Three Under 3

Well, things have been pretty hectic around here. Hubby's been on parental leave since April 15th, and M was born on the 19th - 2 days after his due date. We ended up having an elective hospital birth, just as a precaution. I didn't have my latest hemoglobin numbers back at the time, but I felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

It turned out to be 10 times better than I was expecting. They'd just rebuilt the birthing suites and they were so comfy. I don't remember what time the actual pushing started, but at 10:45 I was telling Hubby that I guess this baby wouldn't be a 10 o'clock baby (our others are) and at 10:54 he was born. We watched TV for a few hours, as we had to stay for at least 3 hours afterward. We got back home at 3am. I found out later that my hemoglobin levels would have been okay for a homebirth, but I don't regret not having one.

We're now adjusting to life as a family of 5. G turns 3 next week, R is talking more and standing without holding onto anything, and Hubby goes back to work in 2 weeks. It was such a relief to have him here this time. He's never taken more than 3 days off when our others were born, but I definately wouldn't have been able to manage without him this time.

Overall, three under 3 isn't so bad, so far.

Well, last week I learned that my homebirth was threatened. I had my hemoglobin tested, knowing that I get pretty close to anemia during pregnancy. 110 is considered anemic, and 100 is considered the lowest our midwives will go for a homebirth.. After that is too risky for hemorraging and such. My hemoglobin levels came back at 98. TWO points away? Are you kidding me?

I know this is my own fault. I haven't taken my iron this pregnancy. Neither store that carried the regular brand of liquid iron I take had any in stock and couldn't order any more until there was enough demand. I tried a different kind, only to have it all come back up again. It made me sick for hours until it was all out of my system. I tried it a few times, thinking maybe it was something I had eaten beforehand, but there's only so many times I can try that. I'm not one that is easily made sick.

Since this news, Hubby has been trying to get me to eat foods with more iron. Hard to get used to for a picky eater, but I've been doing okay, I think. Yesterday, we had my hemoglobin retested. It takes 2 days for the results to come in, but I doubt I'll go into labour. (I thought this baby would be early, but now it doesn't look like it.) If my numbers are still below 100, I'll have to deliver at a hospital. It's not such a big deal now that I've learned that I'll only have to stay at said hospital for 3 hours after delivery, unless complications occur. I thought maybe the hospital policy would kick in regardless if I was in the midwives care or not.

Now the tricky part. We're pretty much set up for a homebirth. We're used to it, so we got everything ready early on. However, if we need to go to the hospital instead, I've got 2 choices. If I've got time (active labour usually lasts 6 hours for me) then I'm to go to a hospital an hour away.. And if I'm progressing faster than I have before, if I won't make the hours drive, I'm to go to the hospital in town. In town, the doctors are resentful of all the clients the midwives have, and they try to take over any patients they can. I will be one thoroughly pissed off labouring woman if a doctor tries to interfere with my natural, peaceful birth.

Anyway.. R weighs less than we thought. Everything is well with him. We've ordered our second Radian and it should be due to arrive next Thursday or so. At this rate, we might have the seat before the baby. We've got most everything set for Easter. I keep forgetting it's this weekend.

Almost Ready..

I've got 2 1/2 weeks or so until my due date. We set up M's pack 'n' play, we're washing newborn clothes, and we're trying to keep our house spotless.

R's carseat arrived on Thursday. I looove it. It's everything I was hoping. I've been coveting a Radian for so long that to finally have one is like pure joy. Weird, I know. Hubby got it in the car so easily, he said, and then I had him move it, hehe, but that was easy too. I'm going to have to try to fiddle with it to see if we can keep it rear-facing. Hubby put it in behind the passenger, rear-facing, and the front seat had very little leg room because of that. I knew that would be the case, and so I knew G would have to switch to the drivers side. I had Hubby move the seat to the middle, but didn't think of trying it rear-facing in that position, figuring that it would make both passenger and driver ride the dashboard, so we flipped the seat forward. The amazing part of all this, is that because it's a narrow seat, someone can actually sit next to the 2 carseats! It was impossible to squish anyone between G's seat and R's infant seat, but this works. We'll have more than enough room for M's Radian, once we order that.

R's birthday party went well. I'm not used to my nephew being around. He's more of a handful than I'm used to. Aside from that, though, one of R's aunts made his cake, and a few people chipped in and got him a SuperYard XT gate. I'm loving it because I can put him down to play without having to chase him around at 9 months preggo. :) He seems to enjoy it as well.

G was singing the Skinnamarink song on the weekend and now R is repeating the "I love you" part over and over.

Today, R has his 1 year check-up/shots. We'll finally find out how much he weighs.. and first time using the new seat, yay! At least he'll be able to watch DVDs in the car with G, unless we flip him around again.

Four Weeks..

I've been meaning to make an entry for a while.
I have about 4 weeks to go, though I have a sense of impending labour. We're scrambling to get everything ready and buy what we'll need before M arrives.

We were considering changing M's name, but couldn't find anything we liked any better. His name is just the same as it was going to be originally.

I bought my very first JJB bag! A Lush Paisley BeSmart & matching BeMine from the FSOT board. It's lovely. :)

Hubby and I celebrated our 4th anniversary yesterday. We're going out to dinner this weekend, and it's long overdue.

My Aunt sent another 2 boxes for the boys. They were complete surprises. One had 15 pairs of shoes/boots/rainboots in kids sizes 6-10. R is wearing size 3 or so, and G is wearing 8, so they should last a long while. The other box had a LOT of clothes - totalling 68 items. The boys are definately set for a few years, and M will get all this as hand-me-downs.

We've gotten everything we'll need for our homebirth. We're all set aside from cleaning the room and what not.

