Ross Wyatt Tucci

After keeping you all in suspense, Ross and I have finally named the baby. During the last week and a half we have joked about nicknames like "Shooter" and "Squirt" for the baby's uncanny ability to poop, pee and spit up at the same time as soon as I take off his diaper. He has already launched poop up and out of the changing area and onto the carpet, and has peed into my closest. Maybe I should invest in a few more of those dry cleaner plastic bags...

In the meantime, we did discuss serious names and have decided on Ross Wyatt Tucci. I will call him Wyatt (so as not to be confused with Papa Ross), while Ross is still deciding what he wants to call him. Right now "son" and "little guy" are working just fine. This will make Wyatt the fourth generation Ross (at least) in the Tucci family- something his dad is really proud of.

My parents left yesterday afternoon making last night our first without any back-up. We had barely slept the night before with Wyatt up from 1-7 am and Ross was sweet enough to take the baby last night from 11 pm- 2 am to let me get a little rest. I'm repaying the favor right now with dad getting some sleep and Wyatt snoozing away with me. It's amazing how fast your body can adapt. I used to need 8-9 hours of sleep a night and now 3-4 feels like a gift that I can make last all day.

We have seen some big changes in Wyatt over the last couple of days. He is really beginning to track things with his eyes and for the first time we feel like he is really taking in his surrounds and especially us.

He has also gotten a lot stronger and is able to hold his head up for short periods of time. And since he loves to fight me every time I try to fasten a fresh diaper, I've been having to work even harder to keep those pesky legs down. He loves to lock his knees to his elbows and we think we may have a fighter on our hands.

Not to say that he doesn't exude the most loving qualities as well and is courteous enough to give us warning whimpers before any real wailing begins. He loves to be cuddled and bounced, rocked and nursed. I think he is really enjoying life on the outside and we couldn't be happier that he is here.

Early Arrival

The Baby has arrived!!! In fact, he arrived a week ago on Aug. 10 and we have been so wrapped up with him that I haven't had time to update family and friends until now.

The Baby (who we still haven't named) surprised us last Friday when he arrived via c-section at 1:55 pm. Ross and I had taken a tour of the hospital the night before and during the night, my water began to leak. We called the doctor Friday morning and she told us to come down to her office right away from an exam.

During the exam she confirmed that my water indeed had broken and that I would be delivering a baby that day. When she conducted an ultrasound to confirm the baby's position, however, we learned that the baby was breech and was going to attempt to make his escape bottom first. Upon learning this, my doctor suggested I have a c-section and said to get ready to meet the little guy within the next two hours.

We were filled with emotion- excited to finally meet the little one and concerned about his well being and the surgery ahead. We headed to the hospital and within 90 minutes found ourselves in the operating room. The surgeon and my doctor performed the surgery and within 30 minutes had the little guy in Ross' arms. It was such an amazing feeling to finally get to see and touch him after all of this time and what a beauty he is!!

He was born at 1:55 pm and was six pounds, six ounces and 18.5 inches long. He has brown hair and blue eyes (which all newborns have) and we are still trying to figure out who he takes after.

We stayed in the hospital for two nights before I got to check out a day ahead of schedule and bring him home. Ross' mom and brother stayed with us that first night and were such a help cleaning and cooking while Ross and I tried to figure out this thing called parenthood.

My folks arrived on Monday and are still staying with us. Aside from a few sleepless nights we couldn't be doing any better. The baby has had three check-ups at the doctor's this week (including a circumcision on Wednesday) and is healthy as can be. Since he was born early he is only in the 10% percentile for weight and 25% percentile for height and is such a tiny boy.

He has a great temperment and only cries when he needs to eat or has a messy diaper, otherwise he just coos and smiles. What a blessing he is.

August Already?!!

I can't believe August has officially arrived!!! Where did the time go? In some ways it has gone by slowly and in others it seems like I've gotten here in a blink of an eye. His due date is less than three weeks away. We are getting so excited to finally meet him face-to-face.

With his eminent arrival we have been frantically trying to get all of those last minute things done. I really can't figure how this has snuck up on us but there is a lot left to be done.

I finally ordered a car seat since that one little item will dictate whether we can take our son home or not. It's here so I guess everything else (including the nursery we still haven't started) will be gravy.

I've also been busy trying to get all of those personal errands out of the way so I've gotten a hair cut, my eyes checked, new contacts ordered and my teeth cleaned all in the last two weeks. I also got a pedicure today to pamper my poor feet (cankles), which have now developed that attractive crease where the foot and ankle meet. At least my red toe nails look cute and there is a slim possibility it will distract people from the train wreck my cankles have become. It doesn't help that the only shoes I fit into are flip flops and with the summer months here I wear capri pants to work so I'm pretty much doing everything I can to highlight this "problem area". Oh well, even my doctor has gotten a big laugh out of this.



