Monday, March 31, 2014

Weekend Rewind

Despite the weather not being as warm as they said it would be, it was gorgeous and positive temps were enjoyed by all!! But today... Today is just gorgeous! The sunroof was cracked on our venture into town!! It is +9 and sunny!! We will be going out for a nice walk this afternoon!! My ankle is going to have to get over itself! The weather change is not being very nice to it!

This weekend was pretty good!! Friday night was nice and low key! 

Saturday we had some company over and then we ventured into town for groceries! 

Sunday we had some family play time in the morning! Even the dogs were in on the action!! 
Playing dead dog!! Haha. Crazy how small he is beside her!!  And Lily thought she would help entertain Noah on his play mat:


We also experienced the Sunday morning smile show:

We brushed the dogs out, spring leaned the spare bath, although we still have the baseboards to wipe down and floors to wash! We put away laundry. I decided it was time to pull out the maternity clothes from my closet and put them aside to be stored. I kept out a few things that will work for nursing that aren't too big. I worked on putting away clothes in the nursery! I got up to 6 months and gave up haha. We will deal with 6 months later! 

Then we headed to the farm for dinner! We came home, bathed Noah and settled in for the night! 

Noah slept great every night this weekend!! So today we ran out to grab cat food, and I managed to print some pictures too for the nursery!! 

Friday, March 28, 2014

Friday's Five with A Give Away!!


1. The 14 day weather forecast!! Are you ready for this? ALL positive temps!!! It's going up to +9 today!! It's raining, but I don't even care if it means warmer temps!! Spring might have finally sprung!! 

2. Mr. Noah gave us a nice 5 hour stretch last night and then 2 hours!! Loved it!! Speaking of Noah, he is 1 pound over his birth weight, topping the growth chart with 8 pounds 1 ounce!! I know one day he will grow faster, so for now I will enjoy my tiny man. 

3. I am IN LOVE with the song Human by Christina Perry. I find myself singing it to Noah non-stop. It reminds me of our infertility journey bang on! Such an encouraging song. Check it out:



4. Hoping to get some more spring cleaning done this weekend and finish organizing Noah's clothes. 

5. Give Away Time!!! 


Today I am sharing a fabulous shop with you all!! Quinn and Lane. I found her shop on etsy and loved these pacifier clips!! Another awesome reason I chose to purchase from her, she's a fellow Canadian!! Love supporting Canadians!! Catherine is a SAHM like myself, but she has two boys!

I also love that she gives you the option to modify the clips to fit various pacifiers! We use the gum drop pacifiers (that's what the NICU sent him home with) So you can get them universal:

or modified to accommodate the gum drops or soothie brands:


I was lucky enough for her to send me one to review! So I chose this one:


I love it! We only have 5 pacifiers, so I really can't afford to lose any, we have one for the car seat, one for his bassinet, one in the diaper bag, one washed and ready to go and one to clip to him!

It is a bit big for Noah now:
But he will grow. 

I loved this one soo much, I ordered 5 more! She has a great deal where you can buy 5 for only $18!

The shop also sells toy and cup straps:

Toddler Belt Snaps:
Toddler Belt Snap Elastic Baby Cinch Belt - Bright Teal Dots on Black

And she has just now started doing wall decor/prints:
Nursery Decor Quotes Children's Wall Art Digital Printable File - You Are My Sunshine - Orange and Brown Gender Neutral Boy or Girl
Nursery Decor Personalized Children's Wall Art Digital Printable File - Our Little Sunshine After the Rain - Rainbow Baby Girl Pink

Catherine has not only given me the opportunity to review her product, but she also offered to do a give away to not 1 of my followers, but 3!!! 

What is up for grabs? 

1 pacifier clip/winner - shipped word wide, altered or unaltered!!

You must be a follower of Life As I Know It via blogger, bloglovin' or facebook
How can you win?

(1 entry per task, leave a separate comment for each)

"Heart" Quinn and Lane on etsy and leave comment with which pacifier clip you would choose!

additional entries:
Like Quinn and Lane on Facebook.
Follow Quinn and Lane on Twitter.
Follow Quinn and Lane on Instagram 
Follow Quinn and Lane on Blogger (p.s she has a free printable up for grabs today)

Good luck!!!

