Big Happenings

There is much to say these days as our wee one grows, changes and, well, does stuff.

For awhile now she has mastered the belly to back roll, side to side roll and was working hard to master the back to belly roll. It has been mastered! She is our little rolling pin.So much so that now she rolls onto her tummy in her sleep.

She is also learning to crawl! The backwards scoot has been mastered, she can spin around, crawl side to side and backwards and is now working on going forward. Then the real fun begins, they say. We joke that she has taught herself yoga, she gets on her hands and toes and faces downward in a cute stretch. Yoga baby is yogaing, as we like to say.

And food! S has been eating real, honest to goodness food! So far she has had sweet potato, pear, butternut squash, banana and rice cereal. We’re following her doctor’s recommendation of 1 new food every 5 days, and so far it seems to be okay. She loves sweet potato and squash, really enjoys banana but pear seems to be iffy. She will eat about half a cube, and then she shakes her head and does a sort of full body quiver in sour disgust. Then gagging comes. So we definetly don’t push it.

Another big thing happening in our household: baby teeth! S is working hard at cutting her very first tooth. I noticed a change in her gums a few weeks ago, her bottom front gums appeared transparent. Yesterday I noticed it looked a bit different in the morning, and after her afternoon nap that’s when I noticed it: a little white tooth looking at me just below her gum line. We did a little dance, and then we snuggled because she had been extra cuddly all day. I suddenly knew why. After further inspection, and second opinion (my mom!) there was not only one tooth but possibly another! Her gums are very red and inflamed, and today there is a tiny hole where the tooth will erupt (hopefully soon!). Her spirits are about the same, happy and smiley and silly, but with a hint of “I might cry any minute”.

So yes, big happenings at our house.

(I may or may not have had a little ‘my-baby-is-growing-up-too-fast’ cry after I found her tooth.)

 

Mom Read a Book: The Hunger Games

For Christmas, my super husband (I have decided that’s what his name should be) bought me a Kindle. I have been eyeing them up forever, and always wanted one. Since giving birth to S, I have not had much time to sit down and read but since routines are in place and S has things she likes to “do” in her downtime, I have been able to enjoy reading again.

The first book I read on my Kindle was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I’d wanted to read it for a long time and heard great things about it so as soon as I could, I dove right in. And boy, did I love it!

All throughout the book I kept thinking how original, what a great concept for a book. No wonder people like this series so much.

I’m reading Mockingjay right now and am still intrigued as to how this story is unfolding. It’s such a good series so far that I’ve started wondering if seeing the movie will spoil its goodness for me. Because movies based off of books are rarely a good idea..

I have a ton of books lined up on the Kindle that I can’t wait to dive into. The problem is, after the Hunger Games trilogy I can’t decide which book to start with. It’s so great to get back into reading again!

Too bad I didn’t have this Kindle when I was pregnant, I can just imagine how many books I could have read sitting in doctor’s waiting rooms. For some reason it’s easier to get into reading with a Kindle, it must be because it’s so small and portable and you don’t feel like your lugging around a gigantic book around everywhere you go. I love that it saves the page I’m on, too. It makes it so convenient to pop out for a few minutes.

I’m always looking for good book recommendations, so if anyone still reads this feel free to leave a suggestion.

 

Almost 6 months

Holy potatoes! When we had a baby we never expected time to fly so quickly. Each day is a new adventure, although routines have long been put into place by now, Sophie continues to astonish us more and more.

She has been able to roll from tummy to back for two months now, and is still working on rolling from back to tummy. She is just about there but not quite yet, I know it will be very soon. She has been reaching for objects, toys, books (anything!) for some time now, and grabbing for awhile as well.

Sophie has always loved music, almost since birth. I remember one day when she was just a few weeks old, she was crying in my arms while we we watching a daytime television show. A musical guest came on and started singing and Sophie stopped crying instantly. Whenever that guest appears on other shows Sophie still watches and listens and seems to love the sound. Melodies from certain shows, commercials or songs in general catch her attention and she will stop whatever she is doing and turn her attention to the direction it’s coming from (radio, tv, etc).

