Wednesday, August 8, 2012
4 3/4 months - rolling over, finding toes, and all things in between
Just a quick update - and then I will try to post more:
Logan is doing great!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Nearly 4 months in - sorry for the delay!
I am so sorry for the very long absence - nearly 4 months!! I can't imagine anyone wants to read all the nitty gritty details about what's been going on in the last 4 months, but how about a quick overview??
LABOR:
While my due date was March 6th, pnut clearly had plans of his own. It was nice and safe in mommy's belly and he decide he'd stay a while longer. On the night of March 14th, Rich and I went to the hospital to begin eviction procedures - but I was having too many Braxton-Hicks contractions for them to do anything, so they sent us home around 10:30pm. Around 12:30am I started having real contractions! My labor lasted just about 18 hours - and, thanks to Rich, my godmother Meredith, the medical team, and my cheerleading squads in the waiting room (my mom, godmother Donna, and mother-in-law) and beyond, at the end Rich and I had a beautiful, BIG baby boy named Logan Dean Parziale (born 3/15/12, 9lbs 2oz, 21 inches long).
NICU:
Unfortunately, Logan took a big gulp of amniotic fluid (as far as they can tell) and had to spend a week in the NICU (Neonatal ICU) before they let him come home. It was a difficult week, but the NICU staff was WONDERFUL and so very helpful and supportive with everything (including breastfeeding which was QUITE a struggle).
HOME:
Once home our lives surely changed! The last four months have been a roller-coaster. Being new parents is really difficult, even in the best of situations. You are so exhausted, emotionally frayed, and out of your element and at the same time so excited and grateful and happy. Add in extra challenges and the situation becomes even more difficult. Thankfully Logan has two parents who DEEPLY love him and are surrounded by the most fabulous, loving, supportive, amazing support system who love both Logan and his parents.
I am particularly grateful to Kerry Curran who convinced me to go to my first mommy's group. As Rich said, just the other day, I am a different person after I go to my mommy group. More relaxed, more confident, and definitely less anxious. Mommy groups have made our home a happier and healthier place - and have introduced Logan and I to a whole new group of friends!!
Logan is wonderful. Not that I'm partial. He has grown so much in such a short period of time. He can roll over (one way), he can grab things (and instantly stick them in his mouth), he can sing and shout (and does so often). He loves to stand up and is learning to love the water. He has the best smile and inaudible giggle (which looks like a giant scream with no sound). We are in love.
Logan has his 4 month check up next week. As of last week he weighs 15lbs 13oz - so we're guessing he'll be at the 16lb mark by that appointment. He's in school now (pre-nursery) and is learning how to love it (we're not there yet, but Mommy and Logan are both working on it). I'm back at work 4 days week - my job was nice enough to let me take one day off a week, which has now become my second favorite day of the week (next to Saturday).
Otherwise we are doing well. Some days are easier than others. Some days Logan and I both need extra hugs. But, overall, Logan is happy and healthy and so are Rich and I. For those of our friends and family who have yet to meet this little man, we cannot wait to meet you. For those of you who just saw us yesterday, we cannot wait to see you soon.
I'll try to write and post a picture at least every week.... that will be my goal!
Love to you all!!!
LABOR:
While my due date was March 6th, pnut clearly had plans of his own. It was nice and safe in mommy's belly and he decide he'd stay a while longer. On the night of March 14th, Rich and I went to the hospital to begin eviction procedures - but I was having too many Braxton-Hicks contractions for them to do anything, so they sent us home around 10:30pm. Around 12:30am I started having real contractions! My labor lasted just about 18 hours - and, thanks to Rich, my godmother Meredith, the medical team, and my cheerleading squads in the waiting room (my mom, godmother Donna, and mother-in-law) and beyond, at the end Rich and I had a beautiful, BIG baby boy named Logan Dean Parziale (born 3/15/12, 9lbs 2oz, 21 inches long).
NICU:
Unfortunately, Logan took a big gulp of amniotic fluid (as far as they can tell) and had to spend a week in the NICU (Neonatal ICU) before they let him come home. It was a difficult week, but the NICU staff was WONDERFUL and so very helpful and supportive with everything (including breastfeeding which was QUITE a struggle).
