Katie's 3 months old!!

Ok, so I know I'm a bit late...Katie was three months old on the 7th. I can't believe it! Where has the time gone??

So, just a quick update...I took Katie to the doctor on wednesday to have her put on medication for her reflux. We had to weigh her, and she now weighs 13 lbs, 4 oz! She is my little pumpkin ;) So far the good news is that the medication is helping her reflux (she still spits up like crazy but no more sour faces and crying when it happens), and as soon as we started her on the meds, her diaper rash cleared up too (she seemed to have constant diaper rash despite creams and vaseline, and frequent changing). The bad news is that it's messing her eyes up...At night when you look at her, one pupil is bigger than the other. Normally, if she had had a fall or something, I would rush her to the ER because the pupils would suggest a head injury. but since nothing has had no bumps to the head, I took her to the eye doctor and he said that everything is normal, and more than likely it's the meds causing her eyes to act up. However, if it continues after we stop the meds, then we have to take her back because something is wrong.

I also went and got Katie's ears pierced yesterday!!! She looks soooooo cute now (although she always was cute, just now she's more cute!!). She was a trooper! She cried just a little less than when she got her shots, and then has been super happy every since (I think she just likes the attention she's getting!!).

Alex is doing well with his speech...The pediatrician said last week that if in 6 months he's still doing ok then we won't have to go see her again. All his tests were normal, so he's just not talking because he doesn't want to. I think we've been doing too much for him again because he's not using his words and he's being a lot more aggressive (he likes to head butt me when he's not getting his way). He's also doing a lot of not listening, so I think we're going to have to get really tough with counting and time outs...

Dan's face is almost back to normal. He is really only slightly droopy on the one side, and I think he's going to make a full recovery. We still have another 2 or 3 weeks before we'll know for sure.

As for me, I'm tired, slightly overwhelmed and trying to enjoy all of this busyness!! I just took on too much this fall...I'm making my xmas presents which has turned out to be VERY labor intensive and taking FOREVER to finish, plus I agreed to make the wedding invites for my brother's wedding in FEB., and I still have to get Dan's corporate tax together and take it to the accountant (which is a whole day job...he has A LOT of receipts I have to go thru!!). On top of that, I organized a cookie exchange, and we're going to Osoyoos for xmas, so we're having our xmas here early...Lots of stuff to do!!

some pics and video

Sorry for the length of this post, but I have no idea when I'll get the time to post again!!



This is a video of Katie talking with Dan. He can get her really going! She loves her Daddy soooooo much! I never get much more than a goo from her ;)



Alex fell asleep on the couch one night, so we put Katie beside him and draped his arm over her. This is the only way I can get a pic of him holding her--he won't do it any other time!!




Me and the kiddos...Alex fell out of my lap just as Dan was taking the picture!






We had Dan's mom over for dinner, and we were trying out our Wii Fit for the first time....Alex was running around and then just curled up on the floor beside the balance board and went to sleep! It was only 5:30 at night too...




Alex LOVES the balance board for Wii Fit!










First time in a Bumbo...














Such a handsome boy!!!

Katherine is 2 months old!!

I know I'm a bit late, but you know....

Katie is now almost 2 1/2 months old...At her immunization appointment she was weighed and is already 11 lbs, 12 oz!! She loves her food....Actually, she doesn't like soothers, so she's always on the bottle. I hope she out grows that soon. We are still having a few night time troubles; as I type, it is 9pm and Katie is still awake. I'm letting her cry it out a little bit--she is more whining than anything. She tends to do that right before she drifts off, so we'll see how this goes! She is also having a bit of reflux issues, and I took her to the doctor. He suggested an anti-reflux formula, but I can't find it for sale in Canada, so I'm going to try one of the formulas for babies that spit up frequently. If that doesn't work, then I have to take her back and she'll need medication.

ALex is doing well. We went for his EEG on the 1st, and will get the results early next month. Infant development has said that no news is good news, so I'm optimistic that it is normal. We also took Alex for his final blood test, and we'll get those results soon as well. (side note: I just went and checked on Katie...She's talking away to her baby monitor!). He has picked up about 8 new words in the last 3 weeks, and has perfected a few he was already saying. For example--he knew how to say 'bye', but now he will wave and say it to kids when they're walking to school, or when people leave the house, or when I leave him at daycare.

We went to Osoyoos for thanksgiving since I haven't been up to see my Dad all year (we tried numerous times, but something always came up and we had to cancel). It was great to get away and to spend some time with family. We had a great weekend, but on our trip home Dan suddenly developed a Bell's Palsy, and so once you added the hospital visit into our travel time, it took us 9 hours to get home from osoyoos (normally a 4 hour drive). For those of you who don't know, Bell's Palsy is a sudden onset paralysis of one side of the face (in Dan's case, the left side). It can be caused by a virus, inflammation of the facial nerve, or from a stroke. Given Dan's cardiac history (he has very high cholesterol, and has had angina from time to time), we went to Chilliwack Hospital (we had stopped for a quick bite, and that's when we noticed it) just to make sure it wasn't a stroke.

So far, a CT scan has revealed no bleed (so stroke is unlikely) and his face is slowly starting to improve--probably due to the steroids and antivirals the ER Doc prescribed. Dan has to go back and see our family doctor next week just to see how things are going. He may need a follow up CT, but since there has been improvement, probably not. The doctor said the prognosis is divided into thirds--1/3 recover completely, 1/3 have some recover but not 100%, and 1/3 don't recover at all. We are just waiting to see which third Dan is a part of. Hopefully we'll no soon---Dan is very self conscious about how he looks, even though you can hardly notice it. It's just really hard to see him go through this. I think he's been through enough the last 18 months!!

I promise I will get some videos of Katie up when I can. I have to use Dan's computer and as you can guess he's usually using it!!

Wow, I need more time...

I realized today that I haven't posted about Katie being one month old, nor have I been able to give proper updates on a regular basis either....Ahhhhh, to have 2 small kids!!!

We'll start with Katie, she's the easiest! She will be two months old next week (my goodness, where does the time go???), and she goes for her first set of shots on Thursday...We'll see how much I cry this time! I think I may have cried more than Alex when he had his first set...We got through her first two illnesses--an eye infection, then a cold, which, of course, her and I got it the worst out of the whole family. She started smiling just after her six week 'birthday" but until a few days ago only had smiles for Dad. I only got smirks from her, and then one morning I went in to see her and got a huge grin from her--it was wonderful!! She also has started cooing, but she is much more reserved than Alex was. Alex was talking up a storm by 8 weeks old, while Katie tends to save her conversations for Dad, and the odd comment for Mom ;) She is also (finally) starting to have a regular schedule that I can predict. She wakes shortly after Alex, so around 7am, then is ready for a nap about 8:45 or 9am. She sleeps for an hour, then eats, is awake for a bit, then usually back asleep by 12 at the latest. On a good day, she sleeps until 3, eats, then goes back to sleep until 5, is up until 7 or 7:30pm, then sleeps for a good 5 or 6 hours before waking again. On a bad day, she sleeps until 1 or 1:30, eats, then sleeps again until 5 or 6, gets up for about an hour then is back in bed. On a really bad night, it's after midnight before she is asleep again. I've attached some pictures from her 6 week old shoot we did--they're fabulous!

