F is for Family

Family, home, travel, life

Archives for January 2012

The Million Dollar Mommy Question

Sofia slept through the night last night for 8 hours straight, pretty incredible for her 6lb12oz self! She tried doing this earlier in the week and Mommy freaked out and woke her up for a feed that she was less than interested in and only took 1 ounce subsequently. This time I still prepped her bottle at 2am anticipating her waking up buy surprisingly, she didn’t. I still was the one to wake her at 6am and she was still only mildly interested in bottle and much more intent on snuggling. I think she was giving me a good night sleep bc she knew today was my interview day.

Here I am now, pumping pre interview with my hair and make-up done, work clothes on, having just passes the reins to a baby sitter! This is a first. I’ve had the duty passed off to me from many mothers throughout my teen years and now it’s my turn. I wonder if thy were all this nervous! Buy now the million dollar question begs a response…am I ready to go back to work?!

Do I want to be a stay at home Mommy there to wipe every tear, see every new development? Do I want my career? Do I want Sofia to see a Mommy who could have her career flavored cake and got to eat it too? Hal of me says stay home, be covered in spit up and rarely make it to blow dry your hair! The other part says, think of what you can give her when she sees a strong “business woman” and you aren’t counting pennies at the end of the month. Maybe I just need to put one foot in front of the other and see if I get an offer first! Sigh, guess I’ll take it one baby step at a time.

The Million Dollar Mommy Question

Sofia slept through the night last night for 8 hours straight, pretty incredible for her 6lb12oz self! She tried doing this earlier in the week and Mommy freaked out and woke her up for a feed that she was less than interested in and only took 1 ounce subsequently. This time I still prepped her bottle at 2am anticipating her waking up buy surprisingly, she didn’t. I still was the one to wake her at 6am and she was still only mildly interested in bottle and much more intent on snuggling. I think she was giving me a good night sleep bc she knew today was my interview day.

Here I am now, pumping pre interview with my hair and make-up done, work clothes on, having just passes the reins to a baby sitter! This is a first. I’ve had the duty passed off to me from many mothers throughout my teen years and now it’s my turn. I wonder if thy were all this nervous! Buy now the million dollar question begs a response…am I ready to go back to work?!

Do I want to be a stay at home Mommy there to wipe every tear, see every new development? Do I want my career? Do I want Sofia to see a Mommy who could have her career flavored cake and got to eat it too? Hal of me says stay home, be covered in spit up and rarely make it to blow dry your hair! The other part says, think of what you can give her when she sees a strong “business woman” and you aren’t counting pennies at the end of the month. Maybe I just need to put one foot in front of the other and see if I get an offer first! Sigh, guess I’ll take it one baby step at a time.

The Million Dollar Mommy Question

Sofia slept through the night last night for 8 hours straight, pretty incredible for her 6lb12oz self! She tried doing this earlier in the week and Mommy freaked out and woke her up for a feed that she was less than interested in and only took 1 ounce subsequently. This time I still prepped her bottle at 2am anticipating her waking up buy surprisingly, she didn’t. I still was the one to wake her at 6am and she was still only mildly interested in bottle and much more intent on snuggling. I think she was giving me a good night sleep bc she knew today was my interview day.

Here I am now, pumping pre interview with my hair and make-up done, work clothes on, having just passes the reins to a baby sitter! This is a first. I’ve had the duty passed off to me from many mothers throughout my teen years and now it’s my turn. I wonder if thy were all this nervous! Buy now the million dollar question begs a response…am I ready to go back to work?!

Do I want to be a stay at home Mommy there to wipe every tear, see every new development? Do I want my career? Do I want Sofia to see a Mommy who could have her career flavored cake and got to eat it too? Hal of me says stay home, be covered in spit up and rarely make it to blow dry your hair! The other part says, think of what you can give her when she sees a strong “business woman” and you aren’t counting pennies at the end of the month. Maybe I just need to put one foot in front of the other and see if I get an offer first! Sigh, guess I’ll take it one baby step at a time.

