Sunshiny Day

So many funny little things have happened lately that I decided to do a blog post in point form instead of writing paragraph after paragraph and having all my readers fall asleep in the process.

1. Saturday was my 29th birthday and it was good. Nate took me for dinner on Friday night and we had a great time with no babies. My mom was great in offering to watch Jericho and Malachi so I could just enjoy my time with my husband. He gave me furniture - YAY!

2. We went to church on Saturday night and right in the middle of two songs, my little Kai made the loudest pooping sound ever and sent quite a few people standing nearby into fits of giggles, including myself.

3. Jericho has turned into the entertainment capital of our household. I can't believe how funny he is. His new thing is to start to laugh and bend his head into his hand as he giggles away. It's hilarious. He didn't startle at all when we watched the Canucks game last night - and there was a lot of noise!

4. My kids are so cute when they cuddle in the blue chair together! Oh my... I just have to watch closely and keep my hands very tightly attached to Malachi because Jericho likes to 1) try and push him away when he's 'done' and 2) tries to bang heads with him. Goof.

5. My brothers girlfriend gave me two cartons (2!) of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. 'Nuff said.

6. I got a large gift certificate from my mom for Reitmans... also 'Nuff said.

7. I get to go to the SPA!!

8. Jericho is currently using Crayola washable markers to colour me a picture. He basically just sits in his high chair and takes the lids off, puts them back on, etc. But in the process he makes some little marks on the page and it's cute!

9. Nate's thesis is basically done. We may be going to Minnesota in May while he defends it. I'll just go shopping with his parents who will be meeting us in Winnipeg, as he doesn't want any of us actually in the room while he does it. I don't blame him. I can be a loud cheerleader.

10. Malachi slept 6.5 hours straight last night. It was amazing. The sucky part was that Jericho woke up 4 times and was wide awake and needed cuddles and diaper changes. I'm glad at least one of them gave me a break... but it's really unusual for him to be like that. Must be those 4 eye teeth he's cutting. When they're all in he'll have 16!!

11. I know WAY too many people who are pregnant. I'm especially excited that my parents will have 5 grandkids by the time Jericho is two. For those who are counting, there's only three right now and two are still cooking.

12. For my birthday I had a few friends over Saturday night after church. There was lots of cheese and laughter and it completely made my day. Thanks!

My two sons

Aren't they cute?!?! This experience of getting professional shots taken wasn't fun. Jericho was extremely distracted by all the cools toys, so Nate ended up holding him in position. As you can see, Malachi slept through most of it.

Life is different, but good. I am completely taken with the men in my life. Malachi is still a really good baby, he's had bad gas a few times - but he still manages to almost completely sleep through the night. When he does wake up for a feeding - he just happily goes back to sleep. Jericho has been a real goof lately. He does anything for attention and most of it is hilarious. He bounces so hard on his zebra toy now that he gets a bunch of air. He also loves to run into his room and climb on his stool and watch the "Eee's!" (Horses). The only time I find hard with two is when I'm trying to nurse Malachi and Jericho wants me to help him with something - most of the time it's to help him collect toys he's thrown under the couch. But we're doing well.

The baby is now weighing in at 9 lbs 13 oz. A gain of almost a pound since birth... and that was on Tuesday. I'm sure he's 10 by now.

And tomorrow I turn 29. Twenty-nine. Wow. I can't believe I'm 29 and have two kids. I know some people who are completely done and have kids in grade school by the time they're 29, but I didn't get married until I was 25. Nate will be taking me for dinner tonight while Mom watches both boys. This will be my first time away from Kai for more than... well, I've never been away from him. Tomorrow I'm hoping to have some people over to celebrate with me after church... if you wanna come let me know!!

Here's to the next 29 and watching my beautiful boys grow up.

