We're home!

After one last check from the doctors, we were released from the hospital this morning!!


Here is Elena dressed to go home. Who would've guessed that we would have a baby who would be swallowed by a 0-3 month sized outfit!


Maria got to come help us...

The kids were happy to have us home.

Elena is pretty happy, too! She and I enjoyed a good afternoon nap in my comfy bed!!

Video of Elena

Here is a video of Baby Elena

Siblings come to visit

Here are some pictures from today, when the siblings came to meet their new baby sister.

Baby Elena is here!!!

The doctors decided that it would be better if she were born today, and so here she is!!

She was born by C-section at 2:06pm. She was 6 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 in. long.

More tests!

Today I had an appointment with the doctor who is scheduled to perform my C-section next Thursday. After the usual stuff with him, I had another nonstress test. The results of this test were not terrible (or else I wouldn't be at home writing this post!), but, as the doctor said, they weren't "stellar." So, he ordered a Biophysical Profile, which is a test via ultrasound looking for 4 different activities of the baby. This pretty much gave the same results - not great, but not terrible. After more than 2 hours of this, they decided that I should come back in the morning and do it all again!! So, I'm scheduled to be back in their office at 9:30am tomorrow.

The good news is that I made it to the grocery store afterwards, so we have food in the house for the kids and whoever will be keeping them in the next week!

Earth day "Guest Post"

I wanted to direct your attention to a post my friend, Kelly, wrote yesterday for Earth Day about cloth diapering. We also cloth diaper, and I wish I could convince you how easy it is!

I love to use prefolds and a cover for the 1st couple of months. You can't find anything more absorbant (or cheaper) than prefolds! Once the baby gets squirmy around 3 months, I switch to pocket diapers. We have FuzziBunz and Bum Genius. The Bum Genius are great because they are adjustable in the rise and can be used by newborns through toddlers. They seem like a big initial investment (about $200 for a supply, I think), but they last forever!! We've been using our FuzziBunz for over 4 years and the Bum Genius for over 2 years and they all look almost new!

One thing Kelly didn't mention in the post was flushable rice paper liners. These are great for dealing with stinky diapers. You just flush away the mess and wash the rest of the diaper!

Another Ultrasound

I had another ultrasound this afternoon. Elena is still breech. She kind of looks like a 7-lb Buddha in there sitting up with her legs crossed :)

They checked the amniotic fluid levels again, which was the main reason for the ultrasound. Normal levels are 5-25, and really, 10 and up are what you want. Last Tuesday, the levels measured 5.8. Today, it had fallen a bit to 5.3. They REALLY don't like the levels to get below 5. These low levels are a big reason why she can't turn on her own, and why a doctor can't attempt to turn her. They also increase the risk of cord compression, reducing blood flow to the baby. Her heartrate was good today, and she's done well on all of her NSTs. Tomorrow, I will see the doctor, and we'll see what he has to say about today's ultrasound. They are supposed to do another NST. I'll post again tomorrow!

Also, make sure you're keeping John Paul Rosamond in your prayers. He had another 'development' yesterday, which required unplanned surgery. Check out the Rosamond blog for more details.

Happy Birthday, Papa! (and 37-week check-up)

Happy Birthday to Dany!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a picture of Dany with gifts that the girls made for him: a party hat and card from Cati and a homemade potholder from Maria :)

In baby news... I had my 37-week check-up with the midwives this afternoon. Elena is still breech. They did another nonstress test, and it was normal. Now we're waiting for the ultrasound on Wednesday to check the amniotic fluid levels. The midwives are hopeful that the levels will have increased and that maybe they can attempt a version. We shall see!

Non-stress test #2

When I planned to keep everyone updated on the blog with the end of this pregnancy, I envisioned weekly posts along the lines of, "No news yet. Maybe next week," or "They're saying that she might come soon!" but Elena seems to want to keep things more interesting!!

When I left the doctor's office on Tuesday, I was under the impression that my amniotic fluid levels were just too low to attempt turning Elena. Appearently, they are almost dangerously low, so the midwives and doctors will be keeping close eye on Elena from now on. We had another non-stress test (NST) this afternoon, and everything went well.