Daddy's First Business Trip

First things first, results from yesterday’s eye exam showed that Sofia’s Retinopathy has not gotten any worse. Because the stage of ROP is only between 1 and 2 the Doctor feels comfortable with just waiting and continuing to assess to see if she out grows it on her own. If not, she may need laser eye surgery down the road. So, we’ll take this news no problem.

The other big news of the day, yesterday, was that the Daddy had to leave on his first work trip to Alabama. He gets back on Friday and potentially has to go back next week which is a big bummer. Sofie of course misses Daddy but she’s sleeping like a big girl at night for me. (Thank goodness!!!) We got two stretches of 4 hours of sleep last night which is HEAVEN. She stayed awake this morning for a few hours and had a great nap this afternoon. She is also being a great eater and started taking 2 full bottles of 2 oz each once or twice a day. Sofia is being a very good girl for Mommy and I have to admit, her stretch of awake-ness this morning was so fun. She was just content and looking adorable.
Sofie also got to spend yesterday afternoon snuggling with her Cumma B! Cumma is “Godmother” in Italian. She also brought Sofie the most adorable blankie, onesie and pink fluffy tutu! I can just picture her twirling around in her little tutu one day…but we can wait a bit for that scene.

Daddy's First Business Trip

First things first, results from yesterday’s eye exam showed that Sofia’s Retinopathy has not gotten any worse. Because the stage of ROP is only between 1 and 2 the Doctor feels comfortable with just waiting and continuing to assess to see if she out grows it on her own. If not, she may need laser eye surgery down the road. So, we’ll take this news no problem.

The other big news of the day, yesterday, was that the Daddy had to leave on his first work trip to Alabama. He gets back on Friday and potentially has to go back next week which is a big bummer. Sofie of course misses Daddy but she’s sleeping like a big girl at night for me. (Thank goodness!!!) We got two stretches of 4 hours of sleep last night which is HEAVEN. She stayed awake this morning for a few hours and had a great nap this afternoon. She is also being a great eater and started taking 2 full bottles of 2 oz each once or twice a day. Sofia is being a very good girl for Mommy and I have to admit, her stretch of awake-ness this morning was so fun. She was just content and looking adorable.
Sofie also got to spend yesterday afternoon snuggling with her Cumma B! Cumma is “Godmother” in Italian. She also brought Sofie the most adorable blankie, onesie and pink fluffy tutu! I can just picture her twirling around in her little tutu one day…but we can wait a bit for that scene.

Daddy's First Business Trip

First things first, results from yesterday’s eye exam showed that Sofia’s Retinopathy has not gotten any worse. Because the stage of ROP is only between 1 and 2 the Doctor feels comfortable with just waiting and continuing to assess to see if she out grows it on her own. If not, she may need laser eye surgery down the road. So, we’ll take this news no problem.

The other big news of the day, yesterday, was that the Daddy had to leave on his first work trip to Alabama. He gets back on Friday and potentially has to go back next week which is a big bummer. Sofie of course misses Daddy but she’s sleeping like a big girl at night for me. (Thank goodness!!!) We got two stretches of 4 hours of sleep last night which is HEAVEN. She stayed awake this morning for a few hours and had a great nap this afternoon. She is also being a great eater and started taking 2 full bottles of 2 oz each once or twice a day. Sofia is being a very good girl for Mommy and I have to admit, her stretch of awake-ness this morning was so fun. She was just content and looking adorable.
Sofie also got to spend yesterday afternoon snuggling with her Cumma B! Cumma is “Godmother” in Italian. She also brought Sofie the most adorable blankie, onesie and pink fluffy tutu! I can just picture her twirling around in her little tutu one day…but we can wait a bit for that scene.

Eye Exam & the Unsuspecting Infant

I’m currently sitting in the eye exam office waiting to have Sofia checked for the Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) she developed and was diagnosed about a week before discharge. You can here a little kid down the hall crying during his exam and a set of people trying their best to calm and distract the little one. They are explaining how well he or she is doing and that it’s almost done.

Sofia is fast asleep in her carrier completely unaware of what’s about to happen and my stomach is in knots over the fact that she will most likely be upset and in pain. No words will calm her, no explanation will soothe her. Honestly, I’m not even sure what will happen. Her eyes will be dilated and that never fun but I’m not sure how the actual exam is administered. I guess this is what being a Mom is all about…nervous for things they have no awareness of. Guess we’ll wait and see how it goes and wait and keep our fingers crossed that her ROP is improving.