Now onto Alex......Alex is doing really well in his speech development. He has about 55 words that he has said at least once, and almost 50 that he uses properly on a regular basis. 2 months ago he had 4 words only. He can also use sign language for 'more', and we're trying to teach him 'please' and 'open' as well as 'help' in sign language so that he can communicate better with us. Infant development was here on wed. last week, and the lady asked Alex to come and sit down beside her so they could play with a toy together. She said 'sit down' 2 or 3 times, then Alex looked at her and yelled "SIT DOWN!!!!" right at her! It was priceless! He then went and sat down beside her...

A lot of his speech is proper language (I believe), but I think he just says it unclearly, and so quiet that we can't understand him. I think this because so many times he will be saying something, and it almost sounds like a coherent sentence, but I can't quite make out what he's saying. Some of it is so clear that I wonder if it's just me not taking the time to listen, and that's why I don't understand. For example--Out of nowhere, Alex went into the kitchen and started banging the cupboard door right beside me at 6:30 in the morning. Katie was still sleeping, so I said "Alex, please don't bang the cupboard". He did it again, so of course I said ( a little more emphatically) "Alex, don't bang the cupboard!". Alex's response? "Mommy please?" very quiet and almost slurred together, but he said it, I heard it, and so did Dan. My response? "saying Mommy please does not make it ok to bang the cupboard!". Kids..................

Another quick story...Alex just learned to say 'bye', and not waving (he's been waving for 18 months now), but actually saying 'bye' to people. Today Dan was out mowing the lawn, and was going from the front yard to the side and back, then to the front and so on. Each time he disappeared from the front window and around the side of the house, Alex would say "bye" and wave to Daddy (although Dan didn't know this). Then, cars started driving by, and Alex started waving and saying bye to them too...So cute!!

Alex had his EEG on Thursday, and we'll get the results at our next pediatrician appt. in November. We were actually able to complete the test, so we don't have to go back and have it redone. I'm happy about this for a few reasons:

1. I hate driving in Vancouver, especially in the rain on a gray day in rush hour.
2. It was a pain in the ass keeping Alex up late, waking him up early, then making sure he didn't fall asleep in the car on the way out.
3. Just the simple fact we had to take one of our kids to Children's hospital for a test is not something I would like to repeat. Routine or not, healthy or not, it was very hard to go through that, and I don't want to do it again. EVER. and I think that even if I wasn't a super emotional person it still would have been hard to do it. Especially when the EEG lab is right across the hall from oncology.

So, now we just have one more set of labwork to do, and then all the test are done (I hope!!!). During my pregnancy with Katie, I kept saying that I thought she is going to be our difficult child because she gave me the most non-medical troubles...I was wrong--I think Alex is going to be! Although, the truth is Alex made me very sick medically during my pregnancy with him...

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up a little bit better with my posts now that things are starting to slow down....

Quick story

My mornings are pretty hectic, as are most mornings for anybody with 2 small kids. The weekdays are worse, since Dan leaves at 7 for work, and it's usually 9 before I can Alex to daycare, leaving 2 hours of hair pulling nuttiness for me to deal with. This was Friday morning:

Dan left at 7, as usual. Alex and Katie woke up at 6:30, and I finished feeding Katie shortly after 7. Now I need to make Alex's lunch, get him dressed, get myself dressed, get Alex breakfast, and then off to daycare. I also need to clean the house because we have people coming for dinner, and I'm going to Langley to get Alex all of his fall clothes from Old Navy, so I'm not going to be home much.

Katie refuses to be put down. She will sleep in my arms, be quiet in my arms, but as soon as I put her down she's crying. This doesn't help since most of the things I have to do require two hands. I've tried the rumble seat, and the swing. I've tried the mobile and carrying her in the baby carrier against my chest; nothing is working.

So, I finally decided that enough is enough. It's now 8am, and if I don't put her down I am never going to get anything done. So, I put her in the swing, hoping to have enough time to pee, get dressed and put my contacts in before she starts crying again. Alex is running around the house playing. I made it to the bathroom before she started crying, but not out of it. I decided that she's just going to have to wait until I'm dressed, and if that means crying a bit, well then so be it.

Once I was dressed and contacts in, I came out of our bedroom and I could hear Alex in the living room saying "Okay? Okay? Okay?" very quietly and persistently. I snuck into the kitchen and peeked around the corner to see Alex at the base of the swing saying "Okay? Okay?" over and over to Katie---He was trying to make her all better!!! I tried so hard to get it on video but Alex ran away just as I hit record....

Seriously the cutest thing he's ever done!

video of katie and some pics

4 week update

We have made it 4 weeks with no major catastrophes!!!!!!!

The last four weeks have flown by....I can't believe how much has happened and how quickly too! Katie has just gone through a growth spurt and looks (and feels!!) about the same size as Alex was at birth. I plan to have her weighed next week for the official '1 month' weight, although it will be a few days late, since the health unit is closed on Monday, and there isn't another well baby clinic until Friday. She doesn't have a predictable schedule yet (to my disappointment) but I have started a bedtime routine with her that we stick to every night. I'm hoping that soon she will get on a schedule (so I can plan my days a bit better). She refuses to take a soother, which means lots of rocking and bottles for soothing...I'm worried she's gonna get reeeeallllly chubby using the bottle as comfort, but I'll give it a bit more time and we'll see. We've had a few small episodes of colic, but in general she is a much easier baby than Alex, so we are really lucky---otherwise there would be no #3! (we are thinking about a 3rd kid, but more likely than not, it will be our last and not for awhile!).

Alex, on the other hand, is still a handful! He has really been testing the waters with his behavior, especially screaming and throwing stuff in the house. Normally the throwing stuff isn't a problem because most of his toys won;t hurt anything when thrown, but since he has really gotten interested in Hot Wheels, metal cars hitting the walls, TV, windows etc. is not good! Of course, he does it the most when I'm feeding Katie and can't get up and give him a time out. I think I may have to start putting her down, putting him in time out and then going back to her. I'm really afraid we'll get back to where we were with his behavior, and I don't ever want to see any of my children acting that way again!

As for his speech, the words are coming, and he knows more than what he says--I have proof!! Most of the words he 'lost' have come back, even if we don't hear them ourselves. He says 'please' at daycare,but won't utter the word once at home. He also said "look at daddy now" the other morning when Dan came into the living room--a sentence I had never heard before but totally understood! Plus, he was in trouble and I told him to go to his room (for a time out) and he went running in there, stopped, turned around to come back out, but then went back in once he saw me behind him. He even shut his door (which, once shut we have to open because there is a child safety thing on the back so he stays in there at night). We took him to the pediatrician, and all his labwork is normal except for one test he was supposed to fast for but didn't (I mean, how do you get a 2 year old to fast for 10 hours?) and it just happened to be the test for metabolic disorders. So, what we know is this: his hearing is fine, he doesn't have diabetes, his electrolytes are good, his fragile x is normal (which is an indicator of severe mental retardation), his PKU is normal (which it was at birth, so no surprise there) and he's making progress, which is a god sign! We actually started tracking his word use--a month ago he had 4 words he used all the time and appropriately. Now, he's at almost 30 words, and he should be using 50 and be able to identify 6 body parts (which he can't do yet--although we're trying!!!). So, almost there!!

