Hello from Nicole

Well after almost 3 weeks I have found some time to get on here. Life has certainly changed in these few weeks, but all for the good. We are still learning to adjust our lives to Cassandra's schedule but she's so cute, we don't mind! It's great to see her change every day. She is so strong and is already picking her head up so much when she is on her tummy and we feel like she could roll over any minute(although I think she has a few months for that). It has been so wonderful to have Keith home with us for the summer. I can't imagine doing this without him. He has been a great father and a tremendous help to me. Whether it's getting me my meals, doing late night calming/feeding, or changing dirty diapers he takes charge without complaint. I am grateful for such a wonderful family.

Hopefully we can get some more pictures up soon!

Happy 1st Week Birthday

Today is July 8th and it is Cassandra one week birthday. She actually slept very well last night so Nicole and I actually were able to get multiple 3 hours blocks of sleep! Her pediatrician's appointment went very well (except for the torrential rain) and we will go back in one week. In honor of our first week together, we got her all dolled up in a dress, took this picture and took our first walk around the block. She was as snug as a bug in a rug in her stroller as Mom and Dad got some much needed fresh air.

Home Alone

Well, it's been a few days since i've updated the blog. Cassandra came home on the 3rd and on the 5th, Nicole's family left and we have been on our own. For the most part, things have been going well. It has been such an amazing time getting to know Cassandra and having a good sense of humor as we have been pee'd on twice while changing her diaper ;-) The nights have been interesting in that she goes through very long stretches of feeding and then as soon as we put her down...squirm, squeak, WAAAAAHHHHH. Repeat cycle 2 to 3 times until she is finally tired. Last night (Sun/Mon) we got her to sleep for two 3-hour stretches. However, today, has been a different story. We think she is hitting a growth spurt as she is constantly eating but she has been SO fussy. She'll feed and then not want to eat and then CRY. This must have gone on for about 6 hours today. We finally got her changed and swaddled so that I could use the "Happiest Baby on the Block" trick. Which is...swaddle, turn them on their side, shush in their ears and then sway. After doing this 3 times, she FINALLY calmed down enough so that I could put her in her swing where she has been sleeping soundly ever since. Hopefully, when she wakes up, she'll be legitimately hungry so that she can feed well. Once again, we'll see how the night goes. In preparation, I think I'll have my second double espresso of the evening.

I know I have been delinquent with my picture postings so I will try to get some more shots up tomorrow as I finally got all of the images downloaded onto my computer. Tomorrow is also a big day as we will be taking her for her first pediatrician's appointment.

Cassandra Comes Home

After two days, I had the extreme honor and privilege of taking my new and improved family home from the hospital today. That was probably the most stressful drive of my life! We had a wonderful first day home with Cassandra. She was surrounded by may people who love her: Kevin and Marie (Nicole's parents), Uncle Connor, Nanny O' Malley (an extremely proud great grandmother!) and my parents, Sal and Maria.

So Cassandra has very peculiar eating habits where she will start to eat and fall asleep within five minutes. This goes on for about an hour and then once we think she is done, we go to get up. Then....WAAAAAAHHHH. Ok, feed again. This goes on for about an hour and a half until we finally get up, pass her to another family member and then she sleeps soundly in someone's arms. This does not bode well for this evening but we'll see what happens. It feels so great to have my family home....

Uncle Connor

Four Generations....

I've Been Fed

More Pics

Pictures of Day 1 of our Daughter's Life

Here are some assorted pictures from yesterday. Enjoy....

Cassandra Rose Herrador

It is with amazing pride and joy that I am posting the introduction video of our daughter, Cassandra Rose Herrador. She was born yesterday, July 1, 2009 @7:25 AM. My intention was to post this yesterday but unfortunately, the hospital did not have any wifi connections and last night when I got home, there was an error posting the video. After being awake for so long, I decided to try again in the morning so here it is.