Zachary Is One Month Old

Zachary turned one month old today, and what a month it's been!! Today he had his doctor's visit and he has gained three pounds and grown three inches, so he is now 11lbs and 23 inches long!! No wonder Mommy's back is breaking!! Dr. M is very pleased with his progress, and was very impressed that he is already tracking objects and lifting his head.

Lexi continues to be an amazing big sister, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to feed Zachary his very first bottle! He enjoyed it quite a bit, and Lexi did an amazing job.

In other news, we got about two feet of snow this weekend, much to Lexi's delight. She LOVES stomping around in the snow, and she and Daddy spent lots of time outside. Unfortunately, the snow wasn't good enough for a snowman on Saturday, and she got too cold to build one on Sunday. But she did enjoy shoveling and playing on the swingset!

Well, I'm off to get the last minute Christmas details finished up.

Merry Christmas to all!!

I Wish I Could Bottle This Up!

It's easy to say that quite a bit has changed for us in 2008. We've certainly had some difficult times throughout the year, but overall it has been a fantastic year filled with wonderful blessings.

Of course, the most wonderful change for us has been the addition of Zachary to our little family. He's been with us for almost a month now, and while we're all still getting used to each other, it's already hard to imagine our lives without him. So far he has been an amazing baby - very happy and healthy, and perfectly content to go along with whatever the rest of the family is doing. In his short four weeks with us, he has already entertained us with his adorable grin, tiny chuckle, and perfect little coos. Zach eats and sleeps very well, although he is much messier than his neat freak big sister. He prefers to poop without a diaper on, and his favorite trick is to shock us with a diaper-less poop, then pee on us while we're dealing with the mess, and then spit-up while we wipe up the pee. He thinks this is very funny, and has laughed at us while we race around trying to get it all cleaned up. His sister never pulled such shenanigans, and still can't stand messy hands or a stain on her shirt. Lexi has learned this routine of Zach's, and one day from across the room started saying, "Good boy, Zachary" after I finished changing him. I asked her why she thought he was being a good boy and she replied, "Because he didn't poop on you while you were changing his diaper!" I guess this is the big difference between girls and boys.

What's been so much fun about having Zachary with us is watching Lexi and Zachary interact. Lexi adores her brother and wants to be with him every waking moment. She loves to help change his diapers and clothes, she bounces him in his chair, brings him toys, talks to him gently, and sings to him. One morning Lexi was playing with Zachary while I made the beds. She was singing "The Wheels On The Bus" to him, and when I walked in to check on them Zach was looking right at Lexi and giving her an enormous grin. He loves his big sister, and is often comforted by her presence. I wish I could bottle these moments up, because I know that our future holds lots of yelling and fighting, but it's amazing to know that at such a young age, both children already love each other so much.

2008 has been a wonderful year, and we are already looking forward to all that 2009 has in store for us. But first we are really looking forward to a wonderful Christmas! We can't wait to spend Christmas with all of Lexi and Zachary's cousins! We've increased in size from three to five this year, so it's going to be quite a celebration! Then the following week we are looking forward to a visit from Uncle Devan and Aunt Jen from Colorado, so that we can celebrate Christmas with the Lippman clan. It's going to be a wonderful holiday season, and I look forward to sharing all the stories very soon.

A Few Pictures...

Zachary is growing up very fast, and is getting bigger each day. Here are some pictures from the last week or so...

Zach with big cousin Sophie - who until a couple of weeks ago was little cousin Sophie!

The whole family - that's a whole bunch of grandchildren!

Lexi decorating our Christmas tree.

Daddy and Zach have a little cuddle time on Saturday morning.

Zach loves to sleep in the swing!

Great-gram with her newest great grandchild.

Zach sleepy after his numnums.

What's In A Name?