As for his reaction to Katie--he's warming up to her. He really has this fascination with her feet--he has to touch them whenever he can! In fact, the first time, he was looking at her foot, and I kept saying "foot. that's Katie's foot. foot." and Alex touched her feet, then sat down in front of us and started looking at his foot! It was really cute. He also will go into her room and if a diaper has fallen on the floor, he will pick it up and put it on the change table, as well as receiving blankets and her diaper cream. I think he's quite taken with her, he just won't admit it!

I will post those videos soon..They're on Dan's computer which he has at work, so I have to wait for him to come home first!

Katherine is here!!!

I know it's been a bit since my last post, but then, I did just have a baby!!!

Katherine Ann Elaine Kubb was born August 7th, 2009 at 9:16am via planned c-section. She weighed 7 lbs, 6 oz, was 19 inches long, and had a head circumference of 36.5 cm. I will post some photos when I get a chance, as well as the video of Katherine's first few minutes of life, Dan cutting the cord, and Katherine getting weighed.

But first, her birth story!

As you all know from previous posts, I decided to book a c-section instead of trying for a natural birth. Right up until about a week before the surgery, I was having second thoughts, wondering if I had made the right decision etc. On the Monday before the surgery, I went 8 hours with contractions, lower abdominal and back pain, thinking that I was in labor. I went into the hospital, and sure enough, I wasn't. It was at that point that I knew I had made the right choice; I didn't want to play the "am I in labor, am I not" game anymore!!

We got to the hospital at 6am, got our paperwork, and headed upstairs to the maternity ward. The usual pre-op stuff happened; I changed into a gown, they started an IV, did paperwork, etc. My Dad and Step-Mom were there right before we headed to the high-risk room (I wasn't a high-risk pregnancy, that's just where they do the c-sections on the floor), and then we were off!

I went in, got up on the table and got prepped for my spinal, while Dan waited outside for me. Unfortunately, it took 2 tries to get the spinal in the right spot, and I have to say, it hurt like HELL!! Although, it worked wonderfully, and I had nice warm fuzzy legs through my whole operation!

Once the drapes were up and everything was ready, Dan was brought in and we were ready to go. We also had a little delay because the pediatrician was stuck in traffic, and ended up being late for the surgery. Since we couldn't start without him, my surgery started late too....

It didn't take long, and the OB was telling us we had a very cute baby, and then very shortly afterwards she told us it was a girl!! I darn near took the roof off when I screamed "ALRIGHT!!!! Just what I wanted!!!!" before breaking into uncontrollable sobs, which were probably just as loud as Katherine's! It definitely was a great day for us!

Once we had our time together, Dan went with Katherine to the nursery, and I went downstairs to recovery. I was supposed to recover on the maternity floor, but the recovery nurse called in sick, so I couldn't be up there with Dan and Katie (which is what we're calling Katherine for short). Unfortunately it added another hour to the wait our family had to find out the sex of the baby :(

Once I was upstairs, we let Alex meet Katie for the first time....He didn't quite know what to make of her! In fact, the realization that she wasn't leaving didn't set in until Day 2 home, when he wanted her bottle and when I wouldn't give it to him because it was "for the baby", he gave me the dirtiest look and wouldn't have anything to do with me for 3 days! Now he is starting to warm up to her, playing with her feet when he can (and when he thinks we're not looking) especially once we started asking him to help us with her by bringing diapers etc.

I have had one post-op complication...An infection! I just finished a 10 day course of antibiotics, but my incision is still a little red and draining, so I'll have to go back to the doctor and get more antibiotics. It was my own fault...I thought I was pulling at glue from all the tape that was on my belly...Turns out I was pulling at sutures, and introduced bacteria into my incision.......

Other than that, we're doing well!! I can't wait for Katie to get herself onto a predictable schedule--we still don't know if she'll sleep for 3 hours, or just 1 hour, or 20 minutes when we put her down for naps, and at night it varies too. I started her bedtime routine at the beginning of this week, so we'll see if she starts sleeping better at night soon. Right now I've got her sleeping with one of my shirts that I've worn to try and see if she'll sleep longer than and hour or 2 in the night. She wakes quite frequently and then will only sleep if I hold her, which means I don't get a lot of sleep myself!

I will post those pics when I can...still only get a short time on the computer--it's taken me three weeks just to finish this post!!

Anticipation...........

Here we are, 11pm, August 5th....I need to sleep something fierce but am way to excited to do so! Only 33 more hours, and baby will be here (or there in abouts :)!!!!

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day...We've kept Alex home from daycare so that he can come to my last OB appointment, and be a part of that, then he'll be off to my Mom's until Friday, when they'll both go back to our house for the weekend. I need a haircut, plus we have lots of last minute things to do. We need to look at our bags for the hospital and actually pack what we'll need, not just the bare essentials that can stay in the car in case of an emergency run, plus finish cleaning the house, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, you know, the usual stuff....

It was really weird today to be out with my girlfriend and talk about how I will definitely be having a baby in less than 2 days. It seemed kind of over planned, but at the same time, it is so nice to have an end date!!! I'm really nervous about everything from the surgery to baby, to coping with life afterwards--I have a lot of mixed emotions right now. I'm scared, happy, sad, uncertain...I'm just many things at the moment! Please don't be surprised if I'm crying like a baby when I phone you all with our big news!! Knowing me, I'll be crying on a regular basis for the next 3 months ;)

I am so optimistic, though, that I went out today and bought a girl's outfit for the hospital....I figure that if we have another boy I can take it back and get something in blue instead!!! I totally cased Sears for girl's clothing...I'm glad Dan has been working lots because we are going to spend a fortune on clothes!!

There are so many thoughts running through my head...I just can't seem to turn them off. I'm really glad they gave me Ativan to help me sleep the night before!

Well, I could be here all night expressing my thoughts, so I better go get some sleep. But, I'll leave you all with this:

It's gonna be a girl, born around 8:45am, and I think she's gonna weigh 8lbs 7oz, be 20 inches long, and have one very big head, just like her brother!!! Let's see if I'm right..............

impetigo photos

This is the worst it got, and these still look good! These were all over his chest and back, and some of the smaller ones you see used to be this big. Just imagine them looking fire-engine red with a crust over top from the oozing.. not pretty!




These smaller ones are currently on his chest, but are about the size and color of the ones that were all over his face..His face has pretty much cleared up now. I wish I had taken a picture when he first broke out so you could see how bad it was.......










This is on Alex's shoulder, and again is about half the size it was, and not anywhere near as red and crusty. His left elbow is sporting one about the same size and stage, which is where this all started...He had a bit of eczema in his elbow that got infected, then he spread it to anything he scratched open.It's kind of shiny because of the cream I put on it.