Weight Gain

When I had Jericho, he was not the best at nursing and we had lots of problems with him not gaining weight. Malachi does not have this problem. He LOVES to nurse and often is hooked up every 2 hours or so during the day.. then from about 10:00 pm til around 12:00 am he nurses quite a bit. Then not at all until at least 5 am. I love his schedule, it enables me to have uninterrupted sleep. Well, he was born and weighed 8 lbs, 14 oz. On Friday we weighed him and he had lost 6 oz, which isn't that bad. Jericho had lost a whole pound! Anyways, the midwife came by today and the little guy already weighs 9 lbs, 5 oz! He gained 13 ounces in 3 days. WOW!! I'm so proud of my healthy, big baby!

Kai Update

The midwife came by today and... my second baby does NOT have jaundice! He is quite talented when it comes to breastfeeding and has only lost 6 ounces. My milk actually came in yesterday so he didn't really have a chance to lose much weight. It's awesome compared to Jericho's loss of a whole pound. I find myself comparing them all the time. They look a lot a like, but are very different. I can already tell even though M is only 3 days old. Jericho was a very good baby, but when I compare them... Malachi is EASY. He sleeps about 5-6 hours at night and nurses well.... it's soooo great. It will likely change, but for these first few days where I'm still recovering, it's been a huge blessing to have a baby who rarely cries, sleeps well, and gives me no trouble when nursing.

I also learned that I have a pelvis that is usually only found in African women. Huh. It's like finding out you have a rare blood type. Apparently most Caucasian women have a certain pelvis that enables the baby to drop a few days before labour, but the labour process takes awhile as the baby needs to maneuver through. I have a gynacoid pelvis which means the baby does not drop until I'm well into the labour process and once it descends, it moves very quickly. Because I had an epidural last time, it wasn't as evident as it was this time. Apparently it's really rare in white women. We'll see if I ever put it to good use again.

Other than all that we're doing really well. Jericho adores his brother and is always trying to see him, hug him, kiss him - grab him and run away... it's fun. As much as I said I thought I was expecting a girl - I'm overjoyed to have had a boy. They are so cute together! I'm also saving soooo much money by not being tempted to buy all those adorable little girl outfits. Do you know how many items of clothes I have?! Mostly thanks to Michelle ;)

Anyways, I should get off this hard chair and go sit on the couch with my cuddly little man while Nate and Jericho are shopping. Thanks for reading!

Malachi Sage Robinson

My son has arrived!!!

Ok, so do not want to that again. Apparently I did very well, but it sure didn't feel like it. Here is the little miracle story of how my second son came into this wonderful world.

He was due March 2nd and I was getting slightly annoyed he was taking so long. I know babies are often overdue, but it didn't make it any easier seeing as I was huge. But I was fairly adamant I didn't want to be induced again as that process was unpleasant to say the least. So I got lots of advice from my awesome midwives on how to try and hurry things along. I had tried all of them until I went in on Monday afternoon and they gave me a recipe for a Labour Induction Cocktail. Lovely. Ingredients: almond butter, verbena oil, apricot juice, and castor oil. Scary. I took it at 3 pm and by 7:00 I was having contractions. I had them through the night and as uncomfortable as they were, they still weren't horrid....yet. I slept about 3 hours that night in spite of them. By about 6 am they were 5 minutes apart and getting more and more intense. I had a bath and shower to make sure, and they kinda slowed down a little... and I lost my plug at that point as well. I called the midwives and since I had an appointment for that afternoon, they recommended that unless they got really close and intense then I could just come in then for a check.

It was a long morning. Then as we were about to start getting ready for my 2:45 appointment, I sat up from the couch and my water broke. That was 2:00. I had a shower and promptly lost my lunch all over the shower and my dear wonderful husband. In spite of all these things, I still made it to my appointment. There we discovered, to my obvious delight - that I was actually 4 cms dilated already. I cried tears of joy and thanked God. We decided to head to the hospital as I was so tired and just wanted to get hooked up to an epidural. Pathetic, I know. We arrived at 3:30 pm and I laboured intensely and waited quite impatiently for my 'light at the end of the tunnel' epidural...which never came due to both an over-busy drug man and my ability to deliver my child quickly. At 5:30 they told me the epidural wasn't going to come. I was more than a little devastated. With Jericho it just helped so much with those last few hours.... but they did give me an IV this time and said they would hook me up with some drugs. Problem was there was a miscommunication and I went 25 minutes or so with saline. I was quite disappointed in the usefulness of those drugs that's for sure.

