2 Weeks Old

Just two short weeks ago we welcomed our daughter into this world and it feels like the time has gone by so fast. The second week home has been a bit more challenging with Olivia wanting to feed every couple of hours and having some moments of pure fussiness. She has a hard time in the evenings when she is just so tired and doesn't want to let herself fall asleep.

My favorite moments over the past week have been when she will snuggle on my chest and fall asleep for a few hours and when she smiles. Our daughter already is forming a sweet personality and loves to look around and take in her surroundings. 

We celebrated Olivia's first Thanksgiving and she reminded us all of how thankful we are for this sweet little baby in our lives. We are still trying to catch up on sleep whenever we can and hopefully get a routine down in the coming weeks. Parenthood is a journey that no one can truly prepare you for and you just have to take it a day at a time.

Here are a few more pictures of Olivia... the first one with her Gobble Gobble onesie on Thanksgiving and the other one of her sleeping soundly on mommy's lap...

1 Week Old

I am in complete denial that our sweet Olivia is already one week old today. The past week has gone by way too fast and I already feel like she is changing and growing faster than her momma wants her too. The first week has been great but the adjustment to the lack of sleep her parents are experiencing has been a bit tough.

Olivia is a great eater and feeds every couple of hours and sleeps a lot throughout the day. She is not loving sleeping in her bassinet, so some nights she sleeps in her car seat or with either her mom or dad holding her. I am hoping we can get her into the bassinet soon and have her sleeping at least 3 hours at a time. 

When Olivia is awake, she has these bright eyes and some interesting expressions. I can't imagine what she is thinking trying to take it all in and observe her surroundings. She already has a sweet personality and is overall a great baby. 

Here are a few more precious pictures of her, one with her sound asleep and the other where she is very much awake. Enjoy!

Sleeping Beauty

We have been home for a few days with our little Olivia and have settled in nicely in the comfort of our own home. Olivia has been doing great and is feeding a ton and sleeping lots. We are so blessed with a happy baby and love holding her and just looking at her. I know each mom says this, but she really is the most beautiful baby! Here are just a few pictures of our sleeping beauty from the past few days...

I am so blessed to be taking care of this little angel and want her to stay little forever! The time already feels like it is going by way too fast and I want to slow down every moment and not miss a thing with Olivia. We are just so in love with her...

Olivia Claire Gagliardi

On Sunday, November 11th at 8:50pm, we welcomed into the world our precious little girl, Olivia Claire Gagliardi. She weighed 8 lbs 5.5 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.

 

We are so happy to have our little girl here and incredibly blessed by her arrival. Here are a few pictures of our sweet daughter on her first few days in this world...

Here is a shortened version of her birth story...

We were surprised by how quickly my labor progressed on Sunday and how fast our baby arrived. I started having contractions Sunday morning and they quickly progressed by mid day to about 5 minutes apart and we decided to head to the hospital around 3pm. We checked into our room close to 4pm and things progressed quickly. Once my contractions were a few minutes apart, I had an epidural which felt great for about an hour or so. Things changed quickly as my contractions became more intense and my epidural stopped working. I progressed from a 5 to a 10 in less than 30 minutes and by the time 8pm rolled around it was time to start pushing. At this point the pain medication had worn off and they were not able to get another epidural started, so I ended up delivering naturally. I pushed for close to an hour and shortly before 9pm our daughter arrived!

Olivia is doing fantastic and we are so relieved to be home and comfy. Our hospital stay was nice but I was eager to bring her home and look forward to fewer interruptions throughout the nights. We are excited for the coming days of enjoying parenthood and hope to adjust nicely to the new routine and caring for our daughter!

New Book Club Selection - Origin

Book Club last night was great yet again and it was fun to hang out with the book club group and discuss the book The Dog Stars. A few of us did not enjoy the book while a couple of other ladies really loved it. Each time we review and discuss a book and have approvals/disapprovals, it reminds me that each book lands differently on each reader. Some books we will love and some we will not enjoy at all and sometimes, that is half the fun in seeing what everyone else thought. It was great to discuss the book even though I did not enjoy reading it.

Our next book club selection is Origin by Jessica Khoury and here is a short summary of the book:

• An electrifying action-romance that's as thoughtful as it is tragic. Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home—and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life. Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin—a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever. Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

This book was recommended by one of my girlfriends that works at the library and she is usually the reader that challenges us to try something different. This book is never one that I would have picked up on my own, which is one of the reasons I love book club... it challenges me to read books that I might have never had the chance to experience.

I am not sure how much time I will have for reading in the coming weeks, but I do hope to dive into this book soon and see if I enjoy it... I might be surprised. Happy Reading!

Book Recap - The Dog Stars

Since I am still very much pregnant today, I will be going to book club tonight to hang out with my girlfriends. I just spent the last few hours finishing up the book club book because I just can't stand not finishing a book before we discuss it as a group. 

This month we read The Dog Stars by Peter Heller and to be completely honest, the book was awful! It takes a lot for me to give a book the grade of an F, but this book was a struggle to get through and a storyline that did not at all interest me. The best way I can describe this story about a lonely pilot in a post apocalyptic world is that it is a total guy book and not really that interesting for the ladies. I am curious to see if anyone actually enjoyed reading this book when we discuss it tonight. I am relieved this book is finished and ready to move on to the next book club selection... which I will post soon!

40 Weeks

40 weeks have gone by and our official due date has arrived. I was hoping we would have our baby girl by now, but God is teaching me a lesson in being patient and trusting that he will decide when she will be born. We are getting more and more excited each day and feel ready to bring our daughter into this world. We can't wait to share the exciting news with all of our family and friends when she finally decides to grace us with her beautiful presence :) Here are my pregnancy updates and a very large belly pic for the week:

How far along? 40 weeks

Total Weight Gain? 25 pounds

Maternity Clothes? Of course! My belly is quite large these days and needs all the room I can get in my maternity clothes. I have loved my maternity wardrobe but also looking forward to wearing regular clothes again in the near future.

