Milestones

It has been forever since I wrote in this blog. So much has happened, it is hard to remember it all. Henry rolled over all the way on Oct 24 and started eating cereal and veggies on Oct 25th. Best of all he started sleeping through the night consistently on Oct 28. On November 12th, Henry had his first fever and cold, which he contracted after some kid sneezed on him in Gymboree. On November 16th he showed real frustration over something being taken away from him-- a wadded up piece of paper. AND just yesterday, Henry sat up unassisted for the first time (see the video). What is amazing is not just the physical achievements, but the progress in his cognitive skills. You can really see him processing and learning. I am just so proud!

Thanksgiving with Family

We spent this Thanksgiving in Moultrie, Georgia visiting my family. It was so good to see everyone. Henry loved meeting his cousins Claire & Caroline (above), as well as all the other many cousins. We also went over to the FSU vs. Florida game in Tallahassee and despite the loss, it was really fun to see the Millers and Valveris and finally meet Avery and Cole. On Monday we had Henry's photo taken by a phenomenal photographer, Susan Stripling.

Best Baby Advice yet

From my friend Heidi--"Buy overnight diapers". This single piece of advice has paid off more than anything else. Once Henry started sleeping through the night, I chalked it up to him growing and progressing. However, we recently ran out of the overnight diapers and poof, no more sleeping through. So to you all you new mommies out there-- "Buy overnight diapers for nighttime sleeping-- even if they are one size too big!!"

Marathon in Newport, Rhode Island- October 21

Jim ran his 8th Marathon in Newport, Rhode Island on October 21. Despite the cold and wind, Jim set his personal record of 3:09:53 which qualified him for the Boston Marathon. He came in 6th overall! Henry and I were very proud. We stayed in a B&B and had a grand time while in Newport. What a beautiful little town.

Henry's Christening 9/17

Last Sunday, our darling Henry was baptized and is now an official Catholic. For the occasion we had many visitors from the sunshine state-- Mom and Dad Novack, Mom Waltram, Kelley Diveto (Henry's beautiful Godmother), Matt Novack (Henry's Godfather) and Wendy Gordon. Also in attendance were many Boston friends and neighbors. Henry did very well and didn't cry when the Father poured the water over his head, he just threw out his arms and looked very startled.

After the baptism we had a cookout at our house and Henry didn't nap all afternoon- he just sat in his bouncey seat and charmed everyone. I guess he knew the day was for him.

It was a very emotional day for me. We have a wonderful family and are surrounded by a lot of love. God gave us a great gift bringing Henry into our lives.

Chunky Monkey

Henry is growing so fast! This morning I couldn't resist getting him undressed and taking photos. He is just so rolly-polly!! I actually measured his thigh and it is 10 inches around. I just love every inch of that pudge! He even has fat on the top of his feet. This is the first time I have every thought cellulite is adorable!

We are all smiles now!

Henry has hit many milestones since our last posting including smiling at Mommie and Daddy. His smile makes me feel so warm inside! The process of deciding when the first legitimate smile took place was quite humorous. He was making smiling-like faces for some time, but we were always discussing it- "Was that at me or just spontaneous?" But there is no question about it now. He smiles at Jim when he gets home from work and at me when he sees me in the morning. It is so rewarding to know that he is happy, having fun and likes us.

Also on August 11, Henry started sleeping in his crib in his room instead of his bassinet in our room. It was a sad transition for me, but time for it to happen. Can you imagine when he goes to kindergarten? Or College??? It was a pretty smooth process. It is not like his room is far from ours anyway!

Time Passes So Quickly

Henry keeps us very busy! I can't believe how quickly 6 weeks has passed! Keeping up with the blog has been harder than I anticipated, but I love doing it when I get the chance. It makes me slow down to consider what has happened since the last time I wrote. During this time especially, it is so important to savor every experience!

