6 Months!

Eli is officially 6 months old! I can't believe it. He has changed so much this month and the time has flown by! He is a lot more observant and curious now. He wants to know what is going on at all times and if I bring him somewhere, he is always sweeping his gaze back and forth to take it all in. It is super cute because when we are at home he is really verbal but when we are out a lot of times he is very quiet because there's so much for him to learn about!
Some of the new things he learned how to do this month was eat solid foods!! The foods he's tried and loved are; carrots, peaches, pears, peas, and figs. The foods he's tried and kind of liked; prunes and bananas. The foods he can't stand: rice cereal and applesauce. he is supposed to eat rice cereal for the iron every day but he spits it out everytime even when I mix it with fruit.
He also has learned to roll really well! He can roll both ways and several times in a row!
He can also sit up for long periods of time which is so fun! He loves to be either sitting or standing with help.
Sleep has been a huge challenge this month. He has a harder time going to sleep nursing, he's way more aware so he has a hard time going to sleep if things are going on, he can sit up in his swing and it looks like he's going to leap out so I have a hard time letting him sleep in there and he used to love it. We have been working on helping him learn to fall asleep on his own and he's making progress. Going to bed at night he can sleep if u put a gentle hand on his belly which is huge progress from how hard it used to be to get him to sleep. But waking up in the middle of the night and naps are still an issue. He's been doing pretty great in the car which is so awesome. Anyway I am rambling! He is a joy and he's enjoying pumpkin season. We went to disneyland with him. So fun! And got him a pirate costume for halloween. So wonderful having a little kiddo around. ;-)

5 months and changing every day!

I have to say that this has been my absolute favorite month with my little man Eli. He is a ball of energy, smile, and laughs. He loves to play, explore, and venture outside of our home. This month we have gone on adventures every day, and he has grown in leaps and bounds!
Some exciting changes are:
He is doing SOOOO much better in the car! I no longer dread driving with him.
He LOVES to stand and is even strong enough to stand up if he's only holding onto our fingers!
He ALMOST can sit up by himself! He can do it for a bit but then will topple.
He is still working on rolling both ways, but he's a lot closer. For some reason, his favorite place to roll is the changing table.
He is 20.5 pounds and 25 inches long! Super big boy wearing anywhere from 3-9 month clothing depending on the brand.
He is such a happy camper! He smiles all the time now!
We joined two mom's groups, and he's getting so much better at being around people he doesn't know. His favorite activity is observing the other little babies. ;-)
He is getting even better at falling asleep at night since we adding a bath every night to his bedtime routine. "He sleeps through the night," 8pm-4am, a short feed, and then till about 6 am about 5 nights a week.
I'm more in love with our little bug EVERY SINGLE DAY!! I'm so blessed to be his mom, and I have to say that I do love being a stay at home mom.
We are still working on taking consistent naps, sometimes he will only sleep for 10 minutes, which is super frustrating, but other than that, he is doing fantastic!!
We are excited to introduce solid foods at the end of the fifth month so just a few more weeks! I already bought his rice cereal because I was so excited, and I have a handy bullet blender to make homemade baby food.
For some reason, I can't get the pictures to work so befriend me on Facebook if you want to see a bunch of photos of him. ;-)

4 months old!

