Sophia's First Christmas

Let me begin by saying that I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! As you know, this was Sophia's first Christmas. I know this is supposed to be a big deal, and maybe this wins me a MOTY award, but Anthony and I didn't make too much out of it. In fact, we didn't even buy Sophia a gift. We thought about it, but I mean, she's 4 months old. She doesn't know what Christmas is -- heck, she doesn't even know she's getting a gift! So we decided to skip the presents for her this year. In the end, it really didn't matter because her Nana, Nannie & Papa, and Aunt Meredith & Uncle Cory spoiled her rotten! All in all, I'd say that Sophia had a great 1st Christmas! I have to post the pictures of her in her adorable "My 1st Christmas" sleep 'n play and matching robe that my friend bought her last Christmas when I first announced that I was pregnant! Meredith took them on her camera, so I have to wait for her to email them to me.

Here's a picture of our mantel this year. I wasn't going to buy any stockings until after Christmas, but Pottery Barn had their stockings on sale during Cyber Monday with free embroidery and free shipping, so I went ahead and bought them.

Christmas also brought another first for Sophia -- her first taste of green beans!! Simply said, she LOVED them! She'd take a bite and then make this "Mmmmm, mmmmm" noise that was so incredibly adorable! The other night, Meredith and Cory were over at the house and we showed them. Cory took a video with his phone, so if I can get that, I'll post it. At Sophia's 4 month well visit, the pediatrician told me that we need to try and get Sophia to eat 6 ounces of rice cereal a day by the time she's 5 1/2 or 6 months. Sophia is now 4 1/2 months old and is already eating the 6 ounces of rice cereal mixed with a container of baby food every day! She's definitely Anthony and my child!! She's an eater!! Here's a picture of her after her introduction to green beans...

And the last picture I'll share in this post:

This is from this past Saturday (the 26th). We took a trip out to Gilbert to Aunt Brandi and Uncle Chad's house to watch Pitt beat NC State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl! It was around 50 degrees out, so Sophia had to bundle up. I think I'm going to put a hat on her now every time we go out. I know I'm biased, but how cute is my daughter?!?!

So my last bit of chatter for tonight deals with my adventure tomorrow. Tomorrow (December 29th) is Anthony's 32nd birthday. His birthday request was simple: to go to Charleston to have dinner with friends at McCrady's (www.mccradysrestaurant.com) and to stay the night. That's right. Stay. The. Night. Anthony's parents are coming over to our house to spend the night and watch Sophia. I know Sophia will be fine, but this is the first time I'm leaving her for the night. McCrady's is an incredible restaurant and we're doing a multi-course chef's tasting with wine pairings, so I know it's going to be a wondeful gastronomic adventure, but have I mentioned that I'm leaving my baby for the night? Keep me in your thoughts. Until next time...

'Tis the Season

I'd like to begin this post by wishing you all a very happy holiday season! 2009 was such a wonderful year for the Cimino family! I truly can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for us! At this point, I don't think it can get much better! I've come a long, long way these past 4 months. I've blossomed from a terrified and insecure brand new mom to a confident yet clueless Mama! I still feel like I have no clue what I'm doing, but when I look at Sophia and see how happy and healthy she is, and when I look at Anthony and see the pride and love in his eyes, I know I'm doing something right! Life. Is. Good.

Follow Up

As promised, here are the pictures corresponding to my previous post:

She can finally play in her Johnny Jump Up! She doesn't quite know what to do yet -- she sort of just hangs out and drools, but last night she started moving her feet, so I think she's figuring it out!

First attempt at rice cereal.

The second attempt went much better! Now she loves it and is already eating 2 tablespoons of it a day. The pediatrician wants her eating 6 tablespoons a day by the time she's 6 months old. I don't think that will be a problem!!

First attempt at rolling over. This is what I found last Sunday morning when I came back into Sophia's room after grabbing a cup of coffee!

And THIS is what happened last night while she was laying on the dining room table after her bath! She's progressed so much just in 3 short days! She even started pushing up with her arms and moving her legs. I think crawling is going to come early!!!

She's starting to giggle!!!

