Family Outings

Lou and I have taken Hannah out a few times into the great big world out there. Both of us were pretty nervous about it but all in all things have gone well. We went to dinner on my birthday and Hannah stayed awake the entire time. She was quiet and just looked around. Last saturday we went out to eat with a group of friends and Hannah slept for the most part. We were there for quite a while and I ended up having to feed her and change her at the restaraunt. Which was okay. It was a fmaily place and there were other smaller babies there. She did have one episode of crying while one of our friends was holding her. Lou worries about her crying loudly in public so he gave me the "look" and said to get her back to quiet her down. Yesterday we went to Babies R Us to pick some things up and she was good for that as well. I think I'm getting more comfortable with the idea of routines and baby bags. I was always worried about what people would think if I was toting around a screaming baby. So far people have been nice and considerate and not too bothered. It helps that Hannah is a cutie and sleeps a lot. I only hope that she continues to behave herself as she gets older!

Slackin off

Sorry about the absence of updates! I've been a little busy with the baby and haven't been online much. So far, so good. We had an appointment with Hannah's doctor yesterday. It was supposed to be for today but I had heard we were in for some serious snowstorms....so they were able to get us in a day early. Hannah is two weeks old today. Feels like she was just born yesterday though! Her weight is now 8 pounds and 11 ounces. The doctor was very impressed with her strength so far. She's already lifting her neck and pushing off her hands when she's on her stomach. The doctor says that is early for her to do that so now I'm bragging I have a "gifted" child. lol Hannah was really very good for her exam. She's not fond of being naked so I was bracing myself for some screaming. Fortunately she just sucked on her pacifier and looked around the room like it was no big deal. Good baby! Of course she got back at me later by wailing on and off from about 10pm to 1am. Nothing made her happy but she did finally fall asleep and slept for several hours. I caught up on some zzzzzz's and Mom got some rest too.

Lou is still down in South Carolina with his Dad. They've been working on putting up fencing at his parent's Aiken property. The plan is to send several racehorses down there with his parents for lay-ups now and then. Mostly in the winter months when racing is slow. It will be a good break for us up here because we might only have 8 horses to care for instead of 12.

Anyway, he was supposed to come home tonight but we've had a load of snow dumped on us and they are calling for more...plus freezing rain. So the only day this week that is supposed to be clear is thursday. I'm sure Lou is itching to come home and see Hannah. She changes so much just on a day to day basis. So losing a week of time with her is tough. I guess I can't really plan anyhting for Valentines day. Mom will be leaving in the morning and Lou won't be home until the evening so that leaves me and baby to share the day together. My birthday is coming up on sunday. Hopefully we can do something nice together for it.

I'm told that two of Lou's Aunts are coming out from MA to visit for the weekend. I'm anxious for Lou and I to have some alone time with Hannah on our own but people keep planning visits for us. It's tiring. Isn't there a two week grace period when you first come home from the hospital? Well we never got it!

A few more piccies of the baby!

OMG! I'm a Mom!!

Hannah Elizabeth Ruberto arrived on Jan. 29th at 6:06pm. She was 8 pounds and 4 ounces and 21 inches long. Lou was there and Mom made the drive from VA just in time to see the last hour or so of labor. There were tons of tears and lots of guests waiting for their turn to see her. Quite an overwhelming experience to say the least.


I did have drugs through an epidural for a few hours but they ended up shutting them off because things needed to move along more quickly. So Hannah was born au naturale and I can honestly say it hurt like a b*tch but I was so relieved once she was here. So now I'm healing and she's growing like a good girl. She's been really good for us andmakes us smile a hundred times a day. I feel so very fortunate to have such a beautiful baby. I know every mother feels that way about their own kid but I can't sotp thinking about how perfect she is. I am 100% smitten with her.

Okay, so enough mush and on to some pictures....

This is when Hannah was about an hour old. I was so exhausted and such a mess!

She is two hours old here....

Daddy's first diaper change. He actually jumped at the chance to do it!!

Gramma Rose rocking Hannah in the hosptial...

Two days old....first few minutes at home.....

Several days old here.....notice the horsey jammies? How abut all that hair??

Racing babies in the snow.....

Not LITERALLY people....come on now!

We've had four starts at Mountaineer so far and won two of them. Valid Dancer won his allowance race and A Good Day to Run won his claiming race. The other two than ran were 5th and 6th. One of them stumbled out of the gate and almost fell at the start. Tonight we have two running. Swiper the Fox is running in a claiming race and Computer Gate is running in a Starter Allowance. I miss going to the track at night. That's typically when trainers approach me with horses for sale. But this big ole belly needs to stay home for now.

Speaking of which...I went in for an exam last wednesday. Doc said everything looked normal and no progress was made. He actually called me cervix "stubborn." He's a charactor that guy! His name tag actually says, "Dr. Stork." So we go back for an ultrasound on the 30th. I'll be a day late if I make it to that day. He's considering inducing this week if all looks okay because this child is getting big very quickly.

I had a rough night on friday night and rough day yesterday. I thought for sure that saturday was going to be "the day" but it wasn't. More like a 24 hour bug that I caught. Got some restful sleep last night (aside from four bathroom breaks) so I'm feeling a bit better today.

