Olivia

I met my newest niece at Pam's house. (Maybe I should call her Banana Pam-see my last post). She was born earlier this month, but we only got to see her yesterday because either Michael was sick, or I was sick. No need to share that kind of love!!!

Anyway, it's only been 2 months since Susan was born, but she's changed so much, it was great to hold a smaller version. There's just something about looking at a baby asleep, with hands around the face, all wobbly and curled up, and the way that they relax against you...ahhh.

Oh, I still get that with Susan, but she's getting more physical too. My lap has been a jumping off point lately, and she doesn't just lay there unless she's totally asleep. Even then, she likes to fart on me. Constantly. But that's another story.

Another thing I enjoyed is that our first girls are 9 months apart. Huge in baby terms, but when they get older, it won't mean much. It'll be great for them to have cousins to play with.

Bananarama

For the first time in 20 years, I ate a banana and...enjoyed it!

Let me go back here...

Up until I was about 8 years old, I LOVED bananas, couldn't get enough of them.
Then one day at my Granny's house, I was eating a sliced banana in a bowl with milk and sugar. I ate it, then declared, "I don't want to eat any more bananas." Overnight, I couldn't even be in the same room as a banana because it smelled so bad, and would gag if I had a bite.

Over the years, I would have people proclaim:
"You don't like bananas? Here, eat this, you can hardly taste the banana." (Yeah, right. What food do you not like? Do you want me to make you eat it? Didn't think so.)

"You don't like bananas? But it has as much iron as a piece of steak!" (Thanks, you've just reinforced my argument. I'd much rather eat a steak than a banana!)

Or I'd just get the sneaky people who'd try to slip it in a dish and act all innocent when I noticed the awful scent wafting into my delicate nostrils. Bleaugh!

Then a few years ago, it didn't smell as bad as it used to. Then I had a sip of Michael's smoothie with banana in it...it was okay, but I couldn't manage to drink a whole glass myself.

Then yesterday, Pam (my sister-in-law) gave me fruit salad. It smelled good. It tasted even better. What the heck was that sweet tasting fruit? A banana???

YUMMY!

I decided not to say anything until I had eaten the whole bowl. What if halfway through, I changed my mind? Nope, still delicious.

So I like bananas. We're taking things slowly, and letting the relationship bloom. After all, it's been over 20 years, and there's no need to rush things. Maybe one day the unconditional love will return...

I got a kick out of this...

I got this in the mail the other day with my Quebec child assistance payment. When I saw the picture, my first thought was, "How did they know?" Do they send out other combinations to other couples? Asian/White? Black/Asian?

Then I figured out that I wasn't *that* special!

But seriously, I haven't seen that many interracial couples in mainstream advertising. But I could also apply that to gay, goth, little people and any other couple combination. I did enjoy receiving it.

And yes, I did do my taxes. Advertising works!

First of All

I was an Auntie once again on Friday morning. Welcome Olivia! I can't wait to meet you!

Thursday was a great day also. When Jillian's sitter was putting her down for her nap, she turned to the dog and said, "Tutu do-do" (French for "Tutu, sleep"). I have been concerned about her lack of speaking, but I was happy that she put those words together in the right context!

Now I just need to start listening to her in French as well as English!

Susan's really getting the hang of holding her head up, smiling and 'talking' to me, and I swear I could feel some definition in her leg muscles!

Today Jillian and I (well, it was mostly me) were playing with my old Barbies from the 80's. I finally gave Ken some dignity back after 20 years by dressing him in his clothes, and even his shoes. The shoes didn't match, but I could have sworn that he smiled at me once he was decent again. I still had most of the original clothes that the Barbies came with, and even several pairs of shoes. I got rid of the headless Barbie (Maybe I was changing one of them agressively?), and dressed everyone else. I still had all the outfits that my Granny had knitted for me, which brought back some great memories.

A few things I noticed:
-the Barbies came from the Philippeans, China, Taiwan and Mexico
-I had forgotten how skin-tight all the clothes were, and how it wasn't easy to dress her upper body with her arms that weren't bendable
-The hair! Arg! I didn't even attempt to brush it, for fear I'd scalp the ladies.

I still had fun going back in time, and it's great to be able to share it with Jillian too.

The B-word

Arg. It's that time again...for the ...BOTTLE!

The breastfeeding is going great and I love it, especially that this time around I don't feel like a cow being milked for hours on end. It's because of the surgery I'll be having on May 7th for my dermoid cyst, and I don't want Michael to go bonkers trying to feed Susan. This is how it goes:

10pm-Michael goes to bed (lucky...), and I get 1 ounce ready for Susan. You heard me, the same size as a shot of tequila, rum, that teeny-weeny glass you could step on and barely notice.
10-11pm. WAAAH! (gulp air) WAAAHHHHH! (burp) (silence)
I try again... WAAAH! (gulp air) WAAAHHHHH! (burp) (silence)

Rinse and Repeat. By the way, there are *way* more WAAAH's and WAAAHHHHH's involved, but you get the point.

What drives me nuts is that she's getting *so close*, but then gulps air, or doesn't like the temperature of the bottle because it's been 1/2 hour since it was warmed up.

And after that hour? She's gotten 1/2 ounce in. It'd be faster feeding her with an eyedropper, but the one that I have is 1/30th of an ounce. GAH!

