Big Sister Gaby

Couldnt help but to post a picture of Gaby being a big sister... Here she is proudly holding Camila for the first time (2 years old), and holding Amelia (3 years old) while I was taking the stroller out of the car to put Amelia in.

I hope to never forget the look on Gaby's face when she saw Camila for the first time.. Every time I think about it, it brings me to tears. And then, when she held her for the fist time (pictured) she was even shaking of happiness. She was always so sweet and tender with her, and I was never scared of turning my face to brush my teeth, because she was always very careful.

Then, when Mimi was born, she was older and even more careful. She was protective and always trying to keep her safe from Camila.

Im sure BOTH sisters will look up after their big sister, and I already have been told in school that she defends them if somebody else is trying to mess with one of them. They may fight, but Im positive that more sisters, they will grow up to be best friends.

5 years ago.....

It is crazy to think about it, but I just cant believe all the things that have happened in our lives in this past five years. Our life was so different, and I hardly can believe all that we have grown as a family in only five years. Five years and 6 months ago, we found out that we were expecting our first child. It seemed unbelievable, and after 3 home tests and 2 lab visits, it was true!

Hubby and I were very much in love and pretty sure what we wanted in life, and we were thrilled but pretty much scared of what this change was going to bring to our lives. It was a very hot summer in New Jersey, and as hubby was a lifeguard and swimming instructor, we spent most of our summer from pool to pool. He also did maintenance to lots of pools, and we spent a lot of time in the roads as most of the pools were almost hitting Pennsylvania.

My pregnancy was great, even though I was always alert, trying to avoid anything that could possibly happen. At some point during my third trimester I started feeling discomfort and low back pain, but it was "normal". One night at 36 weeks (just a couple of days before my mom was flying in for 6 weeks) the discomfort was way more intense, and I decided to take a trip to the E.R. Mostly, I just needed to be reassured that everything was just fine, and to be sent back to my house.

That didnt happen! I was having strong contractions every 10 minutes or so, and was already 2 centimeters dialated. They kept me overnight with no food, and when they checked me again I was still 2 centimeters. I signed a released form to be sent home because I was not planning to stay there longer. I mean, I was starving, and also had tons of stuff to do... I was not ready for baby just yet. My mom planned to arrive early and there was tons of things that I wanted to buy with her.

So, as funny as it sounds, here is the agenda of that day:
- Shopping
- Get ready for baby
- Home at 4pm
- Shower
- Washed my hair
- Hospital to have my baby!!

I knew I was dilating more, and by that time, I was already starting to feel the contractions way more. When I got to the hospital I was already 4 centimeters, and I knew that was it. I remembered that night I called my mom with a calling card from the Hospital, and told her that there may be a baby by the time she gets here at the next day. She was at my aunt's house celebrating a shower for me. They got together to buy presents for Gaby, and she told me that they all prayed together that night.

I was stressed and very anxious, and my progress was sooo slow, that they even gave me something to help me sleep. The morning was looooooooong, and I was very moody... They didnt want to let me walk because I was still early and they wanted the baby to bake a bit longer, but suddenly my water broke, and that was really it. After that, they knew nothing was going to stop Gaby from being born, so they let me walk to make things a bit faster.

I remembered that I was holding it together without pain medications, but the nurses kept insisting if I wanted the epidural. They insisted so much that I decide it to let them put it to me, even though I was still holding it together. Then, the anesthetist lady upset me because she wanted my EMT hubby out of the room... He was an EMT for Christ Sake, he was not going to faint! So, I decided not to get it because I didnt want to stay alone in there... I remember I was in a lot of pain in my hands because of the IV. Of course, just after she left, the pain started getting unbearable and I had to agree on getting the epidural without hubby present.

A couple of friends went to pick up my mom to the Airport, and my mom got straight to the Hospital when I was already 9 centimeters. It was a bit over 3:00pm when I hit 10. My mom and hubby were pushing with me, and Im positive that it was a team job. I cant even imagine how I would have manage to give birth without their help. We ALL pushed for over an hour. Gaby was born at 4:21pm weighting 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 19.5 inches long. She didnt cried right away, but she got an 8-9 Apgar score.

Hours passed and my baby wasnt with me. I complained and complained and nobody was giving us clear info. Then, the doctor in charge came to talk to me. As they anticipated, she developed Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and she needs to spent some time in the NICU. That hospital had an space for only 4 babies, and it was full already. They called an ambulance to transport her to St. Joseph Children's Hospital, two hours away! They took her for me to see her, and check bracelet ID numbers. I still needed to stay in the hospital, so suddenly I have no baby in my belly, and no baby in my arms!! It was hard!

Hubby left with Gaby, and I stayed with my mom. Hubby promised not to be apart from her and to keep me updated, and he did. It was hard not to have my baby, but at least hubby was there for her.

A few days later, we all went home, and breastfeeding was a total failure. After much frustration, we decided to let formula to take over, and Gaby was an all time feeder and she was never full. Until now she is still a milk freak, and she doesnt make negotiations that puts her milk in danger. She is a very smart girl, and even though she has gone through so much in her short life, she is so full of life.

She is a strong willed girl, always ready to let her creativity fly away. She loves motor gross activities and can be a very sweet and loving girl. She loves her sisters to death, and even though she loves all her grandparents a lot, she had a weakness over her paternal grandfather (my father in law). While she was little, she used to be a daddy's girl, but now she has become a mommy's girl. She loves sports, and we cant wait to see what sport she will prefer while growing up. She loves dogs like nothing else in the world, and she is a happier girl since she has one at home.

Gabriela: We learned how to be parents with you, and we promise to do our best. You are the best big sister both of your sisters can ask for. We love you very much, and we cant wait to see all the big things that we know you will do as you continue to grow up. Keep it up!!