Mom is coming tomorrow! I'm so relieved that that day is finally here. I know she's excited too. The weather has been poor so I worried about her traveling over the mountains of the PA turnlike. She's bringing Dad's truck and getting some sandbags loaded into it today. It's been snowing off and on for the last 3 days. I figured Hannah would make her appearance during the worst of it but she hasn't. See....she's already taking after me (she's smart!)!! lol!! It'a too frigid to make an entrance just yet!

Come on baby, you can do it!!

I had another appointment with the OB on thursday. He said everything looks good and my cervix has softened a little. He said should I go into labor to just come in, don't call. Since we are almsot 40 minutes away and the weather coming up is looking nasty.....he said to get a head start. I really like this doctor. He's funny and laid back and actually stays in the room long enough for you to ask questions. So I have 10 days to my due date now. Feels like forever. I'm having lots of discomfort form pelvic pressure and siatic pain as well. Don't get me started on not being able to get up on my own.....not something I'm used to....depending on others for normal daily activities.

So I've got the house pretty much all clean, the laundry done, car seat in and everything packed and ready to go. She just needs to get here. I'm tired. I'm sore and getting cranky. Remind me again why people do this more than once?

I've been going out to the barn to work so I can keep my sanity. No clue how I'm going to handle being in for 6 weeks once Hannah is here. So visitors are welcome. Don't worry, if I get annoyed with ya, I'll let ya know! ha!

So that's the update. Nothing new here. My next appointment is on the 24th. Hopefully we will have some dilation and get the show on the road!

Redneck neighbors keep things interesting...

Many of you already know that Lou and I have been having problems with our neighbors since the day we moved in. His family has owned the proprty that our house sits on for years. But we didn't have much of a problem until we put a house on it. From dogs not letting us into our own house to horses running loose in our yard it has been a daily thing. We've had arguements, calls to the police, calls to the dog warden and also to the humane society. Nothing ever gets taken care of. A few years ago their youngest, he was a small toddler...wandered over and sat in our yard while I weeded our garden. Noone was watching him. They have a dog hit on the road ans replace it the next day. They've had four horses killed on the road and don't really seem to care. At one point they had 18 horses out in their pasture. Which is about 6 acres. It seems like their horses only get loose and run all over our yard after we;ve had a few days of rain. So they dig up the yard and get our horses running in a slippery pasture. *sigh* We just want some peace for once.
So a few days ago these same people were hearding a bunch of their horses from the pasture down to the barnyard....using a jeep cherokee. There was a toddler running around out there that we assumed was theirs. Then all of a sudden people were running and screaming. The little boy got kicked in the neck by their mini donkey. Life flight picked him up. It was a big fiasco.
We did find out yesterday that the boy is home and doing well. He was actually the son of their neighbor who they had warned about staying out of the pasture.
How did we find this out?
Well, the "boyfriend" knocked on our door yesterday asking for help with their miniture horse.
Their pitt bull atacked it and there was blood everywhere. It was the worst thing I've ever seen. The poor filly had been chewed to the bone on her right front leg, right hind leg, part of her hanuches and they ripped off her right ear. She was in shock. We told them they needed to end her suffering quickly. But they decided to wait for the vet. She was put down and so was one of the dogs. The pitt bull had run off.
She's a nasty thing. We actually had the dog warden waiting on us when we walked back to the house. He had brought a trap to catch the pitt because we'd complained about her coming into our yard and threatening us. We also told the neighbor our plans. She told us to shoot the dog if she comes over again. So we told the warden we'd wait on the trap and see if the dog shows up again. What a fiasco! My only worry now is that as we dipose of these dogs, they will replace them yet again. Did I metnion that none of these dogs have been spated or neutered? UGH. People like this should not be allowed to own animals!

Latest Baby News

I had another appointment on Jan.10th for an ultrasound to see where Hannah had decided to move to. I somewhat expected she was still laying transverse but she wasn't. She's head down and in the right position for delivery. So unless we have some unforseen problem that arises everything should go according to plan. The doc says she is now 7 pounds and 9 ounces. Yikes! That is more than he thought she would be at birth! I hope she doesn't get too much bigger because I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be able to get her outta there!

Here are a few pictures from the ultrasound:

The last two weeks have been a little rough for me. I got the opportunity to see what the emergency room looks like on New Years Eve. Lemme tell ya, noone was real happy to be working that night! Anyway, I was told I had Bromchitis and also a Sinus Infection. Youch that was not pleasant! They put me on amoxicillin for 10 days and basically told me to go home and deal with it. I was allowed to take tylenol but that was it. It was rough but I am finally feeling better. At my appointment on thursday doc gave me a script for a Z-pack and I think that is what is finally doing the trick. I was also allowed to take bendryl at night which helped me get some sleep. I have two more days of the Z-pack but I have already started back in the barn.

It's been a bit moring the last few days so I've been trying to get a little fresh air. Yesterday I brought in Sealy and played with her a bit. She loves the attention and especially loves being groomed. She's such a lover and I have to admit it makes me melt when she nuzzles up to my cheek and blows a little. It's been a long time since I've had a horse who looks for me to come to her and give her attention. My other horse, Blake is sweet but really could care less if I mess with him or not. So here are a few test pictures I took yesterday with the new camera. I'm fairly confident I have everything "down" when taking outdoor shots. Indoor action shots are another story. So I guess I need to go back to the manual again....