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Monday, February 28, 2005

Thanks Auntie Lori and Uncle Anton!

Uncle Anton dropped by to see Mika on Sunday. She did him in within minutes..Sumo Baby had his arms quaking due to her weight. She looks wee, but its deceiving. Not only did he bring even more Mika Treats - new zebra rattle, more wipes and qtips (can't have too many of either!), fancy chamomile gelled baby oil, sleepytime bath stuff, But he also brought a copy of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child that I think will be invaluable. I just read a piece from it, a father's recollection of a colicky baby, that sounds very much like the path Mika is on. Getting a baby swing seemed to help the baby in the book and it just so happens that today the Dr. recommended getting a swing for Mika. I have yet to read the entire book, but it won't be long. Also won't be long til we're heading over to toysrus to grab a swing...

So, once again, thanks a million for all the Mika Treats...especially the book. I'll probably bawl like a baby myself if I have to use some of the more "tough love" methods, but hopefully we can establish good sleep habits before it gets to the point of needing the more extreme techniques.

Good and Painful

Mika checked out well at her Dr.'s appt. She decided to have a good nurse before and after, so we didn't get all the visits in that we wanted to downtown.
She lost 20g and grew 1.5 inches, according to the Doc's equipment. We got in trouble for supplementing Mika with formula. At first the Doc said to never do it again, but then she followed up by saying if it must be done, it should be done by Daddy. I have a feeling that formula will be needed tonight as Mika has been feeding for 15 mins every half hour since we got home. She is definitely getting milk as I can hear her swallowing and the diapers tell the tale. She falls asleep after 15 mins and trying to rouse her does nothing. She'll sleep for 15-20 mins and then is up again rooting. Not only am I wondering if there is anything left in these boobs for her to eat right now, but the pain is crazy too. Once every two-four hours is fine. Once every half hour gets painful and fast. I'd rather that she has a couple of formula feeds than having her destroy me to such an extent that I can't even pump milk, let alone nurse her.
Despite the benefits of breastmilk, I am almost envious of the moms who don't or can't nurse and go all formula from the start. As I have said before, I will keep at it for as long as my sanity will allow.

Also...they say you cannot spoil a newborn. Well...for the past day and a half, Mika does not seem to want to sleep alone. She'll sleep on my chest, Daddy's chest, or nestled happily between us in bed. (She'll sleep in the car seat/stroller if we're on the move) I really really didn't want to do the co-sleeping thing, but if it stops the shrieking at 4AM, so be it. Sigh...she knows how to play us already. 10 days old. Great. What will life be like when she is 16?

First Doctor's Appointment

Today is Mika's first appointment with her Doc, who is also my Doc. Maybe I can sneak Daddy in as a patient too as he hasn't a Doc of his own.

Mika went to bed fairly well last night. As Daddy and I were both dead tired, he placed her on my chest and we both zonked out. I hope that there's some truth to the saying that you can't spoil a baby. Mika has been screaming her way into our bed more and more each night. She naps in her crib during the day and hasn't been in her bassinette for more than a few hours.
Mika got me up at about 3AM and nursed beautifully. She was so nice and calm about it that Daddy slept through it all. Even though I stayed in bed instead of going to her room like I usually do. The 6AM wakeup call was another story. Nothing I did would calm her for any reason whatsoever. I knew what was coming, so I changed her diaper and brought her back to the bedroom. The cries of Shreika woke Daddy instantly (and the neighbors in a 1km radius too, I'm sure) and she was handed over for pacification. I tried dancing with her, feeding her, nothing doing. She got into Daddy's arms and all was well...so I assume as I passed out cold. I woke up shortly before 11AM and there were the two of them cuddled up in bed sleeping soundly.

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Thanks Auntie Arlene!

Phew...the mewing I heard through the monitor was a false alarm...

Thanks to Auntie Arlene for the Baby Soap, Fancy Aveeno Baby Bath (she had it in her bath last night..she smelled wonderful and felt extra baby soft!), Picture Frame, Diaper Wipes, Cute PJ's, and the Precious Moments decorative letters of her name M - Merry, I - Irresistable, K - Kind, A - Angelic. Please forgive me if I have forgotten something..I swear that I am still suffering from placenta brain!

