the salmon family

Bennett's birth story

2011-07-22T12:28:00.001-07:00

For me, this labour story goes back to before I got pregnant. I was getting serious about trying to get back in shape while we were still deciding if we would "try for a fourth baby." I was going to a cardio bootcamp once a week, also to the gym, and doing wii fit. I worked out from about March and became pregnant in October. This pregnancy also meant that I had an extra years gap from my other pregnancies. Each sibling was not even two when the next baby came along, so this time, Audrey would be nearly 3.

A week after I found out I was pregnant, I re-injured my herniated bellybutton at the gym, by lying on a body ball on my stomach. I had had surgery to repair the herniated umbilicus the previous December so I was really choked that it was now injured and that I was pregnant, which would put extra strain on the area. I got a really crazy coughing cold shortly after that and I was so afraid that I would miscarry. That fear continued for quite awhile with this pregnancy. Obviously, things turned out well, and even the hernia was less painful, the larger the fundus grew.

By 37 weeks pregnant, I lost my mucus plug. I don't recall having lost it in my previous 3 pregnancies. This was very exciting to me.

At 38 weeks, I had had one Sunday with lots of contractions all day. I was sure they had done some dilating work, so I asked my doctor to check me. He said the cervix dilates like a cone and that the bottom was dilated 2-3cm, was very soft and stretchy and that the top was closed. He tried to stretch the cervix at the top a little. I also found out that I was GB Strep NEGATIVE for the first time! This was very exciting to me as it meant I would not have to be on an IV for antibiotics. I have not liked being hooked up to the IV pole in my previous labours.

I went away from that appointment and had a week with very few contractions. I had one or two, here or there, they were painful, but definitely not regular.

At my 39 week appointment, there was no change in my cervix. Again, I went away with little progress that week.

I went to my 40 week appointment, when i was already 2 days overdue, on Wednesday, July 13. In the office bathroom, when it was time to pee in a cup, I noticed that I was having "bloody show." The doctor checked me and I was 1.5cm dilated now. He was able to do a full sweep and could feel that baby's head very well. I was feeling very excited now. I had NEVER been dilated at my due date with any of my other babies. My cervix was always totally closed and it was pretty disheartening, especially having been induced with my 2nd and 3rd labours. This is exactly what I'd been wanting and praying for!

I asked the doctor if I should call in when I'm 9 or 10 minutes between contractions since we had to drive 35 minutes to the hospital (from Mission to Langley). He said, we should wait until 7 or 8 minutes between contractions. I left feeling very hopeful and waiting to see what happened next.

I went and bought some raspberry leaf tea and went home with plans to go for a few walks and see what happened.

Nothing was really happening. I did not have any regular contractions that day. I'd have one intense contraction here or there again, but nothing to get excited about. However, I was having a constant flow of "bloody show" which was interesting to me at the time.

During the night, in the early morning of Thursday, July 14th, I woke up with severe enough contractions that I had to sit up in bed. From what I saw on my alarm clock, it was maybe 3 of these, 2 hours apart. Again, nothing to get excited about.

The kids had a birthday party to go to at 11am. I hadn't had a chance to pick up a gift yet so I left the kids with Grammy and Papa and went to Superstore. I drove to Superstore and decided to just carry a shopping basket rather than to push a cart. This became a little interesting as I did start to have some intense contractions while I was walking around...and I could NOT find the darn EVOO anywhere...grrr...so I had to backtrack around the store. I ran into Joanna and we chatted about me having pain and that it was awkward having contractions while shopping. She offered to carry my basket for me, but she was going to the opposite end of the store and I didn't want to track her down, since its such a huge store. Then I ran into Amelia and we joked about me being "still pregnant". This was all around 10am.

I loaded up the kids for the birthday party at 11am. I was starting to feel a little tired of the pain, but just wanted to get to the party since Derek was working and Grammy and Papa were going to go do errands while we were there.

Abbotsford whenever I asked them to. Derek was on track to be home by 3pm. I decided that I would get Renee to help me load the kids in the van and then to drive me home by 3pm and Derek could drive her back to the party. So that's what we did. We waited in the driveway for a few minutes then Derek came home. I told him to just keep the kids in the van so I'd just be alone.

I had an intense contraction when trying to unlock the house with Derek standing there. It didn't really phase him as he was just trying to go drive Renee back. In the house, I knelt down on the bottom stair and had a really crazy one that made me feel very scared. I thought, uh oh. that really hurts. I don't know if I can do this without drugs. I want to go to the hospital now.

So I went upstairs, called the hospital and told them that I wanted to come in now but that they are only 10 minutes apart, but 1.5 minutes long for sure.

The charge nurse was really kind and said for sure I could come in. I asked if she would call my doctor and she said no, not until I was admitted. I was a little scared thinking that he would have to wait an hour or so before even finding out I was coming in and that he might have a hard time getting there (he has a broken foot so it makes his travel time longer). I immediately called Grammy and Papa and asked them to come home now and that I was going to go in to get checked out. I knew they'd be another half hour coming from Abbotsford. Derek needed to shower, so I figured we wouldn't get there til 4.30pm. I was commenting to Derek about not being able to let our doctor know and he said "Call his office." OH Ya! ha ha, it was still during office hours. So I called, and the receptionist was very excited and said she'd let him know.

We FINALLY got on the road and I was assessed around 5pm. My contractions stayed at a solid 10 minutes all this time. The nurse was awesome and explained everything she was doing. She checked me and I was 4 cm dilated! I was so excited, but still not sure if I was getting admitted. She said they had a room ready for me, but Derek said not to text anyone that we were admitted, until we were actually admitted. So we were admitted around 5.30pm and as I was moving to my room, the contractions increased (or decreased?) to 5 minutes apart. They did intermittent fetal monitoring, but did not have me lying on the bed for a monitoring strip, another thing I was so thankful for.

At 6.03pm I sent a text to Grammy and Papa saying that they were 5 minutes apart and that our doctor was coming in about 1hr. That was the last text message I sent.

Right after that I had a killer contraction that also felt like "the push" so I got really really scared and started crying. They got me on the bed and checked me and I was only 6cm. She said she'd try to feel if my cervix opened more during a contraction. That one push feeling really threw me off and I was feeling like I cant handle this and that I was really afraid of the pain that was coming, or just the pain of the next contraction (sounds like transition!).

I started trembling which really scared me too as I went into shock after Audrey was born and I was shaking like crazy. I did not have another "push" feeling right then. It was back to regular contractions. She said the head was much lower and that I was staying at 6cm, no bigger, during contractions. I think, in retrospect, that it was just baby's head coming lower which was a new feeling and probably did feel like pushing a bit.

I got back up to standing and leaning, looking out the window and trying to relax as much as possible.

Derek sent a text to Joanna at 6.45pm saying I was 5-6 cm, but things must have gotten serious right after that.

I felt a new sensation, of the baby going lower and my body really opening up. It was very painful, but it was also exciting.

Just as an aside, in between contractions, I was totally lucid and chatty. Derek thought I was coping really well. I probably had 8 to 10 contractions that were so painful I felt like quitting. but then they were over and I was chatting it up again.

Around 6.50pm I felt "the push" again. They got me back on the edge of the bed and I was kind of arguing saying "I can't. Its not like the baby's going to fall right out." and the nurse said, "it might." so I got moved up in the bed. She started to frantically try to put in my IV site on my hand (as they were concerned that I was a bleeder with previous deliveries and that I might need either blood for myself or oxytocin for my uterus). The push came again and I had to stay as still as possible while she finished getting the IV site in my hand. She checked my dilation next and I heard her tell another nurse "She's fully. Get her doctor." I heard someone say that he was three minutes away. I said enthusiastically, "Okay, I can do this! Let's do this!"

Since I was fully dilated and I just let my body push even though they said to wait. I had decided ahead of time that I was going to let my body do the work and not try to stop "the push." Derek was coaching me to try to stop from pushing but I was ignoring him. He says that I was partly trying to follow his direction, from the way I was breathing. Another nurse came in front of me and said in a sing-songy voice "If you want Dr. DeLair, you're going to have to wait to push."

They brought in a relief doctor. One I'd never met. She tried to get me to come to the edge of the bed but it really hurt my tailbone so I started to cry a little. She let me sit back a little. She said, "Okay, with the next push I want you to pick up your legs and push into your bottom." and I'm pretty sure someone said they could see baby's head. I was looking at her thinking, I don't know you lady. I don't know if I'm going to do that...and then in hobbled my beloved doctor! about 6.55pm.

I had one more regular push with him, and then a big one and he got me to take 3 breaths and to push 3 times and the head was out, so he got me to pant to get the body out slowly and baby Bennett was totally out at 7.02pm! I was literally saying "oh hallelujah, I'm so glad its over." I had minimal tearing.

Bennett was delivered in his sac of waters intact and posterior!! but it didn't really feel like a posterior birth maybe because I was just so glad it was over or from being delivered in the amnion. There was meconium in the sac but because he was born head up with the amnion covering his face, he did not ingest any. They peeled the membrane off his face and he took his first breath and started crying. Being born in an intact amnion is called being born en-caul. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caul look up a picture if you want to see what it looks like.

I wish I had known as I would have liked to see it. This is the first birth that the doctor didn't tell me to look, but I guess I could have of my own accord, but at that point, I was kind of following directions again ;)

It is extremely rare, 1 in 80,000 births (and this includes the births that are "true caul" (where it is an actual face mask only with loops around the ears that have to be unlooped or they may leave a mark or scar) or partial (like a hat or over one eye), or en-caul (in the full amnion)).

Derek said it freaked him out to see something covering Bennett's face. The doctor told us that the legend is that a baby born "en-caul" is destined for greatness.

Bennett started suckling by 7.30pm and had such a perfect latch. He continued to eat like a fiend and my milk came in, in a day and a half!

Bennett Antony Henri Salmon
Born at 7.02pm
Thursday, July 14, 2011
8lbs 4oz. 21" long
Black curly hair just like his big sister Diedre!

Antony is my father's (Paul Mellenger) middle name, and Henri (pronounced Ohn-Ree, in French) is my step-father's (Richard Gagne) middle name. And we found out, after the fact, that Richard was named after his uncle Henri, a priest.

Our heaviest baby yet! 8lbs 4 oz

Daddy got another boy ;)

Grandma Jen was the first person to arrive, 15 minutes after his birth. She was hoping to come for the final push, but didn't quite make it.

He latched on by 7.30pm and had a perfect little latch

Our big kids get their first look at their baby brother. Everyone is so excited!!

Audrey was very excited to be a big sister. Diedre shows such tenderness in dealing with her new brother.

Ezekiel was so excited to have a baby brother!!

Labour is obviously hilarious ;)

Papa holding his second grandson with Daddy looking on.

Grammy getting swarmed by the children.

My eldest and my youngest!

Our big Salmon family of SIX!

Some interesting facts about the names and birth dates:
Diedre & Audrey both have six letters in their names.
Ezekiel & Bennett both have seven letters in their names.
Both of our sons have their grandfather's middle names in them.
Our eldest and our youngest both have two middle names, whereas our second and third both have single syllable names.
Diedre and Ezekiel were born on Saturday (like Grammy Salmon, Derek and my brother, Uncle Andrew), Audrey was born on a Monday (like my Mom and Auntie Marsha, Derek's sister), and Bennett was born on a Thursday (like me!).

day 2, doing well

Discharge weight of 7lbs 15oz

First car seat ride, picture outside the hospital

In retrospect, I'm so glad that I went with my gut, although it was driven by fear, and called even though I was still having contractions 10 minutes apart. If we had been even half an hour later to the hospital it would have been so much more stressful. It was such a great labour and delivery, a great way to end my childbearing experience. We are complete now (unless God has other plans or interventions!).

6-year-old Daughter!!!

2011-06-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened. In February 2011, our baby girl, our firstborn, turned SIX!!!

she has poise, she has style (she wanted a dress that went all the way to the floor. she is very tall, so I bought a dress, altered it, and added some length).

Diedre is a terrific big sister. She shows such patience with the other kids and loves to lead them and teach them.

I made adorable owl cupcakes for the family party which we celebrated with my neice who turned 4, 3 days after Diedre.

Photo op at the family party.

Diedre kicked our butts at bowling on her birthday.

January 2011

2011-06-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

Just playing a bit more catch up:

Audrey, no over 2, started dance lessons in January which also included her first performance at a community event! Diedre was the helper.

She got a marvelous face painting job done.

i love this picture because Diedre just LOVES the magician. He was so funny to them!

Here is Audrey in action at the studio.

4 year old son

2010-11-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

my baby boy. born November 25 2006 at 9.54pm in a major snowstorm.

one of many post-nursing cuddle times

Here's the little man celebrating his first birthday

his very excited smile that is a big part of his character

here's my boy celebrating his 2nd birthday

oh, there's that excited smile because the restaurant gave him some balloons! (never underestimate the joy a balloon can bring!)

Here was our boy ready for his 3rd birthday at his Superhero party

oooh, he likes the cake!

here he is showing us just how super he is (at 3).

Now, presenting the birthday boy, 2010

here's our guy, at nearly 4, enjoying a movie party with friends!

showing me his fave toys from the party

having his last cuddle with Dad as a 3-year-old

Here's my 4 year old son! excited about his last present on the night of his birthday :D

Ezekiel is a fantastic boy. He came into this world in such a way that I said "that was easy. thats how all labours should be! I could totally do that again" ;P

He has a great bounds of energy. He is happy, he is very positive, chatty, funny, excitable. He is focused, he is a quick learner with a sharp mind. We could not be more pleased to have a sensitive, thoughtful, pleasant son! We absolutely adore you and who you are becoming! God sure blessed us with you bud :)

August 2009 Catch UP

2010-10-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

my matchy-matchy girls

travelling dream-children

tasting ice cream...she likes it!

my nephew's 5th birthday party--so fun! and creative

Pepere's birthday

camping trip 1: care group

Sunday morning pancakes

little photoshoot in front of my friend's house

camping trip 2: the ol' friends group

Camping Trip 3: Manning Park cottage with the GMHS group

Diedre drew me a picture of the butterfly that is on her face. so sweet.