We will have another NST on Monday, another ultrasound on Wednesday, and another NST on Thursday. The most important of these will be the ultrasound on Wednesday to measure the amniotic fluid again. I'll try to post after each appointment!

Have a great weekend!! Perhaps I'll find time to do one more homeschooling post over the weekend :)

Chiara's birthday

We finally celebrated Chiara's birthday on Monday!


(You will notice that Chiara's face is a bit dirty in these pictures. She had just finished licking the spatula that I used to frost the cake!)

Here is a baby doll from Maria...

Here are some cute summer clothes from Aunt Ginny. Unfortunately, she didn't send any warm weather with them :)

Aunt Ginny also sent a couple of great books!

Here is another doll from Cati and Matteo...

Here is a wonderfully soft teddy bear from family in Atlanta. I'm considering bringing it to the hospital with me when Elena is born :)

Here is a stacking, sorting toy from Mommy and Papa...

And here is the best baby doll from Grandma and Pipa! Cati's already added it to her wish list for Christmas in 8 months :)

And here is a cute video of Chiara blowing out her candles!

Looks like we'll have plenty of birthday cake in April!! We will celebrate Dany's birthday on Monday and Elena's 10 days later!!!

Breech baby

We had our ultrasound this morning. Elena is definitely head up, more specifically, a footling breech (feet first). The ultrasound also showed that the amniotic fluid is on the low end of normal, which means I'm not a good candidate for an attempted version. We had to stay for a non-stress test, too, which showed Elena to be an active, healthy baby.

Our only option at this point is a C-section, which has been scheduled for April 30th. There's a slight chance that she will turn on her own, in which case we could proceed with a normal birth. Everyone in the office was very nice and kind of disappointed for me that I've had 4 good, normal births, but will most likely have to have a C-section this time. It's kind of surreal for me. I signed the papers, and they talked to me about everything we're supposed to do on the 'BIG' day, but I don't really believe it yet :) Of course, the number one priority for us with all the children was a healthy birth for the baby, and that's why we must do this.

Next week will be filled with appointments! I'll still see my midwife on Monday. We'll have another ultrasound next Wednesday to check on the amniotic fluid levels. Then, I'll see the doctor who is scheduled to perform the C-section on Thursday and have another non-stress test.

More updates next week!

36-week check-up

I'm planning to give updates from now to the end of pregnancy. You will notice that our baby is in the last box on the baby counter at the top of my blog! I can't believe we're so close to the end. I washed baby clothes this weekend, and Dany fixed the crib and baby bouncers this morning. I'm really getting excited about holding a new little one soon!

I had my weekly check-up this afternoon. Both of the midwives checked me and decided that Elena is breech. We have an ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow to confirm this. Assuming they are correct (and for once I'm hoping they're wrong!), they want to schedule an external version sometime within the next week. Of course, it would be great if Elena decided to flip on her own!

Please say lots of prayers that Elena will move into a more favorable position for birth!

More Easter pictures

Here are pictures of our afternoon celebrating Easter with our friends, the Kroms.



First, I have one picture of Matteo and Chiara dressed up for Mass. We forgot to bring the camera to church, but we'll try to remember on another Sunday. We celebrate Easter for 7 weeks, so we have more chances for a nice group picture of the kids in their Sunday best!


Here are some pictures of the egg hunt.

And, here are some pictures of the kids playing afterwards while the adults were inside enjoying the wonderful food!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!!

Here are the kids digging into their Easter chocolate this morning :)

We're off to Mass this morning. This afternoon we're going to our friends' house for an egg hunt and a yummy dinner!!

A Blessed Easter to you all!!!

Chiara celebrates!

I said that we will not celebrate Chiara's birthday until Monday, but I did get her a little treat at the store yesterday...strawberries!! She actually thinks these are better than cake!

And, here's a video of some birthday cards that she opened today from Grandma and Pipa. You can tell that she enjoyed them :)

Have a blessed Triduum!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Chiara!

Two years ago today, Chiara Antonia was born on Easter Sunday! We will celebrate her birthday with cake and presents on Monday, so today I'll just share some baby pictures... (I'm sorry that these are out of order, but blogger is not letting me move them around at the moment.)


