Jim and Toni's baby blog

Back in the saddle....

2008-04-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

So, Luca is going to be a big brother.

Luca will be joined by a LITTLE SISTER, with a due date of 24 September, 2008.

In the interim, here's some more recent pictures of Luca to hold you over until I post some more later this week....

you know that your town is in trouble when...

2007-10-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

The Today Show is broadcasting from within a few minutes of your house.

We are all fine. We have no idea if the house we are renting is still there. The area where we live is under mandatory evacuation We high-tailed it out of the area when the voluntary evacuation started yesterday am. For now, we're camped in a motel in Desert Hot Springs, about 100 miles from our house.

The current weather forecast calls for the Santa Ana winds which have fueled these fires to wind down on Thursday. Until then, the planes we rely on to extinguish wildfires are largely grounded. Firefighters are waiting by the thousands to pounce on the fires when the winds die down.

From everything we can piece together, thousands of homes will be lost.

I'll keep posting on the blog as things develop.

but what about the parents?

2007-07-15T18:59:00.001-07:00

more from Italy

2007-07-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

OK, sorry it's been so long...

2007-07-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

With things as hectic as they have been over the last few weeks, we've been completely remiss in posting the blog. Finally, here are a few new pictures from this month's trip to Italy. More to come soon...

An Easter note from Luca's mom

2007-04-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter from the Rondinellis!

How in the World can it be April already? The little man arrived about eleven weeks ago and it feels like we have slipped into a time vaccuum here. To put it simply, Luca is AMAZING! He has changed our lives in every conceivable way and we love it!

This past week was a wonderful whirlwind. My sister Kelly flew out from Washington state and met her brilliant nephew for the first time. We so enjoyed having her here and will miss her loving energy and helpful hands. Suki met Kelly, Luca and me for dinner at Shun Lee in Manhattan (right by Lincoln Center) on Monday night. Two fellow diners couldn't keep their eyes and hands off Luca -- it was one of those fantatic, unexpected moments of social warmth in the Big Apple. A proverbial "second cherry" to top off our wonderful evening. Seeing Suki was lovely -- she's happier than I've seen her in some time and I think there's a man behind it all -- wink, nod!

Chris and Richard are visiting tomorrow and I can't wait to see them see Luca. He weighs roughly twice what he did when they saw him last and is cooing up a storm! Jim will be on the West Coast for work so I'll be sure to capture some great memorable moments by camera.

Much love everyone!!!

Toni

P.S. Has anyone seen Luca's blue fuzzy sock? The binkie we keep in the car? What about his mommy's brain? If so, please let me know!!!

Aunt Kelly Visits Luca!

2007-04-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

What a great week with the Rondinellis Kelly has had! The little guy is absolutely incredible! I believed Toni, but the proof is really in holding him. He is a very happy little boy (most of the time ;o). Even the pups are understanding who's really boss around here now. What a lucky boy to have such wonderful parents! I'll miss this bunch terribly, so I'll sign off and kiss on 'em some more before I get on the plane .
-kb 4/6/07

NOW OVER 12 LBS.!

2007-03-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

I guess it's easy to believe if you look at the pictures below. Especially the bottom one.

Jim

Luca's Growth Spurt

2007-03-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Apologies that it's taken so long to post new pictures on the blog. We're still getting used to the travails of new parenthood. The sleep cycles of 3 hours, the house being a little messier that it used to be (and accepting it), taking an hour to get out of the house. It's all new to us.

So finally, we get to posting new pictures. I figure that the best place to start is to show you how quickly he's growing. All those late night feedings are paying off.

More to come.

Today's weigh-in 9lbs. 14 oz.!!!!

2007-02-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

Another visit to the pediatrician today and our little Luca has shot up 10 ounces in a week!!! A week! More pictures to post later today.

More week 3

2007-02-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

Look how big he's getting compared to the sheep...

Week 3 - Back From Barcelona

2007-02-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a few days since we've posted to the blog. I've just returned from a week in Spain on business. Being gone so long was hard on all three of us.

One of the highlights in this series was the visit of my good buddy Steve and his wife Sybille. Steve is one of my oldest friends and the first of the hometown crew to stop in for a visit.