Huge thanks to Catherine for this opportunity!!



Thursday, March 27, 2014

Bathroom Renovation Phase 1 Reveal!

I know, I know, it's not the nursery!! But I will be honest, I am just as happy to be able to share this with you, since Noah came 3 days too soon as far as the renovation went! So what would have taken 3 days to finish, ended up taking 2-3 weeks!!

But phase 1 is finished enough to share! We have a few small things left, but they will get done!

We hit a few bumps in the road with the renovation, like 3 walls behind the old tub. Our budget was $3000 for the bathroom and because of the unexpected bumps, we probably spent close to $4000 instead. Luckily I had budgeted for some little things to come up, so we had a bit extra in the budget to cover that, leaving us only $1000 over budget - perks to having an old home?

You can find pictures of the bathroom before HERE.

Moving on to the reveal:
The new vanity (from costco.ca)
We had to buy the faucets, but otherwise the hardware, sinks and counters were included!!
We ended up having to do a lot more plumbing than we planned on, but it all needed updating anyways!

Remember this mirror? It was my full length mirror I used to take pictures in! I bought a new full length mirror on a stand, so this one was re-purposed! We plan to paint it white to match the vanity come phase 2 or nicer weather!

View from the bathroom doorway. I have yet to find some art work for that wall! Might end up being a picture of Noah blown up!
The curtains are recycled from the old bathroom, and they still work for the room. The are from Ikea!

 Shower area:
Shower curtain is old, and to be honest we were just too lazy to change it. It works for now, until we find one we love or reuse one we have once we pick a color scheme.

Behind the shower curtain:
(I forgot to take a picture, but had this one on my phone!)
These shower heads are amazing!! We made a good choice as far as these go. We did end up paying a bit extra for them, but couldn't be happier!
We also couldn't be happier with the tile!! I love the high gloss finish, makes it have that chic-glitzy vibe I wanted!

This will eventually be all cupboards in phase 2, but for now we stuck the dresser back in for extra storage:

The towel shelves. I plan to get coordinating towels eventually, once I pick a color scheme to go with! I am thinking either teal or a wine color. But for now, mix-matched it is!
Toilet paper goes in the box at the bottom - which I bought at Winners! It matches the floors!! I also love the floors (clearly... I chose them), but they really suit the whole new look. 

The over the toilet cabinet will go white as well! Although I don't mind the dark wood, it at least matches the mirror! But the cabinets being put in will be white to match the vanity, so we will most likely end up painting these two.


The other half of the bathroom, minus me in the mirror! Some people complain the mirror is too high, but it is a narrow mirror, and M and I are tall. This is essentially our master bathroom, not a guest bath, although company can clearly use it (it's not attached to our bedroom), but either way, we accommodated ourselves.
Apparently Lux wanted to photo-bomb!
We also plan to remove that door and install a sliding barn door style to slide in beside the vanity, that way the door isnt opening into the cabinets, but once again, that is phase 2!

These are the pendant lights I chose. They go with the whole rustic-chic vibe I was going for! And the light isn't too bright to look at or be right beside! We have the pot lights above the vanity in the middle for overhead light and there is halogen in the middle of the bathroom, so lots of light!

The paint color is called Studio Taupe by Behr and I absolutely love it!! 

Overall I am really happy with how the look has come together!! I couldn't be happier with the results! Despite the fact that issues came up, we got through them, we had amazing help with installing the tub/tile. He went over and above and I can joke that he got his part done before the baby came! (When we hired him, he was hoping to do the job come spring time, but when I gave him our deadline, he agreed to it. The only thing I said was that it had to be done before the baby came and I was due March 9). 

Well my body had other plans and we were 3 days short of finishing! Luckily my Dad came out to help with whatever he could. We got it done, put everything away and love the turn out! 

I am soo proud of M for all his hard work in the bathroom! Not only was he renovating at the end, but he was a new Daddy too and it was a hard balance. Luckily Noah sleeps at night and is a pretty relaxed baby! But he was new and we were all learning! He did a great job dealing with the bumps that came along and surprisingly enough there was very little cussing involved as they came up! He put in some super long days in hopes of trying to finish the bathroom in time when we found out Noah was coming sooner than later and had we got the week in we were banking on it would have been done! 

So there you have the new bathroom!! 