The plus side to this? She's so tired from crying, that when I do breastfeed her, she sleeps for 5.5 hours and that means that I can sleep for 5 hours straight!!!

It's been 4 days so far, and I hope she gets the hang of it real soon.

Tax Time

There is just something about the tax season that brings out the inner nerd in me.
Ooh! T4's! Ahh! Receipts! Yay! Refund! (or at the very least "Thank goodness I don't have to write a cheque to the government, since I spread out the pain throughout the year.")

Monday was Susan's 2 month appointment. She's now 11 pounds, 13 oz, which is 5 pounds more than when she was born! She's also grown 4.5 inches since birth.

All I can say is, "Thank goodness you waited till you were outside of me before you decided to grow so much! And to think that the nurses at the hospitals were trying to freak me out when she was 2 days old saying that they were concerned that she wasn't gaining enough weight! (that's a rant for another time). She's started cooing and having little conversations with me. It's funny because she looks so serious sometimes when she is 'telling' me something.

Jillian's definitely hit the terrible twos. It's really not that bad, but when she decides to scream...WOW! Earplugs are definitely a good investment. But the happy moments are great. She's started helping me when I change Susan by bringing me her diaper...without even being asked! She's also enjoying her alphabet puzzle, since she figured out that she can turn the puzzle board around (instead of the piece in her hand) to place the piece. She's also started to give a "Mmmm-ahhh" sound when giving me a kiss. And shake hands.

Susan's definitely precious and adorable and I can just look at her all day, but Jillian is so interactive and curious about the world, you just have to stop and look at everything through her eyes.

Yes, there are times I look at the ceiling and wonder, "What the heck did I get myself into?", and "When will I fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes?", but I can definitely say, "Yes, they are worth it.". The diaper changes, the sleep-less nights, and even the stretch marks. But also the smiles and unconditional love.

Potty Time

I was feeling energetic yesterday and decided to be more proactive with getting Jillian toilet trained. In the AM, I took her diaper off and encouraged her to sit on her potty after I demonstrated for her. For about 2 hours, I was on 'pee-pee' watch.

I thought I heard a grunt and saw her pushing...out came a poop and landed on the floor. I probably looked too panicky trying to get her to sit down so she could get the rest out, but she was not having any of it. I felt that we were starting to get stressed, and didn't want her to get discouraged about the potty, so I put her diaper back on.

She promptly peed in it.

Later on that evening, I gave Jillian her bath. More grunts, and she pooped in the bathtub...guess who got to pick up the pieces??? Michael thought it was funny.

Scores:
Mommy: 0
Potty: 0
Diapers: 4
Bathtub: 1

Things you have done during your lifetime:

Thanks Andrea! :P

3 hours in the car with 2 kids is long! Today's post is skimpy, due to my degrading spelling skills!

Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not.


(x) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
(X) Watched someone die
( ) Been in a fist fight
( ) Been arrested
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
( ) Been to Hawaii
(X) Been on a plane
(X ) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
( ) Skinny dipped outside at night
( ) Skinny dipped outside in the daytime
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
(X) Sang Karaoke
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
(X) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
(X) Laughed until you peed your pants
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced/played in the rain-naked (I was 3 at the time!!!)
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
(X) Gone snowmobiling
(X) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Picked coffee beans in Costa Rica
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(X) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
( ) Been to Disney World
( ) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(X) Been in a rain forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
( ) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Pet a dolphin
( ) Ridden a camel
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw the pyramids in Egypt
( ) Been to the Holy Land
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been water-skiing
(X) Been snow-skiing
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Been to a PGA Golf Tournament
( ) Been to a College Bowl Game
(X) Been on television
(X) Stayed in a hotel by yourself
(X) Had your name in the newspaper
(X) Have gone to a restaurant and eaten by yourself
(X) Have gone to the movies by yourself
( ) Kissed someone IN another country
(X) Know another language, besides English, not fluently
( ) Have had cosmetic surgery
( ) Have run a marathon

Friday night

Well, I survived my first week alone with the girls and Michael back at work. I was scared the first day he left, but things went a lot better than I thought. I'm still trying to adapt to living with my 3 hour naps, but I got 4 hours in a row the other day and I thought I died and went to heaven!

Jillian doesn't like this new arrangement and has been throwing screaming fits, but she *is* learning that Mommy can't move when she's feeding Susan. She's also warming up to Susan as well. Yesterday, when Susan was fussy and I went to pick her up, Jillian pushed me aside and tried to make Susan feel better with a kiss-it was so sweet and I couldn't help but giggle. Then I also saw Susan look up and smile at her big sister. It's these moments that I will treasure when the girls start fighting with each other.

Another blissful moment? Yesterday, when the 3 of us took a nap in our bed. Jillian snuggled on my right, Susan on my left, and we were all blissfully asleep for 2 whole hours. I felt like a new person when I woke up, and all 3 of us were in a super mood by the time Michael came back home.



I was told that I should start putting pictures up again. This one is when Susan was 3 days old, and the first day that we spent at home as a family.




Susan's 10 days old in this picture, with the blanket that I knitted. Now at almost 2 months, she's got these adorable Michelin Man legs and a Buddha belly. She's a pro at holding up her head for long periods of time, and can pull my hair and grab my glasses like a good ol' catfight! She's great at responding to us with her smiles, and coos. Her sleeping schedule still needs some work, but we'll get there eventually.

