Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas with Aryn

Aryn's first Christmas was amazing. I couldn't have asked for any better - except that she be awake!!

Aryn turned 3 months on December 14 and it seemed to be in the middle of some sort of major development - and therefore from then until the 22nd, she was a real pill. She cried all the time, woke up countless times during the night, I could never make her happy, and all the while this was all happening during my work deadline so in between cries I was trying to call people back and send out work emails, etc. In short: I was at the end of my leash. There were tears and frustrated walk-outs and angry voices at God saying "WHY?!?!?!?!"

Then we had to go to Ryan's family's farm for Christmas. We left on Wednesday the 22nd and I gotta tell you: I was nervous. I didn't even want to go. I didn't want her crying all the time and everyone say to me "man, she cries a lot" because then I'd feel bad that they thought that about my beautiful daughter when I know there's more to her. I didn't want anyone to think she was anything other than perfection.

So we left in the morning right at the time of her first nap. She slept most of the way, with 2 wake-up cries that were quickly soothed with the insertion of that life-saver soother.

On that drive to the farm, something changed. For the next 4 days, Aryn was awesome. Smiles, coos, giggles, happy kicks, and instead of eating ever 2 hours, she ate every 3-4. I felt like a new woman. Oh and night sleep.... she slept AWESOME. In bed at about 8:30pm, up once at night to eat, and sleep again until 8:30am. On Christmas morning she slept until 9:30am (and incidentally missed present time!!)

It was awesome. I fell even more in love with Aryn during those 4 days than I ever thought possible. She.Was.Amazing.

Aryn, THANK YOU. You made this Christmas the best Christmas yet. I loved watching you get spoiled with books, Christmas ornaments, clothes, toys, and a few other things that I loved seeing you get. You are just so loved. I'm so happy to have you in my life and I can't wait for a million other Christmas' with you!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In early December, my good friend Tiffany Matson of Tiffany Jade Photography took some photos of my baby girl in exchange for some infant clothing for Swaddle Share and they turned out amazingly. If you are in the Calgary area and need a photographer for weddings, pregnancy photos, baby photos or family photos, USE HER. She was amazing and here is some proof of how amazing she is!!!

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Thanks Tiff!!!! <3

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from the Geremia's!!!

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(Sorry I didn't get around to mailing these out this year... time got away from me! And, I printed a whole bunch of these and they printed all blurry and I just never got around to re-printing them hahaha)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

3 Months!

You are 3 months old today!! And I didn't even take any pictures... today you were babysat by Grammy ALL DAY so that mommy could do work. You did ok... I realized today just how much you cry/whine. And sleep. And eat. That's all you do. You cry because you're hungry and/or tired which is about 90% of the day.

But then you smile.

Ohh those smiles.

They're enough to make the meanest of mean's hearts melt. I.e., Bauer. He's a big grump. I think he's an old man at heart. But he sees you and he gives you kisses. Or... he's licking off the drool and milk that's splashed all over your face. But I choose to believe he's giving you love.

And now let's discuss sleep. Aryn. Last night you were up at 11:30pm. Then 2am. Then 4:30am. Then 6:30am. Then 8:30am. I fed you at the 11:30pm, 4:30am and 8:30am wakes. But come on. That's enough. The funniest of it is, is you wake up mostly because you squirmed so much that your arms got out of your swaddle and you are uncomfortable. You like your swaddle. And you like your squirming to get out of the swaddle. And do you know what else you like? Sucking on your hands. That's what wakes me up. The "shlirp shlirp shliiiirrrrppppp" that comes over the monitor. That is what I hear at random hours of the night. And it is comical. Then you cry bloody murder when I take your shlirped-on fingers away from you and re-swaddle them. Then BAM! You're asleep.

And today you ate every hour and a half to two hours. Yes, you may be going through - yet another! - growth spurt. But honey. Come on. Aryn. Come on.

Babycentre.ca told me today that a 3-month old should be sleeping the entire night. It even defined "entire night" as up to 12 hours of sleep. With no wakes. Umm..... when do you plan on doing this??

I can't lie though. Getting up at whatever hour of the night to go in your room, half asleep, cold, stuffed up (mommy is getting a cold!) - and you're in bed, shlirping on your fingers, with the biggest "GOOD MORNING!" grin. Your whole body smiles when you smile. Your face lights up, you squirm your entire body, you make "I LOVE YOU" coos and gurgles. You become the smile. And at 2am, 4:30am, 6:30am and finally 8:30am... those just-woke-up smiles are the best part of my day.

But let's work on the sleep thing. Please?

I never updated your weight last week!! On Thursday, Dec 9:
13 pounds 6.8 ounces
I will weigh you tomorrow.

3 months old. And I can't even remember a time before you were here. Mommy and daddy love you soooo much. And I can't wait to watch you grow. And I can't wait to see more smiles. And I can't wait to keep fighting with you to keep those hands out of your mouth. You are amazing and I love you soooo much.

I wonder if Bauer remembers a time before you... haha!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Aryn Rolling Over!

So I finally got to witness Aryn rolling over. Ryan saw her, even Kurt and Kelly (friends of ours) saw her. But I always got to see the finished product. Every time I looked at her it was AFTER she rolled over.

But today, I got to witness it. She rolled over like 4 times in a row and we recorded one of them.

Here you go!!
PS. I'm fully aware she sounds ANGRY in this video... and she was... but it's funny none the less


Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Some Videos

Aryn and Bauer hanging out... November 8, 2010


Aryn talking up a storm... November 23, 2010


Auntie Shirley, Grammy and Aryn... November 29, 2010


Aryn rolling over... December 7, 2010

12 Weeks on the dot

ARYN ROLLED OVER!!!!!

I got it on videotape but the tape is so long I can't upload it hahahahahhaha

I'M SO PROUD OF HER!!!!!!!!!

Not even 3 months old... my kid is amazing!!!!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Aryn's Wrath

Tonight, my darling husband got to experience Aryn's wrath. You see, we needed groceries. Aryn had started being fussy at 6:30pm and I told Ryan I'll wait until she eats at around 7-7:30 then go. But Ryan was adamant that he could handle Aryn's fussiness so... I agreed. I left her in very capable hands, drove to No Frills and took my time picking the best apples, the more ripe oranges, and the greenest bananas (I like green bananas!).

30 minutes later, as I was backing out of the No Frills parking lot, I got "The Call." When your phone rings and you look down and see it's your house number, your heart leaps into your throat. You hold your breath and answer with a terrified "hellooo???"

No voice answers. All I hear is Aryn. Screaming-at-the-top-of-her-lungs-more-than-I've-ever-heard-before-EVER Aryn. Then a high pitched and extremely quick "AREYOUALMOSTHOMESHEHASN'TSTOPPEDCRYINGSINCEYOULEFT!!!"

"I'm on my way!!"

click

I walk into the house and there is silence. Aryn is doing her post scream breathing and whimpering. Her face is bright red, there are crocodile tears still lingering on her cheeks. Ryan hands her to me as quickly as he can, tells me he thought she was dying by how hard she was crying, then promptly walks into the garage to, as he says "grab the groceries," but it's quite clear he just needs to get away for a moment.