July 2009

2010-10-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

Catching Up

July 2009

Our family did a promotion for a country celebration we were helping to host at the church.

Audrey having much fun with the sprinkler!

Dinner with Superman & Cinderella

my 2 daughters being silly in diapers :)

June 2009

2010-10-30T18:38:00.001-07:00

Catching UP.

June 2009 mentionables: The pictures keep uploading sooo out of order but because this is nearly a YEAR ago, i dont have the patience to arrange them.

Audrey finally standing. about 8 months old.

Zeke on the job with Daddy

Diedre brave enough to climb the new structure at the water park and Zeke to practice skateboarding

Ballet School Show

Celebrating Diedre's performance as a bunny for her ballet school show.

Celebrating Father's Day

Mellenger's BBQ

Gagne's Block Party

Grammy came to visit and to watch Diedre's ballet show

Audrey turns 2!

2010-10-06T21:45:00.003-07:00

my mom shared her birthday hat with Audrey for her party...it didnt last long :)

Audrey is finally big enough to stand on the bouncy pillow (giant trampoline thing)

looking pleased on the hay ride

walking to have cake with Grandma Jen

i only got video of her blowing out the candle, no pictures. here she's licking the "2" candle.

you can see a decorated cupcake in front of Ezekiel here

smiling at the kitty card

trying to figure out how to carry this bag...

still trying...

very proud of her 2 puppies after she figured out the perfect way to carry them

the farm was so empty, it was like a private party :)

she's big now, she's 2, she can jump!

Audrey is a delightfully mischievous girl :) We dont LOVE it when she's being naughty of course, but we appreciate her strength, her confidence, her kindness, her independence (she's been dressing herself in whatever clothes she can reach and has recently figured out buttons!), her super cuddles, and that she goes to bed so well! Her language has exploded in the last few weeks and its been very exciting as she is already speaking in short sentences.

a funny pic of my other 2 kids and a friend

September 29 2008
Audrey Jude Salmon arrived.
We had a pretty tough first year (mostly circumstances not relating to Audrey). Things turned around and the last year has gotten better and better and life seems to be easier and more enjoyable the older she gets. We are very excited to have a 2-year-old in the house. I'm especially looking forward to the day when potty training "clicks" :)

Thank you God for this wonderful girl who has a strong presence in our family.

take a little break

2009-10-21T14:01:00.001-07:00

well, i updated from February to May while i foolishly let my kids nap. but i have been wanting to get back to blogging so the best i can do is little by little. enjoy! more to come...

May 2009

2009-10-21T13:48:00.004-07:00

Diedre was so excited to give me the Mother's Day craft she made for me at church

awwww

we went out for lunch after church

my & my first born :)

we went mini-golfing at Castle Fun Park

derek showing ezekiel how to use the putter. ezekiel lost interest pretty quick, but just wandered around looking at all the interesting things at the course.

mom & i went to the beach with joanna and her mom one springy day

ezekiel's cat Cloudy had a litter of kittens. 3 live births, one stillborn, it was very traumatic.

Audrey began crawling a little

i picked up this house 2nd hand and she loved to find the basket of kittens that "meow". soo cute!

April 2009

2009-10-21T13:29:00.005-07:00

The highlight of April for me was our family trip to Whistler to celebrate our 9th anniversary. We dated and got married while living up in Whistler and lived there for another year and a half after we got married. its a special place to us and we were happy to bring the family to meet some good friends at Whistler Community Church on Sunday.

ready to hit the pool at the Marriott

note to us: next time, bring life jackets!

we happened to be up there during the Ski & Snowboard festival, Big Air competition which was perfect. it was free, lots of free samples in the village, Ezekiel LOVED it and said he wanted to do that too!

we went on the "new" Peak to Peak chair

soooo high up. it goes between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains.

a touristy shot :P

life had been pretty stressful with a new baby in the house, derek working extra to provide while doing renovations. i was getting really burnt out so the night away with the family really was refreshing. ahhh

We celebrated Easter and my Birthday at my Mom's home

my sweet family :) (and yes, that includes my fave niece & nephew--loove them!)

ah, just what i wanted :) cake

some of the family

Here i am on the morning of my 31st birthday after sleeping in (:

my choice of activity for the day was to go to my birth place, White Rock with the family and some friends

my lovely sister-in-law Heather and my brother Andrew

cute people over here too eating at Moby Dick's Fish n' Chips

it was a beautifully sunny day, not warm, but lovely

Derek took the stress off me and was super dad, as always :)

and i was soooo excited to see a live sea star at White Rock beach!!! this was the first time i'd seen any in my adult life (here, as they were here when i was a kid, but pollution killed them, so glad to see some life back at the beach)!

march 2009

2009-10-21T13:12:00.004-07:00

march began with a trip to the dentist for both kids:

ezekiel was wonderful and allowed the hygenist to do a full check up and cleaning which she said was very rare among the two-year-old set :D

diedre was a little more nervous, but did well. she had some issues that still require follow up but they suggested she see a Pediatric dentist. after several months, i decided to just try this dentist again and am glad i did as she was comfortable enough to get the care needed without having to pay a huge bill for the Pediatric dentist!

Derek had a birthday on March 13th. There weren't many pictures but he received a few presents and some home made cards from the kids.

Audrey also celebrated her 6 month "birthday" and was excited to chew on her present (and the "big" kids were excited to play with it!).

Grammy & Papa Salmon came for a nice visit too.

Grammy giving Audrey a bath

oh, Zeke wanted a bath in the sink too!

Papa with his granddaughters

Grammy & Papa surprised us all with a party to celebrate "EVERYONE's" birthdays since they would not be here for them.

its always nice to go to church as a family :D

Diedre's 4th Birthday Party: A Royal Tea Party

2009-10-21T12:57:00.006-07:00

we celebrated on February 21st with a houseful of guests (11 children)

they began by choosing a crown colour and decorating it

then they had a dance party break in Diedre's room

then they all came back to the table for the tea party portion, with cupcake decorating to follow the snack time

my sweet 4 year old! Happy Birthday darling :)

Diedre was so excited about each gift and absolutely LOVED the Princess balloon my mom picked out!

Here is a video that the kids and i find hilarious from the party. we still watch it to this day and laugh when ezekiel jumps in time with the music!

many more pics from the party

Diedre Turns 4! February, 26, 2009

2009-10-21T12:47:00.002-07:00

Derek was home from work because of a random snowfall on Diedre's 4th birthday so we celebrated with a lunch at Rocko's.

we all got suited up and enjoyed the fluffy white stuff

girls making snow angels

ezekiel, on a barbie snowboard, showed that he has a natural talent for boardsports. he even tried to jump!

we decorated and ate some cupcakes to celebrate

the rest of the pics from her 4th birthday

should i just pretend i havent forgot about my blog

2009-09-10T17:04:00.002-07:00

and do an entry for each month since february!?!

february 2009 & Valentine's Day

2009-02-19T19:29:00.008-08:00

we celebrated my brother's birthday at their house.

here's my niece poppy, so cute!

audrey is wearing my fave outfit from when diedre was a baby.

diedre can really swing high these days

i took the kids to the beach one day to go for a walk

thankfully, i had mitts and hats in the van for my spur of the moment trip (it was after audrey's 4 month shots.)

Valentine's Party at Strong Start

we've been going to this free community program fairly regularly lately as it is a great opportunity for reading, songs, and gym time.

this was a gorgeous day, so the kids played at the school playground for a bit.

funny zeke's hair after a nap

Happy Valentine's Day!

audrey is still a total sweetie. she keeps a fairly regular napping/nighttime schedule. once in awhile she still feeds multiple times during the night, but i think thats related to teething.
at 4.5 months old she weighed 14lbs 13oz, nearly 1lb in one month! she measured 26 inches long, 2 inches of growth in a month!

we went out to visit my mom on Valentine's Day while derek worked.

we went to watch dump trucks dredging the fraser river.

zeke liked it

the kids in red

the trucks drove so fast

audrey enjoyed the fresh air

Valentine's Day with Daddy

we made cookies with grandma for daddy and pepere

we like to make valentines day special; derek buys for the girls, i buy for the guys.

diedre loves her monster balloon

the next morning before church, i suggested diedre write her name on the back of some valentines cards. ever since she came home from preschool last monday, she's been really interested in her name.

i wrote one example and off she went

she probably did 11 before she asked me to finish

then she wanted to do some for ezekiel

she wrote all 8 for him!

i'm so impressed!

then on wednesday, she said "mom, you wrote my letter wrong. you did it like this "i" and its supposed to be like this "I"." so i thought, okay, i guess she's ready to learn lowercase now. so i taught her the letters in her name. and then she asked me to teach her numbers 1 to 5. so exciting to have a little learner in the house!

tail-end of january 2009

2009-01-31T19:15:00.000-08:00

these are just some super adorable pics of audrey.

balancing

she loves sitting up. i would never actually leave her alone sitting up yet, but she is definitely developing some of those skills--and all that without a Bumbo.

look at that!!

cute pic of diedre and daddy

she has discovered designing cards online. it was really fun for her but then i could not for the life of me find the same game again. how annoying!!! well, at least it makes it special, derek and i got the originals.

second half of january

2009-01-27T16:24:00.005-08:00

first time in a baby swing at the park. the sun was shining but it certainly wasnt warm on the day we decided to walk to the park.

all three on the swings

we went out to visit my aunt & uncle in white rock and the kids had fun on these big hills behind their apartment.

audrey's first time sitting up with us at the table

she's getting in on the conversation

first time in a bouncy seat at my friend holly's house

my saturday morning date. isnt he cute? diedre was at ballet just down the street.

chillin' with the animals

we are all really enjoying baby Audrey. she is so pleasant, smiling, cuddly, and strong. she loves her brother and sister and is a very easy baby, she will go to almost anyone.

diedre is almost 4 and is so great at so many things. her ballet teacher was impressed that she followed directions so well and listened very good in class.

ezekiel and derek are going to a toddler gym/sports class and he is doing well there and learning some basic tumbling and sports.

some of us have been sick. last month ezekiel was diagnosed with asthma that comes on when he has a cold. thankfully we have puffers for him as he had a scary attack in the middle of the night and the puffers totally calmed him down.

i feel absolutely terrible at the moment and just want to sleeeeeep. since baby audrey is sick too, she nurses extra at night so i have a pretty disturbed nighttime sleep and naps are only occasional.

derek is not sick, and is working on the upstairs reno. always lots to do!

more january pictures here

diedre's first day of preschool

2009-01-26T16:11:00.001-08:00

ready to go to school for the first time! we had an interview last week and they had room available on monday mornings only. one day a week is just fine by me!

derek took the morning off to bring her to and pick her up from preschool.

hanging her jacket on her hook

sitting on the story mat for "book looking" time.

i was really not sure about putting her in preschool, but decided that it would be good to give her some time for learning and for me to have a bit of time with ezekiel and audrey. audrey slept the whole time (2.5 hours) and ezekiel played by himself a bunch (which he doesnt usually do) and i managed to get the floor washed. it was a good first day all around.

and we went out for lunch to celebrate her first day

happy new year

2009-01-16T10:29:00.004-08:00

diedre got into the ballet class at the dance academy! i was sooo excited and nervous for her...strange response, but it is what it is. here she is all ready to head to her first class.

sitting waiting for class to begin

running under the cloth. she wasnt supposed to run yet but her and the other girl were new and the teacher forgot to tell them they needed to be patted on the head to start their turn ha ha

audrey is such a cute bundle. she is so calm and content. i'm still figuring out her schedule but she is pretty obvious when she's tired although she takes longer in the evening to fall asleep and is fussier (and teething :( poor girl).

she can actually sit up pretty well on your lap or on the couch, but obviously cant be left alone or she'll topple.

some goofy faces

silly baby

this is at the fun n' run gym that is local and free in our town. diedre is so funny/motherly. the rules are that you are not allowed to run so she holds ezekiel down. i was shouting at her saying "you are allowed to stand up and walk around" so she finally let him.

he's really smiling now and having fun, but she's basically herding him around. sheesh.

and helping him keep his arms up under the parachute (another rule). at least she's good at following rules, and apparently enforcing them too!

dec 29 08: 3 months old!

2008-12-29T15:39:00.002-08:00

she is sitting up really well

getting chubbier all the time

holding her own hands

chews on her hands constantly

i'm so behind in my posts its hard to think back. i guess 3 kids IS busy ha ha
audrey is still a very easy, content, well-fed baby. she is such a joy to have around and her brother and sister are still quite excited by her and she by them!
she still feeds once or more per night and is also teething so its still very random.

another 3 month milestone is jolly jumping!

so jolly

thats who's been making her smile

zeke is just below the max. weight of 28lbs...

Christmas & Boxing Day

2008-12-27T15:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

audrey looks like she's being tickled by cloudy.

Christmas PJs shot

Christmas Morning Brunch

Pepere & Grandma came over to spend Christmas Day with us and a fabulous turkey dinner. i'm pretty disappointed that there are no pictures because the camera batteries died (i had to use the camera for videotaping since our handycam was out of tape argh and the weather was too bad to go get more, so then i had very few pictures and videotaping with the camera uses more battery power...and i guess i was too busy cooking/napping to recharge them :( . it still makes me feel a little sick to my stomach that i didnt get any christmas pictures of our kids opening gifts before my parents arrived. snif.

Merry Christmas again: aka Boxing Day!