This was taken on the day of her Baptism when she was 4 weeks old.

This was taken two weeks after she was born. Thankfully, the Church celebrates Easter for more than one day. We spent the 1st Easter Sunday in the hospital, but we got to celebrate on the other Sundays!

I included this picture of Chiara with John Paul, so that we will all remember to pray for him as he undergoes another big surgery today. The Rosamonds visited us a month after Chiara was born.

Here is Matteo's 1st big brother picture! He was not able to come to the hospital when she was born because he was sick :(

Who would've guessed that such a serious baby would turn out to be the funny little toddler we have running around the house today!

Here are the girls with their new little sister on the day she was born!

And here is Chiara in her 1st picture, umbilical cord and all! She was one of our smaller babies, weighing 'only' 9.5 lbs!! (And, I'm hoping that her new little sister will follow in her footsteps!)

Thanks be to God for our precious baby girl!! May He continue to bless her!

Homeschool Week 3/30 - 4/3

Well, I'm very late posting for last week! I know that this is a dangerous point in a pregnancy to start getting behind on blogging! Anytime you miss a regular post, everyone starts wondering why :) Be assured that Elena and I are still gestating away, as we should be! This is my last week without a midwife appointment. Next Monday will begin my weekly appointments until the birth!

Before I get on with the story of our week, I want to request some prayers for friends. First of all, prayer of thankgiving for the happy birth of my friend, Kate's (Momopoly blog on the right side of my blog), new baby, Mary Elizabeth. Congratulations to your whole family!! Also, John Paul Rosamond is having yet another cranial reconstruction tomorrow (Wednesday). Please offer many prayers for him and their family.

I've been busy trying to finish as many things as possible before Elena comes. I've had enough Arcara babies to know that they just don't lie around and sleep peacefully like some other babies I've heard of :) I've almost completed Maria's homeschool portfolio that must be evaluated and turned into the school district. I also spent some time this week looking over math curricula for Maria as she approaches pre-algebra. During supper last night, she expressed her desire to get a Ph.D. in Math, with an emphasis in Fractions (LOL!), so I want find the best curriculum to help her fulfill her dreams :) I've also been trying to complete as much of my lesson plans for next year as possible. On Saturday, I realized that Chiara's 2nd birthday is this week (however, we will not celebrate it until Easter Monday), so I ordered her a birthday gift. I also ordered some history books for Cati for next year. I'm trying to cut down on our library trips, not only for convinence-sake, but also because I sometimes have trouble getting certain books around here because there are so many homeschoolers wanting the same ones! I updated my "Wish List" (on the right side of the blog) to reflect my order.

On Sunday afternoon, we went to our church for their annual Palm Sunday dinner. We ate some yummy food, and the kids had fun making some crafts. Here is a bouquet of Easter lillies they made...




We have to have paper flowers around here because it's too cold for the real ones!! Look at this picture that I took from our window this morning...



I didn't scan in any of the kids' work from last week, but I do have a few pictures.


Chiara continued enjoying her Wedgits. They are great because they are so easy to stack!
She can spend quite a while creating and knocking down towers :)



Cati learned how to draw number lines last week in math.


Each week, the girls give narrations and do copywork (or take dictation) from a couple of passages from a story. Last week, Cati and I read from "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Cati was inspired to draw the Green Knight. However, she thought that coloring him all green, as he was described in the book, was too boring, so she took some liberties with the color scheme.

Here is a frog that Cati made in one of her classes at St. Vincent on Friday.

One of Cati's math lessons last week was also about fractions and measuring, so she got to make cookies. At least this lesson came close to the math lesson with the paint :)

Maria's really been into scrapbooking lately, thanks to her St. Vincent class. She spent a lot of time this past weekend working on this. She's made quite a nice book, which I think it great because I haven't had time to put together anything! We have tons of pictures of the kids on our computers, but it is nice to have some printed to look at in a book.

Finally, I have a video of Maria playing the piano. She's been working on this piece for a while. It's not perfect, of course, but it's better than I can do! I think it's great for someone who's been playing for less than a year.

Have a blessed Holy Week!!!