FYI, about 2 minutes after I get her she burps this huge burp then promptly fills her diaper with an aroma that not even a mother could stand. Aryn is suddenly happy, cooing and smiling.

I suspect Ryan was faking it.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

(Almost) 12 Weeks!

I haven't given an Aryn update for what feels like forever. Last week was just crazy - both in life and in Aryn changes!!! It's amazing how 1 week can make a total difference in a child.

Vitals Update:
Weight 12 pounds 14 3/4 ounces
Length 24.5"

So last Saturday (November 27th) my Aunt Shirley came in from Montreal. On Sunday we got Aryn dedicated at Hope Community Church. It was a beautiful service and Aryn behaved extremely well. She wore a super cute little dress, which I have to take new photos of and pretend they were from that day haha (Exhibit A).

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After the dedication we went to my parents house and hung out for the day with my Aunt Shirley. She SPOILED Aryn - again! Not only did she get us 2 Baby-Bjorn's when Aryn was born, but she got us a whole gift bag full of stuff - from adorable little outfits to silver plates with the engraving of all of her birth information. She got a beautiful frame with her name engraved on it, and a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament as well. So much amazing stuff in that gift bag. I can't even express how much I appreciate my aunt for doing all of that. She is amazing.

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By the way, you ALWAYS gave Auntie Shirley the BEST smiles. I mean, it was unbelievable. She looks at you, you grinned from ear to ear then buried your head in the shoulders of whoever was holding you and then you'd look right back at Auntie Shirley. It was awesome.

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On Monday my brother and Connie came down from Ottawa to meet Aryn. I haven't seen either of them for over a year, since they moved to Ottawa. I had to miss their wedding in August because I was 8 months pregnant and neither West Jet nor Air Canada would let me fly.

So Jon and Connie were here from Monday morning until Wednesday morning. It was a crazy busy few days and Aryn's somewhat-schedule I had created was totally off kilter - which meant for a somewhat cranky baby. However, those were the 3 BEST nights of sleep I have had yet - and since! We got some great photos and I'm so glad Ayrn's Uncle Jon and Aunt Connie got to meet her finally.

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So what else is new with miss Aryn...

- her cheeks are cleared up SO MUCH. I'm still not convinced it was a reaction to the almond oil, but either way, they still get red at night but they have never been as bad as that one night.

- she is thisclose to turning over. She rolls onto her side then flops back onto her back.

- Aryn is staying up longer in between feedings, but she hasn't slowed down her feeding. She's supposed to be eating 4-6 times a day, but she's still damn near 7-8 times a day. Honey, I know you'll read this one day but I gotta tell ya: mommy is EXHAUSTED. You wake up at least 2-3 times a night to eat, then you sleep for 20 minutes during the day and you fight me with feedings. You want to eat every 2 hours but when you do, you puke it ALL up within 5 minutes. I mean, ALL OF IT. There have been days I've gone through 17 burp cloths in 1 day. So I TRY to force you to eat every 3 hours and you fight me. I mean, yesterday I was holding you (when you haven't eaten for 2.5 hours) and you folded yourself up into a complete upside down V and screamed when you couldn't get through my shirt. It was friggen hilarious but you were NOT impressed. AND you're still trying to eat every 3-4 hours or so at night! You eat at 7pm, then you wake me up anytime from midnight - 2am to eat, then you're up 3-4 hours later, and then 3-4 hours after that. We've been friends off for a few days now.

- Your face has changed SO MUCH this past week. I mean, you don't even look like you did a week ago. You are changing daily and growing up, and I don't like it!! You're too big for some of your 3-6 month clothes now as well. Please stop growing. (then again, you're probably growing so much because you're eating SO MUCH) hahaha

What else.... oh I got in trouble for not doing very much tummy time with you. You hate tummy time. But you need it to strengthen your neck. But mommy has been so tired that she doesn't want to fight with you during tummy time. I know, BAD mommy!!!! But you are getting better at it and I'm so proud of you!! I hope you do learn to roll over and can hold your head up when you do.

I think that's it... you changed so much this week that I've forgotten a lot of it!! I love you soooooo much and I'm loving watching you grow up and change before my eyes!!!

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Saturday, November 27, 2010

First Hospital Visit!

And so it begins......

On Thursday (November 25th) Aryn's cheeks were super hot and bright, bright red and she had a rash on her neck and behind her ears. I touched them and she screamed. She kept rubbing her face on my shoulder (which I thought was cuddling but she didn't seem to enjoy it - turns out her rash was itchy!), and she was just miserable. She rarely cries longer than like 10 seconds so when she screamed for almost a minute, I knew my little love nugget wasn't feeling 100%.

So I called Health Link and explained to them what was going on and if she could be having an allergic reaction to something. They advised me to go to the hospital because if it is an allergic reaction, we don't want it affecting her throat. So I brought her to the Strathmore hospital and the women there were just awesome. They kept telling me I did the right thing bringing her in, and that I was not overreacting (which I still disagree with hahaha).

They weighed her: 13 pounds 5 ounces

Anyways, the doctor (Dr. Pieces) thought that it was likely a continued reaction to the Almond Oil I put on Aryn's face and head Monday night. It's either that, or some other random thing she's allergic to. He gave me some cortisone cream to put on her face and neck - and honestly, within a day her cheeks and neck are clearing up. Her cheeks aren't as red but the rash on her neck is still holding on.

So that's what happened during her 10th week of life!!! I need to post more photos... they will come. Promise. I really wish my camera took better pictures.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Allergic Reaction

Poor Aryn.

Last night I poured almond oil on Aryn's head and cheeks because they were red and blotchy. They have been off and on for awhile now, but I thought nothing of it - just figured the cold got to her. But last night I put a LOT on because her head and cheeks were super dry and then within 20 minutes the screaming, swelled eyes and scabby welts on her head showed up.

My poor love nugget.

I wiped her head off and she seemed to calm down. Even today, her cheeks were super red - they looked like they were burnt a bit. The top of her head though - WOW. It looked awful. Just red, scabby and gross. I've been putting lotion and saline solution on it to clear it up a bit. She's been super sleepy today but doesn't seem to be in any pain. She wasn't impressed when I slathered lotion on her head but she calmed down really quickly.

So... we found our first allergy me thinks: almonds. We'll be writing that in her baby book!!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Red eyes, blotchy cheeks, crusty head... this kid just can't catch a break. Allergies? Sensitive skin? I have no idea. What I do know, is that it all made for a VERY cranky kid tonight, and therefore was in bed at 7:40pm.

It's now 8:15pm and she's smiling at me. Please, honey, go to sleep.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Best Night Yet!

Last night Aryn went to bed at 8pm (mind you, she whined until about 9:30, even though she was asleep haha), woke up at 3am for a feeding, then slept until 8am.

How come these nights when she does this, are the WORST sleep nights for me?? I'm regretting not buying one of those video monitors so I can see she's still breathing and alive at all hours of the night instead of getting up to check on her. That, and these long stretches really makes for a nice in-bed milk bath for moi.

But 8-8 is pretty darn good!!!!!! Atta girl, Aryn!!!!!!

