Upcoming sugery

So yesterday was Riley's last appointment before we meet with the surgeon next Tuesday. I must honestly admit that I am getting a little nervous....no I'm lying. I'm getting very nervous. I know my husband is reading this and shaking his head. As Riley's urologist put it: "going under anasthesia is safer than getting into your car and driving". I know this is true but I can't help but be nervous. The thought of sending by baby into surgery just scares me. I love my little man so much and I guess it's the mommy in me that wants to protect him. At the same time, I'm so ready to have it over with. I hate having to hold him down while Tony tapes him up and put his NAM in. His screams stay with me because I know it is uncomfortable for him.
Also next Tuesday, we are meeting with his urologist to take a look at how his hypospadius is and get an idea of how it will be repaired. Poor baby!

In other news, Tony and I just got through watching Julia and Julia. For those of you who know me, I can't cook too well. I'm getting better but I'm still not even close to being able to call myself a cook. This movie did inspire me to pick one of my cookbooks and cook through it regardless of what the receipie is (although I HATE seafood and may skip that section because I can't even stomach it). We will see though. My schedule is crazy but I think if I spread my cooking out I can accomplish my goal. Any tips from people who actually can cook??

The life of a working mom!

Oh how I wish I could stay home with my baby! Riley has both giggled and rolled over (although he fails to do it anymore) for his first time for his daddy. I love my job but I love being a mommy a whole lot more.

I look back from my last post and laugh when I said I wanted to work out 6 days a week. I did 5 last week and 4 this week. This is still pretty good in my eyes but I need more hours in a day to get the things done I need to.

Riley's bedtime routine is doing great! He's only had one bad night since I've started his routine. He sleeps all through the night and wakes up between 7 and 8 every morning. Riley is following things a lot better with his eyes and making better eye contact. He is also holding his head up completely now and isn't nearly as wobbly! Although he is a bit too small still, I bought him a jumper because everytime Tony and I hold him he's constantly moving his little legs in a jumping motion. Here he is in his new toy!

One month til we meet with the surgeon

We took Riley to the orthodontist again today. It was pretty uneventful. Just a pinch on his stints and a little time in the "lab" to tighten one of the stints back up and we were on our way. The orthodontist did mention that she is very happy with how his nose looks and thinks we only have a little bit more stretching to go before surgery. We have an appointment next Tuesday and then we have scheduled an appointment with the orthodontist and the plastic surgeon together feb 1st. I'm excited but also very nervous. I tear up thinking about how much pain our little guy is going to be in as we are doing his hypospadius surgery at the same time as his lip to minimize anesthesia use. I'll be glad when it is over.

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. Our house has been a disaster and I'm embarassed to say, half of our Christmas decorations are still up including the tree. I"m ready for it to be done. I can't seem to keep up with the house, taking care of Riley, and trying to loose weight. I started my exercise routine the day before yesterday. I'm alternating between an hour of wii fit with an hour of zumba dance 6 days a week. I can't work out after a 12 hour er shift and luckally I only have one of those a week. Tony is helpful but he's been very tired as well. He just got over a cold and still is in the "post sick" phase. Both of us have been in a haze.

I did start Riley on a bed time routine on Monday. I change his diaper downstairs, then take him upstairs to change into his pjs, massage that johnsons bedtime lotion on him, feed him his last bottle, burp him, read a story, and put him down while I turn on his cd player with lullabyes on it. So far so good. He fusses about 5 minutes and then right to sleep he goes. I start this anytime after 7:30 and he sleeps until at least 7 am. I hope he continues to do this good.

The Holidays Are Over

I can't believe how time flies. I know I haven't posted in like....forever. But with the holidays it's been a whirlwind. I'm pleased to announce Riley is doing well with his Nam. No updates though as our appointments are just readjusting the stints and we actually got this past week off from going. Here is an update of what he looks like now:

The holidays were great but busy of course. My sister flew in the 18th of Dec. My hubby and I both worked so it was kind of crazy trying to visit and work plus take care of the kiddo but its so nice to have family around. Christmas Eve Tony's parents came over along with my parents. We had pizza for dinner and then his parents and us went for a walk to look at Christmas lights. Riley fell asleep almost immediately. Christmas day was nice. Before Tony's parents came over, Riley had his first stocking.....and then fell asleep and pretty much slept all day. We think he is going through another growth spurt. The 1st pic above is him before he passed out. The rest of us enjoyed opening our presents and preparing dinner. It was pretty much a Thanksgiving spread. It was very good and the turkey was moist. I got Wii Fit Plus for Christmas and everyone could not stop playing it.

The day after Christmas I went shopping with my mom and sister. Got some great stuff at Bath and Body Works. Love that store. After we got home, we ordered pizza again (going through a pizza phase I guess), watched Shrek 4 which I got for Christmas, and played more Wii Fit. The rest of the week I worked. Tony got sick and was very worried about Riley and I getting it but so far so good (fingers crossed). My parents, sister, Riley, and I went to Benihanas for dinner. It was delicious. We went to bed at 10 pm which sucked. I remember back in the day where I could stay up til the wee hours of the morning. I guess that's what happens when you become a parent :) Riley did roll over for the first time today on a completely flat surface and lying completely on his stomach. I missed it of course and he wasn't able to do it again. Within the past few weeks he has become very vocal and smiles away at people. It's so cute. I will be adding a bunch of photos to my facebook page with in the next few days so feel free to look at the rest of our photos we've taken this past month.