Boxing Day family dinner at my brothers' in White Rock. They had soooo much snow and getting into their neighbourhood was tricky. The family all made it and we celebrated with Mellenger Grandparents, Gagne Grandparents, my brother & family and our family.

poppy & zeke hanging out

baby audrey all bundled to watch the kids sledding/snowboarding.

ezekiel is a real natural shredder (excuse the pink barbie snowboard ha ha)

diedre was good at riding her new board too

diedre, poppy and auntie heather sledding.

see more Christmas pictures here :)

December before Christmas 2008

2008-12-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

december has been too busy for me. i've not had time to blog and am really missing it. i'll try to catch up a bit!

West Coast Express Santa Train on Dec 6 more pictures here

diedre was in our churches production and sang:
I saw three ships
Caroling, caroling
Deck the halls

audrey tried the bouncy seat and loved it! that really helped with all the holiday baking i did. which i hope, "NOTE TO SELF" not to do so much of next year because it cost too much and was stressful and took too much time away from holding Audrey!

we took the kids rockclimbing with some friends

audrey wore a super-cute hat and waved at me :)

derek really got into decorating this year

we all went to see the Nutcracker Ballet

December part 1 photo album

December part 2 photo album

December Christmas Parties album

window & door renos

2008-12-05T10:39:00.001-08:00

yes, this is ridiculously late. i will blame: a. the Christmas season and b. having 3 kids where at least one is awake between the hours or 7am and 11pm.

before

here is the photo album from facebook for the window and door renos that were completed on dec 5th.

after

ezekiel's actual birthday

2008-11-25T20:11:00.005-08:00

ezekiel's birthday began with the early arrival of the window renovation crew.

here is the large suite window before picture

the after picture of the same window

ezekiel loves watching people work so it was a fun birthday event. this man was cutting a square out of cement for a new window installation. we watched for awhile and then went out for breakfast.

some of my gorgeous family

after nap time, ezekiel opened his family gifts.

he was really happy about this dinosaur

he didnt quite know what this was, but once it got all put together he was LOVING it!

at dinner, he got some balloons, which he was obviously excited about! ha ha

then we went bowling

diedre gives it a good toss

very happy to be checking out the scoreboard.

well another year with ezekiel has flown by.

he is such a happy and thoughtful boy. he insists on being called a big boy.

he has become a great host and likes to share his snacks and even toys (impressive for a two-year-old!). he tries to do the same things his sister does (like open the fridge to get a yogurt or an apple, get spoons, cups, bowls for snacks, etc.). he can fully dress himself but i still pick his clothes out because i think he would make a big mess of them if i had them within reach. its very helpful that he can dress himself and get his shoes on the right feet!

he is also a sweet big brother and likes to hug and hold audrey. he's been sick, so i try not to let him kiss her too much, but he does like to do that too. he can be very gentle.

he is very daring and can jump off of things with great style, something i hope he keeps up so he can be a good snowboarder ha ha.

he is still a bit short compared to what diedre was around now, but weighs in at about 27 lbs. i measured his height and he is 2 ft 9 and 3/4 in. when the height of a boy at 2 years old is doubled, it supposedly gives the approximate height he will be when full-grown. so roughy, 5 ft 8 in. ezekiel actually grew 1 inch since November 2nd!

anyway, family life with three is going well especially when each child is so sweet! happy birthday buddy! you're awesome!

more pictures from his birthday

more reno info to come...

ezekiel's birthday party

2008-11-23T18:32:00.003-08:00

the spread for our car themed party. we invited our favourite babysitter to come join us and help me get the party prepped and then to help watch the kids. it worked out really well.

the car cake (not a CARS cake, but a car cake. perhaps a 1979 volvo?). i was about to make a red car, like Lightning McQueen from CARS but i read on the internet that the red coloured icing is very hard to achieve without it looking pinky...so i decided to go with blue. later, some friends at the party commented that the red coloured dye is supposedly the worst for kids and if your kids are acting wacky, maybe its from having red dye. disaster averted. :D

about half of our guests :D it was a good turnout. we were definitely filled to the max. we threw the party in our empty suite downstairs. it worked perfectly as there was no clutter or extra items around. just the bare party-throwin' necessities! and there was a full kitchen to use for clean up!

the game: stick the "95" on Lightning McQueen

ezekiel was pointing to all his guests for who should go first. most of the kids went before he took his turn. i thought it was very sweet; both because he was letting other kids go first and also because he was observing how to play the game before taking his turn.

he did pretty well! you can see his "95" sticker that isnt totally stuck down yet, sideways right where it should go!

derek felt like santa ha ha

zeke made sure to say "Thank you!" after each gift and he seemed to try to make sure the person who gave it to him was paying attention. so cute!

blowing out the candles. i think i lit four or 5 of the "H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y" letter candles, but he blew them all out.

see many more birthday party pictures here

new heights, fun times, and baby sleep

2008-11-20T15:36:00.003-08:00

yesterday was MOPS. it was ezekiel's first time in the 2-3 year class which is like preschool for 2 hours. it was great! i was so proud of him. the teacher did tell me that diedre was overly mothering him (smothering?) and kept trying to get him to sit on her lap or force him to sit beside her...the teacher told her firmly to leave him alone (which i was totally fine with). i guess my instructions to diedre to "take care of him, and help him feel comfortable in the class" were taken a little too far by our little mother hen.

my big boy learned to climb this yesterday following MOPS

he would slide his body onto the platform, jump up and yell "did it! did it!" Dora-and-Boots-style. it was so cute, but i couldnt get a picture of it. this lady standing there said "oh, you can never get a picture when you want to, isnt that just the way?" and i was thinking "no, i actually have about a gazillion pictures of my kids...probably way more than i need." ha ha but thats just the way when you are documenting their little lives i guess.

today there was another children's event at our local leisure centre. we arrived late and i met alot of people i knew leaving right then who said "oh you're lucky, its just calming down. it was CRAZY." so i guess in a way, God orchestrated the whole thing because my kids were not cooperating in a timely fashion and it took an extra hour to leave the house, but it worked out much better. i probably would have been very overwhelmed to have had this hassle of leaving the house and then to be met with hoards of people there...i knew i was taking a chance. phew.

ezekiel and diedre played really well in the bouncy castle and then we did some parachute games (after i rounded up some more kids and parents) and then managed to even get face/arm painting from the ever so talented SEASTARFACES.

then my friend Cyndi invited us over for lunch which was also lovely. quite a full half of the day :P

tonight we need to shop for a card for ezekiel, the food for the party, and then home in time for the office at 9pm ;D

i'm getting excited for his party and i'm so glad that our favourite babysitter is going to come and help out too! helps keep the kids under control and frees me up to host and get food out and such.

another note: audrey had her best sleep yet! she was very fussy last evening and finally i thought, maybe it was because i was trying to get her to sleep in a sleepsack instead of swaddling her. so finally, by 10.30pm i swaddled and nursed her to sleep. we slept together and she didnt wake up until 5am! woo hoo! but now, she's been sleeping since 11am and its nearly 4pm...this could be interesting...i dont mind if she's awake for all of our shopping, its more the crying carrides that aren't my fave.

b boy

2008-11-18T12:16:00.002-08:00

ezekiel talking about being a big boy (note how he says "b boy" so cute!) nov 18 08

ezekiel sings his own version of happy birthday nov 18 08

cute family times

2008-11-16T22:17:00.000-08:00

video of audrey talking on nov 16 08

goodbye gold pants, you've faired me well.

these gold pants first belonged to my friend joanna. i guess she wore them alot during her first pregnancy back in 2003/2004 so following the birth of her son, her husband definitely never wanted her to wear them again. so several of her friends have worn them and i have worn them through three pregnancies. they are definitely, finally, toast, and thus in the garbage.

ezekiel's hair was getting too long again, so after his bath i asked derek if i could cut his hair, he said "no!" so i grabbed the scissors and cut his hair ;P

looking good little man

ezekiel still loves to hold his little sister

they are both really good with baby audrey.

my girls :)

now, derek knows i detest the idea of having a dog on the couch, but since we are going to be throwing this couch out as soon as possible (one of the kittens peed on it, we flipped it over), i guess its okay.

i find it a little offensive that he takes more pictures of the pets than of me!

diedre is so good with her little hattie.

she can even dress her in baby clothes (poor kitten didnt seem to mind at all)

her cute sunday outfit that she pooped in right when it was time to go to church...the outfit didnt quite make it...

my parents came over to watch the big kids while we went birthday shopping for ezekiel.

cute ladies

up to six weeks

2008-11-15T10:17:00.006-08:00

more november 2008 pictures

audrey: 6 weeks old

2008-11-10T17:00:00.001-08:00

my mom and i and the kids went to crescent beach to meet up with my brother and give back his kids (who my mom had been watching for a couple days). i was nursing in the van (sorry for the dirty diaper in the background (eww)) while ezekiel was napping. so my mom took miles, diedre and poppy down to the beach while we waited for andrew to arrive with lunch.

a sly smile

a little crooked

her worried look

biiiig smile

she is cooing alot these days. its so precious! we love it. i'll try to take some time to upload video soon.

puddle jumping! they got so soaked they had water pouring out of their boots. they were soaked halfway up their bodies.

miles and diedre reading grafitti

around the six week mark she actually got fussy for a few days. not pleasant. but then she seemed to settle back into her usual sunny attitude.

ezekiel has been getting about one sticker a day on his potty learning chart. he insists that he is a "b boy" (big boy). i'm trying to give him opportunity to use the potty, but it works best when derek is around for it.

nov 3 to 9th 2008

2008-11-09T15:14:00.001-08:00

i've been having a hard time updating my blog. i can update pics to facebook but cant seem to do a quick entry here...so there will be several updates flooding in today:

our tenants moved out and we happily started using the downstairs suite for the kids to ride bikes and play in.

it was so great on a rainy day or a day when i didnt have any other plans to just go down and let the kids burn some energy. i have felt energetic enough to host a few playdates and use the space.

diedre still seems to have peeing accidents here and there. this day i believe she was leaning against her bed and peed on the end of it (???HUH?) anyway, she needed a dry place to sleep so we put her in the extra bed in ezekiel's room (after he was already asleep, or i'm sure it would never work).

diedre's a little too used to a queen bed!

audrey has become even more alert lately and is really enjoying looking up at her froggy/rattle toy that i hung near her change station.

we wandered around Canadian Tire and derek started dressing the kids up in hockey gear. ezekiel actually toppled right over a couple times because of the weight of the gear, oops!

diedre has great form.

sunday morning derek had to work, so i decided to go back to our previous church in langley. its held in a community center and the kids are supposed to be quiet during the very long service, but they did quite well as far as i'm concerned, since they are totally not used to that. diedre said "where are the colouring sheets?" ha ha so i ran out to the van and got some of their books/toys to try to help keep them occupied.

audrey has continued to be an easy baby. she usually settles in for the night by 11pm and sleeps for 4 or 4.5 hours. its great! then she sleeps in until 9am so i have a few hours to get set up for the day and hang out with the big kids.

baby smiles are so darling!

2008-11-02T18:51:00.004-08:00

first: here are three pics of diedre in her newborn outfit from auntie heather back on march 10 2005 (she was 12 days old & was audrey's birth weight three days earlier, at 7lb 13oz):

here is audrey wearing diedre's outfit on nov 2 2008 (she was one month and 3 days old & 10lbs):

yawn

i love her smile! baby smiles are so adorable :D

another toothless grin

all done the photo shoot

cuddling with daddy

looking right at him, awww :)

dressing up for candy and fun

2008-10-31T22:40:00.000-07:00

i'm really not a fan of "halloween" per se, but i like seeing the kids dressed up and i like candy.

here are the big kids at our community's Halloween Hoot event. its free, fun, but no candy provided.

here is diedre in a bouncy castle

here is ezekiel in the bouncy castle. this is the first time he actually bounced around in such a castle, since he only learned how to hop on two feet properly in the last month. so cute!

the lady who sold us diedre's outfit (from discovery toys) offered to take some family pictures.

ezekiel's and audrey's (little ladybug--but i forgot the antennae headband for her) costumes and diedre's wings were from Value Village.

