This past week I've found myself really eager to get out of the city and move somewhere we can properly enjoy winter. Sleigh rides, snowmobiling, snow forts! Oh, to build a snowman that doesn't require the use of all the snow in your tiny yard (leaving no room for snow angels) and still only stands 3 ft high! One day! Soon!
I feel bad for Hayden now that the snow is here. She loves playing outside and I would love to take her out, but with Deacon so small still, I'm worried about him getting a chill! All this makes me wonder what they did back in the day with babies in these harsh Canadian climates. Memories of my childhood obsession with Road to Avonlea are coming back to me: wrap the wee ones with layer upon layer of wool blankets and rest them in the pram to take in the fresh air! I just don't know. I'm now on the hunt for an oversized winter coat that I can zip over the Ergo-baby, keeping Deacon warm and cozy inside. "You'll just have to wrap yourself in furs, like the Inuit!" - Tyler. :)
Tyler is currently away on his first work trip since Deacon was born. The first night I stayed home with the kids but that damned bedtime routine is just a little too nutty for me to take on myself, so the next night I packed everything up and went out to the farm. Deacon and I stayed 1 night and Hayden 2. It was like being on holidays. Grandparents are awesome.
In the baby department, Deacon has had a major growth spurt. At his Dr.'s apt at 3 weeks he had gained 3 lbs putting him at exactly 10 lbs. If he keeps this up, he'll be right on par with Hayden who weighed almost 15 lbs at 2 months.
Deacon's still pretty unpredictable. There's not really anything he likes or doesn't like. I think my chocolate addiction was pissing him off, so I actually gave up chocolate! Just for him!! (Not really, we just ran out of leftover Halloween treats). The only pattern I can see is that he gets cranky every night at around 8:30 or 9:00. It's kind of thrown a wrench into Hayden's bedtime routine, much to her dismay. ** He has good days where I don't hear a peep out of him, and other days where I can hardly put him down! He's starting to look around at everything with these big wide eyes. He is trying so hard to get a smile out! I can see it in his eyes but he just can't get his little mouth to form it! So cute.
XO Liza
** If you're wondering what Hayden's bedtime routine entails:
1) Clean-up Time - Co-operation level = varies night to night
2) Bathtime - Co-operation level = good (until it's time to get out). If I wash her her hair = disastrous
3) Getting the jammies on - Who would have thought the act of getting a kid to put their pj's on would be the equivalent of trying to dress a baboon. Co-operation level = -10
4) Brushing teeth - Co-operation = poor (but improving!!)
5) Bedtime stories - Co-operation = awesome
Friday 22 November 2013
Tuesday 12 November 2013
Week 2: Stuck Like Glue
Not too much has changed in the past week. Deacon is still your basic eat / sleep / poop newborn. Hayden is still completely in love with him, thank goodness. She's always kissing and hugging Deacon and wanting to pick him up and hold him. I'm so proud of her!
We're currently in the process of rewriting Hayden's pretty much set-in-stone daily routine. Before, we always had "craft time" and "story time", "puppet time", "excercise time", "dance time", etc. etc. Now, we've added a big chunk of "cartoon time" to the list. We don't watch that much TV in our house. We still rely on our bunny ears which surprisingly bring in CBC and Global in HD. CBC can be pretty limited but lucky for us we have Netflix on the Smart TV. I feel guilty putting shows on to keep her entertained but its kind of my only option at this point being stuck in the lazy boy breastfeeding every 2 - 3 hours and changing zillions of diapers. I know we'll be able to go back to our old activities eventually.
Little Deacon has decided to kick it up a notch in the past week! He's added "fussing" to his list of skills. He's not actually "fussy", it's just gas. Typical newborn stuff I guess. He'll be sleeping so peacefully and then out of no-where he turns into old Grunty McGee, squirming around, his little face all red and scrunched up. Hayden did the exact same thing. I learned, with her, to just let her work it out on her own. If it gets to the point where he starts crying, its into the Ergo-baby he goes and I don't hear another peep.
The baby carrier has been a real lifesaver! I don't know what I'd do without it! It's allowed me to keep the kitchen clean, the laundry done, the floor vacuumed - standing stuff. I love the Ergo baby for it's versatility and comfort. (Hayden still goes in it once and while). But its a little bulky for around the house, so I ordered a Moby wrap off Amazon.
When Hayden was a newborn I didn't have the internet or an Iphone. This time around, whenever Deacon is doing something that concerns me in the slightest bit, I find myself on Google looking up baby poo or something else like that. I don't recommend it.
