11 Days Old

I was thinking of doing a weekly update but the first week of Owen's life has already flown by in a blur so I  am doing an 11 day old update. 

Jennifer our midwife stopped by yesterday for a check up on us both and as we had suspected our little Owen is not staying little for long. He was born weighing 6lb 11oz, the three days in the hospital and not to much success in latching he had dropped below 6lb, a bit to much weight loss for them to let us go home. Luckily our nurse during that shift was very empathetic to my burning desire to go home and suggested we feed him a bottle of formula. She gave us an hour and came back to weigh him again. It worked and we were free!

Once home and with minimal interruptions and distractions (it felt like there was always someone poking or prodding us at the hospital) we were able to start our lives together. He has been a great eater from the get go, awake and hungry every two to three hours but still no success with latching. I was pumping and finger feeding him for the first eight or nine days and thankfully we have had a breakthrough and now able to breastfeed. 

Both Rob and I have seen the changes in him every day and he is filling out quite quickly. His delicate hands are becoming paws, his wee little toes are filling in and his beautiful round cheeks continue to be just that. Yesterdays weigh in measured 6lb 14oz, a fantastic feat in just 10 days. They usually allow two weeks for babies to get back to their birth weight.  

Some of the may feeding faces 

36 Week Bump Update

Quite suddenly and unexpectedly at 36 weeks and three days Pip decided that it was time to join us. 

Not that we would have had it any other way. 

The three of us have been getting to know each other. Rob and I have spent every waking hour, and there are many of them, just staring at our beautiful son, admiring everything about him and wondering how we ended up with such a fantastic child.

Owen Samuel Arthur Fletcher

April 18, 2012

18:34

6lb 11oz, 50 cm 

Stay tuned, the story of Owen's arrival to follow shortly.

Best Baby Carrier Ever

Image can be found here

Looks like I found the answer for travelling on my scooter with Pip. 

Meet Mr. Floppy

Rob was out for dinner with a friend the other night and had some time to spare and ended up walking around the Distillery. As you can see, the adorable guy above caught Dad to be's eye and so happily came home with him.

Dad's first toy for Pip.

Rob, you rock.

And yes, I cried.

35 Week Bump Update

Oh how the time is is flying! We are nearing one month left as a family of two before becoming a family of three.

After 10 years married (our anniversary is in about two weeks time, just sayin) it seems crazy to think how much is going to change yet at the same time it feels so right.

Pip is still head up so I am ramping up the acupuncture treatments as well as being more consistent in doing the moxa treatments at home. I am now seeing the midwife on a weekly basis and we will talk more serious about options if Pip remains breech. I was informed at our appointment yesterday that they are not trained to do a breech delivery even if it is a frank breech and the OB on call at the hospital will take over if we arrive in labour this way, most likely resulting in a c section. Definitely not a favourable option.
I suggested that we have time and would like to talk about this next week. No need to stress now!

As for my favourite obsession, my belly button, it remains flush with the belly but am sure that with one good kick it's all over and will pop out. If you hear a scream, it's probably me!

Just like Mom and Dad

So the ultrasound confirmed that Pip is indeed breech. Even after all the convincing that Rob has been doing and the crazy things I have been doing the little one is being stubborn just like Mom and Dad, guess that's to be expected!

I meet with my midwife on Monday and we will talk more about it but in the meantime it looks like I am going to ramp up my foot burning and hip elevations.

We were told that Pip is Frank Breech which means that it's bum down in my pelvis with legs pointing straight up to the head. From the images, we were able to tell that Pip's head is facing my left side and tucked down so I feel confidant that a flip or roll is coming soon! I have been told that this is a good kind of breech to have, what ever that means, and it is possible to deliver with this position. I think I'll wait until I chat with my midwife to see what she says.

In the meantime here is a shot of some incredibly sweet baby toes. With the head in such a tucked down position and the feet up by the face getting a clear face shot was pretty difficult. Guess we will all have to wait a bit longer to see who's in there.

Wee foot measures 7cm long!

34 Week Bump Update

Well, another week down and closer to Pip's arrival. I have really noticed a slow down this past week, getting tired so much earlier and easier. I am also finding it hard to stay in on one position for too long either standing, sitting or lying down, as my upper back is getting sore and the belly is getting bigger. Speaking of the belly, I noticed that for the past week or so I was bumping into things more frequently which is not like me so figured it was time to get the measuring tape out. Sure enough the belly has grown two inches since the last measure, thank goodness I'm tall otherwise I'b be standing back a foot from the counters while trying to make dinner!

With my diaphragm now pushed waaayy up into my ribs my voice has changed. Kind of like puberty but not! It's become raspier, a bit deeper and when I try to sing most of the time nothing comes out. I'm guessing for some that's a good thing.

Still doing what I can in order to turn Pip but to be honest I really don't know anymore what direction Pip is in. There are so many lumps and bumps that it's pretty difficult to figure out what is what. Guess I'll have to wait until Wednesday for the ultrasound to confirm. Fingers crossed.

It seems that I can not get enough liquids this week. I'm drinking almost three liters of water a day but still feel like I'm very dehydrated, always thirsty, dry mouth and lips. Guess I just need to keep drinking!

We finished our prenatal classes and can not say enough about how fantastic they were. The instructor, Leslie, was amazing. She was very inclusive of the partners at all times, even during the breast feeding class, which really enforced the idea that this is a partnership and not just what mom says. She also covered all the questions we had and didn't know we had in a very open and honest manner, a lot of common sense and excellent solid advice on all the topics she covered.

Now I understand that I have not given you any details about the classes as this would be the longest post ever, but am more than happy to tell you about it if there are questions. If you click the link below then click the prenatal button on the top of the page it will direct you to an outline of what is covered in her classes.
I think Rob said it best; the only advice he will give expecting Dad's or parents is just go to these classes, don't bother with anything else as you will be wasting your time.
You can link to her website here http://www.birthspirit.ca/ as well, I have put a link to her web site under my links header.