Johnny Update-Day 3

So angelic in Daddy's arms...

Today is John Michael's third full day of life--and it's been an exciting one! We attempted nursing for a bit last night and this morning and at his noon feeding today, he took 15 cc of mommy's milk in a bottle. He took it slow, but he took it all and did a great job--even let out a hearty burp halfway through which the nurse said was great and something she rarely sees a preemie do. We thought it was awesome!

He's going to be on an every-three-hour feeding schedule. We'll try nursing every other session but the most important thing is that he gets as much of my milk as possible, whether it's through me or the bottle.

I was at his bedside this morning during rounds--something John said was really cool. I didn't understand what he was talking about until I got to experience it myself. We are at, in my opinion, the absolute best hospital we could be. It's a teaching hospital, so senior residents do pretty much everything and they are overseen by the neonatologist fellows. Watching the resident in charge of John Michael's care give her report to the fellow was like watching a master artisan demonstrate their craft to an enthralled audience--I being the entrhalled audience. Wow, they know their stuff.

Since all he needs to do is learn how to eat and grow, he's going to be moving out of the NICU tonight up to the transitional nursery. The great thing is if I want, I can sleep at his bedside in the rocker up there (not allowed in the NICU--no passed out parents in rockers!). However, it looks like we're going to qualify for a sleep room with a full sized bed in it because we live far enough away from the hospital. And if that wasn't nice enough--because I'm nursing--as a courtesy from the hospital, they're going to allow me to continue to order meals free of charge as if I was still an in-patient. Thank you, UCMC!

Everyone has been wondering when he might be able to come home--and the ultimate answer is whenever the doctors say he's ready to go. They think that will most likely be 7-10 days from now. We're going to be extremely patient and know hiccups may happen that may push that date back a bit--but we're ever so hopeful that he will continue to thrive, eat well and gain weight so he can join us at home soon.

Johnny, Meet your family.

Daddy warned Johnny early this morning that it was going to be a busy day for him and oh was it! Our baby boy meet all his grandparents and several aunts and uncles. What a lucky little guy! (We didn't get pics of Nonna & Papa or Uncle Johnny & Auntie Mary--but I'm looking forward to getting some from Uncle J's camera and Nonna & Papa are going to still be here for a week--he arrived at the perfect time.)

Mom came for a visit this morning to meet Johnny and then went home to watch Lola so everyone else could come up for a visit. Watching her meet him was amazing--pictures speak so much emotion...

For the past few weeks, she kept saying how all she wanted to do was kiss his cheeks :)

Uncle Ronnie


Auntie Silvia
TiTi--a huge surprise for her, no doubt, getting to meet her new nephew this week during her visit. We are thrilled how it all worked out.


Papa & Mimi--nothing is better than watching a grandparent and a grandchild together--the grandparents are usually acting like a giddy child on Christmas morning.

We have loved watching Lola develop a special and unique relationship with each of her Grandparents--we can wait for Johnny to experience that with them as well.

{mommy+daddy+johnny}

Daddy had some special moments with Johnny after he was born last night and again this morning. Around noon, he took me to meet our little boy for the first time. It was SO worth the wait.

Getting to hold him for the first time...wow.
I'm in major love.

How handsome is our Johnny?!

Daddy & Johnny have a special bond--this morning he came back from a visit and told me how he held his hand--and then I got to see it :)
Buddies already.

Johnny's Arrival

This adventure started on Thanksgiving night, with my water breaking at 11:15 pm. We hightailed it to the hospital ASAP and arrived at Midnight. I could have had him via elective c-section by 1 am, but oh no, I had to give having him the ol' fashioned way a shot. I really wanted to give it a try--so I did--all day long--until I was screaming (literally) for a c-section at 7 pm. It was all worth it and he arrived at 8:28 pm weighing in at a VERY healthy 6 lbs. 8 oz.
He spent the first few hours of his life with a breathing tube, but only as a precaution--he never needed it and has been breathing great all on his own. We're going to attempt his first feed tomorrow and I'm praying he can do the typical suck/swallow/breathe that full-term newborns can.

Baby Johnny

Our son, John Michael Hernandez, was born yesterday evening! The story of how he made his entrance is a pretty good one and when I have the energy to type more, I'll surely share it.

He arrived at 35 weeks, so he is in the NICU--but he's doing great. I will post pictures tomorrow. Of course, we think he's adorable. If you can believe it, I've yet to meet him. I was put under while he was delivered via c-section and shortly after he was brought to the NICU--so for now I've just seen the pictures John took of him on our camera. All I care about is his health. We are completely bonded at the heart so I can wait until tomorrow :)

We are deliriously happy he is here, after all we went through to keep him cookin' as long as possible. All the prayers our friends & family offered for us made sure we made it far enough. We can't wait for you all to meet him!

Thanksgiving 2010

Every year, I feel like we have more and more to be thankful for...

Thanksgiving 2010 was wonderful. We never get the chance to spend a holiday with both mine and John's family, so it was great that we could all be together to celebrate this year. The feast we enjoyed was the definition of a joint effort--everyone did something and we ended up with one incredible menu:

Shrimp Cocktail
Turkey
Honeybaked Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Stuffing
Cheddar Biscuts
Green Bean Cassarole
Doctored Carrots
Corn
Polish Sausage & Sauerkraut
Hawaian Salad
Mac n Cheese

Mom & I were up at 6 am getting the bird ready for the oven.
Ron helped finish the gravy--I made him put an apron on to protect his clothes and, well, since I was already wearing my red one, there was only one other option! Ha!
He wears pink almost as well as John does :) And the gravy was awesome! Mom picked out a fantastic recipe, as usual.
Kitchen helpers!
Ron & Silvia
Britt & Josh--we were glad he stopped by :)
Mom & I with our girl--all ready to be carved.

We couldn't wait to give her the drumstick. She loved it!




My awesome and delicious plate of food.
Relaxing post-consumption.
Papa & Lola relaxing.
The Zic's came over for dessert and brought 3 bottles of Mascato d'Asti--the were consumed quickly!
This profile of my belly is fantastic--yep, I'm enormous!
Mommy & Me.
Ronnie with Uncle Johnny and Pop Zic.
Johnny & Jessica. We're so proud of our Johnny Zic--graduating ND in the spring with a job waiting for him in Manhattan, yea!
Lola LOVED playing with Uncle Johnny.
Renee worked so hard making tons of cupcakes for today--as usual, they were out of this world. The flavors were carrot with cream cheese frosting and sweet potato with meringue frosting. Mom made an awesome Bailey's cheesecake and I made Williams-Sonoma pumpkin squares. Dessert was just as good as dinner!

Lola bakes!

Since the dynamic baking duo of Nonna & Titi are in town, there was no better time then tonight to start training their future apprentice. Lola had a BLAST making her first batch of spritz cookies. She was a natural and her baking skills most definitely come from John's side of the family!

Making the dough with Nonna.
Taste-testing.
We have a winner.
Time for the Wilton cookie press (already asked my mom to add this to Lola's Christmas list!).
One-Two-Cookie!

She loved pressing the cookies out.

But nothing was more fun than decorating!
Ta-da! Lola's first batch of Spritz.
Godmommy is so proud!

Oh, and just some sprinkles for eating, too.