It is now obvious to me that the reason baby Number Two is reluctant to make his appearance is because he knows he doesn't have an actual name. It's true! I cannot for the life of me decide on a name for this baby!! With Hayden it seemed so easy: "Hayden? That's a nice name. Hayden it is!!" And Hayden is a "Hayden" through and through. I couldn't imagine her being called by any other name. I had wanted her to be called "Rose", but Tyler is against old-fashioned names. I often wonder if she could be a "Rose". I don't think so.
Which leads me to think I should just pick a name for this baby and stick with it!! We will love the name and that will be that! However, it doesn't matter if WE love the name, its our little boy who has to love his name! But who is he? What name does he want?
My parents named me "Elizabeth". My middle name is "Jane". At the time I was born, my 2 year old brother, Scotty, was super into this Fred Penner song called, "Little Liza Jane". So that was who I became. Completely out of my control. To my relatives I was always called "Jane" or "Janie". At school, the "Jane" eventually got dropped and then I was "Liza". "Liza" has proven to be a diffucult name to bear. People mistakenly call me "Leeza" or "Lisa". In fact, I endured a week-long stint at Band Camp as "Lisa" because I failed to correct people on the 1st day. My camp friends said, "Bye Lisa!!!" when my parents picked me up and my mom was kinda confused. My Mom, Dad, and brother now call me "LJ". My Aunts and Uncles just don't know anymore!
Therefore, I'm not going to inflict the same identity crisis on my own offspring! The name has to be a name that can't be made into a million variations and that everyone gets right! Teachers, peers, camp councillors and Starbucks baristas alike! Here's where I'm at:
Kiran: A Sanskrit word meaning "beam of light". I like this name for its meaning and it's a nice name. On the fence.
Ryker: I actually really like this name! But then I remembered this episode of Oprah where Lisa Ling visited Riker's Island, a prison in New York where they send pedophiles. Tainted.
Joshua: I acually had a dream / premonition that this baby was named "Joshua" - even when I thought he was going to be a girl! But is it too passe? Still in the running.
Alec: I love the simplicity of this name. Tyler doesn't like it.
Seth: Another simple name - not quite right.
Marvin: Tyler likes the name Marvin!! I'm not sure if it fits. lol
Keaton: A name I thought of - I haven't even run it past Tyler.
Oliver: I think this is a very cute name. But we keep saying "Oliver Clothes-off" and laughing like immature children.
Elliott: A name I like, but I don't know if its THE name.
Toby: Too "little boy".
Jimi: Ty loves Jimi Hendrix. As do I but I'm not crazy about the name.
Rhett: I like a good 1-syllable name!! Unfortunately, this name reminds Tyler of some tower-rigging terminology and therefore cannot be the name of our child.
Mastin: The Daily Love is my favourite blog and is written by a guy named Mastin Kipp. I love it. But the MAST in Mastin is too reminiscent of some tower-rigging term. (See above).
So this is my current dilemna! Am I being too obsessive? Probably! But the more I think about it... (this is the name my child will be known as for the rest of his life!!)...the more important it seems that I get it right. I'm imagining all these different scenarios he could possibly come across: Assuming a career in a corporate environment vs. frontman of a band. There is so much in a name, who am I to make that choice for someone?!?
So we're going to wait until he's born, see what he looks like, and see if we can get an idea of his personality and then we'll pick a name.
Sorry for being so dramatic! Hopefully within the next couple days this drama will end itself!
XO Liza
Friday 25 October 2013
Tuesday 22 October 2013
Toddler Talk
So right now I'm 5 days overdue which is how many days I was overdue with Hayden when she was born. Maybe he's following suit and tonight will be the night!!
I know I'm about to have a newborn on my hands and I fully understand the work that entails, but right at this very moment - that doesn't at all concern me.
