Louis is 2 Months Old

Louis is 2 months old today! He is becoming much more fun with his frequent social smiles! His first smile was at 4 1/2 weeks and they have become more frequent ever since. Now he can be found sitting in his cradle swing and smiling at himself in the mirror above his head! He also smiled like crazy at our friend's Rob and Stephanie's baby Caroline in Maine - he is already becoming a lady's man! Lately he has been much less fussy in the evenings and even been known to smile after 4 pm! Louis has started sleeping longer stretches at night - on Christmas eve night he slept 7 hours!! I had to check on him in the middle of the night to make sure he was alive! His norm is about 4 1/2 to 5 hours in a row - and then 2 1/2 to 3 hours after that. Louis becoming stronger every day and getting pretty good at holding his head up (although he has no trunk control). He continues to disappoint his mother in that he hates his tummy time and as soon as I place him on his tummy he starts to cry. I am sure I will have a child who never learns to crawl -but what can I do? - It's not worth letting him cry on his tummy!

I am in the process of looking for day cares for Louis. The first 2 in-home day cares I ruled out right away - they seemed dirty and he would have to be in the car 2-3 times per day to pick up the school age kids. I am only working part time (4 days/week) and Mike will most likely work 4 10's and have Friday's off so day care centers are out since they only take infants full time. I have some more places to check out though! It is going to be really hard to leave him at any day care. But I just have to keep reminding myself how long the days can get staying at home all day and that a little day care with an opportunity to interact with other kids will be good for him! At least I still have one more month to enjoy with him at home!

More Random Pictures from the Month

Karen Comes to Tacoma

Karen arrived in town Monday December 15th for a visit. I picked her up at the airport Monday night and arrived home just in time to jump into bed as Louis was sleeping and I must sleep when he sleeps (at night at least!) The next morning I called Louis' doctor as I was concerned that he hadn't pooped in over 4 days. The doctor told me to bring him in so Karen, Louis and I went to my 6 week post-pardem doctors visit and then to Panera to kill some time before Louis' appointment. The doctor poked and prodded Louis before deciding that if we wanted to we could give him a suppository. He said that around one month of age it is normal for the frequency of pooping to decrease and sometimes it is dramatic. He also said that you don't want the baby to get used to a suppository and he needs to figure out how to go on his own. Karen and I were trying to keep a straight face at the thought of us giving Louis a suppository but we bought them anyway just in case we got desperate. Well, it was a good thing we DIDN'T give Louis the suppository as he had the biggest blowout I had ever seen that same evening. Of course he had to do it right as our Spicy Chicken Pizza came out of the oven. By the time I got his clothes off he had poop all over his legs, hair and face! Karen and I promptly put him in the bath tub. Let me tell you though, he was in the BEST mood all evening!!

The next day Karen and I went to the Tacoma Mall. Karen helped me find an outfit to wear for Christmas - I was bummed to find out earlier that day that none of my black pants fit anymore! We went to a Mexican Restaurant in Tacoma for lunch afterwords! When we got home the three of us watched a movie in order to work up an appetite for dinner. We went to dinner at the neighbors house who live behind us. They are from Iran and made us and awesome traditional dinner of kabobs and rice! We have gotten to know these neighbors well and they have 2 boys a 6 year old and a 1 year old and they have given Louis lots of clothes!

That night it started to snow and in the morning there was about 2 inches on the ground, but the snow had appeared to have stopped which was a relief as Karen had to leave this afternoon (Thursday). Mike, who works near the airport said that the weather was supposed to get bad again and that he was on his way home. He suggested I leave Louis at the neighbors until he could get home and I did just that. He also offered to drive Karen to the airport but it wasn't snowing here and I thought I would be fine. Well, It started snowing right before I got to the airport and it took me an hour just to get out of the airport! I was almost home (1 hr and 45 minutes later) and traffic came to a halt, in fact many cars were u-turning. I thought I would be smart and take the back roads. I realized this was an awful idea as I slid on the ice and bumped into a parked truck. There was no damage to the truck but my little Corolla just crumbled! I was so so made at myself. I dreaded making the phone call to Mike, just about as much as making the phone call to my dad after the last car accident I had about 7 years ago. Mike took it well and was glad I was okay. I had such a great time hanging out with Karen and it was great to have help with Louis (and Karen got some good mommy training in) - for someday when she had kids!

