Mothazine

Bad Driving

2011-10-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

I need to rant about a bad driving experience.

I was driving behind a small sedan on a main street. The car kept driving in the middle of the road instead of in the designated lane. Then we got to a red light. Waiting, waiting, waiting... light turns green and the driver doesnt notice so I honk my horn. Whatever, not a big deal, I've made that mistake before. Then slow driving starts as well as not staying in the lane properly. Get to another light. This time I decided to wait and see if the driver would notice when the light turned green. Nope, didn't notice. Took the driver awhile to notice. Then crappy driving starts again. Then at the next light the car signals that they will be turning left. Perfect, now I can pull up beside them. What I saw was stupidity. Plain stupidity.

a) Driver was a young woman talking on her cell phone. Well that explains the crappy driving.

b) there was a child in the car!!!!

c) Child was not in a car seat!!! The boy looked the same age as my son. Maybe he was in a low booster but it didnt look like it. My mom said she could see a couple car seats next to him.. So he probably has a car seat, he just wasnt in it.

Just totally dumbfounded.

Life in Texas

2011-09-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we've been here for 2 months already! Time is going really quickly. There are a lot of things I want to blog about but I doubt I will find the time and energy to blog every day. I really really want to, but looking at my track record, I think we all know that won't happen.

Last night the kids and I went for a walk in our neighborhood.

I LOVE our neighborhood. Its the kind of neighborhood I've always dreamt about living in. Beautiful and old, it's got lots of charm. I love looking at the style of the homes. Most are small arts and crafts bungalows with 2 bedrooms. There are also some really lovely victorian homes.

On our walk we found some little acorns. Bitta adored them. She tried to bring some home with us but dropped them.

On the way home back to our house Stinx saw a frog. It was prety dark by then so I had a hard time seeing it but sure enough, there was some sort of spotted frog on the sidewalk. I wish I had brought my camera.

New City

2011-08-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

Just going to do a quick update! We've moved. Really, we did. We moved to an entirely new country! Crazyness. We left Canada and are now in Texas. We found a really cute old house in a cute old neighborhood. It's always been my dream to live in an old house. I love it! We haven't even unpacked though... still lots of boxes to get through. I'll probably try to blog more now that we're here. The past 9 months were really busy with planning to sell our house and then the process of selling and then packing etc etc.

That won't be a problem

2011-01-24T21:32:00.000-08:00

Stinx was in the washroom and asked me to help wipe his bum. While I am helping him he says, "Mom, just don't stick your finger in my bum, ok?".

Seriously? Oh my... I tried not to laugh and just said that I wouldn't make that mistake.

Ear rings

2011-01-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

"Mom, I don't like Bee (his cousin). But I like her ear rings. They very very pretty"

Stinx, Oct 26 2010

God & Chocolate

2011-01-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

"God prays for chocolate and says I can have chocolate now."

Later the same day,

"Bitta can have noodles, you can have noodles, but God says I don't like noodles."

Stinx, Oct 24 2010

Injury

2011-01-13T10:22:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, if you fell down the stairs and hurt yourself, I would put a band aid on your knee to make you feel better."

Oct 8, 2010

Boogie Talk

2011-01-12T10:20:00.000-08:00

Stinx - "Yesterday I pulled a boogie out with my hand and put it in my mouth"

Mom - "That's yucky"

Stinx - "Why is it yucky?"

Mom - "Because boogies are supposed to go in the garbage"

Stinx - "I said to myself, 'my mouth is a garbage'

I pretty much laughed my pants off.

July 30, 2010

Tummy Talk

2011-01-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, my tummy is still hungry and it told it wants another freezie"

Stinx, July 18 2010

Stinx, on breaking straight edge

2011-01-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

"Mom, I have an idea. Daddy can have a beer and you can have a sip."

I explained that I don't drink.

"I can teach you how to drink beer!'

Once again I explain that I don't drink it.

"You just have to practice drinking beer, mom."

July 8, 2010

The Stinx Series

2011-01-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, a new series to keep things fresh. Stinx quotes.

Today's quote doesn't make a whole lot of sense but it has some interesting imagery. This quote was written down sometime in June 2010.

"The Pooger pooks me and blows wind out of his nose. He prickles me. The wind blows out of his nose and shoots the prickles out."

Hum

2010-11-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

So, first things first, my apologies to those of you who check back here and find nothing new to read, I'm sorry! I suck. Yes, I do.

The long awaited news from the Breastfeeding Challenge, Bitta did nurse! Even if it was for a few seconds. Some good news though, she is nursing in public more often now so thats pretty awesome. Here is a picture of a cookie we received at the challenge.

Life has been a little crazy lately. I've been watching Bee, my niece, 3-4 days a week for the past 2 months. It's been both really great and really hard. Some days are awesome and some days suck. I feel like I am still adjusting to life with 2 kids and throwing a third in there makes it tricky at times, usually when both the littles need naps. Bee is a pretty easy going happy baby so that helps. I find that it is hardest for Stinx. He doesn't get the attention he needs when I am changing diaers, feeding or putting babies down for naps. I am trying to think of more ways to keep Stinx busy and occupied. Most of the time Stinx just runs around "tormenting" the littles. And I know its out of boredom.

I've also been really busy with craft fairs. I've done 3 already this season and I have one more to go. I can't wait to be done. I foolishly took on too many this year, 3 of them being back to back. I do loving making my Nerdsicles and the aprons but I need to take is easy. Here are some of my newest nerdsicles.

Poor Bitta is cutting about 3-4 teeth right now :( Poor thing. She's unhappy at the moment so I am off.

I'm hoping to blog soon about Stinx pre-school experience... and the lack there of currently.

A True Challenge

2010-10-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

So every year since Stinx was born I've been invited to attend the local annual Breastfeeding Challenge. The idea is to get as many breastfeeding mothers in one room, all nursing at the same time, to promote the "normalism" of breastfeeding (at least to my understanding). But I've never gone. Not for any reason in particular. But I find myself going this year. Tomorrow morning to be exact. With my nursing baby, Bitta. Which is ironic.

Because, like I have mentioned before, Bitta doesn't nurse in public. So to be going to an event like the Breastfeeding Challenge, with the baby who doesn't like doucies in public, proves to truly be challenging ;)

At 11am someone will take count of all the babies latched on at the same time. I'm curious to know if we will count if Bitta is flailing away from my breast at the exact moment they are to count us. Hmmm. I think they'll count us anyway.

I am praying for some sort of miracle. The type of miracle that involves a baby breastfeeding for more than 3 seconds (literally) in a room full of other women and babies. It will take a miracle!

I'll let you know how it goes.

Toilets are Fun

2010-09-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Random Fact #7 - Toilets are Fun

Found Bitta having a ball in the bathroom. She seems to think the toilet is a water station used for playing. Worst of all, Stinx hadn't flushed the toilet.

Public Breastfeeding is shameful

2010-09-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Random Fact #6 - Public Breastfeeding is Shameful

I try. I do. I really really try. I haven't given up. Bitta is almost 9 months old and I still try to nurse her when I am out and about. But she never does. And if for some miraculous reason, she does latch, she nurses for 1 minute or less. Just long enough to get my let down going. So there I am with a baby who won't nurse and a leaking breast. Brilliant. Bitta seems to think breastfeeding is best done behind closed doors, lights off and on a comfortable bed. As a Mama proud to be breastfeeding, this no nursing in public thing is a pain! I'm happy to breastfeed my baby in public, but why won't she let me!!!

Bed Rails are for Climbing

2010-09-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Random Fact #5 - Bed Rails are for Climbing

Bitta seems to think that developmental milestones are best practiced at 3:00 AM. She has done this so far with all of them: rolling over, sitting up, crawling, climbing, talking etc etc. It drives this motha crazy!

Paper is Delicious

2010-09-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Random Fact #4 - Paper is Delicious

Bitta cannot be trusted with paper. She will most certainly eat it. Because it is delicious.

Car Seats are for Crying

2010-09-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Random Fact #3 - Car Seats are for Crying

Bitta is no longer in the infant bucket seat. Dad installed the convertible car seat and ever since Bitta just cries. And cries. And cries. And cries whenever she is in the car. I am hoping this is a short lived phase.

Pooping is a crime

2010-09-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

Random Fact #2 - Pooping is a crime

Bitta's never been a pooper. She once went an entire month without a bowel movement. No, I'm not kidding. Totally serious. Between the age of 2-3 months she never stained a cloth diaper. She usually had a BM every 2 weeks.. then weekly.

When I introduced solids at 6 months I was slightly concerned how it would affect the pooping situation. And I clearly had good reason. The adjustment to solid food was tough on her. I can't give her any banana's or rice cereal, as well as a few other things. Her diet pretty much consists of pears, peaches and water (and of course breastmilk). And... occasionally, stool softner. I should also note that I fed her a ton of prunes and it did nothing. Like, nothing.

I do admit that she goes more regularly now... Sometimes as often as once a day!

I'm Baaaaaaccck!

2010-09-21T15:45:00.001-07:00

I want to do a short series called "Random Facts" about Bitta. It seems having two children has cut out my blogging time so I will try my best to update with short random facts in the next while.

Random fact #1 - Comfort Nursing is for Suckers

Bitta doesn't like to comfort nurse. No sir'ee. That let-down issue sure put a damper on comfort nursing. Somewhere around 4 months I sort of trained her to comfort nurse to sleep. But it was short lived... because she doesn't like to comfort nurse. It was kind of funny though... My version of sleep training this go around was trying to get Bitta to nurse to sleep. HA! She still seems to think that nursing is really only intended for nutrition. She really has me wondering when she will self-wean.

Life goes on...

2010-06-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

Oh poor blog. So neglected...

Stinx keeps saying the cutest or weirdest things that make me laugh and everytime I think, "I gotta blog that" but it never happens. I'm trying to write them in a paper journal too... we'll see how it goes.

Bitta is just as adorable as the day I met her. Actually, more so. Just so stinkin cute. I love how she flirts with me when she has my attention... and I love love love watching Stinx make her laugh. It's so great that they can play together in little ways. Usually in the mornings Stinx wakes up first and when Bitta wakes up we crawl on the bed and snuggle with her. Usually she'll roll towards Stinx and "attack" him with her hands. Stinx thinks this is hilarious and pretends to be scared... ah I love it.

The weather is becoming lovely and I have been working in the garden quite a bit. It's starting to look a bit fuller now. For those who don't know, when we first moved into the house there was a HUGE pond in the backyard. It was awesome, really really nice... but I couldn't sleep at night knowing my kid(s) may fall into it and drown (typically mother worrying). So I threw some ideas at Dad about what to do with it... he finally agreed to let me put a perennial garden where the pond was. So last year we filled it up with soil and put some plants in. My grandpa, who is an excellent gardener, helped me out with some really lovely plants. And this spring they have all come back so nicely. I've also been going to some local plant swaps and finding plants for soo cheap! Either $1 or $2 a plant!! Sure beats the expensive garden centres... I did go to a garden centre once this spring and spent way tooo much money on a small basket of perennials. I have vowed to never return to a garden centre for perennials.... never again!

Guess thats all for now... I'm planning to do a cloth diaper post soon because I've been on a diaperswappers bender ! LOL.

Good bye dear blog.

4 months already?!

2010-04-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Bitta is 4 months old already. Time really flies when you have 2 kids. I can't imagine how fast it goes when you have 3, or 4, or 5+ kids. I am trying to remember everything that happens but its hard.

Last week I was looking through Stinx baby journal, ya know, the ones that record their births, 1st holidays, 1st steps etc. Most of it is complete but I have some pictures to get developed and put it in.

Then I started thinking about Bitta's book. She's only 4 months but oh my, I am getting behind in her book. First smile? aw crap I don't remember the date! So I am trying to work on these books but it's hard to find the time... especially with the pictures.. I am so bad at getting pictures developed. Even the great grandma's have been harassing me for pictures.. ugh.

Regrets

2010-03-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have lots of regrets but today I want to talk about one I just realized. Yesterday I was chatting with my motha and she asked me if I ever took Cooking in High School. My answer, an obvious NO.

At the time I just wasn't interested in cooking. I guess I just didn't have any desire to take that class. Most of my elective classes were Sewing and Art. I did take Drama in the 10th grade... I even took Gym in grades 10 & 11 (That's a real shocker!! the punk rocker in gym class... lol). But cooking no... I didn't take computer classes either... I regret that too. But mostly the cooking class.

If there was one class in High School that I could continue to use for the rest of my life, it would be cooking. I need to cook.

It's not that I don't know how to cook... I do know a bit... but I could have learned a lot in that class. Maybe it would have instilled some cooking passion within me that I have been missing.

That all said, I have been cooking more lately and enjoying it. My pregnancy with Bitta killed all desire to cook but thankfully once she was born in came back.

Anyone want to share your favorite cook book or recipe?

I am always looking for dairy-free recipes too...

Up & Up

2010-03-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

So shortly after writing the last post, my doucie troubles cleared up. My crazy let-down got itself under control. Bitta stopped pulling off and would eat longer. She gained enough weight before the last appoinment at the BF'ing clinic that I don't need to take her back there. The Dr said that she thinks Bitta is taking after mom & dad (aka small). She said Bitta is growing and following a new curve on the chart. So all is well for now.

Except for Stinx. He woke up yesterday morning with a cold. And was miserable. all. day. long.

The meltdowns are so intense lately. I wish I knew how to deal with them.

I am hoping today will be much more pleasant.

Anti-Kels and I are going to the stars & strollers movie today. "Remember Me". I am sooo in need of a movie break. I'm going to enjoy myself. Even if I have to wear Bitta in a Mei Tai and pace the theatre back and forth. I will have a good time.

Doucie Trouble

2010-03-04T14:44:00.000-08:00

So when I was pregnant with Bitta I couldn't help but wonder how breastfeeding would go a 2nd time around. I was slightly worried it might not go as easy as it did with Stinx. And well, yeah, it's not quite as easy this time. It's not a latch problem - thankfully. Bitta latched on perfectly from the get go. No troubles there. She just doesn't seem to nurse for very long. She's a 5 minute nurser. Which is totally normal and ok for a lot of babies (maybe even Bitta) but the trouble is that she isn't gaining quite as much as she "should be". Technically breastfed babies are supposed to gain 4-7 oz a week. Bitta gains maybe 4. And it's been decreasing everytime she's been weighed. As low as 2 oz in a week. BUT she is gaining. It's not as though she's losing weight. She is still gaining, and definitely growing, she's growing longer for sure.

In the first weeks I definitely had too much milk. Bitta was also having some reflux troubles. She was spitting up all the time. Stinx never spit up so I wasn't used to needing burp clothes all the time. Then it seemed like my let down was way out of wack. My let down would come and Bitta would pull off and the milk would spray a foot away (with 5-6 jets). It was just too much for her. Half of the time when she would pull off she wouldn't want to latch on.

And so, because of this forceful let down, this baby just doesn't understand the concept of comfort nursing... I guess I understand, it wouldn't really be comforting trying to nurse from a forceful spray. But yeah she rarely nurses to sleep. She much prefers a soother or being worn.

But anyway, when the public health nurses called to check on us, they worried about her weight. So we've been sent to see a local breastfeeding clinic. The Dr at the clinic isn't worried about Bitta. She just thinks that Bitta is taking after her short parents, Dad and I aren't really big people. She gave me some advice about nursing positions and told me to really try to get Bitta to take the 2nd breast. I also went to my local LLL and they gave me similar advice.