Trick or Treating with the Hetzler Boys

very excited to head out trick or treating (in spite of the rain)

she ran excitedly to me after each house to show the candy

ezekiel got running full-tilt a few times but tripped once and after that we tried to get him to slow down a bit.

the kids waiting with anticipation at someone's doorstep

more pictures of that day here

one month comparisons

2008-10-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

here are some one month comparisons of our three babes:

diedre at one month (march 26 2005)

diedre at one month and 7 days (since audrey was 9 days late, its my version of corrected age) (april 6 2005)

ezekiel at one month old (december 25 2006)

audrey at one month old (october 29 2008)

audrey is obviously the strongest and most bright-eyed of the three (although they all had very large eyes and seemed to look around and take things in). i guess each one gets stronger (diedre was 2 days late, ezekiel was 10 days late and audrey was 9 days late, so i think that makes a difference). in most of the pics of diedre at one month she had a floppy head. i know we were all impressed with how strong ezekiel was right from birth with head-control and that he rolled over at 2 weeks old! and audrey is even stronger with head-control then him, but not rolling over yet.

audrey got weighed and measured on friday, october 31.
10 lbs exactly
21 & 3/4 inches long
36.5 cm head size

diedre is 3 years & 8 months old
36 lbs
3 feet 4 inches tall

ezekiel is 1 year & 11 months old
27 lbs
2 feet 8 inches tall

audrey's 4th week up to 1 month old

2008-10-29T16:15:00.002-07:00

enjoying the fall leaves together at the park with some kids we dont know

ezekiel loving the outdoors!

sweet baby audrey

brotherly love

diedre took this picture. ezekiel is playing with my hair for comfort/cuddle

audrey smiling at the swing's mobile

my mom trying to teach the kids how to feed ducks at this halloween event on saturday

ezekiel liked chasing the ducks

we went on a daytrip to nanoose to visit my aunt susan on monday

daddy's girls

ezekiel learned to pedal his bike today! (oct 29)

audrey is one month old!

so strong!

sisters :D

so the last month has gone amazingly well. i made sure to take my mom up on all her offers to come help out and to take the kids to the park etc. it really helped with my mother-guilt to get the big kids out to play and run.

i have been very relaxed with audrey and kept my schedule very low-key. we have been able to get out and about quite a bit but always working around naps and feedings and such.

audrey has gotten into the pattern now of going to bed for the night around 9pm and then waking for a feed around 1 or 2am then sleeping until 5.30 or 6am for another feed (which is when the big kids get up anyway) and then she sleeps for a few more hours. those early morning hours are when i eat breakfast, shower, visit the kids, clean/tidy and get ready for the day. one day she didnt do that sleep in and it totally threw a few days off (messier house that lasted for days). i dont exactly have a plan for what to do when she changes that up, but we'll just wait and see.

i'm really feeling blessed with the ladies bible study i'm a part of. its exactly what i need right now! i'm feeling pretty much recovered physically (except for when the kids elbow me in the stomach) and i have lots of energy.

i'm trying to stay positive but realistic that things will most likely change/get harder but its been a great month and for that i'm thankful!

derek has been fantastic taking care of the big kids while i take care of audrey. he has also taken on watching all three kids several times so i can go run an errand or shop. how wonderful! thank you honey! it feels weird to be able to go out without my baby since i did not previously attempt leaving a baby with him until they were much older. i'm very proud and thankful for his contribution to the family both thru work and parenting :D

here are many many more pics from audrey's 4th week up to 1 month old!

audrey's 3rd week

2008-10-21T15:32:00.005-07:00

oct 14: 15 days old

i gave audrey her second bath at home with diedre watching on adoringly

my plan was to do audrey's photoshoot for her baby announcement, but the pictures/lighting were not turning out great.

diedre looked great though!

oct 17: 18 days old

a bit of smile on the ol' changepad

tummy time, what a strong girl!

oct 18: 19 days old

my dad came for a visit from vancouver island

oct 19: 20 days old

sadly, diedre got the flu. she was so tired. her favorite kitty, hattie, was cuddling at her feet.

baby audrey looking so serene (i think i took this at church with my iphone ;P).

later on sunday, we went to visit grandma and pepere gagne. pepere enjoyed some baby cuddles.

such a beautiful girl!!!

oct 20: 3 weeks old!

a little time in the swing

and a cuddle with her mama!

more pics from audrey's 3rd week

audrey is doing so well (other than catching a cold last week that has gotten worse and worse. its starting to affect her night sleeping because she can't breathe that well. i have the cool mist humidifier going and that seems to help). she is pretty consistent at going to bed around 10pm or 11pm and sleeping for 4 to 5 hours. its AWESOME! she only wakes once per night (as far as my night goes: i'm up with the big kids after her second waking at 6.30/7am). she is very easily pacified/settled. she still loves to nurse alot, but i really try to nurse her on the same side twice in a row (20 minutes, take a short break, then that side again--if she's asking for it) so that she gets hindmilk and i think that is what's making things work so well.

life with 3 is going great. i still have my "i need coffee NOW" moments when i'm starting to lose my temper with the bigger kids, but i just try to keep my schedule low-key and stay chill. thats my plan, keep it cool, dont freak out. haha. so far, its working.

other points of my strategy of coping with 3 are:
-to stay positive
-to enlist help (sadly the ENTIRE family is sick other than me (so derek was pretty out of commission over the weekend), so i've been hiring our babysitter to come over on days when derek is not going to be right home in the evening (which is great, around 3.30pm for a couple hours), or on saturday when he worked. also, my mom has made herself very available to me and the kids, either popping by when she's in the area or planning visits, taking one or both kids out to play, she even took ezekiel for a sleepover on the day diedre had the flu so that we could try to keep him from getting sick. so BIG thanks to her for all that!)
-cuddle the big kids when audrey is sleeping on me (one on each side, its very sweet) while we watch a show.
-get housework done when audrey is still sleeping in the morning (usually until 9am).
-visit, cuddle the bigger kids during audrey's midday naptime (which often extends until 2.30 or even 3.30pm most days).
-let diedre watch her movies if that makes her happy (and sit down with her/cuddle as much as i can, maybe while also doing laundry).
-try not to slack on discipline with the big kids and i'll be working on cutting down on my yelling...i get pretty exasperated by their lack of listening (read: blank stares, total inaction to my requests) and find that its ask once, twice, yell then there's action. not a trait i want to see in them or in me. not a healthy home habit. so pray for me on that one!!

okay, off to the park now!

two weeks old today!!! oct 13 2008

2008-10-13T13:40:00.004-07:00

here are some highlights from audrey's second week with us:

diedre cuddling with her special kitty hattie

oct 7 (8 days old) we went to a baby well appointment. audrey was 8lbs 2oz. the doctor was very pleased with her weight gain. he said another week and my body should be very healed "like nothing ever happened" ha ha, he's such an optimist :D

diedre looking lovingly at baby audrey

the big kids give their presents to audrey. they picked these out awhile ago, but we hadnt taken the time for them to give them to her. rattles, teething toys.

oct 8, 9 days old. first time in the co-sleeper. it didnt last long, but this is my sleeping arrangement for me and baby audrey.

Thanksgiving at the Gagne grandparents' on Oct 11

the big table and feast

auntie heather has a cuddle with baby audrey

the walk in the dark after dinner

me and my sleepy babe

sunday morning, oct 12, 13 days old. i was very energetic, gave both the big kids baths and got all three kids and myself ready for church (while derek was at work) and i was only 13 minutes late! i figure, diedre expects to go to sunday school and i want her to go, plus ezekiel gets some one on one time with some great ladies in the nursery and a familiar place to play. i'm so glad i went as it was a communion service (which only happen 4 times a year--so different from my church growing up where it was weekly! i totally miss that) and also a bit of a "thanksgiving" report by various people in the church. it was a blessing to be there. and my mom met us there and took us out to lunch, played with diedre while me and the younger two napped.

audrey making some cute faces for daddy last night

baby audrey is 2 weeks old today! oct 13 2008.
this was her first time in the swing. i assembled it last friday (my first day alone), during some down time. i havent had the heart to put her in it, although the kids have been asking for her to try it, because i would rather hold her :D

silly smiley ezekiel! he is such a big boy! i need to measure his height :P

so as for me, i am feeling alot better physically, 2 weeks into this. i have had a few days where i was really doubting my personal ability to be strong in caring for 3 kids while being tired. i definitely need coffee to get myself in a positive frame of mind in the morning and i hope to take time to pray and trust God for strength each day, as i honestly dont think i can do it without Him. this week coming i begin MOPS again and then next week i'm back at the bible study i attending, so i'm sure that support will help.

audrey's second week sleep pattern started out as what i would have expected from a newborn with feedings ever 2 hours (for 2 nights). then she went back to going to sleep sometimes as early as 7.30pm and waking for a feed by 11/11.30pm then sleeping right until 4am!!! wow! she has done this more than not in her 14 nights so far. if she continues this pattern, i will be a well-rested mama. i'm not totally counting on it, but it sure would be nice.

she had 2 very fussy nights on thursday and friday last week, but i think its because i ate alot of grapes one night, and also from not enough hindmilk. so on saturday and sunday i made sure to nurse on one side, let her have a break and a burp, then nurse her again on that side to get the hindmilk. she has been sleeping better and having a pretty minimal fussy time since (as in still the regular dinner time session, that is pretty short so far).

sadly, she does have a bit of a cold/sniffle/congestion right now. she slept tonnes yesterday but still had a really good night. right now she is into her third hour of a nap, but i guess for newborns, thats not very long.

i hope to do her photo shoot for her baby announcement today. i was feeling guilty, thinking i had done the other two kids' shoots earlier, but it was 12 days for diedre and 15 for ezekiel, so i'm pretty much right on track.

many more pics of audrey's second week with us

baby audrey one week old: oct 6 2008

2008-10-06T22:33:00.002-07:00

our first week with baby audrey has gone really well. she seemed to be developing a bit of a good sleeping pattern of going to bed by 11pm or 11.30pm and not having her first feed until 4am or 4.30am. until last night, when she was up from 4.30am to 6am (but then she slept until 9am)!

it was late in the evening on the 6th and i thought: Oh NO! i forgot to get pictures of her today!

baby smile

baby dozing

baby surprised!

as for my body, it is slowly healing. i can tell i still have stitches and so i'm not pushing myself in any way. i have lost 20lbs by today's one week mark. i dont expect any more weight to "fall off" me so i hope to focus on eating healthy and once my body is ready, to start to walk and exercise using the Wii Fit (it really is exercise!).

Derek's parents are still here, and so i'm not sure yet how things with our immediate family will be quite yet. the kids are still excited about audrey, but they are also back to being distracted by their own interests now.

the mound comes down

2008-10-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

and even with a new baby in town, there's always time for a huge project in the yard! ha ha

prepping the stump on the mound in our backyard. the bobcat comes today!

the spectators

bobcat's work is well underway

zeke in his cute rainsuit

the guys levelled the corner for building a shed

the rest of the mound coming down pics

child dedication

2008-10-05T20:22:00.003-07:00

we managed to find matching dresses for the girls. audrey's is a 6 month/16lbs/24 inches so it was a little big, but worked quite well.

we had a child dedication ceremony with all three kids on sunday, september 5th, 2008.

we stood up front as a family, with derek's parents there to support us publicly. the purpose is to declare our intentions to raise our children in the church and teach Christian/Biblical values to our children. as well as asking for the support from family and friends in doing that. it is not a child baptism or christening, it does not make them Christians, it is just about us being held responsible and asking for support/help.

papa salmon prays for us and our kids. it was very touching and encouraging.

family photo op

salmons :D

more pics from the child dedication

audrey 4 and 5 days old

2008-10-04T20:27:00.001-07:00

4 days old: oct 3

grammy's girl

me and all my little children

5 days old: oct 4

pepere cuddles the babe

grandma jen's turn

my turn

waving to her fans

me and my babe

the first few days of audrey album

audrey 2 and 3 days old

2008-10-03T10:22:00.004-07:00

oct 1: 2 days old

cuddles from her big brother. he is so excited every time he sees her that he jumps up on the chair, grabs a cushion and asks to hold her. he can even say "audrey" very well!

diedre holds baby zeke

ezekiel holds baby diedre

the bassinet shot

dancing diedre got some maracas from grammy & papa salmon

oct 2: 3 days old

first home visitors: karley and her two kids were soooo excited to see baby audrey. the ladies especially are very baby crazy ;P

cuddling with my princesses

audrey looking deep into my eyes

papa salmon has a princess on each shoulder

cuddling in daddy's arms

more pictures of the first 3 days of baby audrey

audrey's birth details

2008-09-30T18:55:00.011-07:00

Audrey Jude Salmon
born Monday, September 29, 2008
at 10.22am
7lbs 13oz
21 inches long
head size 34.5 cm

the labour details
we went in on sunday september 28th at around 5.30pm. my contractions were pretty hard but only ten minutes apart (since around 3pm). we decided to hang around langley and go walking to see if they picked up at all. after several hours, we decided to go to a movie to kill time just to make sure things were or weren't happening before heading home.

after the movie (around 11pm), i called back to the maternity ward to tell them that i had continued to have hard contractions all that time (8 hours) and was wondering if they'd like me to come in to get checked just in case, before heading back home (35 minute drive). the nurse that was on was nurse Jan who delivered ezekiel. she used to be a midwife and was really amazing last time. she said it was completely up to me, but then said, yes, might as well.

so we went in and i got assessed. she found that my blood pressure was elevated and my feet were swelling a bit (which was different from when we were there five hours earlier). this was concerning to her. she kept me monitored and did an internal. she said that my cervix was changed from the last time i was in and that she would talk to my doctor. she came back and said they wanted me to take a sleeping pill and sleep there to be re-assessed in the early morning (because my doctor would be coming later that morning).

suddenly, around 1pm my doctor comes in and they say, change of plans, lets break your water now. so at 1.15am, my water was broken and i was on my way.

however, i was sooo tired from labouring all day, and not having much rest, that i decided to sleep for a bit. probably by around 3 or so i started to sleep until around 5am, i remember waking up and thinking, i'll just sleep until 6am, then get moving and get this going. around 5.40am, the nurse woke me up saying they were going to start oxytocin. i was like "what???" and she said, the contractions were only 5 minutes apart, they needed to be 4 in 10 minutes or else! so i said, okay, i'll get up right now and walk and see what happens. she gave us until 6.20am to get things going then she was going to monitor me again.

we came back at 6.20am and said that we did it. she got me back on the bed (oh no...things always slow down there) and the contractions slowed down. she came back and said she had talked to my doctor and he said i had to go on oxytocin, that being group strep b positive and having my waters broken for several hours, that they had to get things going now.

i was very upset. i cried for quite awhile because it was not what i had been willing to do. i felt really defeated and annoyed/disappointed that my body would not kick into a regular rhythm of labour, even having had my water broken! but, i was already hooked up to an iv, so it was easy for them to just add oxytocin to the mix. now after having it, i understand that it is a chemical version of a hormone that is released from my own body. my body just wasnt releasing it at the right time or the right amounts to make things really happen in a timely manner (according to the doctor/nurses). so adding this to my iv in a very small amount, just helped kick things into gear. it is very different from the prostin gel that i was given with ezekiel, as that is one concentrated dose that is in and active at once, but cannot be turned down or shut off the way oxytocin can.

it was around 6.30am when i was given oxytocin. things started picking up in intensity but after an hour they had to bump up the dose a bit. they said i was very sensitive to it so i understand that it was a fairly low dose.

things were getting pretty painful and stronger but it was very strange because i was totally clear headed and felt totally fine during the breaks (last labour, i remember being really out of it during this time, they said that might have just been my reaction to the gel).

