Nicholas Patrick Scialabba

He's here!  The newest member of our little family has arrived!  Nicholas Patrick Scialabba was born on Friday, November 30 at 1:25 pm weighing 7 lb 15.6 oz (which was rounded to 8 lbs) and 20" long at 38 weeks gestation. He is absolutely perfect.

Prior to his arrival we had two false alarms.  The first was on Thanksgiving as I was having a sharp, constant pain in my abdomen and around my right side to my back.  It would last for a few hours at a time and then taper off for a bit before coming back.  Unfortunately that meant I spent all of Thanksgiving on the couch (either sleeping or watching football) and was unable to participate in Thanksgiving dinner with Michael and Mikey.  (I had made most of the food the day before with the exception of the turkey that Mike prepared on Thursday.)  My boys took excellent care of me.  By the next day I was back to my regular self and my midwife believes I had some sort of GI issue.  The following week (Thursday, November 29) we went to the doctor since I thought my water had broken. No such luck.  I learned I was 2 cm dilated and was sent home disappointed and frustrated.  I was so disappointed that the baby wasn't coming yet and the frustration stemmed from the fact that I kept thinking all of these symptoms were "it".  I vowed on Thursday that I wasn't going to call or text anyone until I was actually in the hospital giving birth.  And then Friday morning rolled around.....

The contractions started to wake me up at 1:35 am.  I kept a log on the notes section of my iPhone with when I felt a contraction and then would time them and indicate the pain level.  From 1:35 until 4:00 am the contractions were coming between 10-12 minutes apart, lasting for one minute and were increasing in intensity as time elapsed.  By 5 am the contractions were coming closer together (8 minutes apart) and I was in pain, so we called the hospital.  As I got up and went downstairs the pain and contractions weren't as bad---leading me to believe I was having yet another false alarm.  I spoke to my midwife (Michele) and she suggested calling back in an hour to check in.  45 minutes later I was still in pain and I called to say I was coming in.  We woke up Mikey, gathered my bags, I packed some activities and breakfast items for M and we left.  As we got in the car at 6 am we called "cousin Emily" at Boston College and asked her to meet us at the hospital to take care of Mikey, just as we had planned on her doing.  Thank goodness for Emily.

We checked in quickly and waited for Michele to get me in the waiting room.  They brought me into a pre-admission room to hook me up to a monitor and see what was going on.  As I got into bed, Emily arrived and Mike took them down to the car to go home.  When Mike left I started crying to Michele saying that I was afraid this was another false alarm.  After a quick (and painful) examination, it was determined that I was 4cm dilated and I was in fact in labor!  She admitted me and then left for her two week vacation to Hawaii.  Lucky lady.  (This is when we called our parents and notified them that I was in the hospital.  We got a hold of my Dad who then contacted my Mom.  My mother was on the way to work, pulled over to call her school and tell them she wouldn't be in and then drove home to meet Dad and drive up to Boston.  They arrived around 1 pm.  "Papa Fred" was at work and said he would come as soon as he could and Mimi left Queensbury by herself and headed straight to Wellesley to check in on Emily and Mikey.)

The midwife who was covering the maternity floor after Michele was named Suzanne Wright.  She was familiar to me since I had seen her a few times for my prenatal appointments.  It was so nice to have a familiar person be involved in such an important event.

I'll spare you the nitty gritty details of the actual labor and delivery.  I will disclose that there was an epidural involved (thank GOD for that!) and I had to use oxygen in between pushes.  I pushed for an hour and twenty-five minutes prior to meeting little Nicholas....but he was worth it!!

Big brother Mikey was able to meet him just a short time after he was born and he was ready to take on his new role.  When I was pregnant Mikey would talk to my belly and say "Baby!  It's time to come out!  You're ready now!".  When Mikey came into the labor and delivery room and saw Nicholas he said "He came out now!".

And now for some pictures....

Mikey eating his breakfast in the waiting room.  He has no idea what is about to happen!

Mommy and Nicholas

Proud big brother!  He couldn't wait to hold him!

"Bob" and Nicholas

Gran-ma Anita and Nicholas

Papa Fred & Nicholas

                              

Nicholas & Mimi

Uncle Timmy & Emily (my own personal midwife!)

Giraffe hat!

Wearing my special "coming home" outfit that Grandma bought me

Ready to go home!

Two kids in the backseat!!!  We are officially a family of FOUR!!

Great Grandparents come to visit!

We were lucky enough to spend two days with Michael's paternal grandparents over the weekend of Thanksgiving.  Grandma and Grandpa Scialabba DROVE from Florida along the east coast visiting their family along the way.  Unfortunately Nicholas wasn't ready to arrive yet (he came 5 days later) but the rest of us were able to spend time together.

Thanks for the visit, Grandma and Grandpa.  We were so happy you were able to come to Massachusetts!  Now it's our turn to go back to Naples!  (Oh, darn!  Twist our arm!)

Way behind!

We moved this weekend.

Everything went better than we could have imagined. 

Needless to say I am way behind in my blogging and hope to catch up in the very near future.

