Baby #2 and Easton's 21 month update!

Let's do this again!!!

Dan and I are SO delighted to be expecting baby #2, due May 14th 2015! We are very very blessed to have gotten pregnant easily again and are so excited for Easton to be a big brother! He will be 2 years and 4 months older than his baby sibling! 

So I'm officially 12 weeks along, and I'm feeling pretty good! Thankfully the exhausted, need-to-have-a-nap-everyday phase is over (it lasted from about weeks 6-10) and my morning sickness is gone for the most part too! I feel a little yucky first thing in the morning but once I've had breakfast, I feel a lot better. If you remember my constant complaining of morning (HA... try all day!) sickness while I was pregnant with Easton, this is a welcome change!

We had an early ultrasound at 10 weeks and got to see the little bean and his/her strong heartbeat! Such a wonderful experience to see your baby for the first time, wiggling around inside you :)

We'll go for our comprehensive ultrasound around 20 weeks, which falls right around Christmas, so we'll be finding out the gender then and I will definitely blog about it! So far my mama's intuition is failing me, I have no feeling whatsoever whether its a boy or girl! What do you think!?

Yes, I know... it's HUGE!

I do feel like I've started showing MUCH sooner than I did with Easton! I compared my bump at 12 weeks this time around with my bump at 18 weeks with E and they're pretty much the same size! YIKES! Better slow down on the Halloween candy...

Which is a perfect segway into Easton's update! Here are some photos of the little Lion man from yesterday, in his Halloween costume!

 

Easton is 21 months (closer to 22 now, but whose counting) and I'm LOVING this age!
He says TONS of words now, and is even starting to put 2 words together. Full sentences are right around the corner! I love hearing him talk and say new words. Proud mama!

He loves to read books, make Playdoh animals, play hockey with daddy, do puzzles and play games on the ipad, go for walks, take his nap (weirdo!), watch 'Diego', 'Backyardigans' and 'Chuck and Friends' on TV, help mommy bake, sing "Old MacDonald" and "Wheels on the Bus" (with actions too!), go to Amanda's house (daycare 1-2 days a week) to play with his friends, but most of all, he loves to play with his TRUCKS! My goodness this boy is truck obsessed. Tractors, bulldozers, dump trucks ('dumpy'), big rigs, pick up trucks, monster trucks, race cars ('racey'), police cars ('peece'), you name it, he LOVES all things automobile. Such a boy.

Easton reached a big milestone last month.... transitioning to his "Big Boy Bed"! About 2 months ago, Dan and I bought him a toddler bed and put it in his room for his "friends" to sleep on, knowing that eventually we'd need the crib for baby #2. We made it up with sheets and a blanket, put a bunch of his stuffed animals on it, and told him he gets to sleep in it when he's a big boy! Well, one night, about a month ago, Easton didn't feel like going to sleep at bedtime (which is quite unlike him, we never have issues at bedtime), and he CLIMBED out of his crib! BOOM! It terrified Dan and I, so we decided it was time. The next morning we made a big production about moving his crib and putting his "Big Boy Bed" in its place, and telling him he gets to sleep there now! We tackled nap time first, and he got out and ran to his door 4 or 5 times that day, to me sitting right outside. I brought him back in each time and told him to go to sleep. Its time for a nap. Well eventually, about an hour later, he fell asleep. That night went AMAZINGLY well, he slept the entire night in his bed, not getting out at all! Even in the morning he stayed in bed and just called out to me that he was awake! Since then, he's been great about going down for naps and bedtime, and has only gotten out a handful of times! I figure if he was still in his crib and he really wanted to get out, he would, so he might as well do it from a safer spot! I'm so pleased with how smoothly it went!

Now for the boring stuff - so I remember for #2...

Easton sleeps from 8:00 pm -7:00 am (roughly) and naps for 2 hours from 12:30-2:30 ish.

