Sick

Last Thursday, both Matthew and Kayla woke up sick.  Their biggest symptom was having a fever, although Matthew did throw up three times that day.  By Thursday evening Jon had a fever.  On Friday morning I woke up with a fever.  It's really difficult to take care of three kids (two of which are sick) when you feel awful yourself.  To make matters worse, it was a snow day and I couldn't even take the kids outside to enjoy the snow.  I did send them outside by themselves, but they only lasted 15 minutes before they were bored.

Today is Thursday, a week later, and I'm STILL sick.  This darn fever won't go away!  I'm tired of not feeling well.  Luckily Jon seems to be better now so at least I can take it easy.

Keeping Busy in December

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Here's a few photos of some of what we've been doing in December...

Colouring egg cartons

Swimming at Surrey Sport & Leisure Centre with Jon.  Nathan LOVED it.  He was in the water with us the entire time and was completely content.

Watching the Cloverdale Christmas Parade with Jon's parents.

Visiting Oma Vander Ende (my great-grandmother) at Elim.

Playing in the garage on a rainy day.

Being a handsome date for the BackCheck Christmas party.

Visiting Santa Claus at Port Kells Nursery.

Two Months Old!

Nathan, although he had a rough start to feeding, is nicely gaining weight now, weighing 15lb 9oz.  He's now starting to wear his 6-9 month clothes, which still baffles me.  I'm so glad he's not my first because we would have never gotten any use out of any of his (what would have been new) smaller-sized clothing.  It's crazy how fast he's growing out of things.  I've never been so busy with packing away one size and pulling out boxes of the next size.

- Has started to go from happy to angry in just seconds.  He's not spoiled at all...

- Really enjoys sitting in his bouncy chair or laying under his play mat.  He doesn't intentionally touch the hanging toys, but loves looking at the.

- Has started to follow people's movements.

- Always has smiles for Jon.  ALWAYS.  I actually don't mind because then Jon doesn't mind to hold him more often, knowing that he's the favourite :).

- Usually does a five hour stretch of sleep when he first goes to bed, and then three hour stretches after that.

- Drinks 4 oz of milk, about 9 times a day.  4 oz is never enough for him, and he usually lets out a cry of anger when he's done.

- Drinks every two hours during the day when he's awake.

- He's very unscheduled.  The days we stay at home he barely naps.  The days we're out and about running errands or at my parents' he'll easily sleep what seems like all morning/afternoon, only waking to be fed.  He seems to typically cat nap throughout the day, and have one longer nap, at any random point.

- Doesn't mind being in his car seat.

- Knows what he wants.  He won't take the soother if it's not what he's fussing for.

- Has amazing neck control.  Pretty soon I'll be able to try him out in the bumbo and exersaucer.

- Is constantly on the receiving end of kisses from Matthew.  Matthew absolutely ADORES him, and is always smothering him with hugs and kisses.  Nathan actually quite enjoys Matthew's company, for the most part.

- Is starting to get watery eyes/tears when he cries.  He doesn't cry very often.  Like, never, actually.  He just fusses enough to get our attention when he is tired or hungry and we either hold him or feed him.  He's actually very easy...just unpredictable.

Little Bear

Matthew and Kayla LOVE watching Little Bear.  Through Shaw's Video-On-Demand we have endless access to hundreds of episodes, at no cost to us.  It's great!  Matthew is in love with the character 'Duck'.  She's kind of ditsy which cracks Matthew up.  He also loves it when Little Bear is hiding or peeking at someone.  Kayla tries to laugh when Matthew does, but it's not a sincere laugh.

Kayla has now developed a fear of scary creatures on cartoons.  I first realized this when she started creeping towards me during an episode of Little Bear where there's a bear monster in it.  She started hiding behind my shoulder while we were on the couch, and then started crying every time the monster showed.  It happened again during an episode this morning when Father Bear was pretending that his foot was a sea monster while having a bath.  It's really cute, in a sad sort of way.  She's definitely my daughter!