by around 7.30am, we wanted to have me checked because there had been alot of consistent contractions and just wanted to know where things were at.

the nurse declined and said that with group b strep positive, it is not good to do too many internals.

however, by 8.30am she did an internal because they had increased the dosage and the contractions were stronger and i was 3-4 cm dilated.

derek commented that getting to 4cm was usually slow and then things go alot quicker from there...he was right.

things got so crazy painful from there. i had been on the fit ball for most of the time, then in an arm chair that really helped keep pressure off my bottom (i had been feeling alot of pressure there during all of my contractions especially since i have had hemorrhoids since around 3 months pregnant!).

i was starting to feel like i couldnt handle the pain. i commented that "oh this is transition. when you feel like you cant do it anymore and start asking for drugs." (again, i was still having those very lucid moments between contractions).

around 9.30am the nurse suggested that i try walking around a bit. i stood up and took two steps, got a huge contraction and leaned into derek with all my weight. then i tried again to walk, again, two steps, same thing. these were intense. i was quickly losing my confidence in handling this pain so i asked for drugs. at this point, i figured, i had been through so much emotionally this entire pregnancy, the end of the pregnancy had been very trying on me, so if i felt like i couldnt handle this, then i couldnt.

another nurse came in and was all for it. my doula and derek were both looking at me wide-eyed, and saying things like "you're doing it! you ARE handling it! you'll be okay." and i just kept saying that i couldnt and that i wanted the drugs.

derek said that he thinks i should get checked before starting drugs because he was recognizing some familiar end of labour type reactions from me. derek figured i might be right at the point of having the baby and therefore would not need drugs. the nurse said that i had to be on the bed for the drugs and suggested i try the gas until she came back with the drugs.

around 10am, i was on the bed using the gas, the nurse was off to get me the drugs, and i felt the push. i was yelling "the push! the push!" into the gas mask and derek and my doula had no idea what i was talking about. so i took it off my face and yelled again "the push!" and pointed to my belly. so derek ran off into the hall to find a nurse.

about 10.05am they checked me and i was 8 cm dilated. they said to call my doctor.
i kept having more pushing urges and was trying to breathe through them and derek reminded me to "blow up the balloon" so that really helped.

i remember hearing the nurses commenting about doctor not being there yet and then he arrived by around 10.15am. he got me set up and said "okay, you can push now." and commanded my attention and told me where to focus the pushing. i'd guess it was about 4 or 5 pushes. derek said that the contractions were very long and intense and i was able to do multiple pushes with one contraction. so it might have been fewer pushes.

and so i delivered another posterior girl (diedre was too) at 10.22am! sunnyside up in about 6 or 7 minutes! thankfully, he was directing me so he was able to turn her shoulders and the tearing was pretty minimal and along the same place as last time. he said it went back together really well and should heal up nicely. (it does feel alot better than last time so far).

her head was perfectly shaped (just like ezekiel) because of the speed of the delivery. she is my largest baby yet, although slightly shorter than the other two.

i tried to get her nursing right away but she just tried a little, but no actual suckling. after she had all her checks and was swaddled, she got the hang of things fast and didnt seem to want to stop after that!

i was so tired and i really wanted to rest. but i couldnt sleep with the way the light came in our room and audrey ate alot in those first hours.

i was really excited to know we had a girl and i cheered that derek had to give me my name choice! we were so undecided about names and didnt name her for several hours. in the end, i didnt get the name choice i had wanted because derek really didnt have any feeling toward it. he said we could at one point, but i didnt want to go with one we couldnt both feel good about.

i really wanted our first visitors to be our kids with my mom. it worked out really great and they were both so enamored with their new little sister.

ezekiel was so excited

proud to hold his little sister

i really wanted our first visitors to be our kids with my mom. it worked out really great and they were both so enamored with their new little sister.

later, my SIL heather came by and held audrey while derek and i slept (her suggestion) which was sooo great!

then kristin and the hetzlers came by.

then my brother andrew wrapped up the night with a pretty late visit that i ended up falling asleep during (around 9pm) because again, we had barely had any sleep all night or day (3 hours maybe)!

audrey ate and ate until about 1am. derek slept for some of that time while i would walk around and get what i needed and feed her. finally, around 2.15am she fell asleep and slept until just after 8am!!! i still had to wake up for my doses and ice pak changes, but it was so great to sleep like that.

we got discharged early and headed home by midday.

it was great to be back together as a family again (even though the big kids got a little crazy at times, it was nice to still have my mom around to run interference and to take them to the park again). i couldnt imagine being left at home alone with all 3 at this point (when i still need to take it easy with my body) but i think things will work out really well this next week. derek's parents arrive tomorrow, he is taking the big kids to the airport to pick them up. they stay until next wednesday. so i've got some time to heal before i'm left all alone :D

welcome home sign by diedre and grandma jen. diedre told her what to write.

the birthday party for audrey

audrey has slept all afternoon so we'll see how the evening goes.

ahhh, its good to be home. its good to be a mom. its good to have these healthy kids and baby in my life. its good to have such an awesome husband and father to my kids. thank you, God!

see the full album of Baby Audrey pictures

Baby girl salmon

2008-09-29T22:47:00.001-07:00

Audrey Jude Salmon
Born Monday, September 29, 2008
At 10.22am
Weighing 7lb 13oz
21 inches long
Born posterior like her big sister, but not nearly as painful...more
details later.

Very healthy little princess who loves nursing & cuddles. Diedre &
Ezekiel were totally enamoured with her! So cute!

Can't upload pics from my phone. We should be home tomorrow.
Sent from my iPhone

Waters broken

2008-09-29T01:41:00.000-07:00

We're finally having a baby! We'll see how long it takes from here.

Sent from my iPhone

Staying overnight

2008-09-29T01:09:00.001-07:00

High blood pressure & swelling feet. We're staying over to be assessed
in the a.m.
Still having hard contractions every ten or so minutes.
Might be a candidate for early induction.

Sent from my iPhone

our trip to apple barn

2008-09-27T21:27:00.005-07:00

we met up with the mellengers at apple barn today. here they are having such fun on the humongous bouncy pillow.

ezekiel proved to be a bunny handler. he picked them up fairly precariously but they were so calm in his arms. he held so many different bunnies!

our family and miles

ezekiel picking apples

the big kids heading back from picking apples

farmer diedre

very cool horsey swings

derek was running ezekiel thru the low hanging leaves and he was making the cutest tickled expressions :)

diedre's first pony ride

ezekiel's first pony ride

the kids posed for a picture, they didnt actually ride like this! we don't want to get apple barn in trouble :D

on a very bumpy hayride. at 41 weeks pregnant, i say "bring on the bumpiness" but the bales of hay seats were very hard.

so all that walking around, picking apples, the hayride havent brought on any contractions yet :(
i guess its still not time.

full album of our apple barn experience

41 weeks pregnant: will it ever end???

2008-09-27T20:47:00.003-07:00

pregnancy 3
september 27 2008
41 weeks

well, pastdue. not many people make it to the full 41 weeks :D

here i am at 41 weeks 2nd pregnancy, with ezekiel (i can really see the difference that the extra 12-15lbs i gained this pregnancy, over last time--especially in the face!).

sorry for the crazed look in my eyes...derek was teasing me and i was getting frustrated but wanting to get the shot anyway!

i have been pregnant since around the end of december 2007!!! thats a loooong time!!!

i had some good contractions early friday morning and again later in the day but nothing that lasted. they are definitely getting stronger and lasting a little longer, but sporadically.

i saw my dr. on tuesday, he was pretty hopeful that i would go soon. i was only dilated a cm and so he couldnt really do a good membrane sweep, but he tried a bit. he said baby's head was definitely lodged in place now. baby still moves a fair bit which makes me think that he/she is nowhere near ready to come out...but then again, i obviously am providing a very large area for baby to hang out in ha ha...just like with ezekiel, and he was only 7lbs 11oz! (usually the slow down in activity of baby is related to not having much space left within which to move).

i'm scheduled for induction on wednesday, october 1st. i am requesting that its only a water break, but if i'm not having contractions, they might have to use the gel...i guess we'll have to see what happens. i am being allowed to go 11 days overdue, but they wont let me go more than that. i really hope i go before having to be induced...i am trying to trust that God knows the best timing (ie. ezekiel having 3 nights of fevers. he is in his crib for the second night tonight, but he did end up in our bed fairly early on last night). so it might be another 4 or 5 days depending on if the induction works fast or not...pray that i go naturally! i really would like for my water to break at home so i can know to head to the hospital for real!

fun times

2008-09-25T16:57:00.004-07:00

i had a very busy day yesterday.

9.30am i went to the new bible study group that i'm planning to be a part of on the wednesday's when MOPS is not happening. it was such a lovely group and i really think the study will be great (Character Counts by Chuck Swindoll). the kids knew the babysitter (they met her last week when she babysat for us) and played really well with the kids there.

11.45am i dropped off the kids at joanna's so that i could help out while sharon and lynn from caregroup came by to clean for me. the timing was a little different than i was expecting so i had an hour alone before the ladies showed up. sharon's husband also showed up around 1.30pm when i left to go get the kids because ezekiel was majorly crashing (getting sick then).

2pm ezekiel woke up from his very short nap, not rested and having a bit of a fever. the ladies were still cleaning (they managed to get the bathroom totally done, steam cleaned my bedroom carpet, washed out the whole fridge, swept and mopped all the floors--which was soooo awesome!!!) so i brought him into diedre's room to snuggle. he dozed for maybe a half hour more, but was pretty much just totally sick-looking :(

2.30/3pm my friend tracy arrived with her niece avery (also 3.5 years old) for a visit. the ladies wrapped up their cleaning and headed out. tracy helped me out with getting tylenol for ezekiel and any other little things i needed as my belly was in major pain from not having had a nap or really a rest since i just kept doing little things (and some big things) to help out or to direct my friends when they were cleaning.

here is our friend tracy, who we met when we lived in Whistler waaaay back when we were newlyweds, were on worship team together at the church there, who now lives in Hawaii with WYAM, came to visit with her niece avery (she's in the area for a week). i was a little bagged for the visit, but i assured tracy that i'm just way more mellow than i used to be back in the day...and she pointed out, very pregnant/overdue 4 days haha.

avery and diedre played so well together and totally hit it off. after they left, diedre kept saying things like:
i like that girl.
i want her to be my friend.
i could bring my princess dresses and we could dress up.
i want to play with her again.
i want to see her again.
we played really good with my kitties.

it was so cute! i dont really know how they could ever play together again as we dont actually know her mom/dad, just her auntie from HAWAII! ha ha

today we went out to the monthly community children's events so diedre could get her face painted by the amazing artist who is always there. she is amazing! and its all FREE!!!

he got a ladybug on his hand.

ezekiel, feeling under the weather, stayed put in the stroller while diedre played in the bouncy castle, did a craft, got her face painted, etc.

now, just to justify why i went: yes, ezekiel had a fever during the night. he did not have one this morning. he crashed at 10 am so we had a nice long nap and woke up in time to head to the community event for the last hour of it. i figured he'd stay put in the stroller. he did seem to be feeling a little better (not having a teary eye or runny nose, but just kind of low energy).

i've been trying to get out to one of these events (they happen monthly) since may/june because the last time we went, diedre wanted her face painted but we just got there too late, then the next event was when she either had chicken pox (so we didnt go) or it was just after when she still had some spots so she couldnt really get painted.

and then i guess because of timing of the day and my pregnancy or whatever, i hadnt made it to another one.

and you know when you just want to do something special for your kid, and you know now is the time to seize the day, and so...well, that's why i did it. and ezekiel kept to himself (he did get out to play with a few toys at the very end, and then ran off into the bouncy castle, but was in there for about a minute before getting back out).

afterwards, we went by Tim Horton's and i got a sandwich combo for the kids (coffee for me) because it was only 1.30pm and i'd already napped. then i ordered take-out hot n' sour soup from a local chinese restaurant and went and picked that up.

we headed home, the kids continued with their craft/colouring from this morning (they did paper dolls), had lunch and i ate my soup.

now, being around 5.30pm, i've had the two bowls of soup i ordered. one mug of raspberry tea. and we are going to go walk around WalMart to see if i can get some contraction action going. i'm feeling very energetic (and should probably be using it to fold all the laundry in the livingroom) and so i think it would be a good night for labour!

here are a few more related pics

my encouraging doctor

2008-09-23T21:25:00.003-07:00

well, i was reluctant to even go see my doctor today. i was going to cancel and just reschedule for either later in the week or next week since i was at the hospital on sunday night.

anyway, i'm glad i went. he said that the baby's head was no longer popping out of my pelvis. he said he was pushing pretty hard and it was staying in place. he did stir the pot a little (only one cm dilated) and encouraged me to get walking.

we started talking about him breaking my water and i said there is a good chance i'll be making it to October because thats next wednesday (which is crazy to think: my LMP was Dec 15 2007, so i've technically been pregnant since end of December 2007 all the way til October 2008...thats a very full 9 months!).

he also said he'd call the hospital to book my induction for Tuesday, September 30th (ten days overdue). i said, i was okay with it going longer if the baby and i were still healthy. and that i was okay with a water break but did NOT want to be chemically induced.

he said they would not let me go over the ten days because placental function is really good up until 14 days. he explained that the reason they like to start the induction process by ten days is that it will give a few days to work with within the safe limits of the placental function. he said, if you wait the full 14 days and then start when your baby is in distress, it increases likelihood of c-section or harm/stress to the baby (again, because i was not showing any signs of stress while carrying ezekiel, they were going to let me go 12 days over).

he called in and said "i bought you an extra day." and the induction (water break) is scheduled for Wednesday, October 1st (the same day that derek's parents arrive from Ontario to YVR). he said if we are open to getting called in earlier if a bed comes available, then he would. so we are open to that and i guess we'll wait and see.