Stretch Marks? Nope :)

Sleep? So so. Still tired most of the time but I have had a few nights of good sleep. At this point I am so used to not sleeping great that when baby comes, I will be trained in being tired and having sleepless nights.

Best Moment this Week? I indulged in the most amazing prenatal massage on Friday... it was heavenly! I only wish I had found this massage therapist sooner because I would have had a least a couple of prenatal massages this pregnancy.

Miss Anything? As our pregnancy comes to a end (hopefully soon), I will truly miss being pregnant and this amazing journey that I have been on for the past nine months. As much as I am ready for our daughter to arrive, I will miss my belly and having her with me all the time.

Movement? Yep! She still loves to kick and move and has begun settling down lower in my belly. I can feel a lot of pressure as she has begun dropping a bit.

Food Cravings? Cheese! I still go crazy for provolone cheese and love frozen yogurt!

Anything Making you Queasy? No :)

Gender? Girl!

Labor Signs? I have had a few contractions and pains but nothing that has stayed around for longer than a few hours. I can feel my body getting ready for labor but no official signs that things are starting. Hopefully soon though...

Belly Button In or Out? It has popped out a bit more this week and is visible through some of my clothes. Maybe it is a like a turkey timer button... it will pop out completely when she is all cooked and ready :)

Wedding Rings On or Off? Off :( I am still a bit swollen in my fingers and toes.
General Mood? It depends. I have had a few rough days of really wanting her to come and not feeling like we are anywhere close to her arrival date. I have tried to soak in these last few days of peace and quiet but most of the time I just can't stop thinking about when she is going to arrive.
Symptoms? Still having lots of back pain and achy at times. I have been really trying to rest my body and take it easy these past few days.

Looking Forward To? Our daughter's birthday! Can't wait for her to make her entrance in this world and our beautiful family... she is so loved already!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I posted about a month ago about the plan for my Halloween costume and I am thrilled I was able to wear it today. This costume was easy to make and a huge hit among our family and friends and my co-workers. I had a lot of fun today showing off my belly for possibly the last time (if baby decides to come soon)!

And for more Halloween fun and inspiration, I have a ton of cute ideas on my Halloween Pinterest Board. I can't wait till our family of three can dress up for Halloween and we can take our little girl trick or treating... so much fun to look forward to! Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Maternity Photos

I am so grateful to my best friend Laura for taking some great photos of us during a casual maternity photo session last week. She has an amazing talent and was able to send us our photos in color, black and white, and sepia. We have so many photos that we love and will cherish the memories captured on this day. Here are just a few of our favorites...

This casual photo shoot was just the first for our family of three and I look forward to years of photos in the future of us with our sweet little girl!

39 Weeks

How is it possible that our due date is just a week away?! I am in disbelief of how fast the pregnancy has gone by but also incredibly excited to meet our little girl. I am hoping for her to arrive soon because both myself and my husband are growing increasingly impatient as the days go by. We also have tons of family and friends that are anxious for her arrival and to meet our baby girl! I am hoping that this is my last weekly update for this pregnancy but also trying to manage my expectations that we could be pregnant past my due date. At this point it is probably best for me to just take one day at a time. Here are my pregnancy updates and a very pregnant belly picture for this week:

How far along? 39 weeks

Total Weight Gain? 23 pounds

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes! I am still in love with my maternity leggings and long maxi dresses. I wish I could go to work in my pajamas, but at least all of my maternity clothes are fairly comfortable.

Stretch Marks? Nope :)

Sleep? It depends. On the weekends I sleep fantastic because I allow myself to sleep as long as possible in the mornings. The weekdays are a bit tough since I have to get up for work and the days seem to drag on longer.

Best Moment this Week? Taking some great maternity photos with my husband and capturing this special time in our life. I will look back on these pictures with a smile in my heart for how precious this pregnancy has been for us and all of the memories that we have created in the past 9 months while we waited for our baby girl.

Miss Anything? I miss being comfortable and not having back pain. And I miss sushi!

Movement? Yes and still lots of it! Even though baby girl is getting bigger, I can still feel her wiggling around in my belly and pushing her feet and hands into my sides.

Food Cravings? Sweets! I made delicious Almond Biscotti this weekend to satisfy my sweets craving.

Anything Making you Queasy? Nope :)

Gender? Girl! And I just posted this past weekend about some adorable clothes and accessories that I have purchased for her to wear in the coming months :)

Labor Signs? Not really :( I am hoping that they start soon because that means we can go to the hospital and have our baby. I am sure at some point I will regret wishing for labor, but as of today I would like it to come soon!

Belly Button In or Out? Still half and half... I doubt it will change anymore before the pregnancy ends.

Wedding Rings On or Off? Off :( I tried wearing them this weekend to a friend's wedding and had a moment of panic when I couldn't get them off after wearing them for about an hour. They have been officially tucked away safely until I can wear them again in the future.
General Mood? Impatient. I am ready for baby girl to make her grand entrance into this world and find that each day feels a bit longer than the last.  
Symptoms? Constant back pain, achy feet, swollen fingers and toes, and so so tired... everyone was right when they said the last few weeks are tough and tend to linger longer than anyone wishes...

Looking Forward To? I have scheduled a prenatal massage for Friday in hopes that it might help start my labor if we haven't had her by then and hopefully it will help with my back pain and discomfort. And of course I am looking forward to our baby girl's birth date... hope it is soon!