Tonight Hayden and I were reading her bedtime stories as usual. For some reason, on this particular night, she thought it would be absolutely hilarious to bite my hand as hard as she possibly could mid-story. Before our bedtime story, it was limp noodle tooth-brushing. Before that, it was limp noodle getting the jammies on. We had a "limp noodle" day, to make a long story short. Not "limp noodle" but complacent, I'm talking "limp noodle" accompanied by defiant laughter. The best!
I have even less experience with toddlers than I did with babies when I had one. At least when babies are present, they are always being passed around to be held and cooed at. No one's ever like, "Do you want to hold my toddler?" People (by 'people' I mean ME) don't willingly take turns minding the two-year-old.
I often forget that the "terrible (pardon my use of such a negative term) two's" is a phase and I wonder what I'm doing so wrong! Most of the time I just take a breath and go with it with a sense of humour. Sometimes I find that if I explain gently but seriously that I need her to cooperate, she will. She'll actually say "OK Mama" and its the sweetest thing ever and my heart melts. Other times I'm like, "Tyler! Get in here! You're doing jammies tonight!" (That's what I say in my head but it comes out more like I'm pleading for my life).
Another example: I'm really hoping maltreatment of animals is typical toddler behavior and I don't have a sadistic animal abuser on my hands. OK ok that's extreme - I can tell that she loves Rocky and really doesn't mean him any harm! She just can't quite grasp the concept of leaving him alone when he doesn't want to "play" anymore. Or be chased with the broom. Or be sat on.
Looking at the big picture, Hayden is the absolute sweetest little girl. I appreciate and even welcome this stage because I know its just a tiny part of her life that will whip by if I let it! So I try my very darndest to take something precious from every moment, even the challenging ones.
It actually feels so much better to vent and put everything in perspective! I hope y'all don't mind! Hopefully the next post will be introducing out baby boy!
Liza xxooxx
I know I'm about to have a newborn on my hands and I fully understand the work that entails, but right at this very moment - that doesn't at all concern me.
Tonight Hayden and I were reading her bedtime stories as usual. For some reason, on this particular night, she thought it would be absolutely hilarious to bite my hand as hard as she possibly could mid-story. Before our bedtime story, it was limp noodle tooth-brushing. Before that, it was limp noodle getting the jammies on. We had a "limp noodle" day, to make a long story short. Not "limp noodle" but complacent, I'm talking "limp noodle" accompanied by defiant laughter. The best!
I have even less experience with toddlers than I did with babies when I had one. At least when babies are present, they are always being passed around to be held and cooed at. No one's ever like, "Do you want to hold my toddler?" People (by 'people' I mean ME) don't willingly take turns minding the two-year-old.
I often forget that the "terrible (pardon my use of such a negative term) two's" is a phase and I wonder what I'm doing so wrong! Most of the time I just take a breath and go with it with a sense of humour. Sometimes I find that if I explain gently but seriously that I need her to cooperate, she will. She'll actually say "OK Mama" and its the sweetest thing ever and my heart melts. Other times I'm like, "Tyler! Get in here! You're doing jammies tonight!" (That's what I say in my head but it comes out more like I'm pleading for my life).
Another example: I'm really hoping maltreatment of animals is typical toddler behavior and I don't have a sadistic animal abuser on my hands. OK ok that's extreme - I can tell that she loves Rocky and really doesn't mean him any harm! She just can't quite grasp the concept of leaving him alone when he doesn't want to "play" anymore. Or be chased with the broom. Or be sat on.
Looking at the big picture, Hayden is the absolute sweetest little girl. I appreciate and even welcome this stage because I know its just a tiny part of her life that will whip by if I let it! So I try my very darndest to take something precious from every moment, even the challenging ones.
It actually feels so much better to vent and put everything in perspective! I hope y'all don't mind! Hopefully the next post will be introducing out baby boy!
Liza xxooxx
Saturday 12 October 2013
Baby on the Brain
Way more ideas for blog posts besides "baby talk" have crossed my mind, but every time I try to formulate a sentance that has nothing to do with "baby", I can't seem to do it! I WANT to do other stuff besides clean the house and organize baby clothes, but every time I try to focus on something else, I find myself completely uninterested. Then its back to dusting the blinds.