We have so many things to be thankful for this time of year and I am even more thankful for the blog since it is one less thing I need to unpack!!  :)

Will be back to update soon.

xo

Giving Thanks (5)

I am so thankful that I can work part-time and still spend quality time at home with Mikey.  Today we have already lounged in our PJ's while watching Curious George, ate breakfast together at the table, did puzzles, "fixed" the house with the Handy Manny tools, played with playdoh and stickers.  Now I am sitting at the kitchen table writing this post and keeping my eyes on Mikey while he is on the patio playing with beans (it's 39 degrees outside---I just can't bring myself to go out there!!)

(This activity lasted 5-7 minutes TOPS!  He is already inside eating a snack!)

BREAKING NEWS!!

Mikey is now sleeping in underwear at night (started Saturday night, November 3)!  This means we are diaper free for approximately the next 6 weeks!

Woo-hoo!

Giving Thanks (4)

Today I was most grateful for the iPad that entertained Mikey for over an hour when he woke up at his regular 6:00 am time the morning after Daylight Savings time (so technically he was up at 5am) and I wasn't yet functional.

Halloween Celebrations

When discussing Halloween, Mikey was adamant that he wanted to be Peter Pan.  He only knows of Peter Pan from one episode of "Jake" but it obviously left a lasting impression.  I searched high and low for this costume.  I first called all of the Disney stores in our area as well as New Jersey (thinking my parents could always pick it up and ship it if need be).  I learned two things: 1) the Disney Store receives their shipments in on Wednesdays (good for future notice) and 2) every boy that wears a size 4 must have been Peter Pan for Halloween because NO costumes were left!  I posted on facebook my frustrations and many people recommended borrowing costumes of their own or trying other websites like EBay and Amazon.  I knew exactly what I was looking for and the cheap-o version was not an option.  We eventually ordered it on Amazon (for MORE than what the Disney Store was asking).  The excitement from Mikey when he tried it on for the first time was worth every penny.

Saturday, October 27 was the first of our Halloween celebrations.  It was the annual Perniola Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  Last year lots of parents and kids dressed up.  This year all kids were dressed up, not as many adults.  Mikey chose our costumes.  He insisted that "Daddy is going to be Captain Hook" and "Mommy is going to be a princess" (we were able to compromise and so I was Tinker Bell).

Mikey asked to hold Oliver (4 months).  Look how proud he is.  I'm glad he is getting some practice!

 

 Oliver, Big Sister Ellie/Minnie Mouse and Mikey

Sean (Wiggles character) and Abigail (cupcake)

On the actual day of Halloween, Mikey went to Eva's House.  She took them trick-or-treating that afternoon on Lincoln Street to the different businesses that were handing out candy.  Mikey told me that Odin was a "race car driver" and Jonah was a "monkey".  I am hoping some pictures get sent along the email chain so I can add them here.

Actual Halloween was cancelled here at the Archstone apartment complex due to the weather and was rescheduled for Saturday, November 3.  Mommy, Daddy and Mikey went trick-or-treating along Fox Road while Gran-ma and Bob stayed behind to man the door and make dinner.  We were the only ones out---which worked out well for Mikey.  He got lots of attention AND lots of candy!

All in all, I would say Mikey had a successful 4th Halloween!

Sibling Class at Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Today we signed up for a Sibling class at Newton-Wellesley Hospital to help prepare Mikey for Baby S's upcoming arrival.  The class was an hour and consisted of practicing holding and wrapping a baby, talking about baby basics (why babies cry, what babies eat, washing your hands before touching baby, etc.) and then a tour of the maternity ward and seeing a new baby in the nursery.  

The class started with introductions of the children---first their name, how old they were, if they were having a baby brother or sister and what the baby's name was (if known).  

Here's how Mikey's intro went:

Nurse Kathy: "I see your name is Mikey" (from his name tag).

Mikey: (Smiles)

Nurse Kathy: How old are you, Mikey?

Mikey: "Three and a half" (this was a first I have EVER heard him say anything other than "4" when asked without prompting)

Nurse Kathy: Are you having a brother or a sister?

Mikey: "Eli!"

He also told someone at the Halloween party last weekend that the baby's name was going to be Eli (as in Eli Manning).  Let the record show now that Michael and I have NOT decided to name the baby Eli (or any other name yet for that matter!).

The class went well aside from my pickiness related to how some adults don't know how to interact with young children (and yet are responsible for "teaching" a class to young children).  The kicker for me was when she asked the children "Do you know that the baby is going to come out of Mommy's vagina?".  (Insert eye roll here)

Here are some pics:

Giving Thanks (3)

In piggy backing yesterday's reference to Sandy, today we are thankful for:

1) Electricity;

2) Access to clean water;

3) Gas stations without 2 hour waits or gas rationing schedules;

4) Internet & Cable access;

5) A fully stocked grocery store.

(All of these are extremely taken for granted....)

Giving Thanks (2)

Today we are thankful for our family---parents, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins!  We are grateful that everyone is safe after Superstorm Sandy from this week.  Houses and personal items can all be replaced but our family members cannot!  xoxo

Giving Thanks

For each day in the month of November I am going to post something we are thankful for.

Here we go:

Today on November 1st I am thankful for Michael, Mikey and Baby #2.  We have a special, close-knit family and I couldn't imagine one day without any of them.