By 6:15 I was experiencing extreme pressure and had the feeling like I needed to push. My midwife checked and at this point I was fully dilated. The problem was they had many issues with trying to locate the baby's heart rate. I had to keep moving in the middle of contractions which SUCKED. I think at one point I said I wasn't doing it anymore...and at another point I said I wanted to die. But no one really listened.. they kept being really annoyed and saying I was doing great. But it would have been rude to tell them to shut up already. Anyways... this is the point it got scary and also the point I realized a lot of people must have been praying for me and for my baby. When they did find the heart rate it was dipping below 80 - which is NOT GOOD. At this point I saw the first sign of panic in the midwives faces. Also - NOT GOOD. They told me I needed to get the baby out NOW. They called in the OBGYN and said he would need to vacuum him out if I couldn't push him. There's something about that statement that made me push like I have never pushed. It took 4 contractions and he was out and born right at 6:30 exactly. Fifteen minutes. Fast. But the drama wasn't over. My son came out blue and not crying and limp. It was the scariest moment. My mom and Nate told me later they both thought he was dead. But like I said, someone was praying for us and within 3 minutes he was perfectly pink and cuddling with his Mommy.

We thank God for this BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL gift.

For those who love all the juicy details:
His full name is Malachi Sage Robinson Searle and his nickname will be Kai.
He weighed in at a hefty 8 lbs and 14 oz.
He was 22" long and his head was 36 cms.

EVICTION NOTICE

This is to notify the sweet little one in my uterus that as of today, I am serving a notice of eviction. You have lived rent-free for a very long 41 weeks and now is the time to join the rest of your family. You have an expectation to live up to - you need to come out. Be born so we can meet and love you.

No Baby Yet...

I'm officially 4 days late. Not too bad. I went to the midwife yesterday and she said everything looks good. The only problem is that the baby is still posterior. Just means labour will be more painful than usual unless I can get the baby to turn around. My blood pressure was 128/72 which is higher than it usually is, but I'm also 9 months pregnant.

I've been having TONNES of pains, almost every night. It usually stops after I have a warm bath, but it gets annoying... you start to think that maybe tonight's the night and then NOTHING. But I think my little babe is warm and cozy and will come out when he/she is good and ready.

I'm scheduled for membrane sweeps (don't ask) and a non-stress test next week. Fingers crossed it won't get to that point, but I won't be surprised. We've been given some fun instructions from the midwife and Rachael, so maybe tomorrow...

Baby Pool

So I did have everyone try and make a guess a few weeks ago on here, but only Michelle's date still stands (February 29th). I figured I would give everyone a second chance. Just put a comment down for when you think the baby will come as well as your guess for the weight and sex.

I'm doing well, had a really great sleep last night for once. Since Monday I've had pains right as I'm going to bed and it's quite difficult to sleep under those kind of circumstances. I even made Nate stay home on Monday because I was so nervous he would get to work and I would have to call him back. But my warm baths worked wonders and I still have no baby. Funny thing, I'm not desperate for the baby to come yet. It can stay warm in there for awhile longer and I would be okay with that. Do you know how busy I'm going to be once it's out?!?! Lots busy. But I can't help but be excited. It won't be long before I meet my little one.

