Written on August 6, 2006
It’s 11:15 pm on Sunday and it’s just finally cooled off enough that I can open the windows of our apartment. It’s been so friggin’ hot these last few days. It’s the kind of heat and humidity that would keep a person from taking up permanent residence here. According to the locals this weather is highly irregular. This is my third summer of highly irregular hot, humid Hokkaido weather. I’d say that’s consistent enough to qualify as “regular”. Sean is currently in Tokyo for a 5 day JET conference. So Keenan and I are making our first attempt at surviving without daddy. We’re doing really well so far even though we miss Sean very much. I can’t imagine how hot he must be in Tokyo. Yesterday it was supposed to be 33C (that doesn’t include the Humidex). I hope he hasn’t melted into a puddle of goo! Our apartment is pretty tolerable for most of the day but I can’t do anything strenuous like fold laundry, without breaking into a sweat. So around 2 when I’m pretty tired of moving around at a snails pace in order to keep cool, Keenan and I head out to heavily air conditioned retail environs. Today’s exploits took us to Posful which is a somewhat hip department store downtown. We actually went there twice. We had to abort our first attempt because in the 10 minutes it took us to drive there in an air conditioned car I had sweat so much that it looked like I had been sitting in a puddle. How lovely. So we made our way back home so I could change. We got in the door and I put Keenan in his crib while I got into some cooler bottoms. Keenan reacts to heat by sleeping thru it so by the time I got changed he was quite happily snoring away. So I striped down to my bra and undies and read some magazines until he woke up. It was actually quite tolerable and probably the closest I’ll ever come to wearing a bikini in my adult life! So Keenan had himself a nice 2 hour nap, another feed and then we made our second attempt. My pants selection seemed much better this time and we made it into Posful without an ass sweat incident. It was so gloriously cool in there and they were having a sale! What luck! We did lots of poking around and I picked up some 50% off summer clothes for Keenan for next year. I also got him a ring rattle with lots of colors and textures for those exploring little hands of his. I bought lots of no cooking required foods in the grocery department and we headed home to a still very hot apartment. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little cooler.
Originally, this blog was created to chronicle the experience of starting our family in Japan. Now in Canada & expecting our second child...the journey & the adventure continues...
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Tanabata Matsuri
Written on August 5, 2006
Yesterday Keenan and I went to the Tanabata Matsuri (Star Festival) in downtown Obihiro with Bret, Sara and Daryl. This festival is geared towards kids and features all sorts of huge piñata type decorations that hang down from the rafters of the koji (covered walkway). They shut down the traffic in the koji and the street is filled with kids of all ages decked out in yukata (traditional Japanese hot weather clothes) running thru the streamers trailing down from the decorations. There is no shortage of festival food, games and trinkets to spend your hard earned yen on. It was too hot to be out for more than a few hours so we didn’t get to any of the celebrations and merry making at the Buddhist temples which had me a bit sad but we were happy to get back home and have a cool bath. Keenan did get to wear his yukata that Pat bought him and he was stopping lots of gramma’s I’ll tell ya!
Yesterday Keenan and I went to the Tanabata Matsuri (Star Festival) in downtown Obihiro with Bret, Sara and Daryl. This festival is geared towards kids and features all sorts of huge piñata type decorations that hang down from the rafters of the koji (covered walkway). They shut down the traffic in the koji and the street is filled with kids of all ages decked out in yukata (traditional Japanese hot weather clothes) running thru the streamers trailing down from the decorations. There is no shortage of festival food, games and trinkets to spend your hard earned yen on. It was too hot to be out for more than a few hours so we didn’t get to any of the celebrations and merry making at the Buddhist temples which had me a bit sad but we were happy to get back home and have a cool bath. Keenan did get to wear his yukata that Pat bought him and he was stopping lots of gramma’s I’ll tell ya!
Gas and Keenan’s 2nd iTunes play list!
Our little guy sure does get some pretty nasty gas attacks. He’s been getting them since he was about 5 weeks old. The first time he had a big one he woke us up with peels of screaming at around 3 in the morning and after an hour of trying massage, bouncing, rubbing, walking around the apartment and a bit of crying myself I figured out the magic formula. I sit with him sideways on my lap, I hold him tight and close into my body with one hand and with the other I pat him 4 times on the side between his ribs and hipbone and then I bounce my leg up and down 3 times all the while talking to him in a calm voice. Repeat, repeat, repeat and change sides when necessary. The end result is a sleeping baby (knock on particle board). This may sound incredible but after two months of this I’ve run out of things to say for the “talking in a calm voice” part of the exercise. So I’ve put together an iTunes play list called “Sing Keenan to sleep”. It’s about 4.5 hours of songs I know almost all the words to so I press play, sit myself down in front of the computer with the wee guy getting bounced and patted on my lap and sing along. So far Keenan’s favorites to fall asleep to are by Jack White, Gordon Lightfoot, Billy Bragg, Joe Strummer, Bob Dylan, David Francey, Green Day, Joni Mitchell, Matthew Good, Johnny Cash, Pearl Jam and the Housemartins. I think it’s speaks volumes of the quality of your music if it has the ability to soothe a baby of it’s gas pains and carry it into a sound sleep. Especially when it’s being sung by a somewhat sleep deprived mom with a not so great singing voice!
12 Weeks
Well it’s been a frustrating week of no Internet and sticky, hot and humid weather but none of that has stopped Keenan from learning new things and continuing on his path of near unbearable cuteness! Tuesday was a pretty exciting day as he mastered the art of thumb sucking and he went to his first movie in a big theatre! He has finally convinced his arm, hand and thumb that working together would bring a great deal of soothing during times of stress and boredom. As a result he’s constantly covered in drool but he keeps himself amused so it’s worth the oob. We ventured out to see Pirates of the Caribbean II and Keenan once again did us proud by barely uttering a peep during the flick. He made a few “talking in his sleep” noises but other than that he slept thru the whole thing.
As far as the movie goes…I thought the fortuneteller was sexy beyond belief, the effects were cool especially those used to create Davey Jones and his crew but I thought the first flick was better.
Back to the boy…he is really enjoying having a bit of “alone” time. He’s nowhere near as needy as he was in the first two months. He likes to sit in his rocker and stare at his hands and kick his legs. He also really enjoys carrying on in “Keenan-speak”. When you talk to him he talks back in his own language and always with a big smile. A typical conversation goes something like this…
“Hi there sweet boy. You’re lookin’ very genki this morning!
“Ackle beep fssst nngaa ghee!”
“How about we change that stinky bum of yours?”
“Haaahap nnboo!”