Henry is thriving and really packing on the pounds. At the last appointment he was up to 8 lbs 9 ounces and we figure he is at least 9 and 1/2 now. He is now cooing and making all sorts of grunts and sounds in addition to crying. The first 4 weeks there were only two modes-- either on or off. Now he oohhs and ahhs and it just melts your heart. We are sitting on pins and needles waiting for that first real smile-- proof that he is interacting with us!

In the last few weeks we have caught up with old friends and had a number of outings. Diane, Ava and Mrs. Sullivan came to visit us on July 6th. Ava is a beautiful girl who has really grown since I last saw her. She could be my daughter with the red hair and curls! It was great to spend time with them!

July 8th we had Jim's company picnic which was a lot of fun. It was nice to meet all the families of Jim's coworkers and get outside for the afternoon. Henry was a little angel, sleeping most of the day. We socialized, ate lobster and played soccer (ok- Jim played soccer :).

This week we were able to see Cyndi and Chloe at the Knight's. This was my first time meeting Chloe and she is such a sweet cutie pie. She is all smiles and sparkling blue eyes! And she is such a big baby in comparison to Baby Henry. The heat really got to Henry that day and he was quite cranky. He is going to have to shape up if he wants to win over the beautiful Chloe in the future! It was so good to catch up with Cyndi-- I must have asked her every baby rearing question under the sun! The visits make me miss having my best girlfriends closer, especially since we are all going through such similar life experiences. It would be nice to share them in person, as opposed to phone, email and this blog!

Otherwise, we are just taking things day by day. We are working on a schedule and I am trying to get Henry to go longer than 3 hours between feedings at night. He is teaching me the lesson I will need to learn over and over through out his life, that he will do things when he is ready, not because I want him to. He has actually decided that he prefers 2 hour feedings at night the past few days. But I am hopeful that the longer spans are in the near future!

Until next time- take care!

An Apple a Day...

We have had a ton of Doctor's appointments since Henry was born- from a clogged tear duct to numerous weight checks to ultrasounds. The ultrasound was to check Henry's hip development and the formation of his spine. Some breach babies have trouble with their hips since they are sitting on them for so long. The hips seem to be fine but we are keeping an eye on one for a few more weeks. The formation of the spine is completely fine, which is a huge relief. Our son has a small dimple at the base of his spine that was an issue that has been very talked about from birth. We are happy it is nothing. In the ultrasound process, the tech noticed some fluid in one of his kidneys, so we are going to the doctor again next week to keep an eye on it. I am staying positive until I need to be worried. We will have another Ultrasound to check it again in a few months, which I am dreading. Henry thinks the Ultrasound process is close in nature to Chinese water torture!

You know, there were so many things that came up in my pregnancy that were "indicators" of problems that always panned out to be false alarms. It was nerve-wracking. I thought some of that would end with the birth of a healthy baby, but Henry seems to be cursed like his mother with small abnormalities that send Doctors running into the "let's check everything and be sure" mode. I guess it is good, but you have to wonder if some time we know too much these days. We worry a lot for no reason most of the time. Better safe than sorry I guess!

First Father's Day

Henry surprised his Daddy with a T-shirt for Father's Day. The rest of the day was spent on Henry's first tub bath and the other regular baby stuff. In the evening Jim and I went out to dinner for the first time while Nana babysat. We went out for Sushi and a walk in the city. It was very nice, but of course we missed our precious boy!

Bringing home Baby

Saturday, June 10, we brought Henry home. He looked so tiny in his car seat. He didn't seem to mind the seat at all, once he got settled. The girls (our cats) were a little freaked out by him and I was a little freaked out by the fact that they both wanted to get to him at once. After a few minutes though, they grew uninterested and for the most part they have remained that way, now that they are used to the crying.

Our first night home I will always refer to as initiation night. Henry christened us into the Parenting Fraternity, by fussing all night long, not eating and not sleeping. He did a good job of hazing us and clearly established who is boss around here. After all the name Henry means "Head of the household"! But Jim and I persevered and we are pretty sure it can't get much worse. Babies everywhere can be proud that Henry got us off to a reality based start!