He's still in a picky phase with food, even turning up his little nose at some of his past favorites! He started LOVING milk, which is so strange, because he used to not want anything to do with it. He still loves to "dip dip" his food in any sort of dip really, loves yogurt, grapes, cheerios with milk, toast with PB and honey, most kinds of soup, crackers, cheese, beans, apple sauce and pasta. Not a huge meat guy.

For a while, about a month ago, I thought  he was getting ready to potty train. He peed on the potty 4 or 5 days in a row before bath time, but then just stopped doing it. Or he'd peed on the floor or in the bath right after I'd take his diaper off! Little Monkey. Thats ok though, our initial plan was to wait until #2 is here in the spring, and the weather is nice, to start the potty training process, so that's what we'll do. He'll be about 2.5 which I think makes more sense anyways.

He's wearing 24 months or 2T clothes, size 6-7 shoes, and size 5 diapers. He hasn't grown much since 18 months I don't think. I'd say he's up to about 28 lbs now, and around 36" tall.

That's about it!

Here's a photo overload of the little dude, mainly from our trip to Mary Lake in August, and our pumpkin patch visit in October.

Easton's Birth Story

I’ve finally finished writing out Easton’s birth story! I took jot-notes on my iPhone throughout the entire labour, so I could remember all the details. It’s LONG and perhaps boring, but I wanted to remember EVERYTHING, so here it is! (All photos taken by me... except the one I'm in...)

On Saturday January 12th (one of our Due Dates - determined by the 9 week U/S), I started feeling regular contractions (about 45 minutes apart) around 8:00 pm, after we had finished dinner and were relaxing on the couch. I had felt what I can only describe as menstrual cramps, periodically that day, but didn’t think anything of it until they came back that evening and were starting to feel stronger. Dan had a hockey game that night and I felt confident that we had a long wait ahead of us, so I told him to go play, just keep his phone close by!  By 10:30 pm, they were 20-30 minutes apart and lasting about 40 seconds. By midnight, I finally realized “this must be it”, since my contractions were now about 10 minutes apart and lasting 50-60 seconds. I decided I’d try to sleep rather than staying up all night timing them, but when I woke up at 3 am they were much more painful and 4 minutes apart, lasting for 50-60 seconds. My obstetrician had told me to head to the hospital when they were 5 minutes apart for an entire hour, so we packed up the car and headed to the hospital around 4:00 am Sunday morning (January 13th).

When we arrived at the hospital, they got us a room in Triage, hooked me up to the “contraction machine” and checked my cervix. At my previous appointment the week prior, I was 1 cm dilated and 25% effaced. The nurse told me my cervix was now dilated 2-3 cm and was 75% effaced. I was excited! Progress!!! We decided to walk around the hospital for an hour to see if I would dilate more (they wont admit you until you’re 4 cm which is what they consider “active labour”). After an hour (and some breakfast at Timmies), we were back in Triage to be checked. 3 cm and 100% effaced. Not much change. Although I was clearly in pain and having regular contractions (which were still 4 minutes apart), they recommended we go back home and come back to the hospital when they were 3 minutes apart. Why tell people to come to the hospital when contractions are 5 minutes apart only to send them home when they’re 4 minutes apart?!?! I was not impressed, but around 8:30 am, we went home anyways.

I was exhausted from being up all night, so I had a nap until 11 am, then we took Lucy for a walk. After all of that, it actually seemed like my contractions were tapering off. They were farther apart and they were definitely less intense than they had been at the hospital. A little part of me thought maybe I wasn’t in labour after all, but I had a gut feeling I would have my baby in my arms very soon!

Eventually, by noon-ish, my contractions had become much more painful and were still 4 minutes apart, so I called the hospital and asked them what I should do. Should I come in or continue to labour at home? They said I could come back to see if I had dilated any more and then they could decide what was best. At around 3 pm, we went back to the hospital for the second time, and I was still at 3 cm. The doctor said I should go home (again! grrr), take a bath and try to relax and see what happens. I was so annoyed about being sent home again, especially since there were at least 10 empty L&D rooms and no one else in triage, plus I was 1 cm away from being admitted! So stupid.

