Before & after

Just going back through some photos and wanted to share this one of us on the night we went to the hospital...

We were trying to wait until the contractions were strong and regular, but when we got into the car to finally go, they eased up a little. So, we took a drive around Stanley Park to see if they'd kick up again, which they did by the time we got to the lighthouse!

And here we are just a week later - all three of us on a little outing, visiting Bonnie & Dave.

Cole, just lounging around...

We had avoided buying a vibrating chair for Cole because a) we don't have a lot of space in our condo and b) some of them seem like a bit of stimulation overkill. But on Friday last week when Cole wouldn't settle down, I decided to go buy the Oeuf baby lounger that we had our eye on in case that would help. It's funny - when your baby won't stop crying, you start to contemplate buying all sorts of contraptions! I had a little trip out of the house to Crocodile while Jamie and Cole watched baseball.

He seems to really like it - it can be gently bounced/rocked with your foot or with the baby's own movements, and it's very simple. Not that it matters, but it also matches our couch! ;-)

My Brest Friend

So breastfeeding is painful. Really very painful. It is supposed to get better, but I've heard that can take up to six weeks!!! It's enough to make you want to put a lock on your shirt until then.

The nurses in the hospital were good about showing us how to start out, but they definitely didn't tell us about anything we could do or use to help reduce the pain or make the experience more pleasurable (or less horrible!). The end result is that although we are breastfeeding, I've ended up with sore, cracked nips (sorry - tmi, but it's true!). I love the closeness of nursing though, and want to persevere.

I thought that it might help with the positioning and the latch if we got a better pillow. I had a recommendation from a friend for the My Brest Friend pillow, and it really is a fantastic tool.It is pretty lame looking - you strap it on around your waist, giving you the look of either a musician playing the steel drums or a planet being orbited, but it really does provide a terrific surface to position the baby on. It's very firm and apparently the #1 choice of lactation consultants. Much better than the slithering stack of pillows that I had been using!

I won't say it's not painful anymore, because it certainly is, but it helps to feel like we can do something to help a little bit! Also we are using Lanolin cream... I have a breast pump and some nip shields too, in case I need to take a break.

First round of baby photos!

Our first three days and nights at home with Cole have been amazing. Not always very easy on the ears or alertness levels, but definitely full of love and new experiences along with some crying and lots of diapers and laundry!

We had our first outing on Thursday, to the Doctor's office. Cole has started to regain the weight he lost after birth and he only had a touch of jaundice, so the Doctor wasn't worried. He didn't even poop on the scale (Cole, that is, not the Doctor), which looked like a distinct possibility, given the fact that when he started filling those diapers earlier that day, it looked like it was his favourite thing to do!

We managed to make a couple pit stops (Capers, drug store) for a few essentials - me dashing around the store like a weirdo while Jamie broke the City's idling laws and kept the car running. Cole loves sitting in his car seat once the car is on (so far, anyway) and he sleeps through all the bumps and shifts. To get him to and from the car we are using our Peanut Shell sling. He really loves to be nestled inside it.

For the first night or two (or whatever - they blend together) he was a bit fussy for sleeping and we let him sleep on us quite a bit just so we could rest. Jamie was able to get him to sleep in the crib on Thursday night and we were able to catch some zzz's together. We were feeling pretty good about our skills after that day - an outing, a bath, sleeping in the crib...

But Friday was a day of great challenges for all three of us. Cole would not sleep during the day in his crib or anyplace else really at all and cried all day long, whenever he wasn't feeding, that is! Through some miracle though, he actually turned around at bedtime and slept for three consecutive three-hour shifts between feedings. Sweet relief!!! We are keeping our fingers crossed that we are learning some good techniques and we can repeat this again!

Mr. Cole says "No more pictures Mommy," on his rough day.

Best news ever!

Hoorah!!!!!!! If there was ever the right time to use seven exclamation marks, this is it!

PJs was born on Sunday, making us so very happy. And also providing himself the perfect opportunity for a name upgratde!

Cole Hudson joined us at 10:58 on Sunday, April 20, weighing 8lbs, 8.5 oz and measuring 55 cm long. He is beautiful, healthy and we are absolutely over-the-moon and in love with him.

