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This past weekend we had a small Family Reunion in Chattanooga, TN,  to celebrate Nonna Ida’s 90th Birthday and to introduce Paolo to the Landrum-Lembi-Ross posse.  We had a fantastic time!

We really enjoyed the aquarium, strolling around town, trying out different restaurants, and visiting Rock City…And the Calabria Family would like to thank everyone for coming from so far to visit with us. We love you guys!

BUON COMPLEANNO IDA!

Ringraziamo per la condivisione di questo speciale tempo con noi.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Chloe!!!

This past Thursday our most wonderful and beautiful Chloe turned 8 years old.  She had her best friend Natalie come spend the night, just as Kaitie did this past weekend.  Instead of big parties, she always prefers to have more intimate and quality time with her closest friends. They had a wonderful time! And even though it was her birthday, I received the best gift. It is so joyful to see how caring and sweet she always is; she makes me so proud.   She can easily fill the whole world with love with just a single smile. Keep smilling, sweet Chloe, keep smilling!

Folks, do you realize Paolo has been born for over a month now? Yep…it is amazing!

I’m once again very happy to report that Paolo is still doing extremely well. He has broken the 6 lb mark, and he has grown out of the “preemie” outfits and into the “NB” labels — New Born. The funny thing is that he is still not a full term baby. He would have reached the 39th week this coming Tuesday, and he was scheduled to be induced tomorrow 06/30. Obviously, Paolo had other plans…

Outside of the late night feedings, I would say this first month has been pretty easy. So far Paolo has not been fussy at all, and he usually never cries unless it is feeding time or to let’s know it time for a dipper change. Quite nice!

However, I sense things could be a bit different in a few weeks. With both the kids and Ashley off for the summer, he is getting pretty used to being held all the time. (I must add, I’m probably the guiltiest one on this department). But he is just soooo adorable! I noticed, however, that he is getting more and more alert, and more and more aware of his surroundings. He is starting to pick up when he is being brought to his crib, and he is starting to cry just so he is picked up again — can’t blame him though.

All is well during the day…I just hope it doesn’t start to happen during the night.

The month of June is always full of festivities in the Calabria’s household. Let’s see…We have celebrated Father’s day, my birthday, “Summer Solstice” and the beginning of Summer, and … (drum rolls) … I’m very proud to say … (more drum rolls) …

Ashley and I have celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this year!!!

I watched our wedding video the other night, and I remembered feeling so incredibly happy and radiant that day — nothing like being absolutely sure you are following the right path. Ashley and the kids are still the center of my world and the core of my happiness today. But I’m also very thankful. I’m thankful that we met; I’m thankful that we have shared the past 15 years; I’m thankful for our wonderful family; and I’m thankful that she hasn’t left me, despite all my “imperfections”.

Hey everybody give a big Happy Birthday to my Dad!

Lorenzo.

Paolo’s first week went very smoothly, and he (and Ashley) did extremely well.

As expected, we were all a bit disappointed that we couldn’t bring him home right away. However, it didn’t take long for Ashley and I to realize that a lot of the “premature baby anxiety” was indeed lifted just knowing that he was in the hospital, being monitored, and getting excellent care from the Special Care Nursery. Ashley and I were able to visit him at any time - no restrictions; Ashley was able to breast feed him about 3 to 4 times a day; and, looking at the bright side, Ashley as able to come home and rest, instead of having to stay at a hospital room.

While the first week was mostly about making sure Paolo was stable, the second week was all about feedings and gaining weight. The goal was to keep reducing supplemental feedings until Poalo was able to get all his nourishments through breast feedings. The sooner Paolo could maintain/gain weight without supplemental feedings, the sooner he could come home.

At first, it simply meant Ashley made more frequent trips to the SCN. Not a Problem! By last Wednesday, Paolo was back to his birth weight. And that same afternoon, Ashley checked-in for a “rooming-in”. Paolo was able to leave the SCN and share a room with Ashley; she breast fed him every 3 hours; and the nurses kept monitoring him and weighting him between feedings. It took a few days, but this afternoon (June 7th) , exactly two weeks from his birth, our wonderful baby Paolo finally came home — one week ahead of schedule. Come to think of it, this seems to be his personal mantra: “get it done ahead of schedule.”