Eventful Weekend

Like the title of this posts implies, we had a lot going on this weekend! Friday was Sophia's 4 month well visit. She's weighing in at 15.5 pounds (97th percentile) and is measuring almost 27 inches (91st percentile)! The doctor told me to start giving her rice cereal now. He wants her eating about 6 tablespoons a day w/in the next two months. The first attempt at cereal eating was Friday night and did not go too well (I'll post pictures later) but she seemed to like it a little more by Sunday evening. Saturday night, Sophia found her feet! Anthony was getting her ready for her bath and called me in to her room to show me. There she was, laying on her changing table with her left foot in her left hand and a huge smile on her face! If reaching that milestone wasn't enough to make my weekend, what happened Sunday morning definitely was! As usual, I woke Sophia up around 8:30, changed her, gave her a bottle and then put her down on her activity mat while I fixed myself some coffee. When I came back to her room, I found her laying on her tummy looking up at me with a huge smile! That's right -- Sophia rolled over!! I was so excited! Of course, I had to go get the camera (again, will post pictures later). What a weekend!!!! Until next time...

Turkey time!

Since this was Sophia's first Thanksgiving, we thought we should make it a special one -- and in her daddy's eyes, that meant dressing her up as a turkey! I have to admit, she was pretty freaking cute, but I know, one day, she's going to get us back for this! The day started off great. She woke up nice and smiley as usual around 8:15. We played for 2 hours and then she went down for her morning nap. She woke up around 12:30 from her nap and it was time to go to Nanny and Papa's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I put her in her turkey outfit but had to change her b/c the wings on the suit wouldn't bend and I couldn't get her in her car seat. When we got to Anthony's parents' house, I put the costume on her. She loved it! She was just giggling and smiling! She KNEW she was the most adorable turkey ever! That's when the fun stopped though. When we got inside, everyone rushed her because she was just so cute. It was too much for her and The Dragon came out. She was fussy the rest of the day and wanted Mama to carry her. This is the only picture I've got of her in her turkey costume. She wore it for a whole 5 minutes. Hahaha! You know what that means? Time to play dress up! Hahahaha! Stay tuned for more pictures!! Until next time....

The Sweet Sound of Success

Well, we've done it! Sophia successfully goes to sleep on her own w/o crying! It only took a week (and a lot of alcohol for Mama), but we've done it! Woohoooo! It's so wonderful! When we put her down now, she makes her little pterodactyl noises for a couple of minutes and then there's nothing but the sweet sound of success -- silence!

We had a busy weekend this past weekend. J.P. and Wendy Stephens of Lumos Studio Photograhy came over to the house to do family pictures. I hope they were able to get some good shots. I'll post some as soon as I get them. They came over at 4 pm, which is normally Sophia's afternoon naptime during the week. I didn't think it would be a problem though because she usually sleeps in until close to 10 on Saturdays. Wouldn't you know it... she woke her cute little tush up at 8:30 am Saturday morning just like it was a weekday. So she went down for her nap at 10:30 and slept until 1:00 pm, making her ready for her afternoon nap at 4. We put her down at 3:30 and let her sleep until a little after 4. She was good for the first hour they were there, but The Dragon started showing its head during the second hour. After they left, I tried to put her down for a late nap, but she wasn't having it. She slept for about an hour and woke up when her Uncle Chad and Aunt Brandi got there. Then yesterday, she woke up early (around 9am) and was quite fussy. She took a 4 hour morning nap and then another 2 hour afternoon nap, and when she was awake, she just wanted to be held. I guess Saturday was just a little too much for her. Oh well.

Milestones

Sophia is 3 months old now and she has successfully hit some milestones!

She's recognizes me and Anthony and gives us a big smile when she sees us:She's reaching for her toys:And she's lifting that noggin when you put her on her tummy:

Last night, we were sitting on the floor in the living room playing (refer to the last two pictures) and she started to roll over on her side! I'm going to keep putting her on her tummy this week and see if she manages to do it. You can see the determination in her face in the above picture, so I'm sure it's not going to be long until she's rolling over. She also loves to practice standing. I'll have to try and snap a few pictures of that this week to share.