Jillian has discovered her climbing skills. Latest conquests: her high chair, with and without the tray attached, and I interrupted her climb onto the bathroom sink, courtesy of her potty. She may not pee in it, but she still knows how to use it!

I also attempted grocery shopping with Susan. Things were going well until we entered the store. Appropriately enough, I breastfed her in the 'Nuts' aisle; I apologize to the store in advance of their decline in sales in that department! She decided that she didn't want to be in her warm, cosy carseat, opting instead to having me carry her around in one hand, and pushing the cart in the other. I managed to steer by bumping the cart with my knees occasionally. I only hit 3 people, so I considered that a success! She decided to stay in her seat once I hit the checkout lane, where I frantically bagged groceries in case she changed her mind.

(phew!) My next challenge will happen during her 2 month checkup, where I encounter the "Immunization Challenge".

Dictionary definitions:

Precious: Watching your firstborn gaze adoringly at your sleeping secondborn.
Not so precious: Watching your firstborn cough on your sleeping secondborn.
Chewing: A concept my 2 year old does not understand.
Baby puke: Smaller, but still smelly.
Patience: Not screaming when you realize that your 2 year old has spilled your entire bowl of cereal on the floor.
Relief: Finding out that there is enough cereal left (in the box!) for one more bowl of cereal.

Vomit, Puke & Barf House

Yeah, this will be a pretty gross post.

I live in a sick house right now. Let me go back to yesterday.

Jillian seemed a bit off, because she had a little bit of pepperoni at lunch, then I decided to give her some blueberries for dinner. I left the room for a few minutes, then returned to her *covered* in vomit. Thankfully, I had taken off her clothes because I didn't want her to get blueberry stains on them. I gave her a bath, then she fell asleep at 7, so I put her in bed. She woke up a hour later needing some comfort, so I put her in my bed while I took care of Susan.

*big thump*. WAAAHHHHH! Did I mention that I have a high bed? So after some cuddles and 2 hours of Baby Einstein later (yes, I did read that article about kids not watching TV, but all rules are out the window when they're sick!), I gave her a bit of milk and put her back in bed. (do you see where this is going?)

Anyway, there was some crying from her, but that was normal, so I let her be. A little while later, I could smell puke.
Was it residual from the kitchen? No.
Do I smell it in the living room? Sorta.
Is the smell wafting from upstairs? Yeeesss. Uh oh.
Is the smell stronger the closer I get to Jillian's room? Oh no...

My poor child is covered neck to feet in vomit, as well as on her bed, on her pillow, and on the floor. She managed to wedge herself in a relatively puke-free spot on the bed and fell asleep, probably thinking how much her mommy *sucks* for not knowing that she made a sickie in her bed.

After controlling my gag reflex, I got her out of bed, changed her, and put her in the other bed. Of course Michael gets into the house after I have already stripped the bed and started the laundry! We have a small house, so naturally, he could smell it when he walked in.

Forward to this morning. Long story short, 1/3 glass milk (do you see where this is going?), some water and some oatmeal. One burp, and the next second, I'm covered in puke.

So today is laundry day.

25 Random Things:

1. Susan pooped (again!). I should buy stock in Pampers and Huggies.

2. I worry constantly about my family. I guess I'm a "expect the worst, hope for the best" kind of person.

3. Went to another funeral today. Am driving my husband and mom nuts with getting them to write down what kind of funeral they want. But I have yet to tell them what I would want for my own apart from the cheapest box they have. Seriously. Do I need to be buried in teak or mahogany?

4. I'm secretly glad that I only get 1 channel with my rabbit ears for my TV. Otherwise I would be watching TV *way* too much. On another note, I spend too much time on the Internet. I think I substituted one addiction for another.

5. I am a homebody, but not a good homemaker. I can freak out when trying out a new recipe, or planning meals. I really have to do that *every* day?

6. I miss skiing. A lot. It's one of the few times that I don't think about anything except for the next turn. Maybe that's why I like to go so fast on the hill; that way, I'm really concentrating on not maiming myself.

7. I've been trying to avoid consumerism, especially since we got back from Asia, but the longer I'm back here, the more I want the 'nice, new and improved' stuff. I daydream about winning the lotto so Michael and I wouldn't have to work, we could help out family, and travel. Oh yeah, and get 'stuff'.

8. It's 1am, and Susan finally fell asleep. In 15 minutes, I get to lay her down, then I can go to bed. I have great kids, but they are light sleepers. I guess I really can't complain.

9. I am dorky about opening mail, making lists, and actually look forward to doing my taxes. Something about putting order to chaos. Same reason why I loved Math instead of English in school. You were either right or wrong in Math, and it sorta depended on how well you could articulate in English.

10. My biggest pet peeve on the internet is not spelling words properly. If I have to sound out the words while I'm reading it (huked on fonix werked fer mi!), then I don't want to read it. Same thing with music. Sing the proper lyrics, or not at all.

11. I love to sing pretty much anything. If I know the song well, then I'm singing along.

12. Now I understand why I drove my mom nuts with being a slob. I trip over toys every day now, and I swear Jillian follows me around after I straighten up.

13. I love my husband. Sure, he does stuff that drives me nuts, but it's over small things, like not getting the recycling to the curb on time, or making up his own lyrics to songs.

