Luca's first tooth

We knew that Luca had been getting close to his first tooth because his little gums are hard and he's chewing like crazy. Saturday when I checked his first tooth had come through. He really hasn't acted like it hurts him too much. I'm sure he thinks we're funny trying to open up his mouth to get a peek. Here's a peek for you too.

We went to the zoo with our friends JR and Amy and their girls on Sunday. It was a nice day. We were suprised at how hot it is getting already! Mike was the camera man but, of course, we forgot to get a picture of us all together. Luca's favorite is still the aquarium and once again he was done before we made it to all the classic zoo animals. We have decided we will go through backwards next time.

Today we pretty much just took it easy around the house. We did make it to the grocery store and I stocked up on veggies for Luca. During naptime I made babyfood. Luca will have carrots and peaches for new foods this week. He still loves everything, even the green beans which I was not expecting to be a big hit.

We hope you all had a restful and fun holiday weekend. . .

The end!

seven month sweetie

Luca is having lots of fun with his food. He has added peas and butternut squash this week. He also loves to help!

Luca's other big things this week are playing with his feet and leaning way back so he can see the world upside down which he seems to find pretty funny. He also found the dogs on Wednesday. Luca has never paid much attention to them but suddenly he has started to watch them whenever they walk by.

We are also in the process of teething. Most of the time it doesn't seem to be very painful but I can feel the hard little bumps under his gums on the bottom. Luca doesn't like his teethers though and much prefers to chew his bibs or a washcloth. Hopefully his teeth won't get too painful and our little man will keep showing us lots of those gummy grins!

peas, please!

"This is strange. What is this green stuff momma is giving me? That's not sweet potatoes."

"Maybe it's not so bad. A little squishy, a little sweet. But Daddy has told me about the bad green stuff."

" Oh my, I think I like it."

"I do like it! Bring on the green stuff!"

"I LOVE PEAS!"

bookworm

This is a pic I took of Luca a couple of weeks ago. He loves his books.

Luca is doing great. He had his 6 month checkup last week and he is now 16 lbs and 24 inches. Dr. Allie was checking out all his skills and we mentioned to her that he has only rolled over twice on the same day (the second roll is the video on the blog), so of course as soon as we finished telling her that he rolled over. What a little turkey, of course, he hasn't rolled over again since the appointment.

Luca is getting closer to sitting up on his own. He still props himself up with his arms and doesn't look particularly comfortable folded in half but he seems okay with it. He is also enjoying some new toys. The exersaucer is a big hit. Feet are also a big hit right now. Luca found them last week and is totally fascinated.

my first mother's day

So, today had me thinking about all the changes since I became Luca's mom. It has been an exciting year for us! Last mother's day I had just known I was pregnant for a couple of months and I was already making plans for our family and had a lot of fun starting a pregnancy journal and taking belly pics every week (Lucky for you I was not into blogging yet!) Here's the last weekly pic at 32 weeks. Little did we know that Luca would make his debut appearance just a week and a half later.

At about 2am on Oct 15 my water broke. Somehow, Mike and I stayed pretty calm about everything and headed in to the hospital. The initial tests shows that Luca's lungs were immature. We stayed in the hospital for the next couple of days waiting and watching to give Luca as many hours as I could to help his lungs develop before he was born. I had steroid shots on Wednesday and Thursday to help Luca's lungs mature. I felt like I was moving in. Mike brought me all my magazines and knitting and we watched the World Series every night. Here's a picture my loving husband took of me in the hospital talking on the phone and eating, which I did a lot! Notice the hospital meal, plus chick-fil-a, and the staple of my pregnancy, a bean and cheese burrito from Taco Bell. What can I say? I was pregnant!

The NICU team came to meet with us to tell us about possible problems that Luca may have from being premature. The told us that they would also attend his birth so there would be a lot of people there and that they would have to take him after he was born. It was scary to hear but I remember having a feeling of peace and believing that he would be okay. After lunch on Thursday the doctors decided to induce me. Then we waited and waited and waited. I didn't actually start having contractions until Thursday night. Once they started, however, my dreams of a natural childbirth were short-lived. Yes, I was crazy enough to have wanted to try natural childbirth but we hadn't even had a childbirth class (we were supposed to start the next week). Thursday afternoon a doctor came in to talk to me about epidural and I told her "I really want to try and have a natural birth." She smiled and said "Why don't we fill out the forms now anyway, just in case. You won't want to wait for this later if you change your mind." I now know that she meant "Oh, you silly first time mom. If only you knew what pain you are in store for. You will be calling me soon so let's just get the paperwork out of the way now."

She got her call at about 3am on Thursday morning when I could not take it any more. She just laughed and said, "I was waiting to hear from you." Sarcasm is wasted on the pregnant woman in labor. I was really not seeing the humor in the situation at that moment. She did a wonderful job though and the relief washed over me almost instantly. Such sweet relief, I even got a few hours of sleep. When I woke up I started calling people to tell them I was in labor, something that only a woman with an epidural would ever do! The doctors kept telling me how fast I was progressing and I started pushing at about 745am. At at 802am . . .

Luca Joseph Nunzio Serino entered the world and our lives were changed forever. God blessed us and he was born healthy and strong. Luca was able to breathe on his own and didn't require oxygen beyond the first couple of minutes. He was stable enough that we got to spend a few minutes with him before the NICU team took him.

Luca spent 2 weeks in the NICU. He had some heart rate drops which are normal in preemies but extended his stay a little which was always heartbreaking. I basically lived in the hospital while he was there. I couldn't stand to be away from him. When we weren't there we would call to check on him so we got to be pretty well known.

Luca finally came home on Halloween . . .

. . . and then our new journey began.

he's a keeper

While we were home for a visit daddy and Mike went fishing and did pretty good. We had fresh fish for lunch. Luca wasn't sure what to think about those slimy things, they were almost as big as him!

luca loves daddy

Nobody makes . . .

Luca laugh . . .

like his daddy!

me more mama

We started feeding Luca last week while we were home for vacation (April 24 to be exact). He had rice cereal and he gobbled it all up. He loves to eat, if you couldn't tell by that belly. Since then he has tried . . .

bananas . . .

and squash. I think the squash has been his favorite so far. He also has pears and apples in the freezer waiting their turn.