1 Month!!!

I cannot believe it! My little baby girl is one month already!! I know this is just the beginning and as R grows time will go by faster and faster! So I have been asked how things are with three kids, how I've been adjusting, how I've been feeling, etc. At this point things have been going well and I was able to adjust to a new 'normal' slowly and at my own pace since it just so happened that my husband didn't have work for 3.5 weeks (not by choice! I was ready to get him out of the house by 2 weeks!). So far the hardest thing for me has been dealing with K and TJ. It started off really bad since they had 3 days of no consistant parenting (when I was induced and during my stay at the hospital). As soon as I got home it was time to pull way back and get back to a disciplined life for them. It helped, but I also know that there was some acting out due to the changes in the house. I don't have AS much time for them as I normally did and that took it's toll on the kids. I feel like I'm getting much better at giving my two older kids the attention that they need (although some days it's difficult and I know I could have done better).

Altogether, I am feeling good. I am feeling positive. I am trying to keep momentum from day to day and trying to also leave behind the bad days and start on a positive note the next day. I do not feel overwelmed and take it one day at a time. I try to continue doing 'fun' stuff for me and for the kids so 'baby' does not overtake our life - plus she's at that great stage that she sleeps just about anywhere and a lot of the time, so why not get out!! I know that a more difficult time is coming.. when I have three little monkeys running around!!

More about my sweet little girl... she is really starting to look around and notice things a lot more already. R really LOVES to kick - for example, the other night she had been fussing a little (I knew it was bed time/feed time for her) so I quickly got my other two in bed and by that time she was angry with me (hehe.. it's almost cute when little ones get angry) and I thought she was hungry, so I first put her down to change her and guess what? All she wanted to do was get out of her blanket and kick.. she was totally happy just to be able to move around! Right now she is laying beside me, kicking at my leg and cooing.. sounding like a little lamb :) I am so blessed to have my sweet girl!

For All Mom's & Mom's to be!

A friend posted this video on facebook and I loved it so much I had to share it with all of you. Enjoy!

Baby it's cold outside!!

-35 C with windchill! We have had such a beautiful fall and very mild weather so far... until the past few days! This morning being the coldest!! So me and the kids are in our PJ's still this morning and I'm spoiling my kids by letting them watch movies. This week we've had some excitement at our house. Me and the kids set up the Christmas tree (just with the lights on, no decorations yet) and also put up the outdoor lights too. We got our first snowfall, that stayed!! So the kids spent a little time outside yesterday, even though it was really cold.

Rhys has been doing so good, she seems to be such a content baby. She has had some incredible nights, one night even sleeping an 8hr stretch!! (although it was 8pm to 4am so I didn't get the full 8, but I got a solid 6 at least!) She has had a couple 6hr stretches but mostly it's between 3-5hr stetches (which I think is still really good!!). A typical day for her usually starts around 9, she usually cluster feeds for a while and then has some awake time. Between 1-2pm she usually goes down for a good nap (usually 3hrs). She has some awake time after supper and is usually ready for bed around 9pm, although typically she wakes up one more time (between 10-11) for one more quick feeding and change and then she's down for the night! I am glad that she has been starting to develope somewhat of a schedule :) She loves laying on her back and kicking during her awake time! She is already a Daddy's girl as well, she seems to be responding already when her Dad gives her attention :)

So all in all, we are doing well and looking forward to the Christmas season!! Although if you think of me on Monday send up a quick prayer, it's offically my first day by myself with the kids. My husband has been off of work since R was born (not his choice, there was just no work until now) and is going away Sunday night. I have been 'practicing' though; I have done a lot of things with just me and 3 kids already. It's just when it becomes 'official' and I know I don't have any 'backup' it becomes the real thing! Sorry for no pictures, I'm on my husband's computer - so no pictures are loaded on here. Next time :)

Finally, the Birth Story *Warning: may be TMI*

*may be too much information for some*

So I am finally able to sit down and start sharing R's birth story. So here goes :) I was scheduled in for induction on Wednesday, October 27, as long as they had room for me. I got up at 7am and got ready for the day and by 7:20am it was time to call and see if they had room for me to come in for induction. Thankfully they did, so we continued preparing for the day as we waited for the kids sitter to come. After she arrived we hugged the kids good-bye and drove down to the hospital.

Things had changed a little in the three years that it was since I had K. After being admitted, I was sent up to OB triage where they monitered baby, I was given an IV (only because I tested positive for GBS, and yes I was fine with that) and the Dr. came in and administered the 'new' induction method. With T & K is was induced with a gel and things went very quickly with that. With R the new induction method is a product called Cervidil (google it if you're interested), it's supposed to be gentler and it is also able to be removed if it seems to agrivate the uterus. So knowing my history of typically responding well and fast to induction they kept me in triage for an extra hour than normal, but this time I was only having contractions every 15-20 minutes or so. When they wanted me to go walk around, everything stopped. So as typical with their new set-up, they sent me home with instructions to call every four hours and to come in immediately if certain things happened (example: water breaking); they sent a list home with us.

So as disappointed as I was, we arrived home in time to have lunch with the kids. After lunch I took the dog out for a nice long walk (TRYING to get things moving) and still nothing. So I decided to try take a little rest on the couch (in a reclined sitting position, since lying down is the least productive position to encourage labor, lol). Around 2:30pm I started noticing contractions were starting. By 3:30, when I was to call the OB triage and give a 'report' I told her that my contractions were 5-10 minutes apart for the last hour but I didn't think they were quite 1min long at that point. So she said to wait a little longer. I decided to start timing things so I had a better idea of where things were at. Between 4-4:30 I was pretty steady at 5mins apart and 50-60 seconds long, so at 4:30 I called a different sitter (I figured that way if things took a long time then they were at a place that they could stay overnight).

I had been sitting on the couch the majority of this whole time, so I decided to start moving around and see if things progressed or if things would slow down. Things didn't slow down, at 5pm I told my husband, we have to go now. We dropped the kids off by 5:30 and were at the OB triage by 6pm. The nurse seemed a little doubtful that things were as I said, but after 15 minutes of monitering she quickly got things into action. She quickly got my IV going and worked on getting a room ready for me in labor & delivery. By the time everything was said and done they got me into the L&D room by 7:00, the Dr. saw me at 7:15. I was at 4cm and he broke my water. All I can say is that my daughter was born at 8:35pm!! So that means I went from 4 to 10 and delivery in 1 hr 20minutes!! Delivery was fast too, basically one really long contraction!! My favorite part was when they put my new baby girl on my chest (all gooky and everything) and laid a really warm, heavy blanket on us and we just got to snuggle for at least a good 20 min. With my other children they were measured and bundled before being handed to me, so this is something different :)

Thankfully, everything went really well! Our daughter was born at a healthy weight of 8lb 3oz, much better than the 9lbs I was scared of! Although I do think she was more overdue than we thought because she had already started losing weight in utero. She went down to 7lb 13oz at the hospital, but at her first Dr. appointment had regained her birth weight. One thing I've learned to deal with is her reflux issue. I know it's fairly normal, but none of my kids have really spit up a lot before. So after feeding her I try to keep her a somewhat of an incline without putting pressure on her tummy. For now she has also been sleeping in her bouncy chair so when I do night feedings I don't have to sit up with her for 10-15 extra minutes afterwards! Adjustments seem to be going well with the kids, nothing that some structure, discipline and special one-on-one mom time can't help :) So that's pretty much our introduction of the newest little monkey in our family :)