Our Little Man

Our little man came into this world yelling and he seems to still be doing so. He is a man who knows what he wants and he wants it NOW. Slowly he is calming down and beginning to trust me and believe that I really won't starve him or drop him and he can occasionally be seen flashing a smile and cooing now. Despite his ferocious yell Elizabeth adores him and wants to spend every second with him (except when he yells). She loves to make a play gym for him in her room and he really likes being in her room (which is good because he dislikes our room, the family room and his room he tolerates). He is calm with her and will often fall asleep in her arms and she was the only one he would take a soother from.

Already he/we have sorted out a schedule and he has specific times for naps, bedtime and playtime which is really nice.

This little man may not stay too little as he tipped the scales at 9.2 lbs on his 1 month visit. He is developing some very chubby rolls that are so sweet. He continues to nurse and the 2 of us often have disagreements about how often to eat and I have yet to win these battles as his hourly evening feelings can be tiresome.

He gave us a big scare on New Years day and did what his sister was so good at doing and turned a very scary shade of blue/gray thankfully Mommy was home as Daddy was a bit panicked and after some hard whacks his color returned. We will be seeing a Pediatrician tomorrow for this episode and also he has had a few vomiting out of nose/choking episodes if jostled too much and I now am wondering if some of his crying is not just temperament it is that he is uncomfortable. Holding him upright for 20-30 minutes after he eats keeps him comfortable and with limited spitting up but it is leaving me with not getting anything accomplished and very sore arms. I have been getting quite creative with the baby carrier in the mornings when I need to get Elizabeth to school I can do almost everything while wearing him after he has eaten or while he eats, as I have told Elizabeth sometimes there will be desperate times.

She's 7

This post is a bit late as things are a bit busy here ( new baby, Christmas, Elizabeth home from school and getting all the gifts for babies in the NICU have kept me hopping) but somewhere in the madness Elizabeth turned 7 years old. It is pretty crazy as I still can remember her being born and being so tiny. Fast forward to 7 and she is quick witted, funny, a bit sassy and now great big sister. She is growing like a weed and at some point tipped the scales at 50lbs which now I am thinking the opposite from how to fatten her up but now how to maintain her weight to avoid her gaining too much. I think it will only be a short while before she is bigger than me.

She is doing so well at school this is such a better year; she loves science, religion and math. My worries of her finding math difficult are laid to rest as she completing small addition problems now and is counting by 2's, 10's etc. She is reading small chapter books and rarely has problems reading difficult words, her favorite books are Junie B Jones and of course any Dino book.

I can't say she has a true friend yet but she has lots of friends who she does play with. Social skills continue to be a challenge but the support needed is less now. She has started Sparkes and I hope that will be another place where she can socialize and meet other girls.

Her walking is not as good as it used to be; a huge growth spurt, not going to weekly PT as I was on bedrest and me not being able to do as many physical activities with her during my pregnancy I think has contributed to her falling more and tiring out. Now that I am on my feet we are back to walking and getting out.

In swimming class she is now jumping in the deep end and swimming back to the wall on her own with no floaties (I couldn'twatch when I was pregnant as I would have contractions) so that is amazing. I think by the summer she should not need her floaties.

We are working on her being more independent at home as I cannot always help her now and I think there are things she should be more active in; with lots of prompting she was able to put her snowsuit on and before her new AFO's could put on her smaller pair, in the morning she now gets dressed on her own, brushes her teeth and comes down for breakfast with less prompts and now even holds her brother while I gets dressed.

We are pretty proud of her and her determination is noticed by everyone who meets her.

Wishing you all Merry Christmas

Finally Pictures and a Name

Finally pictures of our little man Harrison Charlie. Elizabeth has been very set on naming him Charlie and might continue to do so but we have chosen Harrison as his first name. We have been home for a week now which has been great, we did need to stay a bit longer as his weight dropped below 11% but once my milk came him there is no problem with weight gain as he is now over his birth weight. He so far is a very easy baby during the day as he sleeps all day, I just wake him to feed every 2 hrs. Nighttime is a bit different we are not sure if he has a bit of reflux or am I eating some foods that cause him grief. He has a bit of a tendency to scream from 9:00pm to 3:00am which makes for a long night but I think it is getting better as we are figuring him out. Elizabeth gave a us a very quick crash course on infant reflux when she came home so we are armed to deal with his upset tummy.

Elizabeth really is enjoying him and is so helpful and sweet. She just has a hard time when he cries and she often ends up in tears too.

We are so immensly blessed to have him as part of our family.

He's Here

Our baby boy arrived safely Thursday morning. After having some back pain Wednesday night that would not go away we decided to go get checked out. I spent the early early hours of Thursday morning in labour with the OB resident vacillating between sending me home and or admitting me and once my OB came in at 8:00 am she finalized the decision and I was whisked off to the OR in 10 minutes flat. Knowing all the disasters that happened with Elizabeth when I laboured with her they took extra care this time and all went smoothly.