This is just a pic of Alex in his bed. Tonight he fell asleep while eating dinner he was so tired..He actually was in bed by 6:15!!! Normally it's 9:30 by the time he's asleep with the heat and his poo ritual... He's almost too long for his toddler bed already!!

The calm before the storm....

We are frantically trying to prepare for the birth of our little one, which as of today is only 5 days from now!! However, it has been difficult since the entire month of July was full of appointments. If you look at my calendar for July, every weekday has an appointment written in, and then there are even a few things on the weekends too! Between me and Alex, we have been quite busy, and since I haven't been able to drive for abut the last 2 weeks, Dan has been quite busy too.

We finally got Dan to the doctor about his cholesterol, which, according to the doctor, was quite impressive, and the worst he has ever seen (my doctor graduated in 1989, so in 20 years, that's pretty amazing). The doctor figures that there is no way that Dan did it to himself (of course, sine I had my cholesterol checked and it was excellent, and we eat the same foods), and that genetics has a role in it too. Dan's mom had high cholesterol, and since Dan is part native, that also puts him at risk for hearty disease (and diabetes). So, Dan now takes lipitor and a baby aspirin once a day to prevent strokes and decrease his cholesterol. We also have to make some major changes in our eating (mainly not eating out so much), and lose some weight. He has been really good about his eating since I told him about his cholesterol, and has even lost a little weight. Now to just keep it up!!

Alex has been ding really well this last month. We went to the pediatrician who ordered some labwork, and when we went on Friday to have it done, they pulled out about 15 vials that they needed to fill. Dan started to panic because he thought Alex would pass out from losing all that blood, but they reassured him that Alex would be fine. After the whole production of getting him ready, they realized that one of the tests has to be sent out right away, and their courier had already left for the day. So, we have to take him back on Monday to have his bloodwork done. Gotta love Mission Hospital!

As for his speech and hearing, we have another hearing test booked for the middle of August, just to get the parts they missed the first time. I don't think he has a problem with his hearing---he can hear just fine when he wants to! We went a speech therapy drop in on the 24th, and had the infant development program come in to assess him on the 27th. There is no question he needs speech therapy, but they gave us some great tips on how to get him to talk. So far, it's working! He has picked up some more of the words he lost, and even learned some new ones. He now knows how to say jump, and spoon. Although, jump comes out as "juh", and spoon as "spoo". He also started saying "I know", but we're not sure if he means "I know" or if he means "oh no". The big things that they told us to do was to talk everything out--If he's turning the light on and off (which he loves to do), then we say "light turns on, light turns off" every time he does it. We also are not supposed to ask questions like "can you say car?" or "what are you doing?" because if he can't answer, then that leads to frustration, which he doesn't learn from. Finally, the last big tip they gave us was to incorporate words into his play, like saying "jump" when he's jumping---this is how he learned to say jump. He was jumping on our bed, and we kept saying "Jump! Jump! Jump!" and now when he does it, he says jump, jump, jump himself. The infant development program is coming back at the end of August, once we get settled with the baby, and will work with us and Alex a bit more. What I like about all this is that we are expected to be equal participants in Alex's care (which we should be), but I know there are people out there who wouldn't be.

Alex also had a run in with sickness this last week...Alex has had eczema since about April, and we've been battling it quite well with creams that the pediatrician gave us. When we had this heatwave (don't get me started on that), he had a little breakout, which is no big deal, except he managed to scratch it and get it infected. I know how he didd it too....Alex has takien to poo-painting. Yes, poo-painting! He has this weird bedtime thing...We put him to bed, he poos, we change him, then he goes to sleep. Well, if you don't catch him, he digs, then you find it everywhere. I mean, everywhere! One night it was in the carpet, over his books, the back of the door, the walls, the bed, his dresser.....I was NOT happy that night! But then, if you make a big deal, he'll keep doing it. So, I figure he was painting, and while we do our best to clean him up, I'm sure there was a little under his nails and that's how he got all infected. He ended up with impetigo, and it spread like wild-fire all over his body. He was covered in blister-like lesions, oozing, itching, and looked nasty, especially the ones on his face. So, he's been home from daycare all week and n antibiotics to get it all cleared up. I wanted to take a before and after pic, but keep forgetting the camera in the car, so I'll post a pic from today, which looks amazingly good compared to what it was.........

As for me, a week and a half ago I was put on strict bedrest, which I have adhered to most of the time. I do get antsy and will do more than I should, but I almost always know when I have because I am exhausted afterwards. On Sunday night I had a wicked headache, and then monday and tuesday I was so swollen I couldn't feel my hands or feet. When I went to the doctor on Wed., my BP had shot up and I had noticed that baby was really quiet compared to normal, so they doctor sent me to the hospital for a non-stress test. Everything was fine, and I had another one this am (which was also fine), so I go again on Tuesday for one final one before baby is born. If there are any major issues, then baby will have to born earlier than friday, but as of now friday is still the big day!! The wonderful part of all of this, is that Langley has changed how they did c-sections. It used to be that planned or not, all c-sections were done in the OR, and while Mom was being stitched up baby and Dad went up the nursery for weighing etc. Mom then went to recovery, and then upstairs. When Alex was born, he was born at 5:33am, and I didn't get upstairs to be with him until almost 8am...Quite a long time to have to wait to see your baby!!! For a while now, they have been trying something new--planned c-sections are done on the maternity floor in their high-risk room, with Mom and baby going into recovery together. The only time you are apart from baby is while you are being stitched and baby is being checked out in the nursery--maybe 20 minutes max. Once you are ready to go to your room, Mom, Dad, and babe all go together. The only other catch is staffing...If they can't find an extra anethetist or PAR staff, you have to go to the OR and the old way kicks in. Turns out, the only day in all of August that they can staff the high-risk room is the day I'm having my c-section! I'm really, really happy about this because I think the major reason that breastfeeding failed with Alex was because he needed to be fed right away due to low blood sugar, and I wasn't there to feed him. So, he got a bottle, and it was all downhill from there..

So, I am starting to get anxious about this little one's arrival, but I am happy I chose to book a c-section. I have been through it before, I know what to expect, and frankly, I don't think I could handle going overdue again....I'm going nuts just having to wait this long for baby!!! I love that we don't know what we are having, because that is what I'm looking forward to--finding out who this little one is! I thought I was having a boy with Alex, and I was right--I think I'm having a girl this time, so we'll see if I'm right again! I know you all are wondering about names, so, if it's a girl: Katherine Ann Elaine Kubb; if it's a boy: either David Benjamin Kubb or Benjamin David Kubb...We're not sure yet.

Stay tuned!!!

Baby Update

Another day, another update........

I have had quite an eventful week! Everything was cruising along, hunky dory, and I woke up on Saturday incredible swollen. I was sitting on the couch, got up, and the indent that was left on my leg by my heel was HUGE. Needless to say, I had a large amount of pitting edema! I figured it was all par for the course, didn't think anything of it, until I went to the doctor on tuesday.

