Sunday, November 14, 2010

we have teeth

WOW - Kyle is 11 weeks old, and he has already cut 2 teeth (his eye teeth at that) and I am pretty sure he is working on one of his upper incisors also. The poor little guy has been in so much pain and really uncomfortable over the past few days. I hate seeing him that way. I am hoping that the gum will be fully opened by tomorrow, and then maybe he will start to feel better.

Tonight is the best sleep he has had in a while. He has already been asleep or 3.5 hours - much better than the 1 - 2 hour stretches we have been getting the last few nights.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Lest we Forget

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the service men and women (past and present) for what they have done.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

poor Julien

today has been rough on the poor little guy. It started this afternoon when Kyle was napping. I was adding a bundle me to the carseat, and Julien thought it would be fun to play with it.

The next thing I know, he is running from the kitchen into the hallway, and DOVE into the carseat - his head (right above the eye) hit the handle and he bounced backwards. Needless to say, he was pretty sore.

Then, not even 30 minutes later he jumped out of a chair and the arm went into his mouth (cutting his cheek) thankfully he didn't break or knock out a tooth. This child is so accident prone, I am amazed that we have yet to have a broken bone.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

horrible day

today is one of those days where you wish you could just stay in bed and sleep it away. Kyle had his 2mth vaccines on Tuesday, and he did pretty well. He cried, but calmed quickly, and spent the majority of the day sleeping. Wednesday, he was happy as could be, and had a 4 hour mid-day nap. Last night however, was a different story. He didn't sleep for more than 45min at a time.  I tried nursing him, he would sleep and then wake. I tried his back, his side, his tummy - nothing worked. I finally lay with him on the futon, it took a few minutes but he finally went to sleep. I waited 30 min, transferred him to his crib. I got ready for bed, had just laid down and gotten comfy under the covers, and he starts screaming.

So, I brought him to bed with me - it worked! 20 minutes and he was out cold. Then, Julien climbs into bed with us. Oh boy - Kyle slept, but I didn't. I finally got him transferred to his crib, and back to bed I went - Kyle woke up. It took me another 40 minutes to get him back down, I finally got to bed at 445am, and Julien was up at 530. Kyle got up at 630 and decided he would continue screaming . I even trieed the swing twice, no go. Finally, he is asleep in the swing and Julien is sitting in his chair watching a movie.

I am ready to pull my hair out. Days like these seriously make me want to go back to work.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

8 weeks old

Saturday marked 8 weeks of life for Kyle! Time has gone so fast. He is such a happy, content little boy most of the time.

Today he had his shots and check up. He is just under 11lbs, and 24 inches long. He did well with his needles - screamed when they went in, but calmed down right away and is now napping peacefully!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

and he rolls

Sunday night, I put Kyle on his belly in his crib, and he rolled to his back. This happened 3 times. For the rest of the night, when I put him on his belly, he rolled to his back. Side, roll to his back. Back, he tried to roll to his belly - he is getting closer, but not quite yet. 7 weeks old!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Life as 4

Life has been interesting lately. The first 2 weeks apparently were just a honeymoon phase with Julien. Once that period was over, the next 2 weeks were pure hell. The last week things have been getting better, but there are many days where I wish that I could put him in daycare full time. He is such a fun, loveable little boy - but when he puts his mind to something, there is no changing it. It was difficult to deal with BEFORE Kyle came along, but now it is nearly impossible.

I really am contemplating going back to work part time in January, just so that I can have some time away, so that when I am with him, I am much more patient and happy. The poor child had to deal with my hormones for 9 mths, and then gets thrown into a whole new situation with his brother.

Kyle is a gem. He is a relatively easy going baby most of the time. Although, at 5 weeks old he is already teething. His bottom gums have 2 prominent white bumps where his teeth will come in, and when he is cranky, if I put pressure on the spots he calms right down and chomps. The poor little guy. Julien was an early teether too, he started between 8 and 10 weeks - his first tooth cut just around 6mths. I am only hoping that Kyle doesn't spend the next 4 mths in pain.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Tears

Kyle was crying today, and when I went to get him, his eyes were red and watery, and there were streaks down his cheeks from tears. It made me so sad to see that his tears have come in. Julien was about 8 weeks or so when he started to have tears, so I wasn't expecting it anytime soon.

It makes the crying so much worse - my poor little guy

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

newborn shots

We had a very talented photographer over last week to take some newborn shots of kyle for us, here is a look at her blog - Pam's Perspective

Here are a few of the teasers she sent us - can't wait to see the rest!