Is This Such a Good Idea?

Daddy has left Mika and I alone for the first time. He's been gone for about half an hour now and thankfully she's been asleep the whole time. Though I expect her to wake any minute now.
DaddyR got a call from a distressed computer user yesterday and so was off to make some extra cash today removing spyware and virii from Ant's Mom's puter. Seeing as Ant moved to China, it's a little difficult for him to maintain his Mom's puter for her anymore.

Mika had a long night again. I fell asleep at midnight and I am not sure how long she and Daddy were up before she fell asleep. Mika didn't wake me to feed until around 6:30 this morning. She was up for most of the day yesterday so I am not surprised that once her Daddy got her to sleep that she slept for as long as she did. Due to what I think is a growth spurt, I am unable to keep up with her demands for food, so she has been getting more and more formula supplements. Aside from feeling guilty that she has to eat that junk in the first place, I am feeling even worse because it seems to cause her wee tummy some grief. But...what can you do? She needs to eat. If I could feed her only breast milk, I would, but it just isn't turning out that way. I feed her all that I can though. She nurses the right side and I pump the left so that she is getting as much of the "good stuff" as she can. I just hate hearing her cry and knowing that it is because her tummy hurts, not just that she is hungry or needs a change or some other thing that I can fix for her.
Hopefully, her stomach will get used to the formula and this won't be a lasting thing...

uh-oh...the baby monitor tells me that the wee one is awake now...

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Wasn't That a Party!

Yawn!!!!! Mika decided to party it up for her one-week birthday. She slept for a few hours in the afternoon, which has been the norm for her. We took her to Zellers after the clinic as Dad needed socks and Mom needed new undies (yay! new underwear!). She was stirring, but sleeping, so we decided to stroll her through the mall to T&T, the asian supermarket, to pick up some supplies. Their meat and produce departments are awesome. Much better than Safeway and a little less expensive too. Milk is $0.20 less per litre there than at Zellers. ANYWAY....
Usually Mika sleeps through most of the early evening, has a 10PM (or so) feed and then stays asleep until at least 4AM...usually 5 and one time even 7AM!
Well..nothing doing last night. She was up all evening, eating like a madwoman. Come midnight, her Dad and I were ready to drop, but she still wanted to jive. She would cry when I held her, but was all too happy to be dancing with her Dad. Daddy discovered that dancing around with her was the only way to placate her (unless she was stopping for another couple of ounces of food). Finally at around 1AM, she fell asleep. We thought for sure she would sleep right through the night, but no.
She woke at 3AM for a snack. Then again at 6...and 8. I thought I was going to drop dead with fatigue. Mika and I both passed out in the rocker in her room for awhile, using Daddy's robe as a blanket. When I woke up and went back to the bedroom, I noticed I had only one slipper on. When I woke up at 9-ish this morning, I noticed that I had left one side of the nursing bra open. I'm turning into such a classy Momma.
Aside from running downstairs to warm up some supplemental formula at her 3AM feeding, we let Daddy stay asleep. It was worth it. This morning at shortly after 9AM, Mika made the telltale face and sounds that say "My diaper is beyond full of the good stuff now" - Daddy got up and changed her and let me fall back to sleep for a couple of hours. She had to eat formula again this morning, but I think by now I should have some milk for her when she next wakes to feed. She drank me from a DD to a B this morning!


Today we go to visit great great granny again and over to meet Oma (große Großmutter) for the first time.

Friday, February 25, 2005

Mika's on the rise

Things went well at the clinic...as they always do. When we're there, we have no trouble with the breastfeeding...then we get home and its another story. Ah well...we're working on it and hopefully within a week or so we'll have it down. And if we don't, we'll just keep at it. The lactation consultant is going to call and check in on us tomorrow.

Mika has eaten an astronomical amount today. Enough that I can't believe she hasn't been sick. I read that this is normal...that newborns will go on spurts and then resume their usual patterns.
She's had to be supplemented with formula today as I just plain run out and haven't any more milk for her by the time she wants more. Currently, about 2-4 ounces an hour.

Mika gained weight (go figure). She's now over 9 pounds. The norm is for newborns to lose a bit of weight in their first two weeks, but why be normal?