14. I'm going to check over this whole posting before I publish it to make sure there's nothing incriminating on it!

15. I haven't given anything up for Lent yet. I broke the no chocolate/fast food/swearing options on the first day. Maybe I should go with desserts in general, that'll hurt. I *love* desserts. OK, desserts it is.

I miss dessert.

16. I have a totally random thought process. It drives my husband nuts.

17. It's 1:22am. Why will my child not fall asleep?

18. Damn! I was supposed to post 25 Random Things, not 25 Random Thoughts. Too late, I'm past the 1/2 way mark.

19. I enjoy breastfeeding, but I dislike running low on milk late at night when Susan wants to go to sleep.

20. Nobody Wang Chungs Tonight anymore.

21. I think I was cool once.

22. I have fantasies about my pillow and what it feels like when my head lies on it. Seriously. I miss sleeping for more than 3 hours in a row.

23. I really don't have anything to complain about if I complain about a lack of sleep, don't I?

24. Who thought of inventing ketchup?

25. It's time to do dishes again. I think dirty dishes are like rabbits mating. As soon as you're done cleaning...POOF! The sink is full again.

May 7th.
I finally get my dermoid cyst removed. I talked to the doc today, and it should be fairly routine. It should be 3 small incisions, and it will be removed out of the largest hole. There is a possibility of me losing one ovary if the cyst has completely surrounded it. Since we already have 2 children, and I have an extra ovary, the doc isn't too worried about us having a third child if we wish to do so in the future.

I did ask him if he would do any lyposuction while he was in there, and he said no...darn!

So as of tomorrow, Susan turns 4 weeks. Boy, that's fast! Michael was joking that if she was 2 weeks late, she would have been born a couple of days ago...*shudder*. I was simply not made to carry to full-term!

Both girls are down for the count...ahhh.
It's been a long week. Jillian got sick last week, and she's getting on the upswing now, thank goodness. It was a trying week, because if one of the girls started to cry, sometimes the other one would join in. That is extremely annoying. The only time it was cute was when Susan would cry, and Jillian would stop what she was doing, run over to her, and look at Susan with a concerned look on her face.

Susan is still growing and eating like crazy; she passed the 3-week mark on Wednesday, so that means a growth spurt for her. She is still able to hold up her head, and she can also push her body away from me when I'm holding her in an upright position...scary! She will also grab at the bottle or my hand and pull it towards her face when she is especially hungry. I was astonished; does this mean she will be able to feed herself sooner? ;) She will still wake up once a night, but can sleep up to 5-6 hours at night. Whoopie! Now I just have to go to bed at the same time.

Gross diaper story. How do you know that you need to go up a diaper size? When you have a poopy blowout through:
-the back of your diaper,
-the front of your diaper,
-out one leg of your diaper *and*
-manage to get your mommy's shirt wet with pee/poo *at the same time*!

So yeah, Susan's in a Size 1, which means nothing to anybody unless you have a kid in diapers too!

Jillian is fine with her toddler bed now(thanks Nancy!), and sleeping in it all the time. Actually, she never seems to want to go in the crib anyway, which is fine with us. We'll see what happens when we get Susan in that crib in a few months, though.

On an even happier note, my cousin Stacey is conscious and I was able to speak to her briefly on Saturday. I was a bit nervous, but she sounds just like herself. Thanks to everyone for their kind words and prayers.

Very bad news today.

I found out today that my cousins Natalie and Stacey were in a car accident early this morning. Stacey is in serious condition at the hospital, and Natalie died. They both flew out the window of the car. Stacey was relatively lucky as she landed on grass. Natalie landed on the road. So far it looks like they weren't wearing seatbelts. Natalie's boyfriend was driving, and he's in the hospital too. I'm not sure of his condition.

Natalie was 24, and leaves behind 3 children, the youngest just turned one.

I think I'm still in shock/denial. I made sure to tell my mom, Michael and my girls that I loved them and gave extra hugs. I try not to take things for granted, but this really drives the point home about how we really don't know how long we have on this earth.

Maybe it's because I'm getting enough sleep, but I find that I'm enjoying the newborn stage a lot more the second time around. I think it's due to several factors:

-I'm not in post-partum pain like I was the first time around
-The baby blues haven't hit like the last time (fingers crossed)
-I'm not afraid of Susan being so fragile like the first time around (and there are plenty of things that "they" tell you to be afraid of-I can't tell you who "they" are or "they" will come after me!)
-We're living in our own house instead of crappy student housing on campus (I swear, I loved everything else about Windsor!). Did I mention it was a 1 bedroom apartment with a creepy maintenance guy? Ugh.
-I'm not making myself wake up every 3 hours to feed Susan (shh! Don't tell "them"!)
-Susan is an amazing baby. I know, we all say that about our own kids. She cries when she's hungry, and has her 'mad' cry when we give her a bath. Other that that-bliss! (crossing fingers)
-Michael's off until the second week of March for parental leave, thanks to living in Quebec! This means I can do more things, like cooking, napping, and sleeping, plus he gets to bond with Susan and gets to give Jillian some one-on-one time when my hands are full.
-Family close by

Wow! This list was longer than I thought!

OK, off to bed now-yipee!

Wow...it's quiet in the house and I have a few minutes to myself before the booby monster wakes up!