When I was this far along with Hayden, I was still working at Great West Life. If I was anywhere near as preoccupied then as I am now, I really should have apologized to my bosses for my lack of productivity. hehe.
The good news is, I am almost complete on the sewing on Hayden's Halloween costume! The hood is completely sewn (she's being a cat). All I have to do is sew the zipper in the front and other minor details. At this point, I can't say for sure if Number Two and I will be joining Hayden and Tyler on the Halloween festivities. We took Hayden "Trick or Treating" when she was 1 month old and it was not too fun. She looked extremely sweet in her fuzzy hooded sleeper with kitty ears but our excursion turned out to be more of a "breastfeeding tour" than anything. As were most outings in those days. Breastfeeding in the car!! Good times!!
In other news, the sex of Number Two is no longer a surprise! At a prenatal checkup about a month ago Dr. Logan determined that I should go for an ultrasound due to the fact that I was measuring small. I decided to find out for certain that I was having a girl JUST to be on the safe side. Its a good thing I made the inquiry because as it turns out, Number Two is a BOY! Geez louise. Suddenly, all my dreams of having two little girls running hand-in-hand, laughing, through flowery meadows on warm, breezy summer days in their matching cotton sundresses, flowers in their hair.... were wiped away with the doppler lube on my small-measuring pregnant belly. There were tears. I immediately called Tyler, who had no intention of knowing the sex of our second child, and spilled the beans. Now I'm completely fine. And so is our little boy, who is not small at all. He's just curled up in my small body like his sister was. I'm sorry little one!
Its so weird waiting to have a baby. Tonight could be my last night of peace before I'm a baby slave again! Is that awful of me to refer to myself as a "baby slave"? I don't mean it in a bad way because I truthfully loved every second of it the 1st time. But I just remember thinking I would never be able to read a book ever again or drink a hot cup of tea or watch a movie uninterupted or even cuddle with Ty!! I remember wondering if I would ever spend more time in my bed than in the lazy boy. Then slowly everything when back to normal! Better than normal! So I am not worried at all.
Now, back to Colombiana on Netflix.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Liza
When I was this far along with Hayden, I was still working at Great West Life. If I was anywhere near as preoccupied then as I am now, I really should have apologized to my bosses for my lack of productivity. hehe.
The good news is, I am almost complete on the sewing on Hayden's Halloween costume! The hood is completely sewn (she's being a cat). All I have to do is sew the zipper in the front and other minor details. At this point, I can't say for sure if Number Two and I will be joining Hayden and Tyler on the Halloween festivities. We took Hayden "Trick or Treating" when she was 1 month old and it was not too fun. She looked extremely sweet in her fuzzy hooded sleeper with kitty ears but our excursion turned out to be more of a "breastfeeding tour" than anything. As were most outings in those days. Breastfeeding in the car!! Good times!!
In other news, the sex of Number Two is no longer a surprise! At a prenatal checkup about a month ago Dr. Logan determined that I should go for an ultrasound due to the fact that I was measuring small. I decided to find out for certain that I was having a girl JUST to be on the safe side. Its a good thing I made the inquiry because as it turns out, Number Two is a BOY! Geez louise. Suddenly, all my dreams of having two little girls running hand-in-hand, laughing, through flowery meadows on warm, breezy summer days in their matching cotton sundresses, flowers in their hair.... were wiped away with the doppler lube on my small-measuring pregnant belly. There were tears. I immediately called Tyler, who had no intention of knowing the sex of our second child, and spilled the beans. Now I'm completely fine. And so is our little boy, who is not small at all. He's just curled up in my small body like his sister was. I'm sorry little one!
Its so weird waiting to have a baby. Tonight could be my last night of peace before I'm a baby slave again! Is that awful of me to refer to myself as a "baby slave"? I don't mean it in a bad way because I truthfully loved every second of it the 1st time. But I just remember thinking I would never be able to read a book ever again or drink a hot cup of tea or watch a movie uninterupted or even cuddle with Ty!! I remember wondering if I would ever spend more time in my bed than in the lazy boy. Then slowly everything when back to normal! Better than normal! So I am not worried at all.