As you can see we’re communicating wonderfully! If only we could get him to understand that being on his stomach is not such a good thing. On Thursday he finally got himself nearly flat on his stomach. The only thing that is keeping him from being completely turned over is that he hasn’t figured out how to get his arm out from under him. I imagine that will be just a few more days though. Keenan is starting to show an interest in toys. He likes looking at and grabbing for his wrist rattles. He hasn’t quite figured out that the noise they’re making is a direct result of his movements but you can really see the wonderment in his eyes over the whole situation. The best development this week has been in the smiling department. He smiles whenever either one of us looks into his face. He smiles at Sean when he gets home from work and the most precious smile is when he wakes up and gives us a big gummy grin. We’re so lucky to have such a happy little guy.
As far as the movie goes…I thought the fortuneteller was sexy beyond belief, the effects were cool especially those used to create Davey Jones and his crew but I thought the first flick was better.
Back to the boy…he is really enjoying having a bit of “alone” time. He’s nowhere near as needy as he was in the first two months. He likes to sit in his rocker and stare at his hands and kick his legs. He also really enjoys carrying on in “Keenan-speak”. When you talk to him he talks back in his own language and always with a big smile. A typical conversation goes something like this…
“Hi there sweet boy. You’re lookin’ very genki this morning!
“Ackle beep fssst nngaa ghee!”
“How about we change that stinky bum of yours?”
“Haaahap nnboo!”
As you can see we’re communicating wonderfully! If only we could get him to understand that being on his stomach is not such a good thing. On Thursday he finally got himself nearly flat on his stomach. The only thing that is keeping him from being completely turned over is that he hasn’t figured out how to get his arm out from under him. I imagine that will be just a few more days though. Keenan is starting to show an interest in toys. He likes looking at and grabbing for his wrist rattles. He hasn’t quite figured out that the noise they’re making is a direct result of his movements but you can really see the wonderment in his eyes over the whole situation. The best development this week has been in the smiling department. He smiles whenever either one of us looks into his face. He smiles at Sean when he gets home from work and the most precious smile is when he wakes up and gives us a big gummy grin. We’re so lucky to have such a happy little guy.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Pooh Story # 1 ~ Not your ordinary job
There is no end to the pooh or “pooh stories” you find yourself exposed to once you have a baby. You’re either living the story or someone else is telling you theirs. I’ve decided to document them. Enjoy!
Here’s another use for the word “job”…
Sean’s dad told me that when the kids were small his dad used to call poop a “jobbie”, as in “Is it time for a jobbie?” I grew up with a boy named Andrew who’s mom Lois called poop “a big job” as in “Andrew, don’t have a big job in your swim trunks when you’re swimming in Nancy’s pool!”
Here’s another use for the word “job”…
Sean’s dad told me that when the kids were small his dad used to call poop a “jobbie”, as in “Is it time for a jobbie?” I grew up with a boy named Andrew who’s mom Lois called poop “a big job” as in “Andrew, don’t have a big job in your swim trunks when you’re swimming in Nancy’s pool!”
The Birth Story ~ Part II ~ Arriving at the hospital
Showing up at a maternity hospital that is closed while you’re experiencing the onset on labor is a strange experience. We had to enter thru an after hours side door. Most of the lights were off on the main floor and there was NOBODY around at all. We headed up to the nurses station on the 2nd floor as we were told to do during our prenatal classes. We found a nurse who was busy talking to someone else and waited patiently while I leaked and she finished up. Sato-san was still with us and was helping ferry our huge load of stuff around. Finally the nurse led us to our LDR (labor, delivery and recovery room). All the rooms are named after flowers and ours was “Ma-gu-ri-to”. That is supposed to be an English word for what looks like your basic Shasta daisy! So we get settled into our LDR, Sean put our stuff away, stocked the fridge and I got changed into my delivery garb. We met the two midwives on staff for the night Yoshida-san and Hidachi-san and the doctor came by to talk to us see how I was doing. It turned out he was on duty for the night. We told him about the appearance of the stuff that came out when my water broke and he was convinced my water didn’t break. Hmmm. Oh well. We were there for the long haul either way. The midwives put a fetal heart monitor around my belly and the doctor examined me. The doctor examined me and I think at that point I was about 4 cm dilated. Then I had to have an IV inserted. I hate needles but I knew I would have to go through this process so I was somewhat prepared. We told the nurses about my rolling and collapsing veins and they did their best to get a needle inserted into the top part of my lower left arm. No luck after two tries so they attempted to get it into the side of my wrist. No luck again and I was rapidly losing my bravery. So they called the doctor. I think he was pretty pissed. He came in, told me to relax and not move and just put the needle in my wrist and kept trying until he got it in the vein. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch but I was happy that the friggin’ thing was in. I mentioned to Sean later to Jess that it was still painful and restricted my movement but there was no way in hell I was going thru that again.
At this point I have to mention that every time the doctor or one of the midwives can in to examine me they asked Sean to leave the room or they tried to pull the curtain around to separate us. We found this a little odd and told them every single time that it was ok for both Sean and Jess to be in the room. I think at around the fourth day of my stay in the hospital they were used to the fact that it was ok for Sean to see me partly naked!
Jess arrived shortly after the IV was inserted (at least I don't think she was there for that part!). We had planned for her to pick us up so she wasn’t too sure where the hospital was from our new place and had to stop a couple of time for directions. Geez, you just can’t be prepared for everything! She got settled in and at this point I wasn’t really feeling any consistent contractions. I was a little worried that they were going to send me home but I think the fact that I had discolored amnio fluid assured my stay.
One of the midwives came in to give me my huge bag of hospital goodies. The bag included a really big soft, fluffy bath towel, 3 different sized “Fruits” brand maxi pads in pillow, futon and mattress sizes, a belly button care kit for the baby, lots of literature I can’t read, diapers, a toiletry kit, slippers, hand towel, sheet protector, bum wipes and wash cloths for the baby and one pair of insanely stretchy underpants that were the physical manifestation of the phrase “one size fits all”! I was helped into the undies, which were lined with a mattress-sized pad, and then I climbed into bed to wait for the contractions.
At this point I have to mention that every time the doctor or one of the midwives can in to examine me they asked Sean to leave the room or they tried to pull the curtain around to separate us. We found this a little odd and told them every single time that it was ok for both Sean and Jess to be in the room. I think at around the fourth day of my stay in the hospital they were used to the fact that it was ok for Sean to see me partly naked!
Jess arrived shortly after the IV was inserted (at least I don't think she was there for that part!). We had planned for her to pick us up so she wasn’t too sure where the hospital was from our new place and had to stop a couple of time for directions. Geez, you just can’t be prepared for everything! She got settled in and at this point I wasn’t really feeling any consistent contractions. I was a little worried that they were going to send me home but I think the fact that I had discolored amnio fluid assured my stay.