The headcold I picked up on the trip is making coherent thought a challenge.. Enjoy the pictures.

Did anyone notice that I'm already confusing Luca and Lola?

2007-02-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Note the title of the last post. Another sign of a new Dad asleep at the switch. Yikes.

More pictures from Lola's second week

2007-02-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

Luca's eyes are opening and focusing more and more every day.

First day back at work....

2007-02-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

It's hard being a new Dad when you have to go back to work. Save an email or two from my good friend and colleague Ed, I have been focused on things other than the office. Leaving Luca today was definitely a bit melancholy. BUT....

My coworkers gave me the most pleasant welcome back to work one can imagine. My new boss has been very generous and consummately understanding. It really felt great to be back in the office.

Lola, on the other hand, apparently was used to me being around and was super upset when I left. Upset so much that she stayed at the door and barked for over an hour at the top of her lungs. Over and over and over.

Enough dribble for now. here's wnat you've been waiting for: more pictures of little Luca. Notice how much he's filling out over the last week, especially in the smoothness of his face.

First Visit to the Pediatrician and Weekly Reference

2007-02-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

We'll be taking a picture of Luca every week with the same object (the super-cool fuzzy sheep) so you can track his growth.

Also included: some pictures from the Dr.'s office this morning.
Quote for the day comes from our pediatrician: "If there's one thing I want you to take from this appointment, please know he's perfect!"

Thank God for Chris and Richard!

2007-02-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

So, in spite of all the warnings, we were completely surprised by the amount of chaos a new baby brings into the house. Enter Chris and Richard, our cousins from Pittsburgh. Sensing that we needed some help, they dropped everything and ran up to help us. It's a blessing to hae them around. Luca has been gaining some weight and even seems to be settling in to a sleeping schedule. His eyes seem to open more every day.

That's all for now, except Thank God for Chris and Richard.

Jim

First night home

2007-01-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

The big day. Luca's first trip to his home. We were discharged, stopped for a sandwich, and proceeded home to begin our adventures in parenting.

The introduction of Luca to the canine brood went very well. We brought him upstairs and intended to eat lunch in the nursery so we could keen an eye on him. Just as I unwraped the sandwiches, all hell broke loose. We needed a diaper, and of course, the first one we grabbed was the wrong size. Oops. A few minutes and frayed nerves later he settled down into his crip for his first nap at home. Until the pacifier fell out. Screams again. More frayed nerves. Instant peace on recovery of his pacifier.

You don't realize how bumpy the roads are around here until you drive your wife home from the hospital after her c-section. You don't realize how bumpy the roads can be at home until you bring your baby to the house for the first time.

A couple of notes about the last set of pictures. The woman in red is our dear friend Mrs. Sally. You may have met her at our wedding. The nurse is our newfound friend Chris. A self-proclaimed "Jets Football Freak", she has this uncanny ability to soothe the nerves of the new parent. She even makes changing a diaper look graceful. I'd suggest we nominate her for sainthood. We'll miss her a lot.

Jim and Toni

Pictures from the last few days

2007-01-29T15:31:00.000-08:00

Luca goes home

2007-01-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

Just got home. Total chaos. Will write more later, but in the meantime, here are a few pictures from Luca's load-out from the hospital.

J

Note About The Pictures

2007-01-27T04:55:00.000-08:00

Please note that the blog software arranged the pictures from last to first. If you want to see them in the order we intended, skip to the bottom and go up.

I'll try to have some video up this week.

Jim

Luca After A Long, Hard Day

2007-01-27T04:52:00.000-08:00

Luca has arrived!

2007-01-27T04:45:00.000-08:00

More Luca Pictures

2007-01-27T04:37:00.000-08:00

The First Pictures!

2007-01-27T04:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry it took so long to get these pictures up. There are no easy internet connections near the hospital and between Toni's recovery from her C-Section and the feeding, etc. every two hours, I haven't felt like I could leave until this morning.

36 hours awake and ...

2007-01-25T15:38:00.001-08:00

Still going. Luca has been resting soundly in our room. It's also nice to have great and attentive hospital staff to hand him off to should we get tired. - could see where we'll miss that in the future. Toni is having a great experience with very good pain management, especially when you consider that she went through surgery today.