Monday, September 13, 2010

breastfeeding around little ones

When I was younger, my cousin was born. I was 6. My aunt was a new mom, and she was breastfeeding. She was in a bedroom at another aunt's place, and my 5 yo cousin and I wanted to watch. She can't remember which one of us asked, but we were so fascinated that milk came out of her breast, we asked if food came out the other one.

When I was nursing Julien, I wasn't really around many little ones, so I never encountered questions. However, with Kyle having an older brother and older cousins, the questions are starting.

Chloe wanted to hold him on Saturday, but he needed to eat. So, I told her after I fed him she could have a turn holding him. She very kindly offered him her pogo and french fries. I told her that was kind, but that he had to have milk from his mommy. She started to ask questions, so Wes told her that Kyles milk came from my boob - she wanted to watch.

Julien likes to watch me pump sometimes, and last night I was pumping (only 1 side) and he asked if it was white milk - and if the other breast had chocolate milk - cause he thought Kyle would really like the chocolate side better.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

the things they say (or how they interpret what WE say)

Yesterday afternoon I had to get Jules out of the house. He was cranky, overtired and just needed to let out some of his energy.

So I decided to put Kyle in the buggy and the 3 of us walked over to the park. Before we left, I had a little chat with Julien about how he had to stay near mommy, and he couldn't go more than 5 feet in front of me. He got wide eyed, looked at me and said "mommy, I don't have 5 feet, I only have 2 feet - you didn't know that?"

It cracked me up so much - sometimes I forget how literal kids actually are!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Family of 4

We have now been home from the hospital for 10 days, and are settling into life as a family of 4. Julien has adjusted much better than I expected, although he does have his moments. He likes to help, and the other day I changed Kyle's diaper without getting Jules to help - well, that was unacceptable, and Kyle got a truck thrown at his head (I was there to intervene - but you get the picture).

He loves to give his brother hugs and kisses, and loves to hold him also!

Kyle has a much different disposition than Julien did. He is so placid, I almost don't kinow how to handle it.  I am used to a fussy/cranky baby that won't settle down without nursing; and now, I have a baby that almost never cries, only nurses for food, and actually lets me sleep at night (I get up more with Julien than I do with Kyle). Kyle gives me 4-6 hours stretches, and I find myself having to wake him to feed because I get so engorged with milk that I can't sleep. I even had to pump after feeding him on Tuesday night because I was so full.

All this to say that I love my boys. I couldn't have asked for better kids - they are so sweet and precious, and I wouldn't trade them for anything!




Thursday, September 2, 2010

Kyle Anthony's arrival

At 3:30 pm on August 28, we got the call to head in for the induction. We finished getting organized, picked up my mom and off we went.

When we got there, we "checked in" got settled in my labour room and waited for the doctor. She came in at 630pm, broke my waters (I was still only at 2cm) and they started me on the pitocin drip. Contractions started less then 5 minutes later, not unbearable - but I definitely knew they were coming.

After 2 hrs, I called the nurse and asked for the epi - only to find out that the doctor was in the OR on a 4 hr case. They had another doc called in to come do a c-section, and were going to check with him if he would perform my epi. He arrived, and at 8:55 it was all done! But, it wasn't working. The nurse wanted to wait a little while before calling him back, so we waited 30 minutes. She then decided to top me up with something a little stronger, and see if htat would work. After about 3 minutes, it started to work. She checked me and I was 4cm. 20 minutes later, his heart rate dropped to 60, so the nurse decided to check me and see if he was further in the birth canal - sure enough, I was at 8cm now. She started getting the room ready for delivery, and 10 minutes later I told her that I felt as if I was "opening" and she checked and said "yep, your definitely at 10" so she called the doctor in. During this point, I was vomiting quite a bit, which acts as pushes, so my actual "pushing time" was less than 5 minutes.

Kyle Anthony made his appearance at 10:14pm, weighing 8lbs 3oz - after 3hrs44 minutes of labour.

today is the day

Well, today is the day. We should be meeting our new little one anytime.  I am still waiting to get a phone call for the induction - 45 minutes and I can call them to see if they have a time for me.

It is very strange to KNOW that I should be holding my little one at some point today.

Julien stayed at J's parents last night, so that we didn't have to worry about getting him ready to go first thing this mornign if we got the call.

We took him out to dinner, to have one last supper as a family of 3. Don Cherry's is a new favorite of ours, and it's pretty kid friendly.

UPDATE

Still waiting around the house. The doctor called at 9am and said that they were super busy, so she wouldn't be able to do anything until at least 6pm. She told me  to go about my day, and then she would call me this evening and if they can't do the induction,  I still need to go in and have my BP checked. So we wait.