PS. Last night was the first night in 5 nights that Aryn did NOT poop in the bathtub!!!! hahahaha

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

5 for 5

That is, in the last 5 nights, miss Aryn has pooped in the bathtub ALL.FIVE.NIGHTS.

It's disgusting, and quite hilarious. I left Ryan with her tonight. Sucker.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

2 Months / 9 Weeks

2 months and 3 days ago, you were just a dream. You were something I wanted and couldn't wait to meet. Now, it's 2 months and 2 days later and you have changed my entire world. And I couldn't be happier about it!

Every day you change and it amazes me when I read up on what you should be doing every week and I say aloud "you're already doing that!!" or I learn something that I should be watching for and BAM - you do it. It's amazing to watch you grow up and change and become this person with a real personality. You love things, you hate things, you smile at things and you frown at things. This makes me laugh and cry and ... well, I can't get enough of you!!!

What have you done in the past week or so since my last update...

- Shots. Yesterday you got your first immunization. I did not want you to get it. I have heard and read too much bad stuff about immunizations; what is in them, the side effects, etc. But I was vetoed and I had to take you to get it done. You cried a bit for your first 2 shots, but when they gave you that Pneumonia shot... WOW. I have never heard that cry from you before. I did not like it, and it made me tear up. Grandma Gina came with me and even she said your pneumonia cry was the saddest little cry ever. You were hurt, and it pained me that it was because of me you were hurting. But I hope that these shots were not in vain and that you stay super healthy for the rest of your days. You were such a trooper, and you fell asleep on the way home and you were up for maybe 20 minutes the rest of the day and even though you woke up at 7pm to eat, then at 2:30am to eat, then at 5:30am to eat, you slept all the way until 8:30am. Mommy didn't get as much sleep as you, as I kept running in every few hours to check on you.

- Mirror. You love the mirror. Wow, it's the cutest thing ever watching you in front of that mirror. You just stare at yourself and laugh. If I put you under the mobile thingy it's even better. You just play in there for as long as I let you. Sometimes you fall asleep while playing, which means mommy has ignored you for quite awhile (mommy is still working!)

- Thumb. You have started sucking that darn thumb! The soother pops out and - in goes the fist. That tiny thumb finds its way out from the clutch and POP! right in that mouth. It drives me crazy. I fight with you, trying to get that fist out of that mouth. I don't want you to be a thumb sucker. At least with a soother I can take it away when you're older - but I can't take away your thumb!!

- Bath. You LOOOOOVE the bath more and more every week. However, the last 4 days you've started loving something even more than baths: pooping in your bath. It never fails! You'll be splashing away then you'll stop for a split second and then the tub is instantly green. I find it quite hilarious. Your dad thinks it's gross.

- Naps. You fight those naps. I've been feeding you every 2 hours for most of this week. You eat, then play for about an hour and a half, then you have a mini cat nap for 20-25 minutes then you're up doing it all over again. It's fine, because you're happy as a clam playing on your mats. But honey, mommy needs you to sleep. You just don't want to!

- Bauer. I love bringing Bauer to you just so you can look at him. You'll be whiny or fussy and then Bauer walks in front of you and the eyes light up and the biggest smile spreads across your face. You love that dog. You've been kicking him and pulling his hair and sticking your hands in his face. You poked him in the eye yesterday. And he just lays there. As long as he's getting loving from me, he'll let you do anything to him. I hope this lasts. By the way, I still think he doesn't like you.

- Sleep. You have become a CHAMPION sleeper!!!! You go to bed at about 8pm on the dot (I can't keep you awake much longer than that). You get sleepy while mommy is holding you after your bath, then before you fall asleep completely, I put you in your bed. I've been swaddling you for the last week and it's working awesome - you sleep soo much better when you're swaddled! Then you wake up anywhere from 2:30-5am for a feeding, then right back to sleep for another 4 hours or so. At about 8/8:30am you wake up fully for another hour and a half then you have another good nap. Mommy LOVES this. Even haven't been able to sleep as well as you at night, I am loving the big huge happy smiles I get when I come get you in the morning. Wow... the best smiles yet. You are so beautiful.

Aryn, I love you so much more today than I did yesterday!!! I can't wait to see you tomorrow morning!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Size Update

Head: 14.5"
Weight: 12 pounds 1.5 ounces
Length: 23"

Which, if you can see, is in the 90% percentile.

Atta girl, Red Thunder!!!!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Worst.Parents.Ever.

This is what happens when mommy gets a new cell phone and is playing with it instead of paying attention to her daughter.

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8 Weeks

I have learned so much about Aryn this week that it amazes me.

- Laughing. You laugh in your sleep. It is the cutest and funniest thing. It's a real belly laugh, complete with cooing and a big smile. It only lasts seconds but I love it when it happens and I get to witness it.

- Smiles. You love giving smiles. When you wake up, you eat right away and then I lay you on the floor and you can kick your legs and look around and that's when - for about an hour - I can get real smiles from you. You have the most beautiful smile. Your whole face lights up, and it makes me so happy to see those smiles!!! Now, I don't love these smiles all the time. When you get up at whatever-time in the night because you startled yourself, or you dropped your soother, or for whatever reason - and I go in there and you give me the biggest smile... it drives me crazy! I want to smile right back at you and say "hi, pretty girl!" but it's 2am and mommy has not slept in 8 weeks. You're just too damn cute for your own good.

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- You HATE dirty diapers. You could have the tinniest of skid marks on your diaper and you will scream until I change it. Sometimes it doesn't even occur to me to change your diaper because I did it like 20 minutes earlier. But after every pee, every wet fart, every single thing you do, that diaper has to be changed. You could be in the deepest of sleeps at 3am and cry - just because your diaper needs to be changed.

- You love Bauer. That dog hates you. He tries to sit on you, lay on you, he puts his paw on your face, he always tries to sit between you and me. But the second you see him, you are straining your neck to get a better view, you're trying to tough him, and you always give him smiles - more smiles than you give Daddy!! Bauer hates it when you're getting ready for bath time - he always comes in, sniffs you and "pfft"s you because you're taking my attention away from him and you will come thisclose to rolling over just to get closer to that dog who hates you. It makes me laugh.

- Bath time. You looooooooooooooooooooooove bath time. I get you naked, and lay you on the floor in the bathroom and you will sit there for as long as I leave you, happy as a clam, kicking your legs. You love being naked. Yesterday, I left you like that, made myself supper AND ate it while you were happily hanging out alone on the bathroom floor. Then, you go in the bathtub and it's a whole new world - you splash and smile and punch the water. I love giving you baths!

- Spit up. You spit up EVERYTHING. I mean, you're gaining weight so I'm not too worried but come on. I put you down, and white stuff just pours out! And that's after burping you for at least 5 minutes and getting many burps and white drool. It's unbelievable!!