In Henry's first week, we have already made one trip to the Pediatrician for a clogged tear duct. Nothing major and it was good to get that first nerve-wracking visit over with. We had his first bath, which is still in the sponge bath stage, until his umbilical cord stump falls off. He was very good- and hardly cried at all. Otherwise, we are working on getting a schedule established and we are very thankful that Nana is here to help especially during sleepless nights. I am happy to report as of this Blog, we have had over 36 hours of amazing angelic behavior. He is sleeping 3 hours between feeding and has almost no fussing at all about anything. If he keeps this up, then you will all be subjected to blathering on about how he is the best baby that ever existed! I hope that is the case!

More next week!

Pictures of our Blessing

Introducing Henry Waltram Novack

Our son Henry, joined us on Tuesday, June 6, 2006 at 10:52 am. He was 6 pounds, 7 ounces and 19 inches long. Jim was able to watch him as he entered the world. Henry proved his lungs worked well by screaming for the first few minutes of his life. Then Jim cut the umbilical cord and participated in Henry's cleanup. I, on the other hand, had a little tougher go of it, as the Spinal Block triggered a severe migraine. As soon as Henry was out, the pain medicine was increased to tackle the migraine, so I don't remember a whole lot. Jim's face when witnessing the birth was priceless though, something I will never forget. He kept saying, "he's perfect, he's perfect." with smiling eyes. I have never seen Jim so happy or excited.

After being stiched up, we went to Recovery and I was able to hold Henry for the first time. I was just amazed that this was the baby I have been carrying for nine months. Due to the migraine, this time period is very hazy to me, so I am glad to have photos as a record. My Mom arrived soon after and once my legs were in motion again, we were moved to the postpartum floor, where I got the nicest room on the floor -- REALLY. One of the administrators was Russian and has a daughter named Victoria. She told us that when she saw my name and the Slovak name of Novack that she decided to assign us the best room, which was a corner room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Fenway area. With hardwood "like" floors it felt like a loft space more than a hospital room. It also had the largest bathroom! If you have to be in the hospital for 5 days, this is the way to do it!

Otherwise, my hospital stay was mostly uneventful. I had a couple of visitors, Brendan and Aileen, and Lilian and Kaitlyn. It was great to see friendly faces. On the last night of my stay, I was feeling really strange and it turns out that my blood pressure went very high for no apparent reason. I almost didn't go home on Saturday, but my blood tests seemed to be normal. They are still unsure why it spiked and why it continues to run quite a bit higher than my normal rate (which is extremely low). Hopefully in time, everything will stabilize.

The Childbirth experience has been the most monumental of my life. Henry is a beautiful baby with a wonderful disposition. God has blessed us with his greatest gift and we can't me more thankful and happy.

The Details

The C- Section is scheduled for 10am on Tuesday, June 6 at

Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital
330 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
617-667-7000
http://bidmc.harvard.edu/display.asp?leaf_id=9657

We will be in the hospital until Saturday-- Call us!

Our last weekend as a Duo

This weekend we decided to embrace our last hurrah as a childless couple. On Sunday we had brunch, one of our favorite pastimes (sans the Mimosa's of course) and afterward, we attended the Dorchester Day parade. Believe it or not it was 2 hours long with all sorts of participants. Who knew that Dot was so proud! Tonight we went to our favorite restaurant in the North End, Rabia's. Believe it or not, during dinner we were still discussing names and we decided to wait until he arrives to make the final decision.

Nine (10) months has really flown by-- it seems like just yesterday that I was taking a 3rd pregnancy test to make sure it was really true in the airport on the way to Colorado Springs for Angie and Robert's wedding! We feel so blessed and I can't articulate how excited we are to meet this little person who I have been carrying with me all these months. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Next time this blog is updated it will be with pictures of our son!