The doucie situation could be much worse - I am thankful to have milk (even if it's too much too fast). No one has mentioned the "F" word. or the "B" word. I just wish Bitta would nurse a little bit longer, just so she could get some more hindmilk and calories. I wish my supply and let down could just level out.

Whining complete.

Stinx 3rd Birthday

2010-03-02T10:12:00.001-08:00

Stinx celebrated his 3rd birthday last week. I took him for his favorite meal. The Waffle Dream at Humpty's. We ordered this a few weeks before Bitta Bitta arrived.

Look how he is admiring it :) And chocolate milk to boot!

Bugma gave Stinx a tent and tunnel for his birthday. He loves it. Bugma actually went with a camping theme. She gave him a flashlight, a Dora camping book and a Curious George camping book.

We took Stinx to Chuck E Cheese in the evening so he could play on some rides.

Good times were had.

The next day he had some friends over for a party. It started out a little rough because he didn't want to share his toys :( But he calmed down eventually and they all played quite nicely.

Journey to Motherhood: Part 2

2010-03-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

I remember that morning. It was a beautiful sunny July morning. It was a Sunday. Dad and I were really excited. I remember a friend was visiting from out of town and we picked her up and went to church. After church I went for Dim Sum with my friend. I was already starting to feel morning sickness (lol). It was probably the "sick feeling" which comes during good times and bad. My friend asked why I wasn't feeling well and I ended up spilling the beans. She isn't a close friend and I hadn't talked to her in years. Even when I told her I knew it was weird that I was telling her first.

I went back to work the next day. Everything was so much better. I finally knew why I had been "losing it" the previous few weeks. The hormones in my body were messing with me. I was so emotional and now I knew why. Knowing that, my patience came back. I was able to work again and found myself enjoying it. I also knew that in 8 months I wouldn't be working.

My boss ended up offering me a counselling position. Looking back, this was a really REALLY good promotion. I knew it at the time too. However, the position called for working 2-10pm. I had only been on the day shift for 5 months and didn't want to return to afternoons again (after working them for 3+ years). I was enjoying the time with my husband in the evening. I declined the position. I think I also didn't want to take it because I knew I wouldn't be going back to work full time. If I had, maybe I would have taken it.

The morning sickness sucked. I started losing weight. I wasn't throwing up often, just once a week. Usually I would throw up in the morning, just after eating my breakfast cereal and brushing my teeth. My gag reflex was really strong. At work I was really faint. The standing made me dizzy. I remember a few times when we were serving breakfast to the homeless I started to black out. I'd stumbled my way to the office and sit down. I did a lot of sitting in my last year at work. Some of the clients noticed right away.

I had these great plans to keep it a secret until I was out of the 1st trimester. Ha! It seemed impossible. My close friend Mark kept asking me to chat with him while he had a smoke break - something I didn't mind doing before - but now I declined. He figured it out instantly. Then there were things I was required to do but didn't feel comfortable doing now (like cleaning blood, or breaking up fights, throwing huge bags of garbage out). Everyone knew sooner or later.

When I wasn't at work, I was horizontal. I was on the couch all the time. I was soo tired. I'd come home at 2:30pm from work and nap. If I wasn't sleeping I was watching TV. I couldn't believe how exhausting it was creating a baby. When I was 8 weeks my mom and I decided to go on a week end get away to the exciting town of Red Deer. It ended up being not so exciting. I felt like crap the entire time. But I look back at the trip fondly. We stayed at in a old character home B&B that included a spa.

At this point I really only knew a handful of moms. My closest mom friends were Alisha (my cousin), Bianca and Sandra. I'm sure Alisha remembers the phone call much better than I do. I called to tell her I was pregnant (she'd been harassing me to get pregnant so her son would have some cousins). I don't remember everything specifically but I do remember her talking over my head. LOL. Attachment parenting yada yada yada - I had no clue about different styles of parenting. Then I remember her giving me the most important piece of advice regarding birth - GET MIDWIVES. She told me how she got midwives and described their model of care. I remember thinking it sounded great and decided to look into it. I got some books from the library and one of them was about midwifery in Canada. I really liked the idea but... it came with a $3000+ price tag. I remember talking to my husband about it and we decided not to choose midwives because of the money (or the money we didn't have).

At the time I really wanted a natural birth. My thought was that since every woman in my family had a vaginal birth (many of them non-medicated) I could too. Why would I be any different?

I remember praying every morning. Praying for the future. Praying for my baby being created inside of me. Praying for a natural birth.

Once I hit 16 weeks my morning sickness started to go away. I started to have more energy. I was feeling pretty good. My tummy started to form in the shape of a pregnant belly. I had an ultrasound which we thought would be the 18 week U/S but turned out to be 16.5 weeks. Because I only had the one period since the pill my dates were just estimated.

Since I finding out I was pregnant I was fairly convinced I was having a boy. No reason why really. At the U/S it was confirmed. We were having a baby boy. I was really excited. I hadn't been buying anything and now felt like I could splurge on the odd blue baby outfit.

My on-line life changed. Instead of just checking my "myspace" page, I joined an on-line community for moms. My estimated due date was March 4th, 2007. I joined the march due date club and read all the different posts by these other pregnant moms. I wasn't much into posting but I did read it often. Looking back it was something to kill the time but sort of stupid. Half the posts were lame and those of us who didn't have kids yet, were... so naive. But still, I guess it was my way of connecting with other moms to be.

When I was about 21 weeks along my husband and I went on a trip to Victoria. It was our last vacation before kids. We stayed at this super cheap motel called Paul's Motor Inn. It was awesome. It had a sweet retro restaurant. Every morning we'd go for breakfast. I remember ordering toast. PB &Jam....mmmm.. We went to ocean, we drove along the Island, we drove by all the beautiful houses. I remember thinking there were lots of homeless people in Victoria. It's so nice and warm there - I can see why they migrate there.

Here's a Belly pic from our holiday. I was 21 weeks.

I had been seeing my family doctor for all of my appointments and then I was transferred to a maternity clinic. The clinic had 6-7 female doctors who took turns working at the clinic or the hospital. I liked all the doctors and was happy with my care there.

That winter at the shelter was a bit tough for me - only because I was really trying hard not to catch all the illnesses that spread so easily there. I remember washing my hands an insane amount. It was too the point of OCD. For example, in order to eat my lunch I would go to the bathroom, wash my hands, take the paper towel to turn off the tap, use the same one to open the bathroom door, go to the office and not touch anything. If for some reason I had to touch something I would consider that hand dirty. I would then only touch my food with the clean hand. It was difficult being so OCD. I'd be sitting at the desk trying to eat my lunch and then the phone would ring. I didn't want to look lazy, I was sitting right there, I had to answer it. I'd answer it but the whole time I was so annoyed I had to "dirty" a clean hand. LOL. I'm such a freak.

People at work gave me a hard time about the food I ate. It was a lot of microwave dinners. I wasn't huge into eating the shelter food (seems kinda wrong to me) and I didn't want to take the chance of getting sick (any random person would bring us the meals). My old favorite of a deli meat sandwich was out (no deli meat during pregnancy for me). So yeah... microwave dinners. I'm not proud of that...

I was planning to leave work asap. I wanted to avoid as much of the winter there as possible. I must sound like a freak. See, a few years earlier I had experienced a quarantine at the shelter. The Norwalk virus (stomach flu) spread so quickly at the shelter that almost everyone got it. The sick clients were in quarantine until they felt better. I can't tell you how many times I cleaned up vomit in those 3 weeks. I really wasn't anxious to experience the same thing while being pregnant. So yeah, at the first chance I could, I went on mat leave. I took off 8 weeks before my due date.

Some people thought this was stupid. Why not work and get paid right until you are due? Then when mat leave is up you don't have to go back early... well I wasn't planning to go back. I had no reason to stay as long as I could.

I wanted to enjoy my last 2 months without a baby. I laugh at this know. I thought I was resting and taking time for myself before my baby boy came. I swear, all I did in those 2 months was watch TV. For example I watched every single episode of "Friends". If I had that kind of freedom now it would be different. I would actually DO stuff. I just didn't realize how much my world would change.

The only real preparation I did before baby was read some books and taking prenatal classes. Books like "Knocked Up". While I didn't agree with Rebecca Eckler's choices, I found her book hilarious. Still, that wasn't exactly good reading. I did read some good books, like Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth and LLL's Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

The prenatal class was through the Calgary Health Region. Looking back I wish I had taken something different, Bradley Method? Birthing From Within? Something along those lines. It would have helped me more with my goal for a natural birth. But I didn't really know about those options. My husband and I took the 10 week long class through the region. We were by far the youngest parents there. I did enjoy the class and it was useful. I did learn a lot through it. If I hadn't taken it I would have been even more clueless.

A friend of mine since grade one came over and did some prenatal photos for me. I was 37 weeks.

Preparing for having a baby at our home consisted of baby showers. My husband and I bought hardly anything. We waited until after the baby showers. We were very fortunate to be thrown 3 separate baby showers. Almost everything we had was a gift from a baby shower. We had to only buy a couple things, like a stroller and some other small things.

One of the last belly pics. 38 weeks.

The weeks went by and I was getting closer to my due date.

Journey to Motherhood: Part 1

2010-02-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

Once I was married people started asking when we would have children. I knew I didn’t want to have kids right away, I was only 21, but knew I wanted to be a mother at some point. I’m not sure when I came up with the “perfect age” to have children but at some point I decided that age would be between 25-30 (for me). By the time I was 23 or 24 I started to get baby fever every once in awhile. Perhaps it was because I knew more pregnant women or mothers. My cousin had a baby; my co-workers had kids or were pregnant. My body was ready. It was telling me. Still, my brain wasn’t really ready for that concept yet.

A few months before I turned 25, I went off of the birth control pill. I didn’t really love that form of birth control but it worked and I didn’t have any weird side effects. I knew though, that once I stopped taking it, I wouldn’t use it again. So once I stopped taking the pill I waited for my menstrual cycle to regulate. I had read on-line that you should wait 3 months after taking the pill before trying to conceive, so that you can have an accurate due date. I waited and waited. It took me 60 days before I got a period. This was seriously taking forever!! I wasn’t patient enough to wait until I had a few regular cycles. We started trying to conceive after that first period, I believe it was late may/early June 2006.

June 2006 was a crazy month. I had been working at a homeless shelter for over 4 years and was feeling really burnt out. All of a sudden it seemed I had no patience for the people I was working with. For the previous 3 years I had worked the afternoon shift and loved it. But I moved to the day shift in order to spend more time with my husband at home in the evenings. I found the difference between shifts huge! The afternoon shift was really laid back and easy going. The day shift felt much more rigid - black and white - institutional. I honestly felt like a prison guard on that shift! I had worked at the shelter for 4 years and wasn’t used to having to harp on the homeless over little things like sleeping on the floor. Anyway, I regress!

I started to feel burnt out. I talked to my boss about changing positions. I told her I had to get off of the street level work. I offered to scrub toilets at the shelter doing maintenance. She just laughed at me and said I’d be more useful doing counseling. She said she would try to find me a position. A couple weeks went by. I continued to resent my position.

I remember breaking down at the beginning of a shift one day and just crying. Crying in front of the homeless clients, in the bathroom, in front of the other staff. I got sent home that day. Administration gave me a few days of “stress leave”.

I took a pregnancy test either right before this day or right after. It had been about a month since my last period. However, since we didn’t wait to try conceiving before my period was regular, I wasn’t exactly sure when my period was due. I took the test. It was negative. I knew I wasn’t pregnant.

I decided to go on a spiritual retreat at a local retreat centre to talk to God about what was going on with me. I rented a tiny tree house cabin away from the centre. All it had was a small bed, a desk and chair. I spent a day and a night out there, just praying about life. My concerns were mostly about work. I didn’t know what to do. I found the retreat really helpful and loved spending that time with God – giving him my full attention – something I wish I could do more often (and still do). I left the centre feeling much better about life.

I applied for a receptionist position at my church and was offered the job. I was so excited that they offered it to me but the pay didn’t compare to the shelter and the commute would be long. I decided to decline the job because I still had hope that my boss would offer me a counseling position.

I went back to work and hoped to hear from my boss. A couple of my friends asked if I might be pregnant but I was convinced I wasn’t because of the earlier test. My period still hadn’t returned though – not that weird considering the last one but I decided to test again just in case. It was the morning of July 2nd. It came back positive.

My Journey To Motherhood

2010-02-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

As Bitta lay beside me in bed this morning I was thinking about all the things I would have liked to include in my birth story. And then it just kept going back further and futher. So I have decided that I will blog my journey to motherhood - when I get spare moments here and there.

My buddies

2010-02-07T20:13:00.001-08:00

Today Stinx, Bitta and I went and hung out with the grandparents and Anti-Kels. As I was driving home I started to think about my pals from work. I quit at the end of October. So I guess its been about 3.5 months since I was at the Drop In. Now 3.5 months doesn't seem that long but to me it feels like ages. I hate being away from the shelter for more than a couple months at a time. So much happens there in just a week. When months go by a lot happens. I know the next time I chat with a staff member they'll be telling me so and so passed away. Thats what breaks my heart. I hate hearing about the deaths. It bothers me even more than I never make it to their funerals because I simply don't hear about them.

Obviosusly I don't want to go back to work right now. I guess I'm just saying that I miss my friends down there and I'm wondering how they're all doing. Some of my homeless friends have emails and cell phones.. perhaps I will just have to make more effort in keeping in touch.

And on a totally different topic.. I forgot to add in my birth story about my meal before labour started. The night I went to the hospital with Stinx, Dad and I went to the east Indian restuarant Tiffin. Although my labour didn't start and I was only going to the hospital to get checked, the Tiffin Meal was my last meal outside of the hospital before Stinx was born. The night before I had Bitta I picked up some Tiffin and brought it home for us to eat. That was before I shoveled the walk... Isn't that weird? Tiffin is closely associated with my kids births. Bizzare.

My VBAC

2010-02-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

Ok! Here it is. This is the unedited version... I figure I'll post it now in case I never get around to working on it again :) There is a lot I would love to share about my c-birth, my pregnancy and my journey towards a VBAC but for now it's just the birth.

I never had a Braxton hick’s contraction. In the week leading to the birth I had some mild cramping but nothing I was convinced was a Braxton hick. At my 39 week appointment the Dr rimmed my cervix. At my 40 week appointment she rimmed me again.

On Wednesday the 23rd I felt a little cabin feverish. My son Joel and I had been hanging out at home the past few days. I called my cousin Alisha to come over with her boys so the kids could all play. The boys played and we chatted. I lost some of my mucus plug throughout the day. In the evening I shoveled the walk (I had done this a few times in the week). I went to bed at 10pm. I woke up at 11am with a contraction. I felt the urgent need to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed and slept until 11:3o when I had the next contraction. At this point I decided to call my doula (Tracey stein) to let her know I was having some contractions. She told me to go back to bed and try to sleep. I laid in bed for awhile but couldn’t sleep. It seemed I was just waiting for the next contraction – not in fear, but excitement. I was so thrilled that my baby was coming on her own. I also called my mom to let her know things were starting. I don’t think she really believed me. I was hoping she’d want to come over at that point because it wasn’t too late yet. But she said to just call her when I needed her to come.

The contractions just started coming faster and faster. 30 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 7 minutes. Between 1am-2am they had become 7-8 minutes apart. I called the doula to let her know.