Since I didn't have car this weekend I was pretty much home bound, which is just as well as it started snowing Saturday afternoon and continued all day Sunday. We got over 6 inches of snow which is unheard of for this area. Mike, however, was in heaven and managed to make it to Crystal Mountain Saturday morning for some awesome skiing in fresh powder snow and was able to make it back home just as the snow started to fall Saturday evening.

Amber Comes to Tacoma

This past weekend we stayed around the house and prepared for Amber's visit (mainly cleaned the house). It did snow a little bit on Sunday so we loaded the baby up in the stroller and took a walk on the BPA trail! Amber arrived in Tacoma for a visit on Tuesday December 9th. We spent the afternoon catching up and making white chicken chili! Wednesday we ventured out to the SuperMall with Louis and Mike. We did a little shopping but the main reason for the trip was to take Louis' picture with Santa. They took about 10 pictures of him before finally getting one with just one eye open (better than nothing!) We ate lunch at Panera and headed home for some leftover chili for dinner and a movie. (Well, Mike and Amber watched the movie and I slept). The next day, Amber, Louis and I headed to downtown Seattle. I was a little nervous taking Louis downtown (fearing he would have a crabypants day) and also driving my stick shift on the hills of Seattle but it all worked out. We started at my favorite restaurant in the Fish Market the Soundview Cafe and then toured the rest of the market, had coffee at Caffe Darte, walked to the bookstore in Pioneer Square and then headed for home. Louis did well, and had only one breakdown - due to the fact that he insisted on being on his own feeding schedule instead of eating when I tried to feed him at lunch. Imagine that! We made it home safely and spent the evening organizing pictures for Amber's wedding album (finally!) We took a break from the pictures to go out to dinner at the Rock for pizza and beer! It was great spending the week with Amber but it was very sad to see her go. Hopefully she can come back out here with Troy in September!!

Louis is 1 Month Old

This has been a long time coming but Mike had to finish his video of Louis during his first month with Mom and Dad. Louis had his 1-month birthday on November 30th! I can't believe how fast this first month went by! His "accidental" smiles are becoming more frequent and last week I swear I got a real smile when I was talking to him! Last night while having tummy time he actually lifted his head off the floor and turned it from the right to the left - he did it while very mad though (he doesn't like his tummy time) and hasn't done it since! He is becoming more attentive to faces and sounds and starting to make eye contact which is very fun! He is also gaining some head control and likes to hold his head up when I carry him over my shoulder (but we still have to keep our hand behind his head). We had to steal Cousin Laura's idea to take a picture each month to see how fast he is growing... and Mike put together a really cute video to go along with the occasion.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We left last Tuesday to begin our journey to St. Louis for Thanksgiving! We flew into Kansas City since plane tickets were much cheaper than going directly to St. Louis. My dad and Anne met us at the gate and we drove to St. Louis arriving at 1 am!! Louis did awesome and didn't cry one time!! Wednesday morning Mike, Kate, Louis, and I met Kate's boyfriend, Jared for coffee on South Grand. It was great to finally meet Jared and yes, he is as great as Kate tells us he is : ). We got back home in time for Laura to come over with her baby Drew who is 3 months old! It is amazing to see how much babies grow in only 3 months! After Laura left my friend Elizabeth came over with her little girl, Julia, for a visit. Next we went over to Karen and Travis' house and met Jennie, Lindsey and Bryan, Emilie and John, and Katie and Jim. We ordered take out and chatted for a few hours.

Thanksgiving morning we went to church and then Louis and I went to the Orbin's and got some great pictures with Katie and Emily's babies! Around 3 pm the craziness started with my entire dad's side of the family coming over for dinner! It had been years since everyone was in the same place at the same time - Steve took all the family picture including the big one with all 31 of us! It was great to see everyone and see all of the new great grandbabies!