Potty Training Update

After our crazy day last week that ended on a high, Matthew has been 100% day-trained (he manages to stay dry during his nap, but he still has to wear a diaper to bed a night)!  We have not had any accidents (knock on wood), which has been amazing.  I don't even have to constantly ask him if he has to pee...he just tells me when he has to go.  It's definitely a little extreme right now as he likes to come out of bed two or three times each evening just to do pee, but I'm hoping this is only temporary as being potty trained is still new for him.  Regardless, I'm thrilled that he actually turned out to be easy to train!

Things Kayla has said

Matthew and Kayla both love shouting out what colour the lights are at intersections when we approach them.  On the way to Guildford Mall a week or two ago I accidentally ran a red light.  Kayla must have heard me say, "Oh shit, that was a red light!", because after I turned right on a red light the other day she shouted, "Mom went through a red light!"

On the way to driving to my parents' house Kayla exclaimed that she saw the moon in the sky.  A minute later, she told me that "the moon is following us to Grandma's house!"

Ending the Crazy Day on a High Note

After waking Matthew and Kayla up from their naps, Nathan FINALLY fell into a deep sleep.  We enjoyed a very laid-back afternoon.  I decided that we would have leftovers for dinner so that I didn't have to cook anything.  Matthew and Kayla ate really well (and in a timely manner!), which isn't surprising because they always do really well when it's potatoes (boiled or mashed - this time was mashed), a boiled veggie (this time was snijbonen), and sausage.  And then to make the afternoon/evening extra enjoyable, MATTHEW POOED ON THE POTTY!  I was beyond ecstatic.  Both him and Kayla said at the same time that they had to pee, so Kayla went on the toilet and Matthew went on the potty.  When he said he was "done" I asked him, "Did you pee?"  He said, "pee and poo".  I nearly died.  And then later on in the evening he went again!  Maybe he's over his fear of going poo on the potty.  I hope so!  I'm so proud of him for learning so quick!

Crazy Morning

The nice thing about toddlers is that they can't tell time.  I just put Matthew and Kayla down for a nap 30 minutes earlier than usual.  I think I would have lost my sanity otherwise.

Around 9am Matthew realized that he had to go poo.  We spent a few hours last night running back and forth to the potty trying to convince him to go on the potty, which ended up in half on the floor/half in the potty success.  Apparently there was still more in his system because we spent 2.5 hours this morning running back and forth to the potty every 30 seconds.  I had to feed Nathan, and of course, Matthew decides to go for good.  Kayla came running to me exclaiming that Matthew had pooed and peed on the floor, right outside of the bathroom.  Go figure.  I gave Nathan to Kayla to finish feeding (oh how I appreciate a mature toddler on days like today.  How many people would trust their 2.5 year to feed their 6.5 week old on the couch?) and proceeded to get mad at Matthew and clean up.  Kayla nicely fed him for about 5 minutes, and then was rewarded with a fuzzy peach.

And to top it off, Nathan doesn't like to nap...at least, unless he is being held...which, on days like today where you are running back and forth to the bathroom, is not good news.  I just managed to get him to sleep in his crib when I put Matthew and Kayla upstairs for a nap at 12:30pm...but it's 1pm now and he's already awake.  I think he's only slept for 45 minutes total this morning.

At least I got to have a quick shower and change out of my pajamas and write this entry before he woke up.

A Couple Photos of Nathan

Love my happy boy!

Potty Training Days 2 - 4 - Matthew

Saturday was day two of potty training.  I think because Friday had gone incredibly well (except for one poo accident at my parents' in the evening) I was counting on Saturday being the same.  I was wrong.  I was so distracted by helping Jon set up all of our Christmas decorations (including the tree) and tending to Nathan that I forgot that if Matthew didn't initiate going to the bathroom that I had to remind him.  I had taken for granted the fact that he had initiated it all the time on Friday.  Anyways, we went through three or four pairs of pants in the morning alone.  The afternoon/evening was better because I was more focused on reminding him.

