3 Weeks Old

Julia turned 3 weeks old today, she had a great week at home spending a lot of time with her Nana. John was home for 2 weeks, but had to return to work on Monday, fortunately my mother-in-law, Ruth, came to stay with us for the week to help out. Julia got to spend quality time with Nana, mom got to take plenty of naps, and the new Caruso family was treated to delicious home cooked meals every night.

Fast Growing

After 2 weeks with our little Julia we have decided that raising a newborn is do-able and compatible with life (we had our doubts after the first few nights!)

Julia is doing very well, she had her 2 week check-up yesterday and she is back at her birth weight. She now weighs 7 pounds, 3 ounces (50% percentile) and her height is 20.5 inches (75% percentile). You might remember that Julia was 18 inches when she was born, while it may sound like we have an extremely fast growing newborn, it's more likely that the original height was inaccurate.

2 weeks

Yesterday Julia turned 2 weeks old and her umbilical cord fell off.

Here is a list of characteristics that make Julia Julia: She loves to be swaddled (tightly), she is an expert at pooping and peeing when her diaper is off and her parents aren't prepared, and she likes to open her left eye to look around and see if it is worthwhile to also open the right eye.

Julia is definitely gaining weight and growing, but she still has a lot of growing room left in her newborn clothes and hats.

Pet Disclaimer: I have heard some concerns about how our household full of pets are responding to their new little sister. John and I want everyone to know that all of our animals have adjusted well to a screaming baby and no pets have been adversely affected by Julia (though I can't promise that as she gets older she won't attempt to dress up Reggie the cat in doll clothes)

First Graduation

Since leaving the hospital Julia has gone to the pediatrician every other day for a weight check. We had problems in the hospital with her losing too much weight and becoming slightly jaundice. Thankfully today the pediatrician happy said to us "Well, today Julia has graduated!" She has finally started steadily gaining weight and we no longer need the regular weight checks.

Several of you have noticed that Julia always seems to be an 'L' position. Since Julia was breech, with her bum down in my pelvis and legs folded up with her feet by her head, she hasn't quite straighted out yet. When we change her diaper her little legs stick straight up at a 90 degree angle.

Mr. Mom

Prior to Julia's arrival, John had not been around many infants and had never changed a diaper. In a matter of 10 days he has become a full fledged Mr. Mom. Since I had to have a C-section there were a lot of things I couldn't do in the hospital. John changed all the diapers in the hospital (in the 4 days we were there I changed 1 dirty diaper) and he became an expert swaddler - many nurses complimented him on his swaddling technique (the one time I swaddled her in the hospital she got her arms out in a matter of minutes).

Storytime with Daddy

Naptime

Doing household chores with Julia (yes she is hidden inside the carrier)

Since Julia currently only weighs 6 pounds 6 ounces (newborns typically lose weight in the first few days), most of our newborn clothes are huge on her. We have 2 outfits for newborns under 7 pounds that fit her well. Unfortunately, these outfits don't have hand covers so we put socks on her hands when in these outfits (rather than her typical uniform of a long sleeve kimono and a swaddle).

Julia's First Photos

For those of you interested in seeing more photos of Julia's first few days, go the link below where I posted all the photos from her stay in the hospital.

http://picasaweb.google.com/saracaruso/JuliaSFirstFewDays?authkey=VYN3EnYtaP8&feat=directlink

Once at the site in the upper left hand side you will see the "slideshow" link to view all the photos in a larger slideshow.

One Week and One Degree

Julia turned one week old yesterday and had a pediatricians appointment in the morning. When we left the house it was 1 degree fahrenheit, which is not an ideal temperature to take a newborn out it. We had the car running for 15 minutes before and had her bundled up in her hat, mittens, and BundleMe (which I highly recommend for anyone with a baby that has to go out in cold weather).

Her other milestone yesterday was her first bath at home, which she did not enjoy. Julia loves to be swaddled tightly, so being unswaddled and naked was not appreciated.
Julia warm, cozy and clean after her bath

Baby Boot Camp

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are all home from the hospital and doing well. Everyone can thank my sister Lisa for keeping everyone up to date with the last few blog entries and all the wonderful photos of Julia.