We got home around 4 pm, I had a bath, a light dinner, and tried to nap but my contractions were too painful to sleep through (or talk through, or walk through, or do anything but breathe through) so we headed back to the hospital around 7 pm. The nurses checked me right away since I think they could tell I was in a lot of pain. 4-5 cm! FINALLY enough to get admitted! Third times a charm, I guess?!


We “moved in” to our L&D room around 8:30 pm, and met our amazing nurse, Rachel, who would be with us until baby arrived! We got settled in and I bounced on the exercise ball for a bit, trying to "get things going". My parents stopped in to say a quick hello and wish me luck. I discovered the most comfortable position to endure my contractions was for me to be on my hands and knees with Dan applying as much pressure as he could to my lower back, since that's where I felt alot of the pain. I also did some “breathing exercises”, which seemed to help as well. After my parents left, the on-call doctor and resident came in to introduce themselves around 9 pm. They told me they wanted to break my water since I wasn’t dilating very quickly. I told them they could, but only after I had the epidural! The doctor laughed and told me that was a good decision, since after your water breaks, the contractions become much more intense and more frequent.

At 9:45 pm, I got my IV and received the epidural. I also got a bladder catheter, which was news to me! Nobody told me to expect that! Yuck. I was TERRIFIED about getting the epidural, but it actually didn’t hurt at all… all I could feel was the sensation of a cold liquid being poured down my back, and my feet felt like they were asleep. The IV was actually the most painful part!

At 10 pm, the resident doctor came back in to break my water with her ‘crochet hook’ type contraption, and then her and the nurse laughed at me because apparently I had copious amounts of amniotic fluid…. Good thing my water didn’t break in public! At this point I was 5-6 cm dilated, 100% effaced and baby was in the ideal LOA position. They said it shouldn’t be much longer now!

By 1:30 am on January 14th, I was still 5-6 cm, so the doctor decided to put me on the lowest dose of Oxytocin (Pitocin), to help speed things along.  Shortly after it was administered, I was 6-7 cm dilated.

At 2:30am, the worst 30 minutes of my life began. My epidural ran out, while my nurse was on her break and the stupid break coverage nurse decided it would be a good idea to go and get a new bag and then PLACE IT ON THE TABLE BESIDE ME AND LEAVE! Um… am I supposed to hook it up myself?! The pain was so intense I started feeling nauseous, began sobbing like a big baby, shaking like a leaf (I felt very cold but Dan said I was sweating), and just altogether freaking out! Dan was trying to get me to relax, but with no nurse in sight and a full epidural bag staring at me from the bedside table, that was easier said than done!

Just before 3 am, my nurse Rachel came back from her break and could tell right away, by the terror in my eyes, that I must be in the transitional stage of labour. She checked me right away, and sure enough I was 10 cm dilated! She felt awful that she wasn’t around to make sure my epidural was topped up when I needed it most, but sure enough I had survived the journey from 7-10 cm, without it! She got the epidural topped up right away, and by 3 am, I was back to my (mostly) pain-free bliss. (I say mostly because I had a “patchy” epidural, so the left lower portion of my uterus remained “unfrozen” I guess you could say, and I felt all the contractions in that one spot). 

At exactly 3 am, I started pushing and about 6 or so contractions in, I started feeling nauseous again, and began throwing up. The nurses called the doctors in right away because apparently my body relaxed so much while I was being sick, Easton’s head started crowning and was pretty much out by the time the doctors made it there! At 3:30 am, the doctors arrived and by 3:38 am, after 10 hours of active labour and 38 minutes of pushing, Easton was born!

I’m not nearly a good enough writer to describe to you exactly how I felt when my baby boy was placed on my chest all wrinkly and covered in white goop, but it was an absolutely surreal and incredible moment. He was so perfect and beautiful and amazing and he was ours!  Dan cried, I cried, Easton cried. Our hearts were full of love, and our family was whole!