1 Week Old!

Mika is one week old today. Her Daddy and I have managed to make it this far without hurting or maiming the child in any way...yay us! Can't say the same for her as she has made one of my nipples bleed...ah well.

We can't believe its been a week already...Next thing I know, she'll be wanting to borrow the car...

Her latest trick is peeing when we take her diaper off. Its great. Mika has started to eat like mad, which is good. She's doubled her usual intake. I hope this is a good thing. We'll know for sure how things are going on Monday when she sees the Doctor.

We're going back to the clinic again today as the latching went from bad to good to bad again. I'll get Mika to latch well, but she immediately breaks it and latches herself onto just the nipple alone, shakes her head back and forth like a dog, and then starts suckling. I cannot even describe how much it hurts. She did latch well at 6 this morning, but thats the only time in close to 24 hours. Even when she's a little drowsy, she'll wake right up to flail as I try to feed her. It doesn't seem to matter whether she's calm or already crying for food (we're being as proactive as possible so that she doesn;t have to resort to crying to be fed)
I hate giving her formula, but the kid needs to eat. The other challenge with feeding Mika is that she moves and squirms constantly. Its very difficult to get her into a good feeding position due to her flailing. She wants to do things herself already. Tries to hold the boob or bottle. Will only stay latched if she is allowed to do so without me helping. Are babies supposed to have such personality at this age?
Then again, my mom often tells me how, uh, charming I was as a kid too. Something about refusing to smile unless my brother sang to me...screaming 'No!' and having "I can do it myself" as my first sentence...hrm..Mommy's Little Monster...time to head to Hot Topic online and order some Social Distortion shirts for Mika.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Thank You Catch-Ups

I've fallen behind on Mika's Thank-You's since she came home...

Mucho Thanks to:

  • Grandma for the massive and beautiful bouquet of flowers
  • Foster Park Baskett for the baby gift basket
  • Auntie Shawndee and the Shermans for the Robeez shoes and Sweetpea Onesie
  • Grandpa and Grandma Cunningham and Auntie Janis for the far-too awesome singing duck (Its gotta be one of the best puppets I have ever seen. Mika stared and stared as Daddy made the duck sing for her...currently, if she stares, it means she likes ), the cozy jammies, and cute pink corduroy outfit for the fall
  • Great Aunt Laura and Uncle Drew for the teddy bear
  • 'Auntie' Donna and 'Cousin' Ethan for the washcloths and 'Pooh' outfit with Eeyore socks (yay eeyore!)
  • Auntie Urs for rice krispie squares and chocolates to keep us going
  • Nana for the booties, sling, and foodstuffs
  • Auntie Amber for the too-cool Gymini and Emily Strange books
If I have forgotten anyone, please don't be offended. As good as Mika is with her sleeping patterns, we're still a little brain-dead from the new experience of being parents.

Day 6

Lesse...

Danny was peed on, I was pooped on. Latching getting better.Been up since 4...can't think straight.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Quick Summary of Mika's Birth

It went something like this:

Induced via "the strip" on Feb 16 - nothing much happened, except a loss of dignity and shame as interns and students both watched.
Induced via 'gel' on Feb 17 in the A.M. - things were happening, but they decided to add more gel in the early evening just to get things really going.
Things started really going. Extreme contractions 1 min apart, 1 min long. Rather painful. Painful enough that a morphine shot went unnoticed. No way to slow contractions, dilation minimal.
1.5 hour Jacuzzi bath both slowed the contractions and eased the pain. It was the best bath I ever had. Though, I think they offered it to me to allow the other 3 women in the induction room a break from my yelling and swearing. Whatever. It worked well.
Water broke in the doorway of the induction room as I got back from the bath. So gross..major flow.
Water seemed to break again in the washroom as I tried to change and clean up a bit before going up to the labour room
Water appeared to break for a third time as the nurses panicked and made me get into a wheelchair to be transported to labour room...again...so gross! there was literally a stream of water flowing from the chair.
Got to labour room and had epidural. Was far too sweet. Could still feel contractions with manageable pain an hour or so after the meds so they added more. Felt really neat...this freezing sensation all down my spine.
Slept.
Woke.
Slept.
Woke.
on and on
Woke in the morning to a team of people moving about in a panic state. A nurse was putting oxygen on me and saying that the baby was going to be OK and to not worry.
No further dilation from the night before...monitor placed on Mika's head.
Dr. discovered that the cord was around her head and that she couldn't descend safely because of it.
Signed off for csection
Kid born about a half hour after signing off for surgery
Daddy was present throughout the procedure. He had a bed in the labour room and was allowed in for the csection. He rules.