The Nursery **Almost Finished**

The nursery is almost complete! Here are a couple of pictures. It still has to be accessorized (Jim says he doesn't understand what that means!) and I need to finish the window treatments. There are some shelves that will be hung as well. These pictures let you see our our new ceiling, new lighting, new molding and chair rail (all Jim's handy work) as well as the snazzy paint treatment (hand-painted by me). It is very peaceful. We had my step-Grandmothers antique rocker reupholstered for the room and it looks beautiful. I hope BBN likes it!

Anticipation

Ok, yes, it is 4:25 am and I am at my computer. I can’t seem to sleep. Not only is sleeping just plain uncomfortable lately, I woke at 3 am and couldn’t turn off all the thoughts swirling through my head. I keep picturing our son, tiny and pink. And the surgery. And all the things we still need/want to do to be fully "prepared" (which I know you never really are!). Yesterday was my last day day in the office before starting my Maternity leave. Even after working until 9pm, I still have one huge outstanding item and until I can finish it, I won’t be able to fully let go of work. Unfortunately, we had an email migration last night that has rendered me without network access until at least 10am, so instead of hammering my work out this rainy dawn, I am typing to you.

We are still on for June 6th at 10am for our c-section. However, I feel like a walking time bomb... with every new sensation I think "Is this it"? So far, everything has been false alarms, but the anticipation is overwhelming! If I keep hanging on, I will post some more information this weekend- the hospital info, pictures of the nursery, new email addresses, etc.

I guess I should just get used to these 4 am mornings… there will be a lot more of them in our future. A future we are so excited about!

36 Week Appointment Stats

Everything is moving along smoothly. According to the measurements, BBN is weighing in now at 5 lbs and 4 ounces. As expected, he is still breech, his sweet hard little head jamming into my rib cage. The doctor says that due to the odd placement of my uterus on my right side, the baby's head is positioned in such a way that it hits my liver, which is a relatively hard organ --thus the reason why it has become so painful. That explains a lot!

We are getting more and more excited each day. Just 2 weeks and 6 days left!

The Growing Human Incubator

Here are two pictures to respond to the tons of questions about my physical state. It is funny how what you are wearing totally changes the way you look. The solo picture was taken on May 4th, more than 2 weeks ago. The picture of Jim and I was taken this weekend, on May 13 and even though it doesn’t look it, I am much bigger now than I was on May 4th. Regardless, this gives you an idea of prego Victoria. I will be sure to take some on the final weekend, so that I can document exactly how large I get!

We are headed to the doctor again on Wednesday and I will be sure to give stats right after. BBN is trying hard to turn head down. The past 2 days he has been pushing his head to stick right out my right side instead of up. Maybe he is an acrobat and will make it all the way down! I wish he would make up his mind, because the sideways position is most painful!!

More soon…

Funny Ultrasound Story

When we went in for our 17 week appointment, we wanted to find out the sex of the baby, so it could be written down in a sealed envelope to be opened as a surprise on my Birthday. The Ultrasound technician tired and tried to get BBN to cooperate, but his legs were pulled up tight in the “fetal” position, covering the crucial tell-tale equipment. The tech said she would see if the radiologist could get a look, but if not we would have to wait.

As we were waiting for the Radiologist we started discussing whether the radiologist today would be Dr. Brown, whom we think is warm and endearing, or Dr. Hoffman who scares us to death (names have been changed to protect the innocent). Since we have had so many ultrasounds throughout my pregnancy, we know all about the personalities of the Radiologists at the center and you never know who you are going to get. Dr. Hoffman is a severe woman—tall, dark hair, white skin, pointed nose, thick German accent, with all the warmth of an old shoe.