He stayed on my chest for maybe 2 minutes while I took it all in, and then Dan cut his cord and the nurses whisked him away to be assessed and measured and weighed. He scored a perfect 9/9 on his APGAR, weighed in at 8lb 5oz and measured 21 inches. A big boy! The nurse brough him back to me and helped me feed him, we took a few pictures of our new little family, and then we got him all wrapped up and around 4:45 am, my parents and Dan’s mom and sister came in to meet him! Everyone was enamored by his adorableness and took about 1000 photos, but they didn’t stay long because we were exhausted. Time for some well-deserved sleep, since we all (Easton included) worked very hard getting to this point!

After a night of little sleep, lots of “how do I do this?” moments, and multiple checks on Easton, and myself, we got discharged the next day, around noon and our little family of three went home to start our new life together :)

 Our first day at home!

I hope you enjoyed reading about Easton's birth! I'll try to keep up writing the blog on a regular basis, but it might not be weekly, as it was throughout my pregnancy. We'll see how much free time the little guy allows me!

It's our DUE DATE!

Our due date has arrived.... but baby boy has NOT! (Ok, so to be fair, we had 2 due dates given to us. The one based on the 9 week ultrasound is today, the one based on my dating, is Jan 14th) The waiting game is killing me, but I have a feeling it will all come to an end (and a beautiful new beginning!) in just a few days! I’ve been trying my best to exercise patience, but if you know me well, you know it’s not my strong point.

Speaking of patience... I’ve seen a lot of people choosing specific words as a way to sort of represent their new years resolution and I’ve decided that mine will be “patience” for 2013. On an obvious level, being a new mom will require a ton of patience, but on a more introspective level, I need to learn to be more patient with myself and my husband, as well. I’m the type of person that wants things done “yesterday” and I’m not very good at adapting to things being done on anyone else’s schedule. I also have trouble being patient with myself and sometimes “beat myself up” about certain things I wish I could have done better, or sooner, or more effectively, or just differently. Hopefully, with this as my focus for 2013 (among other things.... MANY other things!), I can learn to be more patient with myself and others.

Back to the whole “baby thing”... One reason I’m starting to get impatient about his arrival is because I have a fear of going a week or two overdue, and having to be induced. I’ve read a lot and heard some stories from others about their own induction, and it just doesn’t seem like a pleasant experience. From what I understand, induced labours can cause much less gradual contractions and be way more painful, which is scary! There is also an increased chance of cesarean delivery with induced labours that fail to progress. Another reason I don’t want to be induced is because I want to know that my body can do what its supposed to do and go into labour on its own. I know it sounds silly, but I don’t want to be a failure at being able to deliver a baby without that kind of medical intervention. Anyways, I know that only 50% of babies are actually born by their due dates, and another 30% are born the following week (without induction), so my chances are good that I’ll go into labour before the end of the week... before the end of the day would be nice! LOL.

Sorry for such a short post, but there are a few things I want to get done around the house today! Here is my “Outfit of the Week” for week 40. Dan and I went out for Chinese food last night and then had some friends over for a hilarious game of Balderdash!

Dress: Joe Fresh

Tights: Seraphine Maternity

Purse: H&M

Boots: Aldo

Have a great weekend everyone! Hopefully, my next post will feature a few pictures of a beautiful baby boy and the story of his birthday :)

It COULD be any day now... or not.

Here we are - a week before our due date. It could be any day now! ... Or another 2 weeks. It's BRUTAL not knowing when it will happen! Since New Years day I've been going to bed hoping that I'd wake up in the middle of the night with contractions or laying in a puddle of "water", and be off to the hospital to have a baby. Then I wake up in the morning feeling defeated, sore and still pregnant. Very pregnant. Man, do I envy the girls who have their first babies at 38 weeks! I guess I have to look on the bright side. He's obviously not here yet because he's not finished cooking, so it's best to let him do his thing until he's ready. It's just so much easier said, than done!

39 week belly shot (and check out my new iPhone 5 - I'm in love!)

Anyways, I thought I'd do another "Pregnancy Journal" update, since it COULD be the last. Here it is...

