My Life

I know an update is needed and so while Gianna (Gigi) is asleep on the couch with the hair dryer running I will attempt to blog. Yes, it has been one of those days where Gigi is very tired and yet she can't seem to fall asleep and so I had to resort to running the hair dryer to calm her down. She wasn't crying or even really upset but she was miss cranky pants and when I tried to soothe her to sleep she would just whine and struggle. I need her to take a good nap today because I want to her sleep great tonight and I need a moment to myself. So I pulled out the hair dryer and instantly she was calm and feel asleep. I love love my hairdryer.

Three weeks ago I went back to work part time. My first week was really hard because we had just gotten back from a trip and Gianna decided to stop sleeping her wonderful 9 hours a night and instead to wake up three times a night. Also, although I did not feel super sad I know it was a hard change for me to be away from her. I am unbelievably blessed though because Mr. F watches her Mon and Tues and then my mom and mother-in-law both take her a half day. I am working 4 days a week Monday - 8 hours, Tue- 4, Wed- 4 and Thur- 4 or something like that. Sometimes I am in the office for only 2 or 3 hours depending on if I have client meetings. The biggest change for me going back to work is that my salary was reduced to almost nothing. I mean really let's just say to get paid my salary I only need to work 6 hours a week. It's a big financial change for us and we are not sure how it will all work out but at the same time it's a really good move for my career. It's allowing me to focus on sales and it's giving me more drive to sell. This week I made my biggest sale to date. It was super exciting! It has been exhausting working part time and being a mom. I am so thankful I don't work full-time. I know a lot of people really love working but for me I could take it or leave it.

Gianna is so much fun. She is smiling non-stop, cooing, squealing, giggling and trying to sit up. Over the past week she has started to grab her toys and put them in her mouth. She will bite on anything she can get her hands on. The doctor says she is not teething but it sure seems like it. She sleeps from 7pm to 7am on most nights with one dream feed. She is starting to wear bibs because the drooling has become quit plentiful. This Sunday she is going to have her first sampling of some baby oatmeal. I know she will spit most of it out and have that confused funny look on her face. Bath time has become a fun event with lots of kicking and laughing. Gianna has also starting to suck her thumb and fingers. She sucks her thumb mostly so it looks like that will be the finger of choice. I tried uploading a video of her in the bath to You Tube but I don't think it worked. Gianna had her 4 month check up and was in the 77% for height and 50% for head size and weight. She is 25" and 13lbs 10oz.


I did finally stop pumping 2 weeks ago. I am very proud of myself that I pumped for 4 months (every 4 hours) and was able to give Gianna all that great breast milk. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done and so I am very relieved it is over.

Mr F. still loves his job and continues to thrive and impress his bosses. He is an amazing Dad and is involved in all aspects if Gigi's life from diapers, to night feedings to play time. Gigi is crazy about her daddy.


My nephew Cayden (who has Cystic Fibrosis) is doing very well and really thriving. He shows no signs of having a disease at this point and we are so thankful for his continued health, for wonderful doctors and for great health insurance. Zachary just celebrated his 2nd birthday and is becoming quite the big boy.

Lastly, my only complaint for today is that I have still not lost this baby weight (8 pounds). I am so over even caring how I look I just want to wear my old clothes. I need my work clothes and don't want to wear these maternity pants. The hard thing is that my diet was so limited while I was pregnant and while pumping so now I want to eat all kinds of stuff. I am walking an hour or more a day and working hard to make healthy choices I am just so over this stage.

Here are some new pictures of my life:

My chubby post prego-face:)

Zachary on his new Skooch


The Birthday Boy

My Nieces - Lila, Alyssa and Rubi, Nephew - Evan

Gigi and Daddy

Cayden and Aunt Sally

Nana Nina and Gianna

Nonno Sam and Gianna

Cross Country Skiing with my sister in law Christina - yes those are the Grand Tetons!

A Different Kind Of Christmas

Christmas this year was very different for our family. My husband had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On Christmas morning Gianna and I woke up and made some chicken soup for all the guys who were working with Mr. F. We figured it was a bummer for them to have to work so why not bring them a hot meal. Also, Gianna and I did not want to be home alone:) Okay so Gianna did not really know it was Christmas or that we were home alone. Bringing them all lunch really made me reflect and think about how blessed I am. I thought of all the men and women who were away from their families serving our country, about people who had lost loved one's recently and about my friends who were seperated from their families. I spent time praying for each of those people. It was a neat experience - I would have loved to have spent the day with my hubby but I am thankful for the lesson God taught me and that I was reminded of how blessed my life is.