my doctor really seemed to think that now that baby's head is definitely down, walking and the next few days should get me ready to go naturally.

so i drank three big mugs of raspberry tea, went on two walks and well, nothings happening :(

oh well, one of these days.

if i'm around tomorrow, it will be a good nesting day. two ladies from care group are coming over to clean (and my friend is going to watch the kids for me during that time), so i need to nap early. after they leave, i have an old friend coming by who is visiting from Hawaii, so it would be good to be here...although, baby trumps any plans, of course!

feeling much more positive. thanks for your prayers and thoughts! keep them up :D

another assessment with no progress

2008-09-22T09:03:00.003-07:00

we really wanted me to go into labour yesterday after having a nice family weekend and kind of dreading another day alone at home, in pain, watching the kids.

i went for a really nice walk that hurt so bad but i just kept on walking hoping that it would help bring on some real labour.

around 6.30pm i started getting contractions every 5 or so minutes. then they got more intense by 6.50pm and continued that way for about 2 hours. some of them were making me feel light-headed and needing to sit down, others just felt like they were "good" painful.

so we headed to the hospital to hopefully deliver this baby.

the charge nurse did an internal, said that my cervix was 2 cm long (my dr. said it was less than a cm over a week ago :S) and that it was still closed. pretty disappointing considering i was really hoping all the pain of last week could've gotten me to at least 3 or 4 cm! the nurse seemed somewhat hopeful and said that we'd do the monitoring strip then i could walk around there for awhile and see if i progress more (and save from driving all the way home).

on the monitoring strip, baby looked great (always does) and i only had 3 hard contractions in half an hour so the charge nurse said i'd have to go home.

we asked for clarification on her internal diagnosis since it was so different from what my dr. had recently said. she explained and then also said that when she touched baby's head, it scooted out of my pelvis, which is not great because it is not keeping pressure on my cervix to dilate it. i was sooo disappointed. i cried for awhile after she left the room. she had said once the real contractions start, it will force baby into the pelvis and it wont be able to pop out anymore. i just felt like my body isnt working properly and that because i carry out front like a basketball, the weight of the baby is on my stretched out abs and skin and not focused down into my pelvis.

obviously, eventually, this baby will come out, but after that diagnosis, i just want to forget about it happening anytime soon...but then there's the pain...so it makes it hard to forget.

40 pretty long weeks

2008-09-20T21:17:00.003-07:00

pregnancy 3
september 20 2008
40 weeks - Estimated Due Date!!!

wow, i'm huge! but its probably because i'm FORTY weeks pregnant!!! and its my third baby...and i'm the heaviest i've ever been (ugh).

well, i made it to my due date. my doctor is on shift today at the hospital so anytime now, body...let go of that baby!

i have been having contractions for 3 days, enough that i feel uncomfortable alot and get tired of hurting. they are not the hard labour kind yet (obviously or i'd be at the hospital) but i'll just keep on moving and eating spicy food and pineapple and see what happens!

i will have a baby in my arms within 15 more days :)

everyone getting in on the fun of my weekly photo

derek trying to ruin the pictures but just making them cuter

the very big, very round, sticky-outtie belly of mine

diedre cuddles the belly

me and my big girl

derek and the kids did this wonderful work of art while i was having a morning nap.

i had a lovely day today. i got up early with the kids, then derek got up and i had a nap. i was having contractions early on, but i think it might just be linked to lack of water from sleeping all night because once i drink some water and have some cereal, they stop.

derek and diedre had a work day today. they cleaned his work truck and then returned it in exchange for his new work truck! pictures to come at a later date.

so i took ezekiel to the community festival that had so many cool things to look at and some great activities for kids. i was wanting to travel light, so he didnt actually do any crafts. we just walked around (him on his horsey leash) and went where he seemed to want to go. its nice to let him lead a bit and explore things. he did really well and when i mentioned that we were going to go out and go for a walk he said "shoes! walka walka walka."

we had a nice little lunch together and then headed to the local baby store to buy a baby gift for a shower that i wanted to go to later in the day.

it worked out that the baby shower was kind of a drop-in from 2pm to 6pm, so derek and diedre were back from the truck exchange in time for us to catch the tail end of the party. the baby was only there (with parents of course) for maybe ten or fifteen minutes after we arrived, but we took advantage of the good company and hung out for a bit. the kids were acting sooo hyper. we are not used to them being like that. they weren't being bad in the least, but i think because they hadnt been together all day and derek gave diedre lots of sugar, they were just wrestling and chasing and carrying on.

then we went for dinner at Boston Pizza and here the boys are watching football.

my lil' beauty. her hair looked so nice i wanted to get a picture :)

me & my darling girl. she was smiling in the previous shot, but its really blurry for some reason...

anyway, every day when nighttime comes, i'm fine to go to bed without going into labour. ha ha...i'm still a little scared of going through it all again, and even afraid of the size this baby might be because of my weight being around 200lbs now!!! it hasnt been a huge weight gain, just over 40lbs so far, but you never know what goes directly to baby and what is going to hang around on me for the next few months!

the last few days had been really trying for me. ezekiel was really acting two, lots of tantrums and "no mama" and general disagreeableness. it was really tough to deal with because i was also having alot of pains throughout the days making it difficult to run up to him or pick him up.

i think i did pretty good at dealing with his behaviour right away, but i did pay for it in my body from picking him up so much.

he was much better today, but we were also out and about and he had some good daddy time.

i was really feeling yesterday, "how on earth can i bring another child into this family!?! i can't handle ezekiel!" but then i had a breakdown, a good cry (where diedre said "you dont have to cry mom." and ezekiel came up and said "sorry mama" and kept kissing my belly). after that, i felt much better.

then my mom called and decided to come out to help me out with the kids until bedtime (derek was working late). it really helped alot to have the extra set of hands, ears, eyes, etc. around. something i've been wishing for during the day as i seem to get more and more tired.

i get really emotional about having the baby on a day where i've been grumpy with the kids (which is more frequent in the last couple weeks, normally, i'm rarely grumpy) or feeling like i can't cope. who wants to bring a baby home to that?! so having a good day, having derek around, sharing the load really puts me in a more peaceful state, one that i can handle. i guess i should probably pray more during those tough times. i know God has given me this family and there are just highs and lows. so thanks to anyone who feels inclined to pray for me at this time. i need it and i appreciate it! i cant wait for baby to come out so these pregnancy hormones can go away and i can have a different set of hormones ha ha!

xo

2008-09-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

Attempting to upload from phone

our day

2008-09-17T17:18:00.002-07:00

my mom met us at my house because we were planning to head into Langley to hang out for the day.

me and the kids at McDonald's for breakfast this morning while my mom got her hair cut.

diedre enjoying bubblegum icecream after a nutritious lunch.

ezekiel runs free around the food court with Grandma in tow.

diedre drew a lovely picture of one of her kittens on the way home. mom & i were totally impressed! way to go.

so last night i phoned Maternity about a change in my situation, which they said sounded like my mucus plug (yay!) and then i asked about if there was a way to know if you're losing amniotic fluid. so they advised that i wear a pad overnight and call in the morning if it was saturated. so thats what i did.

i went in and they assessed me and i am absolutely not leaking any fluids. the Dr. on call said she doesnt think i'll be going into labour anytime soon (but she did not do an internal). we shall see.

achievements & humour

2008-09-16T14:46:00.003-07:00

an ezekiel story:
ezekiel asked to go pee on diedre's potty this morning (so far he has only been using the actual toilet and potty seat). so i took off his diaper, he sat on the potty, nothing happened.

then i had to go on the toilet, he comes in saying "excuse me mama" and i said, "oh, i'm on here, go on the potty."
so he sits on it for a second, stands up and i see he is having poop escaping from his bottom, so i jump off the toilet and say, "no, good boy, sit back down and finish." but he was pretty much done, so it broke off and i took the tray, dumped it in the big toilet, sat him on that. then he wanted to say "bye poo" and flush. well done little guy! totally your call, if only you could sit still longer than a second :)

a diedre story:
diedre was playing with a shoelace in the kitchen and i overheard her say "No zeke, you can't play with this. i'm having a 'traction."

HA HA. i guess she's heard me say that i'm having contractions so i cant get up to do something alot lately!

my fall plans

2008-09-14T07:00:00.003-07:00

my previous fall plans were:
sunday: weekly: morning church and sunday school for diedre
tuesday: weekly: morning Christian preschool club for diedre and ezekiel, with the option of leaving her there while i go out on errands
wednesday: every two weeks: morning: ladies bible study with childcare provided
wednesday: first & 3rd of each month: morning: MOPS (which i would only attend when it didnt co-incide with the bible study).

well, there have been some changes. the tuesday Christian preschool club has been cancelled.
and, i have not been feeling settled about going to the wednesday bible study. not really sure why, but it just has been feeling like its from another church, i'll have 3 kids, thats alot for a babysitter who already has a huge group to care for. now that i know the preschool club isnt happening, i've been thinking about another option for diedre.

then i remembered about MOPS. it has a terrific preschool class for 2-3 year olds. so that also means ezekiel can go in the same class with diedre in November/December. i think it will be really good for their bonding and adjusting to the new baby, to get to go to that together. ezekiel loves crafts and feels more secure when his sister is around (although he usually does really well on his own at the church nursery, he has often had issues at MOPS nursery).

and, i was also invited to be part of a wednesday bible study from a lady in my caregroup just after i had committed in my mind to my previous fall plans. her bible study runs every wednesday, so i could still go to it when i feel up to it on the MOPS off-weeks.

so i feel excited about this new decision.

sunday: weekly: morning church/sunday school for diedre.
wednesday: first & 3rd of each month: morning: MOPS (where i've offered to be a table leader like last year, which requires phone calls and leading discussions--but its very low-key) and preschool class for the kids together.
wednesday: every week ongoing: morning: ladies bible study with childcare provided (for my MOPS off-weeks).

the positive things about this schedule:
-wednesdays/midweek will be my scheduled day (which will probably be good for the kids, to have a routine, but not a hectic one).
-my kids will be together in a preschool club.
-i have really been feeling like God has given me the desire and ability to encourage other women and now i will have that opportunity at both MOPS and the ladies bible study (especially since the lady i know invited me for that purpose).
-i like having several "free" days during the week so i can go to a playgroup if i like, or just stay home, having no schedule.
-my commitment to MOPS as a discussion leader was really appreciated, but the coordinator really made me feel like this year she is really relying on God to make up the team. it just feels like we will be all sharing the responsibilities, and no one position is on one person's shoulders. also, the focus of the group sounds like it is changing to be more inclusive (sharing duties with the attendees), paying for childcare (it is always the most stressful part of the group, finding good workers), but also being more deliberate in purpose rather than just a social club as has been in previous years (which was part of my issues with the group the first year).

on another note,
i've been waiting for several ladies to have babies around now. its always so exciting to me to find out the dates and times, what they name the baby, and how things went in delivery.

so far, one (Bonnie, a church/facebook friend) has had hers on the 13th and another (kelly) may have also yesterday (i havent seen any updates on her blog yet), my friend leah who was due a week before me (i havent heard yet) and then there's me and one more (sue) left that i'm waiting to here about. oh, and there's 2 or 3 from MOPS that i will find out about on Oct 1st when it starts up again! so far, i dont have any times or names, just the date for Bonnie.

exciting, none-the-less!

one week until the EDD

2008-09-13T20:11:00.004-07:00

pregnancy 3
september 13 2008
39 weeks

is it just me, or does that belly look WAAAY fuller than last weeks??

anyway, i had a good week of trying to induce labour but it did not happen. as far as yesterday's doctor's appointment, i found out there was no change from when i saw him at the hospital on tuesday night. i had 2 hours of some fairly decent contractions last night and some late in the day/evening today too. so i am probably progressing a bit now as i had no contractions all week until last night.

we went out baby shopping as a family last night. we let the kids pick a few little things to give baby. derek wanted to be in on buying a few new receiving blankets and diedre and i picked out some fabric to make larger sized blankies for swaddling.

i borrowed a serger from a friend to make the blankets and hope that diedre can help out a bit as a craft.

my mom decided to come by for a visit and surprised me with an offer to take the kids to her house for a sleepover and we'll meet up to return them to me tomorrow afternoon. it was such a blessing to hear that offer! i was actually going to ask her if she'd like to do that, but i hadnt had the chance yet! so i'm hoping to have a good nights sleep, sleep in and have the morning to myself (derek's going to work i think). ahhh so nice!

another change from today is that we decided to hire a doula. i was just feeling so anxious about going into labour without my doctor and i've just been feeling really low confidence about being assertive at the hospital and not giving into things like last time. so i would say that God orchestrated this situation as i just found out a woman i know is a doula about a week ago. i dont know her so much that it cant be a professional relationship. so i'm excited to have found this lovely Christian woman who will be there to support Derek and I in delivery regardless of when it happens. we just met today at noon and worked out the details. we'll just have to see how it goes from here.

trying to get labour going...

2008-09-12T14:52:00.002-07:00

well first, this is just an older pic off my iphone (i just downloaded them yesterday finally) from sep 3. i think this is the day i pleaded with Joanna to let me come over because i really wanted my kids to enjoy the sun, but was afraid to go to the park in case i had to chase them.

last night we went on a family walk to help me induce labour. here, diedre just started showing me how strong she is.

it was ezekiel's first family walk in our neighbourhood (he's gone with my mom to her park, and i guess we had that one walk at the beach a ways back when i had several adults with me). this pic is from when i stopped to rest on the stairs going up to the next street.

i had just read in my toddler newsletter that this age is perfect to start trying to get them to go for walks, and to expect lots of stopping and looking at things. he was walking with a pinecone and a leaf that he found a ways back, and he found one of each for diedre too. she gave it back to him awhile later and then he was walking around with a pinecone and a leaf in each hand.

this picture shows him taking a "res" (rest). he would walk along and then do like mommy, and just plop down on his bottom and say "res, res" it was really precious.

derek had walked with sparky and diedre on the way. so here, he is heading home with the kids, while i walked sparky. derek doesnt like going for walks but the temperature was so perfect last night, and he's been feeling sick and tired all week so i encouraged him that the fresh air and exercise would help him feel better. he was actually running around at the park after sparky ha ha. so he got way more exercise than he would have.

see a few more pics of our evening walk.

it did not induce labour. i only had about 3 contractions last evening and was really hoping i'd go into labour last night. which i did not. i have not had anymore progress since my little hospital visit a few days ago. so although discouraging, now i have a new goal: to wait until my due date when my doctor will be back from vacation and will be on shift at the hospital.

i've really been enjoying getting out and walking or getting back out to the park, so i might still do that, but not try to get labour going otherwise.