39 Weeks Pregnant

Size of baby: Your baby's the size of a watermelon! The average baby is about 20.5 inches long from head to toe and weighs approximately 7.5 pounds at birth, but anywhere between 5 pounds 11.5 ounces and 8 pounds 5.75 ounces, is a healthy range for newborns.

What's baby up to?: Your amniotic fluid, once clear, is now pale and milky from your baby's shedding vernix caseosa. The outer layers of skin are also sloughing off as new skin forms underneath. His brain is still growing at an astonishing rate, a pace that will continue for the first three years of life. His head has dropped into your pelvis by now, which makes your breathing easier but walking harder.

Total weight gain/loss: + 29 lbs (I actually lost 3 pounds since last week... apparently a slight weight loss is a sign that labour is imminent! A girl can hope!)

Pregnancy symptoms: Fatigue (followed by bursts of energy and nesting/cleaning urges), constant backaches and pelvic pressure/pain, heartburn (only when I’m in bed - a couple Tums seems to do the trick), more frequent urination, and a couple other symptoms I would classify as “TMI”, and spare you from!

Maternity clothes?: Pretty much everything. And I haven’t worn pants in like 2 weeks because the waist band digs in too much ... leggings are my bottom of choice these days!

Stretch marks?: None. C’mon skin... you can do it! Just a bit longer!

Sleep: about 9 hrs during the night, with the occasional afternoon nap!

Best moment this past week: Probably hanging out with my brother and his girlfriend on NYE (Dan was working)... baby related... learning that I’m 1cm dilated. Hey - it’s something!

Miss Anything?: My pre-pregnancy clothes, walking without discomfort, being able to sleep through the night!

Movement: Still lots - It generally feels much lower now, but I still get the occasional kick to the ribs or a foot that presses against the side of my belly and hangs out there for a while, until I push it back in!

Food Cravings: Fruit (specifically blackberries and pineapple), cheese, milk.

Exercise: Lots of dog walking!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope.

Gender predictions: It’s a boy!

Labor sigs: Yes actually - engaged head, 1cm dilated... and those “TMI” symptoms I wont share here, since I don't want to gross anyone out :)

Belly Button in or out: Mostly out.

Wedding rings on or off: On!

Happy or Moody: Happy (for the most part), but I’m ready to be done!

Looking forward to: Meeting our baby boy! I have another OB appointment on Monday, so I’m hoping I’ll show more progress and hopefully have him before my due date, which is January 12th! (Statistically speaking, only 50% of babies are born by their due date, and another 30% are born the following week, so it’s pretty much a given that he’ll be in my arms by the 19th, at the very latest)

Baby boy's "Going Home Outfit" - all packed and ready to go!

I'm not feeling the greatest today (achy all over, and kinda flu-ish), plus Dan is working so I have no one to take my Outfit of the Week photos. I think it's a pajama day, for this girl!

Have a great weekend everyone!

In the home stretch now!

What a crazy week! We did a TON of running (well... driving) around for various Christmas celebrations and I’m officially exhausted! Last Friday I went solo (Dan had to work) to a Christmas potluck that some friends of ours hosted. I honestly cannot remember what I did on Saturday, but I’m sure it was busy lol. Sunday we went to Georgetown for another Christmas dinner with 2 other families that we do every year. Monday (Christmas Eve) was spent with Dan’s side, and Christmas day, with my side in Georgetown. On Boxing Day, I went out for breakfast with my two best friends and then relaxed the rest of the day. Thursday we did some shopping for the last few baby items on our list and then I had my weekly OB appointment. Dan worked yesterday and I did MORE shopping (this time for myself!) and we took down the Christmas decorations. Today we ran some more errands and bought and installed a new toilet for the powder room and new track lighting for the family room. I think I need to crawl into bed and hibernate until I go into labour! LOL. 

Christmastime is so exhausting, but this year it was truly amazing! I’m so thankful that I get to spend this time of year with my family and closest friends, exchange gifts, eat delicious food (and gain 5 pounds in 2 weeks! EEEKKK), and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. I can’t wait to celebrate Christmas next year with our almost 1 year old son! So crazy!