When we originally starting tossing around the idea of the name Zachary, many people told us it was a good name because it's becoming popular again due to an actor named Zac Effron. Since I've never even seen "High School Musical", it's slightly horrifying for me to think that this is why people think we chose that name - especially since there is a much deeper meaning behind his name.
Naming my children after close family members is something I have planned to do since long before I had children...or even knew Ahren for that matter. It has been a common tradition in my family to pass family names onto our children - mostly as middle names. My name is Cristina Claire (Claire after my grandmother), my sister is Amanda Lyn (Lyn after my mom), etc. I always knew that a daughter would have "Lyn" as her middle name, and a son would have "Thomas" for his. My parents have been everything to me for my entire life and by giving my children their names, I feel as though I am giving them a piece of their personality. If Lexi has characteristics of my mom and Zach has traits of my dad then it could mean nothing but good things for them.
But Zachary lucked out. Not only was he named for my dad, but he was also named after my Nana (my father's mother) Mary Zaccari Licciardello. My Nana was one of my greatest teachers throughout my life. She taught me so much about faith, the importance of family, that giving is so much better than receiving, I could go on for pages. She was a remarkable woman who touched every single person she met. I spent most of my childhood being asked if Mary Licciardello was my grandmother, and when I responded that she was I would hear time and time again what wonderful thing she had done for that person. Since she passed away in 2004, I can feel her spirit guiding me in everything that I do. I know that she is in heaven, looking down on me and making sure that I make all the right decisions in my life - especially for my children. If I have a difficult decision to make, or if I feel like I don't know what to do I always ask Nana to guide me, and things always turn out okay.
When I was pregnant with Zachary I so badly wanted to have a VBAC. I had a c-section with Lexi where I was put out completely and no one was there to see her being born. I have felt robbed of that moment for the last three years, and I did not want to relive it. Towards the end of my pregnancy I was faced with a lot of decisions that could have had a great impact on his birth - the largest of which was whether I wanted to be induced so that I could deliver with my midwife before the Thanksgiving holiday (which she would be out of town for, assuring I would have a c-section if I went into labor while she was away). I was completely torn - I knew I was gambling no matter what I chose, but I was the only one who could make the decision and I soul searched for days about it. The morning of the 24th I stood in the shower and asked Nana what to do. I knew I would have to decide in about an hour, and I just didn't know which path to choose. As I stood there I went over all of my feelings about the induction, c-section, etc. and reminded myself that when the VBAC was first offered to me, I asked Nana to please let me deliver the baby on the 24th so that I would not have to be faced with what to do if I went into labor during Thanksgiving. Here I was, November 24th, being offered an induction by my midwife who I truly trusted with all my heart - the midwife who told me that the mind controls the body, and I would have this baby when I decided it was time. Was this Nana's gift to me? Was this her way of giving me what I wanted??
Later at my OB visit Ruth assured me that my body was ready, that the baby was ready, and that she felt confident that an induction would work. So...I agreed. For the rest of the day I was nervous. While everyone I talked to was so excited for me, I was scared to death - was I tempting fate, playing with fire? Was this a mistake?? Could I really do this med free??
And then it happened - Ahren walked me into the hospital and we met our nurse...Mary. I knew immediately she had been sent to me, and I told her that my Nana sent her to protect me during the delivery. It was 4pm and I told her that I had to deliver the baby before her shift ended at 11, because I knew she was there to be with me. We both laughed a bit, realizing that it was a pretty lofty goal for a girl who was barely yet in labor, but I knew it would happen. Sure enough, things moved along very quickly, and very well. Mary protected everything I wanted in my birth as though it was law. I had requested a quiet room, and she barely whispered during my entire labor. I asked for a dim room, and the lights were out completely for my entire labor. She protected me the way Nana would have - she was sent for me. After three hours of labor, and 1/2 hour of pushing, Zachary came out as healthy as a horse, at 9:33pm - well before Mary's shift was due to end.
I ended up needing a few stitches that night, and when I was finally able to get up out of bed, Mary and another nurse helped me to stand. In the dark room I looked down and saw a suture needle on the floor. I pointed it out so that no one would step on it. Mary looked at me and said, "How did you see that??" I don't know, but it was the surest sign yet that Nana had been with me in that room that night. In her house, there were always needles on the ground (sadly we usually found them with our feet, but it did teach us to keep our eyes peeled!).
Before Mary left that night she told me that for the very first time in her life, she called in to the hospital before her shift to find out what the night was going to be like. When she was told that a girl was coming in for an induction she said, "I'll take that one." She doesn't know what compelled her to do that - I'm sure it was Nana.
So, Zachary is certainly not named for Zac Effron - he is named after the person who has been most influential in my life. The woman who protects me and guides me every day. And if bearing her name gives him the same protection that I have, I know I'll never have to worry about my son.