Friday, November 28, 2008
Guess how much my baby weighs!
The midwife came over today and weighed Emma, she was 11 pounds 10 ounces!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
4 Weeks Old!
Emma is four weeks old today. So I thought I'd post a few pics for you to enjoy.
Also wanted to include pics of her brothers at 4 weeks for comparison.
Also wanted to include pics of her brothers at 4 weeks for comparison.
Check out the rolls on her legs!
And now her brothers...
LUKE
4 weeks
(one week away from going home from the hospital and 2 weeks after his surgery)
NOAH
4 weeks
So you can decide who she looks more like.
Here is Luke holding his Emma and his Sonny
They have matching overalls
Here's Emma and Sonny on their own, cute couple.
Auntie Rachie came to visit from WashingtonEmma's shirt say "My first Caps T-Shirt"
Here's the other side of Luke, which we have seen a lot of lately
This one's a bit blurry but I think you'll get the idea
I went through three changes of clothes that day for both myself and her
And finally, the first smile caught in a picture.Still mostly sleep grins, but you do get to see the start of a smile when she's awake sometimes.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Emma's Second Week
So there's a new look to the blog. I'm still not totally happy with it, but it's all I have time for now.
I just want to get a couple of pictures up and then I gotta go warm up supper. We have been really blessed by friends bringing meals over and I haven't had to cook any suppers yet! It has been such a great help!
This week has been busy with Nath going back to work on Weds. and a trip to WInkler on the weekend for Emma to meet her Great-Grandparents and to have her first photo shoot with her Opa. I made my first outing with all three on my own this week, and it went pretty well. The boys are such great helpers.
Emma had her 1 week weight check last week and she was back at her birth weight. She has been eating and sleeping well. She has been such a good baby!
I just want to get a couple of pictures up and then I gotta go warm up supper. We have been really blessed by friends bringing meals over and I haven't had to cook any suppers yet! It has been such a great help!
This week has been busy with Nath going back to work on Weds. and a trip to WInkler on the weekend for Emma to meet her Great-Grandparents and to have her first photo shoot with her Opa. I made my first outing with all three on my own this week, and it went pretty well. The boys are such great helpers.
Emma had her 1 week weight check last week and she was back at her birth weight. She has been eating and sleeping well. She has been such a good baby!
Great-Grandma Marie with Emma Kate Marie
Great-Grandpa Bill
Great-Grandma Nettie
Nice purple T-Shirt!Thanks Uncle Joel and Auntie Tanis!
Emma with her proud brother Luke
Noah and EmmaTuesday, November 04, 2008
Emma's first five days
Here are just a few pics of Emma's first days.
Before...
Before...
After!
Emma being weighed. 9lbs 5-3/4 oz.
Our lovely midwife Toni- she's been at the births of all 3 kids!
Daddy and Emma
Oma getting the perfect shot of their first grand daughter
Joel and Tannis taking Emma's pictures
(sorry I know it's blurry)
Looking around
Holding her soother
Auntie Jess and Caleb checking out Emma
Big Brother kissing his little sis
On another note I really do need to change the name of the blog now, so if anyone has any clever suggestions please let me know.
Emma has been doing really well. Eating lots and doing everything she's supposed to. At 2 days old she was 8lb 12 oz and at 4 days she was 9lb 2oz. So she shouldn't take long to get back to her birth weight.
On another note I really do need to change the name of the blog now, so if anyone has any clever suggestions please let me know.
Emma has been doing really well. Eating lots and doing everything she's supposed to. At 2 days old she was 8lb 12 oz and at 4 days she was 9lb 2oz. So she shouldn't take long to get back to her birth weight.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Emma! And my home birth experience.
The story of Emma's birth
It was Weds, Nov 29 when I decided to take the castor oil. I've had success with it, when I was overdue with Noah, and since the stretch and sweeps that the midwife had been doing, weren't resulting in any labor. I thought I'd try the oil again. My due date according to my period was Nov.1, we had added a couple of extra days because I tend to have longer cycles, resulting in the Nov.5 date, but I always kinda stuck to Nov.1 in my head. So I was only 4 days from my due date.
I ran to Superstore with the boys in the morning to get a couple of last minute things, knowing that I didn't want to be out and about after taking the oil. Then when I got home at 11am I mixed up 3 oz of castor oil and 3oz of OJ with 1/2 tsp of baking soda. The oil, for those who haven't tried it, is VERY thick, and doesn't actually "mix" so well, but more like chunks floating around in the OJ with most of it sitting on the bottom. The baking soda was supposed to make it fizzy and help it go down, but I'm not sure it was beneficial. Drinking the stuff is really quite nasty, and once you do get it down, results in castor oil burps!
