Getting out more

Now that I have recovered from the birth of my child, I have been getting out more when Jesse is at work.  Ashton and I have been going to a group at public health that have 20 or so babies in it.  We went for the first time last week and while the other babies played and interacted on the mat, Ashton lay snoring on my lap, oblivious to the noise around him.  He was the youngest there and probably not the smallest.  When we arrived, he was screaming away.  It was rather cold outside so he was clothed in a MEC fleece onesie, jeans, his fleece-lined corduroy coat, a toque and his carseat bunting.  He stopped crying immediately when the layers were removed.  Funny that.  They always say to dress your baby the way that you would dress yourself.  I always have to remember that when the normal person is wearing shorts and a t-shirt, I am in jeans, a hoodie and thick socks.

We go for walks with the stroller every day.  That thing is a good workout, especially up hills.  Yesterday, we walked to the mall and back for about an hour and a half.  Sometimes we walk to work to meet Jesse when he's off.  Sometimes if I am really ambitious and drive Jesse to work at quarter to six, I walk towards work and he walks towards home and we meet somewhere in the middle.

Saturday was immunization day for Ashton.  I was really upset and very much not looking forward to going.  Of course, I realize that these vaccinations are very important but my main fears involved looking into my boy's eyes and seeing him in pain.  I ended up breastfeeding him the whole time, which is said to help.  After every shot, he pulled off and yelped.  The last one was awful...his face turned red and he just screamed.  It wasn't as bad as I had expected though.  Afterwards, we went for a walk.  When we got home, he got really really cranky and screamed inconsolably.  Eventually he fell asleep and crashed for the afternoon and evening.  That night, he slept for 10 hours straight (though he probably sucked his fist for the first 2 or so).

So the cloth diapers are working really well.  Turned out he probably would have fit them earlier but I was putting them on too loosely, which is why he was leaking.  I love them and the cleaning of them and scraping them off in the toilet isn't even that gross (I get really squeamish around poo normally).  It's become routine.  Jesse reminds me that he'll be on solids in a couple months.  It's true what people say about how things gross you out less when you have a kid.  We have been using disposables at night because he sleeps for 8 hours in a stretch and have been finding that the cloth doesn't really hold up as well at night because he is a pretty heavy wetter.  When he's a bit bigger, I might double stuff the diaper but right now, he's so little and the diaper is on the absolute smallest size.  But it's fine, what we're doing totally works for me right now.  Each to their own and whatever one can handle.  I have never done so much laundry in my life.  I don't know what I would do without a washing machine.  If I don't write about something else, I will need to change the name of this blog to something involving diapers and baby poo.  I am just totally excited about these diapers is all...they are so high tech.

My mom and I went to the baby fair in September and I entered every draw possible.  I just won my 2nd prize from that last night, which is a sp

a package.  I'm pretty excited about this because now that I have Ashton, I wander around the house in yoga pants and hoodie.  I pretty much don't wear makeup and my hair is typically in a ponytail since he loves to get this big fistful of hair and pull on it.  The first prize that I won from the baby fair is a pair of Baby Legs, which I love.  It is hard to find time for yourself when you have a baby but over the last few weeks, I have really adapted to his schedule.  We've been doing bedtime at the same time, which gives Jesse and I time to wind down and maybe even watch a movie.  Then Jesse gets up at 5 and Ashton gets me up at 7.  His morning nap is huge so everything I need to do, I can do when he's sleeping

.  Usually afternoon is his awake time and we read stories and play in his gym or bouncer or whatever.  Then it's cranky time and this is usually the best time to go grocery shopping or for a stroller ride.  I'm excited for the snow to be melting off the sidewalks so we can go for more walks.

I cannot believe all the 2008 babies!  3 of my friends had babies in 08 and I even had a new cousin born about 3 months before Ashton.  A couple days ago, Mom and I went for lunch with 2 of my aunts and my cousin.  It was so cute to see the boys together.  They were smiling at each other and it was very cute.

A picture of my boy from Christmas morning.  Totally slept through the entire thing (mostly).

I am enjoying motherhood so much!  Baby Ashton is smiling now and just seems so happy all the time (except for when we are trying to put him to bed).  His new thing is to roll over from tummy to back, which is really exciting.  He loves being in his little gym, except when he tries to eat the crinkle leaves and the leaves don't produce milk.  Then he gets ornery.  Yesterday I took this picture of him in his carseat because he had been smiling in his carseat (which he almost never does).  And I was singing to him and looking at him and suddenly it dawned on me that my 7-week-old baby boy had grown.  When you spend every minute with someone, you don't notice their growth as much as you would if you were away from them for awhile. 

