Today is preparation for the magical transformation that is going from being the mother of a baby to the mother of a toddler. Who let me be in charge of this little life? Obviously I'm not doing that bad of a job, because she's made it to 1 without any life-threatening illnesses, no calls to child services and she is overall very happy. When I say happy, I really mean it. Abigail, upon learning how to smile at 3 weeks old, has always been friendly. Her favourite thing to now is to smile big and say "Hi" to anyone who makes eye contact with her. Surely I didn't teach her that and neither did hubby, because though we are casually cordial, we certainly aren't friendly to strangers. But I digress.
This time last year I was in labour. DH was video chatting with his cousin while I sat on an exercise ball trying to cope with contractions, because that is what my pre-natal classes told me to do. It didn't work. In fact, none of the coping techniques didn't work. Unfortunately for me, my contractions never really ever evened out, though the pain didn't seem to care about that. I laboured all night and gave in to the epidural at 5:30 in the morning. Thank the Lord almighty for this sweet invention. Though I still have occasional bouts of lower back pain which I swear is at the spot where the catheter was; in the moment it was totally worth it.
At 8:55am, we welcomed our little Abigail into the world. Life has never been the same and hasn't been any sweeter since.
I am in love with this little girl - who is no longer my baby girl, and love seeing who she is becoming. Somehow, DH and I are responsible for who this little girl is and I wouldn't change a bit. She is friendly, outgoing, inquisitive, bold, energetic, happy, bright and alert. She is the joy of my heart and I am so blessed to have her in my life. I hate that she is growing so fast, because it means scrambling to cherish those important moments when she is young, but at the same rate, I can't wait for her to show me what she can do next.
My resolve for the next year is to blog regularly. I want to chronicle my life now that I am back to work and Abby is in daycare. I want to record and cherish the moments that my family makes as we grow. Somewhere in there I hope I get to entertain or educate you...perhaps just for you to nod your head in agreement or lend a helping hand.
So here's to a new year of adventures and picture-perfect moments along the way.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Abigail at 9 months!
Today we had Abby's 9 month wellness check. Turns out our doctor is going on vacation starting tomorrow, so we rushed in to see him this afternoon.
For those of you who knew, Abby had a fever over Friday and Saturday. Well today I noticed a rash on her torso, which turns out to be either a heat rash from the fever or the after-effects of a virus (which would also cause the fever). The two swollen tooth buds where her front teeth will soon be says otherwise, but the end result is that she is just fine.
Abby now weighs approximately 7250 grams which is about 16 pounds. She is 28 inches long and has a head circumference of 17 inches. According to the WHO, that puts her in the 15th percentile for weight, just above the 50th percentile for height, and about the 50th percentile for head circumference. The Doctor says she's gaining well and is great for her age.
With a little lesson taught by Auntie Ramona and Isabella, Abigail is now eating finger foods like a champ. She particularly enjoys mango, avocado and bananas. She's still trying to figure out sweet potatoes. Interestingly, she also enjoys her Stage 2 baby foods, though makes an awful mess by blowing raspberries with a mouth full of food. She eats pretty much anything put in front of her, but loves peas and is a little hesitant about fruit; especially if it is sour.
Her doctor has given the go-ahead to let her eat anything but egg whites, saying that studies are suggesting starting foods earlier than later could prevent allergies. We will still take our time, but I am excited at introducing new things to her.
She has started to scoot around in circles while sitting, push herself backwards while laying down, and when on the bed or couch, wiggles and flips all over the place. She has a particular fondness for standing right now, so I imagine that once she gets a solid footing (she still loves to bounce) she'll be running around in no time!
I think I have gone on long enough for one post (how can you stop a proud mama from talking about their baby?). Hopefully I won't go as long between updates next time.