On tuesday, still swollen, incredibly uncomfortable and tired, I went for another check up. My BP had spiked, and it was looking like I was going toxic, so the Dr. sent me for bloodwork, put me on strict bedrest, and I had to come back today to be rechecked. I have to say that the most fun part of this was telling Dan that I could no longer cook, clean, take Alex to daycare, NOTHING, but sit on the couch. I should have been doing that for the last 2 months, but hey, I have a 2 year old. Good luck with that! My house looks like a bomb went off in it! Just to give you an idea, I went into the cupboard last night to pul plates out for dinner, and none were clean............

So today, I got up, made Alex's lunch, loaded the dishwasher and had all my pre-ultrasound water (always way too much!). Dan took Alex to daycare, then we headed to the hospital for the ultrasound. According to it, baby weighs about 6lbs 15 oz (give or take a pound), and is at 38 weeks 5 days (I am currently 36 weeks 5 days). Looking at the ultrasound, there is a whole lotta baby in there! PLus, this kid has HUGE feet (although Alex did too!!!) so I guess they are going to be cute toesies like Alex's as well.

Went to the doctor, BP has come down a little, bloodwork was ok, and the swelling is a little better, so I continue on bedrest until I see him again next week (or go into labor whichever happens first). From feeling my belly, he said that his experience tells him this baby is probably closer to 8 lbs, not 7, and I actually went down in measurements, so baby has dropped. Hopefully, labor is just around the corner!!!

I know we booked a c-section for the 7th, but I have always maintained that if I go into labor on my own, then as long as baby is ok, we'll try for a VBAC. Otherwise, I have a definitive date of delivery, which in this case is good, because if I was allowed to go to term (or overdue) I could possibly have a 10 pounder on my hands!!!

I know we have had everyone crossing their fingers and praying for us during this time, and we really appreciate it! Keep on it...We are willing this baby to come and are soooooooooo ready to meet him or her!!!!!

Pediatrician Update

Ok, we took Alex to the pediatrician for a check up today, and things are looking good. She is happy that he is making progress, and was actually a little more forthcoming with what her concerns were....

Her biggest concern is that Alex's regression in speech may be cause by seizures or a metabolic disorder. So, he has to go for an EEG and bloodwork to rule them out. Once they are ruled out, then the conclusion will be that he just needs a little help with speech. So, we have many appointments booked over the next month with developmental therapists and speech therapists to get him going, as well as getting the bloodwork done and then the EEG.

In terms of worse case scenario, I certainly wasn't thinking that a seizure would be worst case (I was thinking more like inoperable brain tumors). I can handle seizures. Seizures means meds and dietary management. Same with metabolic disorders. I'm so not as freaked out as I was.

We see her again in a month. In the meantime, we just keep plugging away!

c-section date

We have a c-section date!!!!!

I am booked August 7th, 2009 first thing in the morning! We are sooooo excited! Actually, I am so happy that I feel a little light headed at the thought, especially since we have quite a few things to do yet. Although, here I am blogging when I could be doing some of those things!!! We also think it's cool that baby's birthday will be 7-8-9.....What a cool date!!

Ok, gotta do some baby prep.................

Maternity photos

I had some maternity photos done a few weeks ago, and finally have them back. I didn't do them with Alex because I gained soooooo much weight with him I thought I looked hideous (and had major body image issues afterwards too), but this time I've only gained 30 lbs, so I'm a little happier with my shape :) None of the family ones turned out..Alex was waaaayyy to busy that day! Here are a couple of the good ones... Enjoy! Oh, and I was about 34 weeks when the pics were done.

OB visit

I went to the OB on Monday, and, well, not the greatest visit. I told her that I had changed my mind, that I wanted to have a planned c-section, and that my GP wanted it booked for the last week of July. She made a few comments about how I looked really worried (which I am), and then looked at our ultrasound results. Her conclusion was the following:

-a 31 week ultrasound is not indicative enough to base any decision for a planned c-section, so I have to have another ultrasound on the 23rd of July, which would be a better indicator of baby's size

-booking a planned c-section just because the baby is big is not a good enough reason to do it

-if a VBAC can be done it is better than any c-section, so she wants to continue to try and facilitate it

-the earliest she would be willing to book a section is August 10th, since she is on holidays from the 19th to the 4th, and my GP is on holidays from the 1st to the 9th.

She told me that I would have to wait until I see her on the 6th for a date for the section, and then it would still depend on OR bookings, inductions and how the ward was doing before she could give me a date. She then made another comment about me looking worried, and I burst into tears and starting blubbering about having this awful feeling that something bad was going to happen and that I couldn't handle it right now. It wasn't pretty! So, I still have to wait and see what the ultrasound says, and I see my GP for the next 3 weeks. We'll see what he has to say next week ;)

I felt really stupid afterwards about breaking down in her office, but then I didn't get a wink of sleep the night before (not an exaggeration, I literally did not sleep), and have been trying to cope with Alex and all of his issues and appointments, as well as Dan and his whole cholesterol-going-to-have-a-heart-attack-at-any-minute-need-to-lose-weight-and-take-meds issue, as well as being incredibly hormonal due to this last stage of pregnancy....Nevermind all of the normal day-to-day crap that you have to deal with! I also realize that it's not going to get better once baby is here, but most likely worse, and I just feel pretty overwhelmed at the moment.

So, I unfortunately can not give a specific date for this baby's birth (although I was really hoping to have one!!!), but I do think that the baby may have dropped in the last few days....If i sit for more than 10 minutes I have trouble getting up because of decrease movement in my pelvis, and I REALLY have a hard time getting out of bed.....I'm sure it would be a video for America's Funniest Home Videos to watch me get out of bed--I literally have to roll out and even THAT is difficult! Hopefully this baby will come soon......

Quicky update

Thought I would just post a little progress in our busy lives...

Alex is doing really good right now. We started the 1,2,3 Magic program of discipline with him, and it is working really well. As more time goes by, he is having less and less time outs, and I'm having to count past 1 a lot less often. He has also improved at daycare, and is back to sleeping and eating normally (he was waking at all hours wanting to get up or having screaming fits, and in general would not eat anything but junk...). In terms of his talking, he has learned 2 more words, duck and show, and he started saying some of his old words again; shoe, pee, poop, ready, set, go and I heard Mom and Mommy for the first time in months yesterday. What is funny is that every morning Alex wakes up, and the first thing he does once he gives me his bottle to fill up with milk (I know, I know, we'll wean him soon) is ask to put a show on, since this is normal morning routine. He follows me around saying "show? show? show?" until I put a disney movie on for him. As for the word duck, Dan taught him that last night, and it's so cute, he doesn't say "duck", he says "daaaa-cuck"!! If I can get it on video then I'll post it so you can see what I mean.