Once home our lives surely changed! The last four months have been a roller-coaster. Being new parents is really difficult, even in the best of situations. You are so exhausted, emotionally frayed, and out of your element and at the same time so excited and grateful and happy. Add in extra challenges and the situation becomes even more difficult. Thankfully Logan has two parents who DEEPLY love him and are surrounded by the most fabulous, loving, supportive, amazing support system who love both Logan and his parents.
I am particularly grateful to Kerry Curran who convinced me to go to my first mommy's group. As Rich said, just the other day, I am a different person after I go to my mommy group. More relaxed, more confident, and definitely less anxious. Mommy groups have made our home a happier and healthier place - and have introduced Logan and I to a whole new group of friends!!
Logan is wonderful. Not that I'm partial. He has grown so much in such a short period of time. He can roll over (one way), he can grab things (and instantly stick them in his mouth), he can sing and shout (and does so often). He loves to stand up and is learning to love the water. He has the best smile and inaudible giggle (which looks like a giant scream with no sound). We are in love.
Logan has his 4 month check up next week. As of last week he weighs 15lbs 13oz - so we're guessing he'll be at the 16lb mark by that appointment. He's in school now (pre-nursery) and is learning how to love it (we're not there yet, but Mommy and Logan are both working on it). I'm back at work 4 days week - my job was nice enough to let me take one day off a week, which has now become my second favorite day of the week (next to Saturday).
Otherwise we are doing well. Some days are easier than others. Some days Logan and I both need extra hugs. But, overall, Logan is happy and healthy and so are Rich and I. For those of our friends and family who have yet to meet this little man, we cannot wait to meet you. For those of you who just saw us yesterday, we cannot wait to see you soon.
I'll try to write and post a picture at least every week.... that will be my goal!
Love to you all!!!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
39 weeks.... Still in there....
I must apologize for the lack of posts recently! I have been informed by a number of friends/family that I have unnecessarily worried/excited many of you - thinking that my absence was due to pnut's arrival and not, as was the case, my laziness!! Sorry to disappoint!!
So here we are, at 39 weeks!! As of my last appointment (Wednesday) pnut is still head down, has a strong, healthy heartbeat, and, the doctor guesstimates, is around the mid-sevens (lbs). Unfortunately, pnut has decided that mommy made too nice a home for him, and he's not coming out into the snowy/rainy, cold Northeast for as long as he can help it. While I can appreciate his dedication to warmth, I am OVERLY ready for this little man to be born. Gone are the days of awe and wonder at being pregnant - the days of "wow, this is so COOL!" Now we live at the corner of "OMG I am SO UNCOMFORTABLE" and "Please.... PLEASEEEEE come out!!!" As I've said over and over again, this is why this process takes as long as it does. By the end you just don't care how he gets out, as long as you can semi-claim your body for yourself once again.
Rich has been an amazing husband and an even better friend. While this has been true throughout this pregnancy, I am even more appreciative the farther along, and more uncomfortable, I am. He rubs my feet at night to help with the swelling I thought I was going to be fortunate enough to avoid, he listens to me complain (constantly), he fetches me cookies when I call for them (my only true "craving"), he feeds the kitties so I don't have to bend down for their bowls, and has insisted on doing the laundry so I don't have to walk up and down 3 flights of stairs. He is my biggest cheerleader (and manliest!) and I am SO grateful for all that he has done, continues to do, and will do in the future. Pnut is very lucky to have Rich as a daddy and I am very lucky to have him as a partner.
I'm attaching today's work picture - for those who have insisted on seeing just how big I've become. When people ask me how I'm feeling/how big I've gotten, I tell them I feel like a beached whale... who ate a horse. Please, see for yourself :)
Hopefully the next post will include a picture of pnut!!!
So here we are, at 39 weeks!! As of my last appointment (Wednesday) pnut is still head down, has a strong, healthy heartbeat, and, the doctor guesstimates, is around the mid-sevens (lbs). Unfortunately, pnut has decided that mommy made too nice a home for him, and he's not coming out into the snowy/rainy, cold Northeast for as long as he can help it. While I can appreciate his dedication to warmth, I am OVERLY ready for this little man to be born. Gone are the days of awe and wonder at being pregnant - the days of "wow, this is so COOL!" Now we live at the corner of "OMG I am SO UNCOMFORTABLE" and "Please.... PLEASEEEEE come out!!!" As I've said over and over again, this is why this process takes as long as it does. By the end you just don't care how he gets out, as long as you can semi-claim your body for yourself once again.