On Friday morning part 2 of our trip began. We drove to Kansas to visit my grandpa. Saturday morning Louis got baptized in St. Rose church in Columbus which is the same church my parents were married in! Aunt Marcia was right, as the priest forgot that he was supposed to do the baptism but my mom called him and he came right over! We had lunch afterwards and spent the afternoon hanging out with Aunt Marcia and her kids and Janet, Tyler and Crystal and their kids. Amber and Uncle Brian were at the KU football game but came by later in the evening. We were getting stir crazy in the house all day so in the afternoon we all drove to Pittsburg for some Starbucks! Sunday was very hard to say goodbye to my family - there were definitely tears involved. Kate and Anne drove us to the Kansas City Airport where we flew back to Seattle.

It was so great to have help with the baby - Louis even slept in grandma and grandpa's room on Saturday night (Mike and I complain that he makes too many noises to sleep with us and my mom didn't want him to have to sleep in the living room!) Taylor LOVED Louis and we couldn't believe her patience to hold him and sing to him - she wanted to take him home with her!! One night, I fed Louis and went right to bed. Kate and my mom then took him and gave him a bottle when he woke up and put him back to bed - I got 5 hours of sleep!!!!! Thank you family for all of your help we really appreciate it!!

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Hiking in the Snow

It was another beautiful weekend here in Washington. Its supposed to do nothing but rain once the winter months kick in but we've been treated to sunshine for the last couple weekends. To take advantage, we made sure to spend some time outside. Saturday, our friends and neighbors Karen and Alex invited us for a walk along the bay. We got a bit to eat at the RAM Brewery, which was great. Louis didn't make a peep the whole time we were there despite a rather loud atmosphere from the crowd watching collage football. Once finished we headed out for about an hour-long walk. He made it almost the entire way but about 20 minutes from the finish he woke up with a hungry tummy. After a quick pit stop with Mom on a park bench we were ready to finish our walk.

Sunday morning we woke up early (well around 8am) with the intention of getting an early start out to the mountains. First we made our traditional Sunday breakfast (poached eggs, bacon, and English muffins), then made the cappuccinos, then got Louis ready and packed, then headed out the door. Okay, so it wasn't an early start, but we still got out before 10.

It snowed in the mountains on Friday night so I was hoping that we could find significant snowfall to hike in for the first time of the season. We ventured up to Crystal Mountain, which is a ski resort with a 4000' base. Obviously it isn't open yet but there was plenty of snow (4-6") and plenty of hiking. I brought all my camera gear in anticipation of beautiful scenery but as I got out of the car I discovered that I forgot my memory card at home. Luckily I had our video camera so I was still able to get a couple pictures. This was Louis' first introduction to cold temps and powder but he didn't seem to mind. We managed to stay out for about 2 hours and he slept for just about the entire hike. I'm not sure how old he has to be to get him on skis but I think we'll be able to give it a try in a couple of months :)

We've been trying to get out and see the world as much as we can. Louis eats about every two hours so that gives us little windows for adventures. As long as we can split our days into two-hour segments, he seems to do okay. If Louis remains a good sport, I think this winter will be a lot of fun.

Pictures - We also tried including a video this time. It's in the photo gallery so we'll see how that goes.

Louis' First Trip to Mount Rainier

Sunday Mike, Louis and I headed to Mt. Rainier for a hike - it was a beautiful day and I needed to get out of the house! The drive was 1 1/2 hours but fortunately Louis loves car rides. As soon as we got to the mountain we fed and changed Louis and got him in his carrier. Mike has to carry him around because if I try to he constantly tries to eat my shirt! We hiked a very slow 2 hours and made it back to the car in time for another feeding and another diaper change! Louis did good and didn't cry the entire time!

Louis has proved to be a pretty easy baby - except Friday and Saturday night he was very fussy and cried for a least 2 hours straight! I was very nervous thinking this is what we have to look forward to for the next 3 months but since then he has been back to his old self with some fussiness but is easily calmed! Simple outings have become huge productions - Friday night we planned on going to the grocery store, so I fed Louis and got him in his car seat at which point he threw up all over it! We had to cancel our trip and wash out the car seat instead!

