Nico's first hockey game!

Nico went to his first hockey game on Sunday and was about as excited as his mommy.... he slept through the whole thing! It was the longest he has slept so far- 4 hours! Then we went out with a few other families to dinner. He has been very well behaved on our little trips!

 

                                                                

 

Already over a month old!

It's been a good couple of weeks! I finally have some energy back and somewhat of an understanding of how to take care of this sweet little boy, so I don't feel the need to have to stare at him or be right by his side every minute of the day! (Although I could stare at him allllll day!) This stay-at-home mom stuff is serious work, no kidding around. How did you do it, Mom?! There are times that I get pretty frustrated and exhausted to the max, but fortunately those are few and far between. It's all due to the commitment of breast feeding, but I gotta stick with it! I sometimes beg Nico to fall asleep, as if he can understand what I'm saying?! David pointed out that no matter how frustrating or challenging it may seem at times, we still wake up every morning and agree that he got cuter. :) I do feel really guilty and like a bad mom whenever I have those frustrating times. It's not his fault that he is hungry every hour and a half through the night sometimes.  I am so blessed to have this perfect miracle, so why should I ever feel anything but overjoyed?! I can't even explain how much I love him though. I feel that my heart could just explode!

 

  

I haven't updated the blog much because when I finally get a few moments to myself, I try to eat, nap, or pick up our house that is looking more and more like a tornado came through it! I don't know how one little baby can dominate your whole house with his stuff?!? I had definitely been neglecting myself lately with infrequent showers and unintentionally skipping meals because my hands are consumed with that cute little boy, but I have somewhat resumed some normalcy over this past week. We actually made it down the stairs and out of the house a handful of times. Points for me!

Last Wednesday, I was awakened by a call from the pediatrician that his routine screen came back with an abnormal thyroid count and we needed to get blood drawn to confirm asap, because hypothyroidism can significantly affect brain development and growth. Scary stuff. We went that morning and it was the saddest thing to watch. He cried and cried through the process at a pitch and intensity I had not heard before! I cried a tear too. :(  Fortunately, the results came back normal! Nico-2. Pediatrician-0! As my dad pointed out, I should get used to being in a constant state of worry, it will just vary from one thing to another!

We went on our first public outing (besides doctor related appointments) last Wednesday, and met Grandma Cindy and David for lunch at Champs! I feel like I am going on a weekend trip when I pack the car for just one simple outing! Within the last week or two, we have also stopped by my parents house, my work, David's work, and Cindy's work.

David and I have had a few non-baby outings as well. I have discovered that it's just not the same as it used to be, and I end up missing him! It takes some effort to try to not bring up baby talk! A couple of weekends ago, we went out with Anne and her boyfriend, Jaret, for a few hours to downtown McKinney. Last weekend, we went out with Anne and Bryan and went to a few bars, then came back and watched the Cowboys and Rangers. Dave and Cindy babysat both times, which is much appreciated! 

Nico has been such a good baby! Most days and nights he is happy and doesn't get fussy too much. He's a fun little guy to hang out with! There's a good chunk of time every few days where it will take a while to figure out how to quiet him down. He has started to be awake more often in the past week, which is so exciting! I'm more than ready for him to liven up and "do something!" I want to play! He must have his days and nights sorted out now, because he will usually be awake in the middle of the afternoon for a few hours and also right before David goes to bed later at night while they have their "male bonding time." That's when I sneak off to bed to get a few hours of sleep while David gives him a bottle.

Nico has continued to make the cutest little noises and faces. My heart just melts at his little lips and the puckering, pouty faces, and smiles that come from him. We have finally started to master his cries, so there is hope for us as parents after all! His smiles have come more and more, and I swear that he smiled at me this morning in reaction to my voice. Yesterday, during tummy time, he turned his head from one side to the other a few seconds after I started ringing his toys and talking. There are not a whole lot of new, exciting things happening yet, so I'm taking what I can get and embracing the little things!

                                                         

 

His little vibrating chair is no longer getting the job done. He has become a little more high maintenance and started enjoying the rocking feature instead. The problem with that was that once you stop rocking, he starts fussing again! Problem solved...

He seems to love this new swing that we got for him at Once Upon a Child. I have to brag about my best bargain shopping yet.... this retails for a few hundred dollars on Amazon and I got it for $35. (I hope there is not a catch and this thing is going to stop working soon!) It is a fun little toy. Not only does it swing, but it can plays music, light up, and the fish mobile moves. His eyes will get big as he looks up at it. So freaking cute. Whatever makes him happy and sleep better, I am now a sucker for!