I could move my legs without a problem during the surgery. From the reaction of the people in the O.R., this was not normal.

Also...could smell my own burning flesh and see the smoke rising above the curtain between me and the 'sterile' enviro...that was pretty gross too.

- Worth mention:

They didn't let me drink anything and I was DYING. I started bargaining for sips of water using my willingness to have my blood pressure taken as a tool.

I only got to see Mika very briefly in the delivery room. I think I held her for all of a minute. It was over an hour before I saw her again, but thankfully Daddy was with her during that time.

As mentioned, Mika was born via c-section on a friday morning. I was home sunday by 2:30PM. My physician visited me on the friday and the saturday and gave them the OK to release early.

the first night at the hospital, I was told that they would bring Mika to me from the nursery if she needed to feed. A nurse woke me sometime around 3Am saturday morning by yelling "your baby crying in nursery" into my room. I was totally dazed and out of it and it took her running by again and saying "you go get baby. we're too busy to help" for me to take action. I stumbled all half naked and bleeding down the hall with my IV to the nursery where Mika was handed over in one of those hospital baby buckets. I rolled her and the IV back to my room and took her into bed. I was told this was a strict no-no, but whatever. She fed and was content and we slept together on the bed. I started demanding to leave when the morning shift came on.

She's too good to us...

Mika slept all night until around 5:30 this morning. She had a quick feed and diaper change and zonked back out for another three hours. I think she knew we needed the rest.
She and I were up and about at 8:30, just hanging out, talking, and looking at things. Around 9:15, she had a big feed and has been sleeping again now for a couple of hours. I wish it would continue to be this way, but with my luck, she will decide that no one sleeps tonight. Maybe not though...who knows.

She's going on her first outing today to visit G. I think I need to upgrade my flickr account to deal with the zillion photos that we've been taking...

Monday, February 21, 2005

First Full Day @ Home

We lived!

i did my first washload of dirty diapers today..

other 'firsts' that happened today:

  • woke to hardened boobs..that was really fun
  • pumped milk
  • had staples and stitches removed from my gut in my very own bed
  • was puked on
  • bathed baby

Mika is currently a "cluster feeder". She eats one to two ounces at a time every hour or two. Ideally, she'd be spending more like 20 mins to an hour per teat, but prefers 5-10 minute stints. The nurses had trouble helping me with Mika's latching, so one nipple is a sore bloody mess..the other one is just sore. I haven't noticed much blood getting into her milk though. The nipple shield helps, but it still hurts like mad. I'm a little concerned about her taking bottles, but its harder than I thought to just nurse exclusively. She had some formula at the hospital. They sent some home with us and Daddy used it last night so that I could stay asleep for awhile. I also feed her what I pump because I want her to get the good fatty milk, but now I notice that she is getting lazy and doesn't want to nurse due to the effort that it requires to get it going. We'll stick with it though and hopefully once the bloody nipple heals, we'll have the nurse over again to try and get Mika to latch well so that the shield isn't required.

(I realize that no one wants to know this kind of stuff, but this is my journal and I can post what I want to. I need to remember these things in case I start thinking that I want more than one kid.)


Mika pooped and it went from her neck to her feet. Leaked out of the diaper, soaked through her PJ's and the change pad that she was sleeping on in her bassinette. We were warned about such things...even to the point where we were told it would happen at 3AM or so, which it did.

Gut wound is healing well, but one staple and one stitch had to be kinda forcefully removed which hurt as much as feeding Mika on the bloody nipple. 2.5 more hours until I can take something for the inflammation again. yay...I think I am going to go try and sleep for a couple of hours....

Finally...

Mika e.v.a. Thompson was born on February 18, 2005 at 8:26AM weighing 8lbs 14.5 oz. She was 22inches long at birth.
I'm still really tired and dazed. We're all fine, but the birth was a little bit more of a process than we had anticipated. Will post more when I can think straight again (30 some odd years maybe? :-))
To see the wee screamer, check the flickr link on the right...