We were supposed to go to Osoyoos this weekend to visit my Dad since we hadn't been up there since before christmas, but the trip was vetoed by my doctor. I was willing to take the chance, but Dan wouldn't have it, and I can't drive that far and that long with my belly the size that it is. When I saw the doctor on Tuesday, my ultrasound results came back from 2 weeks ago...At 31 weeks 4 days (which was how far along I was at the time of the ultrasound) the baby was measuring 33 weeks 2 days and in the 90th percentile for a 33 week baby....Translation (as per my doctor)---at 31 weeks for days I was carrying a baby about the size of a 35 week baby, which meant that at my visit (where I was 33 weeks 4 days) I was carrying a 37 week size baby!! My doctors big concern is that with the baby being so big I could go into labor at anytime, and, while there is a hospital not too far from Osoyoos, we would have been horribly unprepared for delivery up there. I should also mention that we checked and double checked, and my dates are not off...I'm 100% sure of my last menstrual period (I remember it because I was so mad I wasn't pregnant!!!) and it is consistent with my first ultrasound which would be the most accurate for dates. I see the OB tomorrow, and we are going to pick a day for surgery. My doctor is hoping that we will get booked the last week of July, just because of the baby's size and the risk of going into labor (which wouldn't be a bad thing, but I really, really, really do not want to go through a long labor just to end up with another c-section anyways).

So, this weekend was spent getting things all ready for baby, since I am horribly anal retentive about being organized. The crib has been put back together at the right height for baby, we bought a new crib mattress, I've packed for the hospital (minus a few things that can't be put in until last minute anyways), got our phone list ready, and the car seat is by the door waiting patiently for Dan to put it in the car. I've pulled out all the receiving blankets, stocked up on diapers and wipes, some new bottles, bought a small case of formula just in case, bought new nipples for all the old bottles (although I can never seem to find the ones that are currently in circulation with Alex, so I keep having to buy more) and I even pulled out the very few girl things I do have to take to the hospital with me just in case (*wink *wink) including a dress that my great-grandma made for me when I was born--I thought that it would be great for the baby to wear in it's first photo (if it is a girl). Dan and I are frantically hashing out a boy's name (we already have a girl's name picked from my last pregnancy) and we aren't any closer than we were to picking a name 6 months ago. At least we're having the discussion---a month ago Dan wouldn't even talk about it!!

There is, of course still a lot of things that haven't been done...I have to pick up a dresser for Alex and move his clothes out of the nursery and put them in his room, his closet needs to be cleaned out so that he can actually use it (right now it's full of blankets, I've made and all our photos we never rehung after we painted), I have a book shelf in the nursery that needs to be put together, we need to steam clean the carpets, I need to organize all of Alex's 12-24 months clothes and move them downstairs, and I need to go through all of our toys and find the infant stuff, wash it and have it ready for baby (right now it's all mixed in with Alex's big boy toys).

Needless to say, we have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us, especially if I'm booked for a c-section the last week of July. The doctor did say he would be happy with a date anytime after my birthday, so we'll see what happens tomorrow!!

Alex's visit to the pediatrician

Today we went and saw the pediatrician with Alex. I had this appt. booked about 2 months ago, when I casually mentioned to the doctor that I wasn't sure if Alex's speech was coming along like it should. Dan had noticed quite a while ago that he was slowing down, but I dismissed it as us being too busy to actually listen to him talk--especially when he would come out of left field with a perfectly formed sentence in response to a question or comment we had made. I noticed the difference when we went to a birthday party and all the kids that were Alex's age were naming fruit, colors, and having semi-conversations with their parents, and the only thing Alex could say was "no".

Once we got the referral, Dan and I started making a concerted effort to try and get things going. We make sure we read to him every day, and we would spend at least 30-45 minutes a day going over colors, objects, food, body parts etc. trying to get him to learn them. SInce we started that, the only thing that Alex has learned is how to say enough and here, and I think he was making a really good effort at pointing out a truck the other day when I was driving him to daycare---the truck was in front of us and he kept saying "tuck, tuck, tuck" in the back seat. Once I said, "yes Alex that's a truck", he stopped saying tuck. He has been trying, and trying really hard to talk, he's just not there yet. We have also had some behavioral issues with him--yelling and screaming for no reason, frustration, grunting instead of talking and A LOT of temper tantrums that have not responded to discipline at all.

Soooooo, today we met with the pediatrician. Alex is behind developmentally in terms of his speech. So much so that he is going to need speech and language therapy to develop it. There is no clear indication as to why his speech isn't developing, so we have to go through a series of tests to see if there is actually something wrong, or if he just needs a little extra help learning how to talk. First, He needs to have a hearing test done. If the hearing test is normal, then he needs to go for bloodwork. If the bloodwork comes back normal, then he needs to have a MRI done. In the meantime, we'll be starting his therapy. I have to call tomorrow to book his first appointment. The Dr. basically said that best case scenario, he just needs some help. Worst case scenario, there are bad things that can cause these issues (although she didn't go into what the bad things were--I can only imagine). In terms of his behavior, she gave me the name of a book that is quite well known for dealing with difficult behaviors and disciplining children who exhibit them, so I will pick it up and see if that helps. She did say that his current problems with behavior are directly linked to the fact that he can't speak, and that while a small part of it is just him being 2, the majority comes from him not being able to express himself properly and to have us understand what he wants and/or needs. Of course, this makes me feel REALLY guilty for all the times I got frustrated and yelled at him or gave him a time out much sooner than I normally would.

Basically, we are going to give Alex as much love and encouragement as we can until he gets better. It may sound hokey and totally like we're hippies, but I don't think a heavy hand is what he needs right now....I think a more gentle approach with lots of hugs ad kisses is going to be the best way to help him get through this. Of course, there are still things he will not get away with (such as biting or hitting out in frustration), but I think that for now we are just going to have to deal with him yelling and screaming and throwing multiple tantrums and do our best to deal with them with time-outs until he can communicate better with us. Alex is a very bright child, and you can see it in the way he does things, how he acts, and how quickly he learns how to do things. I can't begin to imagine what it's like having lots to say and not being able to get your point across.....I probably would be yelling and screaming and throwing tantrums too (heck I do this and I AM able to get my thoughts across to people!!!).

WE'll keep you all updated as things go. Thankfully his hearing test is in 2 weeks, and his next pediatrician appointment is in 1 month, so things should move pretty quickly (I would think). If I can get him in for his first assessment with the speech therapist before the baby is born then I will be quite happy. The next month is going to be full of appointments for both me and Alex!!

Baby update (for those who didn't get the email)

Just thought I would pass along a little update on our (little) bundle of joy.....

For my last 2 visits to the doctor I have been measuring big (meaning that I should be 28 weeks and measuring 32, and today I'm 31 weeks and measuring at 36), and my blood pressure is starting to increase. I saw the OB 2 weeks ago about trying a natural birth, and while she seemed hesitant, she supported my decision. My family doctor, however, looked at my measurements etc today and feels that it may be better for me to have a planned c-section because I most likely will need to have another one anyways. There are many risks associated with having a natural birth after a c-section, with the most serious being that my incision could open up during labor, and the baby could die from lack of oxygen and I could bleed out. This is very rare, but more often than not, if the incision does open, the baby could die, and I could end up with a hysterectomy (no uterus means no more kids). Of course, the up side is that everything could go smoothly and everyone could be fine.