This is a short post for such a momentous piece of news, but we are now resting comfortably at home, and getting into the swing of things. Having a baby in the house certainly makes for an entirely new experience, and I for one am quite impressed that I've only make about 200 typing errors while operating on about 2 non-consecutive hours of sleep in 24!

Thank you to everyone for your good wishes and support during our pregnancy. More news and photos to come shortly (he's already had more photos taken than many folks in Hollywood I'm sure!) - for now it's time for Cole's post-lunch, pre-dinner meal. :-)

Stink- and guilt-free diaper disposal

Jamie and I have decided for now out of sheer laziness to go with gDiapers over cloth for the short-term. Although it's not exactly complicated to order the cloth service, we thought for the first few weeks that we'd like to stick with the most convenient non-disposable option - so gDiapers it is. We also have a backup pack of Seventh Generation diapers too, but unlike gDiapers they aren't biodegradable (although way better than Pampers and whatnot). We'll order the cloth service after the first few weeks, but I plan to still use gDiapers for travel etc, provided they work well!

How to dispose of the diapers is another conundrum - one we'd been puzzling over for a while. You can technically flush the gDiaper inserts (which we'll try) and they also biodegrade if placed in the garbage. But what to put them in, between PJs butt and the garbage room in the basement of our building? We wanted to find something that would eliminate stink, but locking them into the Diaper Genie's sausage-link plastic casings seemed to defeat the purpose of choosing an environmentally-friendly option.

Well, lucky for us, we've found a great solution - the Clean Air diaper disposal by First Years at Babies r Us. It takes regular 13-gallon (tall size) kitchen garbage bags, which means that we can use our biodegradable Bio Bags in it. Rather than encase each diaper in a separate bag, like the Diaper Genie, this uses one bag that stays sealed off until you access it. Then you pop your filthy gem inside it and a filter (that runs on D batteries - we'll use rechargable ones) apparently keeps things smelling on the up and up. The lid is a little loud, but that's not a big deal to us.

Voila - biodegradable diaper inserts inside a biodegradable bag! Awesome solution and zero guilt!

Bio Bags are awesome, by the way - we get ours at Capers/Whole Foods. They are made from GMO-free corn. They aren't the cheapest things out there, but they are totally worth it. For anyone out there with a dog, Bio Bags also makes dog-doo disposal bags (in addition to their great line of home products).

Week 39!

Here we are in the last official week before our due date! PJs is still keeping up the busy activities and we are hoping that he makes an appearance sooner than later! He is nice and low now and we are keeping up with walking, which is supposed to help encourage him to get ready!

What PJs is up to:
The average baby is about 20.5 inches / 51 centimetres long from head to toe and weighs approximately 7.5 pounds / 3.4 kilograms at birth.

Your amniotic fluid, once clear, is now pale and milky from your baby's shedding vernix caseosa. The outer layers of skin are also sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

In TV soaps, labour always begins with the waters breaking -- in the middle of a crowded room, of course -- just before contractions start. If you've been worrying that this scenario will happen to you, you can stop. Membranes rupture in less than 15 per cent of pregnancies and when it does happen, the baby's head tends to act like a cork at the opening of the uterus. (If you lie down, however, you may notice fluid leaking.) You should stay calm -- it may be hours before you feel your first contraction -- and call your doctor or midwife right away. Your body will produce more amniotic fluid until the baby is born, so your carers may suggest you wait at home until contractions are under way or may suggest an induction.

And if the week passes and there's still no baby? Don't panic -- only 5 per cent of babies are born on their scheduled due date. Most doctors wait another two weeks before considering a pregnancy overdue. Check out how to cope with being overdue.

Swaddle & sleep - organically!

Check it out - the Swaddle Me wrap (left) and Dreamsie sleeping sac (right) from Kiddopotamus! Bonnie searched high and low for the wraps locally but there were none to be found. She lucked out to find these great organic cotton ones in Target. Oh Target, how do we love thee?

Thanks Leah for the awesome tip! If PJs behaves in the outside world as he's been in the womb, I expect his active legs would kick himself to freedom from a regular swaddling blanket in a hurry!

So cute! And safe - I really love the idea of putting PJs to sleep in one of these sleepers or the swaddling wrap, rather than under a blanket, which is not recommended these days.