Sunday was day three, and went AMAZING.  He wore a disposable diaper to church, but stayed dry the entire time and then told me when he had to go pee when we were at my grandparents' house.  He was dry the entire time he napped, had no accidents in the afternoon, and stayed dry during church in the evening.  Quite a successful day if you ask me.

Today.  Well, today has been a bit of a gong show.  I was pumping when he woke up so I couldn't take him to the bathroom, so I imagine he did his morning pee in his diaper.  When I finished pumping I dressed him and put big boy underwear on him.  For the rest of the morning he kept saying he had to do poo or pee, would sit on the potty for 10 seconds, and then would get off saying he didn't have to go.  After doing this twenty times over the course of the morning, I happened to look at him while he was jumping on the couch and noticed that he was peeing.  A big pee.  All over the couch.  I quickly put Nathan on the ground, who immediately started crying because I had been feeding him, so I told Kayla to feed him and then I would give her a candy.  I picked Matthew up and threw him onto the potty, and ran to get cloths to clean the couch.  My Mom happened to come over that very instant.  What a life saver for Nathan.  I'm sure our house seemed like mayhem that moment.  Matthew then took a full hour to eat his lunch, and then after he couldn't/refused to pee on potty I wrestled him on the ground to put a diaper on him and put him to bed for a nap.  He refused to stay in his bed, so I closed his bedroom door...which he can't open yet.  After a couple minutes he had cooled off enough to attempt to use the potty (unsuccessfully) again.  So that's today in a nut shell.  One accident, zero successes.  I'm hoping he wakes up from his nap all refreshed and ready to pee :)  Otherwise...well...maybe he WILL be difficult to train after all.

Reading the Bible

Every evening after Matthew and Kayla have brushed their teeth, Jon lays on Matthew's bed and they lay beside him (one on either side) and they read one or two stories from a Children's Bible.  Matthew always asks who each person is, and typically it's Jesus.  A couple times Jon has even sung "Jesus Loves Me" with them when they were done reading.  Anyways, now, every time Matthew "reads" his cardboard book Children's Bible (which is different than the ones they read at night) he says, "Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me..." over and over again on every single page.  So cute.

Matthew Peed on the Potty!

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Just the other day I was telling my Mom how I was dreading having to potty train Matthew.  Like, really dreading it.  We've been telling him every time we change his diaper that he should have gone pee/poo on the potty instead of in his diaper, and he just doesn't seem to care.  We've been having a few issues with his cloth diapers not holding his pee and all of a sudden he has completely soaked pants, so I was starting to think that he was probably learning to hold his pee, and then would all of a sudden do a big pee which the cloth diaper couldn't absorb.

Anyways, as I was changing him out of his pajamas this morning I asked him if he wanted to go pee on the potty, like I ask him every morning, but this morning he said yes!  I put him on the potty and a minute later when I went to check on him I couldn't believe my eyes!  He had actually gone pee!  Unfortunately, I had to go shopping this morning (Black Friday shopping at Wal-Mart - where I quite quickly spent over $200) so he had to go back into a diaper, but as soon as we got home he got to wear his "big boy underwear" and has successfully gone three times and has had no accidents.  He's even been the one to initiate the potty use each time!  Knock on wood, but maybe training Matthew won't be so difficult at all?!?!  Matthew was quite upset when I put him into a cloth diaper again for his nap...but seemed to get over it when I told him that Kayla used to have to wear cloth diapers for naps too.

6 Weeks Old

It's crazy how fast time is flying.  I don't think it helps that Nathan started out as a big baby.  I feel like I've been robbed of the 'newborn' stage.  Nathan is easily wearing his 3-6 month clothes, and I don't think he'll be in them for very long.  He coos and talks when he's in a good mood which is super cute.  He's also losing the hair on the top of his head :).  He also has very regular bowel movements, usually only going once a day, in the morning before his bath.  And guess what?!  Last night he was fed at 9:45pm and then slept until 5am!  That's over seven hours of straight sleeping!  Pretty amazing when the longest he had gone before was four hours.  I had woken up at 3am and snuck into his room because I was actually quite concerned that he hadn't woken up yet.  It was pitch black so I couldn't see if he was breathing, so I felt his hand...and it was cold.  I right away thought the worst.  I then touched his chest which startled him...which made me jump.  I guess I was never really was paranoid about SIDS with Matthew and Kayla because I always checked on the sleeping child when feeding the awake one.

