This ceiling fan is in our brand new master bedroom. It took me a long time to choose this fan. Just one more of those things that I didn’t think about before we began the renovation – selecting ceiling fans. But it works beautifully and I think it looks very cool.
One of the best things about having a baby is being able to attend Mommy Matinees at a local theatre. What is that, you say? Mommy Matinees are movies shown for mothers AND their babies in the middle of the day and conveniently timed around naptime. Oh, and the theatre also serves pizza (ahem and alcohol) that you can eat WHILE WATCHING THE MOVIE.
Now anyone can attend these movie sessions but you need to be prepared to listen to babies crying. This is a full tolerance movie experience. And believe me when I say that it’s surprisingly easy to block out the sound of other kids crying when seeing a movie in an actual movie theatre is a rare event.
The only downside to the Mommy Matinee is that there is only one theatre which means only one choice of movie each week. The upside to this is that I get to see some good movies that I probably would have never chosen to see on my own. This movie for example, was a pleasant surprise and I highly recommend it.
The downside is that sometimes the movie is HORRIBLE but you watch it anyway, just for that two hours of escape. This week I escaped to a VERY BAD place. It certainly doesn’t bode well when the guy selling you the ticket warns you that it is a terrible movie before you even walk through the door. I think my response was “oh well, at least I’m out of the house”.
The movie this week was THE HAPPENING by M Knight Shyamalan. This is the same guy who wrote and directed The Sixth Sense, one of my all time favourite movies, which makes this one sting just a little bit more.
The Happening was awful! From the very first scene I remember thinking to myself about how awful the acting was (sorry Mark Wahlberg, but I guess you didn’t have much to work with). The writing was also terrible and don’t even get me started on the storyline. Basically it was an excuse for the writer/director to creatively think of a hundred different ways that a person can kill themselves. It’s a little gory in parts and definitely disturbing but not enough to carry a movie. The message (how urban sprawl is killing the environment) is not subtly shared – in fact it’s as subtle as someone beating you over the head with a mallet. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the sound boom peeked down from the top of the screen. More than once!
OK, rant over. Consider this your community service announcement for the day.
Samuel is a good sleeper. He’s not sleeping through the night yet but he DOES sleep in his own bed and he usually goes down at around 9pm each night without much trouble. This is completely different from our experience with Thomas. I’m not sure if it’s a personality thing or if we are just doing things better the second time around. Each night I give Samuel a bath at around 8:30, swaddle him in the MIracle Blanket and then put him down in the crib. Sometimes he cries a little, but it usually doesn’t take long before he’s asleep for at least a full 4 hours.
By the way – I ran a photo action on this image and I’m not sure if I like it. It’s supposed to be artsy and old-fashioned but I’m afraid it makes him look a little washed out.
What’s summer without a water photo? We had our yard cleaned up and it has never looked so good. The hedges are pruned, lawn mowed and edges trimmed. So I had the urge to water the lawn in an attempt to bring it back from the brown straw that it has become over the last month or so. At least it’s tidy, short straw thanks to the clean up job.
I took this photo because I loved the light coming in through our bathroom window. Thomas was supposed to be getting ready for daycare but I’m not exactly sure what he was doing instead. Good photo opp though…
The internet is an amazing thing. I can read about the lives of strangers who live far across the world with incredibly ordinary yet strangely interesting things to say about love and family and happiness and…loss. It seems that in the past few months I have come across a number of blogs written by women with young families who have experienced a loss I fear most… the loss of a child. Reading these blogs makes me feel so many things – awe at the strength of these parents, absolute sadness that makes me want to cry and completely and utterly thankful for my own situation. It also makes me aware of how quickly things can change and how grateful I must be for every moment when my boys are happy and healthy and developing normally.
I am grateful for the miracle of breastfeeding. That I can nourish my child and that he is thriving on that nourishment.
I am grateful for the fact that I can hold my boys and cuddle them and kiss them – because I know many parents don’t immediately have this opportunity, if at all.
I am grateful that I can change their diapers (can’t believe I just put that in writing).
I am grateful for the little miracles that I experience every day. When Samuel coos and smiles, when Thomas uses a new word or recognizes his own name written on a piece of paper.
I am grateful that they are here.
I have a friend. She is 44 years old and trying to have a second child after many years of infertility. Her first pregnancy was a true miracle through IVF. A few days ago her husband was telling us about their visits to the fertility doctor. The doctor told them that they had a 2% chance of getting pregnant. The irony, he said, was that when he was young he saw that 2% risk warning on a box of condoms as a risk worth taking and that his chances of getting a girl pregnant were very low. Now he sees 2% as a glimmer of hope. 2% means it CAN happen. That for every 100 couples of their age with fertility problems, 2 of them will get pregnant.