Given how difficult my labor with Alex was, and how long the recovery time was, Dan and I discussed our options on the way home today and decided that we are going to book a c-section instead of trying for a natural delivery. If I go into labor before the planned day, then we'll decide from there. There were many reasons for us booking the section; safety, familiar territory (I've had one before so I know what to expect), the ability to plan child care for Alex, my fear of pain (I don't do pain well), and also the option of any friends or family to be at the hospital when the baby is born if they want to be. It was a difficult decision to make, but in the end the only thing that matters is the safe and healthy entry of this baby into the world. When all is said and done, I really don't need to experience labor and a vaginal delivery--I had the labor (and it sucked), and I hear about vaginal deliveries from friends, and I think I'll pass :)

So, having said that, once I have a date for the surgery I will let you all know so you can know when to expect our little one's arrival. I will need to be in hospital for 3 days following, so there also will be lots of time for everyone to come and visit. We are starting to get quite excited and nervous all at the same time (any parent knows what this is like), but ultimately we are just really happy.

I went for the ultrasound today, and that said the baby is measuring about 2 weeks ahead instead of 4 1/2. However, there didn't look like too much amniotic fluid (although I'm not an ultrasound tech, so don't quote me) so I think we are just having another big baby!! Everything else looked good, and baby kicked through the whole thing (neither of my kids enjoy having their pic taken in utero, but Alex sure likes it on the outside!!!). I'll keep you all apprised of our situation as we get more info!

A little calmer post...

Ok, so I think (I hope) the week of hell has finally ended.....

I was able to pick my car up on Wednesday after a very long week of issues. When all was said and done, the clutch master cylinder, the clutch, and catalytic converter were all replaced. The front rotors were machined, the back brakes serviced, and an oil change was done. Final bill, including tows--- $2100.00. Yes, that's right. 2 grand. 2 grand to fix a car that I might be able to get 6 for, and it only has 93,000 KM on it! Word to the wise: if you buy a new vehicle, get rid of it before the warranty runs out, because as soon as the warranty is gone, that's when things start breaking. And it's expensive. Unfortunately, my car has to last until I go back to work, which is when we can afford the car payments on a new vehicle. I do have to say, that when I picked up my car, I noticed a difference right away. It shifts nicer, it's quieter, the car starts without a lot of issues, it drives wonderfully--almost as good as a new car, and I've already noticed a difference in my gas mileage. Anybody looking for a mechanic? Go to Minut-tune in Port Kells....Scott and his crew are *AWESOME*.

Alex passed his magnet on Tuesday night...I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a magnet come out of someone's ass like I was that night! We have been dealing with a little fall out from the whole ordeal (night wakings, screaming for no reason, crying over nothing, not going to sleep unless someone is there with him). It's finally starting to get better. The last 2 nights Alex has been asleep by 9 and slept in until at least 7 (which is waaaaaayyyyy better than the 5 am wakings we were having). The only other thing that has picked up is the separation anxiety. I have to drop and run at daycare because he loses his mind when I try to leave, and even he knows I'm around and he can't see me, then he gets upset too. We were at Baby World today picking up a toddler carrier and Dan walked around a corner where Alex couldn't see me, and he started to get upset...I had to talk to him across the store just so he wouldn't flip out!

Next week I see the doctor again and go for another ultrasound. It will be interesting what they think about baby's size (I feel ginormous, and still have 8 or 9 weeks to go). I'm starting to freak out about the whole labor thing, but I do have some comfort knowing that if things get going and I just don't want to do it, then I can ask for a c-section and they'll send me right away. I do know that I am finding it difficult to walk because of constant pressure in my pelvis, and when I sit, baby uses my right lower ribs as a bum rest, and the left lower ribs as a kicking plate. In short, I'm pretty uncomfortable--more so than with Alex. With Alex I was just really swollen and tired....This time I'm not too swollen but I'm always in pain of some kind. It never goes away, just gets worse or better. Ok, enough complaining. I'll let you all know how things go next week.

DOES IT EVER END?!?!?!?!?!

Ok, so this has been the worst week EVER in the history of time (in my life anyways). After our ordeal on Thursday, (and hearing about on friends on Tuesday before that), I thought "ok, this is not a good week. It will get better". NOPE.

I picked my car up yesterday from the mechanic. The clutch master cylinder was gone, the catalytic converter was replaced, I had an oil change and the back brakes serviced and realigned. I drove not even ten minutes from the shop to a school where my Mom was working, visited with her, got in the car to leave, and the clutch went to the floor again. Another tow bill (the first one was $160, this one was $85), and I still don't have a working car!!! Plus, I had Alex with me this time, didn't bring diapers or snacks (because we weren't going to be gone long) and, of course, he needede to be changed and was hungry. Plus, just as I was getting stuck in Langley, Dan was getting home from work, didn't know what was going on, had no keys for the house or a ride home from the train. I sent his Mom but she missed him, so we had to play telephone with neighbors to get him the message that there was car trouble and we would be home soon.

We got home, tried to relax a bit (needless to say I had a major pregnancy moment and cried for a bit once we were home), and while Alex was playing with some magnets, he pulled the magnet apart and started playing with that. We knew he had it, but thought we had taken them all away when he went to bed. Well, he had one hidden somewhere, and when we went to change him shortly afterwards, Dan noticed that he kind choked on something and then swallowed it. Since we weren't sure, we took him to ER. 2 hours later (and at midnight), we found out that, yes, he had swallowed a magnet, but it was safely (if you canr eally use that word here) in his bowels and we now just have to wait for it to pass. If he hasn't passed it in a week, we have to take him back to the hospital for another xray (guess who's going digging in poop until we find it?!?!!?).

Then, in trying to wind down, I decided to check my email,only to find that my Dad had to put one of his dogs down last night because he was having seizures that wouldn't stop. I mean, can it really get any worse?!?!?!?! I just want to crawl in a hole and re-emerge in about 3 months... Alex woke up at 4:30 this morning screaming his guts out, and I almost took him back to the hospital. He wants NOTHING to do with me, and eventually calmed down with Dan, but now we're up at this god aweful hour (although I've been awake all night so I guess it doesn't really make too much difference--it just means I'm going to sleep once Alex is in daycare). Ugggghghghghghghghghghghghgh!!!!!!

Ok, I think I have ranted enough. I don't necessarily feel better, but it is nice to get it all out!

Just an update....

Thought I would give everyone a quick update on our (busy) lives!! Dan is working very hard on a contract for a company in Vancouver so he pretty much spends all of his time working right now. He's trying to finish it asap, with an absolute deadline of August 1st so that there is no confliction with the baby's birth and him taking time off to spend with us...

Alex is doing well. I think he just went through another growth spurt because he all of a sudden looks really skinny and has really long legs. He has been in his big boy bed for a whole week now, and I think that the only think that is making bedtimes easy right now is the fact that we have to give him benadryl for an eczema outbreak he is having. I have medicated cream for the eczema, but it can only be used twice a day and it is really bad for thinning out skin so I try not use it all the time. The heat makes things worse, and Alex HATES having lotion put on (although it is a necessary evil). We still haven't broken him from the bottle, so he tends to have a bottle before naps and bedtime. Occasionally, he also has one in the night, but I noticed that now he seems comfortable in his bed, he doesn't need that one anymore. My hope is to have him off of bottles by the time the baby comes, but I don't know if that will work, or if I have the energy for it. *Sigh*.