Our little baby boy arrived at 8:45 weighing 6 lbs 2 oz, we have still to agree on a name but have some idea as to what we both like. The lungs on this little guy are great he has been kicked out of the nursery for being disruptive and now continues his nightly parties with me in our room. This is a huge difference as Elizabeth never had enough reserve to cry or felt hungry, this fella wants be fed NOW.

We are having a bit of a prolonged stay as he keeps losing weight, for now we have had to add a bit of formula but hope we can continue with the plan to nurse.

Elizabeth has been in a couple of times but has a bit of a cold so I am keeping her at a distance which is hard as we are never apart. She can't wait to have him at home and hopefully that will happen tomorrow.

Reptile Party

We decided to have Elizabeth's birthday party early just in case the little guy plans to appear (and so far this is not the case). Elizabeth has wanted since last year for her birthday party to have a reptile party so we found a great place that you could go and visit the reptiles (having them at my house is not really a thought I wanted to consider). This party was everything she had hoped for; holding tarantula's, snakes, lizards and other small creatures was definitely to her liking. All her friends seemed to enjoy themselves and weren't too leery of these creatures.

Every time I looked at Elizabeth during her party she was beaming and it was great to see her with her classmates who all really enjoy being with her and sharing her odd interests.

In lieu of gifts this year we asked her friends to bring a small gift for a baby in the NICU as this year we want to continue the tradition and bring gifts for the babies in the NICU this Christmas. Elizabeth did luck out and received some pretty cool gifts for herself too; the dino poop, dino cookie cutters and dino crafts were certainly not unappreciated by her.

Booked for his Arrival

I am officially booked for my c-section. Depending on the day I wonder if I will get that far but now being 35 weeks I can relax knowing that the little guy is pretty safe to come at anytime now. I'd say I can now breathe easy but that is pretty hard to do seeing I am short of breath all the time now.

Pictures of me will be hard to find now as I am entering the 'not pretty' phase with 30 plus pounds on a 5 foot body I am looking a bit puffy and my ankles are definitely missing.

December 12 is the day I am booked for a c-section. This is a bit creepy for me as the day I should be going home is the day I came to the hospital 7 years ago in preterm labour with Elizabeth.

My c-section with Elizabeth was a not a typical incision as she was too far down and distressed so a t-incision was needed. This t-incision makes one high risk for rupture therefore I cannot go into labour at all and must get to the hospital right away. It is a bit unnerving as I contract all the time and am not too close to the high risk hospital. My contractions have not gotten worse but I can easily have a handful in an hour. I do feel a bit like a ticking time bomb so I don't go too far anymore without a chaperone.

So for now I am trying to get Christmas shopping done online before the little guy appears and hope to hang around for Elizabeth's birthday party this weekend. Elizabeth has been a great help getting things ready for the baby and asked if she can come to the Operating room to see the little dude being born; as much as she would really enjoy it I think she can come a bit later.

I'm Different

"I'm different" Elizabeth said to me as we were getting ready to leave a friends birthday party at a gymnastic center. "I can't walk right, that's why I'm different' she clarified. Me being totally caught off guard by her candid comment and a bit emotional due to my pregnancy lost my breath. What do you say to your child as your heart is breaking? I know it is not my fault that she was born so early but hearing her say that makes me feel I have failed her in so many ways. She is different she will always be different from her friends and everything will always be a struggle for her and I hate that she doesn't get a break from her life and all the work she does.

So for now we give her all the love, praise and acceptance we can and hope that she continues to have a positive outlook on life and her fierce will to be independent.

Belly Update

I can't believe it I am now 33 weeks pregnant, the little guy will soon be bigger than his sister was when she came home. I continue to feel great; I won't deny I have most of the aches, pains and discomforts of a third trimester Mom but I will not complain. I no longer have to have the invasive ultrasounds to measure cervical length which is lovely but it is unnerving as I have no idea what my cervix is doing and seeing that I am at a teaching hospital I have not offered myself for a peek with residents or the OB that was covering for my normal one. I have one more week of the Progesterone.

I have increased my activity a bit now and will go for a short walk and will venture out for more than my previous 1/2hr. It is so nice to walk around; to get fresh air and to move my aching hips. Elizabeth loves taking Mamma and 'little dude' for a walk and we make a great pair with me waddling and her odd gait but we take out time.

Another funny thing is I am now having braxton hicks contractions which are different from the ones that I normally have. I also have to check my blood sugars four times a day as I was dumping my sugars in the morning and failed that nasty glucose test. So far they are normal and the only I needed to change in my diet is to increase my protein consumption which will help stabilize my blood sugar. I am hoping that this will help my 3am snacking habit which really wreaks havoc with getting enough sleep.

I am packed and ready and most of the nursery is done. We just have to agree on a name which is not going too well; Elizabeth and I have our favourite name but Daddy is not on board.

Happy Halloween

Of course another great Halloween. Elizabeth went out with a new friend who lives close by. She continues to have a fierce love for candy (just like her Father). She reminded me of myself when she got home as she sorted, bagged and hid her candy (from Daddy).