Louis wants to eat all the time! He will try to eat every 45 minutes if I let him! I try to distract him to try to hold him off for at least an hour and a half between feedings because it is exhausting when he eats so much!! Louis has been taking a bottle like a champ! I have been trying to pump and have daddy give him a bottle every other night to give me a little break and to make the transition back to work easier! We have really been enjoying our time together, it might get a little boring while Mike's at work but at least we get to spend quality time together every single day.

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Mike's Mom in Town

Mike's mom flew in last Friday night for a long weekend to see her new grandson! We had a great time spending time with the baby and staying close to the house. We kept talking about going out to dinner but never quite made it - Sunday night Mike made the best crab cakes in the world! We were able to get out everyday, Saturday we walked along the sound at Point Defiance and Sunday we walked along the waterfront in downtown Tacoma. Louis loves taking walks! Monday Mike had to work but Mike's mom helped me take care of Louis and we made a great meatball soup!

Louis is 2 weeks old today! He had his first bath on Saturday afternoon since his umbilical cord fell off - he looked startled the whole time but never cried! Later that day we noticed him sucking his thumb! I have since tried to give him a pacifier but he wants nothing to do with it! Louis had his two week checkup yesterday and we were amazed to find that he had gained a pound the last nine days! (He takes after his mom). Mike says he always hears crunching when he wakes up at night - which is me eating granola bars in the bed!

We started giving Louis some tummy time. He doesn't do much yet but we're anxiously waiting for him to lift his head off the floor. In the meantime, I'm sure he'll just continue to look at us with a facial expression that says "what are you doing to me!"

We started Louis off in the bassinet right by our bed but that only lasted a week as I would wake up to every little sound that he makes and wasn't getting any sleep so I had to move him to his crib in his own room and use the baby monitor. Louis is still pretty mild mannered but is definitely getting more fussy in the evenings. He likes to sleep on me and cries whenever I lay him in his crib. It usually takes about 3 tries before he will stay asleep! It was so great to have family here to help out. We're adjusting well to life with Louis, hopefully we can manage now that we're on our own.

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Our 1st ER trip with Louis

It took less than 24 hours after being discharged from the baby ward for Mom & Dad to get worried :) Louis decided to vomit after three consecutive feedings and hadn't had a wet diaper in 13 hours. It was enough to worry us (it doesn't take much) so we gave the nurse a call. She recommended we bring him on in... So we did.

All the vitals checked out okay (of course) and as the doctor removed the diaper he noticed Louis had had a bowel movement. The doctor left us to clean him up and as inexperienced parents we were too slow with the diaper change and Louis showed us how he could pee over his head! Yup, boys are fun, aren't they.

After we got everything cleaned up, we thought we would be on our way back home but doc said we had to stay for 2-3 more hours! He said this was to confirm everything was still going okay but I think it's his little way of punishing new parents for being overly concerned :) However, it was worth it as Marcie was able to feed him without any vomit!

Of course he was fine. If the amount of times we brought our cat to the vet is any indication, we are in for many, many, more false alarms. The rest of the weekend has gone very well so far. The trip home from the hospital (the first time) was nice, especially with the big welcoming party waiting at home. Unfortunately, Anne has left already to go back to school and Kate leaves tomorrow. Grandma and Grandpa H get to hang around until Wednesday which is such a big help!

Now the only thing we have to worry about is how to get him in all the Halloween outfits we bought him. ... and trying to figure out when I have to go back to work :(

Louis Michael Germani

Everything at the hospital went very well yesterday. We arrived at 7:30am and got started about an hour later with a small dose of Cytotec to try to jumps start the contractions. After taking the pill, Mom was required to stay in bed for an hour so baby could be monitored. After that though, she was free to walk around (although the nurse reminded us that we had to stay in the hospital)! Three hours later we went through another Cytotec round. Things were progressing very well with small contractions and dilation. The rest of the family (Ted, Sharon, and Kate) were able to come around noon which was a great help. We continued to walk around the floor hoping Marcie would continue to progress without the need for Pitocin. We all kept our fingers crossed but the pill didn't quite cut it.