J and I have been glued to the couch watching movies and napping, hopefully it will help us get through what might be a very long and hard night.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

we have a date

Monday I started having contractions again. They began around 11am, and were 10 minutes apart. Julien was going to stay at Frank and Susan's, in case there was any progress. Well, they continued until 11pm, and then stopped.

Tuesday morning I had an ob appt, and she checked me. I was still 2cm, but thinner than last week -which she said is still good news - because things were happening. Babies h/b was good, but she was a little concerned as my BP was up a bit.

Originally she said to come in this tuesday, and we would schedule an induction if I made it to the appt. But, after looking over my chart and BP for the last 8 weeks, she decided that she wanted me to have the baby sooner. So, she is working at the hospital on Saturday - so she has me booked in for an induction. She said that it is only 1 day before my EDD, and at this point the baby is cooked. With my previous history of pre-eclampsia, and the pregnancy induced hypertension in this pregnancy, she isn't comfortable with me going past my EDD.

So, if nothing happens before then - we will have a baby sometime Saturday! I am pretty excited. She is confident that breaking my waters will trigger my body to start things up on it's own, which means no synthetic induction! That makes me happy!

I am hoping that I have a quick and easy delivery like Jules, but who knows. I am a little nervous because his was SOOOOO easy, that I don't know what I will do if this one is not.
I am very glad that my OB will be the one delivering the baby, since she wasn't last time.

Monday, August 23, 2010

rainy day outing

It's such a crappy day here, and Julien hates being cooped up in the house, so we decided to head into bells corners and visit Kid Kaf for the first time. It's ok - it took Jules a while to warm up and so he stayed glued to my side for the first half hour, but then he started having fun.

I think the next time we go, we will make sure to have a playmate with us (for both of our sakes).

A few pictures of the little monkey

Thursday, August 19, 2010

38w4d

It is very strange to realize that I am almost at my due date - and still no baby. From the beginning, I felt that I would end up with the same problems as Julien's pregnancy, and be induced early. Even my GP and OB figured it would happen.

When my BP started going up, my OB just wanted to get me to 37 weeks, and then she was going to induce me - was she ever surprised when 37 weeks came and my bp had leveled off back to normal.

I feel very much like a first time mom, as I didn't go into labour naturally - and was being monitored so closely during the induction process with Julien.

I am getting anxious to meet this little babe - and very curioius to see what this one's personality will be like. I am looking forward to seeing Julien interact with his baby sibling - hoping for a great transition to big brotherhood, but prepared for some bumps along the way!

I think this is goin to be a long process

Monday afternoon I was really sick, and started having contractions. We made the decision to have Julien stay at J's parents, in case I needed to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. After supper, they died down - and were only happening 1 or 2 times an hour.

I tried to sleep, but couldn't. Finally, about 1230 I dropped off. But, I was awoken at 230 with menstrual like cramping. At about 315, the contractions started up again and they were 5 minutes apart. I timed them using contractionmaster.com, and after an hour woke J up and told him we should head to triage to get checked out. They weren't overly strong, but the doc had told me the week before to head in at 5 min apart because of my speedy labour with Jules.

We got to triage and hooked up, I was definitely contracting every 5 minutes, and they were lasting approx 45 sec. The nurse checked me, but wasn't optimistic - however, she was surprised to see that I was 2cm and 50% effaced. Babies h/b was pretty fast when we first got there, but it did calm down and they were comfortable sending me home, as thingss didn't seem to be going anywhere. I had an appt that morning with my OB.

My OB was quite excited to hear that things were starting to happen, and she was pretty sure that I would be delivering in the next few days.

However, a few hours after my appt the contractions died down. I tried walking, bouncing on an exercise type ball, nothing really going on. Jules was staying at Frank and Susans again tuesday night, just in case - but the evening was uneventful - I did however have a terriffic sleep!

Yesterday afternoon the contractions started up again, and were 5 minutes apart for about an hour, but then they stopped.  I was hoping that something would happen over night, as my doc was on call until this morning - but no such luck.

I have no idea how long this is going to take. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a very active 3 year old that wants to play with his mommy. Poor thing just doesn't understand why Ican't crawl around on the floor like I did before.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

thank you !!

I have been feeling under the weather the past week - my feet are incredibly swollen and sore, and I am pretty sure the baby has engaged so I have lots of pelvic pressure also. But, I must say that my mom and mother in law are amazing. They have helped me out so much with Julien - I would just like to thank them!

