another vacation!

wow, we've booked 2 vacations in one week :-) we're off on a family cruise to alaska at the end of august! and by family, we mean everyone...my parents (and maybe my bro), sandra, mike and aly, sandra's parents, mike's mom, mike's sister and her family. i'm looking forward to that vacation and i've already started looking at the port excursions...i can't wait!

meanwhile, back on the homefront, it's been a rough day. it all started yesterday afternoon when gabe just didn't want to be alone...cuddles from mom was all i could do to keep him quiet. then today he woke up at 4:30 a.m. and wasn't a happy camper. after running through a diaper change, cuddles and a short feed, he was back in bed at 5:45. but that wasn't the end of it...he was fussing and fussing but i tried to ignore it hoping he'd go back to sleep. finally at 7 a.m.i gave in and rescued him for another feed. it felt like i'd gone back in time to when he was a newborn. if this is the sign of early teething, i'm in trouble!

but i think i know what started this nightmare yesterday...i've been taking an antibiotic to prevent infection in a wound that opened up near my c-section scar. the obgyn said taking the medication wouldn't affect my milk, but that's the only change that can explain gabe's mood. so i'm not taking the medication anymore, and gabe's been a bit friendlier this afternoon...and has taken his mandatory 2 naps :-) phew!

i'm also very excited about my recent purchases from organically hatched! gabe's hooked up with his cool shades for our trip to vegas, and i've bought some essentials for when gabe starts eating solids. exciting times ahead!

an unexpected vacation

holy crap, i'm so excited :-) we've booked our first trip as a family! chris made the silly mistake of telling me about a free 3-night stay at the mgm grand in las vegas. then i made the mistake of looking up flights to las vegas...westjet has a seat sale! so we're going to vegas in march, and i can't wait!

4 months old!

(so far 5 pee's and 1 poop in the potty!)

gabe is 4 months old today, and a whopping 14.11 pounds (fully dressed). we continue to have rough nights this week, mostly due to the lingering congestion...hopefully with the help of the humidifier he'll get over it soon. on this "bday" of gabe's, we learned about infant nutrition at the drop-in. i cannot wait to feed gabe real food...i've already bought spoons and bowls. i'm so excited...only 2 more months! i also got gabe's passport picture taken at sears...whoo-hoo, family vacations here we come! these are a few of my favourite things:

gabe continues to suck on his thumb to self soothe
he holds his rattles and bats at his carseat toy
in bed, he grabs his soother and waves it around in the air
when he holds my fingers, he'll stick them in his mouth
when chris comes home from work, gabe tells chris about his day
gabe tracks his bath toys, grabs them, then licks them :-)



as gabe is turning 4 months, his little friend aly, is turning 1! this past weekend sandra & mike hosted aly's bday party. i thought gabe was growing up fast, aly's a little roadrunner...walking (practically running!) all over their house. sadly, chris was sick that day, but gabe and i had a great time with all the other families!
















lastly, this has been an expensive week for me...i hit the kg kids liquidation sale at maynards TWICE! i'm a total impulse shopper, so i ended up buying a lot: cuddly wrap, glamour mom nursing tops, nursing bra, baby legs, sun hat, stonz boots, robeez shoes, jack & lily shoes, cloth wipes, sleep sack. when you see 30-50% off, it's hard not to buy lots!

roll over, roll over!

well, he did it...gabe has finally rolled over! i know he rolled over twice before, but they were kind of flukey...sort of on a downhill slant. but today he was having tummytime on his playmat and before i realized what happened, he was on his back! so i grabbed the videocamera, flipped him back onto his tummy, and WHA-BAM...he rolled over again :-)

here are the before, during, and after pictures...

got milk?

man alive! who knew moms could produce so much milk?! i'm very fortunate to have a big milk supply for gabe. and since he sleeps 9-11 hours a night, i have to pump a lot :P my freezer is chock-full of milk and i've had to send some to my parents house for longer-term storage!

i'm also fortunate that my milk doesn't go "off"...so i can refrigerate it for up to a week and it still tastes sweet, and the frozen stuff is good for up to 3 months. now gabe will be able to enjoy my milk even after i stop breastfeeding and have returned to work (which is WAY down the road!).

when i first discussed my milk supply with the midwives, they suggested i donate to the "milk bank". i did look into it, but there was blood tests involved and i got scared. it's hard to believe that after iv's, having the mother-of-all needles injected into my back, and daily blood tests at the hospital, you'd think i'd get over my fear...nope...still scared sh*tless of needles. so for now, i'm being selfish and not sharing my liquid gold.

the view from up here

after spending the morning in front of the tv watching the inauguration of barack obama, gabe and i went to my parents and saw the world from above the fog :-)

lots going on...will post later...