- Sleep. Aryn, you and sleep have a love/hate relationship (and at 1 and 4am, you and I do as well!). You were doing sooooooooooo great for like 2 weeks and now all bets are off. Mommy has been trying to figure out HOW to do sleep. She's read book after book, website after website, listened to advice after advice... to no avail. You and I just can't figure out sleep. You fall asleep at about 7:30-8pm. I was waking you up at 10pm to eat, but honestly... sometimes I'm just too darn tired to wake you up only to have you up for a whole other hour only to get woken up by you in 3 hours. Mommy is tired. I have been following every book to teach you to sleep all through the night. But every 4-5 hours, you're up, ready to eat, then it takes me 40 minutes to get you back into bed, asleep (to which you tend to wake up from by puking or spitting up and then getting the hiccups!). I have been swaddling you the last 2 nights because you punch and scratch your face and pull that darn soother out of your mouth and toss it across your crib, only to cry 3.2 seconds later because you want your soother. But the second mommy picks you up, you are dead asleep. Mommy puts you down, you wake up. Mommy puts you to bed awake, you punch and whine and mess around until she picks you up and - bam! You're asleep. But even being held, you only sleep for like 15 minutes tops! Mommy dreads sleep time, and has actually been praying to God that you figure this out soon so that she can have at least one night of uninterrupted sleep. Mommy sleepy!!!!!

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Aryn, I am LOVING being your mommy. You make me laugh and I just can't get enough of you. You are growing into such a beautiful little girl. Oh, and your hair is growing too!!!! I can't tell what colour it is on the top, but it's still red in the back. I love you soooo much!!

~ Mommy

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Daylight Savings

I hate daylight savings.

Yesterday, I felt like I finally had things figured out. I knew more about Aryn yesterday than I felt like I have yet. I knew what she wanted. When she cried, I knew why. When she whined, I could do something. But all of that changed when we woke up this morning. Why?

Daylight savings.

I never thought 1 hour would make such a big difference. I tried to change all of her eating schedule, only to put her to bed at 6pm without eating (she screamed bloody murder - SERIOUSLY - whenever I tried to feed her starting at 3pm, then 4pm, then 5pm, then finally 6pm). She woke up at 7:30 and I fed her again - this time somewhat more successfully, and I will wake up again at 10:30 and feed her again. I would prefer to do it at 10pm, but I don't want to overfeed the poor kid!!

Aryn, I have to tell you something:

When you scream and scream and scream for no apparent reason... your mommy and daddy laugh at you. You are soooo cute when you scream. Your face goes all red, your bottom lip quivers and sticks out, and you punch your little fists in the air with all your might. Sometimes, you punch mommy in the face and squeeze her neck fat. It's quite the spectacle and we can't help but laugh every time you get like that. I'm sorry... obviously you are pissed but we just can't help ourselves!!

So here's to a successful night ..... fingers crossed....

Stupid daylight savings....................................

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Trying something new...

Today I tried something new.

4am: eat (go right back to bed... which took me until 5am to do)

7am: eat
(she went right back to sleep and slept until 10am)

10am: eat
11:30am: nap

1pm: eat
3pm: nap

4pm: eat
6pm: nap

7pm: eat, then bath
8pm: bed

I am going to wake her up at 10pm for a last feeding because she screamed bloody murder at her 7pm feeding. Then, she should wake up at around 3-4am again for another feeding, and do it all over again tomorrow.

I NEED a schedule. I hate going solely on when she "wants" to eat because I don't know if she wants to eat, or if she just wants a soother, or if she wants to cuddle or what. With a BIT of a schedule, I can at least figure it out. Not only that, but otherwise she ends up eating at 6pm and messes up the whole dynamic for the evening and it is too frustrating to organize. But this worked for us tonight. Other than her 7pm feeding but she's tired so that could be it. Hopefully she sleeps until 10pm. Fingers crossed!!!!!!


10:29PM:
SUCCESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (for now haha)

Friday, November 5, 2010

Dear Aryn:

Please sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppp!!!!!

Love,

Mommy

Thursday, November 4, 2010

New Development...

Today, Aryn took her soother out of her mouth, looked at it, and put it right back in.

Then I scared the crap out of her by screaming "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!" that she cried for 1/2 hour. *sigh*



... in other news, it's 9:02pm and missy is squawking in her room, refusing to fall asleep. She has been refusing ALL DAY. It's very frustrating hahahahahaha

... it's now 11:19pm and missy has pretty much been awake/asleep/awake/asleep ever since putting her down at 8pm. She's being VERY bad.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Just have to say...

I love this little girl soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!

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7 Weeks!

Update:

11 pounds, 8 1/4 ounces
Just over 23" long

She's finally slowed down her growing!!!! Yay Aryn!!

This has been a jam-packed week of growth for this little girl!! She's smiling all the time now, she's sleeping LIKE A CHAMP!! (last night I put her to bed before 8pm and she was up at 9:30am with 1 feeding at 3:30am that lasted a little longer than I'd have liked hehe), I'm working on getting her eating schedule organized a bit... I read she should be eating every 3.5-4 hours so I'm working on that but no matter how I organize it I always end up messing up and feeding her too close together for her evening feedings. I even write down what time to feed but then low and behold, I'm feeding her at 6pm then 7:30. I can't figure it out hahahahhaa. But she's happy and content so who am I to argue??

I can't get over how beautiful this girl is. She just amazes me every time I look at her! She's simply gorgeous. Her chubby cheeks, her big beautiful eyes... she's a porcelain doll - with beautiful red hair! Her hair is growing longer and even though she still has the George Castanza look going on, I have faith soon enough she'll have a full head of hair rather than the bald top.

I can't believe we're already in November. I have to start thinking about Christmas!!! I am so excited for Christmas this year... our first year with Red Thunder and I'm just pumped. What to buy her, what to buy her......

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Monday, November 1, 2010

Day 1 Results

Aryn was bathed at 7:40pm last night, bed at 8pm, up at 4:30am to eat (with the lights off!), back to sleep by 5:20am, up again at 8:30am to eat then back to sleep until 10am. It.was.awesome.

Tonight, I totally forgot about the new plan and realized at 7:55pm that I hadn't bathed her yet!! DUH!!!! I'm mad at myself!!

Anyways, it's 8:59pm and she's fed and asleep. I hope we go for Day 2 of this!!! :)

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Day 1

Tonight I bathed Aryn at 7:40, fed her and put her to bed - awake - at 8:20pm or so. It's 8:47pm and no sounds coming from her room........

I'm not sure what time is a "normal" time for infants to be put to bed, but I think I'm gonna bring everything back 1/2 hour and start getting her ready for bed at 7:30 instead of 8... it seems to work... fingers crossed and knocking on wood.

Happy Halloween!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

6 Weeks and BIG Smiles!!!!

Check out the cutest video EVER!!!!!



Aryn is 6 weeks old and (drum roll, please) 11 pounds, 5.5 ounces!

Yes, our little girl is gaining weight VERY fast!!

Updates this week:

- MUCH more smiles. I love them!! As you can see from the video above.

- She is not fun to try to work with. I honestly didn't notice much development this week, but only because it was our deadline for the magazine and I was super busy with that. Oh my goodness, I've decided I need way more help during deadline time. So for 1 week a month I think I'm going to have to get in as much help as possible. Mother in law? Mom? Dad? Homeless man from downtown Calgary? Anyone? I really am going to need help. Aryn doesn't like to sleep during the day except for 20 minute cat naps, and with that and trying to call people and email people, and get proofs approved and answering questions - it's too much for me. I had 2 mental breakdowns, which isn't that bad considering haha. So... those reading this... wanna help out next month?? Huh?? HUH????