To be honest Tuesday night, our first night home from the hospital, was pretty rough, which I expect is typical with new parents (who got very used to having all the wonderful nurses in the hospital avaliable to stop in and help with one push of a button). She slept peacefully in her bassinet during the day, but night time was her time to be up and she refused to sleep unless being held. In the morning John said to me "I see these first few days as being like Boot Camp, she is trying to wear us down to nothing, but as long as we stay a team we will make it out the other side"

Julia bundled up for her trip home

Mopsy

As a "Welcome to the World" gift, Julia's cousin, Ella, got her a Mopsy the Rabbit stuffed animal (from Peter Rabbit). Mopsy has become Julia's constant companion.

Could the two of them be any cuter?

Daddy's Girl

Julia is already a Daddy's Girl.

Look at that smile on John's face- he's totally smitten.

Julia's already smiling for Daddy.

Trouble with a Capital T

The first view Sara & John got of baby Julia.

Anyone who knows The Continuing Adventures of The Rybolt Family knows that Sara was an energetic and adventurous little girl. In fact, my dad used to say to me, "Sara's Trouble with a Capital T".

Julia may be only a few hours old but she's already proven that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

The ultimate no-no on the maternity ward is trying to take a baby off the ward. Mom, Dad, and Baby all have security tags on and if the baby gets too close to the exit door, the whole wing goes on lock-down and alarms go off.

Guess who set the alarm off? Mom & Baby were waiting in the hallway to get wheeled into their room. Apparently, they were resting too close to the wall with the security sensor. Immediately, the alarms went off and the doors locked down. There was momentary chaos until they figured out the problem.

Mom Sara's still trouble with a Capital T, too. Other women wait quietly for their C-Sections. Not so for our resident Veterinarian. Sara asked the doctor what type of suture and stich pattern she would be using.

Here's a photo of Sara "Original Trouble" (Julia is now "Trouble Junior") with our Mom when she was born on October 14, 1979.

The New Dad Learning Curve

Mom & Baby
There's quite a learning curve when you're a new parent. John learned the hard way that there are good things to say to new moms and there are bad things to say to new moms.


Julia was in the nursery nursery and we were all eager to see her so Sara sent John to check on her. John came back and said, "no baby". We all stared at him. "What exactly does that mean?" Sara asked. "It just means the baby has to stay in the nursery a little longer."

At that point, we all gave John lectures on what he could have said. For example, "Oh my dear and lovely wife, our precious newborn will be in the nursery a few moments longer. Would you like a foot massage?"

Julia: The Movie

Julia is the most alert baby we've ever seen! As soon as Sara and John met her she was looking around and opening her eyes. The OR lights were so bright that John had to shield her little eyes so that she could get a better view.

Meet the Carusos

The Caruso Family, New and Improved for 2009!

Welcome: Julia Anne Caruso

Julia Anne Caruso
7lbs even
born at 10:09am
Everyone's doing well!

Photos to come!

The Waiting Game

Hello Faithful BabyCaruso Blogspotters,

It's me, Sara's sister, Lisa. I'll be your guest blogger for the day. I'll do my best to keep you informed of everything that's going.

Sara's C-section was scheduled for 9am but the latest intel is that it will actually occur at 10am. I'm here at the hospital and our dad will be here soon.

The waiting room is not the most exciting place in the world but I've made myself comfortable, as you can see.

Although this is Sara's first baby, this is not the first time that I've sat in a maternity ward waiting for her. Below is a photo from October 15th, 1979, the day after she was born. It's me and my mother peeking into the baby window so I could see her for the first time. I was just as excited then as I am now. I couldn't wait to have a baby sister. Although she wasn't quite the living baby doll that I expected, she was definitely worth the wait!

Two days and counting

Only 2 days left until the big day. I'm definitely starting to get a little bit nervous, it's a very strange feeling knowing exactly when your baby will arrive. But I realized that I don't have anything to be worried about . . .

In August John and I traveled to London for my friend, Caitlin's wedding. While there we toured the British Museum and 'prayed' to Tawaret, the Egyptian protectress of pregnancy and childbirth.

Sara, 16 week old Orzo, and Tawaret

Last Night of Peace?