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Round 2

We're just heading back over to the hospital to see what Round 2 will bring. No mention has been made to me yet as to what they plan on doing...oh boy! A surprise!

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Um...yeah.

I've been home from the hospital since 2PM. Contractions are few and far between. The induction was, uh, fun. I was initially a little unnerved as there was a sign over my bed that read "Research". The nurse strapped me into some monitors. One measured the baby's heartbeat, another measured any potential contractions. I was hooked up for about half an hour or so then they inserted the hormone strip. Another two hours of monitoring and home I went. The contractions were about 15 mins apart on average while I was in hospital, but have slowed down since then.
Now its just a waiting game. I self monitor until 9PM at which time I am to call the ward back and let them know whats happening. If nothing, then I call again at 1AM or "whenever I get up to pee". I think at that point in the morning, they will instruct me on what to do next. My guess is that if nothing has happened by morning, I will go back in for Induction: Round 2 where a gel or drip will be used. Sheesh!
I had 2 nursing students and 2 interns present for most of the time. I don't recall how many were watching the doctor insert the induction strip, but there went any shame I may have been trying to retain. The people there all seemed so young...like a team of Doogie Howsers or something. Except for my actual delivery doctor. I saw him for all of 5 mins when he breezed in to insert the strip and breezed on out again. He was wearing dress pants, a dress shirt and tie. No hospital gear whatsoever. I thought it seemed a little odd..like he could have at least thrown a lab coat on or something.
Ah well...they were all nice people who tended to both me and their jobs well, so I can't really complain... except for the fact that the baby continues to live inside of me instead of outside of me.

Got the call....we're going in

The Hospital just called. There's room at the Inn. As soon as I snarf back a piece of toast or two, we're heading on in to see what induction will do for me. Please please let this baby come out today...

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

All ready to go...

Just filled out the paperwork that I am required to bring to the hospital for the induction tomorrow. Was hoping that by completing that task, labor would start. But no. I'd jump up and down, but my ankles and knees would crumble.
Amber suggested dumping a glass of water in my lap and heading to the hospital claiming that my water had broke. I'm still considering that option...

I'm just noticing now all that still needs to be done around here before I'll be ready to bring a baby home...minor things like dusting, vacuuming, washing the kitchen floor, changing the water and pump in the fish tank, etc. etc...
Guess I should have made a chore list for yesterday after all...but it was nice to just veg and do nothing too...

Thanks Auntie Amber!!!

Auntie Amber is up from Calgary and spent the day at Chez Crazy yesterday. There were many things that we could have done, but did nothing instead. She had asked me to provide a list of chores for her to do, but meh. Chores...blech.
She brought the kewlest baby treats ever: a Gymini Deluxe!! we never expected anyone to be crazy enough to source out and buy one of those. If my gut wasn't the size of the Epcot Centre, I would be happily playing in it right now! It crinkles and has dangling toys and everything! The cats were impressed as well.
She also brought the Best Hat Ever. Its looks like Scooter. A reversible hat, at that! You can turn it inside out and have a yellow pipsqueak mouse hat too!! If only my melon was a little bit smaller, it would fit!
Then the books. 2 high contrast black/white/red Emily the Strange books...featuring child-friendly passages such as "Emily may be odd...but she always gets even" and "Emily hears everything...and listens to nothing." - Books are signed by the illustrator, so baby will have a strict No Drool, No Chew, No Tear policy when it comes to these two volumes...

Auntie Amber spoils Moms and Babies alike...and thats not even why we love her!!

Last baby-free day?

If nothing happens today, I'll be waiting for the call from the hospital tomorrow at around this time. Ugh...I was really hoping it wouldn't actually come down to labor induction, but what can ya do?
I guess laundry is what I should do...and maybe vacuum...or something...meh.

Monday, February 14, 2005

2 days til induction

Here I am again, another day passed. Still no signs of baby on the way.
Feeling progressively yucky as the days go on. Can't wait til I can sleep for 4 hours straight again someday. Maybe in a year or so that will be possible...who knows?

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Sherman

For the beautiful new crib....!