2010 is a wrap! In Summary:

January-took my 2nd round of clomid

February-found out I was pregnant on Feb 17th with 4 pregnancy tests, went for a trip to Rocky Point

March-Tony turned 28

April-Our close friends welcomed their first son, Logan

May-Started feeling fat from pregnancy

June-I turned 28

July-Found out Riley ha a bilateral cleft lip and palate, took a trip up North for a week to visit our families

August-Started feeling even fatter, had my baby shower my department at work threw for me

September-Went to San Diego to visit my brother-in-law

October-the 2nd of October we welcomed our first son, Rile Lawrence Marchelli

November-Started NAM treatment

December-Riley's 1st Christmas

Happy New Year Everyone! May 2011 bring happiness and many happy memories!

Another nasal stint in

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. It's been very busy for the both of us as I returned to work on Sunday so we are trying to get used to our schedules. I'm so thankful for my parents who have been watching Riley so much lately while Tony and I are going to and from work. I really don't have much of an update as far as Riley goes. The second nasal stint was placed last week and the orthodontist also anchored the stints down better so they won't come out. It has made a big difference because now the stints don't move around. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find our camera again so I don't have an updated picture of his progress but he is looking very good and responding well to the treatment. The orthodontist (Dr. Glick) says she is really impressed. She says Tony and I are doing a great job with handling the Nam device and all of the taping. We went again to the orthodontist today and she just adjusted the stints a little bit. She didn't even have to take the NAM out which was nice. Tony and I were told today that she would like to see Riley on Jan 5th as Cindy McCain (Senator John McCain's wife for those of you who don't follow politics) to tour the facility and Dr. Glick wants to have some of her patients there as Cindy and John have a daughter with cleft lip and palate. So we are hoping that works out. I think that would be a facinating meeting.

Kudos to my husband. I returned to work on Sunday. The night before, Riley would not sleep. He would cry as soon as I put him down and I could not calm him. Tony was at work so I had no help. I got 2 hours of intermittent sleep so I was dead on my feet on Sunday. Sunday night Tony was such an awesome husband and let me sleep through the entire night so I could be somewhat alert for my shift on Monday. What a great husband!!

Stents are in, getting ready to return to work

Poor Riley. At our last week's orthodontist appointment the first nasal stent was put in. Needless to say, it did not go well. He was fine with it in but as you can see from the picture, its got the perfect space for a little baby finger to pull on it and pull it out which he did both. He had the stent on for 2 hours and he had already moved it. The first thing the orthodontist told us not to do was to bend it back ourselves. Well we broke that rule. How could we not when this became a popular thing for Riley to do. Yes we actually taped socks around his little wrists but he managed to get those off. He won't even stay in Tony's super swaddles anymore. And we had to start the taping. The stent is pushing up on his nose where the tape is pushing down on this premaxila area. His skin is tolerating it a bit better but still not great. And he continues to cry when we apply the tape. The first picture you see above is to show what his premaxila looks like after a week with the NAM in.

To change the subject, my FMLA is up at the end of this week. It's bitter sweet. I love my job but it is also very difficult to leave my baby at home. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom but know it is very difficult in today's economy. Its very stressful to put together a work schedule for both Tony and I as Tony works nights and I work days. Its been very stressful and as I look at our schedules, I feel like I'm saying goodbye to Tony in a way because we won't have much time together. Its bee very hard and I've been very tearful about the whole process but understand that I need to help be a provider as well.

NAM is in

Well, I was looking back at my last post and had not realized how long it has been since I've posted. No I have not fallen off the face of the earth. Its been a hectic week and a half. We did get the NAM in earlier this week. The installment went well although Riley cried. Here is a picture of his NAM:

We put denture cream in the 3 sections to get it to stay in. Never thought my 2 month old baby would be using denture cream! He did pretty well and even slept through the night on Thanksgiving Eve. Thanksgiving was a different story. He woke up happy but was very unhappy the rest of the day. He has been cranky for the last week and a half so I can't say for sure if it is due to the NAM. Feeding is a bit easier but we still have to squeeze the bottle a bit to help him out. It does create a bit of a palate but sucking is still a lot of work. Riley will now be going to the orthodontist once a week to get his weekly adjustments on his NAM. Hopefully things will progress well. Here is a picture of Riley with the NAM. You can barely see it but the nasal stints have not gone in yet:

Tony worked Thanksgiving night so it was pretty hard for me when he was so fussy. We made it through it though. Last night we moved Riley into his own room and he also rolled onto his back all by himself twice. It was pretty exciting. He is getting used to the NAM and hardly notices it anymore it seems. Hopefully he continues to do well with it. This week we go in for another NAM adjustment and his 2 month appointment. We've been working on giving him tummy time everyday. Here is a pic of him holding a popcicle stick (with close observation of course) chilling on is back:

Tony and I are doing well with his NAM. I still have 2 weeks left before going back to work. I can't believe that he is 8 weeks old. How time flies. I post more pictures on my facebook page so feel free to view them. More updates soon!