I had every intention of documenting this years Christmas festivities by taking hundreds of photos, but I hardly took any! I guess I was just enjoying myself too much to remember to take some photos... very unlike me! Anyways, here's a photo of my parents tree on Christmas morning (before the opening began). A little excessive, right?! Next year, I will obviously make up for the lack of photos this year!

Alright, so in terms of pregnancy updates - we’re 38 weeks pregnant today! Baby boy will be in my arms in 2 weeks (and not a day later! Noooo way!) It’s still totally surreal to me that I’m going to have a baby in a few short weeks, and be a mom for the rest of my life! I’m so excited and nervous and anxious at the same time!

I’m feeling very prepared physically, having completed everything on my “To-Do” list (posted here back in October). Feeling mentally prepared is a different story, entirely. I’m so unsure of what to expect when contractions begin, during labour and delivery, immediately after he’s born, and of course when it comes to being a mom and the new responsibilities it entails! I suppose these feelings are completely normal for new parents, but it still doesn’t make it any less nerve-wracking! I know I’ve done everything I could have to prepare myself, so I’ll just have to trust that that’ll be enough (and that my motherly instinct will kick in when it needs to!)

I’ll leave you with a ‘Bump Photo’ for comparison (I seriously didn’t think it could get any bigger than it was in my 36 week pic, but alas, it has grown (and dropped!). I blame it on the delicious Christmas food!)

 

... And my “Outfit of the Week” - what I wore today. Gotta love a casual Saturday!

 Sweater: Old Navy

Jeans: Seraphine

T-shirt: ?

Scarf: Winners

Purse: H&M

Boots: Sorel (Tivoli suede)

I won’t be posting again until 2013, so I hope everyone has a fun and safe New Years!

Cheers to a great year, and an even better one to come!

Nursery Tour!

We'll be 37 weeks tomorrow and THE NURSERY IS OFFICIALLY DONE! I'm so excited that his room is complete (even though he'll be sleeping in a bassinet in our room for the first few months anyways). Having his room finished before his arrival was very important to me, for whatever reason!

We'll start the tour from the hallway. I'll go right to left around the room and share all the details as I go... Enjoy!

OH - I should mention... I covered his "Name Art" with my signature, since we're keeping his name a secret until he's born! Sorry! :P

View from the hallway

The Toronto Maple Leafs stick is a "Daddy Touch", clearly.

I bought the teal curtains for the closet door at Bouclair, but they weren't long enough so I picked up the polka dot and orange fabrics and my super talented mother-in-law added the stripes! I think they look SOOO much better!

Love these customized curtains!

Quite the wardrobe you've got there, little one!

Amazing custom wall art by my friend Chantal at UrbanFizz! LOVE IT!

Custom crib bedding by Modified Tot (on Etsy)

We got the crib and change table for FREE at Sears (from a gift card we received in the summer after having our furnace and AC replaced).... SCORE!

There are diapers in the turquoise baskets and wipes, rash cream, etc. in the orange one. Purchased at Bouclair.

I bought the sock elephant in the summer (his first "toy" purchase) and the stain glass picture is from my grandma (his great-grandma!) who lives in New Brunswick.

Lots and lots of receiving blankets!

Above the shelving unit is an adorable custom bunting, also made by Chantal at UrbanFizz. She's so talented!

Mini lamp and porcelain elephants purchased at Bouclair.

Dan's aunt in Edmonton got us this frame - I can't wait to put his newborn photo in it! (... and Hello there Sophie!)

Part of his book collection... I've got another 2 huge bins full, in the basement. That's what happens when mommy is a teacher!

Giraffe sound machine from his aunties Brandy and Angela. I'm sure this will come in handy!

Expedit shelving unit and baskets, from Ikea. Lots of storage!

And that's it! I'm so happy with how the nursery turned out, and I can't wait to finally have our little man sleeping in there!