Around 3:00 they started with Pitocin. Unfortunately, this meant that Mom would be hooked up to the IV and monitoring equipment for the duration of the process. Plus, with Pitocin, the rumors are that contractions can be a bit more intense. She was determined to continue the birth without pain medication and at this point that seemed very doable. Mom was still smiling and in good spirits, trying lots of different positions to speed things along.

The doctor came by in the afternoon to see how things were progressing. She confirmed that the baby was OP, rotated the face-up towards the pubic bone. This explained all the back pain that Marcie was experiencing and we began to try some rotation maneuvers for the next couple hours. The exercises worked and the baby was facing the right direction by about 6pm and Marcie was still in good shape (I knew all those pregnancy classes would pay off).

Shortly after 7pm Mom hit 4-5 cm, which meant labor was really starting. Things started to get a little ugly in short order from there. The contractions starting getting very painful but Marcie handled them like a champ. Between every one, she would apologize for groaning! No one could help but laugh (including the nurses). Things didn't take long from there and by 8:30 it was time to push.

Three pushes was all it took but things got a little scary when the doctor realized that the umbilical cord was wrapped three-times around the neck! You could tell the stress level was high but she acted fast, cutting and untangling the chord. Everything turned out fine and although a tad blue at first, his color quickly returned. Marcie was a little concerned about being induced rather than waiting it out but after the delivery, the doctor confirmed she made the right choice. She wouldn't have wanted Louis to be any later than he already was (and neither did we) :)

Baby Louis entered this world at 8:50pm on October 30th (same day as Grandma H)! He was born 6lbs, 5oz and measured 19.5" in length. What a cute baby! He has brown hair for now but Marcie is still holding out hope that it will soon be replaced with red :)

Thank you to everyone for your prayers that helped us through!

Pictures!
11/6 Update: I added a few more pictures from day 2 of the hospital stay ;)

Here we go

Well, we given Louis 5 days but he appears to be way too comfortable. Marcie's parents arrived over a week ago and Kate flew in yesterday. Anne will be here tomorrow. Louis will certainly be met with a warm welcome if we could just coax him on out. However, efforts to convince him that life on the outside is better have not gone so well so we are off to the hospital to get the party started. We're scheduled for 7:30am but have been warned that this is no quick process. We're all packed up and ready for a very long day. No worries though, the Hospital is equipped with WiFi so we'll be able to post pictures shortly after the grand finale :)

Everyone cross your fingers and think good thoughts for us!

Still waiting...

Well, it might be my birthday but it doesn't look like I'll be sharing it with Louis after all. His due date has come and gone with no signs of labor! My parents arrived this past Tuesday so I was really hoping that he would have come sometime this week. Instead, we have been passing the time by taking long walks trying to induce labor which is totally not working! Yesterday we went to the Seattle Arboretum and walked about 3 miles and today Mike and I walked around the neighborhood this morning and then we all walked along the beach at Point Defiance Park. With no labor in sight, we spent the afternoon carving pumpkins and watching the world series. Mike cooked up some steaks for dinner and we had homemade dark chocolate birthday cake, which was awesome!! All of you SLU friends will be so relieved to know that my mother bought me a brand new pair of gray, velor sweatpants for my birthday - she couldn't stand the almost holes in the knees of my old ones. Mike says that he has a feeling Louis is going to begin to arrive tonight and I hope he is right as I don't know how many more days of work I can take!! We will keep you updated.

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9 1/2 Months Pregnant

Well, only two more weeks left of the pregnancy! I keep telling Louis to stay put until after Oct. 21st since that is when my parents are coming for a 2 week long visit!

Everything is still going well - except the little fall I took on Saturday afternoon. My doctor has told me to cut back on the walking so Mike and I thought we would drive to Point Defiance a nearby beach and "stroll" along the water. Well, the beach turned into a slippery slab of rock and Mike told me to be careful - and I told HIM that my balance is just fine and hasn't changed a bit! Well, I guess I spoke too soon because not five minutes later my feet flew out from under me and I was sprawled on the ground. The only thing that was hurt was my pride (I landed on my side so no harm done!)