As for me? I'm in a state combining exhaustion and elation. I still can't believe he's here. He scored off the charts in some damn assessment of child viability they conducted in the nursery after his birth. I'm too tired to remember the name of the test. Sorry about that. Maybe one of you recent moms can post it here and tell us what the test is about.

From my point of view, the whole thing just seems to make so much sense. It feels so right. I'm really comfortable with the huge responsibilities of being a Dad. Perhaps thats a sign of how exhausted I really am

Jim

Please welcome Luca James Rondinelli!!!

2007-01-24T22:08:00.001-08:00

Born 1003 EST
19.5 in long
7lb. 6 oz.
Mom and baby recovering well. Dad's still shaking!

I'll post pictures soon

Thanks for all your support.

Jim and Toni

The 16th hour...

2007-01-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

Things continue to develop here at the hospital. Toni has been laboring pretty hard since about 6PM local time. She has been a study in peacefulness, poise, and beauty throughout the labor. I lost my bet with the doula that our son would arrive about 1:03am. Her bet of 2:03 looks like a better guess, but who knows? Needless to say, we're both pretty tired.

More news coming when we get time to post.

Jim

We are at the hospital!!!

2007-01-24T17:33:00.000-08:00

Went for ultrasound at 8am and was sent immediately to hospital. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

Toni is now in full labor, which is proceeding beautifully. More as things develop.

Change continues,

Jim

Just how close is Toni?

2007-01-23T09:42:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken last week. You make the call... Our due date is SUNDAY!

Jim

News from the Orthopedic

2007-01-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

Good news to report. Toni had an appointment with her Orthopedic MD yesterday. On a 1-3 scale where 3 is a complete tear, she has a category 1 or 2 injury to her MCL. We peppered him with questions about the viability of a natural childbirth. He's given us the green light, stating: "You can't hurt it anymore in labor that you've done already". Reassuring news. Meantime, Toni's been assigned a new and slightly less cumbersome immobilizer. We'll have pictures up of Toni in her new gear very soon.

She's been keeping a sense of humor about the whole thing. Thank God for that. If I were in her shoes, I'd be losing my mind about now

Jim

Starting the blog after our weekend of excitement

2007-01-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

After the excitement of this weekend, we've decided to set up this blog to keep you up to date on the latest activity regarding the arrival of our new baby. His due date is January 28th, so needless to say, we've been pretty busy preparing the house for the new arrival.

You'll have to excuse me if my writing style is a little drier than normal, and I apologize for the poor syntax and grammatical errors inherent in our stream-of-consciousness blog. The blog is really intended to keep the greatest number of people up to date in the fastest manner during these crazy times.

Oh yeah. The excitement this weekend. Well, Friday morning started our as a beautiful winter day here in northern NJ. The trees were covered with a light layer of shiny, dense snow. I leave for work. About halfway into my commute, I get a call from Toni telling me that she's fallen. She is distressed and in a lot of pain. I hurry home. toni had slipped on the stairs in back of our house and hurt her knee.

We spent Friday into Saturday shuttling between the ER and the Labor and Delivery wing of the hospital. After the initial diagnosis of a damaged medial collateral ligament (MCL), Toni was hooked up to an array of monitors tracking the baby's heartbeat. About 330PM, they wheel a woman who has just delivered her baby via c-section into the bay next to Toni. Her baby starts crying, and like magic, the baby monitor starts showing contractions. Every time the little newborn next door made a cry, Toni had a contraction on the monitor. Most interesting of all, the contractions were pretty long, up to 30 seconds in length. i started to think that we were going to have the baby that night.

Later in the evening, the contractions subsided. Once our MD's were certain that we were not going to deliver, we were discharged. Toni is now stuck wearing an immobilizer on her left leg, whihc I'm sure will be really interesting when the real labor starts. By the way, that might not take too long. Toni's contractions have been increasing in intensity all weekend.

All was normal in today's visit to the OB for follow-up. We'll be at the orthopedic office this afternoon. I'll post more details afterwards. For those of you who know us well, you know that we can't seem to do anything the easy way.

Change continues.

Jim