For those of you who knew, Abby had a fever over Friday and Saturday. Well today I noticed a rash on her torso, which turns out to be either a heat rash from the fever or the after-effects of a virus (which would also cause the fever). The two swollen tooth buds where her front teeth will soon be says otherwise, but the end result is that she is just fine.
Abby now weighs approximately 7250 grams which is about 16 pounds. She is 28 inches long and has a head circumference of 17 inches. According to the WHO, that puts her in the 15th percentile for weight, just above the 50th percentile for height, and about the 50th percentile for head circumference. The Doctor says she's gaining well and is great for her age.
With a little lesson taught by Auntie Ramona and Isabella, Abigail is now eating finger foods like a champ. She particularly enjoys mango, avocado and bananas. She's still trying to figure out sweet potatoes. Interestingly, she also enjoys her Stage 2 baby foods, though makes an awful mess by blowing raspberries with a mouth full of food. She eats pretty much anything put in front of her, but loves peas and is a little hesitant about fruit; especially if it is sour.
Her doctor has given the go-ahead to let her eat anything but egg whites, saying that studies are suggesting starting foods earlier than later could prevent allergies. We will still take our time, but I am excited at introducing new things to her.
She has started to scoot around in circles while sitting, push herself backwards while laying down, and when on the bed or couch, wiggles and flips all over the place. She has a particular fondness for standing right now, so I imagine that once she gets a solid footing (she still loves to bounce) she'll be running around in no time!
I think I have gone on long enough for one post (how can you stop a proud mama from talking about their baby?). Hopefully I won't go as long between updates next time.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Abby at 7 months
My, how time flies! It took so long to get through 7 months of pregnancy, but the last 7 months with a baby have gone in the blink of an eye! I must say, however, that waiting for something is totally different than the new and exciting things I get to see everyday with Abigail.
Abigail is now 7.5 months old and as exciting as ever! She is getting more mobile each day, which makes me realize that I really need to baby-proof our house. Matthew got her up in crawling position the other day and even though she doesn't know what to do with herself, she loves her new achievement. She also has taken to standing with me holding her hands and taking steps; one in front of the other. Soon enough she'll be zooming around the house!
There are two things right now that are posing as challenges among the every entertaining moment that Abigail is awake: separation and sleep.
Abby is a very happy baby that plays hard and sleeps hard...or is that hardly? She typically takes 3 naps during the day and is awake between 2-3 hours in between. Bedtime has been around 7:30-9pm, depending on the day. However, she is still waking up 2-3 times at night. Since transferring her to our bed, it's been a lot easier on me, but we definitely want to transition her into her own room soon. Naps last 45 minutes to 2 hours, but the longer naps are usually when I'm napping with her. It's going to be a challenge to get her into a "typical" schedule, but I'm a baby-led parent and doubt I could force her to learn anything she isn't ready to do.
On the other note, Abby has learned to exercise her voice to let me and anyone else know when she's too far away from Mommy. She actually would prefer to play if she could sit in my lap, I'm sure. I hear that this is a phase, and I agree, but it can be very difficult to do anything but stare at her when she thinks I'm not paying attention or am too far away (which makes going to the bathroom a sprint!).
I am not a complainer and want to enjoy these moments with Abigail because she is such a sweet and happy baby. We love going for walks and she loves playing with anything any everything.
Oh, I must go now, Abby is crying for me in her exersaucer even though I am only 2 feet away. Such a ham. Gotta love her.
Abigail is now 7.5 months old and as exciting as ever! She is getting more mobile each day, which makes me realize that I really need to baby-proof our house. Matthew got her up in crawling position the other day and even though she doesn't know what to do with herself, she loves her new achievement. She also has taken to standing with me holding her hands and taking steps; one in front of the other. Soon enough she'll be zooming around the house!
There are two things right now that are posing as challenges among the every entertaining moment that Abigail is awake: separation and sleep.
