First week...

Rose is now 1 week old. In some ways the time has flown by, but in other ways it seems like ages ago that we were in the hospital. Since we have been home we have done our best to adjust. Mike has spent a lot of time with Paige taking her on errands and playing with her, so that she is busy while I am busy with Rose.

Paige has been very helpful grabbing diapers and filling up the diaper stacker. She loves anything to do with peeing and pooping in the diaper. When Rose cries Paige asks if she has pooped in her diaper. And if she has, she always wants to see it. She thinks the whole thing is hilarious. And when Mike pulled the "diaper snake", as we call it, out of the dipaer genie, she was elated. So far she hasn't regressed to any baby-like behaviour as other parents have warned me about. She did have an accident at the park yesterday, which was due to not going before we left. It was my fault though, I should have pushed her more to go before we left. It was our first trip out of the house as a family and I was excited and busy with getting the stroller ready, and making sure Rose was all set. It was Paige's first accident out of the house and she was very upset, and said "We have to go home!". While Mike took her back I waited at the park with Rose who proceeded to have a poo explosion and then be inconsolable. We had to go home too, and met Mike and Paige as they were leaving the house. It's hard to remember what to do with 2 kids!


We took Rose to her first doctor's appointment on Wednesday. She was weighed as 7lbs 8oz. so she has put on almost all of the weight she would have lost. Her head circumference was 35.5cm. Everything looked good. We go again next week for another check up. Paige completely missed the visit as she fell asleep in the car and continued to sleep at the doctors office. She still doesn't believe that we went. When she first fell asleep in the car Rose started to cry hysterically. Paige opened her eyes with a somewhat disgusted look over at Rose and then closed her eyes again and curled in for a nice sleep--and we've been worried that Paige will wake up in the night when her sister cries...ya right.


Paige hasn't shown too many signs of jealousy, although if she has a choice between parents when it comes to doing something she will pick me. I think because she has been spending a lot of time with Mike, she just wants to see me when she can. I have been putting her to bed for the past week which really helps her a lot. Mike has always done this so she thinks it is very special. Paige and Rose and I were outside with the sidewalk chalk, when Rose started to cry in her bouncy chair. I had to pick her up and at that moment Paige asked if I could draw something with the chalk. I think she is testing the limits to see if I will put Rose down, or how I will handle the situation.


Luckily our nights have been fairly good. She has been waking 2 times to eat in the night, with her 3rd "night time" feed being after I wake up in the morning. Basically she continues to sleep after 7:30 till about 10:00 or so. I know it is still the early days, but this has been the basic pattern so far. It has been really nice having Mike off for help in the night. When Rose wakes up I generally have to go to the bathroom pronto as well as change my sweat infused shirt (I have been having night sweats like I did with Paige and losing water weight in the night!). While I do this, Mike goes and gets her and changes her diaper and passes her to me in the rocking chair to feed her. Nice to have a spare set of hands. I'll obviously do all of this myself when he goes back to work, but for now we work as a team in the night!

Rose certainly likes to eat frequently, and I have been feeding her on demand rather than trying to stick to a schedule. I think this is best for her, and what should be done with babies at this age. She is very content when she is allowed to eat on command. The only problem is that if she has a long awake stretch she will ask to eat quite frequently. So far the breastfeeding is way easier this time around as I had more patience for her and I to learn together. So I don't mind the frequent feedings. I have a baby sling that I am eager to use so I can carry her around a bit more and distract her from eating. The only trouble is the sling is too small and I need to exchange it. I think it will be a great tool to use when I bring Paige to classes and go outside, etc.

Anyway, that is a few highlights from her first week! Pictures to follow later. Grandma Val arrives tomorrow for her second week!

During Rose's First Week...

Siblings...

Rose comes into the world!

Rose's story...

Rose Lilian came into the world on April 24 at 7:10am!

Here is her (long) story....

