The Russo's

I have been trying to do a post for days. There is just not much time in between taking care of two kids now. I am learning how to multitask even more than before. To write this post, I am bouncing Gianna in my lap with my knee so my hands are free. Whatever works, right? That seems to be my motto lately, I'm not doing everything by the book- just trying to get through the days. Gianna has been sleeping in her car seat the last few days. She did take a couple naps in her bed. When I put her down, she wakes up right away or soon after. She went over 4 hours at night for the past two nights, I hope she is getting the hang of the night time sleep. Her first church service was at 2 weeks old. Josh has been taking Hudson with him early for music practice and I have Gianna to get ready. The first service I planned on going to, I overslept and we made it for the end of service. Hudson and Gianna had their first Walmart trip together. My mom came with us to help. They did really well until...

We are adjusting to having a newborn in the house again. I forgot how many diapers you change, how much laundry they create and how tired you get with broken sleep. I had to be refreshed on some things even though Hudson isn't that old. I'm still learning what Gianna likes and dislikes, but so far it has been a pretty easy adjustment. We are enjoying a little one to snuggle with and hold while we can. Gianna had her 1 week check up last week. She weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces. One of her eyes has a clogged tear duct, but it's not too bad. Gianna eats about every 3 hours and wakes up during the night every 2.5 - 3 hours. She is sleeping a lot during the day, but her wake time is increasing. She doesn't like to sleep flat on her back or swaddled. She sleeps on a boppy or in the car seat during the day and her swing at night. I hope she eventually transitions to the bassinet or crib, but for now this is how we all get some sleep. Hudson stayed with Josh...

Our little girl is finally here! The day went smoothly with no complications. This is my last pregnant picture at 39 weeks, the morning of the induction. I had to be at the hospital at 7:00 a.m. I had visitors throughout the day, including Hudson. He wasn't too fond of seeing me in the bed hooked up to the machines. He was ready to see his sister and she wasn't here yet. This is the break down of how the labor went. I changed rooms at one point, so I have added the rest of the day. 4:15 4-5 cm 5:15 9 cm 5:35 10 cm 5:45 started pushing 6:14 time of delivery I was starting to think it was going to be a repeat of Hudson's birth (18 hours from start to birth). The doctors and nurses kept telling me if I made it to 4 cm, I would go fast after that. It was just taking a little while to get to 4 cm and I was getting a little discouraged. I tried to hold out on the epidural because I didn't want it to slow down the labor. I endured for as long as I could...

I'm making progress... 1 1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. My doctor wants to give me more time to get further along before inducing. If Gianna doesn't come on her own, I'll be induced in one week on the 18th. They didn't check her weight because the ultrasound can be up to one pound off and my doctor isn't concerned about it. I've measured exactly with my weeks, so I'm anxious to see her size and of course her too!!

> I went to the doctor on Wednesday to get checked and had an ultrasound. I progressed to 1 cm, but not thinning. It seems it will be a little longer until she comes. She measured between 7 and 7 1/2 lbs, so she might be a little bigger. It looks like she has some chubby cheeks from her pictures. We also saw that she has hair :) She is doing well and looks good. I'm going back on Tuesday to get checked again and maybe check her weight too.

Gianna's room is almost done. The last piece is her dresser. We bought an antique dresser that we would repaint. It turns out it needs to be stripped first, so I'm waiting on Josh to do it. Here are pictures of what I have so far. On Thursday, I had my 36 week check. I'm dilated a fingertip and starting to thin. I wasn't expecting to have any progress yet, so I was happy. I'm still having contractions, so we will see this week if there is anymore progress. I'm also having an ultrasound this week to check on our little girl's growth.