36 Weeks and the Calvary Has Arrived

I am further along in my pregnancy with baby #2 than I was with Veronica. When people ask me when I am due I tell them any day or week now. At my past exams my gynecologist has been sympathetic to the fact that Sprog 2 has been head down for so long. I have gained about 20 pounds and am feeling fine but tired and extremely large.

Demetrio is planning on running the NY Marathon this weekend. I am dead set against it since I am so close to delivering. I keep threatening that I will name the child something of my choosing if he is not present. We will make a final decision after this Thursday, my next check up. If he is not here for the birth, I will be devastated.

He has been planning on running this race for four years in a row. In 2004 he was ill, in 2005 he did not train, in 2006 we had Veronica and now we are expecting another baby. My mom is here, she arrived on Sunday but with her at home taking care of V, who will support me in the hospital if he is gone. All my girlfriends have babies and families of their own. Woe is me.

My mom went straight from the airport to my place then the grocery store. My refrigerator is full of fresh veggies, meats and my pantry is full of herbs. It is so great to have her around.

V at 1 Year and 2 Weeks

Veronica loves to crawl all over the house and right now I really have to chase after her as we still have things in boxes. Demetrio has been trying to consolidate all the tools, wires and electronics in the house to no avail. She has successfully ruined one cell phone and torn the keys off his lap top as well. One of her favorite things to put in her mouth is the dog's leash. Yuck!


Last week we went to Indie's 3rd birthday party where Veronica made new friends. This one is a cute named Paighton.


Our happy baby is obsessed with photos and pictures of babies. She thinks she is a big girl. So far she has taken a few shaky steps but does not walk on her own just yet.

Veronica's 12 Month Check-Up

All is well with this little princess. Now that she is 12 months old, has 8 teeth, is beginning to stand and try to walk, we have to do the following things:

1. Start her on whole milk

2. Take her to the dentist

3. Wean her off the bottle

She likes to drink from her cup and can now drink from a little straw so I do not think that weaning her from the bottle is going to be a big problem. I never give her a bottle to take to bed. We always feed her in a chair, burp her, read her a few books before we set her in the bed. She has a very mild temperament and the pediatrician does not think she will be too jealous when her little brother arrives.


Here she plays with Demetrio and is unsuspecting of the four shots that lay in the tray right in front of her. She had Hepatitis A, MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), influenza and chicken pox vaccinations.


She basically stared at her arm for the first two shots, they did not bother her at all.


The last two shots stung and that made her cry out for a few seconds in pain. Thank goodness we had the pacifier available to soothe her. It was strange to have the shots given to her in the arms but she had no ill effects the two days following.

A Hard Lesson to Learn

Veronica was sick about a month ago with a terrible fever and virus. We had to have her in our bed for four nights while she got over the bug. She was absolutely miserable.

For the last four nights she's had a stuffy nose and trouble breathing. Staying asleep for long is difficult. We have a cool mist humidifier running in her room as well as some extra heat to keep her comfortable. She is responding badly to the change in seasons here, I have opted to keep her warmer than usual in the attempts to raise her defenses.

Some nights ago she began waking up at 5-6 am and crying. Being really exhausted, Deme usually goes and gets her then brings her back to our bed for another 2 hours or so of sleep. Last night we put the brakes on this habit and decided since she is no longer very stuffy, she should stay in her bed until morning. She ended up crying from 5:45 am to about 6:30 before falling asleep again and waking up at 8 am. She did wake up happy and will no ill will towards us. Deme had no trouble falling back asleep as Veronica cried. I was nervous and anxious while she cried on and off for almost an hour. I felt like a horrible mother and ended up in tears myself. When she quieted down I finally fell back to sleep myself.

From the books I have been reading, I have been trying to follow the advice to putting Veronica in her bed and leaving here there until morning (unless she is ill.) I know she loves to cuddle with us but in 2-4 weeks we will have the new baby in our room. We are trying to get her back into the routine of staying put until morning. I know that she needs to learn to fall asleep unassisted (she is good at this, her trouble is going back to bed after a slight arousal. She often stands up in bed and throws her pacifier out of the crib then cries and cries for it.

I am dreading going to bed as I am afraid she will wake again tomorrow morning again at 5 am crying for us. I think she even woke the neighbor up.

V's First Birthday Party

Veronica had a small party today with cupcakes, donuts, fruit, juice and milk. All the kids had a great time and we loved seeing all of our friends. Thank you to Auntie Kentra for the fruit platter, The Austins for picking up the yummy Mighty-O's donuts and Meladie for baby watching and taking tons of great photos while we chatted with friends. We picked the perfect place to have the party as it was raining cats and dogs today. Being indoors was nice and it was a great way for the kids to burn off a lot of extra energy. Thank you everyone for coming and making her birthday special.



Veronica and her dad are ready to have some serious fun.


We did not get a cake but mini cupcakes of various flavors for everyone to enjoy. The best thing about the cupcakes is that they were delivered.


Veronica needed her daddy's help to blow out the candle on her cupcake.


To see a few more photos of the party click on this link. Here is a second link to photos of Veronica's party taken by Meladie.

Two At A Time

Veronica turns one this weekend. We are planning a very small party (with photos to follow.) She has been adjusting to moving into the condo but she could not sleep the first night and ended up in our bed.

Now she has been having a hard time since she is getting her two lateral incisors at the same time. She seems to be getting her teeth in two's and they really do put her in a bad mood. She got her bottom two teeth at the same time then her top two teeth at the same time now the two sides ones? Eeek. I am trying to give her extra attention but it is hard since I feel overwhelmed with all the work that still needs to be done before my mom and baby #2 arrives.


Here is Veronica in her new helmet. Deme wants to get a bike buggy and take her with him on bike rides.