Susan's 9 days old already and I can't imagine her not being around. I'm sure Jillian could though! She's a very peaceful baby, crying when she's hungry or when we give her a bath. She's also quite strong. She was able to lift her head from the first day-my chiropractor was amazed. Still has to learn some head control, because she can look like a chicken that's pecking for food..it's hilarious!

I find myself very protective of her as well. I think it's mostly because Jillian doesn't realize her strength yet, and sees her as a doll. If I'm holding Susan and Jillian wants to give me a hug, Susan is merely a handhold/foothold to reach me!

Michael and I are still trying to get over how much they look alike. When we talk, we say sentences like, "Can you please pick up... ...Susan?" lol

Time's up!

Yes, I know that I should be sleeping right now, but this is the first time that I have free to update everyone.

So, you may have noticed that I changed the title of my blog!

Susan Idania Dawn was born on January 21st at 7:19am.

Susan-After Michael's mom
Idania-duh!
Dawn-After my mom

Her birth story is funny...I may get graphic, so if you get queasy, you might want to skip it.

As some of you may know, I decided to stay at my mom's house since it's a 10-15 drive from the hospital, as opposed to our house, which is over 45 minutes to the nearest hospital that I can give birth at. The last time I gave birth, my contractions started at 1am, and I gave birth just over 3 hours later. So we didn't want to take a chance and deliver on the side of the road!

I woke up at 6:30am and went to pick Jillian up out of her playpen to get her some breakfast. Immediately, I felt my water break and handed her off to my mom to double check. Sure enough, I hadn't peed myself (phew!). I went back to my mom and told her that I needed to get to the hospital *now*. I called Michael's co-workers and asked them to get him to get to the hospital ASAP since he had already left 45 minutes earlier and didn't have a cell phone on him. (Yes, we are technologically impaired). I also called my sister in law Tanya to stay with me at the hospital until Michael showed up, since my mom needed to watch Jillian.

Anyway, I hadn't relayed the urgency to mom; even though my contractions had started, she didn't realize because I wasn't moaning or yelling-and I didn't tell her! I really didn't want to freak Jillian out, so I was trying to stay calm and get her ready. We get in the car at 7am and leave.

Did I mention that there is a bus strike in Ottawa? Grrr. Anyway, there was more traffic on the road as usual, and my mom was at the wheel, obeying the speeding limits, signalling, etc. As we approach the turnoff for the hospital, I am breathing heavier and tell her to "get out the lead foot" because I can feel the baby's head in the birth canal!!!

Mom stayed calm and pulled a couple of cool manouevers-I didn't know she had that in her! We pulled into the hospital and I followed another pregnant woman with her red suitcase. I was going through another contraction and realized I didn't have enough time, so I interrupted and started speaking loudly to the admissions person (maybe yelling?) "I'M SORRY, BUT MY BABY IS COMING OUT ***RIGHT NOW***"!!!". He immediately pointed me in the right direction and I waddled down the hall as fast as I could, with my ammniotic fluid gushing down my legs. I do remember saying/shouting, "My baby is coming!". I was immediately flanked by 2-3 nurses and one of them was following me with a wheelchair, asking me to sit down. I immediately thought that this was like a relay race in the Olympics and I was Usain Bolt...I am *not* going to slow down!!! She did manage to get me in and we were whisked to the delivery room.

Once inside, I managed to take my pants down during another contraction and jumped on the bed while the poor nurse was trying to get me to get a gown on. I immediately asked when I could push and the nurse said that as soon as the doctor got her gloves on, I could go for it. She told me that I only had to push once (yah, I've heard that line before!), but I got ready for the next contraction. When it came, I pushed, and she was out!

So the timeline:
6:30-water breaks
7:00-leave for hospital
7:15-arrive at hospital
7:19-Susan arrives

I found out afterwards that I didn't set the land record at the hospital; one other woman had delivered in the hallway on the way to the delivery room a few months earlier.

By the time Tanya and my mom came in, they were very surprised, but were happy that they were able to hold her and were the first people to hear Susan's name! Michael showed up at 9am (rush hour traffic and OC Transpo strike-grr!), and came in my room, thinking I was still in labour. He was shocked to see Tanya holding Susan but was thrilled to hold her for the first time.

Gotta go! Feeding time! Pics to follow *soon*!

Confession time...
Back in 1996, I bought about 7 or 8 balls of yarn, with the intention of making a sweater.

Fast forward to Nov 2008. I am unpacking and find a neglected 1/5th completed sweater that must be made for size XXL. I decide once and for all that I will make a blanket for Jillian, and I will actually finish it.

I kept this quiet, only telling a few people in case I fail spectacularly. Apart from taking a break over Christmas, I knit and knit, and knit some more. Nothing fancy, just the knit stitch, it requires no thinking, just breathing.

Today, I managed to finish my last row. Apart from running out of wool TEN STITCHES before the end, I managed to Macgyver it, and finish the blanket!

My name is Idania, and I am a knitter!

(and if you don't know who Macgyver is, I'm not telling you!)

Ok Baby Riley, I finished the blanket. You can come out now! Or you can come out on Monday. I have plans this weekend. Or Tuesday works too because that's when Obama gets inaugurated. How easy would that be to remember that historic event?