My son would have spent the entire week watching tv if it weren't for their help!

please make it stop

I am so sick of people asking me if I am ready for the pregnancy to be over. I am only 38 weeks today - I could possibly have 4 weeks left of being pregnant. Yes, I am tired, sore, cranky and swollen - but that's ok - it all goes hand in hand with the end of pregnancy, especially in the humid weather. I can deal with it until the babe is ready to join us on the outside - so please, don't ask me if I am over being pregnant yet - because pretty soon, I am going to snap on someone.

Rant over

Sunday, August 8, 2010

heartbreaking news

I found out today that a member of my august mommies group gave birth to her little girl a few days ago. Unfortunately, there were some complications and her little girl didn't survive.

My heart is breaking for her and her family right now. Please know that your in my thoughts and prayers.

37 weeks

Today marks 37 weeks gestation for this pregnancy. I am a little surprised that I made it this far, as all along I figured I would end up induced early again because of PIH or Pre-E. However, my blood pressure has been up - but all tests are coming back ok so as of now it hasn't turned into pre - e this time! YAY!

Apparently, 37 weeks is considered full term, I don't think that way - but most babes born after this point have little to no health issues - that I am thankful for.

We are heading out today with a friend to have some family/mat pictures taken - my fingers are crossed that the rain holds off till after 12pm. We are meeting at 11am.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

We have a tough little boy

Julien is your stereotypical little boy. He is rough, he likes to climb and play and get into trouble. It;s pretty much a guarantee that he will have skinned knees all summer long, and for the most part they don't seem to bother him.

Last weekend, he tripped on my mothers laneway and skinned his knees (not badly) but he also took a small chunk out of his palm. We got him all cleaned up (after some drama) and all was better by wednesday.


Then, we had gone to bayshore yesterday and he likes to open the doors. Unfortunately, the doors going into the bay are extremely heavy, and don't have a push button.  He was having trouble, so I grabbed the handle and pulled -and then Jules started screaming. His foot had been in the way - and when I looked, there was blood everywhere. Apparently, the door hit the top of his toe and ripped the skin - I thought I had ripped off the toenail, but after further investigation it was just that the top of his toe had been sliced open.

Mom and I got him calmed down (I think I cried more than he did) and got him back to her place to clean him up. He did let us eventually put on a bandaid - and then decided that because of his toe he couldn't walk. As much as I wanted to let him get away with it - I told him that in the house he had to walk, but I would carry him outside since we weren't going to be putting his sandal back on that foot.

3 year old check up

Julien had his 3 year old check up yesterday, and he did awesome!

The receptionist bribed him into peeing in a cup (she told him that if he peed in the cup she would find a sucker for him) so, off to the bathroom we went and he peed in the cup! He got a big high five and hug from mommy for that. We go back to the office and he stood on the scale to get weighed - 31lbs! He gained 4 lbs from last year.

She took us into the room, and showed him the urine stick and how it changes colours, he was thrilled. Then she measured him and he is 3'1". He wouldn't let them measure him last year, so I am not sure how much he grew.

Doctor Cathy (as Julien calls her) came in and he let her do all the exams that were needed - but his eye never strayed far from the green sucker he chose that was sitting on the counter!

nursery progress

Finally we have some nursery progress!

A friend had painted the room for us, and just to finish up the closet - that is done! He did it last night! Now, J just has to finish his little projects (caulking on the baseboards and closet organizer) and then the room is ready for furniture!

I am so happy to have an end in sight! I ordered the glider from sears this week, so it should be here in the next 2 weeks. The crib is in the basement all ready to be put together, and we are hoping that with the closet organizer we won't need to use a dresser - but if we do need it, it is ready and waiting in the basement.

The bassinet is at my moms all put together, just waiting to bring it home (baby will sleep in our room for the first few months).
Things are moving along quickly! I will be 36 weeks tomorrow!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

babies room

we have been procrastinating getting the babe's room ready. Well, not necessarily procrastinating - it just seems that there is never enough time. But, as I am only a few short weeks from my due date - the rush is on. We have a wonderful friend that has done the painting for us (most of it, a few small spots need to be finished - but he was waiting on J to do the baseboards/trim). So that was J's project for last weekend - and Julien decided to help.

Filling in nail holes in the trim is a long process, but Julien was a trooper

15 years

Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of my fathers death. It really surprised me how fast time had gone. In the last 15 years, so much has happened that he has missed out on.

My brother and I both graduated from high school; we both bought our first cars; I bought a house, got married; we both had children; My dad would have (when this one is born) 7 grand children. He loved kids - and was great with little ones. It really makes me sad to know that our children will never get to know their papa rick. I am sure that he would have been the same type of grandpa that his dad was - and he was pretty awesome.