Busy day....

Today was a VERY busy day... Gaby's party is at school, but that doesnt mean that lots of preparation is involved. Also, Sassy was due with her shots, so it was a busy day WITH a dog included in the car!!!

We went to Business Mail to pick up Cara and Erica's gifts that they sent my mail, plus some goodies for the party, including some ponies that Gaby will give to her friends at school. We also spent lots of gas going from one store to the other trying to find horses or ponies for the boys that were not from My Little Pony, as those were too girlie. I never imagine that picking up regular horses was going to be so difficult... All the stores had packages with several animals and one horse, and I was not planning to spent a lot of money buying several packages just to get ONE horse from each... Finally we found them, even though I still had to buy two mixed packages, and the girls will have a nice addition to their farm!

Then we went to the vet for Sassy's shots... Both vets were amazed how she didnt even make a sound when they put her both shots... They told me that most dogs cry, especially with the second one... They gave her a treat for that! She also gained 4 pounds in 3 weeks!!! So, she went from 4.5 to 8.5 pounds... She is going to be one BIG dog!!!!
Cant wait for tomorrow, and for the party on Monday... and Gaby has been GREEN most of the day (Good job Gaby).

Gaby's Eyes....

We took Gaby to the eye doctor yesterday afternoon, and we find out something that I guess every mom wish never find out about one of her kids: Gaby cant see correctly from the right eye. She was diagnosed with Accommodative Esotropia due to Amblyopia.

The eye doctor thinks it could be hereditary because I have eye problems myself, and also because of her premature condition when she was born. She told me that 5 or 6 years of age was the average age to develop this (or at least to show it).

She prescribed her to use an eye patch for 5 straight hours during the day (if is in school hours better), and to rest during the weekend. The patch should be used in the "good eye" so the "weak eye" does an effort to see straight (hope my explanation makes sense). She also told us that the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus just found out 18 months ago, that there is a relation between Amblyopia and intoeing, so she thinks her walking will improve a lot once she start the eye treatment.

She also sent her for a Cyclopegic Refraction Test, and even though I have the machine's print out on hand to handed in to the eye doctor, I have no idea what all those numbers means! I promise I will update Monday or Tuesday when I hear from the doctor.

Meeting at Gaby's preschool...

Gaby have been having misbehaving issues in every preschool she has attended to. Mostly, she has a hard time adapting, and once she adapts we have moved her to another school for one reason or the other. There has always been complains and suggestions from the school, but never a real meeting.

Today was that FIRST meeting at "a school" regarding one of my daughters behaviors, and even though it wont be the last, I hope there is no need to do any more. I have my feet on the ground, and I know Gaby more than any person in the world. I know how she behaves, and I would never be one of those mothers on denial, and wont ever admit that their child has a problem of any magnitude.

Of course, that doesnt mean that I like to hear other people complaining about my kid (it's like Im the one that is allow to do that), but this meeting had such a positive approach that I was sure it was going to bring lots of positive things. On the meeting were present: Gaby's English teacher (who is her homeroom teacher), the principal, the kids psychologist from school, plus hubby and I.

First of all, Gaby has shown to be a very smart girl, and she amazes her teacher with her English skills. Honestly, she has been speaking English so good lately, that it amazes us too. She forms complete sentences and uses: "the", "is", "a" correctly. Her issues comes when is time to writing because she doesnt want to, even though she knows how to do it (which we all think can be relate to her eyes problems). The principal also recommended me her cousin who is an excellent pediatric eye doctor, and we will be taking her later on.

Gaby also has a situation with following rules. She knows all the rules, and she can tell you the rules and even the consequences if you dont follow them, however she still has a hard time following them, and has been disturbing her classroom, and sometimes they have to send her to the hall, or even to the Principal or Counselor's office.

I have tried many different behavior systems, but the only thing that I have never tried is to unite the system with the school. We all agree that Gaby needs consistency and she needs to have the same rules at school and at home, and she needs to have the same boundaries.

As per the principal's proposal, we will be doing the red/yellow/green light behavior system. Gaby's major goal is to learn to follow instructions, and this is a very good method for it. There are several explanations of the system, but here is what it is.

RED/YELLOW/GREEN LIGHT BEHAVIOR SYSTEM:
Gaby starts the day in green, and she wants to keep it in green. The only way to keep it green is following instructions. While she is in green she needs to be praised. When there is an instruction that needs to be followed, and she refuses to follow it, she will be reminded that if she doesnt follow the instructions she will be moved to yellow, and what that means. If she doesnt follow the instruction anyway, she will be moved to yellow. Then, she can either start following rules and move to green, or she can continue not following instructions and be moved to red. With red there is always a negative consequence (which she should already know in advance).

The school will have their "traffic lights" and we will have ours (and we all agree my mom should have hers too)... We agreed that it will be too hard on them if the lights continue from home to school. I think it was a great meeting and we are all looking forward the best for Gaby.

I will also make a chart to keep track of how many days she has been able to go to bed in green. At the end of the week (and later on at the end of the month) she will have a bigger reward for having the most lights in green.

My Little Pony!

Gaby's birthday is around the corner and Im really excited!! She is going to be a big girl!! FIVE YEARS OLD is like another stage of her life.

Birthdays and Christmas are very important to me, and I want to pass that to my daughters too. We have celebrated Gaby's birthday each year, and even though this year we are planning something smaller, I want her to know that we will celebrate her birthday!

This year, we decided to celebrate it at school... As her actual birthday in on a Sunday, we will be having some family time (we have some options, but still havent decide what we will do), and then she will have her "party" at school...

This year, she is having a My Little Pony party, and it has been very exciting... She was suppose to have a Pink Poodle party, but then she wanted something with purple... so, after browsing around, I saw that My Little Pony decor has purple, and we all loved the idea.