Happy Halloween

Josh had a great time trick or treating this year with his Opa, Nona, Bogey and Kia, he definitely got into it more than he did last year, the neighbours seemed to love hearing him say "trick or treat" and "Happy Hallowe'en" as much as he loved saying it!

We had some cute trick or treaters this year, I would say we only got about 20 though. I always thought since we live in a very family oriented neighbourhood we would have lots of kids but that has never been the case. We don't let Josh have much in terms of candy but we decided to give him a couple of boxes of smarties on Saturday night while we handed out candy to the other kids and he was WIRED. Makes me glad we don't let him have it often, we have since hidden the rest of his candy. While reading through some of my favourite blogs, I found a post about the Great Pumpkin, http://mamaquierebeso.blogspot.com/2009/11/visit-from-great-pumpkin.html. Essentially you let your kids leave their candy outside for the Great Pumpkin and he will leave you a suprise for the next morning. I think we are going to do that next year so that I don't feel so guilty about "stealing his candy".

Happy Halloween from our favourite little Monkey and his favourite little banana!

Just a lazy Tuesday!

First Smiles...

... caught on camera!

One Month with Two Kids

I have been dealing with two kids for a month now, and to be perfectly honest I am exhausted. Last week we were all hit with bad colds, it started with Joshua, then spread to Chris and I and hit Abigail last. I won't lie it was hard having all of us sick and still getting up for nightly feedings/fussiness with Abigail and getting up with Joshua who was only waking because he wasn't feeling well.

I think Joshua is having a hard time adjusting to not being an only child and not being the centre of my attention. He is acting out by hitting, biting, kicking, and throwing things. I really need to get Joshua into an activity that is all for him, I have been considering gymnastics but I fear that I have missed the start of this session, hopefully another one starts shortly. I was considering preschool but I don't think he is ready yet, nor is he potty trained.

I am finding it really hard to get stuff done, from the mountains of laundry that two children make and keeping the house clean I just don't seem to get a break. I am also trying to give Chris as much time as possible to study since he is in school, which usually means getting out of the house, which again is another task that is difficult. While Abby is content to sleep where ever we go Joshua wants to run wild which means I am chasing after him. Thankfully my Mother In Law has been helping with these outings when she can on the weekends and thankfully Chris is almost done school, but then he is back at work and working long hours again!

Anyways, that is how my life is right now, I am sure it will improve soon!

One Month

Abigail is One Month old, time is going far too quickly!

Abby is doing wonderfully, she is starting to develop more consistent sleep/wakeful periods. Her night sleeping wasn't going well, she was waking frequently and the only time I could get any sleep was if she was tucked into our bed next to me. She would have a great sleep, I would not.

Abby is very strong, much stronger than we remember her brother ever being at this age. She has very good neck control and has already rolled over a number of times. The other day I had her propped up on her Boppy pillow and under her activity mat and I could see her looking at the toys hanging above her, and she swung her arms and hit them, I am pretty sure that was uncontrolled though!

A Comparison

I have been looking for Joshua's Immunization Card for about three weeks now and I finally found it today. He doesn't have any immunications coming up but I was curious for the sake of comparing how Abby is doing compared to her big brother.

Joshua
Birth - 6 lbs 13 ozs
5 days - 6lbs 7 ozs
1 week, 5 days - 7 lbs
2 weeks, 5 days - 7 lbs 6 ozs
3 weeks 5 days - 7 lbs 15 oz

Abigail
Birth - 7 lbs 3 oz
4 days - 6 lbs 14.5 oz
1 week, 4 days - 7 lbs 6.5 oz
2 weeks, 3 days - 8 lbs (at doctors office)
3 weeks 4 days - 8lbs 9.5 ozs

I think a common concern with most breast feeding mothers, including myself, is how much baby is actually getting and are they growing at a good rate. Looking at both of there numbers I don't think I have any cause for concern. I am shocked that Abigail is already weighing so much more than her big brother. She does have a touch of jaundice, but her brothers was worse so I suppose she is able to stay awake better to feed than he was so that is contributing to her extra growth!