Though it would seem that the gods are against us receiving a crib from the Shermans...as this one came without any hardware. As with most baby gear, there is a number to call to have any missing or broken pieces replaced. Papa Sherman just called...he's a little miffed to say the least that the Sherman Curse still rules. (Sherman Curse is very similar to the Thompson Luck)

Heh.

And a little more nothing....

OK..so Sunday, Feb 13th now...still nothing.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

And still nothing...

OK, So it *is* only, like, 8:15AM on Feb 12, but no labor signs, no nothing.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Still nothing...

My impatience grows by the minute.
Its Feb 11 and I am not feeling like a baby is going to come out of me anytime soon.

Maybe later this afternoon or something...that would be kewl.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Whimper...

Ugh. Argh. Meh. Gah!

The baby is measuring at 43 weeks now. Doc made a 'funny' about how he has seen women at 40 weeks measuring larger than 43 weeks, but usually its because they are carrying twins.
Heartbeat strong, movements a little too strong for my liking. My gut is stretched as far as it can go...or so it feels. It may be a huge gut, but its rock solid!

The doctor decided today to book me in for labor induction...on Feb 16!!!!
I sure hope this kid comes soon...I don't really want to be induced and I also don't really want to carry this kid for another week. Especially if, on average, babies gain a pound a week in their final days in the womb. I don't need another pound to push. I thought today for sure he would send me over to the hospital for some induction, but no. I guess the facts that my knees and ankles are going to snap under my weight, i can't sleep, can barely move, can barely breath, etc. etc. are not posing a significant threat to the baby's health or mine.

The other thing that I find a little unnerving is that the doc won't tell me his guess as to the baby's current weight or est. birth weight. He doesn't want to scare me or something. All he would say was that my pelvis seems to be a good one for birthing. So...Apparently, I am not to worry about baby weight because of my breeder-style pelvis. Great. Hopefully, its all water in there and the kid will be 7.5 pounds or something...

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Congrats!

Congrats to DaddyR on his spanky new job offer...

More details later...

sigh...

Why am I not in labor? Its Feb 9, dammit!!!


Happy Birthday Auntie Fran!

Happy Birthday Uncle Dave!

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

1 day left...and still nothing

Hrm...one day til the due date and I feel nothing that would suggest that baby is making its way out of my body. I think the baby grew again during the night as I somehow feel bigger today than yesterday..ugh. My poor belly has had about all it can take...and then some. Jim and Angie were smart to adopt...

Monday, February 07, 2005

2 days til duedate

Ugh...2 more days til the due date arrives. Been feeling the odd false labor contraction, but nothing serious. Well...at least as far as I know its a false labor contraction. I have nothing to go on to determine what it is that I am actually feeling. Sometimes the baby moves in such a way that it feels like what I think a contraction should feel like...sort of. I can't really tell. Baby likes to push its head down, so it feels like birth is happening, but there are no 'contractions' that accompany these head-bearing-down movements. I think this baby just likes to fake me out for fun or something. The last couple of days, I have noticed an uber-painful section of my lower back. The uber-pain comes and goes rather quickly...not like any other lower back pain that I have experienced...its rather intense. I have no idea if this is false back labor or just the natural result of carrying on with life (Ya know..laundry, dishes, taking out the recycling, etc.) while carrying about 7-8 pounds on your gut. I do know that my ankles are about to snap from the weight of my body...they hurt so much!!! The worst thing is this creepy popping noise that the tendon makes when I reach for something...sounds like small bubble wrap being wrung. The tops of my feet hurt like mad too...this sort of burning sensation. Must be something to do with the swelling...
This baby must come out sooner than later.

DaddyR got the car seat installed. He also put up an Ikea star-mobile-light thing from Nana. It hangs over the change table. The nice thing is that the stars provide just enough light to safely change baby in the night without having to put the ceiling light on. We picked up a footswitch for the light as well to make it that much easier as the light hadn't a switch built in. Either plugged in and on or unplugged and off. DaddyR also put up a shelf above the computer to hold baby's CD's and calendar.