If that wasn't enough excitement for the weekend, Sunday morning I got a burst of energy and decided to cook breakfast (normally this is Mike's job). Well, things got a little smoky and before I knew it the smoke detectors were going off. This wouldn't be such a big deal except the detectors are tied to our alarm system and our alarm went off too so the alarm company dispatched 911. Mike called the alarm company and they said they would cancel the dispatch but sure enough - the big yellow fire truck shows up at our house - It was SOOO embarrassing especially since we live in a cul-de-sac! The firemen were really nice (and cute) and offered to air the house out for me (I declined - it wasn't THAT bad!) I guess I learned my lesson!

Sunday afternoon, we decided to take one last drive out to Mount Rainier before the baby arrives. We went to Mowich Lake and Mike took some great pictures while we did a very slow, gentle hike!

More Pictures

Mike's Dad is in Town

The last weekend of September Mike's dad came in town for a 6 day visit. Mike had a few projects around the house that he needed help with and his dad was more than willing to help out. Phil said that since he had already seen Seattle he was ready to do whatever we needed. Mike's plan was to level out the crawl space enough so we could put a few shelves down there but Phil had other ideas! By the time it was done, he had installed an entire lighting system, routed our air ducts up on the ceiling, moved the sewer pipes to go around the periphery, took out some needless beams in the middle of the room and leveled out the entire space!!! (I wish we had a before picture). It looks awesome and we now have plenty of storage room!! Mike and his dad also managed to get other projects done as well, and while they were doing that, well, I was pretty much resting and relaxing : ). In the evenings the guys were ready to get out of the house so we had some pretty great dinners out too! Phil did a little more work than he intended but we really appreciated it and hope he still had a good trip. Thanks so much!

9 Months Pregnant

I am officially considered 9 months pregnant but I still have 4 weeks left till Louis is due! I had a doctors appointment today and everything is looking good - I am 1 cm dilated already! I had a horrible cold for the past week but that is finally getting better We are pretty much ready for the baby - my bags are packed, the baby room is done and we have finished childbirth prep classes. Now all we have left to do is wait!

The Baby Room is Ready!

Finally we have our baby room pictures ready to post! The room has been done for a couple of weeks now thanks to my parents who came up for a long weekend and ended up helping get the room together. (Thanks guys!). Besides a few little odds and ends we are ready for our new arrival. We have finished childbirth prep classes and I have my hospital bag all packed! (Hopefully since we ARE ready for him, Louis will stay put for another 4 weeks!).

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Katie and Jim come to visit

Katie and Jim flew up from St. Louis last weekend for a visit. Since they have lived in Seattle and have done all the fun city things we decided to head for the mountains. We booked a chalet just outside Mount Rainier National Park. Katie and Jim arrived Friday afternoon and we spent the day preparing for the trip. We ate at Katie Down's on the Tacoma waterfront which overlooks the bay. I treated myself to pizza since we don't eat that at home much anymore.

Saturday morning we got up early, made some cappuccinos, and headed to Alta Crystal Resort. After checking in and relaxing for a few minutes we found a great trail within walking distance of the cabin. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking from the resort to a waterfall. The trip was about 3 miles total but I was definitely struggling! When we got back we went for a swim in the 86 degree heated pool. Then we had a little happy hour and made up some spaghetti for dinner. This unfortunately proved to be a little challenging as the big burner was broken and it took forever to heat the water and the oven totally burned out garlic bread. Saturday night the resort owners through a bonfire party and provided Smore's, watermelon, beer, wine and soda!

Sunday, we got up and made Brianne and Mary's famous pumpkin pancakes and then headed out to the Sunrise ranger station for a big hike on Mount Rainier. We hiked to Snow Lake and Frozen Lake which included some strenuous hills that took me quite a while to climb. When we got back to the chalet, we ate some veggie sandwiches, relaxed, and the boys played some volley ball, badminton, and horseshoes at the resort. For dinner Katie and Jim made some awesome chicken and mango tacos and we watched a movie!

Monday morning we had to head back to home, but first Mike and I went for a little walk to do a quick 8 1/2 month photoshoot near a cute little river in the woods. Once we got home it was such a nice day that Mike and Jim couldn't resist a kayak trip and Katie and I laid on the beach and read. We had such a great trip but it was so hard to say goodbye on Tuesday morning!

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