Sibling Love!

First Bath

We gave Abigail her first bath at home, like her brother, she wasn't a huge fan of it but we all survived.

Meet Miss Abigail

Our beautiful baby girl Abigail Megan made her grand entrance into the world on Friday, September 4, 2009 at 4:11 PM after just under three hours of labour. She weighed 7lbs 3 oz and is 19 3/4 inches long. She is doing wonderfully and seems to be a pretty content baby on the whole (minus having us up until 3:00 am last night). Joshua loves his little sister to pieces and wants to hold her all of the time.

Mighty Machines!

Where is Baby Girl

Still no progress on the baby front, I am quite uncomfortable now and really ready to just see this baby and hold her in my arms. This has been a very stressful pregnancy because of the SUA and I have to pay very close attention to how often she is moving, plus I have been monitored very closely with many ultrasounds and Non-Stress Tests. My doctor has been great and I am so happy that I was able to get in with him, I know that both of us are in very good hands with him. She has given us a few scares which, thankfully, have all turned out fine but really I just need to know she is ok now.

Two appointments ago my OB said we would be discussing induction for around 39 weeks, and at my last appointment we set the tentative date but said I could very well go into labour before then. That tentative date is Friday, my next appointment is tomorrow morning and still no baby, I highly doubt she is coming on her own. Fingers crossed that we can still proceed with the induction on Friday, but there is a full moon so who knows I could end up getting bumbed until next week. It almost seems to perfect to have her come on Friday because this would mean that Chris would only have to miss one day of school and then we would have the long weekend together before he had to go back to class. Chris has been working hard to stay ahead of schedule but he is still only allowed to miss a certain number of hours before getting kicked out of the program, I am sure they would make a special allowance because of the circumstances but neither of us want to take that chance.

So for now we continue to wait and hope that things work out for Friday!

Important Work

Joshua and I were sitting at the kitchen table this morning and he was playing with some play doh that I had made him. I asked him a question and his response was "I busy Mommy". He is starting to come out with the most interesting comments, there seems to be a new one everyday. Another favourite is everyone morning when he wakes up I go into his room and he very proudly announces "Mommy, I wake up!".

Imagination

Joshua has quite the imagination blooming. His favourite thing right now is two stuffed bunnies, one is white and the other is a four foot Bugs Bunny. Everyday Joshua announces that Bunny needs a nap, and rushes him upstairs, puts him to bed says good night and shuts the door. Moments after he gets back downstairs he announces "oh no, Bunny crying" and he runs up stairs to tend to him. Again he comes back downstairs and says "oh, Bunny wake up now" and runs up stairs to get him and bring him back downstairs. The entire process is quite entertaining and both Chris and I very curious to see how is he going to react to his baby sister being home.

First visit to the Dentist

Joshua had his first visit to the Dentist last wee. I took him to the dental office that my friend Adrianna works at so that he would see a familiar face. I got a bit nervous when he got the exam chair and wouldn't lie down but a show on Treehouse quickly changed his mind!! Once he was lying down, getting him to flash his pearly whites was a whole other story. He kept his mouth shut tight while biting the mirror. The dentist was great and encouraged him to open his mouth. She eventually got him to open his mouth so she could actually look inside. He has all of the teeth that he should have for his age, and shouldn't get anymore until he is 5 or 6 (I can't think that far ahead with out getting emotional), and all of his teeth look great.

And here is the big guy show off his reward for being such a great patient, a new tooth brush a dental floss!

36 Weeks

I have now reached the BIG goal that I had with my pregnancy with Joshua, this is the time that I was taken off of bedrest, it was such a great feeling and is again this time. Things appear to be going well, I had an ultrasound this week and Baby Girl is doing wonderful scored an 8/8 on her ultrasound and passed her Non-Stress Test which is as much as we can ask for. At my appointment on Tuesday they said that everything thing was sealed up tight, which was a bit disappointing but I suppose she is comfortable. At this point with J I was already effaced and 1.5 cm dialated. I have my actual 36 week appointment on Tuesday so we will see if things have changed. I am still having days when I feel great and others when I feel horrible but I suppose that is normal for this time point in time.