Gray Hair

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Jon finally caved in and let me buzz his hair last week.  I have been trying to convince him for a couple years that a buzz cut is ideal because I can do it, rather than him spending $18 every four to six weeks at Great Clips getting his hair cut.  He finally gave in to me!

ANYWAYS...

As I'm buzzing by his ear, I couldn't believe my eyes!  Jon has a gray hair!  I couldn't believe it!  

Too funny.

He's just hoping he goes a nice salt and pepper gray, and then gray like Opa Bomhof.

One Month Old

Ahhhh!  I cannot believe that it's already been one month.  It's absolutely mind-boggling to me.  Where has the time gone?  I think it's because we've been so busy this past month that the days have just flown by.

Despite our rocky second week when we realized that Nathan was not gaining weight, but instead losing weight, we have made huge strides.  Nathan now weighs 12 lb 14 oz - meaning he is gaining a pound a week right now.  And as he should!  He's eating three to four ounces every two to three hours (three if we're lucky!).  Last night he actually went almost four hours for the first time.  He had stirred and woken me up after three hours, but I decided to wait for him to be a little more restless before I fed him and I guess we both fell asleep for a little longer.  Tonight will be the last night he sleeps in the cradle in our room, and then tomorrow night he's in the crib in his own room.  A little more inconvenient for me as I'm spoiled having him right beside me (or in my bed with me!), but I'm hoping that if I don't wake up to his little stirs, then maybe we can start getting some longer stretches at night.  We know he definitely doesn't need the extra feed!

Nathan is my chubby boy.  I love it.  He has outgrown almost all of his three month sleepers and comfortably is fitting into his six month ones.  He is quickly outgrowing his three month clothes now too, so I finally sorted through his six month clothes and organized every type of clothing from smallest to largest so I know which ones to try first (that's my type A personality for you!).

Nathan is very strong.  His neck strength/control is amazing - it's hard to believe he's only one month old.  Tummy time is a breeze for him!  He's starting to occasionally put weight on his legs.

Nathan is pretty generous with his smiles, especially to Jon.  I feel like he'll smile quicker to Jon than to me.

Nathan has pretty regular bowel movements, usually one in the afternoon and maybe one during the night.  He's not very discrete about it, grunting away until he is done.  If it's during the middle of a feed then he starts drinking very messily because apparently he can't do two things at once.

It seems like Nathan may be settling into a routine of having a three to four hour long afternoon nap and then being up until bed time (whenever I go to bed)...but we'll see if that continues.

He likes his soother, but seldom does he actually use it for a long period of time.  If he doesn't want it then there is no way you can make him take it.

Nathan loves his morning bath and loves car rides.

32 Months Old

Matthew:
- Weighs 27 lb 2 oz
- Can count "One, Two, Free, Four, Se-en, Eight, Nine, Ten!"
- Learned how to blow bubbles in the bathtub tonight
- Marches to the beat of his own drum, especially when it comes to eating.  It is SO frustrating.  He likes almost every food (he still struggles with ground beef and rice), but if he doesn't feel like eating, he eats SO SLOW.  It's painful.  He's often left at the table all by himself because he still hasn't finished eating.
- As soon as Nathan makes a peep, Matthew is off looking for his bottle or soother.  He does not like it when Nathan is crying.
- Loves it when Nathan is awake.  "Eyes open, Mom!"
- Is the leader between him and Kayla when it comes to social interaction.  He's always the first to make a connection with a visitor/guest, and can genuinely laugh when he is having a good time.
- Is really starting to catch up to Kayla with talking.  He still has his own 'lingo' (i.e. putting an 'a' before 'F' and 'S' words), but is stringing more words together each day.
- Asks to hold or feed Nathan once a day.
- Asks every day if his outfit is from Lincoln.
- Favourite cartoons are: Super Why, Bernstein Bears, and Little Bear.
- Loves singing the clean up song followed by praising himself and clapping: "Dean up ev'rybud.  Good dob, Ma!"

