well and so far, Gabriella has liked everything we've given her. She's had sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pears, oatmeal/barley cereal, and avocados. Her favorite combination seems to be avocado, pear, and cereal- she had that yesterday morning and couldn't get enough! I've been making her food, not in an attempt to be Martha Stewart, but it actually is really easy, doesn't take a lot of time, and is less expensive than buying individual jars. Our freezer is filled with ziploc bags of pureed fruits and vegetables and I just pull out one or two little cubes in the morning of what I am going to give her. We thin it out with formula, thawed breastmilk, or pear juice, and so far it's working well. Over the next week or so we're going to try peas, apples, and prunes.

Project Make-the-Baby-Nap is going a lot better than I expected! I'm glad our pediatrician told me to push her a bit to take longer naps, in her bed. He was so adamant that napping would lead to not only a happier baby but would lead to her sleeping through the night. She is now taking 2 45 minute-1 hour long naps in the morning and 1 or 2 45minute-1 hour long naps in the afternoon. I think the 2 separate naps will eventually merge into 1 nap in the morning and 1 in the afternoon but for now, this works and she is happier, more rested, and is sleeping through the night! 

Activity wise, she is so curious and gets so frustrated when she can't do something. Gianni and I joke that Gabriella is a toddler trapped in a preemie body. I feel bad when she gets worked up and upset over something but her frustration is definitely helping her catch up developmentally. She is on the cusp of sitting independently; she can sit up for long periods of time with my hands supporting her hips so her physical therapist is bringing a small chair for her to try out tomorrow. She can roll over from her belly to her back and is just about able to roll from her back to her belly. Her neck and head control is awesome and she is grasping at and holding a variety of objects. She's also entered the stage of chewing on everything and pulling everything- hair, earrings, necklaces, shirts, lips, eyes, the cat... nothing is safe :)

Almost sitting by herself!

Smiling at her breakfast

I love rocking her to sleep! Look at those sweet cheeks :)

Oatmeal face

Don't try and steal Sophie the giraffe

Airplane baby

Figuring out her toys

Licking up every last scrap of food

Have a happy Monday!
xo,
Mary

First foods

Gabriella's introduction to foods has been successful! We started last week with pureed sweet potatoes, then tried pureed butternut squash and multigrain cereal. She was a little unsure the first time we fed her, but now she loves it all. This morning she had the cereal for the first time, and it was clear that it is her favorite so far. She was waving her hands, kicking her feet, and happy as can be. We are trying new foods every 2-3 days so later this week we will be trying avocados, pears, and apples. I am so excited to continue to introduce her to new things. Meal time is a complete mess now, we are flying through bibs and I am definitely missing Chloe.. she would have seriously helped with licking up the floor!!

We learned after the first feed that we had to make her purees much thinner so I added more milk or pear juice and that has made it so much easier for her to eat. She has the spoon down pat now and this morning tried to help out and grab the spoon a few times.

Happy meal time face

Eating the remains of her dinner off of her hands

Happy first food faces!

On Saturday, my college roommate and dear friend Sandy came to visit with her girls. It was so nice to see her and her girls are hilarious, adorable and I am in love. And because I know she reads this blog- we miss you already!!! 

Gianni did a ton of yardwork this weekend, we had a fun night out on Saturday with some friends, and the weather made it feel like spring is actually here.  We have some fun events coming up in the next few weeks- next Sunday we are doing the March of Dimes Walk for Babies, in May we have Gabriella's baptism, we have a huge number of family and friends with May and June birthdays, we are having a baby shower for my sister Sandy, and then we look forward to welcoming Gabriella's newest cousin to the world! Lots to look forward to.

For now, we will make the best of a week of cold, rainy weather and continue to work on getting a certain baby to nap!

xo,
Mary