By 3 or 4am the contractions were getting stronger. With almost every contraction I really felt like I needed to be on the toilet. It was my safe place! I called the doula again when I was about 5 minutes apart. She told me to try having a bath and see what happened. She said that if the labor slowed down we still had lots of time but if things picked up then we were in real labor.
I loved the bath. I can totally see why someone would want a water birth. Had I been able to, I would have stayed in there!! While in the bath the contractions slowed down a bit but once I got out they were coming every 4 minutes. We had called my mom to come over and watch Joel.
When getting out of the bath Joel woke up. He seemed really concerned about why mom was moaning! I told him I wasn’t feeling good. Myk tried to get Joel back to sleep but every time he’d almost be asleep I’d have another contraction and wake him up.

I talked to the doula and told her I wanted to go to the hospital now. When I told my mom she seemed worried. She said she didn’t want me going too soon. I agreed that I didn’t want to go too early but really felt that I needed to go at the point (and besides I was keeping Joel up). Most doctors recommend 1st time mothers to go to the hospital at 5-7 min apart contractions. Most of Doctors told me to come in when my contractions were 7 minutes apart. One doctor even suggested I come in when they were 10 minutes apart (I knew that wouldn’t be happening!). So at 4 minutes apart I felt I had stayed home long enough.

At this point I was getting irritable with both my mom and myk.

Driving in the car was not fun. We pulled into the parking lot and I waited for the next contraction before attempting to get to labor and delivery. As soon as I got to the L&D desk I had a contraction. Someone asked me a question but I couldn’t answer. I just wondered why they bothered trying to talk to me!

We got into triage very quickly. It seemed to be pretty quiet compared to the time I went with Joel. They checked me and I was 3-4 cm dilated, paper thin and fully effaced, and +2 station. They said the baby’s head was super low. All good news! Because I was having a VBAC I had to have the fetal heart monitor on throughout the labor. This is the fastest way the Dr’s and nurses can detect the possibility of a uterine rupture (A very rare occurrence, Less than 1% chance). They also want VBAC’ing mothers to be hooked up to IV. So I had the monitor put on and the IV put in and I was literally attached to them the entire time. Amazingly, I wasn’t bothered or restricted by them. My doula did a great job of making it seem as though I wasn’t attached to a machine at all.

When we got into the birthing room the staff was going through a shift change. The current nurse introduced herself and laid out some “rules”. I immediately didn’t feel comfortable around her. I asked how long she would be on shift and she said “20 minutes”. I felt relieved knowing that. I likely would have requested a new nurse. I wanted someone I would be comfortable with. The new nurse came on shift and introduced herself (Kendra). She was 34 weeks pregnant and I felt like she could “sympathize” with me a bit. She really understood and tried to accommodate me as much as possible.

The doctor on shift was one of my favorite doctors from the clinic. I was a little bummed when she told me she’d be off in an hour. She was very supportive of my VBAC though and was pretty much preaching to the choir when she told me I’d need to be up and about in labor, telling me to be on the ball etc.

The next doctor on shift was also really supportive and I felt comfortable with her. Like most doctors she wasn’t around much, just came in to check on me every once in awhile.
It’s hard for me to think of time in labor. I know we were in the birthing room by 7am but after that I lost track of time. I lost track of how often the contractions were coming. The only way I can describe what I was experiencing is to say I was “in the zone”. Perhaps I was in “labourland”.

I remember my doula suggesting that I start out on the birthing ball. I am not sure how long I sat on it for.. I do remember the great counter pressure my doula provided on my lower back. It was so awesome to have that physical support. My doula truly knew how to soothe me. I then labored for awhile standing and lunging.

I remember next I wanted to sit on the toilet. Because baby’s head was so low, I continued to feel the need to sit on the toilet. I just felt the most comfortable there. The nurse was so helpful; she literally pushed the monitor machine all the way to the toilet so I could stay there as long as I wanted. After laboring on the toilet for some time I moved back to the bed so I could labor on my hands and knees, (kind of resting my top half on the head of the bed). In this position I could hardly control my body’s urge to push. I had felt that urge a bit on the toilet but it was stronger now.

I stood up for awhile but then went back to my comfort zone – the toilet. LOL.

I know that the next time the doctor came in she told me I was doing great and wanted to know if I wanted checked. I wasn’t sure. In some way I wanted to know how much progress I made, but at the same time I didn’t want to be disappointed if I hadn’t dilated much. I ended up choosing to be checked. Good thing! I was 8 cm dilated and that gave me a lot of encouragement. I actually broke out in tears – I was so elated. I was so happy to have made it even that far along!

They told me I had a cervical lip and the doula started me in positions to help with it. Hands and knees, lying on my side.

Since I lost track of time I am not exactly sure when my water broke. I figure it was between 8-10cm. I was on the bed on my knees and the top of my body resting on the head of the bed. Myk and the doula were beside me. All of sudden in the midst of a contraction we heard a loud pop and gush. It was so forceful it shocked all 3 of us. That was another exciting moment for me!

The next thing I remember is that I was fully dilated. It was about 10am. Time to start helping my body with that uncontrollable need to push! Everyone was open to me trying to push in positions I wanted to try out. We started out with the squat bar. I didn’t really like that position and tried going on my hands and knees again, with my top half leaning on the head of the bed. I figured that since I had such uncontrollable urges to push earlier in that position, it might work well. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to help. I honestly think that at that point I didn’t realize just how hard I needed to push! The doctor suggested we try with me sitting up on the bed with my husband/doula/nurse holding up my legs. Prior to labor this was the position I really didn’t want to end up in. The only reason being that I felt women only pushed this way because it was convenient for the doctor. As I learned however, this position really helped me push. Having my support people helping me I finally realized just how hard I needed to push my baby out. There were several times during pushing when everyone kept commenting on the baby’s head. “Oh we see the head! She’s right there!” etc. Everyone kept talking about her long brown hair. I couldn’t believe it! My son was born with hardly any hair and it was blonde. I had always imagined he’d have dark brown hair like his parents. I thought it was so cool this baby had hair! They told me to reach down and feel her hair. I did! At some point a huge mirror was brought in during pushing. I think they wanted to show me just how close I was to meeting my baby. They told me to look in the mirror. I could see her head of dark hair. All I needed was one look though! During the next push someone told me to look in the mirror and but I really didn’t want to... Honestly, pushing took so much energy, my eyes were sealed shut. I think I just said “no way!”.

At 10:54 am I pushed our baby girl out. She was placed directly on my chest! I was so happy to finally meet her and loved being able to snuggle with her. Mike was able to cut her chord. During pushing I got 2 tears, a minor 1st degree tear and a tiny little one. While the doctor stitched me back up I was able to continue holding my baby girl. I was so happy with how the birth went and that she was healthy. I believe at this point I just kept crying tears of joy and saying “I did it!”.
After my c-birth I didn’t get a chance to see my son for quite awhile (I got to see him for a moment right after birth but then had to wait over an hour) I was so happy to be able to hold my baby girl and just cuddle her. At 11:40am they weighed and measured her. She was 7lbs11oz and 19.5 inches long.

Shortly after they weighed her and gave her back to me I saw that my baby girl was rooting and I offered her the breast. My doula brought me some delicious peanut butter and jam toast. I noticed that my throat was sore… I guess from all the moaning and noises from pushing. I drank lots of cool refreshing ice water.

I wish I could say that we knew her name as soon as we saw her. Truth is, we still couldn’t decide what to name her. We kept throwing our top 5 names in the air.

I was moved to the post partum unit and unfortunately had to share a room. My room mate had a c-birth the night before. Her baby boy was very quiet and seemed to sleep a lot. However she never slept! I swear! She talked on the phone all the time, even past midnight. She was obviously very excited about her baby (who was obviously her 1st because if it was #2 she’d be sleeping). But she was also excited because her boyfriend had proposed to her that day. Of course I was happy for her, but I was soo tired and any time my baby girl was sleeping, I tried to sleep. I at least knew that I would be sleep deprived in the future.. My roommate clearly hadn’t gotten that memo. She was recovering from major abdominal surgery and practically begging to leave the hospital asap… I just hope she didn’t “crash” once she got home.

Thankfully I was only in the hospital for a day. On Christmas morning Santa came around the unit and handed out some small gifts. We were able to get a picture of our baby girl and Santa. That morning we had decided on 2 names and were just trying to decide which would be the first name and which would be the middle. In the end we chose her first name to be Isla and middle name to be Myka.

We were able to leave the hospital by noon on Christmas Day.

Reflections after the birth
· I am still really amazed about the VBAC. Everything went so smoothly. I am so happy I was able to have such a positive birth. I got everything I wanted from it. A natural VBAC, the choice to labor how I wanted, no drugs, no vacuum/forceps, no episiotomy etc.
· It’s crazy how I lost track of time. It seemed that I was in the moment, never worrying about the clock.
· I never thought about the risk of uterine rupture
· Never went through “transition”. I was totally expecting this. I thought I would come to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore but it never came! I never felt like giving up.
· Never thought about or considered using drugs during the birth
· When my nurse went on break the replacement nurse was really great. I remember her saying “I love when women birth without any drugs!”. I was so happy to hear her say that!

Life with Two

2010-01-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

Hello! Right now Bitta is sleeping in the wrap and I decided to update the ol' blog. I think about it every once in awhile... Usually when Stinx says something really cute and I want to jot it down. So I'm adjusting to life with 2 children. It's not too crazy so far. Slowly getting the hang of things. I think routine will help. Stinx and I didn't have much routine in the last year or so. Didn't really need it I guess. But now with Bitta here I definitely need the routine. Simply because I forget stuff. I forget to offer Stinx snacks or the potty etc. The only routine I have started so far is a mornign routine. Basically once Stinx wakes up I get him to use the potty, get him all dressed for the day, and have breakfast. I try to get that all done before anything else (anything else usually being TV). Before it didn't matter too much if Stinx was in his PJ's. If we had to go out I could have him dressed pretty quickly but as I am learning with the baby, it's not so easy now. And I am hoping to have some regular snack times in order to avoid some hunger melt downs. Stinx is usually pretty good with telling me when he hungry but lately he seems to ask right before supper. So I'm going to try to avoid that. Maybe I just need a watch. I'm still trying to finish up the birth story. I am finding it hard to write. When writing a VBAC birth story its hard to know where to start it. Do I start with Stinx birth? Do I start with the pregnancy? Do I start with my 1st contraction. In the mean time I am just writing it ALL down. Then I can edit it later. Hopefully it won't take too much longer. Hmmm... maybe I'll go work on it now that I have a chance.

Sweet Present

2009-12-25T14:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Ok, I have major news to report but before I forget this I need to quote Stinx.

"Mom, you are beautiful"

"Mom, you are the princess and I am the King"

So on with the news!

Today I brought home the sweetest Christmas gift!!! A beautiful baby girl!!! As for now her nickname will be Bitta (that's a Stinx thing). She was born on Christmas Eve at 10:54 am. She weighed 7lbs 10 3/4 oz and was 19.5 inches long. The birth was really awesome! I still can't believe I did it! It was a great experience. It literally was the perfect hospital VBAC.

It's so nice to finally meet my little girl! I'll add some pics later.

One more post

2009-12-21T06:06:00.001-08:00

Baby girl still hasn't made an outside arrival yet. So I figured I would post some of the prenatal pictures I had done a week and a half ago. I was 38ish weeks. I am really happy with the pictures. My friend Courtney did them for me. We've known each other since we were 6 years old! She does photography on the side (she's an ICU nurse). She took our wedding pictures and some belly pictures when Joel was in the womb. It's pretty cool that she's been able to photograph a lot of our special moments in life. If anyone is interested in seeing some of her other photos click here.

Last post?

2009-12-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

Stinx was in quite the "mow-e" mood today. Which in the Keith language means "cuddly". He kept giving the baby hugs. It was pretty cute. Hopefully he'll want to be gentle and cuddly once she's here too. Which won't be too much longer. I am due in just 3-4 days. This very well could be my last blog post before she arrives.. and then who knows when I'll get around to posting once she is here. I imagine the first little while I will be busy sleeping and feeding her doucies and changing those cute itty bitty diapers...

We still haven't decided on a name. I feel terrible about this. I never thought we'd leave it this long. But maybe we just need to see her first. I have 2 thoughts on this.

a) she won't arrive until we pick a name

b) a name won't arrive until she does

So meh... I guess we'll figure something out eventually.

I am trying not to be too anxious about her coming. Earlier this week I was getting really panicky about her arrival. I think in part because I had Stinx at exactly 39 weeks.. and I am now past that point. I was also obsessing about induction. I'm worried that the longer I go the more interventions will take place. I talked to my doula though and she basically told me to chill out and take each day as it comes. And she's right. There is nothing I can do. This is just totally out of my control. This baby girl will come when she is ready! And imo, in God's perfect timing.

Stinx and I have had lots of special moments in the last couple weeks. I have really been enjoying my only child while I can. We went on an awesome date last week to Humpty's. We had a very delicious meal: the waffle dream (waffle with ice cream). Yummo! As a family we went to the zoo's Christmas special event, Zoolites. That was pretty cool. Tonight we drove around the city looking at different Christmas light displays.

Well there is more I wanted to say but I am getting tired and should be off to bed now. Hopefully my next post will be the announcement of our new baby girl.. and hopefully she'll have a name.

A Lovely Gift!

2009-12-18T20:52:00.000-08:00

Michelle from A Lovely Start dropped off the sweetest gift for me today!!! She made my baby girl a super cute newborn pocket diaper!! Red with black snaps! She had remembered from a conversation we had long ago about how I loved the ladybug colors for diapers. Gush! And then, on top of that, she made me an awesome matching wet bag!! I am soo excited to use these. I feel so spoiled! Michelle rocks!!!

Quotes

2009-12-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

Lately Stinx has been saying some pretty cute and comical things. I keep meaning to get a little journal to log the quotes in but I haven't remembered to yet. So instead I will post them here until I get the journal.

"I love your doucies" - Said while I was having a bath...

"I like your doucies" - Said while cuddling.

I find the doucies comments funny because he's been weaned for 5 months. I ask him if he remembers nursing and he doesn't seem to have a clue. He knows thats what they are for and knows they have milk in them, but doesn't seem to remember using them..

Then today Dad and I were talking about what we'll have for supper and Joel requested perogies. He then said, "I love perogies. They're cuddly. Just like my blanket".

I may have already commented on this last one in the blog but just in case... When I ask him what we should name the baby he says "monster".

Getting there

2009-12-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

Finally life has slowed down for a little while. I finished my last craft fair and did better than expected. I was hoping to reach 2-3 sales but managed to sell 12 nerdsicles! So I was happy with that outcome. I've retired the sewing machine for an indefinite amount of time.

I spent the past week doing some nesting, relaxing and some reading.

My cousin also threw me a Blessingway which was really nice. It was nice getting together with the mama's closest to me. It was nice to hear their blessings for me, the baby and the birth. They also pampered me with lovely things like bath salts and lotions. I'm not much of a bather but since getting this nice bath stuff I've enjoyed 2 lovely baths. Ahhh. Must do more often.

I've been trying to get through the Birthing From Within book as well as the Your Best Birth book. I'm feeling more confident the closer I get to my due date. I have roughly 17 days left, give or take.

Two of my close friends gave birth to their 3rd babies this week. I am sooo excited for both of them! Both had little girls. Guess I am just waiting for my own wee girl to come along.

We STILL haven't decided on a name yet... I can't believe nothing seems right yet. I am praying the right name will come to us soon.

