Valentino is a month old already

He's growing so fast. It seems like we've had him forever. Mya and Mariano already love him so much. Rob and I are very proud of our family. We love the way our children love eachother. Rob has started working nights now so that he can get certain qualifications that can't be easily accomplished on other shifts. It's working out good so far---for him. Not so much for me. There are never enough hours in the day. The nights are very hectic. Mya comes home and does her homework. Not much time passes before it is time for dinner, then dishes, then baths, then books, then bedtime. Whew! Might not sound like much, but it would be so much easier with Rob here to help. Notice that cleaning was not in there anywhere. My house feels like a pigsty. I seriously need a maid. Or a nanny. Feels like I'm always rushing to get things done before Valentino wants to eat again. Which seems to be every hour and sometimes even sooner. Otherwise I'm holding him and nothing is easy with only one arm. Ofcorse, there are nights where things run like a well oiled machine. If only I could have more of those....
Mya received an award at school today. She was chosen as "Citizen of the Month". She was very proud and we were as well. They had a ceremony and then a small reception afterwards at school. She is still doing great in school. She insists on reading to her brothers and I every night. She never ceases to amaze me with her extensive vocabulary and her ability to read words one might think beyond her comprehension. I can't wait to see how she changes the world! Mariano is doing great too. My favorite new thing of his is how out of the clear blue he says "I just love you mommy". Makes my heart smile.

Welcome home Valentino!!

He's finally here! Our beautiful new addition~ Valentino Tristan Barolin. He is 1 week and 2 days old today. It feels like he's been here forever. It's strange to think that a little over a week ago he was in my belly and now he is in our house..crying, pooping, and stealing our hearts. It all started last Wednesday. I had a Doctors appointment and left there crying when I was informed that nothing had changed and that his head was "still pretty high". She scheduled me to come in on that following Monday for a follow up. I came home emotionally drained and Rob took care of me and the kids that evening. We went to bed at around 11 and I woke up feeling contractions. I got excited because they weren't the usual contractions. I knew this was it. I recalled the contractions that I had felt when I knew Mariano was on the way. I got up out of bed to make sure they didn't stop (the tell tale sign of "false labor") and they didn't. I started timing them while I did some last minute things around the house before I woke up Rob with the news. It was about 2 am by now and they were starting to hurt, so I went to brush my teeth and Rob woke up asking me why I was brushing my teeth at 2 in the morning. I told him it was time to go and he jumped up asking "are you sure?" I reassured him and he started getting things ready. He took the kids over to our friend Angie's and we were off to the hospital. We got to the emergency room and they wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery. I had called on the way so they were all ready for me. They took us to our room and had me change into a gown. It was about 5 am by now. The nurse performed an exam and determined that I was 3 centimeters. The contractions were really painful by this point, so they kept me there and at 7 am I got my epidural. What a relief! I loved that man who administered that! It was smooth sailing from there. I ended up having some pitocin because my contractions weren't as close together as they'd have liked them to be. I started pushing around 3:30 pm. He was born at 4:09. It was hard, but when they laid him on me, it was the best feeling in the world. He was here at last. Everything I had dreamed of for the last nine months was here, right on top of me, crying...along with Rob and I. We were so proud! We ARE so proud. He is perfect and beautiful just like our other two. Life is so good right now. Thank you God for our precious gift. We will take such good care of him. He is so loved by our entire family. Especially me!