Kayla:
- Weighs 29 lb 11 oz
- Is starting to learn how to sing her 'ABCs'
- Loves singing in the car, particularly the 'Pink Purple' song she made up ("Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Pink Purple!") and the 'Kayla' song she made up ("Ahhhhhhhhhhhh Kayla!")
- Calls Matthew 'Ma' 50% of the time, and 'Mah-yew' the other 50% of the time.
- Is a follower between her and Matthew when it comes to social interaction.  She always copies what Matthew is doing if he is laughing hard or getting a big response from the visitor/guest, and because she is only copying, she has a fake laugh.
- Learned how to properly ride her balance bike this past month, and has actually now passed Matthew in ability.  She even did the 'hill' in Phase 1 at the greenhouses under her own initiative.
- Is talking so incredibly well.  She talks all the time in settings she is comfortable in (i.e. at home or at my parents').  The words she uses sometimes are just baffling, and I just wonder how she even learned the word!
- Asks to hold or feed Nathan once a day.
- Is very stubborn when it comes to going to the washroom.  She typically only goes three times a day (morning, afternoon, and evening), so every three or four weeks she'll have an accident because she'll be too stubborn or too busy to take the time to go.  And when she has an accident (like she did today), she cries because she knows it was 'wrong'.
- Asks every day if her outfit is from Annika...and if I say yes, then sometimes she asks if there is 'A.H.' written on the tag (which is how I distinguish Annika's clothes from my own).
- Favourite cartoons are: Super Why, Bernstein Bears, and Little Bear.
- Has become really good at colouring (almost) in the lines.
- Loves dressing and undressing dolls/Barbies.
- Often takes off her socks because her 'feet are warm'
- If she's throwing a fit/crying she'll demand a 'booger cloth' (old receiving blankets we use for blowing their nose when they have colds).

New Pictures of Matthew and Kayla

We had some time to spare at home before we had to leave for church for Nathan's baptism, so I quickly took a few pictures of Matthew and Kayla in their Sunday best.  I thought they had turned out better than what they had...but not bad for only spending a few minutes on it!

Yet ANOTHER Doctor's Appointment for Nathan

Nathan weighed in today at 12 lb 8 oz (with his diaper on...so they figure about 12 lb 2 oz without it)!  YAY!  Dr. Shah was pleased with this weight gain, and rightly so because Nathan gained two pounds in eight days.  At this rate, he's going to be ginormous.  Any time he wants to drop one of his middle-of-the-night feeds is fine by me!  We're now done seeing Dr. Shah in regards to Nathan's weight.  I'll be weighing Nathan again on Monday at the public health unit for his one-month weigh in.  Yes, almost one month already.  *Tears*

Another Doctor's Appointment for Nathan

Since our last doctor's appointment on Thursday, I've been pumping for Nathan and then supplementing him with formula, and feeding him every 2-3 hours during the day, and on his own schedule during the night (which is about the same, every 3-ish hours).

Today, we had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Shah so that Nathan could get re-weighed.  He weighed in at 10 lb 8 oz today, so back up to his birth weight!  I was quite pleased with this as it means he gained 14 ounces in 4 days.  Dr. Shah was pleased with his weight gain as well, but still wants to see him in one week for a final weigh-in, before leaving us alone :).  

I've been tracking exactly how much Nathan has been eating every day and how much I've been pumping, so I should be able to see if the domperidone works at all by increasing my supply.  I'm hoping it will!  If I can consistently pump as much in a sitting as Nathan typically eats in one sitting then hopefully I can transition to only breastfeeding.  *Fingers crossed*.  As much as I love bottle feeding, it's definitely more restricting/annoying to always have to consider my pumping schedule.  It's even more annoying when I realize as we're driving home from my parents that I left my pump at their house.  It's not quite as easy to pump and visit them when I don't live next door!  I used to just run home to pump...now I have to pack the entire pump up and bring it along, and then remember to bring it home again!