100 days old!

my mom's not sure why, but in japanese culture, turning 100 days old is a reason to celebrate. it was celebrated when my aunt turned 100 days old, sadly because of the war my mom's 100 day wasn't celebrated (they were too busy being sent away from the west coast), and then my brother and i both had parties for our 100 days. "the cold" has spread through our family like wildfire with my dad and bro down for the count on gabe's actual "birthday", so we'll have a belated party this coming weekend.

we've had an exciting few days: we went to storytime at mcgill library and gabe was smiling away during the sing-songs. i was so pleased...sometimes it's hard to know if he'll even stay awake for stuff :-) i find singing to gabe lots of fun, but having to pick up a book and read to him is more difficult.


and we started our music classes this weekend at staccato studios. it's more expensive than the community centre class i wanted, but it's a longer class and you get a dvd, cd, and songbook to keep. thank goodness...i wasn't sure how i'd remember all the words! gabe really enjoys the music...and he's got good hand coordination so he was able to hold the rattle and i would help him shake it. so fun :-) for the past few weeks twinkle twinkle has been gabe's all-time favourite song...98% of the time he cries, i can soothe him with that song. ironically enough, both storytime and music class both end with that song. it's fantastic!


here's a pic from pauline's birthday celebration yesterday...babies are definitely taking over our lives! plus there were 3 pregnant mamas-to-be :-)

from oldest to youngest!

eczema

when it rains, it pours...quite literally :-) the snow is finally washing away, and i hate being at home all day...so even if it's just a quick walk to starbucks, i get my daily "outing".

today's outing was to eileen dailly for the parent/infant drop-in hosted by the fraser health authority. since gabe doesn't see the doctor until his 4 month shots, i jumped at the opportunity for his 3 month weigh-in...my boy is a healthy 13 pounds! every week there's a different topic...today it was sex after pregnancy. 'nuff said. we'll go back in a few weeks for the infant nutrition discussion :-)

i also took the opportunity to ask the health nurse about gabe's skin condition. he's had an ugly red bumpy rash that keeps appearing all over his chest and belly. fortunately it was still visible this morning and they confirmed it`s eczema. what a relief...i was worried it could have been an allergic reaction to something i ate...and i'm not too keen on changing my diet! so now we've got a stronger cream to use on his skin to help with the dryness...my poor little butterball :( my next task is to find a baby comb and work on the dry skin on his scalp...yuck!

3 months old!

our little monkey is 3 months old today! he's grown so much :-)











and now he's caught his first cold :( it's been spreading through the families since pre-christmas, hitting me over new years...and now gabe's got a runny nose. poor little guy...i thought something was up when he wouldn't nap in his bed a couple days ago. i've had to hold him for hours on end to comfort him through naptime. last night was a "rough" night...he kept fussing in bed so the baby monitor would keep waking me up...not sure if i should check on him or let him cry it out, he would settle down after a few minutes. lucky me!


he's also had an interesting 2 days of no poop. since i've heard of other babies who haven't pooped for days and days, i'm letting it pass as nothing major. we're going to the parent/infant drop-in this week for a weight check so we'll see what happens in the output department by then :)


hopefully his cold will pass quickly...i had plans for us starting this week...storytime at various libraries and music classes. at the baby fair i bought "the family book" and discovered a free gymboree class we can attend...gabe's still on the young side to actually be interested in activities, but it's another opportunity for us to get out of the house and meet other families in our 'hood.

farewell 2008, hello 2009!

2008 - my year in review:

january
we're off to tofino for my belated bday celebration, and a last hoorah with nugget! after the tofino weekend we find out we're pregnant! and the prenatal bloodwork begins :P sadly, we say farewell to my grandma t.

february
we say farewell to nugget, who is released from the PADS program :( 3 weeks later we welcome icon into our home :)

march
march 13 - heard baby's heartbeat!

april
i develop prenatal sciatica and we say farewell to icon after 5 weeks :( chiropractic adjustments, physiotherapy and massage therapy begins. april 26 - our first ultrasound - it's a boy!

may
due to the sciatica my work hours are reduced to 4 hour days. may 11 - mother's day - i feel baby move for the first time!

june
we switch to midwifery care at pomegranate. birthing from within classes start. we puppysit beau for a weekend - so nice to have a dog again!

july
we puppysit holly for a weekend. july 16 - 2nd ultrasound...baby looks good :)

august
swimming at eileen dailly - hoping to turn baby around and strengthen my back. attend new & green's cloth diaper infosession. hospital tour @ burnaby general. puppysit caber and mc the PADS fundraising walk. prepared our birth plan with our doula, roxanne. baby showers @ work and with friends. august 29 - last day of work...whoo-hoo!

september
puppysit jolie for a day. playing the waiting game! pauline & geram's wedding. carseat installation inspection at bcaa. deptember 17 - our 3 year wedding anniversary. september 23 - due date comes and goes. september 28 - PADS graduation ceremony...still pregnant. september 30 - accupuncture to try and induce labour.

october
october 3 - the induction starts. october 4 - gabriel arrives via c-section! lots of visitors at the hospital! october 6 - we bring baby home! october 7 - back at the hospital for a biliruben test...gabe has jaundice. october 9 - visit the pediatrician...biliruben levels are much lower! gabe's first holiday - thanksgiving! new & green 2 week cloth diaper kit. anthony & alice's wedding. physiotherapy for my hands - it never ends :P

november
we start using cloth diapers! baby fair - lots of free stuff! gabe's one-month party at kirin :)
november 9 - i leave gabe with chris for almost 3 hours. my 6 week check-up with the OBGYN - clean bill of health. november 21 - NKOTB concert!

december
prenatal reunions. 2 month shots :( a christmas playdate! PADS holiday party. baby masssage class. gabe rolls over! gabe's first snowfall, christmas and canucks game!

welcome 2009! i'm looking forward to more of gabe's "firsts" this year and perhaps a few puppies in our home :-) i don't make any resolutions because i can never keep any of them :P whatever 2009 brings me, i embrace with open arms! after all...what can be more challenging than pregnancy and childbirth?!