Baby Spa

Cozy warm room, warm organic wool blanket, lots of towels, a comfortable tub, and cozy pajamas are the makings of the DelloIacono Thies baby spa. Eric loves going to his baby spa and getting a bath as long as we do it long enough before hunger hits. He is still trying to figure out what the water is all about. We are still giving him his bath on the floor in his room because the bathroom and kitchen just seem too cold. Mom is probably the only one who thinks this though.

Love is in the air

We had a fabulous Valentine's Day together. Eric drank lots of milk. Mom ate a wonderful chocolate frosted cupcake with red hearts from Dad, and Dad worked his butt off because ADS is rockin' busy. But he did have time to eat a special dinner ordered with lots of love.



Today Sharon and Spencer came over all the way from Novato. We had a great visit and it was so good to see our friends that we spent so much time with at the hospital. Spencer is such a big boy. So cute and so talkative, even when he is eating.




We took a nice walk through the neighborhood and went to an outdoor deli for some lunch. Sharon had her signature sandwich, a BLT:) I ha know idea that this deli was such as hot spot for mom' and babies.

Hellllooo

So for several days we have been walking into the kitchen saying to each other,"what is that smell?" We emptied the garbage, ran the disposal, cleaned out the fridge and still that stank persisted. For a while it was contained to just the doorway of the kitchen. Then one morning I notice the smell was making its way down the long hallway. Finally Aaron discovered the source, pot of water on the stove. We always leave this large pot on the stove clean and empty so we never suspected it. Then Aaron lifted the lid to find oily water in it. It had been in there long enough for us to forget what was last cooked in it. Oops.



Eric has us a too busy to clean up everything. When he is hungry we drop everything to get him fed and often forget what we were doing i.e. the dishes. He keeps us very busy and we love it.

Eric has discovered his hands and is constantly sucking on his fists. Yum, Yum. He is also starting to "talk" a bit and explore the use of his voice to make various sounds. He seems to dig classical music and we have found that so do we. His hair is starting to grow back on the top, but we can't quite make out the color. There are some blondes in there though. He enjoys tummy time on the boppy pillow much more than flat on the floor.

Even more reasons to smile

Today we took Eric to the pediatric surgeon to take a look at what our pediatrician thought was very likely a hernia in his groin. The surgeon gave us happy news, no hernia, which means no need for immediate surgery. Eric and his parents are very happy about this.

Eric gives us lots of smiles when he is in the mood. He has started smiling back at us when we smile and giggle at him.



Eric was disappointed that the Bears lost the superbowl,but definitely enjoyed his superbowl party with Dad. He put back a couple of bottles during the game.



Eric interacting with his friends on the mobile.



Some other fun photos

New things

Cuddling with his blankie while Mom & Dad eat dinner. Eric sits in his bouncy seat while we eat dinner beside him.


Getting some work done with Dad. Eric likes to hang out in the office sometimes so Mom can go for a run, do laundry, pump, or take a nap.


Eric tries out the baby Bijorn. Like the stroller, this took some getting used to. He cried for the first 5 minutes and then settled in, relaxed, and fell asleep.




Eric loves to check out his giraffe pics from South Africa that GA Kathy sent. His cousin, Mortimer, took all these amazing photos and they are great contrasts and really get his attention, especially when we are trying to change his diaper.



We had our pedi appointment with Dr. McMahan today. Eric is up to 9lbs 11 oz and 21.25 inches long. He was a trooper with his shots, but we already know he is a tough guy. Eric does have a bit of a hernia that has popped up in his groin that is going to need to be surgically repaired. These are very common, especially in preemies. We have an appointment with the pediatric surgeons on Monday. It sounds like a pretty simple procedure, but it is a procedure and it makes Mom nervous.

Dad took Eric out for a walk in the stroller by himself yesterday for the first time. Of course I had to give him important instructions like how to properly cover the stroller so no one could see him but Dad, and how to let a little fresh air through, and what he should wear. They had a good time.

Good Times with Grandma

We sure miss Grandma's company, but are working to get outside everyday. Grandma helped us break in the stroller. Eric cried through some of his first stroller ride. The bumpy road in the Presidio kept waking him up. It took some getting use to but he really looks forward to his strolls now.





Hanging out in our favorite chair.