Diaper bag

I have the diaper bag I made back early in the pregnancy, but I thought it would also be great to have one that we can attach to the stroller and that Jamie can carry too. I need to keep some shoulder room available for my camera bag!

I found this great one - the Dash Deluxe - from Skip*Hop. It's perfectly sleek and can be attached to the handle on the stoller or you can carry it cross-body messenger-style. It's not bulky at all and has tons of compartments that keep the baby's stuff separate from ours and also comes with a great change pad. We got the black version so it will match the stroller. I love how it's neutral enough that Jamie can carry it too! Here's how this style attaches to the stoller:

Week 38!

Well, here we are with 14 days to go until our official due date. The doctor has warned us that PJs can make an appearance any time now, so we're "ready"! I'm hoping sooner than later (although not for another week please PJs, as I have some things to do in the next few days!).

We have managed to get pretty much all of the last items checked off our to-do list, including getting our breastfeeding gear (pump, bottles, bras), stocking our cupboards and freezer for our "baby-hibernation" (the first week trapped in the house) and washing all the baby's things. I even managed to pick up the cupholder for the stroller (yes, I'm a tool, but I like my various liquids, thank you very much). We still have a few things to do, including really packing the hospital bag rather than piling things on it, finishing a painting & curtains for the nursery and I want to get another diaper bag that I can attach to the stroller. Oh, and we have to actually attach the car seat to the car.

PJs kicked SO hard during my appointment yesterday. A resident did the measurements and she couldn't stop laughing at how he was kicking her the whole time. Our regular doctor didn't find my question about whether I should jump on a trampoline to get things going very funny... Some sense of humour - way to be all "medically appropriate"!

What PJs is up to:
Your baby is now ready to greet the world. At this point, the average full term newborn is still building a layer of fat to help control body temperature after birth. Most babies are between 2.7 and 4.3kg/6 and 9 1/2lb at birth and boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls. All your baby's organs are developed and in place though his lungs will be the last to reach full maturity.

Wondering what colour your baby's eyes will be? Most Caucasian babies are born with dark blue eyes and their true eye colour -- be it brown, green or blue -- may not reveal itself for weeks or months. The colour of your baby's eyes in the first minutes after birth won't last -- exposure to light changes a baby's initial eye colour. Most African and Asian babies usually have dark grey or brown eyes at birth -- their dark eyes becoming a true brown or black after the first six months or year. Multiracial children often turn out to have the most beautiful coloured eyes.

Week 37!

According to one website, PJs is now the size of a watermelon! That sounds about right to me!

Our ultrasound appointment yesterday morning went really well. They were checking on PJs position, and all is well! His head is nestled down at the bottom and his back stretches around on my right side. His hands and feet are still all over on the left side, where they've been kicking me for months now! I'm very relieved that we don't have to fret about whether to fuss with trying to get him turned or with a mandatory c-section for a breech baby! So far, so good (don't go flipping now Peej!).

He was kicking so hard during the ultrasound - he kicked the heck out of the wand at one point, startling the technician! And his face was sooooo adorable - even though it was really hard to see what was what, of course! He was grabbing his feet the whole time, taking sips of the fluid and wiggling around, putting on a show.

So, now it's just waiting, I suppose! Three weeks until the official due date - but he can really come at any time. If he doesn't make an appearance by 10 days past the due date, the doctor said they plan an inducement to get him to wiggle out of his comfy home.

What PJs is up to:
Your baby weighs close to 6.5 pounds / 2.8 kilograms and may be about 20 inches / 50 centimetres long from head to toe. Your baby's head is now cradled in your pelvic cavity -- surrounded and protected by your pelvic bones. This position clears some much-needed space for her growing legs and buttocks.

Many babies now have a full head of hair, with locks maybe around one inch / 2.5 centimetres long. But don't be surprised if her hair isn't the same colour as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes taken aback when their children are born with bright red or blond hair, and fair-haired couples likewise can produce babies with dark hair. And then, of course, some babies don't have any hair at all.

Speaking of hair, most of the downy coat of lanugo that covered your baby from 26 weeks has disappeared, and so has most of the vernix caseosa, the whitish substance that also covers her. Your baby will swallow her lanugo and exterior coating, along with other secretions, and store them in her bowels. These will become your infant's first bowel movement, a blackish waste called meconium.