Pictures of Gianna

I only have a couple of minutes but here are some new pictures of Gianna. She is doing great, last night she slept almost 8 hours and then another 3 after that. I know I am spoiled with this amazing angel baby. We have lot's of fun together and she is crazy about her daddy. She is smiling and cooing so much. I have yet to get a really good smiling picture but I am working on it. She holds her head up all really well and loves to just look around. Her favorite thing right now is to look into the mirror with daddy and giggle. Sorry I barely ever post but I am trying to keep up on all your blogs. Lot's of love:)

Cayden Update

Hi Friends,

Thank you all so very much for your prayers and encouraging notes. Below is a copy of an email my sister sent out regarding their appointment with the pulmonary specialist:


Hi Friends,

Thank you for the many sweet e-mails and phone calls concerning Cayden. We feel very fortunate to have supportive friends who are praying for us.

Here's the scoop. We are actually doing fairly well right now. The shocking news has sort of set in and we are becoming educated on what life is going to be like for our little guy. Fortunately, the prognosis looks promising. If it wasn't for the newborn screening that was implemented in California in July 2007, we probably would not have known about the disease until later in his life. Prior to that time, a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in a baby was usually due to "failure to thrive". In Cayden's case, he is thriving. His pancreas is working normally, producing the necessary enzymes for nutritional absorption, and he is gaining weight. The doctors will be taking a stool sample at 6 and 9 months to make sure this continues to be true. He is in the 97th percentile for both weight and head size and the 90th percentile for height. I told him he has a little catching up to do on his length:). Dr. Pian, the lead pulmonologist at Children's Hospital and department head of the CF clinic, said that he would be very surprised if Cayden suddenly had pancreatic insufficiency. He has followed multiple children with the same two mutations of CF that Cayden has, so he has a pretty good idea of what the outlook will be. That was relieving to us.

Some people wonder why we want to know know about a disease that may not affect Cayden for years. Dr. Pian shared that in cases like Cayden's if there is not an early diagnosis, parents continue to wonder why it takes so long for their child to recover from colds and infections. Then after numerous bouts with sinusitis and other bronchial infections, allergy testing, etc., a doctor might consider the possibility of CF. Once the child or teenager is finally diagnosed, he/she most likely already has lung damage. Early diagnosis will help us make decisions for Cayden that will avoid damage to his lungs.

Dr. Pian said he expects Cayden to live a pretty normal life, and with today's technologies and resources he should live well into adulthood. Of course, Flack and I are praying that a cure is discovered in his lifetime. Either way, continued discoveries will be made about CF as Cayden grows and therefore we foresee an even longer life span than predicted now. There is a lot of research going on in the field. Here are some other things we found out at our last appointment:

· We asked if Cayden will be able to play sports and the doctor said absolutely. He will just have to be on a regular hydration schedule because his body excretes more salt than ours.

· The team kept emphasizing that people who are around Cayden need to wash hands, wash hands, and wash hands again because although his immune system is not necessarily weaker than the average person's, bacteria collects more readily in the dryer, thicker mucous that is present in CF patients. Therefore, respiratory illnesses can be tougher on Cayden. In fact, the doctors may prescribe more aggressive antibiotic treatments when he does get sick and we are supposed to notify Children's Hospital when he contracts any sicknesses. Cayden will have to get a shot once a month to help him avoid a respiratory virus that is pretty common. The doctor told us it costs $900 a shot. Thank God for insurance!

· Dr. Pian told us that San Diego has a good environment for CF patients, but not to be surprised if Cayden is hospitalized a few times during his lifetime. For example, when the fires happened in SD, there were many CF patients hospitalized. (Flack said we will be evacuating if that happens. Who wants some house guests?:) Also, Cayden will go down to Children's Hospital once every 3 months for a swab test on his throat to see if any threatening bacteria are in his system.

That's all I can think of right now. Usually new CF patients have to go back to the clinic once a week for the first month, but because Cayden's health is excellent right now, we don't have to go back until next month.

Of course we are saddened that our little boy has to endure this disease. Like all parents, we want the absolute best for our Cayden and it will pain us to see him struggle. Nevertheless, we are encouraged at the outlook. It doesn't seem that he will live as a sickly child which makes our hearts lighter. As some of you may know, his name means "companion", but it also means "fighter" - appropriate I guess.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers!

With love,
Sara

CAYDEN - means Fighter and Companion

Yes, it has been a long time since I last blogged but for good reason. Life has just been busy and overwhelming. The easiest way for me to write this is just to paste in the email that I sent to some friends on November 26th.