Meeting Jen & Tony in town from New York (introduced Mom & Dad 8 years ago) - (little Lucy hung outside with my Mom)



Mom & Dad's night out at the wedding with good friends (first time mom has worn something other than sweats in the last month & did both make-up and hair. Mom came home between the wedding and reception to change a poopy diaper and feed Eric.

Grandmas & Grandpas Are the Best

Grandma Lorraine has been visiting for the last week. She has been a great help cooking, doing laundry, and even a little babysitting. Eric and Grandma Lorraine have had fun getting aquainted.





Grandma Linda and Grandpa Terry also stopped by to say hi. Eric loves his grandparents.



Eric had another eye doctor appointment last week with Dr. Good who gave us the good news that his blood vessels have developed all the way out to the edge of the eye and fully matured like they are suppose to so he has no ROP (retinopathy of prematurity). He has to go back in on year to see if he has developed and near sightedness, but he is more likely to get that from Dad than from prematurity.

Our good friends Kate & Joe were married this weekend. Joe stood by Aaron's side as his best man at our wedding. Aaron was honored to do the same for him. Thanks to grandma we were able to share in Joe & Kate's special day and catch up with a lot of old friends. It was an awesome wedding andvery reflective of the two of them.

Welcome Home Ryan

A lot of you have been asking how Eric's buddy Ryan is doing. Well, he is doing great. His proud parents recently made the drive to Santa Rosa (their home town) WITH Ryan.

Jennifer, Kevin, and Ryan spent a total of 129 days in the NICU in San Francisco and drove nearly every single day back and forth for a total of 15,000 miles. Their love has given Ryan all that wonderful energy so he can be loved at home. He is a beautiful boy.





We are so happy for you guys.

Communicating More

Eric has been watching quite a bit of football with Dad. Here is in his All-Star uniform that Uncle Sean and Aunt Courtney gave him.


In the NICU Eric hardly every cried. In fact sometimes he would be awake and just waiting for us or the nurse to come by and see that he was ready to eat. He has now learned the more effective way to get food to his tummy, his hunger cry. He has also learned his "I am annoyed cry".

Eric seems to have a little bit of acid reflux, common in babies. So Doc McMahan started him on some medication to help him out. He is not a fan of the taste of the Zantac. When I give it to him he give me the scrunchiest face, as if to say "what the heck is this". Most the time he swallows it.
We are still working on breast feeding. I am not one of these super milk producers so we breast feed once or twice a day for now and I pump about half of what he takes from the bottle. He was 8 lbs 10 oz and is becoming quite the forearm workout.


Eric is also smiling a lot and loves to listen to us babble. Our water bill is going up because we have discovered the running water really helps him chill out.

Getting the Hang of Things

Eric had a busy week last week between the visiting nurse swinging by, shots at Dr. McMahnn's office, and a another trip to gets his eyes checked by Dr. Good. He is doing well. He cried for about 5 minutes after receiving for shots in his meaty thighs. At the eye Dr. he got to see he friends Pacita (parents Momma Pacita) and Emma (parents Tina & Dan). It was nice to say hello. The blood vessels in his eyes still have a little more maturing to do, but they look good and Dr. Good will check them out one more time to make sure they mature properly.

Mom & Dad have been learning a lot like Eric likes the sounds of running water, the dishwasher, Sean Colvin, and Andrea Boccelli. He likes to join us in his bouncey sit while we eat dinner popping the paci back into his mouth every once in a while. We have also learned we don't like Tushie brand wipes, the stick together and you can't pull them out with one hand, and we don't like Tushie diapers, the sticky tabs are too weird and the diaper too bulky. As much as we wanted to like the Tushie bio-degradable brand, they just aren't going to work for now.

Eric's holidays outfit. He didn't want to sit still very long, which is why his hands are blurry.







We have been out for a couple of strolls. Eric usually falls asleep while we walk around the neighborhood. Eric doesn't seem to impressed by Lake street despite our discovery of a new, secret street off Lake.






























Eric chills out with his buddies. Eric really likes to take a good look at his buddies. They are communicating on some level.



















I have managed to get out on a couple of good jogs a week and Aaron on a few mountain bike rides. This truly makes us better parents.