As for weather here - it's been blizzarding! Stinx and I have been in the house for the past 2 days. I'm starting to get some cabin fever.. but the roads are terrible and I don't really have anywhere to go. Tomorrow we will go see in the in-law's for supper so that will be a nice break from our place and hopefully the roads will be much better.

4 More Weeks

2009-11-24T06:51:00.000-08:00

Life has been very crazy lately. At the end of October and begining of November I took the health regions VBAC class. Overall I thought the class was worth taking. It was only a 2 night class and I felt it should have been 3-4 nights. The first night it felt like we wasted too much time talking about the pro's & con's of c-birth and VBAC's. Like, Hello! I signed up for a vbac class because I've already decided the benefits outweigh the cons! But I guess not everyone had completely made that decision. But that's typical for a health region class... like at a regular prenatal class they list the pro's and con's of formula and breastfeeding... anyways!

I also organized a local VBAC meet up. I invited mom's from the local AP group who had had VBAC's or were planning to. We met up at the wonderful Room To Grow and the mom's who had VBAC's shared their inspiring birth stories. It was really nice to hear the experiences of these moms and the challenges they overcame. There is talk that the Calgary VBAC Support Group will be starting up again in January. I really hope it does as there is a huge need for it. Hopefully my VBAC will be "successful" and I can help with these meetings down the road.

On top of preparing for the baby girl on the way I have been sewing nerdsicles like crazy. I did my first sale ever at a local flea market. I did way better than expected due to support from friends and family. It wiped out quite a bit of my "stock" so I have been madly sewing for the sale this coming Saturday. It will be interesting to see how I do at this sale. This one is at my local community centre and features only hand made crafts (where as the flea market was more like a garage sale). And since most of my friends came to the last one I think this one will give me a more accurate picture of local interest. After this sale though I am shutting down the nerdsicle production. I'm going to need the following 3 weeks to get ready for baby... cleaning, mental preparation etc.

Dad and I are still struggling with the baby's name. We've narrowed it down to 5-6 but none of them seem perfect. Girl names are soo hard! I had a boy's name picked out ages ago but a girls name, of course not!

I had an U/S yesterday to check on my amniotic fluid (it was low near the end with Stinx). While doing the U/S they took some 3D pictures (I think because one of the techs was a student). They showed it to me afterward and it was pretty cool, but also kind of creepy. It looked like a typical 3D U/S. The picture was kind of clear but then around the edges it looked all weird and morphed.. just kinda creepy. She had her hand up by her face so it was more of a profile shot. The tech also said she wasn't very active yesterday because I hadn't had anything to eat right before the U/S. I didn't mind though because at all of the other U/S the techs comment that she is a "spirited" little one. So I really didn't mind that she was mellow yesterday. And it's getting kinda cramped in there anyway.. probaby not enough room to wiggle like crazy. Her breathing and heart rate were good and she did move around a few times just not as much as they wanted I guess... There might have been a couple shots they couldn't take because of her position.

Stinx is doing pretty good these days. He's cutting his last 2 molars. YAY!!!! They'll be in completely before the baby comes. I am soo happy about that. He's been obsessed with puzzles lately. I saw an add on kijiji for a whole wack of puzzles so I might get them for him... might be a good quiet time activity for when the baby is here.

I can't believe Christmas is a month away.... There is so much I want to do but I feel like I am running out of time... ah. Once this craft sale is over I can focus a lot more on the things I need to do.

Slightly Productive

2009-10-20T19:52:00.001-07:00

I am happy to report that I have been slightly more productive these days. Dad picked up a nice dresser for me and during the Thanksgiving week end I was able to organize the baby's room. It's super organized... The clothing has been sorted by age and put away in boxes or put in the dresser. The one size pocket diapers have been boxed up and the new born diapers are waiting to be used in the basket on the change table. It's so nice and clean.. I am glad I won't have to worry about that later.

With the room taken care of I have been able to spend more time reading about VBAC's. I find a lot of VBAC stories super encouraging but sometimes not so much... especially when the writer focuses on the VBAC being successful because of it being a homebirth. It just makes me super jealous! That is not an option for me right now. I can't even pay for a midwife. They are all booked and as I learned today, with my due date, they've avoided me at all cost because I am due so close to Christmas. So it really is no option. I have to have a hospital birth. I want to hear encouraging positive VBAC stories that occur in hospitals!

I am also slightly frustrated because the local VBAC support group isn't running anymore!! I am in the midst of setting up a one time support meeting (almost my own version of a blessingway) but I am having trouble finding VBAC mom's to share with me...

Now I am just getting ranty... oops.

Naughty Me

2009-10-10T05:24:00.000-07:00

So I really am a naughty blogger. My posts are fewer and few between. I wish I could say that the list of To-Do's in the previous post has kept me busy... but sadly, I haven't finished any of those tasks! Sad. Truly Sad. However, today I am going to view some dressers, so hopefully by tonight I can cross that one off the list.

I signed myself up for a couple craft fairs in November. I don't know what to expect really. I think I'll just be very pleased if one random stranger buys a nerdsicle :) I haven't done anything with my etsy page. Bad me. I'm waiting to finish my light box so I can post better pictures on the site. Maybe I can get around to that this week end too.

I'm still suffering from pregnancy insomnia. Hence I am posting at 6:30am. I really should go back to bed now as Stinx will be up by 7:30... maybe 8am if I am super lucky.

Here is my newest nerdsicle:

Long time no post

2009-09-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

I don't really have excuses for not posting lately. I guess I could blame it on my sewing frenzy. I've been making lots of nerdsicles lately. I decided to try and do an etsy shop. This is it. I have lots to learn about etsy still. I don't really have super high hopes for it. Some people were asking for nerdsicles so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm also blogging the nerds here. I am enjoying the sewing and loving to be creative again. I hope I don't give it up.

Stinx has been so interesting lately. At 2.5 years old I think the "real" tantrums have started. If I thought I knew a tantrum before then I was very nieve. But at the same time, this age is sooooo sweet. One minute he might be having a tantrum because I won't let him eat a candy (or a bag full of skittles) and then the next minute he is running up to me, giving me the hugest hug ever and saying, "I love you too mom!". It makes my heart melt every time. He's been in a really huggy-cuddly-kissy mood. I love love love it. It's so sweet and I guess I know it probably won't last forever. Do 30 somethings treat their mom's this way? I can only pray.. or would that just be creepy?

Then I have the baby on the way.. ahh.. It's awesome being able to feel her kick around in there. Although, I'd forgotten how hard the kicks become... It's not too awkward yet but I have a feeling it will get a little too crowded eventually. I am so excited to meet her! I can't wait to see what she looks like and get to know her personality. I wonder if she'll be a quiet timid girl or a little firecracker. I went to some garage sales yesterday and picked up some super cute girly baby clothes. After washing them all I am anxious to get her room ready. This is our to do list for now:

Get a Dresser
Get Dad to assemble the closet shelves
Get Dad to put a closet door on the closet
Get some clothes hangers
Get a Infant Car Seat
Decide on a baby name! lol.

Yeah we are still having a super tough time thinking of names! Oh well. I am sure something will come up that we both like...

Sleepy Kitty

2009-09-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

I've gotten on a stuffie making kick. It's kinda addicting. This one is my favorite so far.

Bee the Betty

2009-08-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Isn't she a gem?

Glow

2009-08-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

So people always talk about that pregnancy "glow". What is that? The only glow I seem to get is my big ass dumb smile. My hair doesn't flourish with pregnancy - in fact it's the opposite. It falls out. Seriously! After a shower when styling this mane, my hairs comes out so easily. What the heck.

The only thing that really seems to flourish during pregnancy is my finger nails. They're normally just weak things but add a little pregnancy hormone and I have talons. Super strong and they just grow and grow. So weird.

Pregnancy is so weird.

Stinx & Bee

2009-08-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

Stinx giving Bee some doucies. This was seriously so cute. He kept wanting to "feed" her.

Then a little snuggle on the couch.

Planning for a VBAC

2009-08-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

So as my due date comes closer I am thinking more about this upcoming birth. I am trying to focus on how it can be a more positive experience than the first. Not depending on which way baby arrives, VBAC vs C-Birth, but how it can be better. Of course, my goal is to have a natural VBAC, but what matters the most is that baby arrives safely and that I feel informed and in control of the experience.

Let's say for example, baby is breech, I will probably have to have a c-birth. That doesn't mean history has to repeat itself. In some ways, planned c-birth's are easy to prepare for. You are expecting it. But in the case I might need another emergency c-birth, it doesn't have to be a repeat of Stinx birth. Things I want to do differently, should a c-birth be necessary? I want to hold my baby and not let go after a few minutes. I want to nurse my baby right away, as soon as possible. If for some reason I can't hold the baby, baby must stay with Dad. I would want less pain medication so I'm not high as a kite! I'd never leave baby out of Dad's or mines vision. This baby would be with all the time, not off in the nursery waiting to be bathed. And not really super important but one regret I have, I want to see my placenta.

That said, I am not planning for a c-birth. That is just my emergency back up plan. If a c-birth is necessary, I do believe it can be an entirely different experience this time around. Partly because I feel I will be doing everything humanly possible to avoid one, meaning that if one is required, it will be needed. I won't be left wondering if it was needed or not.

So coming back to the VBAC. I've picked out an awesome doula with lots of VBAC experience. Her resume is seriously impressive. I feel that with her by Dad and I's side, she will be a huge support. I know I will be able to ask her questions and get an unbiased answer. From what I read, having a doula at a VBAC is the #1 best thing you can do to prepare - even more so than a good doctor or midwife. I've also signed up for a VBAC class with the local health region. I haven't talked to anyone who's taken the class so I am interested in seeing how it goes. It will be two evenings in the fall.

Anti-Kels and I went to a LLL meeting on Monday and while I was there I browsed their library. I was sooo happy to find they had The VBAC Companion book. I have looked high and low for this book. It's a bit pricey to buy on-line so I was hoping to find a copy locally. My doula has a copy but I am not sure when I will be able to borrow it. So I started reading that this week as well. I've also got a copy of Birthing From Within (that I totally scored at Goodwill!) and I read through bit's of Ina May's book too. So I am trying to fill myself with as much knowledge as possible.

Our local VBAC group isn't running currently so I am trying to organize a Mom's Night Out or Playdate with the VBAC mama's in my local attachment parenting playgroup. I am really looking forward to hearing all of their first hand experience and advice. I can read tons of info on-line but there's something reassuring about talking to people who have really experienced something.

I can do it. At this moment, there is no reason why I won't be able to have this baby girl naturally. I can do it. My body was designed to do this.

Potty Learning

2009-08-17T08:30:00.001-07:00

Stinx has been making good progress in his potty learning. I have finally worked up the guts to take him out in public without a diaper on. I was so nervous about this - but it's been working out pretty well so far. He's been very co-operative about going potty before we leave the house and while we're out. I feel like he could be potty trained before the baby comes. And then of course I will expect a regression after the baby comes. But I still think it's better to teach him now than after. We bring the little potty with us everywhere. This has helped a lot. He's not really scared of big toilets but he doesn't want to use them most of the time. So the little potty has come in very handy.

I also have to say that I love my diaper sprayer. Not only is it great for when I used it to clean poopy cloth diapers, but it's wonderful to use to spray out the potty. Such a genius invention.

I also really want to try Elimination Communication with the next baby. I don't know how soon I'd start but I'd like to start a regular potty time first thing in the morning once she's able to sit up. I think I will experiment before then but it probably won't be consistent.

It looks like my new year's goals just might be met.

Public Doucies

2009-08-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today Stinx and I went looking for training pants. I realized the other day that most of his current trainers are too small, aka difficult to pull up and down (a concept he hasn't mastered), like size 18 months (he is almost 30 months). So I am currently on the hunt.

While hunting in Army & Navy I passed a woman sitting on a bench in front of the change rooms. There she sat nursing her toddler. He was probably 18 months old. I was so impressed. She wasn't the *typical* extended breastfeeding mother I see on occasion (aka a hippy). She was of an ethnic minority and dressed in her culturally traditional clothing.

I turned to her and said, "It's so nice to see people breastfeeding in public! It makes me happy". I then smiled and walked away. She just smiled back.

She probably thought I was crazy. Haha. I just wanted to say something encouraging. It really was nice to see.

Getting back to routine

2009-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

I have been attempting to get Stinx and myself back into a routine now that I am feeling better. Some of it is going well. He's been watching a lot less TV, eating at the table more, but the nap... That just might have been wishful thinking. I think the nap really is on the way out. It worked the first couple days but after that it wasn't working. And I definitely tried. I think he will still nap every few days (If I put my effort into it) but realistically, the nap is on the way out. I guess he's just getting older.

We've also been getting out a lot more. I think this has helped tremendously! Activities are always nice... Even if it is a trip to the dentist.

Yesterday Stinx had his 2nd visit. This dentist was way better than the first I took him to. Stinx still got upset and cried when the dentist looked in his mouth. Afterwards the dentist asked me how Stinx does getting his hair cut and or seeing the doctor. I mentioned that he's done really well, but now that he pointed it out, Stinx is very cautious in new surroundings. DUH! I don't know why I didn't think of it before. He does well at the doctor because he's seen her since he was a tiny baby. The hair dresser - he's a little reluctant, acts very shy, but doesn't cry. But it totally makes sense with the dentist. When the assistant brought us to the back Stinx was nervous. I got him to sit in my lap and after awhile, maybe 5 minutes, he warmed up to her. He was looking around at the other kid next to him, asking what the assistant was doing etc. He just needed time to get comfortable. Then the dentist comes in and introduces himself. He was very quiet and gentle but after a minute he wants Stinx to lay his head on a pillow in his lap and open his mouth wide. DUH, he's scared, he doesn't know you at all. So yeah, at the next appointment I am going to ask that the dentist hang out with us for like 5 minutes before starting the open mouth exam stuff. I have a feeling it will go much better. Stinx is just a cautious little guy. He doesn't jump into things.

So back to activities! I have signed Stinx up for his very first swimming lessons and a dance class. Both classes are parented and 30 minutes long. Swimming will be on Mondays and dance will be on Thursdays. I think this will help us get out of the house more in the fall. Although, I am nervous about the dance class... what if I can't keep up? I'll be 7-8 months along by then. LOL.

Baby Bee

2009-08-10T14:23:00.001-07:00

This is my 3 day old neice! Stinx and I went for a quick visit today. I ended up doing a little lesson in swaddling.

Girly Dipes!

2009-08-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

Yay! My first girly diapers! While Dad was down in Houston this past week I got him to pick these diapers up for me. The first is a XS thirsties fab fitted diaper and the second is an XS Bum Genius all-in-one diaper. Both are so cute and tiny!

ps- Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I had an ultrasound awhile ago and I've been told it's a girl! I meant to post about it but I figured most of you know already via facebook.

Baby Bee is Here!!!

2009-08-07T16:09:00.001-07:00

Anti-Kels had her baby girl this afternoon!!! Her nick name is Bee and for confidentiality, I'll leave it that way in my blogs. She was born at 3:20pm weighing 6lbs 4oz and measuring 18 inches long!!!! She sounds so cute and tiny!!! I asked Bugma what color her hair was and she said it looked black - she wasn't sure since she was wearing a little cap. Aw! I can't wait to see her but it might be awhile still. Only grandparents are allowed to visit in the hospital.

I am soo proud of her! From the sounds of it the only help she had was a little laughing gas near the end!! Good job Kels!! I'm so proud of you!!! I am so happy Kels got to experience a vaginal birth! yay! I'm so glad her little baby is cute and healthy!!