One of the midwives came in to give me my huge bag of hospital goodies. The bag included a really big soft, fluffy bath towel, 3 different sized “Fruits” brand maxi pads in pillow, futon and mattress sizes, a belly button care kit for the baby, lots of literature I can’t read, diapers, a toiletry kit, slippers, hand towel, sheet protector, bum wipes and wash cloths for the baby and one pair of insanely stretchy underpants that were the physical manifestation of the phrase “one size fits all”! I was helped into the undies, which were lined with a mattress-sized pad, and then I climbed into bed to wait for the contractions.
11 weeks
It's been quite a week of firsts for Keenan. On Saturday he managed to hit the tumbler filled with colored beads on his crib gym. He was so pleased that he got the light to flash and the music to play! He went on to hit it another 3 or 4 times. Then at dinnertime he was in his bouncy chair next to the table as Sean and I were to about to sit down and have dinner and I noticed Keenan staring at his hands for the first time. It was like some sort of religious revelation! He just sat there flinging his hands about and tracking them with a very serious expression on his face. I grabbed the camera and this photo is of Keenan within minutes of his discovery. Last night he slept for the longest stretch so far...a little over 6 hours! Yippee for mom and dad! He got up at 4 and 6 am to be changed and fed but other than that he didn't make a peep. This morning after his bath I was rocking him to sleep and just before he closed his eyes he very slowly reached out and put his hand on my mouth. I was so verklempt! It's the first time he's made an effort to make physical contact with me (besides breastfeeding of course!). Wow, what a feeling to see him in control of his little arm and hand. I smoothered him in kisses and we had a little giggle fest together! Another thing he's been doing this week is drooling. Drooling, drooling and more drooling! God, I hope he's not prematurely teething!
Happy Birthday Sean!
Birthday dinner for Sean, Erin Kajsa and Jonah at Ryugetsu in Nishi Obihiro
Originally uploaded by kuckibaboo.
Friday, July 21, 2006
10 weeks
It’s been a crazy week. We’ve had some really intensely hot & humid weather and now it’s so cold that I have to dress Keenan in pants, socks, a jacket and hat every time we go outside. So we’ve been indoors a lot this past wee and Keenan and I have had to keep each other entertained with cooing and the like. Keenan has been hell bent on getting over onto his stomach. We have to put a rolled up blanket next to him if we leave him alone in his crib or on our bed otherwise we come back to find him grunting and drooling, half turned over and totally frustrated. His frontal fontanel is nearly grown in now and he surprised with a few high-pitched squeals of delight. Last Saturday night we put him in his crib around 7:30 after a diaper change to stare at his bunnies. We were both pretty surprised that we hadn’t heard any cooing coming of his room for a while so we went in to check on him and he was sound asleep. That’s the first time he’s fallen asleep by himself without being rocked or snuggled first. Naturally, I was upset! “My baby doesn’t need me for falling asleep anymore!” Poor Sean, he thinks I’m totally nuts at times! So we did the same thing the following night and he fell asleep by himself again. Now, if we can just get him to sleep through the night!
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Farter vs. Burper
Humans need to expel gas. Usually by way of farting or burping. If you have some other way of doing so I’d love to hear about it! I have a theory that everyone is either a farter or a burper and generally not both. I have no research to back this up just casual observations.
Sean is a burper and I’m a farter. It would appear that I’ve passed (ha ha!) my gas expulsion genes on to Keenan. He farts louder than his father. He farted so loud during the JET musical performance of Guys and Dolls that I had to leave the theatre and take him to the washroom. It doesn’t matter what I eat. He still has the boisterously talkative backside. I sure hope he grows into his farts. It might be a little disturbing and exceedingly embarrassing if they get louder the older he gets!
Sean is a burper and I’m a farter. It would appear that I’ve passed (ha ha!) my gas expulsion genes on to Keenan. He farts louder than his father. He farted so loud during the JET musical performance of Guys and Dolls that I had to leave the theatre and take him to the washroom. It doesn’t matter what I eat. He still has the boisterously talkative backside. I sure hope he grows into his farts. It might be a little disturbing and exceedingly embarrassing if they get louder the older he gets!
Friday, July 14, 2006
The Birth Story ~ Part I ~ My Water breaks
Well it’s been 9 weeks since Keenan was born. And it’s been a very busy 9 weeks. I had wanted to get my account of Keenan’s delivery posted earlier but I’ve been putting all my efforts into breastfeeding. I’ll mention more about that later. I’m going to break down Keenan’s delivery into “The Birth” entries so I can include a ton of details without feeling like I’m writing an epic! So here goes…
Wednesday, May 10/2006
Sean and I had a relaxing dinner together and afterwards he took to the computer and I headed to the bathroom for about the 100th time that day. Being one week and one day overdue I wasn’t going too far without keeping a washroom in view. So I had my pee and started to feel that things were feeling a little “different” down south. I had read that before labor starts it’s pretty common to feel a little anxious. Well, I wasn’t quite there yet but I could very clearly feel where things were headed. I was pretty sure I was about to experience my water breaking. I climbed into bed and within minutes I was calling out “SEAN, I NEED A TOWEL”. I was feeling the amniotic fluid gush out and then anxiousness that I’d read about started to settle in quite nicely. After a near wipe out on the hardwood floor (not due to slipping in the amnio fluid!) while getting me the towel Sean helped me stuff the towel in my pants and helped me back to the washroom. We were discussing whether or not we should call Jess to come into town asap or wait a bit when Sean’s supervisor called. He was chatting away with Sean about a fax for the next day’s classes when Sean finally cut in with a “Uh Sato-san I don’t think I’ll be going to class tomorrow as Nancy just went into labor”. That wrapped up the conversation pretty quick. In the meantime I was feeling more leaking so we decided to call Jess. While Sean and Jess were talking I looked at the towel and it was stained with a dark yellow fluid and lots of little yucky bits of something gross. Not a good sign. The condition of the amnio fluid really got my anxiety going. I showed Sean the towel just as Jess asked, “is the fluid clear?” “Ahhh nope, definitely not, we need to leave right away”. Just to back up and review our plan for getting to the hospital…We gave Jess our car about 2 weeks before the due date since she no longer had one and we figured we’d call her and she’d pick us up and take us to the hospital when the “time” came. She lives about 45 minutes away and had her bags packed and ready to head our way on a moments notice. We also had a back up list of 4 people “just in case”. So after Sean hung up with Jess he called the hospital to let them know what the amniotic fluid looked like and that we would be coming soon. After hearing about the discoloration they wanted us there immediately. Sean called Jess back but she had already left. So he tried Alixe, back up person #1 on our list. She wasn’t home. Crap! Then the doorbell rang. It was Sato-san, Sean’s supervisor! He came right over after he hung up the phone with Sean to take us to the hospital. A sticky note on our door letting Jess know we were on our way to the hospital would have to do. At this point I had really calmed down and was very happy that I would soon be meeting our little baby. We loaded our stuff into Sato-san’s car and I climbed into the back seat with a fresh towel (Sato-san’s car has cream colored upholstery). He drove the speed limit (50 km/hr) all the way there. It was a really foggy night. Nobody else was out on the road and I was really happy to have a few minutes of quiet before everything changed. I was sitting in the back seat by myself and I remember feeling really amazed and amazing. Getting pregnant and being pregnant was the easy part now the real work was about to begin. Perhaps that’s why it’s called “labor”. I was a little nervous but overall quite relaxed. I also felt really happy about the fact that I was starting to go into labor naturally as I was scheduled to go into the hospital late in the afternoon on the following day to be induced. Finally, everything we had prepared for and read about was finally starting to take place.