Dr. Shah was Right

I wish it weren't so...but he's right - my milk supply is LOW.  It's so strange to me, as I never had any issues with a low supply with Matthew and Kayla.  I'm pumping every three hours right now, and I'm lucky if I pump 3 ounces.  I used to be able to pump 24 ounces in a sitting with Matthew and Kayla!  Thank goodness I have a stash of free samples of formula because that's helping keep Nathan fed right now.  I'm hoping that my frequent pumping in addition to the domperidone which I started this evening will increase my supply...and if it does, maybe I can go back to nursing again?

Nathan's First Smile

My mom, Jon, and I have all been competing to see who could get Nathan's first smile...and in order to 'win' you have to have a witness.

I'm proud to say that I've won....Nathan gave me a bunch of smiles just after feeding him, and they were witnessed by my Mom.

Halloween

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Making our first stop - Auntie "Issa's" house.

Checking out their candy.  They came back after about 45 minutes because they were tired.  They each ate about 5 candies and then Jon jokingly asked if they wanted to go trick or treating again, to which they both eagerly responded, "yes!"...so they went out again for another 45 minutes! (Much to Jon's delight!)

Update on Nathan

Nathan only has gained 2 oz in the past two days.  For a 'normal' baby (i.e. one that is eating on a regular feeding schedule...not one that is eating every two hours) that is average...but since Nathan is eating more often he was expected to have a larger weight gain.  Dr. Shah's suggestion was that I continue to feed Nathan every two hours around the clock (day and night) for at least another week.  Umm...not possible if I'm expected to function for the next week as feeding Nathan takes one hour, which only gives me one hour in between feedings.

Dr. Shah suspected that I might have low milk production/supply so I've also been given a prescription for domperidone, a drug that increases milk production.

Low milk production/supply, along with a slow flow of milk equals a baby that is not getting enough calories and thus is tired when feeding and thus does not have the energy required to have a good feed.  Not good.

SO...I've given up on nursing (again).  This is the exact same thing that happened with Matthew and Kayla.  If I had a fast flow then it wouldn't take me an hour to feed Nathan and then maybe it would be do-able to feed every two hours...however, that's not the case.

SO...back to my trusty pump I go.  Oh, how I wished I would never have to see it again.  BUT, breast milk is better than formula, so if I can get my supply up so that I don't have to supplement Nathan with formula anymore then it will be financially beneficial.  Ideally, I would like to have my supply way up (as in, I would like my body to think I'm feeding twins again), so that I only have to pump a few times a day to have a full days' supply for Nathan.  We'll see what happens!  I can only do my best!

Losing Weight

I wish I could say that this entire entry would be about me losing weight...but I can't.  Yes, I've lost about 22 of the 47.5 pounds I gained, but this entry is about Nathan losing weight.

I took Nathan to see my family doctor, Dr. Shah, on Tuesday because he hasn't been peeing.  He would wear the same diaper all day and it still wouldn't even be close to being saturated.  He was weighed, and now only weighs 9lb 8oz (which was down again from 9lb 14oz from when he was weighed by Dr. Smith last Thursday).  His skin has also become quite dry and flakey.  Dr. Shah said he is starting to show signs of dehydration...but he's still doing okay.  I was told that I need to start feeding him every two hours, day and night, making sure to wake him up if he falls asleep during a feed or if he's sleeping when he needs to be fed.  We go for a follow-up check-up tomorrow at 11:20.  Dr. Shah said he wanted to see Nathan gain 1 lb over the two days...but I think that goal is a little unobtainable.  I, myself, would like to see a weight gain, period.  I'm starting to get skeptical that I can exclusively breastfeed - it looks like a combination of breastfeeding and/or pumping and/or formula feeding will be in my future.  I guess we'll find out more tomorrow!