Last time during labour I didn't stay very focused. I was kinda distracted by the pain. This time, I've written out a bunch of things to keep in mind while I'm delivering #2 to try and help focus on the baby and other happy things instead of getting lost in the moment. Here is what I came up with:

You are about to meet your second child!
You are in control!
You can do it again!
Think of a safe place, or a place where you remember being really happy.
Think of how much you love Nate
Think of how much you love Jericho
God never gives us more than we can handle – you can handle a lot!
Remember how much you love being a Mom!
Imagine the baby getting ready to come out.
Be calm.
Relax
Think of everyone who loves you
Remember what it’s like to hold a newborn baby
Imagine every movement of the baby is him or her saying how much they love you.
Place a picture in your mind of all the cute things Jericho does.
Remember the sound of Jericho’s laughter.
Imagine what the baby will look like.
Try and think of a really funny joke.
“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength”
Enjoy it, it might be the last time you go through labour.
Think of the view of Golden Ears on a clear, sunny day.
Imagine holding BOTH of your babies.
Try and think what it would be like for Jericho to meet his sibling.

I know some are kind of cheesy, but maybe it will make things a little less chaotic. Can you think of anything I can add? I also asked Nate to put some of my favorite songs on his iPod so I can listen to music too. Any good songs you would recommend for giving birth to? Not long now folks!!!

For Michelle...

Oops, I promised I would do that 'tag' thing...

Michelle has a blog and she did this little blog game where she had to do the following. She asked anyone who reads her blog and has their own blog to do it as well... so here goes...

* Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)
* Find Page 123
* Find the first 5 sentences
* Post the next 3 sentences
* Tag 5 people

The book - Shopaholic and Sister. A really great fluff read which I thought wasn't as great as the rest of the series, but it still entertained me nevertheless.

"Like we already know each other and understand each other better than anyone else in the world. I mean, who knows? Maybe it will turn out that we'll have sisterly psychic powers."

Short, but sweet. So... I tag anyone who still reads and has their own blog as well.

Maybe Baby?

Today was a long day. It didn't help that I had more indigestion in the middle of the night. Who knew stew could make me so blue? Hehe. Still have my humour. Lame, but it's still there. One of the first things I realized today was that I hated my new haircut. I got it done two weeks ago and I just could NOT adjust. I kept thinking about those adorable pictures of my new baby and me holding him/her and wanting to cut the pictures up just because my hair looked horrible. So, I called the salon, I talked to the manager and explained that I was pregnant, hormonal, and unhappy. She was very understanding. She made me an appointment for 3 pm to get it fixed at no charge. I didn't want to see the woman who originally did it... I felt bad. She was sooo nice, but I just didn't like what she came up with. I felt like I had been given a bowl cut and the colour was too much of a shock. Anyways, I got there... and this younger woman was assigned my case. She had a mullet. Sketch. But she turned out to be super sweet. The only issue at first was that the woman who did my hair in the first place was TWO CHAIRS OVER. I was trying to be discreet and not too critical, but we were getting no where, so little miss mullet moved me over to a completely different room and went about making me a whole new person. My only complaint = she nicked a mole on my forehead and I proceeded to bleed... a lot. But it was all good. All in the name of fashion.Nate took the camera to work tonight, otherwise I would post pictures - maybe.

That was my 'feel good' part of the day. My 'feel bad' part was when I was getting contractions often. They aren't bad, and I'm still experiencing them... they are about a 2 on the pain scale (1-10). It makes me think the baby might come soon.. but you never know - I could go another 2 weeks, but my chiropractor Angela thinks I won't last too much longer. Don't ask me why she thinks this, just go with it.

Oh - and I also managed to make a Butterscotch Fig Pie. Sounded interesting and I had bought some dried figs not too long ago and I needed to bake SOMETHING. Nate and I skeptically tried it and it wasn't too bad. A little rich, but quite tasty.

So all in all, a random day with random events. Newer haircut, tired body, and a fig pie.

I think it's time for bed.

Last Days

So, there are 13 days left until my due date. I realize due dates are relative, but Jericho was pretty much born right on time.. so I have a feeling this one won't go past March 2nd. Nate is fairly adamant that this Wednesday would be a bad day for the baby to come as he's gone from 5 am til 8 pm. He can easily be interrupted if I suddenly go into labour, but it just so happens he has a lot planned for that day. That's why I think it might come then just because he doesn't want it to.