Oh, and an update on the sleeping. We have successfully broken the habit of me holding her until she falls asleep! Wooohooo!! I now hold her until she gets heavy-eyed, then I put her in her crib. I usually have to stand there for a little while, holding the pacifier in her mouth, but usually after about 15 - 20 minutes, she falls asleep. I know it's not perfect yet, but it's progress and I'll take whatever I can get! Like I've said before, I must be doing SOMETHING right -- my 3 month old sleeps 13 hours straight every night! ;)

Halloween

I forgot to post pictures from Halloween!! Here's my little Chili Pepper:

We didn't actually do anything for Halloween, but I did dress her up as a chili pepper for about 10 minutes and snapped some pictures! She was a really good sport about it (even though you can tell from her eyes that she's not thrilled about the whole thing -- could have been because I was laughing hysterically the whole time I was taking the pictures...). I don't know if you can really tell in this picture, but she's had a bit of a growth spurt since I bought this costume and her little legs were all scrunched up! Hahahaha!

So I changed her outfit into this:

and she was much happier! :)

Happy Halloween!!

But I WANT to hold her until she falls asleep...

Anthony and I swore, before we had Sophia, that we were going to follow others' advice and create good sleeping habits for Sophia from the start. And we did.... for a couple of months. We were so good about putting her to bed when she was still awake so that she'd self-soothe and learn to put herself to sleep. We never let her sleep in the bed with us (except for the occasional nap with Daddy) -- in fact, she's slept in her crib in her own room since the very first night we were home. So why is it that I found myself holding her the other night until she fell asleep and asking Anthony "When did I start rocking her to sleep?" I don't know when I started doing it (and he couldn't remember either), but somewhere along the line we (probably I) stopped putting her to sleep awake and started rocking her to sleep. Now she won't go to sleep if I don't rock her. During the day, Nanny Brooke can put her in her crib awake at naptime and after a short visit from the pterodactyl, she goes to sleep. If Anthony or I put her to bed at night while she's awake, we get a visit from The Dragon. What have I done?!!? I'm pretty sure I started rocking her to sleep after I went back to work, but I honestly can't pinpoint the exact time. Why, oh why did I do this? I know why -- I miss her. I WANT to hold her until she falls asleep because now that I'm back at work, I only get a few hours a day with her and I miss her. How, oh how do I stop this? Last night we tried to let her cry herself to sleep, but after about 10 minutes, I couldn't take it any more. I think this is something that I'll have to do on a weekend when I don't have to get up at 5:30 a.m. the next morning and be able to function. I mean, I guess it's not THAT bad -- she's still sleeping about 12 hours straight every night -- but she really needs to relearn how to put herself to sleep. Suggestions?

Naptime with Daddy

Today is a nice and quiet day at the Cimino house. Anthony and Sophia have been napping together for the past couple hours and, naturally, I had to snap a picture. They just look so cute.

"You have a baby... in a box"

So yesterday Sophia's nanny, Brooke, was sick and couldn't come to work so Sophia got to come to work with me! Nanny Brooke usually puts Sophia down for a nap around 10 or 10:30. So I brought Sophia's travel bed along and that's where she took her little nap.

If you're looking for a fantastic and user-friendly travel bed, this one from Eddie Bauer is the one that I'd suggest getting. Sophia loves it. So here she is sleeping; I couldn't resist snapping a couple pictures of my little officemate. :)

Maternity Pictures

Even though I'm not pregnant anymore, I thought I'd share the maternity pictures I had taken when I was about 7 months pregnant with Sophia. An old friend, J.P. Stephens, and his wife, Wendy, of Lumos Studio Photography (http://www.lumosstudio.com/) took them and did an incredible job! These pictures were a surprise Father's Day gift for Anthony. J.P. and Wendy are going to be photographing Sophia in November and I just can't wait!!

Background

So let me give you a little background in case you haven't been in the loop... I gave birth to my first child, Sophia Elizabeth Cimino, on August 11, 2009. Sophia was a c-section baby and I have to admit, my experience was incredible!! My doctor made her first incision at 9:29am and Sophia was born at 9:34am! When it was over, I looked at Anthony and said "The rest of our kids are totally coming out this way!" The recovery was even a snap for me. I was up at 5am the next morning taking a shower and walking around all on my own. As a bonus, we were discharged after two nights because Sophia and I were doing so well! My only complaint really was that I ended up with a spinal headache from the spinal block. I suffer from migraines and all I have to say is that migraines have nothing on a spinal headache!! But now I know what it is, so if it happens next time, I'll know to say something to the nurse instead of just sucking it up and hoping it'll just go away.