Wednesday, May 10/2006
Sean and I had a relaxing dinner together and afterwards he took to the computer and I headed to the bathroom for about the 100th time that day. Being one week and one day overdue I wasn’t going too far without keeping a washroom in view. So I had my pee and started to feel that things were feeling a little “different” down south. I had read that before labor starts it’s pretty common to feel a little anxious. Well, I wasn’t quite there yet but I could very clearly feel where things were headed. I was pretty sure I was about to experience my water breaking. I climbed into bed and within minutes I was calling out “SEAN, I NEED A TOWEL”. I was feeling the amniotic fluid gush out and then anxiousness that I’d read about started to settle in quite nicely. After a near wipe out on the hardwood floor (not due to slipping in the amnio fluid!) while getting me the towel Sean helped me stuff the towel in my pants and helped me back to the washroom. We were discussing whether or not we should call Jess to come into town asap or wait a bit when Sean’s supervisor called. He was chatting away with Sean about a fax for the next day’s classes when Sean finally cut in with a “Uh Sato-san I don’t think I’ll be going to class tomorrow as Nancy just went into labor”. That wrapped up the conversation pretty quick. In the meantime I was feeling more leaking so we decided to call Jess. While Sean and Jess were talking I looked at the towel and it was stained with a dark yellow fluid and lots of little yucky bits of something gross. Not a good sign. The condition of the amnio fluid really got my anxiety going. I showed Sean the towel just as Jess asked, “is the fluid clear?” “Ahhh nope, definitely not, we need to leave right away”. Just to back up and review our plan for getting to the hospital…We gave Jess our car about 2 weeks before the due date since she no longer had one and we figured we’d call her and she’d pick us up and take us to the hospital when the “time” came. She lives about 45 minutes away and had her bags packed and ready to head our way on a moments notice. We also had a back up list of 4 people “just in case”. So after Sean hung up with Jess he called the hospital to let them know what the amniotic fluid looked like and that we would be coming soon. After hearing about the discoloration they wanted us there immediately. Sean called Jess back but she had already left. So he tried Alixe, back up person #1 on our list. She wasn’t home. Crap! Then the doorbell rang. It was Sato-san, Sean’s supervisor! He came right over after he hung up the phone with Sean to take us to the hospital. A sticky note on our door letting Jess know we were on our way to the hospital would have to do. At this point I had really calmed down and was very happy that I would soon be meeting our little baby. We loaded our stuff into Sato-san’s car and I climbed into the back seat with a fresh towel (Sato-san’s car has cream colored upholstery). He drove the speed limit (50 km/hr) all the way there. It was a really foggy night. Nobody else was out on the road and I was really happy to have a few minutes of quiet before everything changed. I was sitting in the back seat by myself and I remember feeling really amazed and amazing. Getting pregnant and being pregnant was the easy part now the real work was about to begin. Perhaps that’s why it’s called “labor”. I was a little nervous but overall quite relaxed. I also felt really happy about the fact that I was starting to go into labor naturally as I was scheduled to go into the hospital late in the afternoon on the following day to be induced. Finally, everything we had prepared for and read about was finally starting to take place.
9 weeks
Our little baby is nine weeks old today! He is doing so well and growing so long! At 8 ½ weeks his clothes for 3 months were already fitting him perfectly in the length. His mid section hasn’t quite caught up yet so everything is a little loose around the tummy! The other day Sean was showing him how to spin a little plastic tube filled with colored beads on his crib toy. Sean was basically just holding his hand and spinning it for him. Well today I put him in the crib and Keenan quietly reached out his little arm and was trying to steady it long enough to get his hand to spin the tube. He tried several times and managed to whack at it but he doesn't yet have the control to get his hand to manipulate it. He was really excited there for a while but then started to cry in frustration. Pretty amazing though. It seems he has the closer range dexterity sorted out better so far. He rubs his eyes when he’s tired and he still is working very hard on getting his thumb planted in his mouth. For the last 2 ½ weeks he’s been sticking to a pretty good schedule of a morning, afternoon and evening nap then to bed at 8 pm up at 12:30 and 3:30 am for a feeding and a clean bum. He’s up pretty early usually by 6 or 7 but that gives pops a chance to get some sleep. We’ll see how long he sticks to this routine!
8 weeks
Keenan has now totally gotten over his hate for being naked and totally loves bath time. He still doesn’t like the après bath sensation of being cold and is very vocal about it but that is quickly remedied by wrapping him in his quilt or fleece robe. Fun seems to be a concept he’s starting to appreciate. He loves it when you manipulate his legs into running and swimming actions and he really gets a charge out of kicking water in the tub and being bounced from your knee to great heights. He still can’t quite hold his head up all by himself but really takes every opportunity to try to do so. His vision has improved greatly and he has no problem tracking us from across the room. He can now also totally focus on his current most prized possession. His usagi-chan (bunny babies) mobile that gramma bought him. He absolutely loves it and can lie under it and listen to the music and watch the bunnies go around for…I think the record is about 40 minutes. He coo’s and talks to it and has himself a grand old time! This mobile has bought me precious minutes to catch a quick lunch, take a pee, put the laundry on the line and attend to many other things that require two hands. Thanks again Pat for such an awesome gift! Keenan’s hair is getting really long and is still that lovely strawberry blond. Not too much has fallen out except at the sides just back from his temples and strangely the middle section of his eyebrows are coming in black! That should prove to be an interesting look in the coming weeks!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Thanks Pat/Mom/Gramma!
We took Pat to the airport the day before yesterday. It was a very tearful good-bye and somewhat unbelievable too. Pat had been here for nearly 5 weeks and the time flew by so quickly that it seems it was just last week when we were picking her up from the airport.