Rich has been an amazing husband and an even better friend. While this has been true throughout this pregnancy, I am even more appreciative the farther along, and more uncomfortable, I am. He rubs my feet at night to help with the swelling I thought I was going to be fortunate enough to avoid, he listens to me complain (constantly), he fetches me cookies when I call for them (my only true "craving"), he feeds the kitties so I don't have to bend down for their bowls, and has insisted on doing the laundry so I don't have to walk up and down 3 flights of stairs. He is my biggest cheerleader (and manliest!) and I am SO grateful for all that he has done, continues to do, and will do in the future. Pnut is very lucky to have Rich as a daddy and I am very lucky to have him as a partner.
I'm attaching today's work picture - for those who have insisted on seeing just how big I've become. When people ask me how I'm feeling/how big I've gotten, I tell them I feel like a beached whale... who ate a horse. Please, see for yourself :)
Hopefully the next post will include a picture of pnut!!!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
36 weeks, Baby Showered, Almost Ready to Roll!
I feel like so much has happened since my last check in - let's see if I can cover everything!
Julia threw me a BEAUTIFUL baby shower (with shout outs to all the other ladies - and gents - who contributed - I know and you know who you are!!!). Adam's dad was nice enough to loan us his gorgeous house for the event and we managed to cram about 40 people into those awesome living areas - thanks to everyone for making the best out of that tight squeeze!! The food was excellent (although, to be fair - i was mainly concerned with the H&H bagels (my favorite) and dessert!!) but the company was even better. The hard part of a baby shower is that you have all these wonderful women together whom you love and want to spend time with - and you end up having just enough time to chat briefly before opening presents. And open presents I did!!! Holy moly! I think we figured out that I opened presents for nearly 2 hours!!! As I said afterwards, if the worst thing you can say about your baby shower was that your friends and family were SO overly generous that you spent 2 hours opening presents, then you are an incredibly lucky person. I am an incredibly lucky person.
Last week Rich and I took a tour of the Labor and Delivery floor and attended the "Meet the Doctors" session. Some people asked if this made it "more real." I would say the lack of sleep, constant hip pain, general uncomfortableness, and ridiculous nesting obsession make it real enough, the tour just gave me hope that it will be over soon and in a very short period of time we will get to meet this little man for the first time!!
This past weekend was the Superbowl. I think we all know what happened - no need to reopen the wound here. HOWEVER, before Sunday night, we did have a lovely treat - our friends Mike and Angela visited from Philadelphia!!! They haven't been to Boston in at least 3-4 years, and we haven't been able to hang out for a weekend in a VERY long time. It was SO nice to play with them for the weekend - even if I couldn't "play" much (what do you do with someone who is 9 months pregnant and totally uncomfortable 95% of the time?!? YOU GO OUT TO EAT!) :) Mike took the two pictures below (me at home, Angela and Rich at the museum... Mike, where are you?!)
Also, this week I started having my first noticeable Braxton-Hicks contractions. They are not "painful" but rather uncomfortable at this point. Also, Pnut does not enjoy being squished - so every time they start he pushes against them... making the experience that much more bizarre. Otherwise, we had our 36 week appointment yesterday. Everyone is happy and healthy!! Next week will officially be the start of "full term" - and while I doubt this guy is making an appearance before 40 weeks, he could technically come at any time. WOW! Rich and I are trying to be good about appreciating the time we have before welcoming a newborn - but I think we're both too excited :) Until next time....!
Julia threw me a BEAUTIFUL baby shower (with shout outs to all the other ladies - and gents - who contributed - I know and you know who you are!!!). Adam's dad was nice enough to loan us his gorgeous house for the event and we managed to cram about 40 people into those awesome living areas - thanks to everyone for making the best out of that tight squeeze!! The food was excellent (although, to be fair - i was mainly concerned with the H&H bagels (my favorite) and dessert!!) but the company was even better. The hard part of a baby shower is that you have all these wonderful women together whom you love and want to spend time with - and you end up having just enough time to chat briefly before opening presents. And open presents I did!!! Holy moly! I think we figured out that I opened presents for nearly 2 hours!!! As I said afterwards, if the worst thing you can say about your baby shower was that your friends and family were SO overly generous that you spent 2 hours opening presents, then you are an incredibly lucky person. I am an incredibly lucky person.