She has been able to sit up on her own for nearly two months, though now she is much more stable on her own and can do it with much less jerky movements. She only keels over once in a while if she gets excited over something and turns quickly to look.

We started her on baby cereal a week ago, and she is a huge fan, let me tell you! When she sees me preparing it for her she squeals with pure delight. We use an organic rice cereal that I add breastmilk to and she loves it. It is such a sticky mess but she eats it up very happily.

Tonight we tried her on a sippy cup. Sophie has never liked drinking from bottles, even when I had surgery and wasn’t able to breastfeed and she had to take a bottle. So with upcoming introduction to solid foods, I was a bit concerned that she wouldn’t drink from anything other than the breast. You very well can’t get fruit juice from a boob, so I was hoping a sippy cup might do the trick. So tonight we put breastmilk in a sippy cup and let her try it. She grabbed it right away and brought it to her mouth and tried to drink. With a bit of assistance she drank and did super! I was so pleased. I’m fairly certain she drank more milk from the sippy cup than she ever did in one sitting with a bottle.

There’s so much I could say, these are just some of the things I can tell you about. Like I said, each day is a new adventure and we are loving every minute of it. She laughs more than she cries, much much more. She’s an all round happy girl, and I can’t tell you how lucky we feel.

See you again soon!

 

Five months!

Can you believe it? Sophie turns 5 months old in 2 days!

This is a photo of us by the Christmas tree the other night. She loves the Christmas tree, the lights, the ornaments.

We have so much to celebrate this christmas, and much to be thankful for.

Hopefully I can post a bit more often after the holidays.

Merry Christmas!

 

reading!

So it has been a while since I’ve had time to actually sit down and read a book.  There are always clothes to wash/dry/fold/put away or diapers to change or or or..the list goes on.  Since I had adventures in gallstones and gallbladder surgery a week ago, I’ve taken some time to slow down and it’s only done me some good.

My mother in law bought me a few Get Well Soon gifts when we came home from the hospital, and among them was the book The Help (which is now a movie, in theatres and apparently doing very well).  I’ve wanted to read it for some time now, so I sat down with it the other day.

It is SO good.  I am really enjoying it!

So much so that apparently it required its own post. Ha!

 

Gallstones & Gallbladders

The last few days have certainly been filled with a lot of firsts for myself and our little family. 

Since giving birth to Sophie I’ve woken up twice in the middle of the night with pain under my right shoulder blade. It was bad enough to wake me, I would pop two ibuprofen and try to get back to sleep to no avail. Twice I’ve had a hot 4 am bath to help alleviate the pain, and it worked after a while.  I knew these were likely gallbladder attacks, since gallbladder issues are quite common after having a baby.  Plus, my diet was consisting mainly of ‘whatever is quick and nearby’ these days, and usually, it wouldn’t hold much nutritional value.

Wednesday night I was on the phone making plans with my mother to go do some shopping on Thursday morning, and at the time I was feeling pretty good. We hung up, and as I stood up to go get ready for bed I felt pain in my upper rib cage.  It was so uncomfortable, it felt like intense trapped wind that would not come out no matter how much I rubbed or moved around.  I dialed 811 for advice, but rather than give me any advice they annoyed me with reading their list of questions.  They really should make that a better service (I find it useful for the baby, for J and I, not so much).  The pain only continued to intensify, and it was horrendous.  I knew something wasn’t right, and as I got dressed, J packed up the baby bag for the hospital.  We made it to the ER, and they took me right in.  I was admitted right away for gallbladder issues, they did bloodwork and offered me morphine for the pain.

Since I am breastfeeding, I did not want to take anything for the pain unless absolutely necessary.  I opted to take acetaminophen for the pain instead of Morphine.  My bloodwork came back and all was fine, my pain was less horrendous, so they said I could go home but to return if the pain came back.  As soon as we left, I regretted it, as the pain crept back up on me.  At home, I paced the floor, not able to make myself comfortable anywhere. I tried having a bath, but it didn’t help.  So I busied myself packing more things in the baby bag, grabbing extra diapers, sleepers, etc.  I woke J up, we packed up the baby and headed back to the ER. 