My first couple of weeks as a mom were pretty hard. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't because Sophia was a difficult baby. From what other mothers have told me, she's a dream baby!! But I had a nice case of the Baby Blues and found myself very insecure and very scared. I cried a lot. I don't know what I would have done had it not been for my girlfriends, my family and my incredible husband. Every single day I had something new to terrify me and every single day I felt absolutely alone. My biggest issue was breastfeeding. Ugh. Breastfeeding made me a neurotic momzilla!! See, when I first got pregnant, I didn't think that I'd be able to breastfeed because I had a breast reduction back in 2005. I was totally fine with formula feeding -- I mean, I was formula fed and I think most would say that I turned out just dandy. Anywho... around my 7th month of being pregnant, I noticed that I was leaking colostrum. After seeing that I decided that I'd try to breastfeed Sophia once she was born. The very first day in the hospital, the lactation consultant at the hospital came into my room, whipped my boob out, took a look at it, deemed me "flat nippled," smacked a nipple shield on me and shoved Sophia on it. Man did that hurt. This was not at all what I was expecting. I had heard that nursing, if done properly, wasn't supposed to be painful. I'd heard that it was a wonderful bonding experience for both mom and baby. I swear, I wanted to punch Anthony every time Sophia latched on (in fact, now that I think about it, I think I just might have done that a few times there in the beginning -- it's all such a blur now). It actually brought tears to my eyes! How could something that was "so natural" and "wonderful" be so painful and miserable?!?! To make matters worse, it turns out that the breast reduction affected my milk supply. So while I was able to nurse, I was only producing about one third to one half of what other mothers produced. For whatever reason this made me feel like a failure. Like somehow it was my fault that I had a low milk supply. So I cried. We were supplementing with formula, so Sophia was absoutely fine. I, on the other hand, was a mess. I decided to go talk to the lactation consultant at the pediatrician's office to see if she could give me any pointers. Like the nurse at the hospital, this lady just pulled my "girls" out to have a look! So much for modesty! Hahaha! Anyway, she suggested we try to get Sophia to latch on without the shield to see if that was easier and it was! Sophia took right to it and it didn't hurt nearly as bad!! Then she hit me with "Well, you need to nurse as often as the baby wants to and you also need to pump between 6 and 8 times a day for at least 15 minutes each session." Ummmm... can you say "Mooooo"! Now this might earn me the Mother of the Year award (see my very first post), but there was no way that was going to fit into my schedule! So I kindly thanked the lady, put my boob back in my shirt and headed home. I did try though. I really did. I nursed Sophia every time she wanted to, but I just couldn't bring myself to pump 6 - 8 times a day! When was I supposed to sleep? Eat? Pee? I mean really. It's been 11 weeks now and I've managed to at least pump up to this point. Now that I'm back at work it's a lot harder for me, but I pump 3 - 4 times a day -- enough to give Sophia a bottle of breastmilk every day. Like I said, she's fine, I'm the one with the case of the crazies. ;)

All joking aside, the day Sophia was born was the best day of my life so far and I still pinch myself to make sure all of this is really happening! I really am the luckiest woman I know. I love being a mom and look forward to each new adventure that each new day brings!

Introduction

So yeah, I'm blogging now. I guess it's the thing to do now that we've got Sophia so I can keep everyone updated about the happenings in Ciminoland. What really sealed the deal about blogging for me was talking to Grace this morning about the "Mother of the Year" award she's trying to make to pass around to girlfriends when they feel like a less than great mom. We were talking about how it would be fun to have a website or a forum where we could share these stories with each other (1) so we know we aren't alone and (2) to give each other a good laugh. Being a first-time mom, I find that I worry about everything and I feel guilty about all the decisions I make. Talking to my friends has helped me realize that I'm not the only one who's done whatever it is that I've done or has gone through whatever it is that I'm going through. So whether you're reading this Blog to keep up with Ciminoland or to read about what I've done to deserve the Mother of the Year Award and maybe share one of your own stories, thanks for stopping by!!