9 days until my estimated due date

2008-09-11T08:46:00.003-07:00

wow! 9 days! that seems soooo close!

i have a friend that is 5 days overdue and i feel a little envious of her because at least the due date is passed. it is hard to wait for the due date, knowing that it is HIGHLY likely that i would go past it.

i'm still feeling energetic towards my current mothering responsibilities which is great. i have been getting pretty tired with no notice, so i havent made any attempts at walking to the park, although i did drive there the other day and play soccer with the kids.

the weather has been so sunny and nice, it really does seem to be a great time to be waiting for a baby, rather than watching rain outside. the sun makes me feel motivated to get out with the kids and enjoy it for their sake before fall/winter arrives.

i do have some cleaning that i should probably do, that i hope baby isnt waiting for me to do before coming ha ha...like scrubbing the kitchen floor (i hear they like to come to a clean house OR rather that scrubbing floors brings on labour). it is hard to wash the kitchen when the kids are up and i definitely dont feel like it at the end of the day.

i'm feeling very satisfied by the amount of nesting i've done around here. having ezekiel's room organized and a place in our room for baby (although there will be some last minute clearing out when we actually need to use the bassinet, but the groundwork is all there). our hospital bag is all packed and loaded in the van, along with the infant carseat and some newborn diapers. we have "from baby" gifts for the kids that i'm pretty excited for them to get. we will leave the van behind for my mom (if derek is close enough for us to take the truck) to bring the big kids to visit us at the hospital, but its easier to just keep the stuff loaded in there for now.

i did not get much sleep last night AT all. not sure why really, but i was just thinking and thinking about my fall schedule ha ha. there has been a change in some of the programs i was planning to attend, so now i'm thinking of swapping some group plans for others so as to meet my needs and programs i'm interested in my kids getting involved with. anyway, it just got me thinking. i also took some of my insomnia time to work on our church's worship schedule for the next 4 months ha ha. we just had the scheduling meeting last night and then got an update that changes most of it (know any local drummers looking to help out a church? we need drummers badly!!!).

anyway, back to the delivery of my baby :) i am feeling that its closer at this point of the preg than i have been with either preg before. so thats encouraging. today would be a good day to go into labour (but maybe born tomorrow early a.m. rather) since my dr. is going away tomorrow afternoon. i need to go for a good walk today/tonight...

i'm thinking i should probably walk up to the park this morning and see what happens...oh except i dont have cell phone today, so maybe thats a potentially very bad idea haha! derek's blackberry totally broke down (it will receive calls to the phone, but you cant actually answer them or access them. it just shows missed calls. and he can't make any outgoing calls). telus is saying he needs to buy a new one for $500 b/c moisture got into it (but its been totally dry out) so he's pretty annoyed and is getting all his work pages sent to my iphone instead (which he took with him). great timing blackberry!!!

so all that being written, i am still really hoping my water breaks so i know that i HAVE to go to the hospital. i keep imagining that the baby's head is putting pressure and going to break that water! ha ha

a little trip to maternity...and back home

2008-09-09T22:36:00.002-07:00

i was having a very "strange pain" in my upper left tummy. it hurt alot. it kept causing major back pain and then full contractions. i phoned maternity and they told me to come in since my dr. was on shift.

i got strapped into fetal monitoring strips and had a great 20 minute report. the baby was very active (heartrate up to 182 bpm at one point!!! they joked about me having chocolate for dinner) and healthy. i only had one serious contraction while on the strip.

my dr. came in to do an internal. he said that things have changed since friday and that my cervix was shortening then, tonight it was very short (less than a cm to go) but still closed. he said for a third baby, that amount of cervix could thin out very fast (24 hours) or not. ha ha. so unpredictable. so things are still getting set up to have a baby faster than in my previous pregnancies, but still the usual start and stop type of labour. fun!

visitors & a camp afternoon & the pregnancy

2008-09-08T09:08:00.005-07:00

my dad & stepmom came to visit before they head off on their Alaskan cruise.

so being true to my "get moving" plan, we walked to the park. diedre discovered that she could climb in & out of the swing by herself. such a big girl!

so poppa & grandma took turns pushing the kids in the swing.

posing with a whale

practicing balance beam walking (like his sister)

here she comes again

there they are walking

good pic of poppa & grandma mellenger

on sunday, our church had its "Come Together" service and then we headed up to camp for the afternoon.

ezekiel was totally mezmerized by the guys playing basketball but they had the only one that would bounce (the others were flat) so we waited patiently until they were done. he tried out several other sports in the meantime.

my mom came along for the afternoon to visit and help out with the kids because derek was doing the climbing wall for an hour and a half. thats when we were playing in the gym too. after that, derek and my mom took the kids swimming. i would have loved to swim too but none of my swimsuits fit because of the way my belly sticks out.

more pictures from our church's "Come Together" sunday at Camp Squeah

ya, the belly. i'm getting pretty sick and tired of all the comments...its been a long pregnancy and this belly got weird looking pretty quick, so being asked if you're having twins or triplets OR are already DUE for 3 or 4 months gets a little old. i kind of snapped at this food server (she was in her early 20s) at the camp yesterday (at the end of the day) who was like "i just have to ask: there's only ONE in there???" and i rolled my eyes, turned away from her, then turned back and said "i'm at the end of my pregnancy, i've been asked that like a THOUSAND times. no. there's only one. WAIT UNTIL YOU'RE PREGNANT! i just have a really weird belly." then her and her friends/coworkers were all like "oh its awesome. so awesome." blah de blah blah. not impressed. it makes me feel like crying sometimes...i guess b/c i HATE the way i look right now, its so ackward and goose-like and my belly button is majorly deformed.

there are certain pictures that i dont mind or even like of myself, but obviously i look like a freak show walking around by all the people who HAVE to stop and tell me how odd my belly is. it gets a little draining. when i'm not pregnant, i dont get any attention normally, so its gets to be a lot when its such a barrage of comments. even tho its only 2 more weeks (well less now) its hard to tell people that because they still make the same "REallY?????" comment because that seems so long.

before my last doctor's appointment, i was struggling to find rest and to take it easy. i overdid it on monday (by going up and down stairs) and it sent me into some good labour tuesday night. i hurt so bad all day tuesday too. my body was just so susceptible to pain (especially in the lower belly and tendons across my pelvis).

now, i was told by my doctor on friday to go ahead and get active to bring on labour and have found a strange thing happened: i have more energy and hurt less! my pelvis/hips hurt while i'm walking, but when i'm back at home and just moving around the house, i'm fine. whereas before it KILLED to walk to the kitchen etc. so for weeks i've been getting diedre to do simple things for herself (get the cereal box and a bowl and i'll pour it for you, get water from the bathroom, etc.) and so today, i told her "no, mommy really needs to walk around, so i'll do it!" ha ha

i'm also feeling better about the possibility of the baby being born into October, so be it! of course, this week would be a great week to have the baby (if he/she is ready) since my doctor will be here. next week he's away, so that would be sad :( but doable of course. today would be a great day since my mom is off work and could easily come by to watch the kids...

i did have some decent/regular contractions this morning for an hour, but they have since stopped/spread out. i wish i was the type who just BOOM went into labour, but i know by previous experience that i have lots of starts and stops. i have some really good/strong/painful contractions but they just dont get into a pattern until its really "go" time i guess. i remember the day before being induced with ezekiel, i had regular labour all day, but just not strong enough, but i always thought that if i'd gone into the hospital THAT day, it would have turned out really different than going the next day when there was NO labour at all happening. strange stuff.

i also feel pretty scared about going into labour sometimes. like 8pm, after an active day. or just that the kids aren't quite ready...so its kind of cool with this new energy, since i got most of my nesting stuff done last week (there's still cleaning and laundry of course!) i can devote more time to playing with the kids or giving them attention.

so today's plan is to go to the bank. go walk around superstore. come home for a nap. then go for a walk to the park after that. we'll see what actually end up doing!

so baby, either come today or by thursday, OR wait until my due date or later :)

38 weeks: 2 or more weeks to go

2008-09-06T09:06:00.003-07:00

pregnancy 3
september 6 2008
38 weeks

things are happening in my body. preparing for this delivery. i had a doctor's appointment yesterday and he said my cervix was very soft, shortening/thinning and easy to find (i guess it goes from pointing to the back to pointing up front, which is where mine is), he also said the head is very low. so i'm thinking that all the labour pains i had on tuesday night probably helped get me to that stage thankfully!

he encouraged me that if i want to bring on labour, then go ahead and get more active, if i want to keep the baby in there, by all means keep trying to rest, but its a fine time to get things moving. my plan is to get moving, walking, hopefully go to the park whenever i have visitors to help with the kids, chasing the kids etc. and hopefully get some contractions happening.

i had a nice date with my friend last night. we had delicious Greek food and then went and did maybe 5 laps of this really well lit track. it didnt actually bring on any real contractions until later, it was just a painful hard belly.

hoping to see something happen b/c i need to either deliver this week or skip a week (13-19th) when my doctor is away!

so go baby go!

tender father, son, kitten moments

2008-09-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

ezekiel actually being gentle

sweet

good Hattie

okay, thats more like the real ezekiel!

the kitties have been sleeping in this kids step stool. usually i catch them spooning with Hatties' arm over Cloudy. its very cute.

last weekend

2008-09-05T16:14:00.002-07:00

napping together with me, but i got up to take the picture

late night family outing

birthday party fun

the new kitties and sparky

more pictures of the long weekend here

the decision...

2008-09-05T07:22:00.002-07:00

thanks to all the opinions shared re: my decision with having the doctor "stir the pot" today.

i have decided to allow him to do a check but to not "stir the pot."

some of the things i hadnt really thought of that were helpful in making this decision was:

-that both my previous labours did not get a chance to start totally naturally and i would like to give that a try.

-being strep B positive, if my waters are broken i will be committed to hospital even if labour is not really happening yet (b/c of the antibiotics they want to administer). if this happens before the baby is actually ready, and then it leads to a long non-progressing labour, it will increase my chances of having to be chemically induced (which i really want to avoid b/c it so painful). This could also potentially make me a candidate for c-section, even though i most likely would be fine to deliver naturally if i just wait it out!

-some babes born early have a hard time latching. both my babies have been total stars at latching, so i would hate to give this baby a disadvantage by having a little mouth or being sleepier/groggier :(

-we dont know if baby is a boy or girl. boys need to "cook" longer (usually for lung development) than girls usually, although diedre was covered in vernix and it might have been helpful for her to stay in longer for some health issues. so not knowing, is kind of messing with baby's health in that way too, baby just might not be ready! i could be a long gestator and i just have to accept that.

-i found out thru a friend about a potty learning plan that works best with kids ezekiel's age so i'm quite interested in trying that if i can get some secondary child support for 3 days straight. crazy maybe? something to do with the waiting time!

all that being written, i'm heading for my check up soon and we'll see what the dr. says. i'm not feeling especially confident that i will even be dilated at all. i had some good labour/contractions on tuesday, but i think it was mostly from overdoing it on monday :(
other than that, there have been no consistent decent contractions since. so i'm not expecting that the one day did alot of good as far as progressing goes. we shall see.

21 months & 1 week

2008-09-01T18:48:00.002-07:00

Ezekiel POOPED on the potty! not just a little potty either, but the potty seat on the toilet! YAY!!!

we are so proud of you little buddy!

he looked a little worried, but we cheered and encouraged him to look and to flush.

he said "mine?" and we cheered! and said "bye bye poo poo" and flushed. he's 21 months and 1 week old today! good job :)

37 weeks in Pregnancy 2 with ezekiel

2008-08-30T18:09:00.004-07:00

37 weeks pregnant with ezekiel

i found it quite interesting to read how i was feeling during my last pregnancy. funny thing is, my mom is lined up to take care of the kids again this time and she JUST got back from a monthe long vacation (so me going early would be pretty inconvenient, going very late would be better so she'd be back to work for awhile). she goes back to work on Tuesday. last time she was about to have surgery that could have been major but wouldnt know until afterwards. ha ha. funny how things are lining up similarly. but it all worked out fine. actually, derek's parents were here last time and if i go over 10 days late this time, they will be here again! they arrive Oct 1 and stay until the 8th.

37 weeks pregnant = Full Term by some standards...

2008-08-30T10:54:00.003-07:00

pregnancy 3
august 30 2008
37 weeks

well, i really do want some opinions on something:

situation: next dr.'s appointment (friday sep 5) i will be one day short of 38 weeks. he has offered to see if i'm dilated. if i am, he has offered to "stir the pot" which would be to strip the membranes to try to get me into labour next week. my dr. who i REALLY want to deliver with is going away September 13 to 19th. My due date is September 20th. sooo, basically he would be trying to help me deliver before September 12th.

the decision: so i figure i have 2 choices:
1. say yes to him checking me and to stripping the membranes and see what happens.