So really I don't have many updates. Her bum is cleared up a lot, we're loving cloth diapering, she's sleeping like a champ (I woke up before her last night because she slept so long! Yay baby!)

We're loving her, and can't wait to see what happens this week!! :)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

At the risk of jinxing it...

... the last week or so, Aryn has been going to sleep around 9-10pm and sleeping for 7-8 hours. She wakes up, eats, and goes right back to sleep for another 4 hours.

Best baby ever??

Yes.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

5 Weeks!!

Aryn is 5 weeks, 2 days old today. Update:

Length: 23"
Weight: 10 lbs 13 3/4 ounces

The kid is growing like a weed!!!

So the last 2 nights she's been sleeping for ~7 hours. WOW. Put her to bed at 9pm, she's up at 4am. Last night she was put to bed at 9, woke up at 9:20 and I got her back to bed at 10pm. She still slept til 4:20am. I am LOVING it! I hope this is a new trend. God, I'm talking to YOU!! After I get up and feed her, she falls back to sleep at around 5/5:30am and sleeps until 8:30-9am. I've been sleeping until she wakes up as well. It's been great, and I feel like a new woman. I feel like I can actually drive somewhere and feel confident that I'll get there in one piece hahaha

Updates:

- Aryn's bum has cleared up a LOT. I was putting on so many medications and ointments and I just finally decided to STOP. No more. Now, I wipe her bum with a wet facecloth and she is officially in cloth diapers. Her rash cleared up in no time. There is still fragments of it, but it doesn't seem to bother her until I use a wet wipe rather than a wet facecloth. Those wet wipes are murder on her poor little bum, the poor thing!!

- I am LOVING CLOTH DIAPERS!!! We've had 2 leaks, and both times I just put the diaper on wrong. Sometimes you think you're doing it right but you're not. Grrrr... But honestly, I love it. They are easier to do than regular diapers and they are just so much better for her sensitive little bum.

- SMILES. Oh my goodness, those smiles. They don't happen as often as I'd like, but this is deadline week for the magazine so I'm busier than normal so I haven't been spending the regular amount of "cooing time" with Aryn to make her smile.

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- Friends. Aryn met the Matson girls on Tuesday. I'm so glad I got to see Christa, Tiffany, Jenelle and Elaine that day, and I'm even happier they all got to meet Aryn. Even though she cried the whole time we were at their house, and spit up all of her lunch, and wouldn't calm down. But she DID smile for Tiffany, and that was awesome. You know what I hate... when someone is dealing with the loss of a loved one and the first thing you say to them when you see them is "Hey, how are you?" Duh. How are they? Their dad just passed away, how do you think they are? Then you realize what you said and you kinda wanna take it back but then it brings to light exactly what you really did say. It's a vicious cycle and one that really bothers me. What do you say to someone who just suffered a significant loss? "Hi, life sucks sometimes, hey?" There weren't enough hugs in the world to give to those women on Tuesday, and I'm glad Aryn made Tiffany laugh for even a split second as she gave her a big toothless smile.

Here's a photo of Aryn and Christa's baby girl Piper, who was born 12 days after Aryn

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I think that's all the updates I have of miss Aryn. Can't wait until Tuesday... so much happens every week I can't wait to see what'll happen with her next!!!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Baby SMILES!!!!

Check out the most BEAUTIFUL sight ever.



And my daughter is the smartest baby ever. Next Sheldon Cooper... only cooler.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Our Little Miracle

Wow. So one of our advertisers is a poet and she wrote a poem for miss Aryn. I teared up reading it and... I just can't get enough of how this poem is just absolutely perfect. Pat, if you're reading this... THANK YOU. I absolutely love this poem and I can't wait to figure out how I'm going to get this printed to put it up in Aryn's room. What a great memento to our precious baby girl.

OUR LITTLE MIRACLE

You are our precious little baby girl,
Our greatest dream come true.
Someday you’ll understand Aryn,
How much Mommy and Daddy love you.

You are our special red haired beauty,
When you smile you’re such a cutie.
We’ve been blessed with the gift of an angel,
Eyes so blue, so bright,
Oh, how wonderful it feels to sit and hold you tight!

You are so soft, so warm, so tiny,
Snuggled down in gentle sleep.
It won’t be long before you sit,
And then you’ll learn to creep.

May you grow strong and beautiful
And be happy your life through.
May you always know how much you’re loved,
And how delighted we are to have you!

BY
PATRICIA MULLIN

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Some Videos

Thought I'd post some videos of Red Thunder.

When Aryn is in a deep sleep and won't wake up (which I want her to so that she's awake longer so that she actually sleeps at night!) I give her to Ryan as he's great at waking her up. Here's "proof"



And proof that Bauer actually KINDA likes Aryn. My 2 babies together...


Thursday, October 14, 2010

1 Month Old!!!

Wow, it's going by so quickly!! Aryn is 1 month old today.

Some updates:

- her diaper rash is awful still. My poor nugget. I'm doing everything I can to heal it but the darn thing just doesn't want to go away. I'm putting her on Monistat today in hopes that it heals. Funny story, I asked the pharmacist about putting her on Monistat in case it's a yeast infection and I was talking at a normal level and the pharmacist thought I was asking for myself. It turned out to be a little embarrassing for her but I thought it was hilarious. Ok... the story isn't as funny as it was at the time.

- Aryn has a bit of cradle cap. I'm putting almond oil on her little head and it's healing up nicely, but it's still there.

- She has quite the George Castanza look going on - no hair on top, and lots of bright red hair around the side of her head. It's kinda funny.

- She snores. And grunts. She's the loudest sleeper out of the 4 of us!! Bauer included!!

- She SMILED AT ME TODAY!!!!!!!!! I was talking to her all coo-ing and girlie like and she smiled at me. Not a gas smile - a REAL smile. It melted my heart.

- Aryn is an amazing sleeper. At night, if it weren't for the grunts waking me up, she'd probably sleep the entire night. I wake her up after about 5-6 hours to feed her -mostly because my boob is going to burst if Aryn doesn't drain it a bit and partly because she's so loud I need to wake her up and quiet her down!!

Size update:

10 lbs 6 3/4 oz
Just over 22" long

Yes, that is a full 1 pound heavier than last week (she was 9.5 lbs) and 3 inches longer than 2 weeks ago. My goodness... at this rate, she's going to be wearing toddler clothes at 10 months!!!!

Loving this little girl more and more everyday. I can't get enough of her!!!!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Aryn's 1st Thanksgiving!

I have much to be thankful for this year. The number 1 reason: Aryn. She has changed our lives so much in the last 4 weeks, we can't even imagine what life would be like without her! Although, I must admit - I'm sure Bauer would like to see life pre-Aryn again hahaha

We made our first over night trip to the farm for Thanksgiving this past weekend. We left Friday night for a 2-night stay away from home. I have to admit I was a little nervous since I know how miss Aryn is at night and I didn't want to be a bother to anyone and I was so scared we'd forget something at home. Thankfully, everything went off without a hitch. She didn't sleep too well Friday or Saturday nights, but I'm chalking that up to a weekend growth spurt (she ate literally every hour the whole weekend!!!) and a colder-than-she's-used-to basement.