So, I look back at all the memories I have, and promise myself that even though my kids don't KNOW papa rick, they will know just what he was like. Julien loves to go and visit him. He has fun looking at all the headstones, watching the waves made by boats as they pass by on the river; and in the summer - he loves to go for ice cream at the store beside the cemetary.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

updates

It has been a while since I have posted, sorry.

I am now over 34 weeks gestation; I have been experiencing the same complications I had with Julien, but some have crept up a little sooner.

My BP has been going up, so they have been sending me for NST's (non stress test) - makes sure babe is nice and happy; weekly bloodwork and urine checks. I have been having higher than normal levels of protein in my urine, which started around 32 weeks - but with Jules not until 36.

I have also been having bi-weekly growth ultrasounds to make sure that all is well with this little bean. It's nice to see the babe, but I hate that I have already had 5 u/s in this pregnancy - with probably at least one more.

Here is my latest belly picture

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

32 weeks

I am now 32 weeks. 6-10 weeks left of this pregnancy - seems unreal.

Here are a few pics of the belly:

Julien's 3rd birthday

Being 32 weeks pregnant, and having hosted our bbq on Canada Day, I knew that I would not be up to having Jule's birthday party at our home.  Julien attends nursery school at www.tinyhoppers.ca and they also host birthday parties for kids under the age of 10. Since he loves it there so much, we decided that we would book his party there.

The kids had so much fun, and it was so easy for me. I just had to bring in the cake and juice, and they did the rest. They set up the table with the cake and drinks, led a play class for the little ones, and they served the cake/drinks and took care of the clean up also.

It was definitely worth the money - and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a similar idea.

A wonderful visit with family

My fathers aunt and uncle live in BC. They came up for a quick visit in December, and another one this weekend. It was great to see them and have some memories with them visiting the next generation.

Here are a few pictures

Canada Day

Every year we try and have a bbq with our close friends on Canada day.  It has now changed, since almost all of us have little ones,but it was still a lot of fun

All tired out at the end of the day

31 weeks and a picnic


Last sunday marked my 31weeks gestation, and we had some good friends over for a picnic/soccer in the park

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Stitches emerging from finger after 7 years

warning, gross story and pictures ahead.

November 2003, I sliced open my index finger, and managed to damage a tendon in the process. Went to the ER and had it stitched up. Have the stitches out a few weeks later and the doc says it looks good, but to keep it bandaged up for 10 more days.

The 10 days are up, I take off the bandage and what do you know - it's infected. Get on some meds, get the infection cleared up. My finger never healed properly, but I always attributed it to the fact that the tendon was damaged.
Over the years, I would get swelling/inflamation in the area, and it would get incredibly painful - this would happen a few times a year. I would think about going to see the doctor, but then it would go away and would look somewhat normal.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. It swells up again, really red, hot and sore. And I notice fluid coming out of it, so me, being the non-medical personell that I am, decides to help it drain. I won't go into details. A few days later though, I notice something black sticking out of my skin - it looks like a thread. That's when I realize that it was a stitch. I call my doc, but she is on holidays so call back on Monday. Go in, she thinks I am nuts until she looks at my finger. By this point, I have a "bubble" of black coming up as well, not just the initial thread. She can't get it out, so tells me to soak it and put antibiotic cream on a few times a day and come back if they don't work there way out. So apparently, black stitches are to be used on the outside, as they don't dissolve - which means that the doctor used the wrong type to stitch my tendon. As of now, they are still not out - so I am going back tomorrow. But, I am so grossly fascinated by it that I had to take pictures.

Again, warning that it is quite gross, so look at your own risk

wrong sutures usedStitches emerging after 7 yearsSutures emerging after many years

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

well that was a first

We just experienced an earthquake. I know that Ottawa has felt them before, but it's the first time for me. I was at work, and just as the floor/walls started to shake - the baby started to go nuts - kinda freaky.

Apparently it measured 5.5 on the richter scale, and the epicentre was just outside of ottawa, near buckingham quebec.

No major injuries, but some of the downtown buildings have cracks in them/bricks falling off.

I called my mom to see how Julien reacted, and apparently he thought that it was thunder!

JEEP!!

As of Tuesday night, I am the proud owner of a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo! It's black, and pretty - and I love it!

Traded in my corolla, so much more space inside, which is awesome since we are going to have 2 carseats in the back pretty soon! I will post a picture soon!

Monday, June 21, 2010

30 weeks




I can't believe I am now 3/4 of the way through this pregnancy. It also happened to be fathers day! J and I took Mr. J over to the park to play soccer for a little while, he had tons of fun! Also, my 30 week picture.

Nursery School Graduation






Friday was Juliens graduation from nursery school - it was pretty cute. Here are a few pictures.




















Julien was a horse for "old macdonald"