And hopefully she'll turn out to be a champion nurser!!!

I'm soooo excited to be an Aunt! Yippy! I'm officially Anti-Kirsty.

Insomnia Sucks

2009-08-07T03:12:00.000-07:00

Stinx woke up at 3am or something. I didn't really look at the clock. He came to my room looking for me - trying to drag me back to his little bed. I told him to come sleep in my big bed but he refused. He mentioned earlier that my room is too dark. I need a night light. As I get bigger, his bed gets too small.

We both went pee on the potty and then went back to his bed.

I've been laying there for over an hour. I can't fall back to sleep. Whether it's pregnancy induced or just the fact that I can't shut my brain off, I don't know.

But I figure if I write out what my thoughts are, maybe I'll be able to sleep soon.

First I was thinking of how Anti-Kels is due really soon. I just checked my FB and she told me she's having regular contractions every 10 minutes. Wow. Could be sooner than I thought. Then I was thinking about how I will have to get this baby out of me at some point. I will be birthing at the same hospital Stinx was born at. When I start thinking about nurses or doctors wanting to do interventions, I automatically feel hostile. Like bitter. Like a bitch. Like, don't fuck with me. I just don't want to be trampled on again. I want the nurses to ask my permission for everything they do. Check how far dilated I am? Ok, so long as you ask my permission. I know I really need to deal with this bitterness before the baby comes. I'm working on it. I tried making an appointment for a private session of the Birth Stories work shop through Birthing From Within. The instructor was on holidays. I think she's back now. I'll have to call her tomorrow.

After I thought about my desire for a VBAC and my hostility towards the hospital staff, my thoughts turned back to work.

I saw a client on Wednesday who just puzzles me. When I met him years ago, he was an angry young man with an intense crack addiction. He was aggressive, rude and got into fights. He was barred many times and then for life. He'd still manage to sneak into the building at meal times and then sleep off his crack runs. He looked like crap. He looked like a zombie. I remember times pleading with him to leave. I hated the thought of kicking him out. Even though he was a jerk, I knew he just needed some food and sleep. I think it was right before I had Stinx, he cleaned himself up. So this was about 3 years ago. I remember seeing him sober and thinking he looked like a totally different person.

So anyways, I saw him on Wednesday again. I see him every now and then on my weekly shift. He looks handsome now, like a normal 29 year old man. He looks healthy. He acts respectable. He has clearly gone through an amazing life change. A miracle. Seriously, a miracle. What I don't get is why he is still at the shelter. Has he switched one addiction for the other? Perhaps gambling instead of smoking crack? Or does he just lack life skills and the support needed to get off the street? He puzzles me. I want to ask him what happened, what made him clean up? I want to tell him to go all the way, get off the street, but I won't. I'm too shy to say stuff like that unless I know the person well. And I don't know him well. Our conversations in the past were limited to me begging him to leave the building without me having to call the police.

I want to encourage him and tell him I am still blown away by his change in attitude and lifestyle. It is a radical difference.

I want to hear his story. It's hard getting to that point with a client though. It takes time and 4 hours a week doesn't leave me with lots of time to build re pore with clients. It basically leaves me enough time to visit the clients I already know well.

I'm going to attempt to go back to bed now. Good night.

Laziness

2009-08-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I worked at the shelter. My weekly shift. It's getting tougher to go down there. Not because I don't enjoy it - I do. It's just pregnancy. It's my lack of energy. Pregnancy has made me really lazy - and with a lot of things. I just find that on wednesday nights I'd rather be in pj's than visiting my friends at the shelter.

How else am I lazy? Well Any routine I used to have with Stinx crumbled. At first it started with the TV. I was so sick and exhausted in the first trimester that I let Stinx get away with watching too much tv. I definitely feel like he's addicted to it, like crack. He's not one of those kids who watches a little bit and does a craft or play with a toy, no. He's glued to the TV like a zombie. And when I dare turn it off, he throws a fit.

Then there's nap times. They seem to be very difficult these days. We used to have a routine of having lunch then reading books and then nap. Once I got pregnant I basically told him to come nap with me. I'd usually be asleep before him. It worked fine the first few months but now Stinx really fights the nap and I lost the drive to pursue it. So sometimes he just doesn't. Sometimes thats fine, but if he misses it more than 2 days in a row, I've noticed it gets to him.

Bedtime is another one I've gotten too slack with. His bedtime used to be 9pm but now it's all over the map - because of the weird nap habits.

I know all of this isn't a big deal, and I slacked out of survival, but now that I am feeling more energetic, I can see what's happened. The lack of routine is causing me more trouble than good. Things aren't predictable for Stinx the way they used to be. He feels like he can watch tons of tv, doesn't have to eat meals at the table, doesn't have to nap etc. He tantrums more than he was before. And I feel like thats partly because of the lack of predictability. He's also been up more at night.

So I'm changing my ways... well going back to the old ways when we had routine. Here are the new "Rules" I am implementing.

1. No TV until Stinx is dressed and had breakfast
2. Limited Tv time
3. Must eat all meals at the table (snacks can be wherever)
4. A nap every day - after book reading. (I want to start the nap routine by 2pm)
5. Bedtime Bath will be started at 8pm every night regardless of the nap.
6. I also want to have a planned activity every day. Now that I have the energy again I want to be more active - ie. playdates, park, library, swimming, zoo etc.

It helped writing this out. I've been thinking about it a lot this week and seeing what I want to go back to is helpful. I know it's not hard, it's just a matter of consistency, and I think Stinx needs it. I'm tired of fighting with him over trivial things like turning the tv off or eating supper in the kitchen or napping.

Grocery Delivery!

2009-08-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

I know I am really whiny when it comes to groceries. I know I've blogged about it all too often. But this should be the last one... I promise.

Yesterday I gave in and decided to actually try grocery delivery. Everyone has recommended Spud.ca so I checked them out first. They seem to only deliver to once a week depending which neighborhood you are in. They wouldn't be in my neighborhood until Friday and I decided that was too long to wait. So I then tried the Sunterra Market. They do same day delivery and the charge is only $8. The website was being really annoying last night but I finally got it to work. My order was supposed to be delivered between 10am-1pm today. By 1:30 they hadn't arrived and I worried my order didn't go through. I called them and it turned out their website wasn't working properly this week end. However, they did get my order, they were just behind. The person on the phone told me the delivery would be there soon.

And by 2pm it was at my door. Amazing! Groceries at my door. I love the concept.

Forget about low blood pressure and fainting! Forget about the toddler throwing a fit in the grocery store! Just stay home. Let someone else do it for you.

And yeah, I know, Sunterra Market isn't cheap. We won't be ordering groceries every week. But when I don't feel well or when Dad is out of town for work, I will definitely be ordering my groceries!

One Wicked Storm

2009-08-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Stinx didn't nap. Some days he just refuses. Some days it takes him forever to fall asleep. When he doesn't nap, he'll often wake up at night once or twice - which tells me he still needs a nap. But anyways... Yesterday was one of those non-nap days. Dad and I went to a wedding reception in the evening and Bugma was babysitting. Bugma put Stinx to sleep at about 8:15pm.

I probably didn't go to bed until 11pm. At 1:15am Stinx woke up calling for me. I went to his room and snuggled him back to sleep. Then I snuck out and enjoyed my big bed again. About an hour later I heard this really strange sound on the monitor. I thought he had woken up but it turned out to just be wind and rain. Then it got louder, really loud. The next thing I know it's hailing and it's sooo loud I am convinced Stinx will wake up any moment. I sneak back into his room. I knew that if he woke up he would be really frightened. The wind, hail, thunder and lightening were all really close and intense. And it was loud. Did I mention that?

So I waited. and waited. and waited. Stinx slept through it. It sounded like a tornado was buzzing around the neighborhood but he slept through it. Finally once the storm settled and moved east I snuck back into my own room and went back to sleep.

An hour later, "Mom!!!!". He woke up again!!!

How is it that my child woke up before the crazy scary storm, and after the crazy scary storm, but not during? I got such a kick out of that.. well kinda, I was sorta tired and exhausted in the middle of the night but... it was still kinda funny. He can sleep through anything I guess... He just can't transition from sleep cycles.

All by his Lonesome

2009-07-27T16:54:00.000-07:00

This morning Stinx and I went to do some errands. We stopped at Superstore to pick up a few things, dropped by Value Village to check out the maternity clothes (the selection was terrible today!), then stopped in at Motherhood Maternity. Stinx was really into shopping today. Every time we left a store he'd say, "Another store!!". It was weird. He normally can't stand shopping and I don't blame him.

Anyway, on to the point.

After our shopping adventure we were driving down a busy street in our neighborhood and I saw a little toddler wandering down the sidewalk by himself. I pulled over right away and got out of the car. Sure enough, no one was around, and he was stepping out into the busy street. I ran over and grabbed his hand and got him back on the sidewalk. He looked about 18 months. I tried asking him where his mom was but it was obvious he wasn't a talker. I decided to just call 911 right away instead of wasting time trying to figure out where he lived. The operator sent a unit right away and asked me to stay on the line until they arrived. I ended up having to get Stinx out of the car so the two boys played on some one's yard while we waited. After 5-10 minutes I saw a woman coming down a different street and I asked if this was her son. She said he was and that she'd been looking for him. She said thank you for finding him. I told the operator the mother arrived and they told me to tell her that she needed to stay to prove she was the child's mother. I explained this to the mom which I found really awkward but she stayed a few minutes and then said she needed to go get her 2.5 year old son. Off she went and I was really hoping she would actually come back. I waited a few more minutes and the officers arrived. As they were opening their car doors the mom came back with both kids. I explained to the cops that she had shown up while I was waiting for them. They started talking to her and I asked if I could go and they said yes.

I put Stinx back in the car and as I was driving away the mother and kids were already walking back to their house.

It was really bizarre. The first thing I did was judge. Who's kid is this? Where is his parents? Why is no one watching him?

Then I thought about what could have happened. What if he had walked out into the street? He was so small no one would have seen him stepping out between cars. What if some creepy person found him? He easily could have been abducted!!

But then I thought about how this could happen to any parent. I mean, just this summer, I was at a playgroup where a 1 year old wandered off and stepped out onto the street while his mom wasn't watching. And I think some kids are just more adventurous and likely to be escape artists. I don't want to excuse his mom completely, but she may have turned her back for just a minute, or ran into the house to get the phone, or whatever. Maybe she was busy dealing with his 2.5 year old brother and he bolted out the front door.

To make this even worse though was that his mother looked like she had the crap beaten out of her. She had two black eyes and other bruises. It was sad.

I just don't know what to make of it. I guess I am just happy that he didn't get hit by a car or stolen by some creepy weirdo. I'm hoping his family is safer than it seems.

When I put myself in her shoes - say Stinx wandered away from the house and I couldn't find him for at least 10 minutes, and then I walked around the block and saw him sitting on the grass with another mother and her son, I'd be running over. I'd be balling! Definitely, I'd be balling. Talking to the police I'd be a crying mess. Maybe that's just my personality, or the mother guilt I'd put on myself.

I don't know. It was weird. Part of me still wants to judge her and yet the other part of me just feels compassion for her knowing it could happen to anyone.

Productive

2009-07-24T17:46:00.001-07:00

Today we got a lot accomplished. Stinx and I went for a quick trip to the zoo. We saw giraffes, gorillas, koala's and some other animals. Afterwards we made our way to the Riley Park wading pool. Stinx was his cautious self. After a bit of time he decided it was safe and played at the shallow end of the water. At one point he got a little adventurous and went out to the middle of the pool. I saw him waiting there for a minute and sure enough he panicked. I'm not sure what set him off but he was too scared to walk back to the edge of the water. Thankfully an older boy brought him to me, I had walked in as far as I could without soaking my jeans. Stupid me for wearing jeans! Then Stinx fell in love with our friend's inflatable giraffe. He took it for a walk up and down the hill, in the water, up the hill again. I caught him talking to it several times. It was pretty cute.

Since we've been home I've done some gardening, laundry and dishes. I'm feeling pretty productive.

Kick It

2009-07-17T07:48:00.001-07:00

In the past week I have finally been able to feel the little baby fluttering around. I thought I might have been feeling things earlier but it always turned out to be gas. But last night when waiting for Stinx to fall asleep I definitely felt the baby move. It was precious. I suppose I'll be feeling things more often now. Yay!

Doucies All Done

2009-07-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Stinx stopped nursing almost 2 weeks ago when I wrote this post. I had no idea the end would be that close. I also had no idea how easy weaning would be. Most of the weaning experiences I have heard from friends sound really difficult or bittersweet (Especially the younger the baby). I really dreaded the idea of weaning. I expected lots of tears from him and myself. But not a tear was shed from either of us.

Once I was pregnant my body felt like it was telling me it was time. Not in the painful sense. I was almost counting on that. I was hoping the pain I have heard about while nursing during pregnancy would show up just so I would have more incentive to wean. It never really came. Instead my body felt like it was telling me it was time. As well, the fact that I lose weight during the first trimester gave me reason.

I didn't want to wean him instantly, I wanted it to be a gradual process. I didn't want it to be me weaning him, I wanted him to self-wean as well. I never got to point where I resented our breastfeeding relationship - I think it really was just the perfect time for both Stinx and I.

It took 3 months of using the "Don't offer, Don't refuse" approach, as well as shortened nursings with the abc song. It worked perfectly for us. Stinx never put up a fuss about the shortened nursings. He just slowly stopped asking. Maybe this is because of the pregnancy - lack of milk? change in taste? I'm not sure. I like to think it was just the right time for him.

For myself, I don't feel bittersweet. It just feels sweet. I enjoyed the deep connection we had during breastfeeding. From the moment I first nursed Stinx in the hospital it was something I loved. It was beautiful. Sometimes I think it's the one thing I have managed to do well at in motherhood. I've fallen short in so many other parts of parenting but breastfeeding, I did ok.

So it just feels good. We nursed for 28 lovely months and it ended as lovely as it began.

Twilight Saga

2009-07-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm all done reading the Twilight Saga. I can't believe how addictive it was. I just couldn't put any of the books down. It was like a desperate need to know what was going to happen next. I think I read them too fast because each book doesn't stand alone in my memory. They kind of just blurred together. On Sunday night I started the last book "Breaking Dawn" and I seriously had a lot of trouble sleeping because I kept dreaming about how it would end. Stinx woke up at 5 am monday and I couldn't fall back to sleep after he did so I just got up and kept reading.

But now I am all done and I can go back to my normal life. Maybe I should do some dishes. I need to do groceries too. Maybe I could pick up the movie on the way home...

Juice Box?

2009-07-11T18:10:00.001-07:00

So this week I had my 16 week doctor's appointment. I took Stinx along for the little trip. The receptionist passed me the plastic cup to go put a "sample" in. Stinx and I went to the bathroom and I did the routine "pee in the cup". After I left the stall Stinx spotted the cup and asked, "Mom, is that a Juice Box?".

Little Itty Bitty Diaper's Stash

2009-07-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit this but I have been collecting little diapers since they day I got my positive pregnancy test. I didn't really plan it that way, I was just trying to think ahead and I thought I was buying them more for Anti-Kels. All of these diapers have been lovingly used. Most are in prefect shape. I have (in order of picture) 3 Gabby's Newborn AIO's, 3 Gabby's Newborn Fitted's, 4 Kissaluvs Size 0 (I actually got 5 more since I took the picture), 2 small Little Beetle Fitted's, 3 Newborn Loveybums Organic Fitted's, 4 small Thirsties Fab Fitted's, 1 Thirsties Cover and 2 Bummis Super Brite Newborn covers. I think I am mostly all set... I'd like to get another cover or two.