The drive to the farm
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I gotta tell you... I am still constantly "surprised" at how amazing Ryan is. I go into the other room to feed Aryn - and Ryan comes in to see how we're doing, to hang out, to bring me food or water. I find I fall in love with him all over again every hour we're together lately.

See what I mean?
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Aryn got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Geremia, her aunties Karrie and Jamie, uncle Roger (who she met for the first time this weekend!), cousins Veronica and Joey and she even got to meet Great Grandma Verna!!

4 Generations!
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Grandma and her grandbabies!
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Bathtime for the babies - Joey is 3 months old
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We came back on Sunday and on Monday we had our 2nd Thanksgiving meal at my parents place. It's much easier to pack up to go 2 blocks away than it is 2 hours away haha!!

Grandpa loves his grandbaby
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And what's a great weekend without a few baby photos!!

Green bean
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I am so grateful and thankful for everything we've been blessed with this year - a cold summer while I was super pregnant (suckers!), an amazing husband, an awesome dog, a great family and a beautiful baby girl. Aryn, I can't wait to spend so many other Thanksgivings with you!!! I will forever be thankful for you!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Small Aryn Update

My poor baby has an awful diaper rash and the poor thing screamed for over 2 hours tonight because of it. I had just changed her diaper and she got it all full again within 10 minutes and I didn't think to check it - so she cried and cried and cried.

I don't like it when my baby is any kind of sick!!!! *sniff*

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

3 Weeks Old!!

Aryn is 3 weeks old today!

Updates:

- She likes to go to sleep at around 9pm after a nice warm bath every night. FYI, as of right now, she LOVES the bath!

- She wakes up at 1:30am and at 4:30am for feedings. She eats for about 10 minutes at 1:30am, then goes right back to sleep. Then at 4:30am she's up and wide awake until whenever. This is something I PRAY changes soon. If she can wake up at like 3am, then sleep again until 7 or 8am... I will be a VERY happy mama. But until then, I will cherish our late night (early morning?) meetings.

- Her hair is getting MUCH redder everyday. <3!

- When she is angry or in pain or unhappy or tired, she has the MEANEST scream. It's like there are little people in her bassinet poking her with hot irons. I've even looked for these little people because I swear they're in there!

- Bauer still wants nothing to do with Aryn.

- Aryn loves it when I blow on her tummy... you know... when you make the "pfffftthhhhthhh" sound on her tummy?? Anyways, she smiles sometimes and I SWEAR it's not just gas!!!

- Today was a bad day. She's cried ALL DAY. She wakes up - she cries. She finally falls asleep, 3 minutes later - she cries. I'm exhausted today and praying for a great night. God??? Do you hear me??

And here are some photos!!

Bath Time!
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Tummy Time (in baby legs!!)
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Daddy time!!

(this is my favourite thing EVER to see)
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Sunday, October 3, 2010

Changes

There are not a lot of people in this world I admire. I can name only a few - and 2 are my parents! I have become quite cynical towards people in the past few years and it really reflects on how I perceive humans in general. I judge people, and I assume the worst in everyone. Why am I like this? I never used to be!

This weekend I went to the funeral of 3 of my good friends' father. He died doing something he loved: flying an airplane. When I heard the news (via Facebook), it was 3am and I was up with a grumpy Aryn and I cried so hard when I saw what the girls had written. Their hero had died, and their whole lives had changed. I cried for them, I cried for his wife, I cried for the grandbabies, I cried for myself (just imagining what it would be like to lose my father. I tear up just thinking about what these girls are going through - I can't imagine losing my dad).

I've been to a lot of funerals in my life - people I knew, people I knew families or friends of, people I admired, people I wish I had known better. There are only 2 funerals I've ever been to where I truly said to God "WHY?". WHY did God take away this person? Those 2 funerals are for Jay-Bo Boyd, and that of this Chuck Matson.

Very few things lately make me stop and question who I am and who I've become. Very few things lately make me want to be a better person. Very few things lately make me want to CHANGE.

This funeral made me do all those things.

I started wondering what people would say if I were to pass away: would people say the things they said about Chuck? The things people said about him, the way he's changed everyone's life around him for the better, the way he loved and praised God with no fear and no barriers, the way he was open about not only his faith but about helping those around him... I want people to remember me the way they remember Chuck Matson.

The funeral yesterday made me want to be more like a man whom I haven't seen or talked to in......... 11 years? Not since he drove Christa and me to the airport on our way to Vancouver. This is a man whom I spent a total of 20 minutes in a vehicle with 11 years ago and he changed my life yesterday.

I decided to make a change. I want to walk more in the way God wants me to. I want to be more personable (I've become such a homebody over the last few years). I want to make more friends, and BE a change for those friends. I want to call people randomly and just tell them that God told me to call them. I want to talk to God again, I want to listen to God again, I want to be the Christian He wants me to be.

Amazing what 1 man can do.

Jenelle, Tiffany and Christa.... I love the 3 of you and I love that you shone such a new light in my life. Thank you for all you shared yesterday.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sleeeeeep

I am in love with this little girl but I have to admit: I'm exhausted!!

She sleeps pretty good from about 4pm until about 4am and then it's waketime. I've tried keeping her awake but to no avail. Of course, I don't go to sleep until about 9:30pm or so, so.... by 4am I'm pretty exhausted. I've had a few crying fits begging Aryn to go to sleep but nooooooo!!

Hmm... gotta figure out how to change the 4pm sleep cycle to about 8pm.... gonna try that tomorrow.

FYI, she is still the cutest thing ever. That red hair though.... it creates QUITE the temper!!!!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

2 Weeks Old!

Aryn is 2 weeks old. Oh.My.Gosh. Time goes by so fast! Ryan and I fall in love with her more and more everyday and I find myself falling more and more in love with Ryan everyday as well.

Aryn Update:
BORN: 8.4 lbs, 19.5"
2 WEEKS: 9.25 lbs, 21.5"

My little girl is not going to be so "little" for long!!

Updates:

- Aryn was sleeping for like 5 hours a night and waking up for about 10 minutes of feeding. Which, sure - that's awesome for mommy sleep-wise, but it sure made for an uncomfortable sleep when I had sand bags hanging off of my chest by 6am! The poor thing wouldn't wake up long enough for a full feed in the middle of the night and it really made for a tiring morning. On the plus side, I have like 5 bottles full of milk in the freezer downstairs!

- Last night, however, was the total opposite. She was up from midnight until 3:30am and then up again at 6:30am until almost 11am. How tired am I today? Very.

- She poops a LOT. Every time i check her diaper, there's poop. Today, she pooped in her diaper, then on the change table, then she peed on the change table, then she pooped in the towel as I brought her to the bathroom for a bath. It was quite the experience.