It was great to have you here Pat. Thanks for washing the endless dishes, keeping the dust bunnies in check and most of all for your good old fashioned motherly love, support and advice! We feel really lucky that you could be here for us during such a stressful and crucial time.
We have so many great photo’s to remind us of Pat’s visit. Between the 3 of us we literally took hundreds of photo’s. Hopefully Keenan won’t suffer any retina damage from looking into the camera flash all day! I’ve added a few photo’s from Pat’s visit to Flickr so check ‘em out if you can.
Thanks again for coming Pat! We can’t wait to have you and Tom back next year!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
6 weeks
It’s really hard to believe that it’s been 6 weeks since our little guy was born. He is changing so quickly and it’s really fascinating to watch him explore his world. He really likes to sit upright to check things out and can hold up his head and look around for short periods of time. This week he started blowing bubbles and he’s really starting to put his little voice to work. So far his favorite words are “nnngooo” and “agga” and something that sounds a heck of a lot like onguent! It’s pretty easy to get a smile out of him these days and we are early awaiting his first laugh. His little legs love to kick and thrash about and this morning he moved himself about a 12 inches on the bed by lying on his back and pushing with his feet. Geez, soon he’ll be walking, then riding a bike, then off to university!
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Photo's for Daddy
Sean is away on business in Tokyo for 5 days. That’s nearly a quarter of Keenan’s short life so far!
Hey there honey, I've posted some photo’s of the fam and the babe you haven’t seen yet.
We miss you,
Mommy and Keenan oxoxoxo
PS~You owe me about 25 diaper changes so far!
Hey there honey, I've posted some photo’s of the fam and the babe you haven’t seen yet.
We miss you,
Mommy and Keenan oxoxoxo
PS~You owe me about 25 diaper changes so far!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Those 14 mintues…
Written on May 18th…
I was just laying on the bed with Keenan and I realized that one week ago today at this time I was in the delivery room and just heard the doctor tell Jessyca that he had some recommendations since I was starting to appear very tired. I could keep going and try to give birth naturally, have the baby delivered with vacuum assistance or have an oxytocin drip to strengthen my contractions. That was at 12 noon and there was no way in hell that I had come thru 15 hours of labor to have to resort to any means of artificial induction. I made up my mind at that point that I was going to give it my all during the next sets of contractions and get that baby out. He was born at 12:14. What a crazy 14 minutes.
I was just laying on the bed with Keenan and I realized that one week ago today at this time I was in the delivery room and just heard the doctor tell Jessyca that he had some recommendations since I was starting to appear very tired. I could keep going and try to give birth naturally, have the baby delivered with vacuum assistance or have an oxytocin drip to strengthen my contractions. That was at 12 noon and there was no way in hell that I had come thru 15 hours of labor to have to resort to any means of artificial induction. I made up my mind at that point that I was going to give it my all during the next sets of contractions and get that baby out. He was born at 12:14. What a crazy 14 minutes.
It’s a boy…don't let the pink towel fool you!
Introducing Keenan Thomas!
Born on Wednesday, May 11th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Weight: 4373 grams (9.6 pounds)*
Length: 51.4 cm
At: Keiai Maternity Hospital in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan
*We were told by our doctor that Keenan might possibly be the biggest first born baby in his hospital this year!
Keenan, Sean and myself are doing very well. I’m currently very busy trying to get Keenan to put some weight on so I don’t have much chance to get on the computer. Stay tuned though more news and tons more photos as I have the time.
Many, many thanks to everyone for following this blog, sending their emails and love and visiting us in the hospital.
Born on Wednesday, May 11th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Weight: 4373 grams (9.6 pounds)*
Length: 51.4 cm
At: Keiai Maternity Hospital in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan
*We were told by our doctor that Keenan might possibly be the biggest first born baby in his hospital this year!
Keenan, Sean and myself are doing very well. I’m currently very busy trying to get Keenan to put some weight on so I don’t have much chance to get on the computer. Stay tuned though more news and tons more photos as I have the time.
Many, many thanks to everyone for following this blog, sending their emails and love and visiting us in the hospital.
May 9 Doc appointment…Bless my Dutch bones!
Yesterday I had my last doctor appointment before the arrival of this Kid. I can say that with certainty as we have decided that if we don’t have this baby by Thursday afternoon we will go in to start the induction process on Thursday evening.
My appointment was a mixed bag of emotions, results and events. I was going to call this post “Strike Two” as my doctor made his second big mistake with me but I’ve since put his indiscretion behind me (yes I will elaborate on this later).
Eiko picked me up and we were in hospital at about 9:45 am. Huge lineups, extra chairs were set out and it was hot as Hell in there. I got in pretty quickly and got my blood pressure, pee test and weight check over with. My blood pressure was initially a little on the high side but it was ok the second time around. Non stress test was normal. Sean and I had decided we would indeed go through with the pelvic x-ray that the hospital was recommending and fretting profusely about. The results are as follows….
Average Japanese woman’s pelvic opening = 11 cm
My pelvic opening = 13.2 cm
Babies head size = 9.5 cm
…that’s nearly 4 cm of extra room folks. Not that I’m surprised. Thanks mom for passing those good ‘ol European child bearing hips on to me! So that insanity is now dealt with.
The sonogram went fine and determined the following…
-baby weight: approx. 4169 grams (approx. 9.1 lbs)
So on to the internal exam. This is where I sit in this really quite comfortable examination chair that is like a dentist chair for pelvic exams. Lifts and separates one could say. To the point where my shins are parallel with the ceiling, knees are about 2.5 feet apart, my back is at about a 45 degree angle to the floor and my head is about 6 feet off the floor. I always have to try to stifle a giggle when the doc walks in and says “ok, please relax”. It’s just such a ridiculous request in that position. Anyways, I’m as used to this as earthquakes by now and just stare out the window during the process. Except this time. My doc had decided without consulting with me that was going to strip my membranes. And just dives right in and does it. For the uninitiated stripping the membranes is a process where by the doctor inserts his finger into the cervix opening and separates the wall of the uterus from the amniotic sac. It’s mother fucking painful. Especially when you don’t know it’s coming. So naturally I tried to get out of the chair. Over the head rest. I was so stunned I couldn’t say anything. He was happy to ask me to relax again and told me he was just trying to stimulate natural labor. Fucker. We’re gonna have a little talk about this tomorrow. I’m not up for a third strike. Plus, I need to trust this guy. Good grief. So we finish up the appointment with me feeling like I’m in shock, I couldn’t even tell Eiko. [Gomenasai Eiko! I just couldn’t find the words!] So Eiko and I go out and get groceries, go out for ice cream do some other shopping. I was very happy to get home, climb into bed and wait for Sean to get home so I could have my little meltdown. And meltdown I did. It felt great.