I am surviving (barely) in the heat we have been having, and am quite happy that the weekend has been cooler. I was hoping to pick up an air conditioner for one of our rooms so that I could escape there from time to time, but unfortunately, life has had other plans. I got my income tax return this week and was planning on filling the deep freeze with food, buying the air conditioner, and stocking up on some baby supplies (diapers, wipes, bottle liners etc.). However, we went to a show on Thursday in Vancouver (I'll explain in a minute), and just as we were pulling into a parking spot, the clutch went in my car. I already knew that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced, but was not expecting the clutch to go. So, after the show, I had to have my car towed to Langley where I have it serviced to be repaired. I was just told this am that it was the clutch master cylinder that went, the cat does need replacing, it's time for an oil change, and my back brakes need servicing. So, there goes my income tax refund. Next year when I go back to work, we are going to buy a new car!

We went and saw Dane Cook at GM place on Thursday. Man, was it funny! I mean, it's kind of hard to enjoy yourself when you have no idea how you are going to get home, and no idea how much it's going to cost this time for the car to be fixed, but it was still good all the same. I would totally go see him again. I do have to say, though, I was surprised there were other comedians opening for him....I thought it was a show with only him in it. Not a bad thing---the first guy was ok, the second guy was really funny, and of course, then there was Dane Cook.

Ok, I got completely off track...I was going to get into the whole pregnancy update then got side tracked! So here is the update: The last time I saw my family doctor (May 21), my blood pressure had spiked, I had sugar in my urine, and was all of a sudden measuring 4 weeks ahead of my expected due date. Not surprising, since this was about the same time it started with Alex too. I haven't been working since the end of April, but of course because I'm not on strict bed rest, I'm still trying to run a household, which might as well be a full time job (any Mom here knows what I'm talking about). I know have to go for bloodwork every month until October to make sure I'm not toxic, and I'm now into every 2 week visits between my family doctor and the OB. I have to go for an ultrasound on June 17th to estimate baby's size, and will probably have to have another one around 38 weeks. I saw the OB on the 4th, and while she didn't say too much about baby, we did talk extensively about a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). She explain the risks involved, gave me stats on success rates etc. I'm on the fence as to whether or not I want to try it, only because I had such a rough time laboring with Alex. I'm not too keen on going through that again, but at the same time I really feel that labor and delivery should be as natural as possible. We'll see when the time comes. My MD thinks that this pregnancy may be making me sicker than I was with Alex, and if that is the case I might have to have another c-section just for health reasons. Both doctors have said that they do not know what the next 10 weeks will bring, so we just have to wait and see. We got our 3D ultrasound done and it was successful (finally!!!!). This little one looks just like Alex, but some of the pics really look like me, so I think it's a girl. Obviously, we won't know until D-day, so, you all will have to wait!

The only other thing I wanted to mention was that we did get some sad news this week. Our good friends who tried for 6 months before finally conceiving their first baby, lost it on Monday. She was 11 weeks pregnant at the time. I am not sure exactly what happened (for obvious reasons they do not want to discuss it), but we are very, very, sad at their loss. I have never known anybody who had miscarried, so this is a first for us (and for them). Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time, and for now we are giving them their space. It's a difficult situation because at the moment, every single one of our friends who are childbearing (meaning they want and are trying to have children) are all pregnant right now. All I can say is that we love them very much and will do anything to help them through this.

Alex's 2nd birthday

Some videos

Just thought I would post some recent videos of Alex...This how some family keeps up with him, so it's about time!

Easter and Alex's new haircut

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I'd post a few pics from easter and Alex's new haircut. We went bold and had his hair spiked this time (Dad doesn't know yet, but it looks really cute!)


First off, here is my little 'Nucker'. My Dad bought Alex this outfit when he was 6 months old, and now it fits! Canucks from head to toe!!!













This is a small idea of what William's Park looked like before the easter egg hunt...





Alex picking up candy......









Completely pooped out after the hunt (and covered in cheezie dust from lunch!)








My new haircut!! Cool Dude!!

A better update

Okay, so now that I have some more time, I'll give you all a better update on how we are all doing!

Dan is fine. Not much new with him.

I'm doing ok. I'm still having morning sickness most days of the week, although I can usually ward off the vomiting and just be nauseated all day long. This fact alone makes me think that I'm having a girl, but I'm not sure. I was right with Alex; I thought I was having a boy and I was right. I think I'm just afraid of being wrong this time! Having a boy would certainly be cheaper---I already have all the clothes! Other than that, I'm really starting to look pregnant, and I'm finding it hard to bend down and pick stuff up. Alex is getting waaaaaayyyyy to heavy for me to lift, but sometimes it's necessary. I have been mothered like crazy this time around, from people getting mad because I'm doing some heavy lifting (ie Alex), painting, full duties at work... I have myths for the Dr. to disspell when I go see him next week!

Alex is doing good. I just ordered him a toddler bed and that should be in next week. He climbed out of the crib last week and fell, so I figure it's time to move him. I'm hoping to get the bedroom painted this week so that when his bed comes, then he can switch his rooms. We're keeping the nursery the same because I don't think any little boy would choose Winnie the Pooh for his room if he could! So we are doing a safari theme in greens and yellows for his room. Still gender neutral, but when Alex is big enough to move downstairs, he can pick a really boy room them.

Like I said, if you really listen to Alex he is talking in sentences and has many words, but a lot of times it's just jibber. I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about this, but then he'll come out and say something crazy (like "I said no!") and I realize that he can talk, he just doesn't. He likes to use only one or two words at a time because it's easier. I think he's just quiet like his Dad. I'll be keeping an eye on it tho, and if by this time next year he's not communicating well, then I'll take him to the doctor. I think part of the problem is us--by the end of a work day, we are both so tired that it is everything just to make dinner, give Alex his bath and get him to bed so we can go to bed.

So, because of the fatigue issue and time issue, there are some things I just haven't done with Alex. Potty training hasn't even begun yet. We have the pot and have tried a few times, but I also think Alex just isn't ready. Once baby comes and we're all adjusted, then we'll try. The doctor said if we train him now, then he'll just revert after baby, so to wait. We also haven't been the most diligent in removing the bottle from his life either....I know, I know. The dental hygenist gives me crap every time I go in to have Alex's teeth varnished. However, our newest revelation is that Alex has started refusing his bottle, all the time. He was sick 2 weeks ago and wouldn't take it, then took it back for a few bedtimes, no refuses it completely. So, today, I am putting all the bottles away, having daycare send home his bottles there, and it will be sippy cups from now on only! It's so much easier when he decides to do something than when we enforce it. We've been trying to take the bottle away for months with no luck. Now I can say, "finally"!

We are not finding out the sex of our baby, much to our family's disappointment. Everyone wants to "plan" for the baby...I have said that if anybody needs to plan it's us, and we're not planning, so everybody can just follow. I've done really good with weight gain this time--I've only gained 2 or 3 pounds so far. I gained 75 with Alex, and I'm not doing that again! I still haven't lost it all! Otherwise we are all fine.

We are going to Science World with Alex this weekend because they have this huge Lego exhibit going on. Dan and Alex are looking forward to playing all day! I'll post some pictures and maybe some good video if I can get it.

Till next time!