I'm nesting like mad. All her clothes are ready to go. (She's seriously going to be a diva; I have onesies and pajamas up the ying-yang!) The diapers are lined up waiting to be pooped and peed in. The blankets are prepped. Her bag(and mine), (and Jillian's), are packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. The car is (mostly!) gassed up. I have the "Baby --- is here!" email prepped so I just have to fill in the details and send out. I have re-labeled and re-organized my magazines, movies, and bank statements. Her photo albums are ready to be scrapbooked and written on. My feet have been pedicured (since I haven't been able to reach them for the past month without undergoing serious cramps!). Boxes have been moved upstairs. Boxes have been moved downstairs.

I could go on and on, but frankly, I'm scaring myself! I think the waiting is driving me nuts, and I need to do something so I feel in control. The next thing you know, I'm going to want to pull out the stove and fridge so I can clean that out. (Don't worry, I wouldn't pull it out myself!). Although giving the fridge a good scrubbing sounds like a really, really good idea right now, although I don't think that pulling all the food out at 11:30pm is a good idea. At least it's cold enough outside for the food...hmmm....

Theory:
Sleeping on the bed = 1 hour of uninterrupted sleep = Sluggish and slow
Sleeping reclined on the couch = 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep = Hyper, over-achieving nesting queen

OK baby, please come on Monday(or Tuesday!). That would make you 38 weeks, which is fine. It's okay to be a bit early. Your sister was! My friend Shelley gave birth yesterday and I can't wait to meet him!

*yawn* Time to recharge those batteries for tomorrow!

Dear Baby:

Please do not poke my cervix unless you mean it...did you get issued a walking stick when you were conceived? It hurts. Thank you for turning upside down last week, though. I like that you are in the 'ready' position.

Dear Large Intestine:

I love that I'm pooping a lot right now because it means that I'm getting closer, but can I have less gas please? I yelled at my husband the other night, but it was actually me and I forgot I let one fly!

Dear Hips:

Please stop hurting NOW. I'm really sick of it and it's not funny anymore.

Dear Wedding rings:

I have neglected you, but once I stop having sausage fingers, I will put you back on!

Dear Stretch Marks:

I don't like you, I will never like you. Period.

Dear Braxton-Hicks:

I don't like you either. I don't need practice contractions, thank you very much!

Dear Feet:

I have neglected you, and once I can reach you again, I will make you feel better.

Sincerely,
Me

Boy oh boy...

3 weeks and 1 day left to go. My friend Shelley has 1 day left to go.

I think it's pretty cool that we're having babies so close again; the last time we delivered 2 weeks apart; we found out within a week of each other that we were pregnant, which was great! We were able to ask each other questions, to find out if we were going through something 'normal' or not.

This time around, we're not as panicky as before; but I think it has to do more with being focused on chasing our toddlers around! I know that I'm looking forward to having the baby out, but not necessarily the delivery part.

(pause for hugs)

Hmm, I can see why I don't blog more often. But I love getting my hugs from Jillian!

Today was fun-Michael was giving her a bath and practicing the word 'purple'.
(she likes to hum words for some reason; does it have to do with all my singing when pregnant with her?)
Anyway, she finally turned to him and said, "pur-pur"!

(pause for brief cuddle)

Later on, he was asking her, "Do you want to come out of the tub? Yes or No"
Clear as day, she said, "No".

He was so impressed, he let her play in the tub even longer-she earned it.

For those of you that don't know, Jillian's taking her sweet time with speaking. She had been spending the last 8 months in a full-time French environment when I was back at work. The doctor said that it will take a while for her to sort out the words and start speaking. I know her hearing is fine, as well as her ability to pronounce consonants. I guess patience is not my strong suit!

I'm sure that the day will come when she is talking my ear off that I will miss these quiet days! In the meantime, she gets her point across when she wants something...she loves to drag us to whatever she wants us to do for her, like pulling us to the fridge when she wants a drink, or the highchair when she's hungry.

As for Baby Riley, everything is going well. She's now head-down, and I swear she turned last week Sunday. I was feeling very stretched(like when you have Christmas dinner and you've had waaaay too much turkey!) and when I tried to figure which end was her bum, and which was her head, it was in a totally whacky place! At least she did this now instead of later. I guess she finally realized that she was running out of room (and time!) at Casa Mama! I met my OB, and she's *fantastic*! Easygoing, and not scary like the other doctor I met. I guess what I like most is that our delivery philosophy is very similar and laid-back.

Her only concern was me delivering so fast! I reported back to Michael that if delivery is eminent, then we'd have to call 911 for an ambulance and *he* might have to deliver. His reaction was not too surprising: he turned pale and looked a little sick! Then he swore up and down that he could reach the closest hospital in 10 minutes (it's more like 20-25 if I do the driving!). So it's not a problem for him to commute from Ottawa to work now if it means that he doesn't have to do any catching!

I was looking at pictures of Jillian as a newborn and it's amazing how much she's changed, and a little bit scary because we're going to do it all over again! I also wonder about the dynamic and what Jillian's reaction will be. At least she's interested in babies; she has a fascination with people the same size as her or smaller! I'm just grateful that Michael is able to take time off of work to spend time with us.

We got her to sit in the newborn carseat to compare, and holy cow! She did seem comfortable in it(like a kiddie La-Z-Boy), and Michael couldn't stop laughing.
In any case, the baby stuff is ready to go, and my bags are (mostly) packed. I don't feel ready yet to deliver, but I'm getting grumpier, a sure sign that it's getting closer at least!

Gastroenteritis a.k.a. Stomach Flu a.k.a. (enter swear words here).