So then I waited, it says it will take about 2-4 hours for it's laxativing action to take place. This in turn is supposed to stimulate the uterus to contract. Well nothing happened for me. So around 4 pm I gave up on it and made some soup for supper. I was quite disappointed. Nath came home and we sat down around 5 to eat. It was then that I noticed I was having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. We started timing them and they were almost every 2 or 3 minutes, but not painful at all. After half an hour I called my midwife and she said she'd check back in half an hour to see if there was any change. When she called back they were still coming every couple of minutes but still no pain or discomfort with them. Maybe a little achiness in my back. So she decided to come over and check to see if there was any change in my cervix.
She arrived shortly after 6, and checked me, she said I was 3-4 cm dilated, which was a slight change from the day before when I was 2-3. She did another stretch, and suggested we go for a walk. So after playing a game of Uno with the boys, we all went out for a walk around the block. Still no changes- contractions still coming but not painful. So she said she didn't think I was in labor right then, but that it was possible once we settled into bed that it might start up. So we put the boys to bed, and then went to bed ourselves.
Shortly after 11pm I woke up needing to go to the bathroom. When I sat up I noticed the pain. I didn't wake Nath immediately because I wanted to make sure it was the real thing before disturbing anyone else's sleep. But these were clear contractions, with the pain focused on my back and bum. I woke Nath around 11:30, then he made all the phone calls to the midwife, my mom, and my brother. (Joel and Tannis came to stay at the house until my mom arrived, just incase we needed to leave). He then moved the boys, still sleeping, to the basement bedroom.
I sat on the exercise ball near the end of our bed and stayed there. The midwife arrived around midnight and got everything set up. She didn't need to check me again because she could see this was the real thing now. She got all her stuff set up. She checked the baby's heartbeat with the doppler, and my blood pressure between contractions and around 12:30 when she was checking the heart beat again. Nath asked her "So how long does this usually last before the pushing starts?" She just kinda laughed and said "not too much longer" I was wondering what he was so concerned about. He wasn't the one having the contractions, but anyhow with the next contraction I felt the pressure and said I had to push.
So I moved onto the bed. We had protected the bed with a vinyl picnic tablecloth. Then a sheet over that. I moved onto my hands and knees because I was feeling so much pain in my back this is what felt most comfortable to me. They moved the exercise ball to the top of the bed where I could lean forward onto it. Then I started to push. I could feel her head coming down, and tried not to push too hard, because I really didn't want to tear this time. And then felt the relief as her head came out and was surprised to hear her cry. Then I pushed out the rest of her body. They moved her to be in front of me and I sat down on my knees and held her. It was very surreal. Having this baby in my arms and not in my tummy. It took a minute for it all to sink in. I had to check to make sure it was a girl. And it was!
I had to lay down then to deliver the placenta, and so they could check for tears. Hallelujah, only one small tear, that required only 3 little stitches! Daddy got to cut the cord, which always makes him nervous, but he did just fine. And we got to cuddle with our little Emma for the first time. After they were done fixing me up, they checked her out. She was 9lbs 5-3/4oz, 21.5 inches long. Our smallest baby yet! (Noah: 9lbs 9-1/2oz, 22.5in, Luke: 10lb7oz 23in)
The midwives were really impressed with how quickly it all went. Apparently I only pushed for 7 minutes, and she was in a posterior position. Which means her face was facing my stomach, which usually slows down the process a lot. This is also why I was feeling the pain in my back and bum.
I got in the shower to clean up, while they changed the bedding. Nath served the midwives chocolate pie that I had made for supper. My mom arrived just after 1am. After getting cleaned up, I got back into my own bed and nursed my baby. It is so amazing that they know exactly what to do. The midwife left around 3, and we got back to sleep by 4 am. She didn't wake up til 7am. So a pretty good first night.
Nath had moved the boys back into their beds before we went to sleep. The didn't wake up until morning when they had a brand new baby sister. They came into the bedroom all smiles and Noah wanted to hold her right away. They were very taken with her. They even wanted to read her books.
The homebirth experience was wonderful. It was so great being in your own environment and not having to drive anywhere. (It would have been pretty tight getting to a hospital in time) And being able to sleep in my own bed and wake up with the boys here was really great. The midwife comes within the next 24 hours to check up on her and again 2 days later. And of course we can call her anytime if we have any concerns. She will look after Emma and me for 6 weeks after the birth. It's always so sad when that six weeks is up. She has been there for all 3 of our babies now.
I'll post again soon with pictures of Emma.
It was Weds, Nov 29 when I decided to take the castor oil. I've had success with it, when I was overdue with Noah, and since the stretch and sweeps that the midwife had been doing, weren't resulting in any labor. I thought I'd try the oil again. My due date according to my period was Nov.1, we had added a couple of extra days because I tend to have longer cycles, resulting in the Nov.5 date, but I always kinda stuck to Nov.1 in my head. So I was only 4 days from my due date.