Nathan's Birth Story

Thursday, October 17
3:30pm  Arrive at SMH for induction

4:00pm  Hooked up for fetal monitoring

5:00pm  Checked by Dr Elaine Peterson, 1 cm dilated.  Induced with Cervadil.  Apparently my ultrasound from Tuesday showed high amniotic fluid levels (Polyhydramnios)...not high enough to induce me on Tuesday but high enough that they're slightly concerned that if my water were to break while I'm at home that the umbilical cord might come out first...so they're admitting me for the evening in anticipation of a possibly quicker delivery.  Once we were settled into our hospital room my Mom and I started walking the hallways, just like with Matthew and Kayla's pregnancy, in hopes of starting my contractions.

Friday, October 18
9:00am Finished breakfast (nasty hospital food).  Had random contractions last night, but nothing regular and I think only when I was awake.  Am waiting to be seen by the dr for the day so that the can do another cervix check to see if I've dilated more and can go on oxytocin or if they have to put a new Cervadil in me.

10:45am Checked by Dr. Ng.  1-2cm dilated.  Dr. Ng decided to remove the Cervadil and said I could get started on Oxytocin...we just had to wait for a nurse to become available to sit with me one-on-one to monitor me while being on Oxytocin.  They figured it would be a 2-3 hour wait.

2:50pm Cervix swept by Dr. Deidre Smith.

3:28pm Still waiting for a nurse to be available so that I can be put on Oxytocin.  Contractions have definitely slowed down and are irregular.  Mom says, "This is bullshit."  We think she's tired of waiting.

4:45pm No nurses available still, so Dr. Smith suggests that I go back on Cervadil because at least it's something...and maybe it's all my body needs.  Head back to Triage and Assessment to have fetal monitoring done again.  Jon went home to pick up a few things and to say hi to Matthew and Kayla.

5:10pm Second round of Cervadil started.

8:15pm Mom heads home as nothing is really happening.  Jon and I start getting ready for bed in hopes of getting some rest in case labour/contractions pick up overnight.

8:30pm Contractions have definitely picked up and become consistent/regular.  Jon calls for the nurses to let them know.

9:24pm Checked by Dr. Smith, am now 3-4cm dilated and so my water is broken.  Jon calls Mom to tell her to come back.  We are informed by the nurses that the Anesthesiologist is busy on a case.  If they call him out of the case, there is an emergency c-section that would probably require his attention first.  They are considering calling in a second Anesthesiologist.

10:00pm IV put in.  Tried laughing gas to ease discomfort but I didn't like it.

10:40pm Checked by Dr. Smith, am now 6cm dilated.  Started my first dose of Fentanyl (only allowed 6 doses) and felt very light-headed and dizzy.  Was told that they had called in another Anesthesiologist, but it would take 40 minutes for him to arrive and then there was still the c-section that had to be done.

11:10pm Checked by Dr. Smith, am now 8 cm dilated.  I remember saying to the nurse, "I'm not going to get an epidural, am I?"

11:25pm Checked by Dr. Smith, am now 9 cm dilated.  The nurses told me to lay on my left side to fully dilate to 10 cm because they thought the weight on it would help my cervix to finish dilating.  One nurse grabbed a towel to push at my rectum to prevent me from pushing.

11:43pm Started pushing.

11:59pm Nathan Herbert Struik is born, weighing 10lb 8oz, measuring 23" long, and has a head circumference of 38cm (average is 34cm).  Much larger overall than all the doctors had predicted (everyone had predicted an 8lb baby)!

12:06pm Anesthesiologist arrives.

It's Only Been 5 Days?