Yesterday was a hellish day for me....I'll go back a bit. On Dec 27th, I was feeling grumpy and lethargic. Michael wasn't feeling so hot himself as he was getting over some mild food poisioning(or so we thought-turns out that he had the stomach flu too, but it was going down, not up).

Anyway, I woke up in the middle of the night of the 28th feeling nauseous and paid a visit to the porcelain god...there went the lasagna. Ok, I thought that was it and went to bed. I woke up again and returned to the porcelain god....and again....and again....by 9am, I couldn't take it anymore and begged Michael to take me to the hospital. Got there at 10am, and got ready to wait. Not too many people around, should take, what? 2 hours?

3 or 4 hours later(1-2 pm), I ask where I am in line. 3 people. Okay, shouldn't be too much longer, right?

6.5 hours later(4:30pm), I ask where I am in line. 2-3 people. WTF? I saw people with kids come in and be seen right away. I understand that; I have a child and would cut off my hand if it meant that she could cut the line ahead of someone else with a runny nose. But, my baby happens to be -5 weeks old. I'm 2 people, and haven't had any liquids all, and concerned for her more than myself. Needless to day, I started bawling in front of the nurse and went back to my seat. I called Michael and went on a rant. He suggested drinking a lot of water so I would start to throw up again, but this time to aim for the floor. That made me cry more as it hurt so much the last time. 5 minutes later, the nurse calls me in to see what she can do for me in the meantime. Got some Pedialyte with apple juice and instructions on how to drink it.

7.5 hours later (5:30pm), I see the doctor. No IV to replace the fluids, even though I insisted. Seriously, if you're told to drink 1 ounce (30ml) every 15 minutes, how the heck am I supposed to replace 2 litres of liquids that I'm supposed to drink every day? And why are they talking to me like I should already know what to do?

8.5 hours later (6:30), I follow up at the nurse's station. No vomiting(which means no IV, but I am so sick of looking at the walls of the waiting room, I don't care anymore), so can I please check out?

9 hours later (7pm), Michael pulls up and I get to go home!

I'm feeling much better this morning, but anything's got to be better than what I went through yesterday!

Moral of the story? Don't kiss your husband when he is sick!

PS-The people that helped me were great; it must not be fun to be understaffed and overworked and have to deal with people like me all day. I did say my pleases and thank yous and was appreciative when they helped.

I am tired and feeling quite lazy.

Here's the nutshell:
My grandmother passed away on Nov 28th, which had caught the family off guard, but I suppose it's like anyone passing away. You know it will happen one day, but you are still surprised. I headed down to Trinidad with my mom and Jillian for about 2 weeks to go to the funeral and catch up with family. Michael had to wrap stuff up with teaching, and he'd be away from his class for too long, or only end up being in Trinidad for a day or 2, which is not fun either.

Flying with a toddler(and being too cheap to pay for an actual seat for her because it's $750 less than your own ticket) *and* being 31-33 weeks pregnant was draining. Thank goodness mom was there to help me out when I got too stressed.

The funeral was wonderful(odd comment, I know); the priest knew my grandmother well, and had a touching ceremony. I saw most of my family members, even the few that I didn't care for too much, but we put our feelings aside that day, then I didn't have to see them again.

We spent a wonderful day with friends at their beach house, and Jillian had a fantastic time at my Uncle Yves and Aunt Phina; they have a large fenced in yard, so I didn't stop her from running around to her heart's content. We figure that she clocked in 5 miles or so from running around. If she was fully grown, it would have probably been the equivalent of a marathon! ;)

I think most of my crabbiness was pregnancy related, but I was able to talk to Michael daily which helped a lot.

Jillian didn't care for the heat too much; she was starting to adjust at the end, though. I think that she didn't like that it was so hot and that a lot of people kept coming up to her and trying to hold her. Too much stimulation, I suppose. Thank goodness for air conditioning in the bedroom! Then she didn't feel like eating much because of the heat, and to be honest, I was feeling the same way. She also managed to catch a cold during the second week, which I managed to get a few days later, just in time for the flight home.

OK, I need to write down what I am grateful for:
-I have a wonderful husband who made sure that I came back to a clean home.
-My mom, who would do anything for me.
-I have a healthy and active daughter who makes me happy by just being around.
-I am able to be pregnant with our second daughter (who shall remain nameless till she decides to show up). I love that I can feel the baby kicking...it's our little secret.
-I am able to spend some time at home before the baby shows up.
-I found a sweater in my closet today that I can wear for Christmas...it's holiday-ish, and it fits!
-The new IKEA catalogue, which I enjoy looking at, plus it's FREE!
-That I don't have to shovel the snow this year

Give it a try...you might be surprised how many things that you are thankful for!

Poo-Poo Monster

I guess it was just a matter of time before Jillian discovered that she can reach in her diaper. I've had a couple of nasty surprises. Let me tell you, there's nothing worse than smelling poop and not knowing where it's coming from. Unless you find it all over your darling's hands!

Less than 10 weeks to go now before I give birth!
I'm at the 'holy cow, I have to push the baby out...AAAHHHHH, it's gonna HURT!'
But then I realized that I haven't entered the, "I'm as big as a house and I want her out NOW, and I don't care if she comes out my EAR!"
It is a relief to know that we have all of the essentials, and I don't need to research:
-carseats
-crib
-onesies(I had no idea what the heck that was the first time around!)
-etc, etc.