Abby is a very happy baby that plays hard and sleeps hard...or is that hardly? She typically takes 3 naps during the day and is awake between 2-3 hours in between. Bedtime has been around 7:30-9pm, depending on the day. However, she is still waking up 2-3 times at night. Since transferring her to our bed, it's been a lot easier on me, but we definitely want to transition her into her own room soon. Naps last 45 minutes to 2 hours, but the longer naps are usually when I'm napping with her. It's going to be a challenge to get her into a "typical" schedule, but I'm a baby-led parent and doubt I could force her to learn anything she isn't ready to do.
On the other note, Abby has learned to exercise her voice to let me and anyone else know when she's too far away from Mommy. She actually would prefer to play if she could sit in my lap, I'm sure. I hear that this is a phase, and I agree, but it can be very difficult to do anything but stare at her when she thinks I'm not paying attention or am too far away (which makes going to the bathroom a sprint!).
I am not a complainer and want to enjoy these moments with Abigail because she is such a sweet and happy baby. We love going for walks and she loves playing with anything any everything.
Oh, I must go now, Abby is crying for me in her exersaucer even though I am only 2 feet away. Such a ham. Gotta love her.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Abby is 4 months old!
My little girl turned 4 months old on the 7th! I know I've been a very bad blogger - but my defense is as a new mom, it's hard to write down one fluid sentence and it make total sense.
On that note, I was planning on a series of posts called "Secrets from your Sister". Boy did I drop the ball on that one. I began a post but it ended up so disjointed from all the information that I wanted to share that I had to take a step back. I am going to try something else instead involving the alphabet. Stay tuned.
Onto Abigail.
At her 4 month appointment she was 13lbs 6oz and 25.75 inches long. She is the light of my life. From the beginning of the morning where she smiles at me to start the day and even middle of the night feedings, my heart melts.
She is babbling and yelling like nothing I have ever heard before. She takes after her father this way. She loves to kick and stand and look at absolutely everything. She isn't rolling over yet, but is strong in so many other ways. We began solids last week and she's slowly getting into how great sucking my finger and getting food can be.
The last month or so we've hit a problem with sleeping, but from what I have researched, 4 month olds tend to have a wakeful period. This means Abby is up to eat every 2.5 hours and is sometimes awake in between. It's hard on me, but somehow I am surviving.
I can't wait to see what she learns next!
On that note, I was planning on a series of posts called "Secrets from your Sister". Boy did I drop the ball on that one. I began a post but it ended up so disjointed from all the information that I wanted to share that I had to take a step back. I am going to try something else instead involving the alphabet. Stay tuned.
Onto Abigail.
At her 4 month appointment she was 13lbs 6oz and 25.75 inches long. She is the light of my life. From the beginning of the morning where she smiles at me to start the day and even middle of the night feedings, my heart melts.
She is babbling and yelling like nothing I have ever heard before. She takes after her father this way. She loves to kick and stand and look at absolutely everything. She isn't rolling over yet, but is strong in so many other ways. We began solids last week and she's slowly getting into how great sucking my finger and getting food can be.
The last month or so we've hit a problem with sleeping, but from what I have researched, 4 month olds tend to have a wakeful period. This means Abby is up to eat every 2.5 hours and is sometimes awake in between. It's hard on me, but somehow I am surviving.
I can't wait to see what she learns next!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Abigail at 2 months
Two months just flew right by. It's incredible that the last two months of my pregnancy seemed to take forever, whereas the last two months with Abigail have absolutely flown by.
She is growing and changing with no two days being the same. I have gone through the troubles and heartache of waking every two hours of the day, learning to breastfeed, coping with the pains and adjustments my body went through at a rapid pace, and the joys of having a newborn baby in my life.
Abigail is now 8 weeks old and a very happy little girl. I love waking up in the morning, peering over her bassinet and seeing a smiling face looking back at me. I love hearing her coos and squawks, her sneeze attacks and even hiccups. There are so many rewards to motherhood, that it overshadows all of the hormonal moments where you think you can't go on any longer and feel like handing off your baby only to miss her when she is away for only a few minutes.