Eli is now 4 months old! He has changed SO much since he was born, and it is so fun to see him grow and develop! We went to the doctor yesterday, and he weighed 18 lbs, 12 ounces putting him in the 98th percentile. He is 25 inches tall so only in the 57% percentile for height. We may have a wrestler on our hands. ;-)
Eli's newest favorite thing is standing. He loves to push himself up and stand while he holds onto helpful fingers. It's amazing how strong he's getting. He also really loves all his toys! He loves to play with them, throw them down, and suck on them. He chews on everything, our fingers included, and drools like a leaky faucet. He's started wearing bibs half the time. ;-)
He also got a new Excercizer that he stands up in outside that he loves. He will play with the toys that are attached and gently rock the entire Excerizer back and forth. I have a feeling that once he starts to crawl we might have a hard time catching him. He loves to move.
One of the cutest things he's started to do is to laugh! ;-) It's so fun throughout the day to try and get him to laugh by making funny noises or tickling sounds. He loves farting noises. ;-)
He has his first cold right now, which is super sad, and I really hope he recovers soon. He still can't stand driving places and only can stand his stroller for about 20 min. before he starts to whine. He either wants to be free on the ground or in someone's arms. One of our lifelines has been his carriers. I'm wearing him right now, and he fell asleep. He loves to cuddle close to us, and it allows the fam to be able to go to Sea World and the OC swap meet without so much as a fuss.
Eli is such a good boy, and we are so proud of him. He sits in his high chair during meals, and he brings huge smiles to our faces every day. I'm SO thankful to be his mom!

14 weeks

So I haven't written in the blog in a million years, but I am so enjoying life with our little man. I spend so much amazing and precious time with him every day that I don't know what else to write about besides him, our new little bugger. So I figured that I would write about him from his perspective. Thanks, Sarah, for the idea. ;-)

So here's what Eli would say. If he could talk. ;-)
So, now I'm 14 weeks old. I'm getting pretty big. When my mom weighed me a few days ago, I was already 17.8 pounds. I'm wearing clothes for 3-6 month old and am in a size 3 diaper.
My mom always tells me what an amazing sleeper I am so I guess it's impressive. My mom even says I'm a better sleeper than her. I'd say it's what I'm best at besides smiling and eating. Every night I go to sleep in my crib around 9 PM. Then I usually wake up for some early morning breakfast around 4 or 5 am, but most mornings I don't want to wake up quite yet and will fall asleep again for another hour or two. But that's not enough sleep for me. I will then usually take 2- 2 hour naps during the day. During the day, I like sleeping in my swing. I love my swing and my rain music that I listen to so that I can sleep better. I still love being swaddled, but this past few weeks I've taken a lot of naps without my swaddle and my mom has started keeping one of my arms outside of my swaddle so that I can learn to sleep through the night without it.
I love my life because every day we get to do my favorite things. My very favorite thing is spending time with my mom and dad. I love it when they hold me and carry me around and help me to dance and sit up. I love to smile for them and talk to them and have even laughed a few times. My other favorite things to do are playing in my jungle, playing with all my fun toys and putting them in my mouth, and going on walks with my mom.
I don't like driving in the car very much, but I guess I'm starting to get used to it. I can't wait until I can finally crawl! I move my arms and legs around all day, but I haven't been able to move except to roll over.
Until next time. Eli ;-)

How he Loves Us!

Today has been a big day of realizing things. I'm not sure why. I think it's because Joe left for the night. Whenever that happens, I'm hit head on with one of my biggest weaknesses, fear. I have been afraid of the dark and being alone for as long as I can remember. Joe is always telling me: all you have to do is choose not to be afraid or all you have to do is choose to have a good attitude or to choose make today the best day ever. Joe is an amazing guy, and he has the best attitude and he's so amazing for me but sometimes those things are really hard to do. But I tried tonight for him. And for some reason, tonight it worked.
God doesn't want me to live in fear and even though my imagination is super vivid and when I look out into a dark night I can imagine things being there (have u ever read my book, My Darkness?) it doesn't mean that there aren't ways to overcome those fears.
I believe are culture is very inundated with violence, and it's part of my problem. The movies we watch, the TV shoes, the books, the news... there are so many things out there screaming death and destruction. It is easy sometimes to believe that when u are alone at night something awful could seriously happen to u.
But tonight I was really hit with this song. Please watch it. It's real. I really, really like real. There are too many phony things out there. Too many things and people that are trying to look their best for everyone else. I'm very guilty of this at times too.
Tonight I learned somethings even if it wasn't the first time: I want to be real for everyone. I want to be a friend. I want to be unafraid of what man can do to me. I want to be all that God wants me to be. Still learning, still striving.
Here's the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0luHiWwi08&feature=related

Eli

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God's holding me

Eli's 6 and half weeks old. He's growing up in every single way. His little legs are starting to take on some serious chunk, his length is starting to keep him from wearing some of his smaller onesies, and he is starting to really enjoying playing with me during the day. I sing to him, read to him, rock him, bounce him, carry him around, take him on walks, and more.