With Stinx I am mostly a pocket diaper user so it will interesting to see how I like using so many fitted's. I figure most of the newborn diapers will only be used for a month or two and then we'll be using the one size pockets.

And my biggest splurge of all was this Good Mama one size fitted diaper. It's soooo soft inside. Lovely.

Such a nerd

2009-07-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

So a friend of mine lent me the book "Twilight" from the 4 book series. I had seen the comercials for the movie but didn't think it looked like something I'd be into. I'm not typically a "vampire" type. But, I am a sucker for romance. I had also read about it on the Half Pint Pixie blog . I should have known just by reading her posts that it would be addcitive.

I've had it for about a week and a half and hadn't bothered to pick it up until tuesday night. I picked it up thinking I'd read a few pages and then go to bed. Ha! Impossible! I sat up reading that book until 12:30 or 1am. I never stay up that late by the way. I almost always go to sleep about an hour after Stinx. All night I dreamt about the story... so lame. When I woke up the first thing I wanted to do was read the book but of course motherly duties call. But once Stinx was playing with his trains I couldn't help it. I had to! Anyways, needless to say I finished the book by the time I had to work last night.

I desperately want to read the next one but I have sooo much cleaning to do before the week end. I am throwing Anti-Kels a baby shower and we're also having some friends over. And the house looks like a tornado hit it. I really can't waste all day reading again.

So instead I am killing time blogging. Typical.

Little Gardener

2009-07-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

Stinx is turning into a little gardener.

We've been spending a lot of time in the backyard in the last month since the weather has been warmer (although this week it is quite rainy). We have filled our huge pond with soil and planted some perennials in it. Generally I don't have a great track record with plants but I am hope full I can keep this garden. I'll post some pics once the sun comes out.

The end may be near

2009-07-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

So it's not the end of the world, maybe just the nearing end of a wonderful saga for Stinx and I. It seems that the past few months of gentle weaning have come to some progress. It started out with just shortening the nursing sessions. Surprisingly he took to it well. He never seemed upset about the change. I have mostly used the "Don't offer, don't refuse" approach.

In the past week he has only nursed once every other day. It was hard to believe, the first few times we went a whole day, without even a short 10 second nurse session.

So while he isn't weaned yet, it seems he is on the journey to weaning himself.

I am really happy about this. I have really enjoyed every bit of our breastfeeding journey. I am happy that I didn't wean him early on when "society" tells moms it is appropriate. I am thankful that I was able to nurse my teething toddler during the rough nights. Breastfeeding my boy has been a wonderful experience and I am glad I gave my self the chance to extend it longer than "normal".

If I wasn't pregnant would I have encouraged the gentle weaning? Probably not yet. But perhaps this is just the right timing for Stinx and he may have self weaned at this age anyway.

I'm thinking of throwing Stinx a weaning party. Maybe I will call it the "Doucies all done" Party. I think I'll throw it once he's gone a few days without any "doucies".

The Divide

2009-06-27T20:55:00.001-07:00

So today Dad and I went on the House & Garden Tour which is a fundraiser for the Alberta Ballet. It's not that we are passionate about the ballet, heck, I am not sure if either of us have attended the ballet. But I do love open houses. I love seeing places people live. Not just fancy places... I mean, I love going to open houses in my own humble little neighborhood. There's just something about seeing people's sanctuaries. The places people go to lay their heads or to read a book or watch a movie. So a couple years ago when Stinx was just a small wee babe I heard about the Alberta Ballet's House & Garden Tour. I really wanted to go but Stinx was just too small. Now that he is a "big boy" he had plenty of fun with grandparents while Dad and I enjoyed our tour.

I was expecting big fancy homes with beautiful gardens. And that's pretty much what we got. Million dollar homes in fancy schmancy neighborhoods. Two of the homes are currently on the market. One for 3.5 million, the other for 5 million. CRAZY. All of the homes had crazy huge en suite bathrooms and gigantic walk in closets which were more like the size of a normal bedroom. Seriously! Who needs that much closet space? No one wears THAT many clothes. It was ridiculous. They all had beautiful kitchens too.

In one home there was 3 children's rooms which each had en suite bathroom and walk in closet. Dad commented, "Just imagine all the extra cleaning they must do!". I was all,... "Honey, these people don't clean, they have maids... silly!" And it's so true. The work it would take to clean these houses would be a full time job in itself.

We went to an "eco-friendly" in-fill that was pretty cool. I liked the design on that one quite a bit. They had some really cool art work that was truly inspiring. They were clearly creative people, or.. they just have good taste.

There was another home in the lovely neighborhood of Scarboro which had a really modern architecturally design. Dad really liked that one.

So most of the houses blew us away, but the gardens... not so much. Out of the 7 properties, it seemed only 2-3 had nice gardens, worthy of attention. I mean, they all had nice landscaping and everything, but to be called a House & Garden Tour, I was expecting more from the gardens. Oh well.

It was a fun day despite my cold, morning sickness and exhaustion.

Afterwards though, I really couldn't help but think, of how differently MOST of us live. And I was definitely thinking of my friends who live at the shelter. It's crazy what a rich city I live in, yet the homeless population is always on the rise.

I've spent years of my life working with the homeless. Most of them only own a backpack full of their possessions. If they're lucky they have a locker to store extra things in. Maybe some clothes, shoes and books. Certainly they don't fit fancy cars, giant flat screen tv's, or king sized beds in there. It's just crazy to think that someones "closet" is the size of a room that would hold 8 people at the shelter. Crazy to think that people have such huge closets full of clothes they probably don't wear when people are in need of clothing.

It's just crazy. What a crazy city I live in. Tons of millionares. Tons of homeless.

Fainting

2009-06-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

So on Saturday afternoon I stopped in at Superstore to buy a tub for Dad. It was about lunch time and usually I dread being there as it is so busy. But there was actually no line up in the self check out isle. Yippee! I ended up back there on Saturday night at about 9:30pm. The line up was crazy for the self check out. There was actually 2 line ups and I definitely picked the worst one. I kept having to kneel to the ground as to not get dizzy. By the time it was my turn to check out my hearing was going and I was getting pretty faint. I felt like I was going to pass out. After my transaction I sat on the next weigh scale which wasn't in use so I could rest. A lady came over and said I looked really pale and that she was worried about me. I told her about the low blood pressure and how I'd be fine, I just need to sit for a few minutes. It was nice that someone was actually concerned. And of course I felt fine after resting for a few minutes. So lesson learned, no more standing in long line ups!

This is just another reason why I should not go grocery shopping. Tis why I am in the midst of coming up with a grocery list for Dad...

Whine-o

2009-06-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

One of my least favorite things to do while pregnant is groceries. Since getting knocked up doing the groceries has been painful. And somehow it seems I've been having to do them with Stinx during the week days. How can this be? That just seems like a recipe for disaster. Pregnant woman with low blood pressure + 2 year old toddler + grocery shopping = unpredictable outcome.

We managed today though. We survived the trip without any tantrums or whining. Just Stinx running around crazily.

And now we have food. Life can continue.

Baby!

2009-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

So yesterday afternoon I had a 12 week ultrasound. I finally got to see my baby! Yay! There really is a little baby in me!! This trimester has gone so fast and the only reminder that I have that I am pregnant is the nausea, which hasn't been so bad lately. It was so nice being able to see the baby. The tech showed me the baby's heart beating but I didn't get to actually hear it. And I could have sworn I felt a little flutter while she was doing the U/S. It's crazy to think there is a baby moving around in my body and I can't feel it. I suspect that I will start to feel this baby a little sooner than I noticed Stinx moving around. But yeah, it was wonderful seeing the baby moving around in there.

Now I can't wait to find out what I am having!! Only 6 or so more weeks until the next U/S.

Bum Genius Snap Conversion

2009-06-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

It's only been about 10 months since I started using my Bum Genius 3.0 diapers and the Velcro/aplix tabs are starting to bug me. They still stick to the diaper and it functions fine, but I can't stand how the Velcro comes off the tab spot in the washing machine. When I pull them out of the washer they're all stuck on each other. I am starting to see why some people prefer snaps. So I decided to try getting a couple of them converted to snaps. Michelle from A Lovely Start offered to try this out for me. She converted two of the diapers. One in a single row of snaps that can be pulled over each other and the other diaper is a double row of snaps. I am very excited to try these out on Stinx and see how I like them. If I really like them I might consider converting the rest of the diapers. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Earth Mama Angel Baby

2009-06-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not a tea person. Nor a coffee person. I prefer my beverages to be sweet and cold. Like apple juice. or Ice Tea. But I do have to say that the Earth Mama Angel Baby product "Morning Wellness Tea" is very good. When I do drink tea's it's usually the herbal fruity type. Once the morning sickness started people kept recommending Ginger tea. I tried it and it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but still not something I enjoyed.

Then I came across the Morning Wellness Tea. It is good. REALLY good. The first ingredient in the list is ginger but I can't taste it. I can only taste the spearmint and peppermint. It's delicious.

And on another Earth Mama Angel Baby note, I love their Angel Baby Bottom Balm. It's a salve for your little baby's bum but made of all natural organic ingredients. And the best part, it's totally safe to use with cloth diapers! and smells delicious.

So basically, I love the Earth Mama Angel Baby products. They're amazing.

I'm Talented at Messy.

2009-05-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how the quality of one's life goes down hill when one is pregnant. My poor family. The meals, oh they are sad, if they exist at all. The house is a disaster. It looks like a tornado has hit. Papers on the floor, dishes piled high, laudry waiting to be washed.

You know you are in a sad state when you truly feel you have accomplished something by a) doing half of the dishes and b) having a shower. Every day it seems I try to accomplish a few tasks. Sometimes it might be a load of laundry, other days it might be doing the groceries.

Things seem to be looking up though. The morning sickness seems to be fading. I have felt a little hungry lately which brings me great hope. I often wake up from the afternoon nap craving something to eat, or I wake up dreaming about food. My body is definitely telling me it is hungry. In the past 10 weeks I lost the weight I didn't want to lose. Seems with both pregnancies my body wants to lose weight in the first trimester. Well I am challenging that with Blizzards from dairy queen, Rice Pudding, and chocolate chip cookies.

As I start to feel better I hope to blog a bit more.

Cheerio.

Fetus Flu

2009-05-15T09:18:00.001-07:00

So since I am "out" on facebook I may as well make it official on my blog. I have the fetus flu. Officially pregnant and with some yucky morning sickness to boot. I found out a month ago and thought things were going so smoothly... Well right at the 6 week mark the fetus flu started.

I seriously forgot how bad morning sickness is. My body tricked me into thinking it wasn't so bad. I guess that's how you convince yourself to have another baby.

With Stinx the morning sickness was crappy but I still worked through it. I think that might be the difference. With Stinx I was at work and had a lot of things to distract me from feeling crappy. I have memories of my off-time being miserable. I remember just laying on the couch, all the time, when not working. I lost 10 lbs in the first trimester because I was so nauseous. I totally lost my appetite.

That's basically how the last 2 weeks have been for me. I am surviving off the teeniest amounts of food. But I went to see my doctor and she gave me a prescription for Diclectin. I started taking it last night. I sure hope it will help. My poor family can't survive with me being like this.

But anyways, enough about feeling sick, Dad and I are very excited about baby #2! I still can hardly believe there is a tiny little baby growing inside of me. At the moment Baby is about 2 cm long. TINY! I'm around 8-9 weeks along.

And yeah this is also why my blogging has been sooo pathetic lately. Hopefully once I start feeling better I'll blog more.

Oh and my worst fear is pretty much true. My chance to use a midwife is SLIM. :( I am really disappointed. I was testing a week before my period was due and as soon as I got a positive test I called ALL the midwives in Calgary and they all told me I was about #20 on the wait lists. :( I feel really bummed and upset about it but am hoping and praying that a miracle can happen.

Well I'm off to do some diaper laundry.

Still here

2009-05-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

We're still alive. Just haven't been finding the time to blog. We've been doing some neat stuff. I thought I'd share some pictures of our latest adventures.

We took Stinx to the Super Train show a couple weeks ago. It's a huge local model train show. Trains trains, everywhere! Stinx was in heaven.

We literally had to pry Stinx away from the Thomas the Train table. He left it kicking and screaming. He could have played quietly there all day.

We also met up with some friends at the nearest VV. Stinx attempted to skateboard.

And had fun climbing inbetween the clothesrack with his friend.

We also hung out at the science centre a few times. Stinx loves playing with the water station and usually leaves soaking wet.
On this past trip he had a blast playing the guitar.

We've been trying to get out a lot and enjoy the nice weather when its here.

Stinx at the park down the street from home.

Playing in the backyard.

That Mom

2009-04-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

A lovely surprise.

Bird Sanctuary

2009-04-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Stinx and I went for a little walk at the bird sanctuary. I love that place. It is so peaceful and quiet. We didn't see any *amazing* birds but we did see some.. Mostly the generic birds local to our area aka: magpies, ducks and geese. I've had friends tell me they've seen beavers there but I have never been so lucky.

Stinx saw lots of gophers and desperately wanted to catch them. He wasn't quite quick enough.

They were just to darn fast. Stinx stood above their holes saying "catch".

We found two crazy large holes closer to the water. Stinx could probably crawl down them if he tried. Seriously, what the heck lives in there? The information centre was closed that day but I definitely plan on asking the staff next time. Badgers? Beavers? Fox?

Lessons from Easter

2009-04-13T07:44:00.001-07:00

I learned two things this week end.

1. [revised] Pregnant women should not be left unattended in the presence of menopausal women. (This is not in reference to myself - I am neither menopausal or pregnant).

2. The perfect restaurant to take a toddler to is either A) so dead that you are the only patrons or B) so busy and loud that no one would notice your toddler having a tantrum. Thankfully while out for dinner with some family last night we had option A.

Self Care

2009-04-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

I finally treated myself to a massage. This morning I went for a relaxation massage at Prema Sai Prenatal. I even brought Stinx with me because they have child care. It was really awesome. The massage was great. Very relaxing. Then as I was getting ready to pay Stinx ran over to another baby, about 10 months old, and pushed her down.

Oh boy.

Seriosuly, Stinx, why ? why? I just don't get it. You are such a sweet boy... until you beat up other babies. And the lady babysitting you said you behaved well. That is until I walked in the room.

I just don't get it.

The massage therapist also told me that my left shoulder/arm/neck are very tense and strained. She reckons its due to carrying things on that side... Like a diaper bag perhaps? Maybe I will switch to a back pack. She said stretching will help. And yoga. And yeah. I do need to start going to the gym again. Perhaps I can take one of the yoga classes once a week. That's my goal.. Anyone want to hold me accountable to that?

Oh and I am soo sore now. Better get to bed.

Life is good.

2009-04-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

I wish I had something to say. Seems I'm pretty speechless these days.

I'm happy the weather is lovely this week.

I'm happy that Anti-Kels and Unky Scott are in town.

I'm looking forward to work tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to going to the zoo tomorrow with friends.

All in all, life is good.

Tiny Friends

2009-04-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

I think I may have unintentionally brought some friends home from work last night. And I'm not talking about clients. I'm talking bugs.

I'm probably just being paranoid. But I did hug quite a few people, more than usual, and when that happens, the possibility is there.

