Giuseppe - 2 weeks old!

Giuseppe is 2-weeks-old today! He had a good 2nd week. No big messes this week :)

We enjoyed several yummy meals from friends this week! It was wonderful not to have to cook for a few days, which is a team effort of Dany, Maria, and I these days. Thank you to our thoughtful friends who brought meals this week!!

As I promised last week, I made sure to take pictures of Maria and Giuseppe. She's such a great helper. Giuseppe is very content with her - unless he wants to eat, of course! She takes care of him so I can shower in the mornings and get ready for bed at night. She loves it!





Look at that handsome boy!

Everyone who meets him still comments on his full head of hair :)

Elena is the one who asks to hold him the most - after Maria. She often climbs into a chair or the couch with the Boppy pillow in her lap. Then she holds out her arms and says, "Hug-a-bAAAby!" I wish I could get a video of her saying this. It's priceless!

With 4 older sisters, Giuseppe has to be content with a girly-patterned Boppy pillow :) He doesn't seem to mind :) :)

Look at those chunky cheeks and arms!

Occasionally, Papa gets to hold him, too!

We did it! We got a picture of all the kids after Mass this morning!!

Well, this week it looks like we didn't take any pictures of Matteo and his brother. Oh, well!

Giuseppe's 1st week

Baby Giuseppe is one week old today. He's been such an easy-going baby so far. He never cries unless I can't get to him right away to feed him. He sleeps a good portion of the day, and we have to be sure to wake him a few times per day so that he won't want to be awake at night. He rarely spits up, which is nice since we've had a couple of babies who have had trouble with reflux. This isn't to say that he hasn't made his own share of messes (think opposite end messes). Most of them have only given Dany extra practice with running the washing machine. One particularly memorable mess had him mopping half of the living room :)

Here is Cati's artwork on our chalkboard announcing Giuseppe's arrival.




My parents were here to take care of the other kids for the birth, and they had to go home on Wednesday, but they did get a couple of days to visit with Giuseppe.

Elena always thinks she should be holding the baby :)

2 days old...

3 days old...

On Thursday, Giuseppe went for his first doctor's check-up. He was perfectly healthy and his hips even seem fine! (Remember that 3 of the girls have been under care for hip dysplasia.) He weighed 10 lbs 6 oz, and since he passed his birth weight, he doesn't have to go back until he's one month old!

5 days old...

One week old! He went to Mass for the first time this morning and slept peacefully in the sling the whole time :)

I tried to get a picture of how fluffy his hair was after I washed it this morning :)

We always try to get our babies Baptized as soon as possible, but it seems that it may be a few weeks yet. Our priest announced at Mass this morning that he'll be away on retreat and vacation for the next 3 weekends :(

Somehow I don't have any pictures of Maria with Giuseppe, but this doesn't mean that she hasn't spent a good bit of time with him. She's been a great helper, of course, especially with helping Dany cook supper. I'll try to take some pictures of Maria this week, and I still need to get a picture of all 6 kids together!

Welcome Giuseppe Benedetto!

Giuseppe Benedetto (Italian for Joseph Benedict) was born on Sunday, July 10th at 9:50 am. He weighed 10 lbs 4 oz and was 22.5" long.

After accepting the fact that I may have first baby post-due, labor started on the morning before his due date. I slept horribly the first half of the night (as in, pretty much not at all) and then soon after finally going to sleep around 4am, I started feeling REAL contractions. I decided to get up around 5:30 to time them woke Dany 15 minutes later to tell him labor had started. We got ready and left for the hospital about an hour later. We checked into the hospital around 7:20am. I had a C-section with our last baby, Elena, so this was our first experience with a VBAC. My midwife and labor nurse were wonderful and so supportive. I had to stay hooked up to the monitors, but they are able to do this wirelessly now, so I could move around. I also had to have an IV. I labored on the birthing ball while listening to Catholic Latin Classics on my iPod and having Dany massage my lower back with a warm wash cloth. It was actually quite peaceful and I sometimes dozed off between contractions. Finally, it was appearant that it was time to get to work and about 15 minutes later, Giuseppe arrived!



Dany and my midwife, Gretchen. She also delivered Chiara 4 years ago, and unfortunately she's retiring in October :(

Look at that hair!! We've never had one with so much hair!

My parents and the kids arrived at the hospital in the afternoon to meet Giuseppe for the first time.

Elena has a love for babies unlike any of my other kids at her age and she's SO excited to have a real baby in the house now!

Matteo finally has a brother!! I've mentioned his goofy camera smiles before, right? :)

Visiting on Day 2 at the hospital...

We got to go home that afternoon - his due date and the Feast of St. Benedict! One night in the hospital is more than enough for me :)