Friday, November 14, 2008

Video: Big Brother Dominic

Here are some video clips of Dominic's reactions to his new sister, Cate. She also features in the film. :)  We are enjoying our sleepy little princess.  So far she has been a snuggly, cuddly little thing who only protests when she is hungry or cold.  Dominic seems to be adjusting well and often tries to soothe her by offering blocks, cheerios, and other "comfort" items.  It's pretty cute to watch.  Enjoy!

Monday, November 10, 2008

We Have Pictures!

Since we have a new camera, a new house, and a new baby, plus funny Dominic, I've gone a little overboard with pictures and videos this last week... I'll post just a few here and put up the link the the Picasa album if you'd like to peruse more.

Mommy, Daddy, and Cate came home today at 11AM after an early discharge from the hospital. Cate has been a very sleepy baby so far. I think we'll see her true personality emerge in the next few days as she wakes up more from her rude entry into this world. One doctor called her fiesty, and I'm still waiting to see how her vigorous in-utero kicking will manifest itself...

Enjoy the pictures, and we look forward to hearing from or seeing you all soon.


Catherine Rose

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Baby, Baby, Baby!

She has come, at last. Catherine Rose Gaetano was born a 1:30AM on November 9th, 2008. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz and measured 18 1/2 inches. I think she made some sort of record with her speedy arrival. Just an hour and fifteen minutes after we checked into the maternity ward, Cate was born.

She came out in just 4 pushes, compared to Dominic's 4 hours. We left the house at midnight and delivered at 1:30AM. I had been having regular contractions for about 4 hours, but they weren't terribly strong (I slept through 2 hours of them), and they were about 15 minutes apart. Then, at 11:30 my water broke. We called the doctor and she told us to come in. When she asked if I was having contractions, I told her that I hadn't had any since my water broke (20 minutes or so). So we checked into labor and delivery and were sent to a preliminary exam room where they check your progress before they officially admit you. While we waited in there (30 minutes), I started having terrible, terrible contractions. I wanted an epidural, and I wanted it NOW! Where was the doctor? Why was it taking so long? Finally the doctor comes in, sees my awful contractions, apologizes, checks my progress, and announces that I'm at 10 cm and this baby will be coming within the hour! That put some hustle in the nurses. :) And so Catherine Rose came out crying just 30 minutes after we were set up in a delivery room. It was a wild ride.

Cate and I are both doing well, resting up from our sprint to the end, and getting to know one another. She is a little thing with very delicate features and a head of very dark hair. I'll put up pictures just as soon as I can.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Missed Her Birthday

Well, just like her brother, little Cate(?) has missed her own birthday. Despite our highest hopes that she would come on time or even a little early, she has decided to stay in her warm, cramped home for now. Perhaps today will be the day. Don't worry, we'll keep you all posted on anything interesting that should happen.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

A Little Update Before the Storm

Well, things are just calming down... Matt has just finished his proposals that are due on Wednesday (money for research in Italy next year). The in-laws moved in on Monday, so the house is a bit fuller feeling and an impressive array of boxes. Dominic has been loving this opportunity to color on wardrobe boxes, crawl through tunnels, and get into things that are normally out of his reach. He has also fallen in love with the piano and plays it surprisingly gently and nicely. Maybe our little energizer will turn his energies to the fine arts? :) I'm sure that things will be even calmer once his new baby sister arrives. Lately he has been giving her kisses in my belly from both his precious Doggy and Elmo. Quite cute. We think he'll make a good brother once he gets over the initial shock.

We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Girl Gaetano. Thus far she has been a very good girl, waiting until Matt was home and moving day was over. Now she can come. I'm tired of being a whale. We had an ultrasound last week that showed her to be very healthy and quite active. In fact, they had some trouble getting her measurements because she didn't want to stop moving. Uh-oh! I had another ob. appointment today and things look like they might get going in the next couple of days. We'll keep you posted, probably by g-mail status and lengthier updates on this blog.

To pass the time, we're watching the election coverage. Things don't look too good for McCain or a Republican Senate. We'll just continue to pray that whatever happens, people may come to respect the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. What a miracle this whole pregnancy and birth thing is!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Trying out my new Macbook (Iphoto)

I've become slack again...  Here's another little video of Dominic in the absence of anything brilliant, witty, or even remotely interesting from me.  :)  By the way, we've got 5 days left till baby number two is due.   We'll keep you posted on how things are going.  So far, nothing.