This happened once before when I was pregnant with Stinx. I kept finding tiny little things in my hair and my head was itchy. I remember it was a Saturday morning and I was so paranoid about it that I went to a walk in clinic. I got in to see the doctor very quickly (I only go as soon as the clinic opens). She was a very nice and polite doctor. She took a quick look at my head and made it very clear.... I was just a paranoid pregnant lady. No bugs. Only dandruff.

Last night I was working in a part of the shelter where I had worked for 4 years. It's the busiest part of the building. There were many people that recognized me and wanted to come say hello with a hug. Hence all the hugs. As I hugged each of my friends the thought of cross contamination did fly through my mind. To me it's worth the risk. And I'm not actually supposed to hug people so I try to just do the quick side hug. It's the full on hugs that are more risky. The hugs where your hair touches each others.

And this evening I have noticed my head is itchy. Hmmm. Am I just being paranoid? Probably.. I've been through this worry before. But I guess there's always a chance.

Wouldn't be my first time with bugs though. No sir-ee. Had them in the 4th grade as well as summer camp.

That's my street cred. I've had lice.

As I type this I am itching away.

Maybe I should get some lindane shampoo?

I just told Dad and he is freaking out. LOL.

I'm sure I am just paranoid.

****

After doing some "googling" it seems I am just paranoid. It's just one of those things. - as soon as you think of lice, you just get itchy. But I am thinking of buying some Tea Tree Oil or Nix, just to have around in case I get overly paranoid. LOL.

Thrill of the Hunt Update

2009-03-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

So I haven't really posted about my Thrill of the Hunt Challenge. I've been able to find a few things second hand. We did end up buying two twin captain's beds and mattresses secondhand. They weren't cheap but in really good condition and were pretty much exactly what I was looking for. I've been finding tons of great books second hand lately. Lots of kids books as well as parenting books. Just today I found a book that I have had on hold at the Library and it's in perfect shape. I paid $2.50 for it. I also found a really sweet set of glasses and a Pitcher at Good Will. As soon as I saw it, it reminded me of me, like 10 years ago.

Right now I am starting to potty practice more often with Stinx and am desperately seeking two piece pj's for a 2 year old. His room is freezing cold and I usually put him in fleece sleepers as well as his sleep sack. But I find that the sleeper and sleep sack make it more difficult getting to the potty in the morning. Stinx just doesn't like having his sleep sack and pj's taken off. I figure if we switch to 2 peice pj's and a pair of socks it might help. It won't be so bad if I just pull his pants off. The sleep sack thing I might keep around till its a bit warmer out. Come the summer I want to wean Stinx off of it. I haven't had much luck with pj's at the thrift stores but I do have some leads from kijiji.

I also want to find a tricycle. That could be a pretty fun summer activity.

I can't wait for garage sale season :)

My Baby

2009-03-26T12:35:00.001-07:00

What happened to my baby? He isn't a baby anymore.

I was looking through these photographs that my friend Vicki took of Stinx, some at 4 months old and some just before he turned 1.

Man it sure makes me wonder where the time has gone. It really went too quickly.

I was at a friend's house yesterday and I just admired her little one year old. I really loved that age. I love 2 too, but in different ways. I love looking back at Stinx when he was 1. It was fun times.

I clearly have baby fever. I can't wait to have a tiny little baby again.

I've been thinking a lot about birth again. I want so badly to experience a vaginal birth but at the same time I don't want to become obsessed with it. If I obsess about having a natural vaginal birth and then really do need a c-birth, I don't want to feel like I "lost". I don't want to have a guilty feeling about it. Rather, I hope to have a VBAC and try everything I can to do so, but be at complete peace if a c-birth is needed, because, I will know I tried everything I could. And, yeah, I don't want to overhthink it.

My main concern is getting a midwife. There is a major midwife shortage in my city. Midwifery is going to be covered 100% as of April... that's days away. I am worried I won't be able to get one. My homebirth friends have been telling me for ages, "As soon as you get a positive pregnancy test, you call the midwives!". I really hope I can squeeze my way in. I would feel much more confident trying for a VBAC under the supervision of midwives. I know I could do it with a doctor, but I am just not sure how much support I would receive. Anyways... I know it will all work out for the best. I know that God's will is all planned out and he truly looks out for me (and you) and wants the best for us. In the end I would really love to have another healthy little babe.

Now whether or not Stinx is ready to share me with a brother or sister is a whole other question :)

Oh and some of my lurkers have mentioned that they haven't been able to comment on the blog so I changed my comment settings. So comment away!

Spilt Milk

2009-03-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog,

Sometimes I just wish I could get through one day without wiping up some type of liquid.

Sincerely,

Stinx's Mom

Sweater Pants

2009-03-22T13:00:00.001-07:00

Awhile ago Alisha challenged me to make some sweater pants. The pair above were my first attempt. They actually turned out pretty good. They aren't wool though soo they can't be used as "Longies". But they're still pretty cute. Once I get off my lazy butt I'll make some more.

I also attempted a Mei Tai. It didn't work out so well. The fabric colors and patterns were amazing but just the wrong material. The material was too thick. I tried a 2nd Mei Tai and it worked out pretty good except that the shoulder straps were too short. Bummer. I have started Mei Tai #3 and made sure the straps were long enough... I'll post a pic when I get around to finishing it. That could be ages... so much for my boost of creativity!

Can you help me pluck this plank out of my eye?

2009-03-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

So I have been wanting to talk a bit about how mothers judge each other (myself included). And of course, it's not just mothers, it's the entire human race. Everyone does it. Kids judge each other based on the tv shows they watch, or the toys they play with. Teenagers judge each other based on the clothes they wear or the music they listen to. Adults judge each other based on the car they drive, their house or their careers. I would like to think that seniors don't judge as they would have learned better over the course of their life but I doubt it.

Humans just judge one another. Some more so than others. Some judge very rarely, while others do it all the time.

And I think new mothers judge even more so than average humans simply because we are doing something totally new, and we're insecure, and we hope we are doing things "right". Surely we must be doing it right! Mom's judge each other for everything! What you eat during pregnancy! How you have your baby! What you name your baby! How you feed your baby! If you circumcise your baby! If you wear your baby or use a stroller! If you feed your baby solids before 6 months! Or if you sleep train your baby! If you co-sleep with your baby! If your baby sleeps in a crib! If you potty train early! if you potty train late! How you discipline your children! Or if your "strict" enough! Seriously.. everything. And it's only because we hope we are doing things "right". It's an unconscious comparison between us and them (them being any other parent).

Truth is, we all do what is best for our babies and our families. We all do our best, based on the knowledge that we have at the time. That's all we can do. We can strive to learn more and do what we can with that knowledge. We can strive to listen to our gut (as Alisha would say) and not worry about what the other parents are doing.

But certainly, no one, is a perfect parent. And no one goes through parenting without a judgemental thought crossing their mind. It's inevitable. Like I said before, some judge more than others, but it happens to all of us.

I try to remember that we all do things differently, and that's ok, because not one parenting "style" is right, and we are just getting by on the knowledge we have.

And I like to think that as our children get older the less we will judge one another.

The Treasures You Find

2009-03-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent the entire afternoon at my mom's place (aka Bubga aka Bugma). I was literally there from 1pm to 9:30pm. We had planned, weeks ago, that I would come over and help her declutter her house. My parents have lived there for about 23 years and have accumulated large quantities of "stuff". They have 5 bedrooms in their house and all of them are full of "stuff".

Anti-Kels and Boyfriend will be staying for a short while before getting their own place. This is why Bubga is panicking to clean the place up. There just isn't enough room for an extra 2 people and all of there belongings.

I wish I could say we cleaned everything out but it wasn't that miraculous. We did manage to de-clutter the 2 rooms upstairs as well as one hall closet.

It was pretty fun going through some of the stuff. I even found some special items I had totally forgotten about. There was this wooden Green Day Dookie plaque I had made in the 8th grade shop class. There was a personal fan letter that I had never managed to mailed to Tim Armstrong of Rancid (so glad that never got mailed - I should post it on here as it is sooo ridiculous). I also found a little stuffed monkey which made my heart all fuzzy and I am wondering if it was my lovey.

This is totally off topic but worth mentioning because of the monkey. I have asked my mom if I ever had a lovey and she denies I had one. Anti-Kels had a lovey that everyone in the family remembers to this day... Not me, apparently I was too good for Lovies or something. So yeah, secretly I like to think this cute little monkey was my lovey.

Back to the found goods. I found a very precious gem of mine. I mentioned it awhile ago in this post.

It's my very first garage sale find! It used to have many more rock people on it but I found it really tempting to pick them off the rock. I liked taking them off but it kinda disturbed me too. Thankfully there are 6 survivors. It warms my heart knowing this thing is still around.

On a cold night

2009-03-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday morning a homeless man was found dead in Rotary Park. He was covered in snow with no foot steps around him. A woman walking her dog noticed his body burried in snow. I feared it would be one of the gentlemen I knew.

On Monday the local newspaper confirmed he was a man named "James" who had lived at the shelter for 15 years. My heart sank. I would indeed know him. However, with only the first name James, I couldn't figure out which "James" it was. There are many.

At work on wednesday the staff let me know who it was. James C. My heart sank some more.

The thing about working at a shelter is that it desensitizes you. After a year nothing really surprises you. You still mourn the loss of the people you know but it is just the sad reality of the streets. Having not worked at the shelter for almost 2 years I found that I grew a little more sensitive again. So on Wednesday no one seemed to be mourning James anymore. I guess there is just the need to move on, to try and prevent other sad circumstances from occuring. And surely some staff just didn't want to talk about it.

James was 54 years old. His kids are grown. He was a man with a great sense of humour. His running joke was about getting into his locker. He'd ask, "Can I get into my locker? I need to get my beer out!" and then he'd let out a big laugh.

I'll miss him and his jokes, but won't forget him. Just like the other friends I've lost, they are burned in my memory.

Supporting Local WAHM's

2009-03-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

I really like the idea of Hanging Diaper Pail's and Dad picked me up one from Texas a few months ago. The annoying thing is that it only has one handle. I think most people use them on door knobs. While it does the job, I found it kind of frustrating. I'm just one of those people that doesn't like stuff hanging off door knobs.. it gets in the way. Anyways, I saw on-line that you can find some with two handles so they perfectly hang off a change table or say, a towel bar. All the ones I saw though were either really pricey or really plain. Then I connected with a local mom who makes Diapers and Accessories at home (and also mothers 2 kiddo's!). Michelle from A Lovely Start custom made me this beautiful large hanging diaper pail. It's awesome, exactly what I wanted, and was an excellent price. And it's nice to know I supported a local Mama.

Speaking of which I finally got to order some hair clippies from my good friend Deb. Deb makes all of her hair clippies at home while still caring for her two young kids! I have been wanting to support her in her business, Hazel's Zippy Clippies, because she is really talented! However, I don't have a girl! and none of my close friends have had girls. But finally a close friend had a baby girl a few weeks ago and I asked Deb to make me some cute hair clips for her. They turned out awesome and I can't wait for more of my friends to have baby girls.

Hemp Hand Protector

2009-03-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

My hands. My poor brittle hands. They're dying a slow death. The weather, the wind, the daily washings. It's a hard life for my hands. Wednesdays are especially hard on the hands. At the shelter I wash them even more. They're cracked and bleeding.

It seems I have spent a lifetime looking for a miracle hand cream. I've found a few good ones along the way. But by far, the best I have found, by recommendation of a fellow mother and shelter worker, is the Body's Shop's Hemp Hand Protector. I started using it in the fall.

It. Really. Is. Amazing.

After using it for a day or two, it literally felt like I had grown a new healthy layer of skin on my hands. They were transformed from dry, cracked and bleeding hands to the soft skin of a baby's bottom.

I ran out a few weeks ago. Which is why I am back to bleeding knuckles. But after I put Stinx to bed tonight, and gave Dad the monitor, I drove quickly to the mall and bought another tube. I will not, can not, live without this precious hand lotion.

Fraz

2009-03-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little frazzled. Mothering is really tough some days. Most of the time it's fun work but it definitely can have rough patches. While I do feel that some parts of mothering come "naturally" other parts don't. For me, particularly, the discipline does not come naturally. I did talk about discipline a bit in this post, and what I hope it will look like for me at some point.

Today I feel very very far from that point.

Stinx has gone back to his beating up of little babies routine. He started this routine awhile ago and then it seemed to die down for awhile. I thought we might have escaped it. Ha! Yeah right! Yesterday he was back at it full force. We had friends over and Stinx seriously tried pummeling every baby smaller and younger than himself. I felt terrible.

I know he doesn't do it to hurt the babies. I know, logically, he's doing it to learn cause and effect. What will mommy do if I push this baby? or.. What will the baby do if I hit him? Will he cry?

It's still frustrating though. I tried to handle it a couple different ways but none of them really seemed to work. My first response put all the attention on him "No! Don't hit babies! It gives them owies! Don't do it again" type deal. Alisha suggested I try the "Hitting hurts - Oh poor baby has owies, poor little thing" where the victim gets all the attention. Tried that. I tried removing him from the room...

I guess it just comes down to me repeating the same thing over and over, and not letting him do it. Perhaps I need to stick really close to him while he's in these stages so he doesn't get a chance to push or hit. I did that before when this stage first started and it seemed to help. So next time we're around a little baby maybe I will try watching Stinx with an eagle eye, when he does attempt to hit, explain why it's not ok and then comfort the victim. Maybe it will help? It probably just goes back to consistency...

Can anyone share some 2 year old age appropriate discipline wisdom with me?

Strollers

2009-03-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

Anti-Kels, this one is pretty much for you! So learn from my stroller buying mistakes... Some hardcore APer's may even suggest you don't need one... I think it's good to have one around. They do come in handy sometimes.

Let's talk strollers.

When I was pregnant with Stinx I couldn't figure out which kind to get. I really was overwhelmed with all the choices. My cousin made it a bit easier on me because she offered to let us use her infant car seat. So I didn't feel the need to buy a stroller/carseat combo. So I tried asking my mommy friends what their opinions were. And they all said it was trial and error. Most of my friends had several strollers. In the end Dad and I chose a stroller my grandpa had seen at the mall. He told us about this cool 3 wheel stroller he'd seen. He said it was really neat and "futuristic". He asked the mother at the mall where she had bought hers from - Sears. So Dad and I checked out these neat strollers on-line. It was the Quinny Buzz.

Dad and I saved up our pennies from baby shower monitary donations and went to Sears to buy the stroller. While at Sears I started to panic. What if this wasn't the "one"? It was double to price of the other strollers. What if I turned into a stroller collector, or hoarder? I didn't want to have 5 different strollers for all of our different needs. I paniced. Bugma had come with us and I asked for her advice. She didn't have any. She did say it was pricey but cool. But by the time I had changed my mind, Dad was convinced this was the stroller for us. I explained to him that we could save a bit of money if we bought a carseat stroller combo instead. Nope, he didn't care. He had made the decision that he would not push any other stroller except this one. Humph. So we bought it. And it's not that I didn't like it, I loved the look of it. But I wasn't comfortable spending the amount we did (even with the sales and gift certificates we had)... It made me uneasy.

The kicker was that we also had to buy a bassinet to use for Stinx. More money! For 0-6 months they need to use the bassinette attachment. I loved the bassinette and I did use it quite a bit, but it was also a bit of a pain to put away after every use.