Also on our list of things to accomplish before the baby arrives is renovating our bathroom. Did I mention it's our ONLY bathroom?!! Phase One is tearing out the old plastic shower surround and replacing it with tile. Ross started demo (his favorite part of this project) last Thursday and we are almost done. All we have left is grouting a final wall and then waiting three days before the shower is ready to use. Here's a snap shoot of our progress as of two days ago.



This has been a huge project but we are having a lot of fun doing this together. Thank goodness our strengths compliment each other as I'm the layout/design and math person and he is the demo, backerboard installer, tile saw operator and muscles of this project. Aside from how rewarding it will be to complete this project together, I think we both get a charge out of knowing we will be bathing our son in this tub someday.

We plan on tackling Phase Two of the renovation this weekend, which will include a matching tile floor and new vanity. It is going to be spa-like once it's done.

I keep joking with Ross that he is testing Murphy's Law with these last minute demo projects. I'm predicting my water breaks as soon as he removes the toilet Saturday.

I had a check up on Tuesday and Dr. M offered me a big congratulations. At 37 weeks the baby is officially full term. He has also gone through an incredible growth spurt over the last week with my tummy growing by four centimeters. To put this in perspective, the tummy usually grows one centimeter a week!! This was good news as he hadn't grown in two weeks at my previous appointment. Boy did he make up for it. And he's getting heavy!!

All-in-all I feel great and feel blessed for a complication-free pregnancy. Three weeks to go...

Pregnancy Stats
There are 19 days until my due date on August 21, 2007.
I am 261 days pregnant.
I am 8.6 months pregnant.

Big Bellied Mama

Baby Tucci is growing like crazy and with just four weeks to go is getting very heavy. Here is the newest belly shot (34 weeks) compared to the shot I took at 22 weeks. Funny how I thought I was so big back then...

I had a recent doctor's appointment and she guesstimates that the baby is 5 pounds and expects him to gain 2 lbs in the last month. She said the baby is already head down with his bottom near my left ribs and legs/feet near my right ribs.

He has been VERY active and likes to punch and kick mommy all day long. We may have a musician on our hands because most of his movements seem rhythmical which can drive me nutty.

Turns out my doctor will be on vacation Aug. 20-24- right went he is due to arrive!!! She said not to worry, the baby will come EARLY!! I said "really?!" and she laughed and said "okay, maybe late."

She has forbidden me from taking long walks, jumping up and down and eating spicy foods while she's away. Maybe I'll try some of those wives tales the week before to trigger labor.:)

Overall, I feel great although I have developed terrible swelling in my feet and ankles which has resulted in a nasty case of cankles. Cankels is defined in the Urban Dictionary as n. 1) An aesthetically unfortunate physiological condition which leaves its victims with no discernable narrowing of the ankle between the calf and the foot. 2) An ankle which has no discernable narrowing from the calf to the foot. History: The word is derived a combination of the words calf and ankle. Victims of this condition are advised to avoid the following: ankle boots, ankle-strap shoes, anklets, ankle socks, ankle tattoos, high-top shoes, and any other footwear or legwear that might draw attention to the cankle region.

This is NOT ATTRACTIVE but has given Ross and I a lot of laughs over the last couple of weeks. I have been wearing nothing but flip flops because I simply cannot fit into my shoes.

The only other downer of having a month to go is just the baby's weight on all of my insides. This usually rears its ugly head in the middle of the night when I try to turn over. It realy does feel like a bowling ball is sitting on my bladder, intestines- you name it. I'm just thankful that I'm not one of those women who will deliver a 10 pounder. They deserve an award.

One Month To Go...

I can't believe another month has gone by since my last entry and that we are just four weeks away from Baby Tucci's arrival. Things in the Tucci household have been very busy including a conference for Ross in Spokane, a conference for me in San Diego and a seven-day camping trip with Ross' family to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks in Wyoming.

It took three SUVs but we managed to get Ross and I, his mom, brother, two sisters, three nephews and niece- plus all of our camping gear- to Wyoming in just two days and about 16 total hours of driving. With four children and a prego lady we ended up making lots of bathroom stops.



Everyone told me camping while 34 weeks pregnant was a terrible idea but I must say that the trip went pretty smoothly and aside from issues climbing out of the air mattress in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and trying to shave my legs in the smallest shower stall ever, the trip was pretty routine. Ross was kind enough to help me up for those late night potty breaks and I just gave up on the leg shaving (I mean I was camping for goodness sake!).



We had a wonderful vacation and it's hard to believe that will be our last without a little one in tow. We spent a few days in each park and took side trips to Jackson Hole and Cody, Wyoming to show the kids a real cowboy town that included numerous cabins and hideouts that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid used.



Now we are busy trying to do those last minute things for the baby like, oh I don't know, create a nursery!! His nursery is currently our home office and we are terribly unprepared for his arrival if he decides to show up early. I finally did order his crib bedding online and did make an online order for the car seat just so we can get the little guy home from the hospital. Other than that, we are going to try to get a little more organzied over the next few weeks while really just winging it.