So tomorrow at 4 pm I get admitted into the hospital, I have my little chat with the doctor and they keep my under observation until the morning. On Friday morning they start my Oxytocin drip at 8:30 am and hopefully by Mother’s Day the newest O’Flanagan will be snuggled in our arms.
My appointment was a mixed bag of emotions, results and events. I was going to call this post “Strike Two” as my doctor made his second big mistake with me but I’ve since put his indiscretion behind me (yes I will elaborate on this later).
Eiko picked me up and we were in hospital at about 9:45 am. Huge lineups, extra chairs were set out and it was hot as Hell in there. I got in pretty quickly and got my blood pressure, pee test and weight check over with. My blood pressure was initially a little on the high side but it was ok the second time around. Non stress test was normal. Sean and I had decided we would indeed go through with the pelvic x-ray that the hospital was recommending and fretting profusely about. The results are as follows….
Average Japanese woman’s pelvic opening = 11 cm
My pelvic opening = 13.2 cm
Babies head size = 9.5 cm
…that’s nearly 4 cm of extra room folks. Not that I’m surprised. Thanks mom for passing those good ‘ol European child bearing hips on to me! So that insanity is now dealt with.
The sonogram went fine and determined the following…
-baby weight: approx. 4169 grams (approx. 9.1 lbs)
So on to the internal exam. This is where I sit in this really quite comfortable examination chair that is like a dentist chair for pelvic exams. Lifts and separates one could say. To the point where my shins are parallel with the ceiling, knees are about 2.5 feet apart, my back is at about a 45 degree angle to the floor and my head is about 6 feet off the floor. I always have to try to stifle a giggle when the doc walks in and says “ok, please relax”. It’s just such a ridiculous request in that position. Anyways, I’m as used to this as earthquakes by now and just stare out the window during the process. Except this time. My doc had decided without consulting with me that was going to strip my membranes. And just dives right in and does it. For the uninitiated stripping the membranes is a process where by the doctor inserts his finger into the cervix opening and separates the wall of the uterus from the amniotic sac. It’s mother fucking painful. Especially when you don’t know it’s coming. So naturally I tried to get out of the chair. Over the head rest. I was so stunned I couldn’t say anything. He was happy to ask me to relax again and told me he was just trying to stimulate natural labor. Fucker. We’re gonna have a little talk about this tomorrow. I’m not up for a third strike. Plus, I need to trust this guy. Good grief. So we finish up the appointment with me feeling like I’m in shock, I couldn’t even tell Eiko. [Gomenasai Eiko! I just couldn’t find the words!] So Eiko and I go out and get groceries, go out for ice cream do some other shopping. I was very happy to get home, climb into bed and wait for Sean to get home so I could have my little meltdown. And meltdown I did. It felt great.
So tomorrow at 4 pm I get admitted into the hospital, I have my little chat with the doctor and they keep my under observation until the morning. On Friday morning they start my Oxytocin drip at 8:30 am and hopefully by Mother’s Day the newest O’Flanagan will be snuggled in our arms.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Advice
We’ve been getting all sorts of advice since we started this journey to parenthood. Most of it has been really great, some frustrating, some ridiculous, and some even rude. But for some reason over the past 7 days we’ve got some real gems including my all time favorite words of encouragement in French. I’m posting all for the betterment of humankind!
“For the first couple of weeks after you have your baby don't get dressed - stay in your housecoat (Sean, this only applies to Nancy!). This helps people who come to visit realize that you are recuperating and that they should keep their visit short.” Dayle Craig
“Don’t slip in her amniotic fluid.” Patricia O’Flanagan
“If you have a choice between getting stitches or having the kid pulled out by one of those vacuum things…get the stitches. You’ll heal but you don’t want your poor child to have one of those awful bumps on its head for the rest of its life.” Petronella van Herpt (otherwise known as my mom)
“Lâche pas la patate!” translates to “Don’t let go of the potato!” Ghislain Demers
“Sex induces pregnancy” Kajsa Beck via Josh Ullery to Sean on the phone
“For the first couple of weeks after you have your baby don't get dressed - stay in your housecoat (Sean, this only applies to Nancy!). This helps people who come to visit realize that you are recuperating and that they should keep their visit short.” Dayle Craig
“Don’t slip in her amniotic fluid.” Patricia O’Flanagan
“If you have a choice between getting stitches or having the kid pulled out by one of those vacuum things…get the stitches. You’ll heal but you don’t want your poor child to have one of those awful bumps on its head for the rest of its life.” Petronella van Herpt (otherwise known as my mom)
“Lâche pas la patate!” translates to “Don’t let go of the potato!” Ghislain Demers
“Sex induces pregnancy” Kajsa Beck via Josh Ullery to Sean on the phone
Thursday, May 04, 2006
“Best before date”
Now that we’re officially “overdue” I'm changing my outlook to “we haven’t reached our best before date yet”. We know we’re going to induce before May 17th and it just sounds so much more positive!
As far as progress goes…on Wednesday I started having this feeling that the lower half of my body was being subjected to twice as much gravity as the rest of me. I’m feeling some serious downward pressure and I literally feel like I’m dragging my ass around with me everywhere I go! Yesterday afternoon I started feeling very sharp and localized tightening at different points around my belly. I’ve definitely not felt anything like that before. Hopefully all this build up leads to a trip to the hospital soon!
As far as progress goes…on Wednesday I started having this feeling that the lower half of my body was being subjected to twice as much gravity as the rest of me. I’m feeling some serious downward pressure and I literally feel like I’m dragging my ass around with me everywhere I go! Yesterday afternoon I started feeling very sharp and localized tightening at different points around my belly. I’ve definitely not felt anything like that before. Hopefully all this build up leads to a trip to the hospital soon!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
May 2 Doc appointment
Yes, I know I wasn’t supposed to have a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. But I got a call at around 11 am from my doctor to ask me if I was coming in and I said “no” because he had given me the choice of Tuesday or Friday this week and I chose Friday. The conversation went something like this…
Doc: “I’m sorry, I forgot Friday is a holiday. Can you come in today?”
Me: “Ok, but I need to have a shower and arrange a ride to the hospital so I can’t be there before 12:30.”
Doc: “No problem, I'm here all day just let me know when you can come by.”
Insert rant here:
I have to say that I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that hospitals here are closed everyday after 5pm, Sundays and holidays. This is complicated by the fact that doctors work out of hospitals and not their own office and that service is on a first come, first served basis.
