Snow Day!

Yesterday at this time it was not snowing at all. People on Facebook were going crazy with doubtful comments about the impending "Snowmagadden 2011". And yet, at about 3:30 yesterday afternoon the first delightful snowflakes began to fall. And fall, and fall and fall. Currently our little town is buried beneath about 13 inches of light, fluffy snow.

Although I am home on maternity leave right now and every day is essentially a snow day for me, I had so much excitement built up in my about the blizzard. How funny! I was glued to the TV and was even thrilled when I noticed my work had cancelled operations for today! Like it really made a difference or something. Then when I got up for Lucy's first feeding I found myself turning the TV on in the middle of the night, searching for more reports on how bad this blizzard was going to get. I think mostly I was hoping that it would be bad enough that Pat wouldn't have to go into work today. And then, during the 5am feeding, finally a snow emergency had been declared. No one out on the streets, expect for emergency personnel. I put the baby to bed and crawled into my own bed bursting with excitement to tell my husband he would have to take a Snow Day!

However I forget how easily I tend to romanticise events like this. Turns out Pat still has to work from home today and while he isn't working, he is out trying to dig out our house. So, really, it's just about like any other day. But still fun!

Things with Lucy have started get a lot better. I think her little system is finally healing and she is a much happier baby now. And I think we are making improvements in the sleep department. Turns out my baby is a belly baby. She LOVES to sleep on her belly. I know, I know...before you freak out on me, Back is Best. But she LOVES her belly. So for naps during the day she sleeps on her belly since I am able to keep and eye on her. And at night sometimes I will start her out on her belly and then move her to her back once she is asleep. It may not be ideal...but sleep deprivation will make a person very creative!

Sleepin' on the tum-tum!


I am also getting some wonderful smiles from her. However she likes to make a liar out of me since no matter HOW hard I try...I still can't catch one with the camera yet. Oh well....they are adorable and I know there are plenty more to come.

All bundled up heading to Grammie's!

Trying out the new shades during a very "sunny" feeding!

Cute baby!

In other news...I cooked this week!!! Can you believe it?!? Like a real recipe! And it was delish! I am including it below in case you happen to already have everything on hand...and if not then do try it out once you have shoveled yourself out of your house!

Chicken Cutlets with Orange and Arugula
Rachel Ray "Look + Cook" Cookbook

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Freshly grated nutmeg
Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I used dried)
Zest of 1 orange
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs beaten
4 small thin cut boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
2 seedless oranges
2 yellow or orange tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used good ole red ones)
1/2 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons EVOO
4 cups baby arugula leaves

Directions

1. Combine bread crumbs, cheese, nutmeg, parsley and orange zest in a shallow bowl. Place the flour in a second dish and the eggs in a third, positioned between the flour and bread crumbs.
2. Lightly pound the chicken between wax paper into large, thin cutlers. Season the cutlets with salt and pepper and coat them with the flour, eggs and bread-crumb mixture. Heat 1/2 inch of frying oil in a very large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, cook the cutlets 1 or 2 at a time, depending on the pan size for about 2 minutes per side. As the cutlets are done, place on a baking rack to drain. The cutlets may be served at room temperature, but you want them to remain crisp.
3. While the cutlets cook, peel and section the oranges and dice. Combine with the tomatoes, onion, EVOO and salt and pepper to taste. When ready to serve, gently mix in the arugula leaves.
4. Top the cutlets with mounds of orange and arugula salad and serve.

Yummy!

Have a great Snow Day everyone!!

Life....

So life with a newborn is unlike anything I have ever known before. We have the sweetest, most beautiful little girl with us...but life has been a bit crazy to say the least.

We have been having trouble finding the right food for Lucy. I tried breastfeeding but that didn't work for very long at all as our little girl simply stopped latching about a week in. So I pumped...and pumped, and pumped and pumped. We supplemented with formula since no matter how often I pumped, I just couldn't produce enough. She seemed really fussy and so we switched formula several times. We finally tried a soy formula around the end of the year. That was when we noticed her first bloody diaper. What a scary moment for this mama! A fast phone call to her Dr only told us to hang tight and see if it happened again.

So we stopped all breast milk in case she was allergic to something and put her on Nutramigen (a very expensive formula) which is supposed to be very easy on baby tummies. She did fairly well on that for awhile and then 2 weeks ago, more bloody diapers.

We ended up being referred to a pediatric GI specialist who concluded she has allergic colitis and is most likely allergic to both dairy and soy, causing her intestines to become irritated and bleed. So now we are on Neocate ( also VERY expensive) but should solve our problems.

In addition to her tummy problems (and more likely as a result of) we have a very fussy and high maintenance baby on our hands. She eats constantly and refuses to sleep much at night, no matter what we try. I read all these books and websites and blogs warning new moms not to let their babies sleep for more than 3 to 4 hours at a time during their daytime naps. I would LOVE for her to sleep for 4 hours at a time, day or night.

So in addition to worrying about her little tummy...I am surviving on VERY little sleep. I am praying that this new formula is the key and settles her little tummy making her a happy baby...and in turn allowing Pat and I to be happier parents.