Eye Exam & the Unsuspecting Infant

I’m currently sitting in the eye exam office waiting to have Sofia checked for the Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) she developed and was diagnosed about a week before discharge. You can here a little kid down the hall crying during his exam and a set of people trying their best to calm and distract the little one. They are explaining how well he or she is doing and that it’s almost done.

Sofia is fast asleep in her carrier completely unaware of what’s about to happen and my stomach is in knots over the fact that she will most likely be upset and in pain. No words will calm her, no explanation will soothe her. Honestly, I’m not even sure what will happen. Her eyes will be dilated and that never fun but I’m not sure how the actual exam is administered. I guess this is what being a Mom is all about…nervous for things they have no awareness of. Guess we’ll wait and see how it goes and wait and keep our fingers crossed that her ROP is improving.

Eye Exam & the Unsuspecting Infant

I’m currently sitting in the eye exam office waiting to have Sofia checked for the Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) she developed and was diagnosed about a week before discharge. You can here a little kid down the hall crying during his exam and a set of people trying their best to calm and distract the little one. They are explaining how well he or she is doing and that it’s almost done.

Sofia is fast asleep in her carrier completely unaware of what’s about to happen and my stomach is in knots over the fact that she will most likely be upset and in pain. No words will calm her, no explanation will soothe her. Honestly, I’m not even sure what will happen. Her eyes will be dilated and that never fun but I’m not sure how the actual exam is administered. I guess this is what being a Mom is all about…nervous for things they have no awareness of. Guess we’ll wait and see how it goes and wait and keep our fingers crossed that her ROP is improving.

Time Flies…(101 days since birth; 19 days post NICU)

…when your home with baby! So, yesterday (Jan 9th) was Sofia’s unbirthday, aka her due date and she had a really great day but a not so great sleep night. I’m sure every new Mom who is just home from the hospital has gone through what we’ve experienced the last few weeks. One night she’ll do great and have her regular 3-4 hour sleep stretches, which depend on how much she ate and the next night she’s up every hour and half and just doesn’t want to sleep at night. This turns into sleeping all day and the vicious cycle continues. I’d like to say I’ve figured out some holy grail solution that can keep this little one asleep for “appropriate” amounts of time that won’t have me one flew over the cuckoo’s nest by the end of the week, but alas I only have the knowledge other new Moms have…caffeine is a new Mom’s best friend. Oh, and of course I’m completely guilty of letting her sleep on my chest at night just to get a few comfortable hours of sleep.

We celebrated her Unbirthday by having her wear her very first (non preemie) party dress and getting weigh in…6lbs3oz!

A few days ago Sofia started having longer awake times where she is much more alert and engaged. The first morning we realized she’s associating sounds with direction and gaining some awareness of her surrounding was Saturday Jan 7th. She laid in bed after a bottle with Daddy and I walked in to tell him something and she turned her head to look at me. It was amazing to see such a small developmental milestone for the first time!

She has spent the last 2 weeks being showered with love from all our friends and family little bits at a time and we are so grateful to finally be near everyone. She spent the holidays with Aunts and Uncles, she’s been snuggles by the Grandma’s and fawned over by the Grandpa’s and even met her big cousin Mia! I can’t imagine having to go through these first few weeks alone after such a crazy NICU journey. Jonathan is about to be back on the traveling circuit for work and leaves at the end of this week for Alabama after having had an entire week home with us last week. I wish I could say that we had a productive week of getting our “Honey Do” list done but it was even better…we did virtual nothing besides indulge in this little angel, including sleeping-in with her as she napped between morning feeds.

We are truly in the baby honeymoon phase. I keep in mind though, that we still have friends that are braving the long NICU road and we constantly have them in our thoughts and prayers. Three others were also due in January, we all met on birth month boards on The Bump, and some of their due dates have come and passed. We send tons of prayers that their babymoon period is just around the corner!

My first party dress! Mom I need a bow, pretty please. 
Naptime in the co-sleeper…She’s always missing at least one sock.  🙂

Michael’s AD