I was admitted again, it had been about 6 hours since  I had been in, and the new bloodwork indicated my enzymes had begun affecting my liver.  I was offered Morphine again for the pain, and again I refused. I was told I needed to see a surgeon about what was going to take place, so we waited in a room inthe ER to speak to him.  He said I likely had gallstones stuck in  a bile duct, which was what was causing the pain, and  I needed to go on a test to see if this was the case.  It was to be scheduled for the following morning, a friday, and if it showed gallstones in the bile duct I would have to go to Halifax for a scope procedure to have them blasted.  In the meantime, I was being assigned a hospital room on the surgical ward.

As it turned out, they scheduled me for Halifax right away the following morning because HEY! It was a long weekend and we should take care of this right away.  So, the following morning we were able to drive to the city for my appointment.  This was Sophie’s first long car ride, and also her first trip to the city and she did so awesome! She slept the entire way there. 

This was my first procedure, ever, and I was to be given a sedative, then a tube was put down my throat. Good times.  But, all went well, the gallstones were blasted and I was brought back to the local hospital by ambulance. My first ambulance ride, and I slept through it all.  Due to the sedatives and pain medication, I wasn’t able to breastfeed, very sadly.  So, Sophie had to take a bottle of formula.  She wasn’t thrilled with it at first, but she took it. 

I was scheduled for gallbladder surgery the following morning, a Saturday.  I went in at 12, and at 12:15 the anesthetist was injecting me with a sedative, then the general anesthetic.  My first time being put to sleep, my first time having surgery.

When I woke up, groggy, I could hear the surgeon on the phone telling my husband that surgery was over, I did fine, my heart rate had dropped during the surgery but that it was a common occurance and I had recovered well.  All I could think about was Sophie, through the whole thing.  

I was released from the hospital on Sunday after lunch, I was so sore, but not as sore as the night before.  Each day since then has been an improvement,, and I’m so happy to say that finally today I was able to breastfeed Sophie again.  I spoke with the prenatal clinic, then with Motherisk, and when all was cleared I went ahead.

Can I just say how much I missed breastfeeding!?  I missed that special bond, the closeness and the cuddling afterward. I missed having her so close.  Because of the incisions, it’s very uncomfortable having her across me to breastfeed, and I’m still very sore to move her around a lot.  But I’m so happy to be able to breastfeed her again!

I was pumping and dumping my breastmilk to keep my supply, and now that I can breastfeed her, I will be pumping and storing my milk.  I wish I had done it sooner.

So that’s what’s been going on with us.  Josh has been so amazing at taking care of Sophie, and me, during this whole time.  It’s certainly been keeping him busy, and he has been so great with it all!  I am one lucky woman!

 

The Best Thing

Having a baby is by far the best thing I have ever done.

 

Things That Surprised Me After Giving Birth

I’m a FTM (first time mom). This was my first pregnancy, my first hospital stay, my first time recovering from anything major.

I had monthly prenatal doctor visits in the beginning, then bi-weekly, then weekly.  We also attended prenatal classes. We read up on pregnancy, labor & delivery, newborns, breastfeeding.  We certainly did not claim to even come close to knowing all there was to know, by a long shot. 

I felt prepared for Sophie’s birth, I felt educated. When the time came, I was not even nervous.  Sure there was actually a point during labor that during a wicked contraction I actually told my mother ‘Mom, I don’t think I can do this.’, but I made it through. 

What I was not fully prepared for, and was surprised about, was just how absolutely sore I would be the next couple days.  I’m not talking about sore down there, but sore everwhere!  I mean sore muscles from pushing.  I pushed for 3 and a half hours, my bum was sore, my stomach, my chest, my neck, my eyes, my ears, my arms, my hands.  So absolutely sore, I have nothing to compare it to.  I was expecting soreness,, but a different kind.  I mean, pushing out a baby from your hoo-ha is bound to leave you sore in your nether regions, but I wasn’t expecting my eyes and ears to feel it!