We'll finally order R's new carseat tomorrow. I'm so excited. We've been planning for this for so long and we'll finally be able to take him in the car again.

R's birthday is coming up and we've planned a small last-minute party. I'm hoping to make a cake and some cupcakes with a Backyardigans theme.

Speaking of R, I'll have to post his birth story soon. I finally got G's posted.

G's Homebirth

(May 20, 2006) It was 4 days before my due date. Hubby's little sister was getting married, so we made the hours drive to attend. Hubby was 'dressed up' in a suit and baseball cap, and I had scrambled the week before the find something fancy that would cover my 9 month bump. I was having a horrible time with all the standing and sitting in the pews at the church, so I remained seated for the majority of the ceremony. The day was otherwise uneventful (pregnancy-wise) until the reception.

Hubby, being no fan of formal events, decided to leave the reception to take a walk to the gas station to buy some lozenges. I opted to go with him rather than being left at a table with complete strangers, none of which I felt particularly keen on talking to. The gas station was a block from the reception hall, and halfway there, I told Hubby that I'd felt a crampy sort of thing. I hadn't felt anything like it for the entire pregnancy, but I didn't think much of it. They continued, though, and I had at least 5 from there and back to the reception.

After sitting down at our table, I decided to check how often they were coming. Every 5-8 minutes. I asked Hubby to go get his older sister - the only one that had been through labour herself - to consult with us. She sat down next to me and asked if what I was feeling felt like menstrual cramps. I had no idea as I'd never had those. She suggested we continue timing them.

I called my parents, who were on their way to get Hubby and I, and told my mom that I was having little contractions. She freaked out a bit, since we were an hour from home and from our midwives. On the drive home, I managed to get a bit of sleep, and managed to go to bed that night just as everything were normal.

The next morning, the contractions were still going. Hubby went to work, and mom had the day off. I didn't end up telling her until noon that the contractions were continuing. Around 4:30, they started getting worse to the point that I had to rock side to side with each one. They were hovering around 4-6 minutes apart, so we called the midwives. Mom went to get Hubby, who walked off of his shift.

Our midwife got there about 45 minutes later and I was 5cm dilated. Hubby and I walked around in the driveway to get things progressing.. Then we all sat at the dinner table talking. The midwife couldn't tell when I was having contractions, so she asked me to tell her. I took longer to progress than I should have because I kept wanting to sit instead of walk around like I should have been doing.

Around 10pm, I went to the washroom, and emerged announcing I needed to push. Hubby and I and the midwives (the 2nd had gotten then a bit earlier) went down to my bedroom where the midwife broke my waters. I gave a few good pushes and at 10:27, G was born. He was 7lbs, 12oz, 20 inches long. We were both perfectly healthy, he had all his parts, and he got comfy snuggling on my chest.

That's pretty much everything. I got up and went upstairs within probably a half hour, and my midwives still tell me that I was one of the calmest labours they'd ever seen. :)

My Selfish Wishlist..

Someone on the JJB forums posted a topic about creating a selfish wishlist. Personally, I've never really thought about it. We're in a rut right now and I always feel I'm being selfish just by wishing I had a Ju Ju Be.. So obviously, I've never acted on that selfishness.

I thought I would give it a try, though. Maybe I'll come to realize something I hadn't noticed before, who knows. Maybe I'll just use it as motivation and look back on it every now and again. Here we go:

1. A BePrepared. I've been wanting this for so long that I don't even care about colour anymore. I'd just rather one with a snap. I've been scouring the FSOT boards.
2. A BeRich. These new wallets have enough card slots for myself and my 3 boys (SIN card, health card, birth certificates, etc.)
3. A daughter. As much fun as 3 boys will be, I've always wanted 2 girls. I'll settle for one, if I have to, but we've got names picked out for 3. I dream of everything pink, and little dresses and pigtails.
4. A spiffy camera. I need a fast shutter speed. I miss all the pictures I'd like to take, and that sucks for scrapbooking.
5. A huge scrapbooking spree. Enough said.
6. An elopement in Niagara Falls. I can plan most of it in my head, but we just can't manage it right now.
7. A minivan. The Sienna is calling me.
8. Motivation to lose weight. After this baby's born, of course.
9. A new wardrobe. Aside from a few maternity things, I haven't gotten new clothes in a few years. Constantly pregnant.
10. A bigger house. Or the funds to renovate this one. We're running out of usable space, until it's fixed up.
11. An online shopping spree. I see sooo many things that I'd love to buy. For me, for the boys, and for Hubby.

V-Day & Such..

Valentine's Day was fun. Along with a few little things, Hubby got me a dozen beautifully coloured roses that have bloomed so wide, it's unreal. He always picks out the best cards, and while reading it, I was getting teary-eyed. He's such a sweetheart.

In other news, I'm still trying to get R into his own bed. As soon as I start to put him down, he notices and wakes up, so it's not working too well, and I'd like to avoid letting him cry it out. I'll have to get Hubby to help me with this on the weekend, because R really needs to get used to his crib before it's too late.

G is in desperate need of a haircut. I'll probably end up cutting it myself, even though I'd like to get him used to someone else doing it. He's constantly brushing hair from his eyes and it's gotten to the point where it looks like he's doing a hairflip. It's so long that it's lost its' curl and it's down to his shoulders.

Also, while typing this, G came up and pointed out the word 'bed.' He's starting to spell small words now, and I'm actually surprised he knew that one. It started with 'pie(s),' then hat, etc. He ran to get his letter magnets and spell me 'bed.'

So seeing as how the arrival of our third is fast approaching, I thought I'd recap on past births. In the next little while, I'll be posting the birth stories for both boys - from what I can remember, anyway - assuming the boys are occupied long enough for me to get them written up. G's is written down somewhere, but as to where, I'm not sure, so I'll try to remember what I can.