As you might imagine, Ashley and I are very nervous about another surgery. But after living with his sleep epnea these past few months, we can’t wait to see him breathing normally.

Please keep him on your thoughts.

Parabens pra voce,
Nesta data querida,
Muitas felicidades,
Muitos anos de vida….

Paolo turned 2 years old today!

We did not experience much of the “terrible two’s” with either Lorenzo or Chloe. Paolo is certainly more active, and he does have his moments, but he really is a very happy and nice kid. And, at two now, he’s just beginning to blossom, show his personality, and really interact. It’s awesome!

He’s absolutely adorable, and he knows it too. I’m afraid it doesn’t take much for Dad to give in.

We celebrated his birthday this past Saturday with just the immediate family: his brother, sister, and cousins. He had a blast! He loved to be right “in the middle” of things and play with the “big kids”. Fun!!

We are so blessed to have him!

Feliz Aniversario, Paolo!!!!

I must say, it wasn’t easy for me to go ahead with the surgery. I knew they were simple, outpatient procedures; but they have also been, in many cases, over prescribed for this very reason. So, not feeling 100% at ease with our initial decision, I asked the ENT doctor to postpone it for a couple of weeks to give us time to re-evaluate all the options and make sure he *really* needed them.

After much reading and conferencing, I felt comfortable enough to go ahead with it. It all went very well! And I can now breathe a sigh of relief; and hopefully Paolo will breath a bit easier, sleep better, and have less frequent ear infections.

Time will tell.

1. Lorenzo and Chloe Wall Climbing
2. Summer 2009:
   • St. Simons Island
   • Hammock Beach
   • St. Augustine
3. Atlanta Zoo

We had been trying to schedule his baptism for a couple of months now without being able to sync up everyone’s schedules. We were trying to get the family and friends together for a nice lunch. But, being true to Paolo’s “surprising nature,” we received a call from the Church just a couple of days ago asking if we would like to get it done today. We hesitated a bit, but being fully aware that school, work, piano, sports, etc, will start again tomorrow, we bit the bullet and got it done.

It actually turned out very nice and quite intimate; only Paolo and another little girl were baptized, and we had to share the ceremonies with only one other family. Best of all, Lorenzo and Chloe were able to be Paolo’s God-Parents. They had been “lobbying” for it since Paolo’s birth, and Ashley and I were more than glad to let them have the honor. They have been wonderful with Paolo, and we, of course, want them to be as involved as possible. They were thrilled!

The photos have been posted into  Flickr.

Much Love…TheCalabrias.

He is doing very well, and he continues to be a very “easy” baby. He still only makes a fuss when he is hungry…no “BUT’s” about it! Most of the time, he will simply give you a SMILE that will burst your-whole-sense-of-being with a pure shot of happiness. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!

“Timing is everything”, right?… Well, I couldn’t agree more.  I’ve been working almost entirely from home since Paolo’s birth. And believe me, I’ve been taking full advantage of it.  Lately,  I’ve been spending the time I used to commute to Atlanta giving my full-attention to the little one. “Thank you” is all I can say!!!

Every morning, after we waive “good-bye” to Ashley and the kids,  Paolo and I walk around our beautiful front-yard and spend the early morning rocking on a rocking-chair and listening to the birds.  He absolutely loves being outside!!! He especially loves when I try to mimic the bird-calls as a whistle to him.  We have quickly learned that whenever he is a bit upset, all you need to to do is to bring him outside for a breather… he will instantly calm down, and he will quite often go to sleep.  We, of course, are always more than glad to please him. And in the process, we have all been spending more time outside enjoying nature.

Today was no different. Being the First Day of Fall, it turned out to be one of those absolutely perfect days: a not-a-cloud-in-the-sky-cool-and-breezy-yet-not-cold-and-drier-than-normal day.  For one who has lived here as long as I have, it should be easy for me to recognize and enjoy days like these.

Yet, it has taken Paolo’s love and morning walks to force me into starting the days in the right foot.

Obrigado, Paolinho!

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.

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!!!

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.