I was assessing my plan for being an environmentally friendly mother.  I have spent upwards of $300 on cloth diapers.  He doesn't fit them yet (skinny little legs) but we're getting close.  Going to try them again tomorrow.  The ones I've got are genius because they are one size and you can adjust them as your baby grows.  Not proud to say he's in disposables at the moment.  I could have/should have gotten newborn cloth ones but was a little overwhelmed as a new mom with the whole diaper thing.  Of course, now I'm an old pro.  Other parents have said things to me about cloth diapers like "They are so bad for the environment because you have to wash them" but I think they are trying to justify the fact that they don't use them.  Not everyone needs to use cloth, though they are definitely the greener choice in my opinion.  Yes, you have to wash cloth diapers after disposing of the waste in the toilet, which does use a lot of water.  But you can save energy by line drying them.  The cloth is the better of two evils as disposables contain chemicals and the production alone is polluting.  Not to mention the fact that they go into the landfills.  This says it all.  I got on this rant when thinking about all the waste that baby stuff produces.  Today I was thinking even about bottles with liners.  They say that the liners make the baby less gassy but it just seems like such a waste to me.  I am breastfeeding anyway so the bottles I use are the medela ones that fit on my pump.  I'm not saying that I am Ms. Environment.  I just think that making a difference is a good thing.  Yes, I use disposable wipes at times (sometimes I use cloths, depending).  Right now, I am using disposable diapers (not for long, I'm thinking he's almost into the cloth now).  But I think that even if someone uses cloth diapers sometimes, it's something!  There are people who only do it at home during the day and that is definitely a start!  You can get liners these days for cloth diapers for when you go out and don't want to deal with a huge mess.  You just throw the liners down the toilet.  End rant.

On a completely different subject, we have our lovely weather.  It has been rather snowy and nasty, which involves more rocks and debris on the highways.  Anyway, the other day I heard a ping sound indicative of a rock hitting the windshield.  I didn't see anything though so I figured it was nothing.  Two days ago, we noticed a 4 inch crack coming up from the bottom of the windshield.  I researched it with ICBC and found out that I was covered and would have to pay my deductible to replace the windshield.  Yesterday, Jesse turned on the defrost and the little crack became massive, all the way across the window.  The car is currently having a new windshield installed, which is costing $200.  Did you know that the black part at the bottom of the windshield is the weakest part?  I found that out when I took the car in.  Auto glass shops make a killing at this time of year.

2008 in review

Around New Years, I always hear people say things like "I hope next year is better" or "This year was awful, next year will be a new start".  We all hope the each year is better than the last but honestly 2008 was pretty good.  It had ups and downs but mostly was pretty good.  Here is how I spent my 2008:

January: Celebrated the New Year with friends.

March: I found out I was pregnant.  Jesse was in the shower when I took the test.  I screamed very loud, I think it freaked him out.  It was difficult to keep it a secret and though I told close friends and family, I agonized a lot.  I found out I was due on November 18th.

May: I was showing.  I celebrated my birthday with friends and had dinner in Victoria.  I met Jesse's Dad's siblings for the first time ever at his Grandpa's birthday party.  They all live far away, which is why I didn't meet them before.  I thought that was pretty cool.

June: We had the 20 week ultrasound.  The baby was not cooperating enough to let us know what it was.

We bought a 2008 Nissan Versa Sedan.  I adore it.  It's shiny.

July: Enter the second annual baseball extravaganza.  On July 1st, Jesse and I drove down to Seattle.  We parked at Qwest field and walked downtown.  It hurt a lot for me to walk so much, which was funny because I used to walk home from work all the time (up large hills...took an hour) and then go for walks in the evening, used to go to the gym sometimes too.  We went to the Seattle aquarium, where I thought Jesse would explode.  They had amazing saltwater exhibits and Jesse, who is a saltwater tank enthusiast (we have one) was very impressed.  I was also amazed.  The photo on the left is from the Seattle aquarium.  

For the second year in a row, we went to see the Blue Jays play the Mariners.  Last year, we went back and went to the FIFA World Juniors for soccer in Victoria.  This year, there were no such shenanigans.  Anyway, the game was awesome even though they lost.  We were seated 14 rows up too!!

We went camping on Hornby and at Englishman river falls.  The ocean at Hornby is the best place to swim.  Me and my large belly liked to keep cool in the ocean.  