- Bauer is very concerned about her. He doesn't really like her all that much, but he is very concerned when she cries and he even attacked a dog that was too close to us. It was quite shocking!

- She's now in #1 diapers. 8-14 lbs.

Here's some videos!

Newborn:


How Aryn slept the first week we brought her home:


1 week old:

Monday, September 20, 2010

Why "Aryn"?

I've had a few people ask us about Aryn's name, so I thought I'd give a little background on it.

Basically, Ryan and I were stuck on 2 names and neither of us liked the other one's pick. Ryan liked Adrienne, and I liked Isabelle. Then, because of stupid Twilight (seriously, what is with the obsession on that?!) "Isabella" was the #1 name this year. And I don't want my little girl going to school with 15 other little girls with such a similar name. So we vetoed Isabelle. And I just never fell in love with Adrienne, even though I tried really hard.

Anyways, we were watching tv downstairs one day and Ryan suggested Erin. And I really like that name, but I know soooo many Erin's that I didn't want anyone thinking we named her after them hahahaha. So while I hummed and hawed it, he goes "But we'll spell it 'Aryn' - which is 'Ryan' with the letters mixed up."

I loved it.

And our next child will be Neside.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Aryn's Birth Story

Well miss Aryn is finally here. She is absolutely perfect and beautiful and we are beyond in love with her.

I really wanted to write up her birth story because it really is the most perfect birth story I could have ever asked for.

Early Tuesday, September 14th morning I woke up at about 4am because my hands hurt; and of course, I had to pee for the 3rd time that night haha. So I got up and in the washroom I was looking at my hands and they were massive - I literally couldn't even take off my ring! I ended up getting it off but I remembered a friend of mine telling me that the day before she went into labour with her girls she swelled up. Ryan went to work at about 7am and I fell back to sleep almost instantly. At about 8:30 I woke up really having to go to the washroom. I sat up in bed and felt a gush.

Now, because I had thought my water broke like 4 other times, I ignored the gush. I went and had a shower and while in the shower, I knew - my water was broken. I went and checked and sure enough, I just knew I was right. So I got ready, did my hair, put on my waterproof makeup (haha) and called Ryan and then my parent.

Because Ryan already works in the city, I stole a ride with my dad. I drove Bauer to their place and while I was there, the contractions began. Now, I had had these contractions for the last 3 weeks so I wasn't thinking much of it. But on the way to the hospital, they were getting a lot more intense - so much so that while my dad is talking to me, I wasn't even able to answer.

So we meet Ryan at the hospital, and when I stood up out of the car, the pain got so much more intense. I had to keep stopping on the walk to the elevators. We got to the Labour & Delivery floor and - lo and behold, there were NO FREE BEDS. Seriously. By now, contractions were 2 minutes apart and so intense. There was an East Indian couple in the waiting room as well and they smelled so bad that I had to keep standing in the hallway which was so uncomfortable. By now, I was scared and worried about how much pain I was going to go through that day that I had a bit of a mental breakdown in the hallway hahaha.

Anyways, so a nurse ended up coming to get me and basically bypassed triage and admitted me automatically. They got me a room and the doctors were waiting for me when I walked in. They began testing - I was 90% effaced, my water had most certainly broken (at 8:45am), and I was 4cm (I remember saying "ONLY 4?!?!?!?!")

The next 12 hours was a bit of a blur. I spent about an hour in the shower but it was so small and uncomfortable that I ended up just getting out - then they had to insert a heart monitor to the baby's head so I couldn't go into the shower again anyways. I stood the entire time I was in labour. Contractions were literally 2 minutes apart the entire time I was in the hospital. I mean, they would be intense and then the pain would never even end before another one came. I even said to the nurse "on Friends Rachel had like 10 minutes in between each contraction - this isn't fair!" Yeah, nice, Denise...

I had read SO MUCH about labour that I knew everything that made things go easier: the exercise ball, squatting, rocking, walking, the shower, the toilet.... but honestly, NOT ONE SINGLE FRIGGEN THING WORKED. The exercise ball hurt, squatting hurt, I couldn't walk, I hated the shower, I couldn't sit. The only thing that I liked was standing in the middle of the room, swaying back and forth, back and forth, with Ryan massaging the top of my neck. I did that the ENTIRE.TIME. No joke.

Ryan deserves a huuuuuge metal.

*Disclaimer: I can honestly say that even during labour and birth - that it was never what I expected it to be. Yes, it hurt. But I would most definitely do it again in a second. Calming music is the key. It kept me so calm through it all. It really didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would.

Anyways, I ended up asking for some fentinal because the contractions were so close together I never even had time to relax in between them. And Ryan's hands were getting sore from massaging me so often that I just needed something to take the edge off. And, fentinal is out of your system quite quickly. I also used the gas mask, but I found it made me quite nauseous sometimes but I still went through 3 tanks.

At 7pm or so, they checked me again and I was 100% effaced and 8.5cm - and they wanted me to pee to bring it to 10cm. I tried - my God did I try - but it hurt so bad. The doctor told me they could just make me pee later with a catheter, and I agreed. The nurse then told me that pushing actually feels better than contractions so - without telling anyone - every time I had a big contraction, I just started pushing while standing up. I pushed without anyone knowing for about an hour. It felt SO GOOD every time.

At 8:30, I was 10cm, everything was ready and they got me on the bed and told me to start pushing at my next contraction.

Wow.

You can watch videos, read books, everything... but nothing prepares you for what pushing out a kid feels like. I can honestly say - it was the most amazing feeling (except the "Ring of Fire" - man alive that shit hurts!). At 8:45pm or so (after about 10 minutes of pushing) the doctor told me to feel the baby's head. Wow. But her poor little heart was showing signs of major distress so the doctor told me I had to have her out in 2 contractions or they'd have to use the suction. They ended up needing the suction, which I welcomed.

At 8:52pm they put my beautiful baby girl on my stomach. Even thinking back at it, I'm tearing up. The most amazing feeling and experience. Ever.

They took her away and cleaned her up. I started hemorrhaging so they had to get her away and deal with me. They had to manually extract some major blockages and clumps which - let me tell you - felt awesome (sarcasm). Then I had to be stitched up from 1 2nd degree tear (yowza).

Ryan stood watching Aryn and taking pictures. I kept asking him if she looks like an Aryn and what she looks like (I hadn't really noticed as I was on such a high earlier).

They ended up giving me back little miss Aryn and at about 10pm or so they wheeled me into recovery for our first night. I don't think I slept at all. Ryan had gone home at about 11pm (they wouldn't let him sleep over), and I just couldn't believe I had a baby. They took her away at about 2am and gave her a bath and when they brought her back to me I realized just how absolutely gorgeous this kid was and just how bright red her hair is. Oh.My.Gosh this kid has the cutest hair ever.

The next day consisted of me learning to breastfeed and my parents coming to meet miss Aryn. Ryan came at about 8am and at 9:15pm we were finally discharged. We could have gotten out earlier, but Aryn had a little heart murmur the doctors wanted to look at (she had 3 pediatricians - including the head of pediatrics - take a look at her but they finally decided it wasn't that serious and would probably go away on its own) and they wanted to make sure I wasn't going to bleed anymore.