Sleeping: I've become accustomed to sleeping in 2 hr chunks through the night. And I've given up on trying to keep putting Deacon back in his bassinet after every feeding. He sleeps with me now. "That's not good!!!!!!!" my mother says. Yeah yeah yeah.... With Hayden, I would NEVER have co-slept. I painstakingly put her back in her crib again and again and again until she slept there. This time, I need to sleep at night bc I don't have the opportunity during the day like I did with Hayden. SO there. He will eventually sleep in his bassinet, you mark my words. Luckily they've been napping at the same time in the afternoon so I've been able to have naps (except today I'm writing this).
Annnd my times up!!
Liza
We're currently in the process of rewriting Hayden's pretty much set-in-stone daily routine. Before, we always had "craft time" and "story time", "puppet time", "excercise time", "dance time", etc. etc. Now, we've added a big chunk of "cartoon time" to the list. We don't watch that much TV in our house. We still rely on our bunny ears which surprisingly bring in CBC and Global in HD. CBC can be pretty limited but lucky for us we have Netflix on the Smart TV. I feel guilty putting shows on to keep her entertained but its kind of my only option at this point being stuck in the lazy boy breastfeeding every 2 - 3 hours and changing zillions of diapers. I know we'll be able to go back to our old activities eventually.
Little Deacon has decided to kick it up a notch in the past week! He's added "fussing" to his list of skills. He's not actually "fussy", it's just gas. Typical newborn stuff I guess. He'll be sleeping so peacefully and then out of no-where he turns into old Grunty McGee, squirming around, his little face all red and scrunched up. Hayden did the exact same thing. I learned, with her, to just let her work it out on her own. If it gets to the point where he starts crying, its into the Ergo-baby he goes and I don't hear another peep.
The baby carrier has been a real lifesaver! I don't know what I'd do without it! It's allowed me to keep the kitchen clean, the laundry done, the floor vacuumed - standing stuff. I love the Ergo baby for it's versatility and comfort. (Hayden still goes in it once and while). But its a little bulky for around the house, so I ordered a Moby wrap off Amazon.
When Hayden was a newborn I didn't have the internet or an Iphone. This time around, whenever Deacon is doing something that concerns me in the slightest bit, I find myself on Google looking up baby poo or something else like that. I don't recommend it.
Sleeping: I've become accustomed to sleeping in 2 hr chunks through the night. And I've given up on trying to keep putting Deacon back in his bassinet after every feeding. He sleeps with me now. "That's not good!!!!!!!" my mother says. Yeah yeah yeah.... With Hayden, I would NEVER have co-slept. I painstakingly put her back in her crib again and again and again until she slept there. This time, I need to sleep at night bc I don't have the opportunity during the day like I did with Hayden. SO there. He will eventually sleep in his bassinet, you mark my words. Luckily they've been napping at the same time in the afternoon so I've been able to have naps (except today I'm writing this).
Annnd my times up!!
Liza
Thursday 7 November 2013
Week 1: Our New Son
With both babes sleeping it gives me a quick opportunity to provide you all with a glimpse into my first week with Deacon at home:
I was expecting it to be SO insane with Hayden and a newborn and now that it's not insane at all, I'm very pleasantly surprised. My only newborn experience was with poor colicky Hayden who couldn't be put down for more than 5 minutes before she'd start wailing! Deacon hasn't had one fussy episode since he's been born! Of course he's only 1 week old so I'm not making any conclusions about his temperament at this point. At first he didn't like having his diaper changed but he's over it now. He still doesn't like going in the bath.
Other than that, he's so content to sit in his baby seat. He loves being held and his little eyes light up when I sing to him. :) He's so so so relaxed. He just flops around and really needs help holding his head up. His hands are alway relaxed, palms open. Hayden's newborn hands were always in tight little balled up fists!
Hayden loves Deacon! I was a little worried judging by the way she treats Rocky, but she totally gets it that Deacon's a tiny baby and needs us to take care of him. She's been an absolute angel to him. She's so proud to be a big sister!
As for myself, I feel amazing. I literally had a 3 day recovery after having Deacon and now I feel as though I never gave birth at all! I am SO grateful for how smooth this first week has gone! Sure, I haven't got more than 3 straight hrs of sleep, but I know this period will pass too soon so its a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make!
XO Liza
I was expecting it to be SO insane with Hayden and a newborn and now that it's not insane at all, I'm very pleasantly surprised. My only newborn experience was with poor colicky Hayden who couldn't be put down for more than 5 minutes before she'd start wailing! Deacon hasn't had one fussy episode since he's been born! Of course he's only 1 week old so I'm not making any conclusions about his temperament at this point. At first he didn't like having his diaper changed but he's over it now. He still doesn't like going in the bath.