Sunday we will attend a one day 9-5 pm crash course on labor and delivery/parenting, etc. Hopefully that will be all we need to know to get through "D" day.

Pregnancy Stats
There are 31 days until my due date on August 21, 2007.
I am 249 days pregnant.
I am 8.2 months pregnant.

Baby Shower Time

My wonderful friends and co-worker decided to throw me a baby shower Tuesday to celebrate the impending arrival of little man Tucci. About 20 people gathered at the Founder's Club here on campus and we ate cake and opened gifts. The cake Sherry picked out was adorable- complete with a stork that looked more like a chicken made out of frosting and little pink booties on top. I told her the baby really wouldn't care that the booties weren't blue and who says boys can't like pink- okay, maybe Ross would say that.


Like usual, my friends were more than generous and the baby loaded up with gifts including cute little outfits (including the cutest firefighter onesies you've ever seen from Erin), a bloppy, a changing table pad/covers, diaper wipe warmer (because who wouldn't cry over the shock of a cold wipe on the bum), blankets, toys, a swing, as well as a million other things that I'm forgetting at the moment. Needless to say, the Expedition was pretty full on the drive home and now Ross and I get to strategically find places for all of these things in the baby's tiny room.



The baby is really going through a growth spurt right now which means mama is too. Over the last few days I can feel a hard lump (sometimes two) in my upper belly. They are the size of softballs and one can only assume that they are his precious head and bottom- although at this point, I can't tell them apart. These lumps are completely fascinating to Ross and I keep having to remind him that he can't push down on the lumps too hard- it could be his soft spot for crying out loud!!

I am feeling more and more like Lt. Ellen Ripley from the Alien movies as the days go by but am excited to hear from friends that have gone through this that soon I will be able to make out his different body parts as he begins to fill up what little space he has left. I can specifically remember seeing one of my nephew's elbows running across his mama's belly when she was nine months pregnant and think that will be a fun thing to experience.

I finally got around to signing us up for a birthing class and mom, you were right, those things do book up fast. I had to look into quite a few hospitals to find one with a class before Aug. 21 that wasn't full. With our busy schedules we are not going to be one of those couples who attend a seven-week course and bond with other expecting parents. Instead we are doing the cliff notes version- the one day, 9-5 pm crash course. A general overview works for me and to be truthful, I'm not sure I want to know every nitty-gritty detail.

Less than nine weeks to go and we are getting so excited to meet the kiddo. I bet he'll look just like his dad- not so tall but dark and handsome- just the way I like 'em. This is going to be a kick!

Pregnancy Stats
There are 60 days until my due date on August 21, 2007.
I am 220 days pregnant.
I am 7.2 months pregnant.

Future Baseball Nut

It has been forever since my last entry and I'm starting to hear the complaints from you. At least I know you're reading and enjoying these little updates.

Softball season just ended and what a whirlwind it was. The team was on the road for three of the final four weeks and ended up advancing to the semifinal at the Women's College World Series where it finished third. It was my third trip to the WCWS in five years and was a great way to finish the season.

Baby Tucci has become quite the traveler this year, visiting six states in 17 weeks, including Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oregon, not to mention quick layovers in Wyoming, Idaho, Illinois and Texas to name a few.

He has also been a part of some of the best collegiate championships around, including the Women's Volleyball Final Four and the WCWS and has shown his enthusiasm by doing back flips during the most intense parts of competition. I never figured out if he was responding to the roar of the crowd or my adrenaline rushes with a close play at the plate. Regardless, he knew something was going on around him and wanted to be a part of it. We will have to wait to see if he is as much a sports nut as his mom or if he'll wind up with other passions Ross and I couldn't dream of like music or art. With all of the Seattle Mariner onesies Ross registered for, however, I don't think he is going to miss catching the baseball bug like his parents.

I guess it doesn't help that I've picked out baseball themed bedding either... here is a sneak peak but I promise not to go overboard and buy every pillow, lamp shade and wall hanging. The baby's nursery is only 9' by 9' anyway.



A few wonderful people at work have decided to throw me a baby shower next week which means I had to get my butt in gear and finally register. Ross and I had gone down to pick out furniture last week and lucky we did since it takes up to 12 weeks to arrive and I was 11 weeks out.

We went out again yesterday to finish up registering at Babies R Us and boy do newborns need a lot of stuff!!! We ended up picking out about 50 items from diapers to wipe warmers to blankets to nail clippers and just when we were feeling proud of ourselves the lady working the counter told us that the national average was 145 items for first-time parents. I guess Jr. will have to be a minimalist because I can't think of 100 more things to register for. Besides, who has the space for all of that stuff?! Ross is a firm believer that if we give him a stick and a rock that he will be able to entertain himself for hours without fancy toys anyways. Maybe I should register for some eye protection and a helmet...

Pregnancy Stats
There are 68 days until my due date on August 21, 2007.
I am 212 days pregnant.
I am 7 months pregnant.