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Noah - 1 Month


Weight: 7 lbs 6 oz


Height: 20.5 inches


Sleeping: We have started to establish a bit of a routine where possible!! Noah tends to give us 3-5 hour stretches of sleep at a time during the night. He is in his bassinet for bedtime, but naps where ever during the day. We also swaddle him at night time, but don't bother during the day. He will nap for 2-3 hours during the day. Noah has also started to enjoy napping on my chest, not allowing me to put him down during the day, but I have learned if I lay him slightly on his side in his bummzie, I can trick him! We also got out his sound machine owl, which he seems to enjoy in his bassinet. 

Feeding: Every 2-4/5 hours, sometimes hourly or half hourly, depending on his mood. I have also started to pump once a day and freeze my milk, trying to build up a supply, but I dont get all that much soo far, because I exclusively breast feed him, but its coming along!


Clothing: Newborn size! There a few sleepers he is growing out of when he stretches, but 0-3 months is waay to big!! 

Diaper Changes: Noah is still wearing newborn diapers. He does not enjoy diaper changes!

We had our first bath time disaster! Yes, he has peed in the tub already, but we experienced our first disaster post bath! I was drying Noah off, M was grabbing a diaper and cream, but taking his time causing me to warn him Noah would pee. Just as M put creme on his finger, Noah peed! I quickly put the towel over him, and M used his hand to block the mess, but there was pee all over Mike! We were both laughing soo hard and Noah was pretty content. As we were trying to come up with our new plan, he pooped in the towel. I am sure the look on M and I's face was priceless. I quickly put a burp cloth under the towel that was soaking through, as we continued to laugh soo hard we both crying. Luckily Noah was not crying! We decided he need to be put back in the bath, and then put a diaper on him quickly after drying him off!! The joys to having a boy!! M and I still laugh about this!


Looks: Blue eyes, and brown hair. His hair seems to be lightening up a bit after a bath.

So far I think the little man is the perfect mix of M and I! Someday's I think he looks like M and others just like me! It also depends on his expressions.

What The Doctor Had To Say: Noah is doing great! The doctor did not have any concerns! We started Vitamin D at 4 weeks and will be trying tummy time again! 


Nicknames: Stretch, Spike, Captain, Mr. Magoo, Little Man, Toots, Mama's Monkey, Mr. Shake Rattle and Roll.

Likes: The mamaroo! Car rides, walking when he's fussy, his fleece blanket, moving, the mamankangourou wrap, country music, the bouncer, Lux, Gracie and snuggles. 



Dislikes: diaper changes, baths, outfit changes, and hiccups.

Fur Baby Update: Gracie is really protective of Noah! He growled at Grandma while she was checking on him. Not a mean growl, just a "I'm watching you" growl. She also stands between the stroller and someone approaching us or taking a peek at him! But she is still a bit nervous around him, I think because he is soo small! The pets are still shut out our room, but we plan to start opening the door soon. 
I sometimes wonder if the dogs feel like the dog in Lady and the Tramp. We try to give them just as much attention, but obviously there is a difference. It has been great being able to get out to walk them. They do well with the stroller. 

Personality: He is such a happy baby and is soo very content! He has been really observant lately and I just love his expressions! He is soo much more awake and alert now! You could sit and just watch his facial expressions - reminds me of the the endless photos my parents have of me with crazy expressions!  



My Recovery: I am feeling soo much better!! My blood pressure has been great off the meds. I still tire easier than normal, but I have been enjoying getting out of the house for small trips or walks. 
My incision has healed nicely on the outside, still tender and numb though. It will swell when I have done too much! I also struggle with sleeping on my right side - I will wake up in pain from sleeping on it, although I really want to sleep on that side, I am learning not to! I do have more pain on one side over the other. 
1 month post partum picture:

I have 10 pounds to go as far as weight loss goes to bring me to my pre-pregnancy weight. I gained 35 pounds while pregnant! My wedding rings are back on!! 


We would have to say Month 1 went pretty smoothly, if not - dare I say it EASY!!

He is such a good baby! We are soo blessed!!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Weekend In Photos

We had a pretty good weekend! 

Friday night we took Noah to my sisters for the first time!! 

She made a great dinner and we surprised Hannah with her birthday present, since we missed her birthday party the day we had Noah! My Dad ended up coming for dinner as well!! 