I ran to Superstore with the boys in the morning to get a couple of last minute things, knowing that I didn't want to be out and about after taking the oil. Then when I got home at 11am I mixed up 3 oz of castor oil and 3oz of OJ with 1/2 tsp of baking soda. The oil, for those who haven't tried it, is VERY thick, and doesn't actually "mix" so well, but more like chunks floating around in the OJ with most of it sitting on the bottom. The baking soda was supposed to make it fizzy and help it go down, but I'm not sure it was beneficial. Drinking the stuff is really quite nasty, and once you do get it down, results in castor oil burps!
So then I waited, it says it will take about 2-4 hours for it's laxativing action to take place. This in turn is supposed to stimulate the uterus to contract. Well nothing happened for me. So around 4 pm I gave up on it and made some soup for supper. I was quite disappointed. Nath came home and we sat down around 5 to eat. It was then that I noticed I was having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. We started timing them and they were almost every 2 or 3 minutes, but not painful at all. After half an hour I called my midwife and she said she'd check back in half an hour to see if there was any change. When she called back they were still coming every couple of minutes but still no pain or discomfort with them. Maybe a little achiness in my back. So she decided to come over and check to see if there was any change in my cervix.
She arrived shortly after 6, and checked me, she said I was 3-4 cm dilated, which was a slight change from the day before when I was 2-3. She did another stretch, and suggested we go for a walk. So after playing a game of Uno with the boys, we all went out for a walk around the block. Still no changes- contractions still coming but not painful. So she said she didn't think I was in labor right then, but that it was possible once we settled into bed that it might start up. So we put the boys to bed, and then went to bed ourselves.
Shortly after 11pm I woke up needing to go to the bathroom. When I sat up I noticed the pain. I didn't wake Nath immediately because I wanted to make sure it was the real thing before disturbing anyone else's sleep. But these were clear contractions, with the pain focused on my back and bum. I woke Nath around 11:30, then he made all the phone calls to the midwife, my mom, and my brother. (Joel and Tannis came to stay at the house until my mom arrived, just incase we needed to leave). He then moved the boys, still sleeping, to the basement bedroom.
I sat on the exercise ball near the end of our bed and stayed there. The midwife arrived around midnight and got everything set up. She didn't need to check me again because she could see this was the real thing now. She got all her stuff set up. She checked the baby's heartbeat with the doppler, and my blood pressure between contractions and around 12:30 when she was checking the heart beat again. Nath asked her "So how long does this usually last before the pushing starts?" She just kinda laughed and said "not too much longer" I was wondering what he was so concerned about. He wasn't the one having the contractions, but anyhow with the next contraction I felt the pressure and said I had to push.
So I moved onto the bed. We had protected the bed with a vinyl picnic tablecloth. Then a sheet over that. I moved onto my hands and knees because I was feeling so much pain in my back this is what felt most comfortable to me. They moved the exercise ball to the top of the bed where I could lean forward onto it. Then I started to push. I could feel her head coming down, and tried not to push too hard, because I really didn't want to tear this time. And then felt the relief as her head came out and was surprised to hear her cry. Then I pushed out the rest of her body. They moved her to be in front of me and I sat down on my knees and held her. It was very surreal. Having this baby in my arms and not in my tummy. It took a minute for it all to sink in. I had to check to make sure it was a girl. And it was!
I had to lay down then to deliver the placenta, and so they could check for tears. Hallelujah, only one small tear, that required only 3 little stitches! Daddy got to cut the cord, which always makes him nervous, but he did just fine. And we got to cuddle with our little Emma for the first time. After they were done fixing me up, they checked her out. She was 9lbs 5-3/4oz, 21.5 inches long. Our smallest baby yet! (Noah: 9lbs 9-1/2oz, 22.5in, Luke: 10lb7oz 23in)
The midwives were really impressed with how quickly it all went. Apparently I only pushed for 7 minutes, and she was in a posterior position. Which means her face was facing my stomach, which usually slows down the process a lot. This is also why I was feeling the pain in my back and bum.
I got in the shower to clean up, while they changed the bedding. Nath served the midwives chocolate pie that I had made for supper. My mom arrived just after 1am. After getting cleaned up, I got back into my own bed and nursed my baby. It is so amazing that they know exactly what to do. The midwife left around 3, and we got back to sleep by 4 am. She didn't wake up til 7am. So a pretty good first night.
Nath had moved the boys back into their beds before we went to sleep. The didn't wake up until morning when they had a brand new baby sister. They came into the bedroom all smiles and Noah wanted to hold her right away. They were very taken with her. They even wanted to read her books.
The homebirth experience was wonderful. It was so great being in your own environment and not having to drive anywhere. (It would have been pretty tight getting to a hospital in time) And being able to sleep in my own bed and wake up with the boys here was really great. The midwife comes within the next 24 hours to check up on her and again 2 days later. And of course we can call her anytime if we have any concerns. She will look after Emma and me for 6 weeks after the birth. It's always so sad when that six weeks is up. She has been there for all 3 of our babies now.
I'll post again soon with pictures of Emma.
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