It feels like Nathan has been here forever.  He is such an easy baby, so far - it's so enjoyable!  All he does is eat and sleep, and only allows us to see his eyes for a couple hours a day.  My milk came in Sunday evening/Monday day, and so we've stopped supplementing him with formula.  Breastfeeding is going okay...I never made it to this point with Matthew and Kayla and so it's as much of a learning game for me as it is for him.  I wouldn't say it's necessarily 'my thing', but I really want to make it work because it's more convenient than pumping.  When he's awake and alert, it goes really well.  When I need to wake him up to feed him (during the day) it's more of a struggle.  A good feeding session usually takes us about an hour.  Matthew and Kayla aren't bothered by me breastfeeding, and I even managed to throw put Matthew in time out and keep him there despite him trying to crawl away while feeding Nathan.  The downside of living in Clayton Heights is that we have no privacy because I like to keep the blinds all open, so hopefully no one was walking past as I nearly topless me was chasing Matthew through the house :).  I'm sure they would have had a good chuckle.

Nathan is a really smart baby.  He knows exactly when he is being held.  He'll be lying on the floor, and then when you pick him up he'll stop whining, and then if you put him down again he'll start whining again.  Really cute.  He often tucks in his lower lip when sleeping, right in the middle, and can often be found with his thumb between his pointer and middle fingers when his hands are clenched.  His hair so SO soft.  I could rub my hands on his head all day long.

Matthew and Kayla have learned how to say his name - "Nayfin".  They still mostly refer to him as "Mom's Baby", and like to know where he is at all times.  They typically ignore him, but will sporadically want to sit or lay by him, and give him hugs and kisses.  They like to give him his soother.

Nathan is also a really strong baby.  He has very good neck/head control and can use his legs when he's in the mood.  He learned how to use a soother really quickly, and needs little to no help keeping it in his mouth.

He likes to feed continuously during the night, which I catered to for a couple evenings, but am now working on stopping it as I would be up for hours on end feeding him, putting him back in the cradle, only to be woken up again in ten minutes to feed again.  Last night was the first evening I made him 'cry it out' for 10 minutes, and then he fell asleep.  I didn't necessarily cut out his feedings, but I made him wait at least an hour before the next feeding.  Within a few hours he had already learned that he needed to just lay in his cradle and wait patiently, or fall asleep before I would consider feeding him again.  Jon wasn't necessarily impressed that I was letting him cry as he wanted to sleep himself (Nathan is in our room), so hopefully he's learned from last night and tonight will only be an improvement.

I had to completely skip using all of Matthew's 'newborn' clothes and move Nathan right into three month clothes, which is a little sad.  Matthew was so much older when he was wearing the clothes Nathan is wearing now.  Nathan also skipped wearing 'newborn' diapers.  I am using a few random ones I had left over from Matthew and Kayla, but they definitely don't fit like they should.

I'm a little bit sad that he's already five days old!  I feel like he's already growing up too quickly, even though I know that there are exciting days/weeks/months/years ahead of us.  It will be fun to see his personality come out, and I often wonder what he'll look like as a toddler.  It's a little weird for me to think that this could actually be our last child.  Not that Jon and I have made any decisions in that regard...but not necessarily is that a decision we have control of either.  And you can tell that I've already 'forgotten' about the whole labour/delivery experience (Nathan's birth story to come in the next few days).  I just tell myself that it can't be any worse than what it was (big baby with no epidural).

Anyways, this turned out to be much longer than I intended.  I should probably think about waking Nathan up (he's just sleeping on my lap right now...and has been for the last two hours) so that he can be fed.  Here's hoping he sleeps well tonight!  Jon's taking his second day off tomorrow (administration told him he could take two days off for Nathan's birth...so he took Friday the 18th off while I was in the hospital and now tomorrow) so I guess I could sleep in if I needed to.  We have a fairly busy day tomorrow...a visit with Oma and Opa Bomhof in the morning and a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, along with various errands I would like to run.

The First 3 Days, in Pictures

I came to bed early so I could sleep...but I made the mistake of taking the camera's SD card so I could look (for the first time) at the pictures we've taken over the past few days.  SO MANY CUTE ONES!  How am I ever going to choose which pictures to use in my photo books?  And it's only been 3 days!  Here are a few of my favourites:

My first time holding Nathan.

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Meeting their brother for the very first time.