I want to dedicate the next few blog posts to a series that I'd like to call "Secrets from your Sister". I'd like to dive into things I wish people had told me about pregnancy, labour and raising a baby. These are things that I have either learned on my own or thought I was going through alone only to learn that others had experienced the same...or worse.
I hope you enjoy and can share your experiences as well. After all, we're not in this alone!
She is growing and changing with no two days being the same. I have gone through the troubles and heartache of waking every two hours of the day, learning to breastfeed, coping with the pains and adjustments my body went through at a rapid pace, and the joys of having a newborn baby in my life.
Abigail is now 8 weeks old and a very happy little girl. I love waking up in the morning, peering over her bassinet and seeing a smiling face looking back at me. I love hearing her coos and squawks, her sneeze attacks and even hiccups. There are so many rewards to motherhood, that it overshadows all of the hormonal moments where you think you can't go on any longer and feel like handing off your baby only to miss her when she is away for only a few minutes.
I want to dedicate the next few blog posts to a series that I'd like to call "Secrets from your Sister". I'd like to dive into things I wish people had told me about pregnancy, labour and raising a baby. These are things that I have either learned on my own or thought I was going through alone only to learn that others had experienced the same...or worse.
I hope you enjoy and can share your experiences as well. After all, we're not in this alone!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
She's Here! - Abigail's Birth Story
Baby's Name: Abigail Lillian Joy
Due Date: September 10, 2009
Birth Date: September 7, 2009
Weight: 7lbs 3oz
Length: 19.5 inches
Birth Story:
On Sunday the 6th I was experiencing contractions on and off all day. By evening they started to get stronger and closer together. Around 7pm I called L&D and asked when I could come in. They said to wait until the contractions were 5 mins apart, 45 sec to 1 min long and were consistent for 2 hours. Unfortunately for me, mine never made it to 5 mins apart, and at 1am DH called in telling them they were 6 mins or 2-3 mins apart. They were also getting more painful for me to cope with and I was looking forward to some pain relief. They told us to come on in and off to the hospital we went.
While in triage I was told I was 3cm, which meant they would admit me, woo hoo! It felt like we were in there forever as the nurse filled out paper work and DH helped me through the contractions and tried to keep things light by making jokes. My mom arrived in the meantime, which finally started making things feel real. The RN then took us to our room to finish admitting me at 2:00am. I got my IV in (which hurt a lot) and then requested Demerol. I got it mixed with Gravol which immediately made me dopey and did not help the contractions at all.
I laboured with DH and my mom's help until about 6am where I couldn't take the pain anymore and asked for an epidural. The anesthetist came in pretty quickly and the overall procedure wasn't painful or as scary as I thought I could be. Within two contractions, the pain was gone and I was a happy, sane person again! On the third contraction, I felt my water break. The RN checked me and confirmed that it broke, but it was high up and that my forewater was still intact. She tried to break it with her finger, but it didn't work. She did tell me that I had progressed to 9.5cm though. We were so shocked that it happened so fast, but definitely weren't complaining.
The RN told us that the on-call DR was doing a c-section at 7am and that we would deliver after that. So DH and I got some sleep. Well, I slept until I felt pressure from the contractions where I thought that baby's head was going to fall out!
At just before 8am, the DR arrived and I began pushing. I began to tear internally and my contractions were still 6 mins apart, so I was given pitocin and was told to consider an episiotomy. I really didn't want to have either done, but both helped. On one contraction, the DR made the cut and the baby's head popped out! The cord was wrapped around her neck once and her body twice, so they didn't completely deliver her until she was free. I didn't know that she was tangled because I just wanted to know what gender she was. Then, at 8:55am they pulled her out and there was my baby GIRL, which they put on my belly.