John and I realized that with our work schedules and the impending arrival of our daughter, Saturday night was our last official night to sleep in without having to set an alarm or wake up to a crying newborn. We happily went to bed on Saturday night having visions of a perfect nights sleep and a Sunday morning spent lounging in bed savoring our last lazy Sunday morning. Unfortunately, it didn't work out the way we planned.

I woke up at 12:30am, tossed and turned in bed, got up to go the bathroom, tossed and turned more, got up to get a snack, tossed and turned again, read, then finally feel back asleep sometime around 3:30am only to be woken up by our trouble maker cat Reggie around 7am demanding to be fed. John has a sore throat/cold (which we are hoping he will get over before the baby arrives) and was up some of the night coughing and awake by 7:30am (which is very early for John on a weekend) unable to fall back asleep.

Toby making herself comfortable in the baby's room

From what I have heard of a newborn's schedule and demands on a parent here is a great description from my friend Caitlin's brother. He and his wife had a little girl, Grace, on December 29th. Duff and Melissa Ferguson's description of life with a newborn:

"we just got home from the hospital yesterday and are still adjusting to the new routine (or lack thereof). everything now revolves around that little baby and we're glad to be her constant attendants. she sleeps (or wakes up constantly, depending on how you look at it) right beside me in a little bassinet by our bed, and basically this is a 24 hour job. this morning she had a two hour nap, and that was a very long one. mostly she wakes up every 15-20 minutes with some gas (pick her up, comfort her, position her all sorts of ways and tap her back until she burps or toots, replace baby, then she goes right back to sleep for 15 mins) or wanting to be fed (pick her up, comfort her, sniff her diaper, change diaper if needed, unswaddle her, pass her to Melissa, help Melissa sit up, help Melissa get positioned properly with lots of pillows, hold her little arms so she aims for the nipple instead of a little hand, take cat nap, take baby, burp baby, switch sides on Melissa, take cat nap, take baby, burp baby, swaddle baby, rock baby, hope she isn't still hungry... if so, repeat the above... then replace baby, cover baby, fall in bed for 15 more minutes) or needing a diaper change (pick her up, comfort her, unswaddle her, unclasp diaper, wash butt, replace diaper, reswaddle, rock, replace baby, pick up baby, replace baby, etc...). it's like running a marathon..."

Second Christmas

Yesterday John and I had "second Christmas" at our house with the Rybolt's and MacGregor's. Since I was 38 weeks pregnant I told everyone that I didn't plan on doing any cooking. My sister happily arranged all the food, she got take out platters from the Olive Garden, my dad brought drinks, and Carole brought dessert. We had "christmas dinner" on paper plates and with plastic forks so clean up was kept to a minimum. We were fortunate enough to have my Aunt Ellen from Canada and my 93 year old Grandmother also join us for Christmas.

John and I (38 weeks pregnant) with Grammy

John and I have been fortunate enough to get a lot of handme downs from relatives. The most meaningful handme down we received was a white wicker bassinet that was made for my Grandmother when she was born. It was made by her uncle and has been passed down through the generations.

Grammy with her bassinet in the baby's room

As most of you already know, about 11 years ago my mother passed away from breast cancer. At the time my cousin, Courtney made a baby quilt for me made partially out of my mother's clothing. It has sat tucked away for years and now is finally ready to be used.

Showing off the baby blanket to my Grandmother and Aunt Ellen

Happy Holidays

John and I had a wonderful Christmas in Hingham, MA with the Caruso's. We were about 2 hours away from Hartford and I was 37 weeks pregnant, but we had our hospital bags and carseat with us just in case Orzo decided to arrive while we were in Massachusetts. Fortunately she didn't surprise us with an early arrival and we got to relax with family for Christmas and throuroughly enjoy the baby shower my mother-in-law, Ruth, hosted at her house the Saturday after Christmas.37 Weeks Pregnant

It will be very exciting next year when Orzo can join in the fun with her Caruso cousins Taylor, Chase, and Sophia.

Chase, with his second favorite christmas toy

(number one was the wrapping paper)

Taylor and Sophia

Taylor loves 'babysitting' and playing with the 2 younger cousins

Classic Diaper Cake from the Shower