Of course, in walks Dr Hoffman and both Jim and I tense up. It is like all air is sucked from the tiny room. She says in her broken accent “I understand you want to know the sex of the fetus” and proceeds to put the wand on my abdomen. There we see our baby on the monitor, no lie, with his legs straight out, lying STICK straight, like he is scared stiff. This woman is so scary that she actually scared our baby in the womb! She then said “Yes, I see” and turned and walked out. We died laughing.

Surprise Shower- April 29, 2006

This Saturday, I was completely surprised by an elaborate plot for a surprise shower. The premise was that we were going to a cookout at our friend’s Roz and Alex’s house in Lowell. However, it turned out that we were going to Katilyn’s dad’s house (Kaitlyn is my friend and co-worker)! Upon arriving Alex came out to meet us so that diffused any suspicions that I had, but when I entered the house I saw all my coworkers and friends from Boston! I was so surprised and CONFUSED! How did these two areas of my life come together? Apparently, a lot of planning and scheming took place with my husband, our friends and my coworkers—they are a group of event planners after all! It was such a wonderful day and BBN is so spoiled! I think they wiped out my entire registry! I feel so blessed to work and play with such caring individuals!

The Name Question

The short answer on whether we have chosen the baby’s name is no. We haven’t chosen a name yet, but we are test driving a short list. However, we have decided even when we make the final decision to keep the Baby’s name a secret. So sit tight for another few weeks, his name will be revealed when he joins us!

33 Week Appointment Stats

BBN is weighing in at a modest 3 pounds and 13 ounces. He is in the 30 percentile for his "age". The doctor said that he thought that we should probably expect a 6 pounder. The most exciting part of the Ultrasound was that we could see his hair! He has a light fuzz all over the top of his head. Now the question is what color will it be?

Baby Novack Arrival Date!

Well, BBN is still not cooperating and has not turned head down. He is in a complete breech position which means that he is sitting Indian style- which they say is the most comfortable breech position for a baby. He is just hanging out, kicking me right in the bladder day and night. Due to my abnormally shaped and sized uterus, my OB thinks it is practically impossible that he will turn to be head down at this late date, which means we have to deliver via Cesarean. We are scheduled for it on June 6th, 2006 at noon.

Both Jim and I are a little disappointed, not that either of us was looking forward to the pain I would be in during a regular delivery, but we were looking forward to experiencing the natural process to it all and to the bonding that would happen between us as a result. We have been taking classes on breathing and relaxation techniques and we were ready for D-Day. My C-Section Girlfriends tell me that it is still a magical experience and there are plenty of other perks. Knowing the date in advance (for my personality especially) is a definite benefit. It allows my mom the ability to plan her trip and knowing that my doctor will be able to do himself is a relief. Of course there are other perks, like a longer paid maternity leave and the fact that you go in to the operating room and 20 minutes later you have a baby! So overall, we are staying positive and are counting down the days until our son is born.

A blog??

I am so tickled with the idea of having our own blog. I must really be a geek! Hopefully, since this will be about the arrival of our son, it will be of interest to someone besides us and not like the mundane blathering of Joe Blogger. BUT who knows, I could get into it so much that it turns into a daily account of this pregnancy that no one but us is interested in. The beauty of it is that you can read what you want, when you want. We promise not to quiz you on its content or ask you if you have viewed it lately. I just wish we had thought of it earlier in the pregnancy!
Enjoy!
Victoria

Pictures from the Past- Ultrasound from Jan 6th, 17 weeks

This picture taken on Jan 6th after my Amniocentesis. The baby’s head is on the right and he is looking up. What an adorable baby (ok, I am a bit partial)!

Pictures from the Past- Ultrasound from Dec 5, 2005- 12 weeks

This picture was taken before we knew that BBN was a boy. Jim showed this picture around stating that those are runner's legs. Mom did the same but said they were Ballerina legs. Turns out that Jim was right... or will Mom be right afterall??? Only time will tell! The baby's head is on the right and the dot above the head is his hand. The legs are on the left. That is a little tiny foot sticking up.