My birth plan? Get to the hospital and push! I would have loved to have a midwife, but we're too far away, and my last labour was very fast. I told Michael that the midwife could come to our house and I could give birth in our bed. (not true, as we live too far away). I just wanted to see the horrified look on his face! I have talked to some other moms who have given birth at home, and they had a great experience.

I went to my work's year-end gala in Toronto the other weekend, which was great. I enjoyed seeing my co-workers again. Some of them were surprised that I was going, but it's not like I was going to be on my feet all night. Actually, I wore my flip flops, which I know some of the women there were laughing at me at the beginning of the night, but it quickly changed to looks of envy when they realized that their feet were *killing* them. My motto that night was, "I'm built for comfort, not for speed.". Got a few laughs out of that one. I danced a little bit, which in my case, amounted to swaying back and forth. I attempted some of my old dance moves, but I have neither the grace or skill(or balance) to carry those off!

I'm looking out the window looking at the snow falling down. Luckily our road gets plowed regularly, so we don't have to worry about getting stuck. I think that Jillian and I will go out and enjoy the snow this afternoon.

Arg, these posts are way too far apart, but it looks like they should be coming more frequently from now on...read on...

Some good news to share. Saw my OB; turns out that I have a 'dermoid cyst', feel free to look up images on Google, but I have to warn you that it's pretty gross! You know how eggs and sperm can become anything? Well, a dermoid cyst is like that; it wouldn't be a human, but it can be made up of hair, skin, and teeth. The doc was happy that it wasn't cancerous(as there would be a blood supply to make the cancer grow), so we will continue monthly ultrasounds until she's born. When the baby is two months old, then I will have it removed surgically (they'll make little holes and pull it out). Gross, eh? Part of me is worried at all of the ultrasounds, but it's the lesser of 2 evils. I'd like to know if there is a change and if the cyst needs to be taken out. But for the most part, I try not to think about it.

My sugar test was not very hot. My doc signed me up for the 2 hour test(and I thought I would be there for just an hour...geesh...good thing I showed up early). Anyway, I have to watch my sugar intake for the rest of the pregnancy, which sucks because Christmas is around the corner and my sister-in-law makes the *best* desserts! But I know it's more important to take care of the little one. I read that full-blown gestational diabetes can lead to larger babies(note I said larger, not healthier or better), and I don't need to push a world record out!

I guess Michael gets all the Halloween candy!

Speaking of which, we had a good Halloween; Jillian dressed up as Tigger, and Michael was Batman. He took her into town to get some candy, while I stayed behind for the trick or treaters. I got the trick; since we're on the other side of a highway, only 2 children came, which were both Michael's students.
Michael and Jillian got the treats; literally! Michael said the best part of trick or treating for her was going up and down all the steps of the houses. When they got home, Michael 'helped' her sort her candy and she ate her first piece of licorice; she liked it, although it took her a while to chew! She's still not a big candy person, which I like, because she's got plenty of time to get used to sugar.

Halloween also marked my last day of work. I'm going through Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, which in simple terms is a lot of pain in my hips.
Here's a link, which is wordier:
http://www.bonnchiropractic.com/photos/custom/Archives/Articles/BC07_spd.pdf

So I'm on sick leave until I give birth, then I will start maternity leave. Some people are telling me how lucky I am, but this pain is not fun. I try not to complain very much, as there are other people going through a lot more worries in their pregnancy. On the plus side, I am able to spend a lot more time with Jillian and Michael, and I'm getting more rest than before. Since this is my first week off, though, I'm noticing that I have a lot of time on my hands! I'm sure that this will change in time...

Michael's great. He's enjoying his smaller class this year(8!), and getting into the swing of things. Last year, everything was new and he was learning the ropes.

Jillian's molars are coming in. We only see little parts of her teeth coming in, and some days she's pretty cranky, but she'll get there eventually. Says ma-ma-hmmmm, up, daddy(in her baby talk). There is still a lot of non-verbal communication, such as pulling me to her high chair when she is hungry, and knowing that I have to change her diaper when I smell poo!

One observation that I found was interesting:
We watched President-Elect Obama's speech, and she was smiling and giggling through most of it. Then we watched McCain's concession speech, and she was quiet, but listening intently. Maybe it was the cadence of both speeches? I tried playing Obama's speech later on that day, and got the same reaction.

In October, we were able to get her off the bottle and onto the sippy cup. She was having the sippy cup once in a while, then we realized that we(parents) needed to suck it up, and get her off the bottle in the afternoons and evenings, then wean her off her morning bottle. It went relatively well, and the funny thing is that the sippy cup she likes the best is the cheapest ones we found at the grocery store!

One major step that we need to do this month is to make the transition from crib to bed. I feel that she's not ready for the bed yet, but we need to have her out of it and used to the bed before the baby comes. I don't want her to feel jealous. We got a toddler bed from my good friend Nancy, along with some girly-girl accessories, so she should have a pretty sweet bedroom set up! She still flings herself about the crib; in the middle of the night, we can hear her hitting the bars as she turns. One tip that I think that we will try first is to have her sleeping just on the mattress(so when she falls off, it's a short drop to the floor), then putting the mattress in the bed when she can stay on the bed for the whole night.

Wow! How wordy am I getting? Better head off to bed shortly-my hips are ordering me to.