What is funny is that while she was in my tummy, she was the most laid back baby ever. Never kept me up at night and wiggled here and there, but nothing crazy. And the little girl we currently have, has a STRONG set of lungs and opinions.

Hopefully we settle into a manageable routine soon.

In other news...we finally got her newborn pictures back!!! It's amazing to see how much she has grown in the past 7 weeks....she looks so tiny in these pictures!

Time for a bath!

Lucy has now gotten her first sponge bath and real bath. She did really well with both, which Pat and I were both pleasantly surprised with! She doesn't much like getting her hair washed, but other than that...she was a real trooper!

Here are some pictures!!

Daddy did a good job...even if Lucy looks a little ticked here

First time for an actual bath!

So cute!!

Baths are exhausting!!!

Life with a baby

So I am pretty sure that while I am in LOVE with my sweet new baby girl....I am truly missing sleep. I'm not sure anything prepares you for the lack of sleep you experience with a newborn at home. Our little gal has her days and nights seriously mixed up...which is so funny to me since she seemed to have them totally figured out while inside me. She was never the type of baby to keep me awake kicking and poking me all night long in my belly like many other pregnant women experience. However...we must be making up for lost time now. Luckily Pat has been off for the past few weeks and has been able to pick up a feeding during the night to help out! It is amazing how wonderful a 3 hour stretch of sleep can feel!

Other than lack of sleep though...our Lucy is growing and changing so much! She went to the Dr. on Tuesday and is now up to 7lbs 4 ounces!!!! I love to see how much she changes each day.

She is very alert (when awake) and will follow voices! She can recognize both Pat's and my voices from across the room and makes the best eye contact while being fed!

Christmas didn't really seem like Christmas this year. Yes, we were excited to have Lucy as our gift...however we were more focused on feedings and poopy diapers than much of anything else. We had a great time spending the holiday with family! Here are some pictures of our sweet little Christmas baby:

Team Santa!

Family photo at my mom's for Christmas Eve!

Our little stocking stuffer!

All the girls!

Pat with Lucy and Roxy!

We had a newborn photographer come last week and take pictures of Lucy and I can't wait to show you those when we get them back! They turned out soo great!!

And finally here is the last belly picture of me...and then a picture of me and Lucy together!

There still hasn't been much cooking going on here because we have been living off all the wonderful food our friends and family have made for us recently. Which proves that sometimes the best meal is the one you don't have to make yourself!!

Lucy

Oh my goodness....my sweet baby girl is FINALLY here! I meant to update my blog earlier about her arrival, but mostly I have been just soaking her in for the past few weeks! Oh...and trying to sleep when I can! I'm not sure anything can prepare you for just how exhausting and how incredibly rewarding having a baby is.


She came into our lives Tuesday morning, December 7th with a full set of lungs and personality to boot! It is so fun getting to know who this little person is. So far we have been lucky with a pretty good baby, but when she is ready to eat....she is READY to eat! Other than that she is pretty content, which makes mama and daddy pretty happy!


Here are a few pictures of our sweet little girl:

Born December 7th, 2010 at 7:42am

6lbs 1 oz 18 1/2 inches long

My sweet little Lucy!

My cousin Heidi who had her little boy John just a few hours before Lucy was born! How fun to have her right down the hall!!


We are home!

Lots more posts to come...but as I was so delayed in posting this I wanted to get something up!

37 weeks and counting....

So we have a date! December 7th we will be meeting our sweet little girl! I can't believe how close we are! My dr. appointment yesterday confirmed what I had been thinking...we probably won't make it until the 10th like Pat and I had been hoping for. That's only because Pat would then have been able to take off the rest of the month....but we'll make it work!

My dr. told us her head was fully engaged and I was about a fingertip dilated. She will probably be a small baby too....somewhere right around the 6 pound mark I am guessing. Good thing I have some super cute newborn clothes for her to wear!

I am so looking forward to my maternity leave and meeting sweet Lucy! As Pat and I were going to bed last night I looked at him and said, "Oh my goodness...next week at this time we will have a baby!" I am exciting and nervous all at once.

This weekend we plan on just taking it easy and enjoying time together. Her room is ready to go and the bags are (mostly) packed. We will try to spend a lot of time with Roxy too. Not sure how she will handle her new little "sister" but I think in time she will LOVE her!

And once again...no pictures! I am so sorry! But I promise I will get better at that, especially once Lil' Miss gets here!

So....the next time I post I will probably be introducing our sweet little girl! Can't wait!!!

Stay tuned......

Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

So it's that time of year again so get those Christmas cards ready to be sent out! This year I am extra excited about our Christmas cards as they will also serve as an announcement of our new baby girl...no she isn't here yet, but will be very, very soon!!

I recently learned that Shutterfly is giving bloggers 50 free holiday cards to those who post about it....so here I am!

If you haven't checked Shutterfly out before, you really should! They have fantastic products that are very user friendly and reasonably priced. I have a wedding album from them and soon will be putting together a baby album I am sure!

Anyways their holiday card selection this year is fantastic....below are a few of my favorites:

Check our your favorites at Shutterfly

And...if you are a blogger...get in on this deal fast! Head here for the info!