Monday, October 26, 2009

Cody

I just realized I blogged about Nate's birth story, but I haven't yet about Cody's. So here's the whole scoop...

On the Saturday night before Cody was born (Jul 11) I suspected my water broke. When I woke up in the middle of the night at 3am, I was sure my water broke and called the hospital. Having gone through this when Nate was born, I knew I was in no hurry to get to the maternity ward if I wasn't having any contractions. So, leaving Nate at home with Monte's parents, we made our way to the Abbotsford hospital at 6am Sunday morning. I laid in the assessment area for hours while the nurses struggled with their phone lines being down and with several emergency deliveries that morning... in addition to being short-staffed. They finally admitted me sometime after 9am, after monitoring Cody's heart rate and watching it drop dangerously low several times. I waited for news of being induced all day Sunday, but since they were swamped they kept pushing it back. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of labour; Sunday consisted of very little eating, no rest, and lots of anxiety, stress and fear. It didn't help that I got to hear every other woman in the ward giving birth while I waited... Not exactly the sounds that will help calm an expectant mother!

Sunday night they promised me that the following morning I would be induced. I begged for some drugs to help me sleep, which they gave me... And I slept for a whopping two hours that night! I woke up at midnight with contractions occurring every 10 minutes, and that lasted until 6am when they abruptly stopped. I was so discouraged that morning. I was so badly missing Nate, and I was extremely tired from almost no sleep or food over the last two days. The nurse assigned to me that morning was sympathetic enough to listen to me cry and complain.

Then I was induced around 10am, and the nurse I had for my labour was awesome! For those who aren't familiar with labour that's induced, you are assigned a one-on-one nurse who just sits by your side your entire labour and delivery. And I was so thankful to have such a great nurse by my side. Cody's heart rate dropped several times throughout my labour, and near the end I was very worried I'd have to have an emergency c-section, but everything turned out to be okay. The delivery was extremely exhausting for me this time (I remembered Nate's delivery as going VERY differently... I would say way better, even though I pushed for two hours). I only had to push for about 15 minutes, but I had absolutely no energy and so I really struggled through it and remember feeling at one point like I just couldn't do it. It's amazing how your body just kicks into high gear and does what it has to do! I'm thankful for that. And then he was born at 2:58pm on Monday, July 13th. He weighed 7lbs, just like Nate. But he measured 58cm long (almost 2 feet!) so he was extremely long and skinny. The irony of this is that I went in for two extra ultrasounds during my pregnancy because they were very concerned that his thighs were measuring far too short. It was something I worried about for quite awhile. It just goes to show that unborn babies are "under construction" up until the minute they are born and that God's got it all under control, especially when we feel completely helpless.

And for those who just can't help but ask that pesky little question: will you have any more kids? The answer is I hope so. Both Monte & I picture our family with at least three kids, but at this point I can't say I'm planning one way or the other. It's just too soon! I did say to Monte, however, that if we have a third, I want in writing that I'm guaranteed an epidural! Twice now I've wanted an epidural and never got one. It's my one stipulation that Monte will have to work out with an anesthesiologist before I'm game for a third kid!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Top Toddler List

I have to preface this post by saying this: Nathan, in case you end up reading this when you are older, please know that I love you more than you'll ever know... But when you have kids, you'll understand my perspective! So, here goes my "Top Five Ways Your Toddler Will Try Your Patience While Your Baby Screams Incessantly in the Background!"

5. He will follow you around closer than your own shadow, bringing you everything that he can find and carry in the house under the guise of being helpful.
4. He will wander in front of where you are trying to walk, at a slightly slower pace, so that you'll constantly trip over him and cause him injury as well.
3. He will think of every question his inquisitive mind can come up with, and ask it over and over again despite having already heard the answer multiple times.
2. He will inquire as to what you're doing and why you're doing it, every five minutes... even when the activity in question hasn't changed since the last time he asked.
1. He will inform you that there's a baby crying (in case you hadn't noticed...).

Ahhhh, I feel better! Just when I think I've got a handle on things, another bad day comes around to keep me on my toes... And to continually cry out to God for strength and patience. Today was one of those days. To those mothers out there who have days where you feel like you just can't do what's expected and required of you: you are not alone! Just do what I did today... Pack up your kid(s), get out of the house and do a little shopping or treat yourself to lunch out! McDonald's Playplace has been my sanctuary several times since Cody's arrival. And I'm starting to realize that that's okay.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

An Overdue Update

Wow, I can't believe it's October already! We've been keeping busy over the last few weeks. Monte & I finally got our new driver's licenses, allowing us to drive across the border again, and so we were eager to hit the outlets in Burlington and grab a little of our beloved Taco Bell down south! (For those of you who aren't in the know, Canadian Taco Bell does not compare to the American stuff!). So we did some shopping, mostly at Carter's to outfit our little Cody and just spent the day out of the house together. It went surprisingly okay, even though we skipped Nate's nap. I am particularly grateful for American malls, who take into consideration nursing mothers when they design their family restrooms. It makes being out for 10+ hours much easier, as I don't have to sit uncomfortably in the back of our van every three hours to feed Cody. Hopefully one day our malls will offer similar rooms to accomodate mothers of young babies.

We also managed to hit the MCC sale, that same day. This was my first time experiencing what turned out to be the biggest event the Tradex hosts all year! And Monte was so excited to finally sample all of his favourite mennonite dishes. Nate had a great time playing in the large children's area, but we had to leave earlier than we wanted since he was starting to reach unreal hyper levels, having missed his nap.

We've taken several trips to Ikea recently as well. We're in the process of making our new home more to our taste, and Ikea is the most reasonable place we can do this. We purchased a storage shelf for the playroom, and new curtains and curtain rods for the living and dining rooms, as well as a few other little items for around the house. Nate loves Ikea; he enjoys playing in the kid's section, and LOVES their "cheesy noodles!" We love Ikea the most for their cheap meals: two hot dogs and a pop for two bucks! You can't beat that.


While I'm still finding adjusting to two kids very overwhelming at times, we are loving having our two boys and they're both changing, almost daily it seems! Nate's getting into doing puzzles and is very good at them. And on a recent garage sale hunt I found a brand new Lite Brite, and so we've started working on a picture together. He's generally a really sweet kid (not at all a strong-willed child), but his one downfall is mealtimes. We feel as though we're taken captive by this kid, at every meal. He takes a good hour to eat his food, and that's with constant reminders to take bites between all his chatting. It's not that he doesn't like the food or refuses to eat; he'd just rather talk and play and do everything else under the sun while eating. Mealtimes have become the most frustrating times of the day. Cody's smiling a lot now, and sleeping much better (about seven hours between his feedings at night) and I can tell his first laugh is just around the corner. He's a very gassy baby, and so he's often grunting and in discomfort, and - to be brutally honest - just stinking the place up!! I've never known a baby to emit such a stench! It's gross. I should expect it, living with three males. I suppose this is just the beginning of all the wonderfully disgusting things I'll be introduced to as we raise two boys. I couldn't be happier.