It was said many times throughout pregnancy, “Practice your kegels!”.  And I did, and I felt pretty good about it, too.  But no amount of pre-birth kegels will be enough to prepare you for how weak your kegel muscles will be after you give birth.  I wish someone had told me just how upsetting a trip to the bathroom would be after having a baby.  The days at the hospital were fine, I was comfortable there. But at home, well, let’s just say that ‘Hold on a second’ need not apply.  Trying to take care of a baby, and yourself all the while not being able to make it to the bathroom in time to pee, was really, really difficult for me.  Taking care of the baby, no problem. But I can’t tell you how upsetting it was for me, those first few days when I had little accidents.  And I’m not afraid to admit it either, I think it’s important to say, and also important for people to know so they wont be surprised if it happens to them.

I knew that after having a baby that my hormones would be a little out of whack, I educated myself on the baby blues and post partum depression and talked with friends and family about them.  I had Sophie on a Thursday, and was home on Saturday.  On Tuesday we had a lot of people visiting us (the most we had at one time) and oh my goodness. I had been feeling a little off all day, and later when most people were gone and my mother was in the baby’s room, I went in and the floodgates opened. 

I had all these feelings. All at once. Together. I cried, and cried.  I didn’t know why I was crying at first. I was overwhelmed with so much, the fact that we now had an actual baby, all of the visitors, taking care of the tear I acquired during delivery, bathroom accidents, whether I was doing a good job with Sophie. I felt anxious, a bit nervous.  When she was being passed from person to person my anxiety levels rose. As much as we appreciated all of the visits, the phone calls, drop ins, gifts, food gifts, etc..sometimes it felt like too much to have a house full of welcomers.  But, luckily, the feeling passed within a few days and so did most of my anxieties.  But no amount of educating yourself can really prepare you for all of those feelings.  I was so thrown back at just how it felt.  It really is important to have people to talk to about it.

These are just some of the surprising things I found. The more major ones, really.  But  no matter what, they are all so worth it because in the end it really is not about bathroom accidents, kegels, anxiety.  It’s about the sweet baby girl we brought into this world, and really, she is all that matters.

And she is worth everything, every little, big thing.

 

She’s Here!

 

she:

was born July 21, 2011 and weighed 8lbs 1 oz.
she measured 21.5 inches long
she came into the world with a little cry
but was so alert & bright eyed!
absolutely perfect!
and is nearly 1 month old already.

 

41 Weeks Pregnant

Super annoying thing about baby websites and baby freebie clubs: as soon as you hit 40 weeks you receive a ton of ‘Congratulations on your newborn!’ emails and notifications.  I realize they go by the due dates  you provide for them when signing up, but it just irks me I guess.

I am now 41 weeks pregnant, exactly one week past my due date, and still pregnant.  But, tomorrow is my appointment with an obstetrician for a check up and possible induction.  I’m interested in finding out what my progress is, if I’m effaced or dilated at all yet.  I have decided that I will accept a dose of gel if it is offered to me to help things along, even if it means returning home to wait.  It’s healthier than the Pitocin, which I will only accept if I have to.

But for some reason, I wont be surprised to hear I’m not progressing or effaced.  It seems that Baby is just way too comfortable in there. 

In preparation for tomorrow morning’s appointment, our hospital bags are in the trunk of my car, the baby’s car seat and hospital bag have been in the car all set and ready to go for weeks now.  I have to pack a bag to bring with us to the hospital case room for my appointment, just in case we have a long wait.  I’ll bring some snacks, books and our phone chargers just in case.

Since I wasn’t sure if today would be my last day at home before the baby arrives, I busied myself with household chores.  I did a load of laundry, a pile of dishes I necglected from last night, cleaned the bathroom, vaccumed, washed the kitchen and bathroom floors and took out the garbage.  There are still a few more things I would like to do to make sure the house is in order, but they wont take too long.

I am doubtful we will get to see our baby tomorrow, or even Thursday, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed that we will, and that the journey there will be as stress-free as it can be, and that both the baby and myself will be happy and healthy.