Now, back to Colombiana on Netflix.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Liza
Wednesday 2 October 2013
Breastfeeding Reflections
October 1 - 7 is “World Breastfeeding Week” (in Canada) so I’ve decided now would be the appropriate time to share with the World my 1st timer breastfeeding experience. By “experience” I do NOT mean “expertise”. I’ve only breastfed 1 baby. But now that I’m about to embark on this journey again, the breastfeeding topic has been on my mind a lot lately.
Before Hayden was born I fully intended to breastfeed. I read everything I could. I studied the diagrams of the different ways of holding the baby. I was as prepared as I could be. I realized soon after Hayden was born that there were some things that I just couldn’t prepare myself for. I honestly wished someone had said to me before Hayden was born, “Look, this is how it really is.” and filled me in on all the dirty details.
For one, I had no idea about this “let down” reflex! I literally drowned Hayden in milk every morning for the first few weeks or more. There’s just no controlling it! I remember being like, “Oh no, here it comes!! Sorry!!!” She eventually got used to it. That was the only reason I didn’t like to breastfeed in public at first. Too messy. BUT this all passed and we went on to enjoy a much dryer breastfeeding relationship!
Second, Cluster Feeding. Right?! So you’re nursing your baby, they seem finished, so you put them down. Only to pick them up 10 minutes later because they’re hungry again?? And this goes on all day?? And night? Yep! I can remember one prominent cluster feeding when Hayden was maybe 4 weeks old. I was so close to going to buy formula because she seemed like she was starving and there was nothing there! I called the public health nurse and was like, “wtf is going on?” She said, “oh its just cluster feeding. When the baby is about to have a growth spurt they nurse a lot to build your milk supply.” NOW you tell me. She went on to cluster feed every night from 10 to midnight in the first few months. I’m assuming most newborns do this? I still don’t know. After the newborn stage was over, there was no more cluster feeding.
I also struggled with knowing when and how much to nurse Hayden. Everything I’d read said “Nurse your baby whenever they seem hungry.” Other people always said, “Get her on a schedule!!“ Hayden cried a lot as a newborn and so to me, she always seemed hungry. Nursing was the only thing that ever really calmed her! She wouldn’t suck on a soother, which I didn’t mind because I was anti-soother at the time. I tried giving it to her anyways because of the people who said, “Don’t let her use you as a pacifier!!” This is ultimately what happened, but when I looked at the bigger picture: How long is she even a baby for? What kind of “bad habits” could this possibly employ? If she needs comforting, then why shouldn‘t her mother be the one to comfort her? She didn’t develop any bad habits and eventually she gladly accepted the soother when she was maybe 3 months old.
It was a challenge to get the hang of breastfeeding. EVERY tiny story of other people’s struggles freaked me right out. I eventually decided to scrap everything I’d read and ignore everything everyone told me and just let breastfeeding take on the natural process that its meant to be. Look at animals. They all nurse their young. They don’t use nipple shields or have lactation consultants. They don’t have scheduled feedings or soothers. How are humans so different? Because we’re intelligent? That we’re able to break breastfeeding down to a science and write a book about it? Its not meant to be complicated. It can‘t be! I felt a lot more comfortable after accepting that there is no “right way” when it comes to breastfeeding. If your baby is healthy and thriving, you’re doing it right. I literally pretended I was a chimpanzee in the jungle and that Hayden was a baby monkey. I always thought, What would an “uninformed” animal do right now? I’m weird.
ALL of these “bumps” took place in the first couple months. Once Hayden was past her fussy newborn stage, we found our “rhythm” and breastfeeding went on to be an amazing experience. Hayden was breastfed for almost 11 months, exclusively for the first 5. I may have breastfed longer than 11 months had I not been getting married in August, but I really didn’t want to be nursing a baby in my wedding dress. Hayden didn’t seem to care about it at that point anyways.