At the end of July, I stopped working and went on medical leave.  My job consists of sitting in a chair all day, paperwork stacked high on my desk, entering things in the computer, scribbling on paper in red pen, talking on the phone.  My back was in so much pain.  I was MASSIVE.  I tried everything to stay at work.  I tried different chairs, stools, footrests but every day when I got home, I lay down and couldn't move.  At the same time, I found out I had gestational diabetes.  It was not a huge issue.  I pricked my finger a few times a day and put the blood on a test strip.  I ended up with a large red ominous biohazard box in my bathroom.  The major change in my lifestyle was my largely fruit based diet.  I drank one liter of fruit juice a day, made fruit smoothies, ate a lot of fruit.  I once ate a half a pineapple one day.  With gestational diabetes, my fruit habits drove my blood sugar to enormous heights.  I had to severely limit the fruit intake.  Other than that, I had no issues.  

August: Jesse and I went to Victoria for our 3d ultrasound.  This time he wanted to make it known that he was a boy.  Over lunch, we discussed names and did not have much success.  Jesse didn't like mine and I didn't like his choices.  When we got back, we went on a baby name site and each made lists.  A few names matched and we decided the baby would be Ashton or Blake.

September: It was our 2nd anniversary.  We went to the Keg and then to the hospital where I spent a few hours in the maternity ward.  I will forever remember that anniversary.  But no, apparently not in early labour.

October: Where is the baby? 

November: We regrettably lost Jesse's mom six days before the birth of our son.  I know she would have been a really great grandma.  She was so excited for us.

Gave birth to Ashton.

December: I say it again, my kid is amazing.  Watching him grow every day is the best thing in the world.

Ashton

It's been awhile since I have written.  I gave birth to my son, Ashton on November 19th.  And I was antsy when I blogged twelve days earlier on the 7th.  This is what transpired:

November 15: I was scheduled for a non-stress test at the hospital in the morning.  I had been told by the doctor that if the baby was stressed, I would be induced at this point.  The baby was not stressed and everything was going well.

November 18:

7:45am: Jesse and I arrived at the hospital for our scheduled induction.  We were hooked up to the non-stress test.  The baby was happy, perhaps too happy to emerge on his 

own.  The doctor arrived a little later and placed a strip with something called cervadil up against my cervix.  The nurse reassured me that I would likely go into labour within the next couple days.  I was anxious.  I was told to come in to the hospital at the same time in the morning on the 19th if nothing had happened.  We went back to my parents and slept (since we live an hour away and my parents live right by the hospital, it seemed like the best place to go)

3:30pm: My contractions were killing me.  I couldn't handle the pain anymore after a couple hours so went to the hospital.  They gave me morphine and sent me home.  We arrived at my parents' with me laughing hysterically.

10:30pm: Jesse and I were playing card games.  I started getting contractions again.  I was screaming.  Whoever said contractions felt like menstrual cramps has obviously never been through it.  We went back to the hospital and found out that I was 3cm dialated.  They wanted to give me morphine and send me home.  I told them I couldn't do this again.  They observed that the baby was facing front instead of towards my back and decided to keep me.  I went into labour at 11:30pm, had a shower in the birthing room and had some morphine.  I slept between the contractions and woke up in awful pain every 3-5 minutes.  It was bizarre.

7:30am: This chapter of the birth is hazy.  I had doctors and nurses around me.  I had an IV, was denied more morphine and given laughing ga

s instead.  The gas did not help with the pain but I huffed it because it helped me breathe.  They eventually took it away when the tank was empty but I ended up getting it back at some point.  They got me in all sorts of positions to turn my baby.  They kept telling me that I was only 9.5 cm dialated.  I was in the worst pain of my life.  I came into this wanting to have a natural epidural-free vaginal birth but at that point, I just wanted my baby out.  At one point, they gave me oxygen.  I was huffing laughing gas and then I had an oxygen mask in my face.  I eventually questioned the oxygen and was told that my baby's heart rate was dropping.  Eventually they forced me to have an epidural and they said if things weren't going well, I would have a c-section.  I figured that if I had to have an epidural, they may as well just do the section now.  I was all about the quickest way out.  But they insisted we try more.  So I had the epidural and didn't feel a thing.  The contractions became less painful and more annoying at the same time after the epidural.  I could just feel the pressure and it was harder to push.  Eventually they had an obstetrician come in and examine me.  She found that my baby was positioned in a weird way still and he was gigantic.  I was moved

 to the operating room and was given a spinal.  The spinal was actually pretty neat and my whole body was numb.  It was such a relief!  I was prepped for the surgery and Jesse came in.  I remember talking the whole time. 

November 19, 1:51 pm: I heard a baby crying and the nurse came past with a newborn baby resembling a three month old in size with a full head of hair.  I fell in love as soon as they placed him on me.  His name is Ashton and he weighed 10lbs 7oz at birth.

Now a month later, Jesse and I have the most amazing baby ever.  He's just started smiling already and it's not just gas!  He reacts to us.  He sleeps at night for up to 6 and a half 

hours.  He has always been amazing with nursing.  I could go on and on.  Motherhood is the most amazing thing in the world.

