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

• Keeping sand out of a tent when camping near the beach is a futile effort – don’t even try.
• When you add peanut butter to a meal it is bound to be a hit with toddlers. Our friends Christine and Deek cooked dinner and I have never seen Thomas eat so much real food so fast. It even included brocolli. I must get that recipe.
• Bring more than one package of baby wipes (our supplies were seriously diminishing at this point after three blowouts – thanks Samuel).
• It’s amazing how much warmth an eight week old can provide when you cuddle up with them in your sleeping bag in the middle of the night. Samuel saved me.

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:

• The Fred Meyer store in Tillamook smells like cows. Not a faint odor – a smell that punches you in the face as you drive into the parking lot. What a great way to overcome the problem of shopping when you’re hungry. Definitely killed my appetite.
• The Oregon coast is at least 20 degrees colder than the city. Next time I will pack accordingly and not waste any precious space to pack a bathing suit. What was I thinking? Also a good idea to remmber to bring long pants for your child. This will also avoid an emergency stop at the aforementioned smelly cow store.

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.

Our renovation project is done! The final construction worker leaves today, the scaffolding is gone and the basement is free of building equipment. It has taken over 4 months but we are finally able to move upstairs…almost.

We decided to do the painting ourselves to save money so we have A LOT of painting to do. The trim is the worst part but I think we’ll just do the bare minimum and then worry about the rest after we’ve moved up. I just have to do the trim around the windows before they come to install our new blinds on Friday (so exciting!). A quick coat of paint on the bedrooms and we’ll be moving. Spreading out. Stretching our legs. Phew!

I can’t believe we’re there. It’s a little surreal but I will be so happy to have us each in our new bedrooms and get the playroom back. I am tired of having toys all over the house.

I haven’t taken a photo of the finished outside of the house yet but I have this quick before, during and after of the inside to commemorate this important day. Without the paint of course.

BEFORE  – two bedrooms, one toilet, one tiny closet. No insluation and old windows that won’t open.

DURING – no walls, lots of dust.

AFTER – 3 bedrooms, 3 closets (one walk in), two extra windows and ALL of them open easily (can you say cross ventilation?), insulation and a FULL bathroom.

I am giddy with happiness. The space is so beautiful and even on these hot summer days, it has stayed relatively cool upstairs. And those are our original fir wood floors after being cleaned up and re-laid. Aren’t they gorgeous?

Now… back to the painting, and the yardwork and the cleaning and the… It will never end.