Lorenzo and Chloe were ecstatic!!! Paolo couldn’t have asked for a better Big Brother and Big Sister. The kids absolutely love him! I have not yet noticed a single hint of jealousy from either one of them, and they are always anxious for their turn to hold their baby brother. I’m afraid Paolo will be one spoiled, or should I say, loved kid.

Bem Vindo, Bevenuti, and Welcome Home Paolo!!! We love you!!!

Oi Mocada!!!

Na ultima quinta-feira (22/05/2008), comecamos o dia bem calmo. Como ia trabalhar em casa, e nao ia perder uma boa parte da minha manha enfrentando o trafigo de Atlanta, deixei os meninos na escola, e voltei pra cama pra tirar mais um cochilinho. ZZZZZ! Quando acordei, a Ashley comenta, casualmente, que as 5:00 da manha ela achou que talvez tivesse quebrado sua bolsa. Para nao ficarmos preocupado, ela foi ao medico para confirmar “que nao era nada”. Um pouco mais tarde me liga chorando dizendo que precisava ir direto para o hospital.

Minha primeira reacao foi que o “BabyJR” ia nascer AGORA. Mas quando a Ashley comentou que ainda nao tinha tido nenhuma contracao, relaxei, mas tirei o resto do dia fora por precaucao. De acordo com Dr. Goggin, o mesmo medico que fez o parto do Lorenzo e da Chloe, as contracoes poderiam comecar em um hora ou uma semana. A Ashley recebeu uma dose the esteroides para acelerar o desenvolvimento do pulmao do nenem e antibiotico para evitar infeccao.

Assim, mais calmo, enquanto a Huguette levou a Ashley para o Hospital, eu foi para a escola dos mininos ajudar e participar na festinha do final de ano (escolar) — com on celular grudado na cintura. Quando as festividades terminaram e voltamas para a casa, finalmente tive a oportunidade de dizer aos meninos o que estava acontecendo.

Lorenzo e Chloe ficaram tao felizes que choraram, pulando de alegria. Mas logo depois da elforia, notei que as Chloe estava tambem preocupada. Ela e’ super esperta, e nao demorou para notar que o Paolo estava nascendo pre-maturo, e que tinhamos perdido a Sofia por ter nascido cedo - no caso dela, bem cedo. Depois de explicar que o Paolo ja tinha mais do dobro to peso da Sofia, ela se acalmou. Lorenzo e Chloe tomaram um banho relampago, e fomos para o hospital.

O resto do dia foi bem calmo. A Ashley e o Paolo estavam no monitor, e gracas a Deus, os dois estavam super bem. Passamos o resto do dia no hospital. Depois do jantar, como tudo ia muito bem, voltamos para casa. A Huguette dormiou conosco, caso tivesse que voltar para o hostipal durante a noite.

Sexta (23/05) nao foi muito diferente. Passamos a manha no hospital com a Ashley — mae e nenem super bem, sem contracoes, ou sinais de stress. A tardinha, para ajudar com a atecipacao, a Huguette levou os meninos para ver o novo filme do Indiana Jones; a Ashley fez trico e descancou, e eu trabalhei um pouco usando a rede wireless do hospital. Depois do cinema e do jantar, como tudo continuava bem, voltamos para casa — a Huguette mais uma vez dormiu conosco para facilitar qualquer “saida de emergencia”.

Na manha do Sabado (24/05), a Ashley liga dizendo que a primeira faze de contracoes tinham comecado durante a noite. Mas como ela recebeu medicamento para relaxar, ela conseguiu dormir, e nao precisou me chamar. O unico problema era que como o fluido amniotico estava acompanhado de sangue, e existia a possibilidade da placenta querer romper, causando uma cesaria de emergencia. Assim, de vez de induzir o parto, os medicos manteram os medicamentos para eeixar a Ashley bem relaxada, e tentar atrazar as contracoes mais fortes o maximo possivel.

Fomos para o hospital sabendo que o Paolo nasceria provavelmente “HOJE”. E os meninos estavao, mais uma vez, super excitados. As 11:00am, Dr. Goggin removeu a cerclage (pontos) do cervico da Ashley, e o cervico delatou 2 cm de imediato. “Vai ser hoje mesmo!” As quatro da tarde a contracoes mais fortes comecaram, e a enfermeira verificou que o cervico tinha dilatado 5cm. As seis a Ashley recebeu anestesia peridural. E as sete, Dr. Goggin confirmou que “esta na hora”.