In the night on the 23rd (after 12:00am) I began to have some contractions. Nothing major but they seemed about 10 minutes apart. This was after eating a meal of Chinese food, which I was told by 2 ladies at the dentist office would bring on labour. I was thinking, "woah! this really worked!". The contractions kept me up from a bit of pain, but more excitement. I was able to sleep for a couple of hours, but basically was up in the night thinking we would be going to the hospital in the morning. I let Mike sleep so he would be alert. When the morning came and I had put the grandparents on call, the contractions completely subsided. I tried walking, lots of water, resting, etc. I talked to the hospital and they told me this was ok, and I should rest since I had little sleep the night before, in case I went into labour later. The day went by, but at around 5:00 I started to have contractions again, and this time they were present if I was sitting, walking and lying down. they were about 10 minutes apart. But because of the night before, we continued to be normal, eating dinner, etc. I soon realized that this was the real deal and we called in Grandma to come get Paige for the night. Paige was picked up at around 8:30, which was kind of sad, knowing that it was the last time we would see her as an only child. We made sure everything was packed up into the car and started to watch a movie on tv. The contractions started coming on very hard around every 8 minutes, and then eventually varying between 6-8 minutes. I called the hospital and they said it was a bit early, but we could come if we felt like it. Knowing we are about 20 minutes away from the hospital and there is a long bumpy construction road leading to the highway, we decided to go. It was getting pretty unbearable as well.

When we arrived to the hospital we got set up in the examination room where the baby and contractions were monitored and I was examined. I was about 3-4 centimeters, and at the time the baby was low. We were able to be admitted and got set up in our room. I decided to go for as long as possible without the epidural. We went from sitting on the bed to pacing the halls. It was nice as I was the only one there and it was the night, so some lights were out and it was much more relaxing. Also we had lots of attention as there were 4 nurses there. When the pain became unbearable and I was at about 7 cm, I opted for the epidural. At this point, it was about 2:00am, and I had only had the 2 hours of sleep the night before. I was worried I couldn't physically handle the demands of the rest of the labour. After this was set up I was able to rest my eyes and would start to dream, but never actually slept. Mainly because what followed demanded my attention. With every contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop from 150bpm to 60. I was put on oxygen and instructed to take deep breaths. The doctor (who happened to be my own OB who was on call) was getting very worried by the heart rate drop. She was saying that she couldn't watch this for much longer and I would have to go in for a c-section if it didn't improve. I was scared stiff by this. They tried to reposition me a number of times, and it was also discovered that the baby was not descending and was very high up, as well as face up. The doctor realized as I was lying down in the position that was best for the baby's heart rate, she was also so flopped over to the side (because my stomach was so torpedo shaped) that there was no way for her to descend. The nurses had to hold my stomach up, which almost instantly improved the situation. But still she just wouldn't go down very far after a couple of hours of pushing. Finally, when she got far enough, the doctor said that she would try a vacuum extraction 3 times, and if that failed it was into a c-section. With the first try at the vacuum, little Rose pretty much flew out at 7:10am, 14 hours after the beginning of the labour! I got to hold her right away as they cleaned her off and Mike cut the cord. As grueling, frightening, and tiring as the whole experience was, the care from all of the nurses and the doctor was amazing.

Rose was weighed as 7lbs, 11oz. and 20 inches long. She was in great shape when she came out, except for a little squished nose...which I'm assuming happened during the labour and the "sunny side up" delivery. Like Paige she came out with her eyes open, looking at the world.