34 Weeks

I am now 34 weeks, wow, on one hand time has flown by on the other hand it seems to be crawling by. Joshua was born at 37 weeks, so three weeks from now and when I think about it that way I get really overwhelmed and kinda scared.



My doctor took me off of work on July 17 due to my Carpal Tunnel not improving, I still have my good days with it and my bad days but at least I am not spending as much time on the computer, which really seems to irritate it. I miss work and the people I work with a lot, but I am definitely much more comfortable.



I had an appointment with my OB this week and during the appointment I mentioned that I had noticed a huge decrease in movement, after measuring the fundal height he knew why, baby girl has had a huge growth spurt and was simply running out of room, at 33 weeks 3 days she was measuring 36 weeks, that's a big baby! He also booked me in for another ultrasound and a non-stress test in two weeks. After that appointment I see him a week later and start my weekly appointments where they will be doing weekly internal exams to see if I am making any progress.



Moving around has become increasingly difficult, if I have been sitting for more than 5 minutes it takes me a good few minutes until I can stand up straight due pressure.

Nothing to exciting to report, just counting down the days at this point.

31 Weeks Today

I had an ultrasound yesterday to see how our baby Girl is growing, the good news is she is growing really well, she is already almost 4 lbs and according to my books she should be just over 3, so she is thriving. The scary news is that she has a big head, YIKES. The tech was doing her measurements and I noticed she was measuring her head and I said "my son had a big head so I am sure she will too", the tech's response, "at first I thought it was a really big baby, but she just has a big head and an averaged size body". OMG! The tech noted that she has lots of hair and said that the radiologists first comment was "this baby has a lot of hair". Looks like she might have more hair than Joshua at this rate!

I started really nesting this week, spending a good couple of hours each night tidying the house, I seem almost incapable of sitting still for very long. The other night I "detailed" the stairs by taking a rubber cleaning brush and cleaning out the corners on each step and follow with a vaccuum cleaner. I was very sore the next day but the stairs looked great! Chris of course just sits back and smirks the entire. I didn't get to do this last time so to be honest I am kind of enjoying it!

I am growing increasingly uncomfortable and I was probably the only one in the city that appreciated the nearly entire week of rain that we just had because it kept the temperature in the mid teens for most of the week. I actually wore long sleeved tops most of the time. My Carpel Tunnel really isn't improving at all, I still have my good days and my bad days, unfortunately my worst days seem to be coming over the weekend.

26 Weeks 3 Days

Ok one last post, here is a picture of the bump at 26 weeks 3 days, I am much larger now!

Blame the Carpel Tunnel

I will be taking a short break from the already pathetic blogging that I have been doing. The reason, I have been experiencing numbness in my forearms and fingers lately and my OB has diagnosed me with Carpel Tunnel this week and said that if it doesn't improve that he will have to take me off of work in three weeks (after my next appointment) for fear of loosing complete mobility in my hands for the remainder of my pregnancy. This is a fairly common side effect of pregnancy and is due to the additional swelling that I have been experiencing thanks to the additional heat which I didn't have when I was pregnant with Joshua. I stopped wearing my wedding rings a few weeks ago and even noticed earlier this week that my "substitute" ring was feeling snug so I stopped wearing it. The good news is that it is only temporary and everything will go back to normal a few weeks post birth. So for now I am going to be limiting my personal time on the computer as I spend most of my work day typing away.

I will try and bribe Chris into updating some pictures, heck anything is better than what I have been maintaining, and if your really "lucky" I might even share a picture of my ginormous bump!

27 Weeks 3 Days

Here is Baby Girl at my most recent ultrasound. She was incedibly difficult and made it hard the techs to get the measurements they needed, but she was yawning and sucking on her fingers a lot so that was pretty cute!