When I was pregnant with Samuel decided to have a test that would provide us with a probablity that he would be born with Downs Syndrome. We took the same test with Thomas and the results were comforting – a 1 in 700 chance which set our minds at ease. With Samuel the results were not comforting – a 1 in 100 chance. For me that meant that for every 100 couples who got this result, one couple would have child with Downs. I found that oddly comforting. The odds were in our favour. Yet I had this strange ache in the depths of my heart for that one couple who had to have child with problems so that the statistics would support our dream of a healthy child.
Yet I have another friend who has a friend with Downs Syndrome and one day she said to me “you don’t know what it is to reach a milestone until you have worked and worked for months to achieve it. Nothing beats that feeling.”
So today I am going to remain grateful for every day that my family is happy and healthy and here. Cautiously grateful… because I am all too aware that fate could choose to swoop in and mess with the delicate balance of life. I only hope that if it were to happen, that I would have as much honesty and
Today I am feeling truly inspired.
Sunday – Time to pack up and go home. But not before some more fun.
Climbing Trees and growling like a lion.
Eating chocolate bananas. A throwback to my childhood camping days. I suppose this is the Aussie version of s’mores (and SO much better).
To make these, simply cut a slit in a banana. Do not cut the whole way through the banana, just enough to make an opening where you can insert little pieces of chocolate (in this case Trader Joe’s belgiun chocolate bars – yum!). Wrap the banana in foil and then put it on some coals in the fire. (It’s important to put the banana on coals. If you put it in the flames the chocolate will burn). Leave it for about 7 or 8 minutes and then take it out and open up the foil. The chocolate should have melted and the banana will be all mushy so you can mix it together. It should look something like this.
Eat it up with a spoon and enjoy! These were a huge hit with the adults and the kids and is set to become a new camping tradition.
One last visit to the beach and time to make sand candles with Deek (sounds like a children’s TV show). To make these we dug a hole in the sand, hung a wick in the hole – tied to a stick to hold it in place, and then filled it with hot wax (which Deek melted over a portable stove). Then we waited for the wax to cool and dug the candle out of the sand. I think we may have a candle lighting ceremony tonight. 🙂 Some challenges to consider when doing this with toddlers: don’t dig the holes too early before the wax has melted because the temptation to fill in the hole is VERY strong. Create a protective barrier of parents around the hot wax holes to prevent any wax-related injuries.
And most importantly…Keep the kids occupied while the wax cools…
…By hitting them with a large ball. They LOVE it!
And then running around with them on your back. But not sure I would recommend doing this when you are 6 months pregnant (Chris – I am talking to you!).
And just sitting around enjoying the sunshine while the freezing cold wind whips at your face. The dog’s name is Foster. He is so beautiful and gentle that it almost made me want to get a dog. Almost.
Then we headed back to camp for the final cleanup before heading home.
Other Observations from the day.
I feel like I was away for a month instead of just a few days (and the laundry pile supports that). As hard as it is camping with two small children (especially at bedtime), it was worth just a few days to get away from it all, spend some quality time with family and good friends and come back to the city feeling a little refreshed.
Saturday – Cloudy and VERY cold. Most of the day was spent doing fun things that every kid should have a chance to do.
Flying kites for example.
Proof that Samuel was there. He spent most of the time bundled up in the baby carrier to keep him warm and being handed around amongst the adults. Here he is with my friend Danielle.
Back to the beach after lunch and the sun was out (yay!) although the strong wind meant we still had to bundle up against the elements.
Riding bikes on the beach. Fun for a little while.
Until someone has to carry the bikes home…
Sand Angels
We forced Thomas to put on Kei’s jacket to keep warm. It lasted about 10 minutes before he decided it was restricting his ability to climb and run.
Back at camp and we toasted marshmallows. May not have been the best idea right before bedtime. Some very wound up kids had trouble going to sleep. And then there’s the clean up…
But what’s a camping trip without toasted marshmallows?
Another late night. Kei spent a couple of hours trying to get Thomas to sleep while I sat by the fire and handed Samuel around for others to hold and enjoyed some adult conversation. I may have had the better end of that deal.
Other Observations from the day
Caution: Photo heavy post. This is just part 1. I will post parts 2 and 3 over the next couple of days.
Some people are so comfortable camping that they wouldn’t think twice about packing up a toddler and an eight week old baby – and all the stuff that goes with them – and heading out for a weekend of roughing it. We are not those people. Thankfully we made the decision to go before I had the baby and before we had a chance to really think about what we were doing. Crazy? Perhaps. Glad we went? Definitely.
We weren’t completely roughing it. We were car camping (complete with portable crib) at the Oregon Coast. There were bathrooms a short walk through the park, but you had to pay for the showers (we didn’t – all weekend). That’s roughing it enough for me.
We were camping with four other families, three of whom we met during our prenatal class with Thomas and the other during a Baby and Me group soon after he was born. So we all have toddlers around the same age. That’s five almost three year olds. A lot of kids to keep track of but thankfully the adults still outnumber the kids.