Our bathroom light fixture kept shorting out and burning wires and all sorts of fun stuff, so DaddyR replaced that this weekend too. We now have 100W of halogen to see by in the bathroom. Its beyond bright. The previous fixture held 2 x 20W bulbs, I think..maybe they were 40W's...not sure. All I know is that its much more bright in the bathroom, which DaddyR says is a Good Thing. We'll need a room with decent light to try and see how far up the nose the buttons are or how deep a sliver is or any other thing that this baby comes up with. All other lights in this house are soft and deliberately rather dim.

So yeah..we're ready for this baby to arrive. Even though we find more things that need doing around this condo all the time, I don't think that will ever end...

BTW DaddyR - You need to install the new ceiling fixture in the dining room...;-)

Thursday, February 03, 2005

13 more days??

Dr.'s appointment went well, except for one small detail: He said that he will let me go one week past my due date and then decide whether to induce or perform a c-section. The baby has been growing. I've lost some weight and the blood pressure has been good for a couple of weeks, so the previous call of not letting me go past the due date has been thrown to the wind. Gah!!!!!
Apparently, I am maybe 1cm dilated, if that. The Dr. said it doesn't look as though the baby will be arriving at any time in the next couple of days, but he also said that doesn't mean that it *can't* happen.
The doctor had a patient recently who was in a similar situation as to what I am in. He thought that she would have to have a c-section due to her size (small) and the baby's size and position (big, head down, but not engaged). This woman and baby surprised the doctor by going into labour and delivering naturally. The way that the doc was talking, if he hadn't had the experience with this other woman recently, he would have recommended a c-section for sure.

I'm hoping to go into labor on the 8th. It seems reasonable to me. A new moon is kinda like a full moon and they say that all the psychos end up in the hospital on full moons...I certainly feel like a lunatic lately, so keep your fingers, toes, and eyes crossed....

6 more days

Hrm...that last post was slightly, uh, bitchy. I slept better last night and feel better today. I also get to go somewhere today...what might be my last Dr.'s appointment before Baby arrives! Woohoo!
Wonder what he will have to say today...I have to remember to ask what exactly they plan on doing if Feb. 9 comes and goes and I still have a baby inside of me...

whee....

off to see the doc...

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

7 more days

and I really can't take much more of this pregnancy thing...

today I could do nothing. Almost nothing as I did manage to get the stroller assembled.
I logged about 2 hours sleep last night, was up at 4:30AM having breakfast wishing I was asleep instead. Yeah, yeah, all the people with comments like "wait til the baby is here and see how much sleep you get" can get bent. Newborns usually sleep quite a bit..just not for great lengths of time..I'll be rather pleased if I can get in three hour naps in quasi regular intervals.
Mostly I will be pleased to have this weight out of my gut and be able to move like a normal person again. If I walk for more than appx. 15 minutes, my body just starts overheating and I feel like passing out. Turning over in bed often results in a painful pulled muscle or stretched something or other, I don't know. All I know is it hurts and seems unnecessary.
So today I could do practically nothing and am quite grumpy about it all too...people keep calling and I can't even consider calling anyone back as I am just not in the mood to speak to anyone unless they are a health care professional and helping remove a baby from my body. The lack of energy brings me down too. I should have been cleaning the condo, but lay on my side staring at a five alive box for a few hours instead...joy.

soon....gotta be soon...

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Thanks Grandpa! Thanks Grandma Campbell!

We went to the 87th Avenue Drycleaners today and picked up a gift from my Dad and Barb in Ontario...
a spanky tech travel system! Yes, the drycleaners is an odd place to pick up such a thing, but they happen to be the Sears Catalogue pickup place closest to where we live. Too bad we hadn't time to drop in next door to Flamingo Pizza...yum.
Now the fun begins...assembly! I figure if I made it through all that freakin' Ikea furniture, I should be able to attach some wheels and whatever these other parts are. Pleased that the fabric is a moss green instead of the navy blue that's shown in the pictures...easier to hide milk puke. :-)
The cats seemed to really want the car seat as their new bed, but are happy enough with the giant cardboard box.

Visited with G afterwards. Her advice for the day was to be careful on the way to the hospital because the baby might fall out onto the road and then DaddyR would have to stop to pick it up and wrap the baby in his jacket....as I mentioned to my Dad in an email..I'm not quite sure if she thinks we have a Flintstone car or if we'd be walking from the west end to the Royal Alex...or what she may think about any muscle tone I might have "down there" (as she likes to put it)