"Medicine has made many a miracle possible. But this one, Suzanne, tops them all."
~ Anthony Embessi (Hope's Pop Pop upon meeting her for the first time).
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| My dad, "Pop Pop" to lucky #13, her siblings, and her cousins. |
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Before I begin with Hope's one month old post (that is officially a full week late), I cannot proceed without acknowledging the loss of a truly great man, Ashley's father. While I will always regret never getting to meet him, I will always be thankful Ashley was able to take a picture of Hope to see him so he could see firsthand what an amazing job he did raising a selfless daughter who is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Rest in peace Doc - you fought a hell of a battle, and, I will be eternally grateful for you and your family.
Hope's First Month
Wow! I can't believe it has only been one month. Really, that's not a very long time, but, Hope sure has enjoyed a ton of firsts. She took her first plane ride at six days old, hit the Jersey shore about two weeks later, met her future husband Jack at his beautiful christening, visited our beautiful local community park as she tagged along with Mommy and big brother Nick as we were training to run our first 5k together, and, had her first trip to the Emergency Room at 27 days of age (boo!). I have pictures of all of these fun firsts below!
The Emergency Room at Age 27 Days?!
Yes. What we thought was a little bout of tummy trouble turned into something much greater in a very short period of time. Nobody wants to hear all of the icky details, so, I'll just leave it at this: Hope had symptoms that could have meant a wide range of diagnoses, and, her pediatrician felt it was best for her to go downtown for a full workup to see exactly what was going on. The verdict? She is allergic to all protein. That means dairy and soy for sure - the two most common ingredients in baby formula these days. So, she is on
Similac Alimentum. Within the first 24 hours of her formula change, Hope was like a new baby. I've posted a picture from the Emergency Room and one from the next morning for you to see for yourself. Having a baby who became so sick so fast was scary - I cried as the doctor gave me a list of possible culprits responsible for Hope's symptoms. So, after several different types of lab tests confirmed she was allergic to protein I was relieved, but also concerned for her future as we simply don't know what that means for her diet going forward. The two greatest lessons I learned from this? 1) Don't be afraid to call your pediatrician...EVER. Nobody's ever been called a bad parent for being too concerned about their child's well-being. 2) It doesn't matter if it's your first child or your fourth; when something is wrong, it's equally concerning, whether it's your first rodeo or not.
Planning a Baptism Fit for a Princess
One thing that is very important for us Catholics (especially the Italian breed) is the baby's christening. To be completely honest, I considered baptizing Hope before we were discharged from the hospital in Texas to get on the airplane to fly home. Dramatic, I know, but I'm wicked superstitious! Anyway, George and I have decided not to baptize Hopelyn Catholic; instead, we have chosen to baptize her as a non-denominational Christian. Some may wonder why we made this choice, and, there are a few reasons for this. First and foremost, there are three women in my life who
deserve to be Hope's Godmother; asking me to choose just one didn't feel right. Equally, all three women adore Hopelyn and we knew they would be beyond honored to be her Godmother. The Catholic church doesn't allow for three Godmothers - only one is permitted. To add to this, the Catholic church hasn't exactly been welcoming to George and me as a result of our decision not to annul our first marriages. I understand rules are rules, but, a representative of the church never once took the time to even ask
why we got divorced, and, they certainly haven't checked in to see how happy and healthy our new, blended family is, so to penalize us by not allowing us to take Communion, for instance, does not fly with me under those circumstances. Besides, the definition of a christening is, "A christening is a symbolic celebration and statement that you intend to
raise your child with Christian values and beliefs, with God as his
overseer. The terms of christening and baptism overlap and are used
interchangeably." We fully intend to raise Hopelyn as a devout Christian, and, it doesn't matter what building we choose to attend services in to compliment that objective. So, Hope will be baptized by the wonderful, God-loving pastor who married George and me at a local restaurant (Zappa for all who are wondering who I would trust for such a special occasion). She will be surrounded by her parents, her siblings, her three Godmothers, and her Godfather - just the way it should be. Her dress is here and it is gorgeous. I don't feel right posting a picture of it here since she's not wearing it, but you can sneak a peak of it on my Pinterest page
here. I can't wait - Ashley will be here, and we'll be surrounded by the family and friends who love her the most - it promises to be a beautiful, wonderful celebration for our baby girl!
Congratulations Renee, Jenna, Denise, and Tom on your new role of Godparents to Hopelyn, and, thank you for honoring us by accepting our request to assume this very special role in Hope's life!
And in one more exciting note as I sign off, I would like to scream from the rooftops that I have lost 14 of the 30 pounds of weight I gained making Hopelyn! The doctor said it would take about a year for the weight to come off (September is our one year mark). But, her early arrival has meant tons of time spent pushing a baby stroller around the hilliest neighborhood in town, and, that's resulted in 14 pounds gone in 6 weeks. Holler!!!
Until next time!
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| George, Nick, & Hope: Hope's first campfire at the beach! |
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| Gabby & Hope: Feeding time at the beach! |
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| MomMom & PopPop drove all the way to the beach on Memorial Day to see Hope! |
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| It's official! Uncle Tommy is Hope's Godfather! |
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| Hope & Her Godfather, Tom |
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| It's official! Aunt Denise is one of Hope's three Godmothers (Aunt Renee & Aunt Jenna were announced in my last blog). Here she is holding Hope's boyfriend, Jack, after his beautiful baptism! |
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| Hope's trip to the Emergency Room at C.H.O.P. at age 27 days. You can't see it here, but, she was attached to heart monitors, a pulse/ox, and an IV for dehydration. Boo! :( |
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| Hope the day after her hospital trip, already feeling a million times better! |
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| The first time Hope smiled at Mommy! I was so happy! :) |
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| Sunflowers made Hope very happy! |
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| Our big girl can lift her chest up at age six weeks. Go Hope go! |
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| Hope's first trip to our local community park. |
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| Big brother Nick texting while feeding Hope (which he asked to do). The boy's got more skills than his mama that's for sure! |
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| Hope is a daddy's girl in every sense of the word. She smiles at Daddy more than anybody, and, they have their own language (true story - they make the same cooing noises back and forth to one another). |
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| Hope and Daddy napping. She adores her father - look at that tight grip she has on his shirt! |
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| George's first Father's Day with Hope. You may be able to tell she was a little grumpy in this photo! |
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| Mommy and Hope today after I had two injections in my spine. The doctor said no lifting, but he didn't say no cuddling! |