We had a great 2 days at the hospital. She slept quite a bit and we were able to either hold her or put her in the bassinette. As we were so tired from no sleep, the nurse recommended that Mike went home for the night of the 24th so her could sleep. The nurse would take Rose for as long as I wanted while I slept and she would bring her in to see me to nurse her. Mike left at about 8:30 and I was able to get some glorious sleep, and the nurse brought her back in at 3:30. She offered to take her back after that, but I opted to keep her in the room the rest of the night. We were in a semi-private room, but there was no one else in it. I was able to have all the curtains open in the big room and have some bonding time with Rose. During the day it is easy to let everyone do things for you, but it forced me to tend to her, and myself without any assistance. I needed to experience that. So, it was nice, despite being tired. Mike came back early at 7:00 and we had another great day with her. The nurses had to do a hearing test, and blood work. Both came back fine, and in fact the nurse told us the blood work was the best she had ever seen! This was for jaundice and something else. She said it just means that everything is working really well. Pooping, eating, etc. We decided to go home that day at 5:30. Although I was still in pain, we figured that going home would be fine and that Paige could do with coming home. She came to visit us 3 times while we were there and it was quite confusing for her. We felt that bringing her home with us would be the best thing for her as well.

So far Rose has been very easy for us in her first few days. Of course we are much more confident parents, but she is a lot sleepier than Paige was, and the nursing is going much better. She doesn't take to a soother very well, which is fine since my milk has come in and the nursing is easy, and I need to do it to relieve the extreme engorgement. We have been able to put her in her crib right away and she is sleeping very well as long as she is in a nice tight swaddle. Again, unlike Paige who liked to be free, and would break out of any swaddle. We are averaging 5-6 hours of sleep a night, which I would say is realistic. I thought it would affect me much more, but I think the whole thing is so exciting that I don't notice being tired. This time around I am appreciating this stage much more, and I don't want her to get any bigger. Paige likes looking at Rose a lot, and so far is being quite good around her, and in general is taking quite well to the new family situation. I would say that so far we feel a lot different then we thought we would. It's not as stressful, demanding, or tiring as we thought it would be. We are loving every single second with our bigger family.

Rose Lilian is born!

Details to come soon!

Oops!

So yesterday I was all ready to go to the grocery store when I got a phonecall from my doctors office asking me where I was. Apparently I had missed my appointment. So Paige and I got dressed and ran! I was eager to hear what the doctor had to say and was relieved to not have to wait until Thursday. So to make a long story short...there is dilating, and the baby is low (obviously). She is sending me for an ultrasound and non-stress test, which will be on Thursday. If there is no baby by tuesday I'm going in for
an induction. I'm definitely glad there is a plan but would prefer to go into labour naturally before Tuesday. Everyone cross your fingers!

Wipe outs and other

On the way home from Boston Pizza last night, Mike had the idea to stop at the park. We got out of the car, walked a few meters into the park area and Paige fell and scraped her knee and hands. Lots of crying and hugs. Later in the visit, she climbed up these stairs that are shaped like feet, got to the top, lost her balance, fell, hitting her back on the foot step, and fell to the ground. It was quite the wipeout, and quite the scare for her. It reminds me that my intuition about her has always been right and she isn't the kind of kid you can just watch from the sidelines. She is still a bit unstable, and needs to be monitored closely. Another reason why I can't walk to the park with her too easily since it involves standing and watching when we get there.

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Paige's 3rd class of On My Own was another success. This time I left right away and told her I would see her after. She was fine and I frequently spied on her, seeing that she was doing great. She does have a problem understanding that she has to join the group when it is circle time or parachute time. I'm really not concerned about this at her age. She'll learn.

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I think because we have been preparing Paige that her baby sister won't talk, walk, etc. until she is bigger, Paige is really hung up on all of this. Until Sunday, a friend's little girl, Belle, was 1. Paige knew that Belle was 1, and to her this was a baby. Being 1 means a lot of things. But if you are 2, well then you are so much more capable in her mind. Belle came over yesterday and was being quiet and shy. Paige said, "She can't even talk!!". I had to tell her, "No, Belle can talk, she's 2, she's just being quiet". Then at the restaurant Paige saw another baby in a high chair. "She can't even eat!!", she exclaims. I'm glad she thinks these things, which hopefully means she knows that her baby sister isn't an insta-friend.

Passing the time...