So I picked up my list of friends to call in an emergency or when the “time” comes and started dialing. I left lots of messages and headed for the shower. I had a nice long hot one. Even shaved my legs. I got a hold of Eiko once I was all clean and moisturized and she said she’d pick me up at 1:30 so we could be at the hospital by 2. So I did the dishes and putzed around for a bit, wrote a note to Sean saying I wasn’t in labor and already at the hospital etc.
We get to the hospital and the doc makes his first real mistake he’s made with me the whole time we’ve known him. He hands me an “advised letter of consent” nicely and officially drawn up in very good English for a pelvic x-ray and induction. Wow, what a shocker. I could literally hear the iron gates of my defenses slamming down all around me. I had anticipated the topic of induction would come up but I didn’t think I was going to have the x-ray conversation again and I certainly didn’t think I’d be asked to sign any sort of letter of consent for either procedure. I was needless to say, “visibly agitated” but I can’t tell you how happy I was to have Eiko there. After all kinds of discussion in Japanese and English I headed in for my appointment. Got weighed, got my blood pressure taken (how it wasn’t thru the roof I’ll never know), tinkled in the cup and then headed for the physical part of the exam. All the while I’m letting off these huge sighs and the doc finally put his hand on my shoulder and said it’s ok, I’m sorry for upsetting you, we’ll talk about this as much as you want later…after your non-stress test! Well, it’s actually the Kid’s non-stress test not mine. The kid was totally unstressed while I sat in the monitoring room with my notebook propped up on my belly frantically writing questions about the letter and its contents.
Afterwards Eiko, the doc and I went over my questions. It turns out he personally doesn’t think I need an x-ray to determine if the baby is too large to fit thru my pelvis. But it is his hospital’s policy to do one if the baby reaches a certain size or if an induction is required. This is an unforeseen circumstance that Sean and I had no way of knowing was in the future for us. You simply can’t ask every possible question at the outset. On the topic of the x-ray I did grill the doctor on the associated risks, the hospital’s role in taking responsibility for the risks, what level/time/exposure of x-ray was being suggested and what proven side effects have been documented. I told him again that such a procedure would never be considered in North America given my size, family history, the baby’s current approximate weight and our health. I also told him it wasn’t even suggested women get dental x-rays when they are pregnant just to be safe. And that generally I was uncomfortable with his hospital’s policy and any form of x-ray that included my pelvis and our unborn child’s head. He told me he had no problem if I refused the x-ray but the risks associated with doing so would fall on our shoulders. It didn’t occur to me at the time but when I got home and discussed it with Sean we were left wondering if this is an insurance issue for the hospital. Perhaps if they don’t tick that “pelvic x-ray” box off in our file and something goes wrong then the hospital is on the hook. This seems highly likely given this culture’s love affair with being over-prepared. Another question we’ll have to ask. The doctor assured me that the x-ray was very low level and that it posed no risk to the baby or myself. Japan has been doing this procedure for well over 30 years and they have recorded no side effects thus far. He showed me the x-ray from another patient and he explained that it was very faint because they just need to see a shadow of the baby’s skull, shoulders and my pelvis for their purposes. We’re pretty much on the level on the topic of induction. They would want to induce me if the baby is not born before May 17th and they recommend using an oxytocin drip which we’re both fine with (I hugely oppose the production and use of synthetic hormones but this is one of those cases where I’ve chosen to cave). Both issues of x-ray and induction will be totally abandoned if the baby decides to make it’s way to the outside world on it’s own. We wrapped up with deciding I would come in on Saturday, May 6 for another non-stress test and then the following Tuesday for a regular appointment. On Tuesday we’ll give the doctor our decision on the x-ray and induction. So I left the hospital feeling a bit anxious but I was satisfied that all of my questions had been answered. I did have an overwhelming desire to talk to Sean and I knew he wouldn’t be home for work yet so Eiko and I did a bit of groceries and then headed home.
The lighter side to my day came after Eiko helped me carry the groceries upstairs. She left her car parked and running right outside the entrance to our building. Sure enough while she was on her way back down the stairs Sean rides up, recognizes her car and his first reaction is “Holy smokes, it’s go time”. Thoughts going through his head were “Is Nancy ok?”, “I’ve gotta wear this sweaty shirt to the hospital” and “My child’s first impression of me is going to be that I stink!” I stuck my head out the window to say good-bye to Eiko and witnessed the exchange between the two of them. I sure was grateful for that bit of comic relief at the end of such a stressful day!
Doc: “I’m sorry, I forgot Friday is a holiday. Can you come in today?”
Me: “Ok, but I need to have a shower and arrange a ride to the hospital so I can’t be there before 12:30.”
Doc: “No problem, I'm here all day just let me know when you can come by.”
Insert rant here:
I have to say that I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that hospitals here are closed everyday after 5pm, Sundays and holidays. This is complicated by the fact that doctors work out of hospitals and not their own office and that service is on a first come, first served basis.
So I picked up my list of friends to call in an emergency or when the “time” comes and started dialing. I left lots of messages and headed for the shower. I had a nice long hot one. Even shaved my legs. I got a hold of Eiko once I was all clean and moisturized and she said she’d pick me up at 1:30 so we could be at the hospital by 2. So I did the dishes and putzed around for a bit, wrote a note to Sean saying I wasn’t in labor and already at the hospital etc.
We get to the hospital and the doc makes his first real mistake he’s made with me the whole time we’ve known him. He hands me an “advised letter of consent” nicely and officially drawn up in very good English for a pelvic x-ray and induction. Wow, what a shocker. I could literally hear the iron gates of my defenses slamming down all around me. I had anticipated the topic of induction would come up but I didn’t think I was going to have the x-ray conversation again and I certainly didn’t think I’d be asked to sign any sort of letter of consent for either procedure. I was needless to say, “visibly agitated” but I can’t tell you how happy I was to have Eiko there. After all kinds of discussion in Japanese and English I headed in for my appointment. Got weighed, got my blood pressure taken (how it wasn’t thru the roof I’ll never know), tinkled in the cup and then headed for the physical part of the exam. All the while I’m letting off these huge sighs and the doc finally put his hand on my shoulder and said it’s ok, I’m sorry for upsetting you, we’ll talk about this as much as you want later…after your non-stress test! Well, it’s actually the Kid’s non-stress test not mine. The kid was totally unstressed while I sat in the monitoring room with my notebook propped up on my belly frantically writing questions about the letter and its contents.
