Miscellaneous

I haven't updated in a while. Nothing major happening here. Dominick is doing well. He rolls regularly now, but not to get anywhere. He's not rolling consecutively yet. I'm trying to increase him to 3 meals a day of solid food. When I feel like it, I let him feed himself, but usually I just spoon feed him. I swear he says "mamma" all the time, but it's really just wishful thinking.

My sister Karmen is doing great with baby Karoline. She's loving every minute of it even though she doesn't sleep at night yet (shocker) and is difficult to get to sleep sometimes. I'm going to see her this weekend and see if she needs help using the wrap. Not that I'm an expert. I was never a big fan of it, but now I'm wishing I hadn't given mine away. I miss the little stinker when he's in the stroller and wish I could have him closer. I used my sling like crazy when he was an infant to put him to sleep and to get things done around the house, but now he's way too big to carry like that!

Tomomi is doing well with baby Abigail also. She asked me the other day if Dominick went through a stage where he wanted to be held all the time and would only sleep on me. Um yes, for about 2 months. Hearing my sisters going through this stage reminds me of those days. I'm so glad he's out of it, but it doesn't deter me from wanting another one!

Jason is about to go through a career change and it's scaring the hell out of me. He currently works days and I work eves. He has a pretty good job at the same hospital I work. He's finishing up his degree in Sports Marketing and needs to do an internship. He's applied at several places. Most of them being unpaid and part or full time internships. He currently carries our insurance, so I'm not sure what we're going to do when he quits his job. I hope some of our options pan out. I'm excited for him though. He's really excited and scared at the same time.

Here are some gratuitous photos...

Rolling over and some videos

Some videos for your viewing pleasure :)

We had a big event here last night. Jason called me at work to tell me Dominick had rolled back to front all on his own. Jason wasn't even in the room when it happened. Being the awesome dad that he is, he got the video camera out and caught the next one.

...and here's how Dominick greets Jason when he gets home from work.

 

"Mess" feeder?

I have been dying to use the mesh feeder for some time. Yesterday, I got my chance. Let me just say that in my mind, I did not see it going down the way it did. I thought, "Oh a strawberry in the mesh feeder would be a great way for my baby to feed himself." I had no idea what I was getting into.

He dove right in

Sometimes, he enjoyed the handle more than the strawberry

What the?

The fun began when he figured out how to squeeze the strawberry

The aftermath. (You should see the floor)

Needless to say, he got a bath and we did a load of laundry immediately. We had a nice day at my parent's house. I got to spend some time with baby Karoline and Dominick got to meet her officially.

Karoline 9 days, Dominick 7 months

Checking in with Dominick

Here's what he's up to these days.

• He's almost 7 months old (holy crap!) and wears 12-18 month clothes.
• He eats 2 meals of purees a day. So far, we've tried avocado, pear, apples, bananas, strawberries, green beans, spinach, carrots, and sweet potato. He's liked them all. We haven't tried meat yet.
• Gets a bath every other day.
• Sleeps through the night from about 7pm-ish to 8am-ish.
• He sleeps in his crib. 
• He likes his mobile when he's in the crib. Aunt Sandy & Uncle Joe gave him the seahorse. It's great when we're out and about and he needs a nap.
• He has no teeth yet.
• He knows his name!

...and as of this weekend, he is babbling up a storm mostly with "da da da da", sitting up with minimal assist, and kind of feeding himself. We tried cooked broccoli stalks the other day. Not sure he actually digested any of it, but it was fun watching him try.

Sweet Karoline & Mother's Day

Well, Sweet Karoline is here. She is adorable! Words can not express the relief we all have that she is healthy. She is the spitting image of her mother, my sister. She has her nose and eyes. Also, she has Aunt Karri's hands. Karri has very distinct pinky fingers and Karoline has them already! Karmen is also recovering well. She's such a trooper!

We have had a lot of family time this weekend. How fitting since it was Mother's Day. 2 of us are new moms and Karmen is a new birth mom. Her hospital room was filled with babies on Friday as Tomomi and I brought our babies to visit Karoline.

Hospital room full of babies!

We all had brunch on Sunday. My Aunt drove my 90 year old grandmother down to Ann Arbor for the brunch. After, we all showed up at the hospital as a surprise to Karmen. We got some great pics. It was a super busy and hectic weekend with little rest, but it was great to see everyone.

Great Grandma G, Karmen & Karoline

The adventures of solid food

Well we've been putting this off as long as we could. We had made the decision when he was about 4 months that we wanted to put off feeding him solid food until is was absolutely necessary. By the time we reached the 6 month mark he was ready. He watched us eat intently, following the food from our plates to our mouths. He often reached for it. He started to seem hungrier in the evenings and I think my supply was dropping at that time as well.

We decided to start feeding him a meal in the evenings. Our Pedi's exact words were, "If you eat it, he can eat it. Except for honey" No stage 1 or stage 2 nonsense. None of this orange veggies before green ones. This was extremely liberating to hear! I already had sweet potato puree made in the freezer. We gave him his first taste that evening It went fairly well!

First taste of rice cereal at 5 months

First taste of sweet potato at 6 months

So far, he's had sweet potato, avocado, strawberries, mango, carrots, spinach, bananas, apples, and green beans. I make the purees myself. Not really something to brag about. It's very easy. Jason and I are not big vegetable eaters, so learning how and which veggies to cook has been the biggest challenge.

Soon, we're going to start finger foods. That's when the real fun begins!

Karoline is here!!!

Sweet Karoline entered the world about an hour ago weighing 7lbs 12 oz. No photos yet. We are still in the waiting room waiting to meet her. We are excited beyond belief!!!

Abigail

I FINALLY got to meet Miss Abigail today! Jason had a golf tournament close to Tomomi's house. While he was golfing, I got to spend the day with the baby. She is just gorgeous! She's 7.5 lbs which seems so tiny to me since Dominick was 2 lbs heavier when he was born. She's just a little peanut! I think she's going to be the perfect blend of Japanese and Italian.

Tomomi is doing a great job being a Mom. She looks great. I was a hot mess when Dominick was 2 weeks old and wanted nothing to do with any visitors. I don't know how she does it. Having her parents here from Japan helps!

Afterward, I met Jason at the golf course to show off Dominick to the boys. The only time they had seen him was when he was a week old and Jason Skyped me from South Carolina. He was playing at the National Tournament in Hilton Head. I dressed him in his Tigers gear along with the hat my mom got him for Easter. He was a hit!

Karmen will be induced or have a c-section this Friday. I will breathe a huge sigh of relief when that little lady enters the world. They have finally chosen her name. Karoline Emelia. She's carrying on the "K" names pattern my parents started and Emelia is an old family name from Germany.

5 days and counting...