DH cut the cord and went with her for all the measurements. She scored 9/9 on APGAR and was a lot smaller than any of us had thought. I spent a long while after her birth getting stitched up, but soon got to meet our little Abigail. We are so thrilled to have a daughter.
Due Date: September 10, 2009
Birth Date: September 7, 2009
Weight: 7lbs 3oz
Length: 19.5 inches
Birth Story:
On Sunday the 6th I was experiencing contractions on and off all day. By evening they started to get stronger and closer together. Around 7pm I called L&D and asked when I could come in. They said to wait until the contractions were 5 mins apart, 45 sec to 1 min long and were consistent for 2 hours. Unfortunately for me, mine never made it to 5 mins apart, and at 1am DH called in telling them they were 6 mins or 2-3 mins apart. They were also getting more painful for me to cope with and I was looking forward to some pain relief. They told us to come on in and off to the hospital we went.
While in triage I was told I was 3cm, which meant they would admit me, woo hoo! It felt like we were in there forever as the nurse filled out paper work and DH helped me through the contractions and tried to keep things light by making jokes. My mom arrived in the meantime, which finally started making things feel real. The RN then took us to our room to finish admitting me at 2:00am. I got my IV in (which hurt a lot) and then requested Demerol. I got it mixed with Gravol which immediately made me dopey and did not help the contractions at all.
I laboured with DH and my mom's help until about 6am where I couldn't take the pain anymore and asked for an epidural. The anesthetist came in pretty quickly and the overall procedure wasn't painful or as scary as I thought I could be. Within two contractions, the pain was gone and I was a happy, sane person again! On the third contraction, I felt my water break. The RN checked me and confirmed that it broke, but it was high up and that my forewater was still intact. She tried to break it with her finger, but it didn't work. She did tell me that I had progressed to 9.5cm though. We were so shocked that it happened so fast, but definitely weren't complaining.
The RN told us that the on-call DR was doing a c-section at 7am and that we would deliver after that. So DH and I got some sleep. Well, I slept until I felt pressure from the contractions where I thought that baby's head was going to fall out!
At just before 8am, the DR arrived and I began pushing. I began to tear internally and my contractions were still 6 mins apart, so I was given pitocin and was told to consider an episiotomy. I really didn't want to have either done, but both helped. On one contraction, the DR made the cut and the baby's head popped out! The cord was wrapped around her neck once and her body twice, so they didn't completely deliver her until she was free. I didn't know that she was tangled because I just wanted to know what gender she was. Then, at 8:55am they pulled her out and there was my baby GIRL, which they put on my belly.
DH cut the cord and went with her for all the measurements. She scored 9/9 on APGAR and was a lot smaller than any of us had thought. I spent a long while after her birth getting stitched up, but soon got to meet our little Abigail. We are so thrilled to have a daughter.
Friday, September 4, 2009
39 Week DA
I've progressed! My OB did another internal today. I had told him about the bloody show I've been having and he seemed encouraged by it. When he checked, he said that my cervix is open and that I am dilated 2cm. Woo hoo!
He told us that if we wanted, he could get things moving along next Tuesday. I was confused why he said Tuesday since my due date is next Thursday. It turns out that he is on-call at the L&D then and wanted to offer the induction so he would be around for the birth. Very nice of him, but I think at the moment we would prefer to let things naturally happen instead of going for an induction.
So I go back next Thursday, my due date, but have no idea when this LO will decide to show up. At 2cm, I'm hoping something gets started today and that the full moon gives it a hand!
He told us that if we wanted, he could get things moving along next Tuesday. I was confused why he said Tuesday since my due date is next Thursday. It turns out that he is on-call at the L&D then and wanted to offer the induction so he would be around for the birth. Very nice of him, but I think at the moment we would prefer to let things naturally happen instead of going for an induction.
So I go back next Thursday, my due date, but have no idea when this LO will decide to show up. At 2cm, I'm hoping something gets started today and that the full moon gives it a hand!