(side note: we had gotten a conjoined room and the night Aryn was born my roommates left at about 11pm so I had the conjoined room all to myself until about 9pm the next night. The lady who came in had just had her 4th kid - a 10 lb 11oz toddler. I was more than happy to leave).

We got home after 10pm and I think I fell asleep almost instantly. Ryan said I snored so loudly (which is weird cuz I NEVER snore!). We got up a couple of times to feed her but all in all, it was a good first night.

The next night was a bit more difficult but it's been getting easier ever since. My milk has come in now and Aryn is eating like a champ. Often, but manageable. She's peeing and pooping perfectly, and honestly is the most beautiful little girl ever.

On a side note, I have been finding myself thanking God more about what kind of man He blessed me with. Ryan is absolutely amazing. He took 2 weeks off and is basically tending to my every need. He makes me food, brings me water, helps me with Aryn, he is just absolutely amazing. I've found myself just staring at him holding Aryn with this new kind of love that I've never experienced before. I never thought I could love him more and it amazes me how much I do. He is SO.GOOD. with her. And she just loves him. You should see her look at him - such adoration. I am truly the luckiest person alive.

Oh and Bauer. His nose is completely out of joint. Last night he slept right up against me and kept basically trying to kick me out of bed. But I think he'll learn to accept it and want to be a part of it soon.

Aryn.... mommy and daddy love you sooo much and are so happy to have you as a part of our lives. You have made us happier than we could have ever imagined and we can't wait to see what kind of person you turn out to be. We will always love you no matter what, and all we want for you is to be happy. We love you so much baby girl.

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Saturday, September 11, 2010

September 11

First off, still no baby. However, I was up at 1am last night with awful contractions. Right when I decided that I would get up and tell Ryan that it was time to go to the hospital, they decided to stop. I gave them ample time to start up again, but to no avail. This is getting really old.


Today is September 11. There have been a lot of memorable tragedies in the last 29 years... Columbine, the Oklahoma City Bombing, tsunamis and major earthquakes, but I don't remember what I was doing the days I heard about those tragedies. But when I think of 9/11... I know exactly what I was doing.

I was living in Old SAIT Residence and I had an exam to write that day. I woke up that morning to Power 98 (which no longer exists) with the DJ's telling everyone that this is the one and only time they'll say this: shut off the radio, and go turn on the TV. So I got out of bed, turned on the TV, and watched with devastation as the first tower began to fall live. I called my mom to find out exactly what happened, she told me everything and we watched as both towers fell. The rest of the day was a blur. We had to still write our exam, but the professor was very lenient with us and explained that she knew it would be hard to concentrate but we had to do this test. I think she even gave us answers so we could leave. Then we all went to the SAIT bar, sat down in the lounge, and watched the news for the rest of the afternoon. We cried, we sat in disbelief, we all changed. We went from people who never thought of mass murders or terrorism, to seeing firsthand what this world is truly capable of. We became cynical, prejudice, and racist all in a matter of 12 hours.

It's hard to think back and the instant hatred we all had for a group of people. That hatred has since dissipated and turned into pity for a country that thrives on hate and blaming others for their misfortune. But more than pity for them, there is a real fear. I pray everyday that my child (should she ever decide to be born!) never have the sense of fear I have that someone could use an airplane as a missile to murder thousands upon thousands of innocent human beings... or that we have to witness another act of frivolous terrorism.

It has been 9 years since two airplanes flew into the World Trade Center in New York City. It has been 9 years since all of our lives have been changed by one act of terrorism. It has been 9 years since people lost family, friends, co-workers. It has been 9 years since something as tragic as this has happened.

I love country music, but I tend to not like Alan Jackson. But this song just moves me. It's not the best video, but it really depicts what happened that day. To all those who lost their lives and loved ones, we will never forget.


Friday, September 10, 2010

38 Weeks

Notice the lack of exclamation mark.

Still nothing happening. Contractions are stronger today but apparently that means nothing when it comes to me. However, I did get woken up 4 times last night with contractions. So that could mean sometime in the next 2 months she'll make her entrance.

In all honesty, it's not THAT bad. It's just been 2 weeks of constant labour, contractions, etcetera. I am uncomfortable, exhausted, and frankly if EVERY SINGLE doctor I've talked to hadn't said "VERY SOON", I'd be fine!! But when they get your hopes up that everything will be happening right away and then it doesn't... that's why I'm in a bit of a grumpy slump.

That, and the fact that all these same doctors keep saying "woah, she's gonna be a big girl!" and I'm not even at my due date honestly throws some fear into my heart that I'm going to give birth to a 15 lb toddler.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

"Tonight or tomorrow morning", my ASS!

9:49am
Contractions are getting stronger but still nothing to write home about.

Doctors getting our hopes up = thumbs down.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Hospital Visit #3

I'm still doing pretty good!

Update:

- 3 cm dilated
- 75% effaced
- Doc thinks it'll either be tonight or sometime tomorrow
- Water did NOT break

... to be continued ...

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Today's Doctors Appointment

Well I missed my 11:50am appointment today because of stupid construction on Highway 1 and 68th Street. I can't wait until that intersection is done! So they rescheduled me for 1pm.

While I waited, I went to the new mall and had horrible contractions the whole time. I could barely walk. So I left and just drove to the doctor's appointment.

Update:

- 2cm dilated
- Still 50% effaced
- Baby extremely low
- Water sac is "bulging"
- Doctor very surprised I haven't gone into labour yet
- Doctor said she'd be surprised if I make it the rest of this week - however, she was very adamant that it could be another few weeks - however unlikely

I do have to do a bladder test, only because it hurts when I pee and I pee about 80 billion times a day, so you can imagine that I'm not too excited about peeing - ever.

So I drove home after stopping quickly at Old Navy. I got home, got out of Red Dragon (the Tribute... yes, we name our vehicles), and I dropped a bunch of napkins on the ground. I bent over to pick them up, stood up, took 1 step and....

I *think* my water broke.

So now we're playing the waiting game. Did it or didn't it?? Time will tell. I'm waiting until contractions start getting stronger and closer together. I want to labour at home as long as I can before heading to the hospital.

I wish when your water broke it was like bright green or blue or something so that you KNEW if it broke. But noooo it has to look, smell, and act like pee. Stupid water.

So I'll keep you posted.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Hospital Visit #2

A friend of mine told me they went to the hospital 6 times before they delivered their first. Sooo... I'm doing pretty good!

This morning we drove aaaaall the way to Calgary to go to the Laugheed. I had bad cramps, baby girl wasn't moving very much, and I was leaking some sort of fluid. Turns out baby girl was sleeping (she woke up at about 10:30am and moved around a LOT), the fluid was not my water breaking, and I AM having contractions.

As of 2:14pm, my contractions are getting a little bit more severe. They're no longer just in my abdomen, they are shooting up the side of my stomach. Soooo, while watching the monitor and knowing that they're coming about every 10 minutes or so, hopefully - and that's a strong hopefully - baby girl comes soon. However, it can still be a few days or even weeks.

My God, this much cramping and contractions for weeks still?? Umm... no, thank you. I want to meet her NOW!