It is with a heavy heart that we write to tell you that our little Cayden (my sister Sara's 6 week old newborn) has Cystic Fibrosis. The Maguire’s received a call last evening from the head of the Cystic Fibrosis Department of Children’s Hospital informing them that his test numbers are clear indicators. The good news is that he has a mild form and he is gaining weight (this means that his body is processing food adequately – many children with CF have trouble gaining weight). The next step is to have more testing done and meet with the team of doctors who will care for him. By the way, the doctor who broke the news to them was very caring, professional and compassionate with Flack and Sara. We trust our Gracious, Mighty God to lead the Maguire’s down this difficult path. “His rod and his staff they comfort me.”

Today they go and meet with the doctor to see what life looks like for Cayden. This is such a sad and scary time for us. Please pray for the Maguires!

In regards to my little Gianna she is doing great! She is sleeping 6 to 7.5 hours at night and then an additional 3 after that. She is so easy and healthy. I will post pics when I have time.

Some New Pics

It has been way too long since I last blogged. Life is starting to really look up. Gianna is doing so much better... All that soy formula has finally processed through her system and she is much happier. She is no longer in constant pain from gas and she is also not blowing us out with her stinky toots. I know it sounds funny but when she had her first breast milk poop we were so happy. Before her poop was like clay so to see a good healthly poop made us so happy. Since that time she has been doing 10 times better... she has her fussy periods but no longer does she cry out in pain. I am pumping and feeding her about 6oz of formula a day. Here are some new pictures of her...she is starting to smile but I have yet to capture a good picture. Thank you all for your encouraging comments on my last post it really means more than you will ever know.

PS I now understand what other people meant when they blogged about how bumming it was to still be in maternity clothes. I so wish I could wear my regular clothes again.

Joy, Tears, Laughter and Trials!

Being a mom is a wonderful roller coaster of joy, tears, laughter, and trials. It has been almost 5 weeks since Gianna was born and it has been quite the ride. I fall in love with her more each day. I just completed four days of being a single mom. Mr. F works 12 1/2 hour shifts so he gets home around 7:00 pm and goes to bed by 9:30 pm. He sleeps in our guest room because with his line of work he has to be rested. When I did the first four nights by myself I was a wreck. The benefit of his schedule though is that he is now off for three days in a row.

I am learing that many many moms can relate to my struggles with breast feeding. I like all moms desire to give me daughter the best start possible in life and for me that = breastfeeding. The problem is that when your child goes into the NICU for their first week of life things start of very backwards. To start Gianna was fed large amounts of formula (by bottle) because she needed to poop and get out the jaundice. When I did feed her they had me wear a nipple shield because they said my nipples were too flat. Today I know this was not really the case it is just something they hand out like candy to most new moms because it makes it easier for you to tubal feed your baby formula while they are latched on. I was also pumping at home while I was away from her and then again tubal feeding her my breast milk.

The reason why this has made things hard is that Gianna is used to getting her food very quickly and since she is so used to the nipple shield she get's mad when I don't use it. There have been times when I have fed her for an hour and a half with that dumb shield and she is still hungry afterwards. For the past two weeeks I have refused to use the nipple shield and have been doing a lot of pumping and bottle feeding. I do some breastfeeding but sometimes she get's so mad that it is not worth it. So my nights and days often consist of breastfeeding, bottle feeding and then pumping! This process is exhausting.

The other issue is that Gianna has stinky man farts and they are causing her pain. We are taking her to my chiropractor and he is helping her a ton. The use of the vacuum to get her out of me messed up her alignment and Dr. Shores says studies have found that most babies who deal with colic are out of alignment. He adjusted her on Friday and she was so peaceful and happy the rest of the day. Don't worry he does not crack her neck or back he uses a gentle tool that taps her bones into place.

I am working on getting Gianna as much breast milk as possible but I have to supplement with some formula. I just don't produce enough milk to support her needs. In the hospital she was on soy formula because I am lactose intollerant and I was afraid she might be also. I think this might be one of the causes of her gas. So as of 5 days ago she is only getting breastmilk and maybe 6 oz of Nutramgin a day. Yes, the super expensive stuff!

I have been given so much great advice and the thing that seems to be working the best is just trying to get her as much breast milk as possible. I feel like a cow pumping all the time but she is so worth it. I am so thankful for the friends and family who have encouraged me and helped me see that breastfeeding is not the end all. I just really like the idea of not having to pump, having her food with me at all times and not having to pay for formula. There is also something very special about connecting with her in this way. I am praying that once her gas get's under control and she is less colicky the breast feeding with improve but we will see. Every day I seem to have a new resolve based on how things are going and how tired I am.

So that is my new mom update! Sorry if this post was boring for most people. Here are some pictures of Gianna and her cousins.




Zachary and Cayden (born 10-10-08)
Cayden Edward Maguire 10-10-08, 10lbs 11 oz (my sisters son)

Cayden and Gianna