I find there is rarely a moment when I am not wondering when I will go into labour. This makes it difficult to pass the time. It is turning out to be a nice week and I would love to spend time at the park, but the "crotch stabs" I have been having for the past few weeks make it impossible to walk to the park without stopping every few meters and crossing my legs. Ok, sometimes that doesn't happen, but I have usually used that time to grocery shop. Or, it won't always be nice outside that day. We do get outside, but it is usually to go in the sandbox or play with sidewalk chalk. However, it would be nice to have a morning and afternoon activity which didn't involve tv or a movie.
It is just impossible to get it off my mind. I do try my best to enjoy my alone time with Paige. On Sunday we watched Princess and the Frog together. Last night we went as a family to Boston Pizza. Not sure what we'll do the rest of the week besides my Thursday morning doctors appointment.

Still waiting...

I can't believe when I look at the countdown above that it has come to an end. AND...I am still waiting! A couple of months ago I was sure that the baby would arrive early. Technically the due date is tomorrow, at least that is what the doctors have written down. When I plug the dates into any due date calculator, though, it comes up as today, the 17th. But my doctor added a day. She also did this for Paige.

Because of the recent illness I had, I am happy this baby is still in there. But now that I feel better, I am hoping that she will decide to come out soon. I am anxious to shrink my stomach back to a more normal size. My next doctor appointment is on Thursday, and I'm hoping to have the baby before then. If not, I'm sure she will schedule an induction date just to have something on the calendar. She said that would be 7-10 days past the due date.

So that is the update for anyone waiting and wondering!

Princess for a day...

Paige was painting this morning and as her paint bib was in the dryer she inevitably got paint on her pyjamas. She told me she wanted to go upstairs and put on her dress. ??? This was a first! I thought she meant her Easter dress, but the one she meant was this princess skirt. And she needed the wand as well. So I told her she needed other clothes underneath, but she could wear the skirt on top. We'll see how long she wears it.

Busy Bodies...

We took Paige to Busy Bodies on Saturday. We told her we were going there while she was eating breakfast and she was REALLY excited. It was nice for the 3 of us to go there so Mike could run around with Paige while I sat on the couch! We should have got a picture of that!

This is not happening...

I have a raging cold. Sneezing constantly. Dripping nose if not completely clogged nose. Body aches. Remember--I CANNOT TAKE COLD MEDICINE!

Last night I slept with a Winnie the Pooh cool mist humidifier blasting in my face, and a massive box of kleenex. I can take tylenol for body aches, but nothing else to cure any other symptom. Mint tea actually works wonders, but that's about all I can do for now. I just have to let this cold run its course and hope I don't go into labour....like Jen did. She had a massive cold when she went into labour...not cool.

I told Paige that I had the Pooh humidifier in my room because my nose was stuffy. She claims to have a stuffy nose now too, in hopes that it will be transferred to her room. She actually claims a lot of ailments lately in hopes of getting things or not having to eat dinner...owie tummy, owie bum, stuffy nose, etc.

Success!

Paige's 2nd class of On My Own was a success! Not that the first one wasn't a success, but for this one I was outside of the room the entire time and she managaed fine all by herself. At the beginning of the class I walked her in and made sure she knew where I put her snack. I told her I was going to get a drink and would be outside of the room for a while but would see her later. That gave me the option of coming back if she looked like she needed me, or just staying outside. After I got a drink I peeked in the classroom window and she was doing fine. I sat down at the table and played with my new phone for a while and then got up a few times to see her colouring, playing with playdough, doing a craft, reading a book with a few kids and a teacher, participating in circle time and going down a slide. While she was doing this I sat with a group of moms who scared me, I mean, talked to me about labour the 2nd time around.