I'm mostly ready for babe.. there's a few little things I need to add to my hospital bag.. and I need to put some stuff together for Jericho in case we need to drop him off somewhere. I have three people lined up to watch him when I go into labour - if one can't do it, I'll call the next one, etc. And all three can stay here, but in case none of them work out, I might just have to drop him off with my dad or something... hehe.. And Jericho will come home with a diaper full of blueberries and cranberries.

It's been a little more trying taking care of Jericho lately... for several reasons. One, I'm fairly pregnant.. two, he's got two molars coming in, and three, he's just getting over a sore throat. Nate and I realized that we went to either the doctor, midwife, clinic or hospital for 8 days straight. Crazy. I'm officially tired of doctors. Especially when they don't tell you what you have and the lab never calls you back.

Speaking of people who don't call back, we don't know what happened with the chick who stole my money... but I'm going to be calling the officer soon to see what happened with all that. What a complete gong show of a night that was.

In other news, Nate's sister Noelene called yesterday to let us know she's expecting in August!! Another niece or nephew. Holy cow!! She's also engaged and will be getting married sometime after baby arrives. Very exciting... so many babies! And to think it all started with a little boy named Jericho. There were no grandkids on either side and now they'll be 4 on my side and 4 on Nate's side.

Life's Annoying Lessons

After my post last night, I put Jericho to bed happy. He was starting to show signs of getting sick, but it wasn't really a big deal... yet. At 2:30 am he woke up screaming and VERY warm. His temperature was hard to take, but it was around 101 or so. Then he started vomiting. I called the BC Nurse Line and after 25 minutes of questions, she recommended we take him to the hospital. So just after 3 am we left our house with a still screaming child - not realizing what was about to transpire.

We arrived at the ER and there were three other patients there. I immediately got the feeling that at least one of the women waiting was in my own words, "Sketchy". We didn't wait too long, and I was happy to hear the nurse calling Jericho's name. So happy, that I stupidly left my purse in the waiting room. I realized my mistake too late. By the time I got back into the wait room 10 minutes or so later my purse was on the chair instead of on the floor, and there were wet footprints leading up to the chair.

This now leads into my second mistake... in working for my brother, I have been able to put aside money for an RRSP - $300. Stupidly.. it was in my purse. This woman took my $300. When I realized this and told Nate, he tried his hardest to get it back for me, like any normal hero would. The problem was that by this time she was getting into her taxi... and the wonderful driver, instead of stopping when Nate tried to get his attention, simply gunned it out of the hospital and knocked my husband over in the process. Not only did Nate gain a number of ugly scrapes and scratches, but he broke his brand new cell and also (we found out later)lost his wallet in the process.

We called the police from the hospital and a really nice office came by. Luckily, one of the other patients had heard the woman call someone on her phone saying she had found $300. We're guessing what the money was about to be used for was drugs. She didn't even get in to the ER for treatment, but she had filled in all the paperwork... so the police were able to use that information to try and track her down. We're still waiting to see and hear what's going to happen. But I have a feeling I won't get my money back.

When we got home at 5, we were hoping to sleep in. Jericho woke up in dire straights again at 7... the poor little guy has joined Mommy in the ranks of FLU sufferers. Nate and I are exhausted and frustrated... but I've learned a few lessons today I should have learned a long time ago.

The Flu

It's true, I have the flu. Poor Jericho is starting to also exhibit signs of sickness. Tonight Nate is at a birthday party for a friend and I am home with the baby and I'm happy to report my evening is going quickly. I hope that this cold leaves before this baby comes... and I'm loading my body with Vitamin C, honey lemon water, and all sorts of fluids to ensure I give my body the best chance.

I got my hair done the other day, but I'm going through a love-hate relationship with it. Part of the problem was that I splurged. I don't go out and get my hair cut very often and if I colour it, I do it myself. But, when I went to the SALON the other day, the woman (who was very nice) gave me bangs and at my request - coloured my hair a dark blonde/light brown. It's too shocking for me. And the bangs, I can't wait to grow them out. Nate says he likes it, but he's nice and I'm not sure he would say if he didn't like it. But it is the redeeming aspect of the entire experience. I just don't think it's smart to do your hair when you're 37 weeks pregnant and experiencing flu symptoms.

sigh.