Its All about the milk

I know I talk about milk a lot but that is because it consumes 75% of our 24 hour days. Someone is either feeding it, consuming it, or producing it about 8 to 12 times a day. Eric's first hunger signal is sometimes a pout then several minutes later he will squirm and cry out for food.

The doctors have told us that we need to fortify my breast milk for most of us feedings and that about 3-4 times per day he can get it directly from the tap. This means the pumping continues. Dad plays a key role in this milk making by feeding Eric, burping him, and changing him several times a day so I have the time to pump out more milk.

At our last pediatrician appointment Eric was up to 8 lbs. So the doctor recommended we try to get 4 breast feeds in a day. When Eric breast feeds he usually is hungry again in 2 hours so Mom and Dad have to be on their game if they are going to have time to pump more milk and mix more milk for the next feeding. When he is satisfied you will see and array of happy smiles and expressions on his face, unless he is working on a burp in which case you got a grimace prior to smiles.

As for time for Mom and Dad to eat, well, the answer to this is MILK. We drink a lot of it because it is quick, balanced nutrition you can get down without all the hassle of preparing food. I add in some eggnog to my milk just of the extra calorie boost. There is a lot to be said for liquid nutrition.

Happy 2007

We rang in the New Year with a celebratory bottle of milk.





Yesterday I was trying to tell Eric about my most fun New Year's Eve ever. It was really tough to choose. When I was a kid Mom would order pizza and rent 2 or 3 movies to keep us up until midnight. It was a pretty big deal to be old enough to stay up until midnight for New Years Eve. Those New Years were definitely good times.

Then I decided that to think of my outrageous New Year's Eve ever. It was a close tie between '92, the first time a drank A LOT of grape brandy (bad news), actually this was my stupidest New Years ever, ask Sean. Back to wildest, that would be either '97 up at Big Sky with everyone of my college buddies and then some, and '99 at Kennedy's in San Francisco. Good times.

The past few New Year's Eves I have longed to be home, infront of my TV eating pizza and watching movies again. Good news for us is that is exactly what Eric wants to do too.

SF Chron article about Christmas NICU babies

UCSF Christmas at the NICU from S.F. Chronicle.

God bless all babies!

Christmas Time

Just so you all know, you will get a Christmas card from the DelloIacono-Thies family (assuming I have your address). I didn't order the cards until this past week. Is it Christmas already?

Grandma Linda and Grandpa Terry came over and cooked us Christmas crab and shrimp. It was wonderful. We opened gifts. Grandma and Grandpa are already spoiling Little E. He loves it. Susie joined us for day 2 of early Christmas celebrations. She is looking like a hot momma herself with little miss someone growing, growing.


My Christmas present from Aaron this year was our beautiful tree. It was a wonderful holiday surprise. Eric needed some place to hang all his First Christmas ornaments.


Tonight we are dining on the traditional Christmas hamburgers accompanied by salad and egg nog. Of course the hamburger is top notch, organic and grass fed.

Most importantly, we are enjoying the most joyous gift of all, our son Eric.

Merry Christmas

Outings

Eric had is second outing, which was to the eye doctor, Dr. Good at the Pacific campus. Pretty amazing that a 10 minute appointment took two hours preparation to get there on time. Eric's eyes look good and are developing well. I bundled Eric up really well for the trip. Actually I bundled him up too well and had to remove a layer so he would fit in the car seat.



Eric also had a visit from Cindy, the visitin nurse, who weighed him and gave us some useful tips. Eric now weighs 7 lbs 9 oz.



Eric and I had fun today with him in my Moby Wrap while I put some decorations on our tree. He protested a little bit when I put him in the wrap but once he got comfortable he snoozed for a few hours, which means he is likely going to be wide awake at 3:00am. Funny how 3:00am and 3:00pm are a lot the same these days, wearing the same clothes and doing the same activities.




We have been giving Eric some tummy time. He surprised us with some pushups and a roll over.

Grandma visits

Linda spent the weekend with us and got to bond with Eric. Oh and she wiped out a massive pile of laundry and filled the freezer with a week's worth of delicious heat n' eat homecookin. When she first arrived, Eric burst into a smile session and in only 10 minutes, earned himself a lifetime of grandma love and spoiling.



Here I am sometime in the midst of week 1:



Sleeping in full fuzzy gear.