When Bugma, Stinx (who was 3 months) and I went to visit Anti-Kels in Kelowna we picked up a 2nd hand snap and go car seat stroller. I hadn't brought the Buzz because it was so big and heavy. The Snap and Go was a brilliant idea but the one we got had a bogus wheel. When I got back to Calgary I looked for a similar stroller to use while Stinx was still using the infant car seat. I found the Kolcraft Universal Carseat Stroller. It was amazing. It had lots of great features: big basket, parent tray, and it was super light and easy to fold up. I was really really sad when Stinx out grew the car seat, it meant I could no longer use the Kolcraft stroller.

So I went back to the Buzz.

I felt like such a dork walking Stinx in our neighborhood with this ridiculous stroller. I'm not going to say I live in a "poor" neighborhood, but it's definitelty middle to lower class. When I went to the local mall with the stroller, people would literally stop and stare at the stroller. It was awkward. I felt like the stroller made me stick out amongst the crowds of people. Maybe some people would like all that attention. I definitely didn't. I was worried I might get "jumped" for pushing such a thing. And really, it just wasn't my type of stroller.

It's like cars. I like the look of some nice new fancy expensive cars, but that doesn't mean they suit me or that I would be comfortable driving such cars. I'm the type of gal who adores old volvo station wagons... not new fancy ones.. Know what I'm saying? I'm a thrifty gal... I don't usually wear make up, my jeans usually have holes in them, and I'm kinda smelly too. So I just felt that the stroller didn't suit me.

I fell out of love with the Buzz. There were a few reasons. The biggest one being that the Buzz wasn't practical. It had a teeny tiny bag at the bottom which was sorta supposed to be a basket. The newer models do have a small basket at the bottom but they're so small I think they're still probably useless. I think all strollers should have a decent sized basket. You need a good sized one to throw coats, or diaper bags or shopping bags in. There was also no food tray for the child. I really wanted for Stinx. I wanted to be able to run errands or go to the zoo and leave little snacks in the tray so he could munch on them when he wanted to. So the tray became an issue. The last thing I really wanted was a parent cup holder and or tray. Most practical strollers have a cup for the parents to put their drink in, or a tray for such things. Not the Quinny. Nope.. It didn't have any of those basic practical things.

I decided to sell the Buzz and Bassinette. I sold it to a lovely young couple from Saskatoon who said they rarely saw such "cool" strollers. I told them it was just too "Bling Bling" for me. And it was true. The stroller made me look bad. People probably saw me pushing it and wondered if I had stolen it from somewhere... LOL. Anyways, they said they loved the Bling Bling factor... and the mom was definitely more blinging than me. It actually suited her.

So then I went on a quest for a light weight convenience stroller. I looked on-line and read lots of reviews about lightweight strollers. Because I had liked the Kolcraft one so much I looked at theirs. Toys R Us was selling one of theirs but it was cheesy and hand some cartoon animals on it. I just wanted a plain stroller. I found the perfect one on-line. It was exact same as the cheesy one except plain black. Only problem? It wasn't sold in Canada! I was going to get Dad to buy it in the U.S. but it got complicated trying to phone all these stores in Dallas. I gave up and decided to just buy locally through Kijiji.

I ended up buying the Peg Perego Aria. I really like the stroller. It has a good basket, it folds pretty easily, has a child tray, and it is supposed to have a cup holder for the parent ... but the lady I bought it from had lost it. All in all I have to say I am pretty impressed with it. Some of the reviews I have read on-line haven't been so great. But for the thrifty price I paid, it seems well worth it. I believe that I can get a infant car seat to go with it too if another baby enters the picture.

The bummer? Well, while in Florida in January I saw the exact black Kolcraft Stroller I wanted in K-mart. I was soooo tempted to buy it. Seriously. Oh well.

Oh and I didn't even mention the time Dad bought a jogging stroller from an auction... that's a whole other story... and since we never even took it out of the box I won't bother telling the story...

So in the end I turned out to be one of those people who bought numerous strollers. Live and learn. Trial and error. And what did I learn? Looks aren't everything! Baskets, child tray's and parent cup holders are nice to have.

Sugar Cookies

2009-03-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

My favorite thing to bake these days are sugar cookies.

And because I am addicted to mint things I make the icing flavour peppermint.

It's a little much for some.

But I can't get enough of them.

The Bus Cake

2009-02-28T20:58:00.001-08:00

Last year Stinx had a pretty plain 1st Birthday cake. He wasn't tolerating wheat at the time and I hadn't introduced dairy yet (in fear he might take after his father) so his cake was gluten & dairy free. It was a great cake, but a little on the boring side. This year, since Stinx is eating pretty much anything now, I wanted to get him a cake he'd love. I was a little late planning this out but Alisha recommended Simply Sweet Ltd and Krista was able to make the cake with only 3 days notice. It was awesome!!! Stinx loved it, though it didn't last long... well, the front of the bus is still around. Perhaps I'll let him play with it tomorrow :)

Breastfeeding - not always easy...

2009-02-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

This post is about how hard breastfeeding can be at the beginning. It is NOT about formula vs. breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding. It seems like a simple concept. But really, it can be hard work. It's a skill that takes practice and doesn't come totally naturally. It seems like it should come naturally, since after all, it is natural. But I really do think that pregnant women need to learn as much as they can about breastfeeding before their baby is born. I think it helps to read about it, and most of all, to talk to women who have successfully breastfed. I also think that going to a LLL meeting is a good idea when pregnant. It's just good to hear about other women's experiences with this totally natural experience.

A great website on breastfeeding is Dr. Jack Newman's. If you are planning to breastfeed please check it out! He even has video's to show what a proper latch is like. And definitely read the section called Starting Out Right.

I want to share a little about my experience starting out with breastfeeding. I have two close friends, Alisha and Sandra, who I like to credit for my breastfeeding success. Both were mothers who had breastfed their babies past one year old (which is a whole other topic!). They really encouraged me and gave me realistic expectations. Alisha had a hard time with breastfeeding at first and gave me some really good advice. Talking with her really gave me the heads up - that it might not be easy. After Stinx was born she dragged me to a LLL meeting just so I could connect with other breastfeeding moms. At the time I didn't see why it was important, but now looking back, it could have been crucial. Thankfully for me, breastfeeding had gone pretty smoothly, but if it hadn't, I would have got plenty of excellent advice at the meeting. And I also remember phoning Sandra all the time in the first month after Stinx was born. I'd just call her with all these random questions. Heck, I still ask her random questions all the time! These 2 friends were a HUGE support to me in the begining, and still are.

It must have been both of them that really pressed the importance of the latch. And perhaps I had a really good nurse who knew what she was talking about when showing me how to nurse Stinx. After all, she had nursed 2 children as well. Somehow, I knew the latch was important. Every single time, and I mean, EVERY single time I nursed Stinx while in the hospital, I would get a nurse to check his latch. I wanted to make sure it was right.

When Stinx was 3 days old and it was our last day in the hospital, a nurse told me he had lost 10 % of his body weight. (Which is totally normal!!) She said we should supplement with formula. Thinking back, it must have been Alisha who told me that supplementing was not a good idea. I told the nurse no way. I said I would try pumping if they insisted. I did so and pumped 1 oz. I remember thinking, "oh no! That's all I got?" A doctor came in and was so thrilled I had pumped that measly ounce. She told me how newborns have tiny tummies and can only drink 1-2 oz's to start. AND, if I could pump 1oz, Stinx was definitely drinking more than that. And that is because babies are much more efficient nursers than a pump can be. They sent us home with the instructions to pump and then breastfeed. I only really remember pumping occasionally in the first week to relieve my engorging breasts! I pretty much stuck to nursing Stinx on demand... which is by far, the best breastfeeding advice I could give anyone. Nurse on demand!! The day after we got home the public health nurse came and weighed Stinx. He had gained all his weight back... which normally occurs 2-3 weeks after birth... I am so glad I didn't bother supplementing - it would have been totally unnecessary and may have caused more problems.

The first few weeks after having a baby are pretty rough, and on top of that, you are nursing your baby every couple hours. Your breasts are sore from all that attention! It is really is hard work. The biggest trouble I had with breastfeeding was a couple tiny sores I had got from a not so great latch (even a couple feeds with imperfect latches can give you trouble) and my doctor was worried I would get Mastitis so she gave me some really awful advice.. She basically told me to put some Canesten on the sore, heat it under a lamp and then wash it off before I nursed Stinx again. She wanted me to do that after every nurse! I did it for a few days and then saw a lactation consultant because I didn't trust my doctors advice. The LC checked our latch and said it looked good. She checked the sore and told me it wasn't infected and to stop with the poor advice my doctor gave me. I went back to using Lanolin (which is a life saver!!!) and it went away very quickly. Things went pretty smoothly from there, and the only other time I had some trouble was when Stinx was 11 months old and cutting a new tooth. I went to a LLL meeting then and got some good advice. It seems over time the latch can become lazy, and since Stinx had a tooth coming in, it was rubbing in the same spot every time, and I had been nursing him in the same position, hence a sore was starting. So I started nursing him in a different positions every time, and put some lanolin on, and made sure the latch was good and presto, all better. And since then I have payed close attention, every time Stinx gets a new tooth, breastfeeding is a little uncomfortable and I have to remember the advice I got.

Anyways, breastfeeding can be tough at first but it is soooo worth it! It is such a special experience. When I nursed Stinx for the very first time, the only word I could use to describe it was "Beautiful". Thankfully we didn't have too many battles to face and it was fairly uncomplicated. But after talking with so many other breastfeeding moms, or moms who tried really really hard to breastfeed, it can be a difficult path. I have several friends who tried for months to breastfeed their babies but due to problems had to give up in the end. I know for both friends this was a difficult time for them. Thankfully, both of these friends went on to nurse their 2nd babies successfuly!

There are so many things that can make it a difficult to breastfeed, even starting with the birth. Sometimes women who have emergency c-births have trouble getting started. Many women have supply issues, too little milk being the most common. And I have even met a woman who said she had too much milk to breastfeed(Hmm... I think that's a very poor excuse to quit breastfeeding! I know women who would kill for that breatmilk! Sure, having too much milk can have it's own complications but a reason to quit??)... I don't know about that. Anyways! My point is that it is hard, and MUCH of the advice new mothers get from medical professionals is contradictory. Many mothers just don't know which advice to follow. It's heartbreaking really!

I know this is getting kinda ranty.. my point is that breastfeeding is hard and if a new mom doesn't do her research and educate herself, and just thinks it will go smoothly because it seems so natural, she might find herself struggling. I think many moms end up using formula because some of the medical professionals gave them poor advice. They are pushed formula at the hospital and it seems like the best answer because they know their baby is being fed (as they can watch their baby drink it down) but it can really hinder the start of breastfeeding. Obviously in some circumstances babies do need to be supplemented but for the most part women have enough milk, and the more they nurse the more their milk will come in. And for some women they are comfortable using formula but for the women who had their hearts set on breastfeeding it can be really hard on them.

Ok.. seriously, I'll end this now. If your heart is set on breastfeeding, do your research prior to baby's arrival! With some knowledge and a lot of determination, most women can successfully breastfeed!

So if you could give a new mother breastfeeding advice, what would it be?

Happy 2nd Birthday Stinx

2009-02-25T20:21:00.001-08:00

Two years ago I was stoned out of my tree in a hospital room. I might have been high as a kite, but I was extremely euphoric with the love for my baby boy. Sure, the birth didn't go as I had prayed for, or planned for, and sure, I get depressed thinking about that stuff, but that doesn't mean it wasn't the happiest day of my life. It doesn't mean I was joyless. I was thrilled to be a mom. I was thrilled to see the little baby that grew inside of me those 39 weeks.

It's hard to believe two years has flown by so quickly. I know, how cliche. But really, it's unbelievable. Stinx is truly a boy now, not a baby. He is running, climbing, jumping, dancing, talking.. and just surprising me every day with all the things he is learning. He is figuring stuff out all the time.

Here are just a few things I want to remember most about Stinx when he turned 2:

His love for buses, trucks, trains, planes, boats etc
His love of books and being read too
His growing vocabulary... like "fall down"... when mommy fell in the snow... lol.
How he likes to hold hands with his little pals
How he asked me for a hug this morning at 5am! lol...
The unexpected hug he gave me later in the am which was followed by a surprise kiss

A little boredom mixed with spice

2009-02-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

The lovely spice rack Bubga got us as a gift last year.

The left over spices which over flow out of the Tupperware container. I've been collecting them like this for years...

The extremely simple fun activity I did out of boredom.

Now all the spices have a home.

Even Dad feels motivated to cook.

Actually... He was the one harassing me to put the spices in jars.

I'm glad he did. It makes me feel so much more organized.

Stinx 1st Hair Cut

2009-02-21T21:28:00.000-08:00

So today Stinx had the pleasure of getting his very first hair cut. It wasn't desperately needed, but it was getting to the point where it was getting in his face a little much, a little too long around the ears.. and well, I figured it would be fun to get his hair cut right before his 2nd birthday. The cut went really well. Stinx was very excited to see the quad and other cool "rides" at the salon. Once sitting on the quad he turned very serious, which is.. well, pretty much Stinx in any public situation. He's a serious guy! What can I say. He seemed to enjoy it. He wasn't freaking out from excitement, and he wasn't blowing a fit in fear. He just was. So that helped the nice hair dresser to do her job. She was very fast. I guess that's just how it goes in kiddy salons. They must have to work fast because who knows how long the kid will sit still for. Anyways, now Stinx has had his 1st official hair cut. Ta-da!

Unexpected

2009-02-20T12:51:00.000-08:00

I thought it was a little unusual when Stinx slept through the night for 11 hours straight last night. It's not freakish of him to STTN but he doesn't do it all the time. It's more freakish that he slept for 11 hours straight... He's done it before, occasionally, but usually he is a 10-10.5 hour night sleeper, including the night wakings. He is usually asleep shortly after 8pm and usually up by 6-6:30am. He was up at 7:30am today. That is freakish.

I loved that he slept in that long. But I did panic that something might be wrong.

All seemed well until I was getting him dressed to go out. He seemed a little warm.. It didn't seem like a fever though. I figured he was just warm.

Our plan was to go pick up some maternity clothes for Anti-Kels and I.

No, I'm not pregnant, just looking for some nice maternity clothes for the future. I can plan ahead right?

Going off track here - A few weeks ago I put an add on kijiji looking for some maternity clothes, for either Anti-Kels or I. I got quite a few responses back but most of the clothes were kinda lame.. Like pastel pink shirts... Not quite what either Kels or I would wear. But a couple of women emailed with some nice stuff. Both women lived quite far south and I arranged to go all the way down there this morning - planned a week ago. After picking up the clothes I was also planning to visit my cousin and her kids since they live in the south.

So I get Stinx all bundled up and into the car. We're driving on the free-way-ish road for about 5 minutes and then I notice Stinx coughing. I look in the rear view to see Stinx throwing up on himself. Poor guy. I felt so bad. But since we were driving 100 km's/hour on the freeway, I couldn't exactly pull over. And he wasn't upset or anything, he seemed really intrigued by it.. He was checking it out. TMI?

So instead of picking up clothes I drove to my cousin's place where I wiped Stinx off with my cousin's baby wipes, because being the knob I am, I left the wipes at home. (Mental Note: always keep spare wipes in the glove box). And of course I didn't have a change of clothes for Stinx either... (Mental Note: keep a spare set of clothes in the car).

So yeah, no wonder Stinx slept through the night like a log, he was sick. Poor little thing. Once we got home he didn't really act sick or anything. I am praying that he was just a little queasy in the car. Hopefully he'll be feeling himself when he wakes up from his afternoon nap.