It all seems so insignificant now, which is maybe why no one ever thinks their own experiences are worth sharing! I’m now waiting for the arrival of baby Number Two who I also intend to breastfeed. I hope everything in this department goes as planned! I have faith that it will.
Wish me luck the second time around!!
Liza
Before Hayden was born I fully intended to breastfeed. I read everything I could. I studied the diagrams of the different ways of holding the baby. I was as prepared as I could be. I realized soon after Hayden was born that there were some things that I just couldn’t prepare myself for. I honestly wished someone had said to me before Hayden was born, “Look, this is how it really is.” and filled me in on all the dirty details.
For one, I had no idea about this “let down” reflex! I literally drowned Hayden in milk every morning for the first few weeks or more. There’s just no controlling it! I remember being like, “Oh no, here it comes!! Sorry!!!” She eventually got used to it. That was the only reason I didn’t like to breastfeed in public at first. Too messy. BUT this all passed and we went on to enjoy a much dryer breastfeeding relationship!
Second, Cluster Feeding. Right?! So you’re nursing your baby, they seem finished, so you put them down. Only to pick them up 10 minutes later because they’re hungry again?? And this goes on all day?? And night? Yep! I can remember one prominent cluster feeding when Hayden was maybe 4 weeks old. I was so close to going to buy formula because she seemed like she was starving and there was nothing there! I called the public health nurse and was like, “wtf is going on?” She said, “oh its just cluster feeding. When the baby is about to have a growth spurt they nurse a lot to build your milk supply.” NOW you tell me. She went on to cluster feed every night from 10 to midnight in the first few months. I’m assuming most newborns do this? I still don’t know. After the newborn stage was over, there was no more cluster feeding.
I also struggled with knowing when and how much to nurse Hayden. Everything I’d read said “Nurse your baby whenever they seem hungry.” Other people always said, “Get her on a schedule!!“ Hayden cried a lot as a newborn and so to me, she always seemed hungry. Nursing was the only thing that ever really calmed her! She wouldn’t suck on a soother, which I didn’t mind because I was anti-soother at the time. I tried giving it to her anyways because of the people who said, “Don’t let her use you as a pacifier!!” This is ultimately what happened, but when I looked at the bigger picture: How long is she even a baby for? What kind of “bad habits” could this possibly employ? If she needs comforting, then why shouldn‘t her mother be the one to comfort her? She didn’t develop any bad habits and eventually she gladly accepted the soother when she was maybe 3 months old.
It was a challenge to get the hang of breastfeeding. EVERY tiny story of other people’s struggles freaked me right out. I eventually decided to scrap everything I’d read and ignore everything everyone told me and just let breastfeeding take on the natural process that its meant to be. Look at animals. They all nurse their young. They don’t use nipple shields or have lactation consultants. They don’t have scheduled feedings or soothers. How are humans so different? Because we’re intelligent? That we’re able to break breastfeeding down to a science and write a book about it? Its not meant to be complicated. It can‘t be! I felt a lot more comfortable after accepting that there is no “right way” when it comes to breastfeeding. If your baby is healthy and thriving, you’re doing it right. I literally pretended I was a chimpanzee in the jungle and that Hayden was a baby monkey. I always thought, What would an “uninformed” animal do right now? I’m weird.
ALL of these “bumps” took place in the first couple months. Once Hayden was past her fussy newborn stage, we found our “rhythm” and breastfeeding went on to be an amazing experience. Hayden was breastfed for almost 11 months, exclusively for the first 5. I may have breastfed longer than 11 months had I not been getting married in August, but I really didn’t want to be nursing a baby in my wedding dress. Hayden didn’t seem to care about it at that point anyways.
It all seems so insignificant now, which is maybe why no one ever thinks their own experiences are worth sharing! I’m now waiting for the arrival of baby Number Two who I also intend to breastfeed. I hope everything in this department goes as planned! I have faith that it will.
Wish me luck the second time around!!
Liza
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