I was worried about Paige getting her snack out all by herself, but I spied on her and saw her sitting at a table with a few other kids, munching away on her crackers with her water on the table. After that she wasn't sure what to do with her bag and the instructor zipped it up for her and gave it back. She then put it in the bin, and lined up with the other kids to go to the gym. She paraded past with the kids and didn't see me until she was in the gym, where she ran by the window with a huge smile and a wave. In the gym when the class was coming to an end, the class played with a big stretchy hoop. Paige was way across the other side of the room tossing foam blocks over her head, and needed the instructor to come and coax her to join the group, which she did easily.

At the end of the class she came out of the gym and grabbed my hand and kissed it. I took that as she was happy to see my again. But she definitely had a good time by herself. There are 3 instructors to 11 kids, so there was lots of hands on time with all of the kids. So anyway....phew. There was 1 little girl who cried a large majority of the class and would even come over to the glass window crying her eyes out and looking at her mom. I don't know what I would have done in that situation...probably cried right back and taken her out of the class until the next session! Wouldn't have been able to deal with that with everything else that is going on!

Ummmm....

I'll set the scene--

Paige and I were looking at a Wonder Pets game on the computer with the intention of watching a movie shortly after. We finished the game and I said, "ok, we're going to get a popcorn snack and watch a movie, but first I just need to check something on the computer, so I'll put you down and you just have to wait for a minute". I started to check email or whatever I was doing, and I noticed she had started to go down the stairs. She had gotten halfway down when I told her to be careful and keep going, and that I was coming. I got up to go meet her halfway and she got to the bottom of the stairs fairly quickly (I am not super fast anymore!). She almost immediately began coming back up the stairs quickly while whining and complaining. I asked her what was wrong. "I have a rock in my nose!!", she says. !!!??? What? She had time to quickly shove a rock in her nose? She has never shoved anything in her nose before, so why she chose to shove a rock in her nose on the way to make popcorn is beyond me. And how did that happen in the 20 seconds that she was downstairs by the front door where the rock apparently was?

Anyway, I didn't believe her at first, but was pretty sure I could see something way up there. I assumed it was small and tried to see if I could get it out with tweezers. The tweezers went up and clunk! There was definitely something up there, but it filled the nostril too much to get a grip on it. She was saying "I want it out!" and getting upset. I told her I had to call someone to help me, so I called Grandma Val. While we were on the phone, Paige lost interest in the fact that there was a rock up her nose and started to do things like jump off the couch and ask if we could go make popcorn now. Since she hasn't been sick for a while she has forgotten how to blow out, and couldn't use that as a strategy. Grandma Val was asking me if I pushed on her nostril could I feel the rock, and I couldn't--it was that far up. I was about to take her to the medicenter when I remembered we had a nasal suction thing from when she was a baby. It never seemed very suctiony, but I decided to give it a try. I stuck it against her nose, pushed the bulb and out came the rock! She had a huge smile on her face when that happened! I could not believe how big it was. She obviously put it in a bit, panicked, and tried to get it out, only making it go farther and farther up.

I never in a million years thought she would do something like that! After it was out, we had a nice talk where she agreed she would not put things up her nose anymore.

Easter Dinner...

Easter dinner started with a little egg/present hunt around the basement at Grandma and Grandpa's.

And yummy appetizers and food were had by all! A little less for me since I can't eat as much anymore with this monster baby. But I wanted to! That spiral ham with the pineapple salsa was certainly good!

Favourite song...

Paige now has a favourite radio song..."Wavin' Flag" by k'Naan. I downloaded it on itunes for her and she asks to listen to it again and again. And she waits for it to come on in the car. She sings along with the words..."when I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom just like a waving flag..." It is way too cute. She is picking up on some of the words in the verses too, and it is too funny, but I can't laugh or she won't sing it anymore.

Easter Egg Hunt...

A huge success! Mike brought Paige downstairs when she had just woken up so she was a bit groggy. She very quickly awoke though when she saw the egss hiding around the living room and kitchen. Every time she spotted another one she would gasp and point! She continued to look for eggs long after she had found them all. And she has been carrying around her basket of eggs for the last few hours.