Other than that, he's so content to sit in his baby seat. He loves being held and his little eyes light up when I sing to him. :) He's so so so relaxed. He just flops around and really needs help holding his head up. His hands are alway relaxed, palms open. Hayden's newborn hands were always in tight little balled up fists!
Hayden loves Deacon! I was a little worried judging by the way she treats Rocky, but she totally gets it that Deacon's a tiny baby and needs us to take care of him. She's been an absolute angel to him. She's so proud to be a big sister!
As for myself, I feel amazing. I literally had a 3 day recovery after having Deacon and now I feel as though I never gave birth at all! I am SO grateful for how smooth this first week has gone! Sure, I haven't got more than 3 straight hrs of sleep, but I know this period will pass too soon so its a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make!
XO Liza
Sunday 3 November 2013
Deacon Zedric
Since both kids are sleeping right now - dreams do come true - I thought I would take this much appreciated opportunity to introduce to the world our family's newest member: Deacon Zedric.
Deacon joined us 12 days overdue on Oct. 29, at 5:53 am. The day before his arrival I had a pretty good idea I was going to go into labour that night as I was having random contractions throughout the day. I had a Dr.'s apt and fetal assessment that day and there was no indication that labour would commence, so they put me on the "Induction List" on Oct.31.
Sure enough, at around 1 am the contractions started coming on a lot stronger and in a definite pattern. Instead of waking Tyler up, I just walked around the house a bit and did some deep breathing. Nothing I couldn't handle on my own! I kept checking the clock so that I knew when they were getting closer together. I even managed to have little naps inbetween some of them! They literaly went from being 12 minutes apart to 5 minutes apart. I woke Tyler up, "Time to go to the hospital!!". Tyler does not wake up easily. He fell back to sleep. Another contraction. When it was over I went back into the room, "Call your mom to come over!!! We have to go to the hospital, NOW!" To which he replied, "So should I call her now? Or when she actually has to be here?". He got the hint soon enough, his mom was called, she zipped right over, and a minute later we were on our way to the Women's Hospital.
Thank goodness we live 5 minutes from the hospital! As soon as I got to triage the nurse did a pelvic exam which determined that I was already 9 cm dilated. Tyler had just returned from parking the car as I was being wheeled to L & D. 30 minutes later, out came little Deacon weighing in at 7 lbs 4 oz.
As for the name Deacon Zedric, I came up with it the night before he was born. We just decided to go with it. After signing all the papers at the hospital I had a brief moment of, Oh no! What if this is wrong name! Haha. Now I'm so glad we kept it. He's a special little guy! Even though all he really does at this point is sleeps, eats, and poops (the last two A LOT), he does it with pizazz!!!
We can't wait to see what kind of baby he becomes!
XO Liza
Deacon joined us 12 days overdue on Oct. 29, at 5:53 am. The day before his arrival I had a pretty good idea I was going to go into labour that night as I was having random contractions throughout the day. I had a Dr.'s apt and fetal assessment that day and there was no indication that labour would commence, so they put me on the "Induction List" on Oct.31.
Sure enough, at around 1 am the contractions started coming on a lot stronger and in a definite pattern. Instead of waking Tyler up, I just walked around the house a bit and did some deep breathing. Nothing I couldn't handle on my own! I kept checking the clock so that I knew when they were getting closer together. I even managed to have little naps inbetween some of them! They literaly went from being 12 minutes apart to 5 minutes apart. I woke Tyler up, "Time to go to the hospital!!". Tyler does not wake up easily. He fell back to sleep. Another contraction. When it was over I went back into the room, "Call your mom to come over!!! We have to go to the hospital, NOW!" To which he replied, "So should I call her now? Or when she actually has to be here?". He got the hint soon enough, his mom was called, she zipped right over, and a minute later we were on our way to the Women's Hospital.
Thank goodness we live 5 minutes from the hospital! As soon as I got to triage the nurse did a pelvic exam which determined that I was already 9 cm dilated. Tyler had just returned from parking the car as I was being wheeled to L & D. 30 minutes later, out came little Deacon weighing in at 7 lbs 4 oz.
As for the name Deacon Zedric, I came up with it the night before he was born. We just decided to go with it. After signing all the papers at the hospital I had a brief moment of, Oh no! What if this is wrong name! Haha. Now I'm so glad we kept it. He's a special little guy! Even though all he really does at this point is sleeps, eats, and poops (the last two A LOT), he does it with pizazz!!!
We can't wait to see what kind of baby he becomes!
XO Liza
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