Last week Rich and I took a tour of the Labor and Delivery floor and attended the "Meet the Doctors" session. Some people asked if this made it "more real." I would say the lack of sleep, constant hip pain, general uncomfortableness, and ridiculous nesting obsession make it real enough, the tour just gave me hope that it will be over soon and in a very short period of time we will get to meet this little man for the first time!!
This past weekend was the Superbowl. I think we all know what happened - no need to reopen the wound here. HOWEVER, before Sunday night, we did have a lovely treat - our friends Mike and Angela visited from Philadelphia!!! They haven't been to Boston in at least 3-4 years, and we haven't been able to hang out for a weekend in a VERY long time. It was SO nice to play with them for the weekend - even if I couldn't "play" much (what do you do with someone who is 9 months pregnant and totally uncomfortable 95% of the time?!? YOU GO OUT TO EAT!) :) Mike took the two pictures below (me at home, Angela and Rich at the museum... Mike, where are you?!)
Also, this week I started having my first noticeable Braxton-Hicks contractions. They are not "painful" but rather uncomfortable at this point. Also, Pnut does not enjoy being squished - so every time they start he pushes against them... making the experience that much more bizarre. Otherwise, we had our 36 week appointment yesterday. Everyone is happy and healthy!! Next week will officially be the start of "full term" - and while I doubt this guy is making an appearance before 40 weeks, he could technically come at any time. WOW! Rich and I are trying to be good about appreciating the time we have before welcoming a newborn - but I think we're both too excited :) Until next time....!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
34 weeks, pnut has 6 weeks to go, and the Pats are in the Superbowl!!
As you can see from the title, there is much excitement around the Astion/Parizale household - both for pnut and for Rich's other love, the Patriots. This past weekend Pnut got to experience his first AFC East championship - and as daddy screamed at the TV, Pnut bounced around to show his support. The three of us are VERY excited to see the Patriots/Giants Superbowl rematch next weekend!! GO PATS!
This past weekend a friend and fellow co-worker was also nice enough to take some maternity photos for Rich and I. A budding photographer, Christina is building a portfolio of her fabulous photos, and we were lucky enough to be part of that experience. When Christina asked if we had a special place in mind (of course Rich's first suggestion was Gillette Stadium... i kid you not) I instantly thought of the deCordova museum and sculpture park. While Rich and I are generally not a huge fans of museums, we both love the sculpture park at the deCordova. I love that you can touch, feel, and explore each sculpture and that it is not only accepted but encouraged. I knew this is where I would want to have photos taken. Christina was a champ - trudging through snow and cold to get to some of our favorite sculptures and taking photo after photo (after photo) to catch us doing any manner of posing and expressions (which, if you know me, you know there are PLENTY of both!). There are quite a few photos, most of which we have not seen yet, but Christina was nice enough to give us a taste - I've posted some of those for you to see.
This coming weekend is our baby shower and what I'm most excited for is to have many of our friends and family in one room together (many of whom haven't met each other!!). There aren't many occasions where this is possible - and I am so grateful to be able to share this experience with such a wonderful group of women. I will have many pictures to post after this fabulous event. A big pre-party thank you to Julia for hosting this shin-dig. She has truly worked her butt off!!!
In quick Pnut news - we had our 34 week check-up this week. Strong heartbeat, head-down, measuring right on the dot. The doctor was reluctant to give me an estimate of size at this point - which is fine, I suppose, but I sure would like to know how much bigger this pnut is going to get!!! :)
Until next time!!
This past weekend a friend and fellow co-worker was also nice enough to take some maternity photos for Rich and I. A budding photographer, Christina is building a portfolio of her fabulous photos, and we were lucky enough to be part of that experience. When Christina asked if we had a special place in mind (of course Rich's first suggestion was Gillette Stadium... i kid you not) I instantly thought of the deCordova museum and sculpture park. While Rich and I are generally not a huge fans of museums, we both love the sculpture park at the deCordova. I love that you can touch, feel, and explore each sculpture and that it is not only accepted but encouraged. I knew this is where I would want to have photos taken. Christina was a champ - trudging through snow and cold to get to some of our favorite sculptures and taking photo after photo (after photo) to catch us doing any manner of posing and expressions (which, if you know me, you know there are PLENTY of both!). There are quite a few photos, most of which we have not seen yet, but Christina was nice enough to give us a taste - I've posted some of those for you to see.