Most of his basic behaviors have not changed much since the 2 week update. Still eating like it's his last meal on average every 3ish hours and is a little spit-up and farting machine. We call him "fish lips" because of the adorable little faces he makes to signal he is hungry. He still moves around and stretches like crazy and refuses to be swaddled most of the time. He is getting so strong and can hold his head up for a good 15-20 sec now. Go Nico!

    

  

  

 

 And that's all I can think of for now in the Biagini house! Things are going good! Stay tuned.

 

Two week old photo shoot!

Fancy Pants Fotos came out to our house for a newborn shoot and the pics turned out awesome!

 

Our 1st Big Update

Well life has dramatically changed for us these last 2 1/2 weeks!!! I'm exhausted, my boobs hurt, I haven't showered/brushed my teeth/combed my hair/etc in > 24-36 hours, I am wearing spit-stained clothes, I am not sure what day it is, and worst of all- beer has lost its great taste!! BUT... I am loving this new task of being a mom and it is all worth it! (It's much harder than I anticipated though.) Nico has been a relatively easy baby and has only given us a few rough nights so far. Everything is going great in the Biagini home!

We have made it out of the house a few times! We have had 2 routine appointments with our pediatrician, and she is great. Very thorough. His 1st appointment was on a Monday, only 2 days after hospital D/C, and he had gained 3.5 oz and half of an inch already, making him 6 lbs 10.5 oz, and 20 in. He had a skin tag near his ear that she tied off (just for cosmetic reasons) and that eventually fell off after 4-5 days. Everything looked great.

 

Nico's 2 week checkup was this past Thursday. He weighed 7 lbs 13.5 oz, and was 21 in. long. There was one minor concern. A slight click was felt when testing the movement of his right hip, which could mean that the joint is not aligned correctly. She sent us to an imaging center on Monday to get an ultrasound. Luckily, the results came back normal with just a little laxity in the joint. She thought that could simply be from maternal hormones and that she would recheck it at his 2 mo appt. Phew! It would have broken my heart to see him constrained in a harness!

Nico loves to eat so he will fit in well in this family! He has been on a somewhat consistent feeding schedule every 3ish hours. There have been a couple of times where things have gotten off track (Sun night he wouldn't sleep unless he was held in a standing position by David AND wanted to eat every 1 1/2 hours?! It was miserable!). We had to remind ourselves that at least he is cute :) His eating does crack me up because he gulps and gulps so quickly that he almost gets out of breath, and then he ends up eating too much and he gets the hiccups just about every time. We've tried to do a better job of burping him lately because he seems to get fussy after eating. He has a TON of dirty diapers and I can not believe how fast we are going through them! He must have his daddy's digestive system because he farts and "sharts" throughout the day.

He has a goofy little personality already. He will not sit still, even in his sleep. His arms are usually flailing around, back arching, and legs kicking. He loves to stretch! He seems pretty strong already (ofcourse we are biased!) because he lifts his neck up and can hold that position when he's held on our chest and during tummy time. He hates to be swaddled, and if we do, he usually works his way out of it. He even rolled over and was sleeping on his side the other day. He likes his hands up by his face or even above his head. If we don't keep his nails trimmed, he's bound to have scratch marks all over his face.

He does the cutest little things with his lips- he makes a HUGE pouty face with his bottom lip up that makes me smile or chuckle even when he is crying. He puckers his lips all of the time too, and I call him my little Zoolander (from the movie).

We put him to sleep in his crib ever since the 2nd or 3rd night home, and he has done well. We figured that having a monitor on the nightstand is no different than actually having him next to our bed in the play yard. Might as well start the crib routine now. He loves the vibrating chair and spends a lot of time in that during the day.

Last Sunday, we gave him his first bath at home and are on an every other night bath schedule. He just loves them and is so content while he's in the water. In the 10 foot walk from the sink to the changing table to put his diaper on, he of course peed all over me! Gotta love him.

David and I went on our first post-baby date night on Saturday! David surprised me by having his parents come over to babysit so that we could sneak out of the house for a few hrs. What a good husband I have! We went to Uncle Julio's for fajitas and a few drinks. I pumped and had a bottle available just incase, and he slept the whole time that we were gone! When we returned, he woke up and Dave gave him his 1st bottle. It didn't seem to slow him down one bit as he ate the whole 3 1/2 to 4 oz. It was such a relief that he took the bottle because now that means occasional breaks for mama!

(Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to our parents. We are so fortunate to have you close by to be such a big part of Nico's (and our) life. Can't thank you enough for stopping by just to visit, helping out with housechores, babsitting while we sneak out, bringing over good food, and spoiling this little boy!)

And here are just a few pics. Can you tell that I take too many?!

We just love this little guy more each day. I'm not sure how it is possible to love anything more!