Afterwards Eiko, the doc and I went over my questions. It turns out he personally doesn’t think I need an x-ray to determine if the baby is too large to fit thru my pelvis. But it is his hospital’s policy to do one if the baby reaches a certain size or if an induction is required. This is an unforeseen circumstance that Sean and I had no way of knowing was in the future for us. You simply can’t ask every possible question at the outset. On the topic of the x-ray I did grill the doctor on the associated risks, the hospital’s role in taking responsibility for the risks, what level/time/exposure of x-ray was being suggested and what proven side effects have been documented. I told him again that such a procedure would never be considered in North America given my size, family history, the baby’s current approximate weight and our health. I also told him it wasn’t even suggested women get dental x-rays when they are pregnant just to be safe. And that generally I was uncomfortable with his hospital’s policy and any form of x-ray that included my pelvis and our unborn child’s head. He told me he had no problem if I refused the x-ray but the risks associated with doing so would fall on our shoulders. It didn’t occur to me at the time but when I got home and discussed it with Sean we were left wondering if this is an insurance issue for the hospital. Perhaps if they don’t tick that “pelvic x-ray” box off in our file and something goes wrong then the hospital is on the hook. This seems highly likely given this culture’s love affair with being over-prepared. Another question we’ll have to ask. The doctor assured me that the x-ray was very low level and that it posed no risk to the baby or myself. Japan has been doing this procedure for well over 30 years and they have recorded no side effects thus far. He showed me the x-ray from another patient and he explained that it was very faint because they just need to see a shadow of the baby’s skull, shoulders and my pelvis for their purposes. We’re pretty much on the level on the topic of induction. They would want to induce me if the baby is not born before May 17th and they recommend using an oxytocin drip which we’re both fine with (I hugely oppose the production and use of synthetic hormones but this is one of those cases where I’ve chosen to cave). Both issues of x-ray and induction will be totally abandoned if the baby decides to make it’s way to the outside world on it’s own. We wrapped up with deciding I would come in on Saturday, May 6 for another non-stress test and then the following Tuesday for a regular appointment. On Tuesday we’ll give the doctor our decision on the x-ray and induction. So I left the hospital feeling a bit anxious but I was satisfied that all of my questions had been answered. I did have an overwhelming desire to talk to Sean and I knew he wouldn’t be home for work yet so Eiko and I did a bit of groceries and then headed home.
The lighter side to my day came after Eiko helped me carry the groceries upstairs. She left her car parked and running right outside the entrance to our building. Sure enough while she was on her way back down the stairs Sean rides up, recognizes her car and his first reaction is “Holy smokes, it’s go time”. Thoughts going through his head were “Is Nancy ok?”, “I’ve gotta wear this sweaty shirt to the hospital” and “My child’s first impression of me is going to be that I stink!” I stuck my head out the window to say good-bye to Eiko and witnessed the exchange between the two of them. I sure was grateful for that bit of comic relief at the end of such a stressful day!
Bye bye to the baby arrival countdown ticker!
I logged into my blog today to discover that the baby had been born without me even knowing it! The cute ticker that I normally have in the upper left corner announced that "I've arrived!". Friggin' nerve of the thing! I was wondering what would happen if I went past the due date.
So to sum up...the ticker ticked me off so it's gone, all is well and the baby is still on the inside!
So to sum up...the ticker ticked me off so it's gone, all is well and the baby is still on the inside!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Due tomorrow
The eve of my due date is a little strange. It’s not like Christmas or Easter when the following day holds the promise of staying put on the calendar. You get presents on Christmas, chocolate at Easter and we want our baby on our due date! If the baby isn’t born today or tomorrow then everyday after that for the next 2 weeks becomes my potential due date. It’s just so unfair!
I’m feeling really good these days. The first few days after the move I felt really tired and awful. I felt more like I was ready to pop at that point than I do now. I have started feeling some hints of contractions and raging hormones though. On Saturday night I woke up several times with hot flashes. Not so fun considering my favorite sleepwear fabric is fleece. Then on Sunday I started to have very deep low back menstrual type cramping for a couple of hours at a time. I get the occasional tightening all the way around my belly and it feels about as hard as a bowling ball. The Kid itself is getting really strong and is able to do some pretty impressive yet freaky alien impressions.
The doc gave me the option of coming in on Tuesday or Friday this week. I chose Friday with hopes that the baby would come before then. If he or she doesn’t make it’s way to the outside world before then I guess we’ll be talking about when to induce and what method we want to use. I think this Kid is just like it’s dad and is quite happy to remain toasty and snug in warmth and darkness! Doesn’t it know it has it’s own room now? With lots of cute clothes, books and toys! Maybe I need to lure it out with Italian espresso and fresh baked chocolate banana bread just like Sean on Sunday mornings!
I’m feeling really good these days. The first few days after the move I felt really tired and awful. I felt more like I was ready to pop at that point than I do now. I have started feeling some hints of contractions and raging hormones though. On Saturday night I woke up several times with hot flashes. Not so fun considering my favorite sleepwear fabric is fleece. Then on Sunday I started to have very deep low back menstrual type cramping for a couple of hours at a time. I get the occasional tightening all the way around my belly and it feels about as hard as a bowling ball. The Kid itself is getting really strong and is able to do some pretty impressive yet freaky alien impressions.
The doc gave me the option of coming in on Tuesday or Friday this week. I chose Friday with hopes that the baby would come before then. If he or she doesn’t make it’s way to the outside world before then I guess we’ll be talking about when to induce and what method we want to use. I think this Kid is just like it’s dad and is quite happy to remain toasty and snug in warmth and darkness! Doesn’t it know it has it’s own room now? With lots of cute clothes, books and toys! Maybe I need to lure it out with Italian espresso and fresh baked chocolate banana bread just like Sean on Sunday mornings!
“Takin’ it easy day”
Yesterday was a great day! Alixe came over around 10:30 in the morning with a basket of fresh made whole-wheat biscuits, some sinful fruit spread and an assortment of tea. We sat around and chatted, ate biscuits and drank tea for a few hours and had a really lovely time. I had a bit of lunch and put some family photo’s up in the baby’s room. Then Erin Poop tried to crank call me but introduced herself first so that backfired! She was with the usual suspects…Sara and Amanda and within half an hour they were sitting on our living room and the four of us were eating ice cream and sharing disgusting cockroach stories! We chatted and goofed around for most of the afternoon and then they were gone in a flurry of giggles and oversized sunglasses. What a crew! Before I knew it Sean was home and we were parked in front of the TV with dinner and a movie. If you haven’t seen The Way of the Gun go out tonight and rent it. Benicio del Toro, James Caan and Juliette Lewis are all awesome in this flick. To top the night off I got a great call from my mom.
I think that’s the kind of day Sean wants me to have when he says “take it easy today ok?” I can never cook them up quite like that though! So anyone that wants to stop by or call please feel free to do so. I need all the help I can get!
I think that’s the kind of day Sean wants me to have when he says “take it easy today ok?” I can never cook them up quite like that though! So anyone that wants to stop by or call please feel free to do so. I need all the help I can get!
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