Due date

Today is the day my monster is due. I figure it's less likely that he comes today than any other day because apparently 5% of babies actually come on their due dates. To be honest, I am antsy and any time anyone jokes about how he'll probably be a week late, I almost snap.

Yesterday, I re-learned crochet and am using some of my spare yarn to make the coolest granny afghan ever. This day and age is amazing for learning a new craft. Learning crochet before was a matter of picking up an instructional book or having someone teach you. Something that is passed down through generations and learned from a mother or a grandmother. I learned to knit from my mother, who originally helped a little with crochet when I first bought a crochet book and made half a blanket from it. She told me it would drive me nuts and it did.



Enter, yarn:

I like to buy yarn by the boatload and about a year ago, knitted an entrelac ear warmer headband called Quant (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/PATTquant.htmlUEwinter07/PATTquant.html) with a yarn called Twilley's of Stamford Freedom Spirit. I liked the feel of the wool and the colours of it. I loved Quant and how every square was basically a different colour without me even having anything to do with it. So I bought 2 balls of a different colour for a scarf and it didn't work with the scarf pattern. Mom bought a ball and made her own Quant and donated me her leftovers. Every time I went to the yarn store, I came home with a ball of a different colour. I ended up with six different colours and decided I didn't want to make six different Quants after all. The yarn was purchased around the time I became pregnant and I thought it would be perfect for my cold-weather baby as a blanket. I started knitting log-cabin squares and finished a square and a half before putting it aside and doing something else. And now is where the yarn comes in. I figured that doing something new could take my mind off the fact that I am waiting for my babe, impatiently and rather painfully. I remembered the granny squares from years ago and thought about my beloved 6 different colours of wool. I couldn't find the crochet book and didn't have mother handy so I learned to crochet on youtube and instructional websites. It just amazes me that picking up something new can be this easy and I wonder why more people don't just pick stuff up like that (or maybe they do). So I tore apart my half-done log cabin square (I can't bear to tear apart the fully done one because I am emotionally attached to it and it's pretty) and dug out the wool. It took a couple tries before it looked normal but I have a good 10 inches on it now after very little time spent. I am so pleased. Rather than making several squares, I'm just going around and around and making one big granny square until I run out of wool. Jesse asks me, "How big is this blanket going to be?" and I say "It could be a baby blanket, or it could be bigger. We'll see when I run out of wool".
(On a side note, I haven't forgotten my reusable cup since the last post. But I have forgotten the shopping bags)

Halloween and reusable coffee cups

I always hate reading the news the day after Halloween. Like this: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/11/01/halloween-shooting.html
Although the frequency of Halloween related violence is certainly not new and crime in this country has been declining for decades, it is still concerning. This particular incident was in the States but it still freaks the hell out of me, especially now that I am a mother. I like the idea of community bonfires that are held as family events and I definitely look forward to having good times on Halloween with my family. Trick-or-treating is a tradition that I adore though. It was nice when I was little to go around the neighbourhood. It was familiar and I knew everyone. Every year, this little old man who lived a few houses down would scare us when we came knocking. He was so much fun and I always looked forward to going there. I think that trick-or-treating is still a tradition that can be carried out with the same kinds of precautions that one would exercise with their children normally. Adequate supervision, familiar neighbourhoods, going to houses you know, etc.
Today I was also thinking a lot about the environment. Anyone who knows me knows that I love my Timmy's coffee. I have always thought about disposible cups when I just get mine and realize that I didn't bring my reusable favourite Starbucks pumpkin and candy adorned Halloween themed coffee cup. I reuse sleeves but I know I should be remembering the cup. Today I remembered the cup and was pleased with myself. It's just a matter of remembering it. Even if I'm remembering the cup every second cup of coffee, I'm still reducing my personal consumption of disposable cups by 50%. As I was slowly sipping my coffee today, I realized how toasty the coffee stays in the reusable cup. I am a slow sipper and usually by the time the coffee is halfway finished, I'm drinking lukewarm coffee and occasionally having to microwave it. Today, I had hot coffee right down to the last drop. Saving the environment and having the benefit of fresh, hot coffee. Now, like the reusable shopping bags, I must actually remember to put the cup in the car before I leave the house. Hopefully my brain function returns after I have this baby and I can remember the bags and the cup at least most of the time. Actually after the baby, I plan to make more coffee at home which is ultimately the best thing. I have had such little coffee lately that creamer will go bad as I will not make enough to use the cream by the best before date as I have seriously cut back on coffee since I got pregnant. In fact, I didn't drink it most of my pregnancy because the smell made me feel all yucky until around month 7. I drank weakly-caffeinated coffee-ish beverages, which were flavoured to satisfy the caffeine withdrawl headaches.