2. say yes to him checking me, but no thanks to anything beyond that and just wait and see how long it takes for me to naturally go into labour.
bearing in mind, that i was 10days late with my last, 2 days late with my first.

at 10 days late last time, both baby and i were perfectly healthy and could have gone longer. i did not intend on having a chemical induction last time. my dr. offered to break my waters (i'm strep b pos again this time, i have been for each pregnancy which means when my waters break, i have to be at the hospital until the baby's born for the antibiotics).
however, the day i was admitted, my dr. was not available and the other dr. said he couldnt break my waters and had to do the chemical induction instead. having been through that now, i do not plan on agreeing to that again as it was crazy-painful.

i am very fearful of not having my dr. there b/c last time it was a bit of disaster with the nurses except for the one who was previously trained as a midwife, who totally helped me manage my pain through movements, and then delivered ezekiel b/c he came FAST and the dr. was not there in time.

originally, i wanted to let this pregnancy go late. even if its over 10 days late. i want to have a natural labouring experience, drug-free. i've done it once and it was a great experience (other than the chemical induction part). the reason i started to think "lets get this baby out soon" is because i had a very busy week and my body hurt like crazy! and i thought i could not handle any more time like this. after having a more mellow week, i am leaning towards this 2nd decision because my body does not hurt as much, although it is still very uncomfortable.

also, ezekiel is 21 months. he does not listen well to "no, dont throw food...hard toys...shoes...anything but balls." "no, dont hit...mommy...daddy...diedre...kitties." "please be gentle with the...kitty...your sister...mommy....daddy..." once in awhile he surprises us with listening to a reprimand, but mostly we know he understands so many things, but for some reason we cant say these things in a way that he will obey. its very frustrating (as it should be...he's almost 2!).

another thing about him is he is constantly telling us he has peed or pooed in his diaper and asks to go on the potty but he has never done anything on there. he even refuses diapers somedays which thankfully hasnt turned into a big mess, but it definitely has the potential. the more tired i am, the less uncontained messes i want to deal with. so giving him another full month to grow, learn, try potty learning a little, talk more, and just to spend time with.

so what do you think? decision 1 or 2?

update: i also wanted to mention derek's opinion on the situation: his noted that i went into full labour with diedre because a nurse broke my waters (without my or my dr.'s permission) and committed me to labouring in the hospital. when diedre was born the next morning, she was covered in vernix and the dr. said "oh, she couldve cooked a little longer!"

in her ultrasounds and afterwards, diedre had some issues with kidneys being slightly large, she also had something else swollen that she had to get multiple xrays for (i cant remember what right now...but the belly button dr. at Children's discovered it when he was checking to see if she had a herniated belly button (which she did not)). and then she also had very bad ear infections for several months and ended up getting ear tubes around 18 months i think and hasnt had one since. so that being written, derek wonders if she did not gestate long enough, thanks to the nurse, and therefore had those various issues.

pics from the last few days

2008-08-29T08:44:00.002-07:00

diedre took the camera and went around taking more pictures that you can see here.

ezekiel tried on his monkey costume and was watching daddy & diedre work outside on the retaining wall.

diedre wanted to try on the outfit too, its an 18 month old outfit.

and yes, i got suckered into getting 2 kittens. here is diedre cuddling with Cloudy

and here she is cuddling with Hattie. she is obviously old enough to handle this kittens as she is proving to be very gentle. see more pictures of the animal antics here.

36 weeks pregnant

2008-08-23T16:52:00.002-07:00

pregnancy 3
august 23 2008
36 weeks

well, i'm feeling pretty "done" with this pregnancy. it could be because i overdid it all last week with something to do everyday (gymnastics, radiohead concert). next week should be a little more low-key.

i think i need to focus on my kids and enjoying the time i get to spend with them until baby arrives. its hard of course, b/c i get tired easily and i have a hard time getting around b/c of my size.

i'm feeling overwhelmed by my messy house and the pre-baby chores i want to get done. after having such a busy week, the house is a disaster. but on a good note, some pre-baby plans have come into effect: derek put our bed up onto a frame so we could store stuff underneath it. ezekiel's room has gotten cleared out of alot of extra furniture, and as soon as i can get the change table cleared off, i will lend it to my tenant downstairs, making even more room in there.

i'm on weekly dr. appts now until baby's arrival. kind of alot of driving as its 35 minutes away and always ends up being a bit of a trip.

thankfully, our babysitter is back from her vacation so i hope to have her help me out with the kids and cleaning as much as needed (since derek is often out doing extra jobs). i wish i had the energy to take the kids to the park, but i cannot chase ezekiel if he decides to run off (not his usual thing to do, but you never know).

gymnastics camp

2008-08-22T14:05:00.003-07:00

diedre and some friends signed up for gymnastics camp. it was 5 days, 9am to 10am.

i got pretty tired of chasing ezekiel around by day 4 (and i missed day 3 ha ha b/c of going to radiohead tuesday night and ezekiel being sick the next morning so derek took diedre). so i brought a stroller for him today to keep him contained during some especially rascally periods (ie. highbeam).

it totally tired me out to go do this every day and diedre too! she napped most days and would just babble on non-sensically after the class (usually arguing with me about something like how she will have a popsicle when we get home; but i said there werent any there; but she wanted it...).

day 4, walking on a very low balance beam

earlier today, stretching

nice leap off the bench

doing the "bridge" on top of the big mat

certificate and ribbon: and the thing you fear most when they're handing out certificates happened...there was none for diedre so the teacher wrote her name on one while everyone else had been clapped for and was off getting candy...
she was still proud of course, she's 3!

but i noticed it was a certificate for intermediate class...but i'm pretty sure this was the beginners one ha ha. oh well, my Type A personality almost went back in to get the instructor (who obviously felt bad about missing diedre) to write out a proper one...but i figured the pink ribbon was more exciting than the paper anyway!

the teacher said that diedre was a good listener and seemed impressed with some of the skills she showed. that's our girl ;P
she definitely seemed to have more graceful skills than the boys in the class. she was the only girl, so it was easy to spot the differences.

see the full album of the gymnastics camp's last two days!

camping on the hottest weekend EVER!

2008-08-17T16:15:00.002-07:00

here's my man preparing breakfast on saturday. he was seriously so helpful and would do anything i asked and many things without me needing to ask. he completely did all the bathroom trips with diedre b/c i could barely fit in the stall myself!!

our friends were also really helpful with the kids as i could do a bare minimum around camp. heather and andrew led the way on a hike for all the big kids (and poppy) while joanna and i stayed at camp with gabe and zeke.

diedre and miles running together

heather was trying to get all the adults to join in on a group photo. while they were moving that way, derek used our timer to get some pictures. look at that big belly!!! it was almost bedtime so i'm sure it was swelling ha ha. here i am at 35 weeks pregnant and camping in the heat!

david asked me to please take a picture of all their slugs and snails on the log.

the whole camping album from the salmon camera

5 weeks to go!!!

2008-08-16T22:30:00.001-07:00

pregnancy 3
august 16 2008
35 weeks
5 weeks left = 35 days left

me @ 35 weeks with my second pregnancy (ezekiel).

me @ 35 weeks with my first pregnancy (diedre)
~~
yes, the belly is getting HUGE.
apparently baby is over 5 lbs now and around 18 inches in length. my previous babies were 7lbs 10oz & 7lbs 11oz and both 22 inches long--so we're not too far from that at all!

i wont be able to do anymore aquafit. my last day there i did water wellness which was a little less jumping in the water. but this week coming diedre is in gymnastics M-F and it conflicts with the water classes so i cant go. then next week the pool shuts down for 3 weeks, until september 15 which is around when i'm due anyway! i'm pretty disappointed by all this, so i may see if other pools in the area are open because it just feels so good to be in water. oh and another thing, my swimsuits are barely fitting! my belly is just too big for those suits. i had to throw out the one i was using for the pool b/c it was starting to shred...from the chlorine and from 3 pregnancies :)

i spent alot of time in the lake on saturday. it felt wonderful! i could barely notice the heat. camping was very doable since we arrived well after dark on friday night and although saturday was very hot, our friends were content to just hang around our shaded camp most of the day and head to the lake during the hottest part of the day. derek bought a new air mattress that was so perfect for the tent. it was very firm and comfortable. ahhh. i survived!

now, i have a radiohead concert to go to on tuesday with my brother, then no big plans after that!

potty day & old pics

2008-08-15T11:42:00.002-07:00

ezekiel has been asking to go on the potty. so the last 2 mornings, i've let him run around in underwear. he goes to the potty alot, but has yet to do anything on it.

i took a bunch of pics with my imac's photobooth this morning.
Click here to see the potty pictures.

i was going thru all the old pics from the photobooth and uploaded them to facebook.
Click here to see the silly family album.

we leave for camping on this very hot weekend in a few hours. it is 38 degrees (100 fahrenheit!!!) outside our house right now! we will probably really enjoy the ride in the van there and then spend our evening in the lake perhaps...

i had a really bad day on wednesday as far as overdoing it goes. my body hurt all evening and the next half day. i was really wondering how i would be able to pack for camping since i could barely walk around the house. and also wondering how i could even GO camping at all. i'll be 35 weeks pregnant tomorrow!

derek took over all the household duties to let me rest on wednesday night, and not feeling any better by thursday morning, my friend joanna took the kids for a few hours. it really helped. i was able to make all the lists for camping and just rest for a few hours, then get the kids back home for naptime and sleep. i felt much better last night and was able to go around packing today at a leisurely pace with fairly low pain.

with both previous pregnancies, my babies dropped early (7 or 8 months) and it really put alot of pain on the tendons of my groin. this pregnancy is no different except that i think my pelvis, tailbone, hip bones, and groin hurt more. ha ha.

so we are planning this camping trip, in heat of 33 or 34 degrees, that will only go down to 18 degrees tonight by midnight, and to 20 degrees by midnight on saturday...eep. we will just head home if it really doesnt work out. its basically a trip for diedre at this point as we (derek and i) prefer cool over hot.

have a great weekend!

6 weeks to go!!!

2008-08-09T08:06:00.001-07:00

pregnancy 3
august 9 2008
34 weeks

wow. time will fly now. six weeks to go! i think the baby has dropped. my belly is feeling super heavy. after sitting for a few minutes, it hurts. after standing for a few minutes, it hurts. so i'm really trying to take things easy and enlist derek's help as much as he will let me ;P ha ha

the kids are doing great. ezekiel is talking ALOT and fast and hyper! he is very active and acts kind of crazy sometimes, but still has a great temperament. he is always trying to do things himself which i think is great. he is showing many signs of "two" like saying "no" "mine" "me do" alot. ha ha. he still doesnt listen great, but if i get him to look me right in the eyes when i'm talking it definitely seems to help. he kept insisting on putting on jackets last week when it was sooo hot. that was part of my reason for wanting to get rid of the furniture in his room. this one hanging wardrobe was where i kept his jackets and he could reach them, so it was alot of cleaning up what shouldnt have been messy!

i had one very successful day last week of organizing and minimizing around the house. i got rid of a large roll of carpet and underlay (on Freecycle) that we'd had for at least a year and also the kids furniture that was no longer necessary from ezekiel's room. i am probably going to lend out our change table to our tenant as we could use the extra room in ezekiel's room and we have room in the bathroom for a change station.

now i just need to tackle making up a newborn baby girl's and a newborn baby boy's clothing box for quick access once we find out what we're having. i have about 8 or more large bags of clothing to sort through as well as some (probably another 8 in various sizes) previously organized boxes. i'm not sure when/how to tackle it, but it would probably help if my kids were not needing my attention for a few hours, and i had the energy during that time. i'm hoping to weed out the items i dont want to keep at that time and then i can donate them. once i have all the clothes organized by age/sex then i can store the 6 months + ones back at my parents house.

we had a very great weekend with derek getting stuff organized around the house and yard. we picked up a new bedframe so that we could use the space under the bed for storage (joanna's suggestion). i need to store a few large baby items that i dont need until the baby is older (ie. exersaucer) and just some major reorganizing of our storage closet (to get alot of junk: tool boxes, sewing machine, climbing bags, instruments, etc.) out of our room. unfortunately there will be some heavy lifting so i'll have to really try to hold myself back from doing all that myself.

derek also did some work on our front yard retaining wall. once thats done, he will build a fence for the front yard and then he will get working on deconstructing the back yard (which includes tear down of our deck, levelling the hill, and then rebuilding fencing, decks (one for the hot tub), shed, etc.).

The Abbotsford Airshow

2008-08-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

Derek's boss took us and the work crew to the airshow as a work party. we met at McDonald's early in the morning and he bought us breakfast, then we continued on together to the airshow. we were there from about 9am to 4pm.

the kids did amazing considering the heat and lack of excitement at times. they were more interested in walking around looking at the planes than watching them fly.

diedre in the news helicopter

inside the people moving aircraft

our shady spot

i was well prepared with water and some fresh fruit and snacks for us. it was very hot for me, but i kept an umbrella over me at all times. ezekiel had a short nap in the stroller. then my umbrella blew inside out so we got ready to leave.

more pictures here

dinnertime

2008-08-07T17:49:00.002-07:00

zeke looks so cute here! i had to capture it
and diedre looks lovely.

saying "please" to wanting to get out of the high chair

show off the hands

i think this is the first dinner that he has EVER asked for "more please" and he ate lots of meat (it was just ground beef in a red pasta sauce). he is usually not much of a meat eater.

i used to make pasta with the same red sauce and i'd always serve it with whole wheat bow ties, spiral or penne pasta and the kids would barely eat any. so i started serving either whole wheat spaghetti, spaghettini, or linguine and they eat and eat and eat! much better! i guess its more fun to eat those.

today

2008-08-07T16:21:00.003-07:00

so sweet. she picked out her entire outfit.

so in style with the hairband and ponytail.

zeke waiting in the doctor's office.

we went to visit my friend Leah and her boys. she is due one week before me.

more preggy shots

no kids in this one! ha ha

diedre really wanted to be in pictures today

this was my favourite one of diedre.
we took ALOT of pictures of the kids jumping. Click here to see our jumping beans!