Here is our weekend in photos. I took about 300 photos but have somehow managed to extract the highlights. I haven’t had a chance to do any editing to the pics so these are all straight out of the camera.
Friday – we set up camp and headed down to the beach as the sun was setting. So beautiful.
I love sillouettes.
And sunsets.
Deek (aka King of the Kids) plots an attack on the other parents.
Kei was able to outrun them – barely.
Love this photo. The joy on his face says it all.
There is a lot of driftwood along this part of the beach. Not sure exactly where it comes from (BEFORE the ocean, that is). If you know, let me know. People have even built wind breaks out of the driftwood which was a welcome escape from the biting cold.
After heading back to camp six very tired kids hit the sack at around 10pm, with their parents not far behind.
Other observations from the day:
Check back tomorrow for highlights from day 2.
Click here to read part 1
Click here to read part 2
It’s time to finish the story of Samuel’s birth and begin the story of his life. I can’t believe how quickly my memory is fading already so it’s important I jot this down while I can.
I can’t believe I have finally seen my baby. All those months of wondering what he will look like and worrying about whether he will be healthy are over and he is finally here.
The period of time after I met Samuel in the operating room is a blur. I know they stitched me up and made sure everything was OK with the baby but I don’t know how long it took. All I knew is that it was over and I still had no feeling in my body below my chest. I also knew that I now had to face my second biggest fear (after the risk of Down’s Syndrome) – nursing.
Thomas was a terrible nurser. His birth was a little traumatic and I think that may have played a part. He was also very small. Basically he just didn’t want to latch on and I spent three months after his birth trying everything to get him to nurse properly. He eventually got it but only after many marathon nursing/pumping sessions, lots of tears and boatload of patience. Getting Thomas to nurse successfully was a great achievement and I am so proud of myself for seeing it through, but I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to go through it all again.
They wheeled me back to my room and the first thing I noticed was that I was wide awake and didn’t feel pumped full of drugs like I had with Thomas. I’m not sure if it was because I had a full night’s sleep the night before or if it was because they changed the way they administered drugs (directly to my belly instead of through my whole body). All I knew is that I could sit up properly and actually hold my baby to nurse. They brought Samuel to me and after about 2 minutes of trying he latched right on. I nearly cried with excitement. It was the best feeling in the world. He really hasn’t stopped nursing since and we have been spared many of the worries that we had with Thomas.
The hospital where I delivered likes to move you, as soon as possible, from the big cushy delivery room to a teeny tiny little post-delivery room. It’s a good thing I didn’t have much family around because those rooms can get very small with more than two people. This was to be my home for the next five days as I got to know my new little boy.
There was a lot of pain from the c-section but I was up and moving (slowly) the first night. I don;t remember it being as painful as it was with Thomas and there are a few reason for this. First of all it’s amazing how much they have improved pain medication in less that three years. I didn’t feel pumped full of drugs yet my pain was controlled. The other thing that was different was the whole birth experience. It was planned this way which meant no labour, a good night’s sleep before the birth and very little stress. The one thing I wasn’t expecting was the pain as my uterus contracted. Friends had told me about it but I wasn’t prepared for the aching that hit me – especially while I was nursing. Apparently it gets worse with every child, which makes me think about these women who have 6 or 7 or 8 children. Masochists.
It’s very difficult for me to feel like an invalid and be dependent on people. I felt guilty everytime I called for a nurse to help me except when it came to the baby. I knew enough the second time around to truly take advantage of the nursery, especially at night when I was on my own. I would send Samuel to the nursery at around 9pm and then they would bring him back for feedings. They would also change his diaper so I didn’t actually have to change him until 4 days after delivery. Don’t worry – I have more than made up for it since.
It took me a little while to bond with Samuel. I had identified myself as Thomas’ mother for almost three years and now I was the mother of two. And Samuel looked so much like Thomas that it was almost as if I were reliving his birth all over again. In fact it took me a few days to stop calling Samuel by Thomas’ name just out of habit.
But sometime during that week in the hospital, in the middle of the night when it was just the two of us, we developed a connection and he really became my son. And now I can’t imagine what life was like without him. Every day he shows me more and more of his personality – including his first smile at three weeks! He’s been with us for less than two months but I feel like our family was incomplete before he arrived.
Of course people have now started asking me if we plan to have any more children. Maybe try for a girl. I have decided that we won’t decide for a couple of years but I have left my options open. I do know, however, that wanting a little girl cannot be the reason that we have another child. It has to be because we want to add to our family – boy or girl. I just don’t need that kind of pressure (although apparently Kei is ultimately the deciding factor). Right now I am content with just the four of us and honestly couldn’t conceive the added craziness that another child would add to our hectic lives.
Right now I am happy watching my two little boys grow, all the while trying not to blink so I don’t miss a second.
Nicole Ishida Photography 