Quando perguntamos Lorenzo se queria estar presente durante parto, ele nao hesitou um segundo. Ja’ a Chloe, sua primeira reacao foi “nao”. Mas, felizmente, quando a hora chegou, ela resolveu ficar. O Lorenzo ficou comigo, e a Chloe com a vo’, Huguette. Dr. Goggin foi genial; sempre bem calmo, e sempre explicando para os meninos o que estava acontendo. O parto nao demorou muito. Depois de so’ tres contracoes, o Paolinho nasceu, as 7:16pm. Lindo! Dr. Goggin cobriou Ashley, e Lorenzo e Chloe foram ao redor da cama, para ter uma boa olhada do irmaozinho, de perto. Eu pergutei a Dr. Goggin se Lorenzo poderia cortar o cordao, e ele disse que “sim”. E Lorenzo, mais uma vez sem nenhuma hesitacao, recebeu a tesoura, e cortou o cordao, bem orgulhoso. (Ele ultimamente tem perguntado se ele e a Chloe podem ser os padrinhos.) Dr. Goggin, limpou o Paolinho, e o apresentou a Ashley. E pela primeira vez, nos CINCO tivemos alguns minutes de puro amor e magia. Mas, para seguranca do Paolinho, tivemos que entrega-lo a equipe de medicos de bebes pre-maturos.

Gracas a Deus, Paolo Rafael Calabria, nasceu perfeito, pesando 2kg 300g, e 45 cm de comprimento — grandinho para 33 semanas. Gracas a Deus, os esteroides ajudaram, e ele nao precisou ser entubado para oxigenio - seu pulmaozinho trabalhando com 100% de oxigenacao desde que nasceu. Na mesma noite, mamou um pouco, e passou trinta minutos com agente. Amem!

O prognostico e’ excelente! Todavia, ele deve ficar no hospital duas ou tres semanas. Infelizmente, so’ os pais podem visita-lo no momento, e os meninos estao super tristes. Todos os dias eles perguntam quando vao poder visitar o irmaozinho, e os dois choraram ontem quando falei que talvez tenhao que espara mais uma semana para poder ve-lo.

No mais, estamos super bem e felizes, e anciosos para trazer o Paolinho para casa.

Beijao a todos, Chloe, Lorenzo, Ashley e Gildinho.

We had to make a decision on Paolo’s full name to get his ss#, and now it is official: Paolo Rafael Calabria.

As I mentioned on a earlier post, we started the “first name” hunt with “Leonardo”, but we eventually settled on “Paolo”. Since he turned out to be a Preemie, Since Paolo means “small” or “modest”, it became quite an appropriate first name.

Now, as for the second name, the Calabria’s “Reggio” was split down the middle. Ashley and Lorenzo preferred “Rafael” - a Brazilian (or should I say Portuguese) spelling of Rafaello — meaning “God has healed” , or “healer”; while Chloe and I were pulling for “Massimo” — Italian for “The Greatest”.

However, we didn’t have a chance. Given that Mamma did all the work, her vote most certainly carried more weight!

PS: I have been getting a lot of email about posting more picture. As a FYI, I did post more “public” photos on Flickr, which are linked to the “photo widget” to the right of our web site. However, you can see additional photos, if our you register (free) and login into the flickr web site and check the “Baby Paolo” folder.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calabria/sets/72157605247596744/

I wanted to make sure some of the photos remained limited to “family and friends”. Let me know if you need help access them.

Just a quick not to say that our beautiful baby Paolo has arrived. He was born at 7:16 pm, wighting 5 lbs 1oz, and 18 inches in length — a good size for a 33 1/2 week preemie. Both Ashley and Paolo are doing extremely well.

Ashley is currently resting, and Paolo is breathing on his own and already practicing his rooting reflexes with a pacifier in his cozy “isolette”. He is doing so well, we are delighted that Ashley will be able to breast feed him in a couple hours. That’s already better than we expected.

Thank you for all the love, prayers, calls, emails, and positive support. We are so lucky to have you in our lives!

Now…It is time for me the catch the first of many “power naps” for the near future…. Good Night YALL!!!

The kids and I just got a call that Ashley is starting her contractions. She has taken some medications to slow things down a bit. The plan is to have her cerclage removed around noon and let her go in to labor naturally.

We are heading to the hospital….love, us!!!