In quick Pnut news - we had our 34 week check-up this week. Strong heartbeat, head-down, measuring right on the dot. The doctor was reluctant to give me an estimate of size at this point - which is fine, I suppose, but I sure would like to know how much bigger this pnut is going to get!!! :)
Until next time!!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
32 weeks, Happy New Year, 8 weeks to go!!!
It's been a crazy couple of weeks for pnut, Rich, and me. No worries, everyone is healthy and doing well, just a bunch of activity - some good, some bad, but all is working out in the end. Pnut is now supposed to be more than 16 inches long and weigh about 3.75lbs this week (according to the baby website). It's getting harder and harder to imagine that he's going to continue to grow in here - we're seriously running out of space! Common life situations are becoming more difficult. Last night I realized I had to hunch over the sink in order to wash dishes and this morning Rich had a good laugh at me trying to put my socks. I can only imagine what the next 8 weeks will bring (my friends who have had children assure me that the truly "fun" pregnancy times lie ahead)!!
As always, New Year's Eve was a good time (although one of the group wasn't feeling well - and we all worried about him)! We stuck with our tradition of hanging out in Stoneham with the Reiss-Hulings and the Hanleys - playing games, watching tv, and just generally chatting and hanging out. Since New Years, we have taken down the Christmas tree and started the movement of packing up our "office"so it can become the guest bedroom, moving the guest bedroom furniture into the office, and creating a nursery. It seems like a task that will take forever, but Rich assures me it can get done in time for Superbowl :) The good news is that we have all the major pieces to the nursery puzzle - crib, dresser/changing table, rug, curtains. I'm heading to NY this weekend to pick up our stroller (thank you Donna!!) and miscellaneous goodies from other family members (thanks Tanta!). Now it's just getting all that sorted, assembled, and set up! We are moving right along!
Hard to believe that 8 months has flown by - and that in just 8 weeks pnut will be HERE. I spent so much time (and still do, to be honest) worrying and hoping things would just go faster and now it feels like "wow!" maybe this should slow back down!! Too late for that, I suppose :)
Much love to everyone - we'll check back in soon!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
29 weeks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!
Last week I spent a couple of days before Xmas in Maine with my godmothers and my mom - baking, listening to Christmas carols on loop, and bickering about various things (no, Kelly's cookies do NOT have alcohol in them MOM!). Kelly's famous cookies arrived right on time and we added her delicious cookies to our gluttonous cookie stash (you'll see the picture of the hilarious cookie bag decorations that Kelly's mom Jensie helped with!) - the big winners this year were the honey cookie and the white chocolate cranberry... but all were pretty amazing! Rich joined us on Saturday in time to catch an excellent Pats game, snack on our various sweet labors, and pig out on Christmas dinner. Sunday we spent the whole morning opening a truly amazing stack of presents - once again everyone was spoiled in the best possible way. After a late breakfast we took off for Cambridge to join the Foster/Burke/Diallo/Parizale family for their festivities. As always, Rich's mom is an amazing cook and we fattened ourselves up just a little bit more. Pnut got some great gifts from his uncles and aunties (aunties and uncles in Boston, aunties in DC, aunties aunites everywhere!) - he was totally spoiled before he is even out and about!!! It was a great Hanukkah and a fabulous Christmas!
There are so many people who get super stressed out about the holidays, but I love love love them. This year was no exception. I love being able to spend special time with my friends and family, treating each other to special trinkets and yearly-awaited gifts (whether something big or something small), and just setting aside time to laugh with each other. Rich and I so very lucky to be surrounded by amazing women and men in our lives - my godmothers, my mom, and all of Rich's family have done so much for us over the years, and have already been so generous with pnut. Thank you to everyone who made this holiday as special as ever - and thank you to my husband and our families who make our traditions work, even it if means taking a train and then a two hour drive, eating a little bit later, or opening presents a day later. We can't wait til pnut can celebrate our traditions with us!! Only 11 weeks to go... can't believe how fast time has flown!
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