However, each evening he has a hard time. I think that the little guy is experiencing so many new things all the time, that he has to have himself a little cry when the day is done. Joe and I work hard at soothing him, and most of the time we are successful.

It's hard work. We change tactics all the time until we land upon something that pleases him that evening. We are definitely problem solvers with this little guy.

Last night as I was rocking and hugging little Eli, and he continued to kick his feet, squirm his little body, and make fussy noises. I asked Joe why Eli looked so stressed. I said that Eli has everything he needs. We make sure he is well-fed, has clean clothes, a clean diaper, plenty of things to look at, and warm arms to hold him. He really doesn't have anything to be stressed about.

Joe turned to me and said that what I'd just said was a perfect illustration for why we shouldn't be worried and stressed either. God is our heavenly Father, and he makes sure, as the Scriptures say, that we have our needs met. He holds us and feeds us and loves us in the same way that we hold, love, and feed Eli.

It was a wonderful reminder. God is our Father, and He loves us, hard to imagine, infinitely more than I could ever love my precious, little son. WOW!!

^{Matthew 6: 25}"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]}?

²⁸"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

I think worrying comes natural to a new parent. It has definitely been a daily struggle for me not to worry, and a challenging spiritual exercise to continually throw my worries about my precious, new little man at God's feet. He's so dependent on me. He cannot eat, change himself, raise his head, travel anywhere without my help. It's hard not to worry about doing the right thing. There are so many decisions. Every day is a new adventure, and I adamantly want to do the right thing. But I don't want to be a worrier. Studying the Scriptures I don't think it's ever what God wants for us so how not to worry.

Daily, no that's not right, hourly surrender.

It has been and continues to be my favorite word. Surrender. So incredibly vital to a healthy walk with Jesus. And so vitally important as I venture forward, boldly, in my first year as a mom.

Lord, help me. ;-)

Eli and sleep

Life with a newborn is never dull. I think it's because that regardless of the fact that my life consists of an endless cycle of feeding, changing, playing with, and trying to help Eli fall asleep, my mind is constantly working, constantly pondering what is it I could do to help Eli be the best he can be, namely in the area of sleep.

Eli has a hard time going to sleep. He revels in the warm comfort of a heartbeat and has a very difficult time falling to sleep if his ear isn't nestled against mine. ;-) I love my cuddlebug, but this does make certain activities in life very challenging: making dinner, cleaning, going anywhere, taking a shower, moving at all. Therefore, my mind is constantly working on ways throughout the day and things that I can do to help the little guy sleep so that his times of being awake are filled with happy grins and not discontented cries.

I love my little guy so much and have been told by my mom on several occasions that I had a hard time sleeping and don't that beat all, I still do. ;-) So hopefully Eli's light sleeping and need to be sleeping in someone's arms isn't a long term indicator of his future success as a sleeper, BUT he's also got his father's genes and praise the Lord, Joe is an amazingly gifted sleeper. ;-)

Eli's Here ;-)

It has been a VERY exciting week at the Gallucci household. On April 24th at 11:57 we welcomed our new baby boy, Eli Rocco Gallucci, into the world.

On Thursday, April 22nd I went to my ob appt. and was sorely disappointed because I was one day past my due date and not very dilated yet. My doctor scheduled me for an induction on May 3rd, which I really didn't want to have to do. Joe and I went on an hour long walk that night.

I didn't have to wait long. On Friday, the very next day at 2 in the morning I started feeling some strong contractions. At least I thought they were strong at the time. ;-) I got out of bed because I couldn't sleep through them and told Joe in the morning. We timed them, called the doctor, and went in at 8 am for a check-up. I was only 1/2 centimeter more dilated than I'd been the day before. Disappointed because I really thought that it was going to be the day, we went home.

