Some updates on his medical stuff, he has been taken off the Sildenifil, which was the heart med he was on for the hypertension. They wanted to get him off to see how he does. The doctor guaranteed us that he would lose energy. That's a laugh. Same energy if not more energy. Gianluca doesn't like to nap, he's up until 10-11pm and up by 9am. Sometimes when he's just with Daddy he's sleeps in until 10am. Can't imagine where he gets his bad habits from. Baby and Daddy are more and more alike each day. Even though we are off the meds, they do anticipate needing to go in to repair the ASD in his heart. It has come up that there will be the need to go in the old fashion way with open heart surgery because he's too small for other procedures. We will wait until we have confirmation on that.
Speaking of size, Gianluca has finally reached about 23lbs. He's growing so big and tall. He is still in 18 month clothing which seems small but to us he's getting so big. I watch him on his toys and it's amazing how he fits better in his toddler toys now. He loves going around on his bike and his car. He goes monkey crazy on his trampoline now. I am waiting for the day he spins right around the handle bar.
From all the fun comes his genius. We were told that with preemies they tend to be behind. In his size he is small for his age. However, his intelligence is not in question. We are so proud to hear him count to 10 and almost 20 now. He sings his ABC's. We can show him numbers, colors, shapes and letters and he gets all of them. He points out animals that I can't believe he knows what they are. He said insect the other day and it just shocked me that he knew that word. He has such a great memory. We are working with Birth to 3 now to see if he will qualify for speech within the school district. I actually think he may now. He speaks so clearly and according to our current speech therapist he is at appropriate age for his sounds and words. I guess we will see. We are working to get him closer to a 3k program by fall because I think he is ready. During the fall we testing him in a toddler/parent gymnastics class to see his social skills and he did great. He still loves the girls over the boys. Probably a good thing he is having a little sister.
I am constantly asked about my pregnancy this time around, for good reason. Everyone I come in contact with that we knew from Gianluca's pregnancy is so surprised. I know my family was very worried as to how this pregnancy would go. Well, it's been going great. We are now 32 weeks along and our daughter is measuring 4lbs already. Quite the difference from Gianluca. I can never compare my two babies but I am thrilled to have experienced the best of both worlds. I haven't had to visit the Perinatal doctors as much this round. We finally saw the Perinatal doctor that gave us the news I was being admitted for Gianluca's birth. He was such a wonderful doctor and very compassionate so when we saw his last week he was so excited to see us so far along. We talked about the experience of having a "normal pregnancy and I constantly come back to the idea that I will never see Gianluca's pregnancy and birth as anything but that. It may not be a norm for the average mother, but I was blessed with is pregnancy. I was able to witness him transform outside the womb. From his fused ear, closed eyes and fragile skin, it all changed in front of my eyes and I will never forget that. He blessed me with the experience of seeing the miracle of life. Only mothers of preemies get to experience such a phenomenon. That experience made me the mother that I am.
With our daughter we are getting to experience the other pregnancy. The pregnancy that average women experience. I felt like I was robbed of a pregnancy with Gianluca and now I get to say I have had both. Our daughter is giving me the gift of feeling her and bonding closely within. It's amazing. I gotta say, though, I don't think I can do this again. The reflux is not the best gift and the beating on my hips aren't always a great feeling. However, she is telling me that's she's there and thats a comfort I would never trade for anything else.
Well, I can't say this has been a flawless pregnancy. My protein levels are back in the risky state so I need to watch for blood clotting. Not sure how I am supposed to do that but I try to elevate my feet and stay moving as much as possible. My blood pressure has been very good and I actually think better than with Gianluca. I can thank Gianluca's joy for that. His happiness keeps me smiling. We did have one scare just before the new year. I started to fill sick and began to monitor my blood pressure at home. Once I got 145/100 I called the doctor and they had me come in to be checked out. Unfortunately with the holiday no one was in the clinic that day so I ended up seeing my OB in the birthing center. After a little monitoring they decided to keep me overnight for rest and just to see all was ok. Everything really was stemming from the start of that nasty flu that was getting passed along. And sure enough when they sent me home the next day the flu really kicked in. It was miserable and a little like deja vu. With Gianluca I got a nasty flu as well and that was during the swine flu scare. Following that I got bronchitis. I am not one to get so ill but these pregnancies really leave me weakened so I am finding.
I can say for sure that these two will keep Llazar and myself running in circles. Our hopes if that Gianluca embrraces being a big brother. He does pretty well with me being pregnant but he doesn't understand yet what is coming. Sundays I spend the majority of the day on the couch because by then my body is exhausted. He loves to sit and read with me so we find a lot to do on those down days. We are nearly ready for a little girl. We would've loved to have Gianluca potty trained by the time she comes but that won't happen. It's ok, though. All in his own time. Now all we need to do is hold out until February 21st. C-section is scheduled for 37 weeks and I feel like the next 5 weeks will move faster than I can expect.
One thing I know from both my babies, they have given me such wonderful gifts that I will cherish forever. Just now as I am typing I laugh to look down and see my belly giggle from side to side. So crazy. I try to explain it to Llazar since he seems to always miss it and I don't think he will ever get it. For all the terrible reflux I get the giggles and kicks make me laugh so I can't regret anything.
Oh, and no, we are still undecided on names. Girls are harder than boys, so we are finding.