Jericho in Winter

Baby Stats

For those that really care, here are some comparisons between my two pregnancies.. so far.


Weight gain
Jericho: 52 lbs
Baby 2: 22lbs (so far)

Belly measurements:
Jericho: 39 cms at 35 weeks
Baby 2: 35 cms at 35 weeks

Morning sickness:
Jericho: up until 5 months
Baby 2: up until 4 months, then sporadic

Cravings:
Jericho: anything bad for me
Baby 2: at first, nothing rich or fatty... lately it's candy and ice cream.

Comments received:
Jericho: Wow, you are huge! Are you sure it's not twins?
Baby 2: You got big fast!, What, you're pregnant? Are you sure it's not twins?

Perceived Sex by others:
Jericho: About 90% of people told me it was a boy.
Baby 2: Most say it's a girl, but still quite a few think it will be a boy.

Perceived sex by Nate:
Jericho: Boy, but he would be happy with either.
Baby 2: Boy, because it would be cheaper.

Perceived sex by me:
Jericho: Boy.
Baby 2: Girl. But agree with Nate on cost effectiveness of boy.


Am now accepting guesses for when this baby will arrive. I am currently 35 weeks and officially due on March 2nd. That date was set after the ultrasound determined the baby was smallish. Original date was Valentines. Another reason the date was changed was so that the midwives could put off induction in case the baby wasn't quite ready. They usually induce if you are 10-14 days late. You can post a comment with your guess of the babies birthday, plus what you think it is and what it's weight will be. Good luck!

Jericho LIKES!

This is the toy we gave him for Christmas and Jericho enjoying it thoroughly.

I'm not THAT hungry...

On two separate occasions today I had people ask me if I was pregnant. Uh, yes. What did you think? That I swallowed a watermelon or something???? Seriously.

Today

I am tired. I pretty much am tired all the time so really I shouldn't have to say it anymore. People probably just know. I've tried to nap when Jericho naps, but the house is so gloriously silent I can't help but take time to work on whatever needs working on. But, many have told me and many more will continue to tell me that I will not sleep for the next 6 months, so I better get my sleep in now. And even 6 months is being stingy.

I guess I should look into some magic device that hooks up to your face and automatically makes you fall into some sort of deep and luxurious sleep. The second you hear your kid, or something - it jolts you with a small electric shock. I could deal with that. At night I sleep alright, but if Jericho wakes up at any point, it takes me a long time to fall back to sleep. The nights he doesn't wake up I do very well and wake up feeling super rested.

Speaking of the child, he's currently in the bath with dad making quite the fuss. He hasn't been himself lately, so I'm hoping he snaps out of it soon.

Remind me not to post on my blog when I'm tired as it comes off sounding whiny and annoying. When really, I'm excited about the baby and love Jericho to bits. Really. Ok, eyelids are starting to droop - MUST find toothpicks.

Box Boy

I bought an office chair. We took the box and made it into a little house for Jericho to play in. He just gets a little upset when he can't escape through the window. Hmmmmm.

Dreaming

Ok everyone, get out your dream interpretation books cause this one is a doozy. Last night I dreamt that Nate and I went sailing on a Tuesday. Apparently it was the only day of the week that you were allowed to sail, so there were millions of sailboats in the water. Then as the day came to an end, and we were docking all the sailboats.. people started having babies. I ended up having twins - a boy and a girl. Nate also had a twin boy and girl. Luckily for both of us, the babies were so tiny they had to be put in petri dishes. Um, okay.

As I think about it, this is what I think the dream means:

I'll give birth on a Tuesday and it will as if I'm sailing. (I wish)
I'll have one baby, but it will be so much work it will feel like 4 babies.
Nate will be so helpful, it will be as if he gave birth to the baby himself.
My baby will be small.

I know I don't have prophetic dreams, but I just thought it was so odd and yet hilarious. What do you think my strange dream meant?