However, to Joe and I's surprise the doctor's estimation that it would days before I had the baby were not correct. Throughout the day, the contractions got stronger and stronger though they weren't consistently close together so we stayed home. That night I tried to go to sleep, an extremely unfruitful goal. I took a shower and a bath, which didn't seem to help much, then I woke up Joe. He was very loving, and I had a tough time on the rocker and our yoga ball. When we started timing the contractions at about midnight, they were about 2 minutes in length and 2 and a half minutes apart. We called the doctor, and we headed to the hospital. When we got there, the nurse said I still had a little ways to go until I could be admitted. She told us to walk the halls for an hour and come back. Definitely the worst part of labor so far. The contractions stayed as close together as they had been but they got even stronger with all the walking. It was not fun at all. At that point it was 3 am, and I hadn't slept for 25 hours.

The nurse was amazed at how fast I'd progressed and admitted me. I opted for an epidural because I was so exhausted at that point. I felt immediate pain relief, but they had a hard time placing the needle and the medicine crept up toward my lungs so they could only give me the smallest dose to be safe, which proceeded to completely wear off during my hospital stay but eventually they gave me some more which was wonderful. I was progressing nicely and when I started to deliver Eli, he was born only 15 minutes later.

He was tiny and purple and so beautiful. I held him on my chest and stroked his little fingers. Joe then got to stand with him as they checked all his stats. He was a very healthy little boy.

8 pounds 1 ounce, 20 and a half inches, and 13.98 inch head.

We had a great time bonding with him, and he was a great eater from the very beginning, which was SUCH a blessing. We are filled to the top with blessings and have had a simply amazing time at home with him, learning his three favorite things: being changed, eating, and sleeping. The joys of having a newborn. ;-) Looking forward to every day that I get to spend with our little boy.

Four more Weeks...

I remember when I used to sit perfectly still so that I could hear Eli's gentle movements, not so anymore. I rub my tummy, he kicks back, he rolls, he elbows, he flips. He is already quite a strong young man.

I think it is amazing how when I wake up on either my right or left side in the middle of the night, he's there on whatever side is closest to the mattress. I can feel his entire body lying on my side. It's crazy to think that he's inside me, just waiting to come out.

He only has 4 more weeks till his due date, and I'm hopeful that he'll decide to be on time. He's already over five and a half pounds and growing quickly.

I'm tired and can't what it was like to sleep on my back or tie my own shoes, or sleep through the night. We find out this Tuesday what position he's in. Even though only 5% of babies are breech, I'm still nervous.

Two more weeks until Spring Break. It has become quite a countdown. I feel like every day at work is a marathon. Especially after 1 every day, all I want to do is curl up on the floor and take a nap. It's hard to push through those last two hours, but I'm very thankful I don't work till 5.

I'm starting to get anxious about labor and delivery. Mostly because there are so many unknowns, so many things that could potentially go wrong. I pray continually for peace and that all three of us would make us through the experience stronger and closer and more alive because of it.

I can't wait to meet baby Eli, but until that day I am taking one day at a time, pushing ahead.

March Madness

So Joe's title for this month is March Madness. Seems fitting and I hope that it carries out to be more positive than it sounds. ;-) Things have been changing alot lately and a very fervent pace. We moved to Laguna Hills for many reasons and are almost finished settling into a lovely 2 bedroom apartment. We visited good old Biola University, had a wedding shower or two ;-), and are busy working and getting ready for Eli's arrival. Joe says that we must be almost parents because we've been spending our evenings putting together things for our child like a playpen, stroller, crib, and changing table. I don't think our doing so will change for quite a while. I am aware that life is going to change dramatically in about 6 short weeks but even with the evidence very clear on my middle, it is still hard to believe. Hard to believe we will be welcoming a new member into our family, and yet it's very, very exciting. I can't wait for Joe to be a dad. I am confident that he will be a fantastic one. ;-)

Content

"I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation."

It's odd. With everything going on right now it would seem that knowing me I would be frazzled. It would seem I would be worried or anxious about being 10 weeks away from giving birth, moving next week, leaving a job I love, figuring out how to be my husband's assistant, living 45 minute away from my job, and so much more, but I'm not. For some reason, if I were to describe the last few months, I would use the words "content, at peace, satisfied."

So why is this? How can I go from a situation with less change and less turmoil to one with more and yet feel so much more at peace now? I've been thinking about that lately.

I think it has a lot to do with my mental state. I feel like mentally I have been taking deep breathes. When I start to worry or think about my situation or the problems that might come up, I mentally take a step back and examine it from a variety of lenses. How will this impact me a year from now? How else could I look at this situation? How is this situation being viewed from the lens of the person I'm struggling with right now? Does this really matter?

Oftentimes, I find that the things that cause me so much mental anguish, shouldn't.

Lay your burdens at the cross. Such a darn, difficult thing to accomplish. I've been working on living out this verse for the past 24 years. I hope that maybe, possibly I've taken one small step toward understanding what God wants in regards to worry... don't. ;-)

I heard one time that worry and stress are indicators of our lack of faith in God. That really bothered me at the time because I worried and stressed a lot, but it makes sense to me now. When our mind is free from worry and stress, it is able to dwell on the more important, like making the most of the precious thirty minutes you have to spend with your husband or best friend or new baby. I hope that once I have Eli I will continue in this frame of mind. ;-)

Active Eli

Eli's becoming quite active. He is kicking and twirling and diving. It is my second favorite thing in the world right now to sit and feel him move. Even when I am alone, I feel like I have company because he's very much alive in there. I wonder what he's thinking and if he's ever trying to get my attention about something. It was fun because at our last ultrasound when the technician would put the wand on top of him he would put up his little hands and push up like he didn't appreciate being squished any more than he already was. ;-) I wonder if he's doing the same thing when I rub my belly. I definitely understand now why pregnant women enjoy rubbing their bellies. It's an amazing thing. I marvel at how anyone who has ever been pregnant can be pro abortion. Once they start moving in there, it is a DAILY reminder of how there is a very much alive human being inside them who very much deserves a chance at life. Pray as I continue to do that everything with Eli's transition into the world would be a smooth one because we already love him very much. ;-)

My Daily Bread

Sorry to those who read my blog. I promise to get better. I'm sure once I have a newborn baby to tend to I'll have tons more time to write on my blog...right. ;-)

Life has been good. I daily pinch myself to check and make sure that this life I'm currently living is real. I have everything I could need and want and SO much MORE!! ;-) The one sadness of my life is living out in the boonies in a small one bedroom because I didn't want to be isolated and I really wanted Eli to be able to have a room of his own, for all our sake. ;-) But that sadness will be resolved in 5 short weeks. We'll be moving again, we are pretty much making it a science, to Laguna Hills into a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment complete with a yard, plentiful walking/stroller trails, an amazing location to everything including our church ;-) and all the latest convienances, and Eli not only gets his own room but his own bathroom as well. Depending on how long we stay there it will come in handy when he starts potty training. ;-)

Pregnancy is an amazing thing. I live my life and my belly continues to grow, wow! Everything has been progressing normally so far, and at each one of my doctor's appointments there has been no red flags or concerns, which considering my history I am SOOO thankful for. I definitely never dreamed everything would go so well, but don't forget to pray for the growing Gallucci family because people continue to tell me that I am just about to enter the most difficult road, the dreaded third trimester. Da, da, da, da... As I have thus far I am planning on focusing on one day at a time, getting through Monday joyfully and successfully before setting my sights to Tuesday, especially regarding work. I love my job very much, but it is easy to start getting worried about whether or not I'll be able to make it until 3 weeks before the baby's born, which is the plan. We shall see, but just as Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us TODAY our DAILY bread." And another one of my favorites, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Blessings!! ;-)