This was his first picture with all his grandchildren!! B was more interested in Noah than looking at the camera, but it still made a good picture!! 

My Dad also made these sweet moccasins for Noah: 

Friday nights sleep routine was a bit off and we had our first night of more than 2 wakings. It wasn't too bad, he just didn't want to settle. 

Saturday morning we slept in a bit, and then M bathed all the cats! The hair was becoming too much, as they are shedding like beasts, and actually they all actually enjoyed their bathes (as much as a cat can enjoy a bath), but it wasn't pure torture this time, they all co-operated! We got some laundry done, and I worked on the printables for Noah's nursery. We "spring-cleaned" the kitchen, so now we just have the spare bath, mudroom and bedroom to spring clean on the main floor! Feels great to get started on this task, despite the fact that I am not able to do much. 

Saturday afternoon, we went to Cambridge to pick up the family ring M designed for me. 

The ring is on upside down... Duh... It's a V for our last name, our birth stones and Noah's in the middle! Now I just have to get used to wearing it! 

We grabbed some groceries quickly as well while were in the city and then we came home and relaxed. 

Noah had another rough night, he was just wide awake after feedings. We are pretty sure this is the start of a growth spurt! According to The Wonder Years App, he is starting his first leap and so far it seems accurate! He is eatting a bit more often and not settling as easily to rest. He also just wants to be held all the time instead of put down. No complaints there though - we love the snuggles! 

We celebrated Noah being 5 weeks!! 

K and R came over in the morning to meet Noah. It was great to catch up!! 

We tackled a few more projects on the to-do list! Dealt with more laundry, a few last minute mini jobs in the bathroom, like flooring transition piece and trim work, hung the frames on the gallery wall in the nursery and attempted to sort his clothes out in to drawers upstairs until he woke up and needed to eat. In all honesty I was ready for the break, as I am torn on how to organize his drawers!! 

We attempted a family nap: 

It didn't happen all at once, although we tried, but we ended up napping in shifts! It was a but too chilly for a family walk after dinner, so M took the dogs and I fed Noah! We ended the evening with a content, happy Noah!! 

Noah had a great nights sleep last night, which was warmly welcomed by us, however I apparently felt the need to sleep like a retard and my neck is stiff! So today will be fun, but at least he is happy!!



Friday, March 21, 2014

Fridays Facts

It's been a busy week, filled with too much shopping on my part. I know I wondered if there was such a thing, but when you are recovering from a c-section I've learned that there is. Just because this Mama feels great, doesn't mean my body is ready for mall shopping or outting after outting!! Lesson hopefully learned! So today we are taking it easy, with just a trip to my sisters tonight. Hopefully he refrains from using this finger in public or around children...


Now that the weather is getting nicer I have been itching to get outside, and that we did! We went for a few walks outside! I can actually see grass in a few spots in my yard! I'm ignoring the mounds of it though from the drive way! 

Let's talk shopping! I've learned that shopping for myself isn't nearly as fun as shopping for a little person right now! Damn post-partum body. I'm lost as far as nursing style goes right now and I only have a few options that I'm comfortable leaving the house in right now! Hopefully I will figure out a few more options. But the little Mr. made out like a bandit with a $2.99 sale! I bought all bigger sizes, since he seems to have more than enough 0-3 month clothing that I am just starting to introduce, despite the fact that they swim on him! But we were running out of newborn sleeper options, luckily newborn 3 pieces fit best! 

I also bought a few baskets at Winners, one for toilet paper storage in the new bathroom and the other one will most likely be for books for Noah. Up next Target... I bought some nursing tanks on clearance, a few 3-piece outfits for Noah, some leggings (that I love) and groceries - which were not cheaper, so we bought necessities. 

I've been avoiding going up into the nursery to sort out clothes for Noah! I procrastinated when I didn't know what sex we were having and now that we know, I still dread sorting out sizes. Maybe this weekend!! Hopefully we will get some pictures hung on the gallery wall so I can post pictures of the nursery already!! I did leave a sneak peek on Instagram: 


We had an exciting mail week too! Noah's birth announcements came in the mail this week! Love them!! Now I need to get them sent out before the postage goes up! Hopefully I will get on that soon!! I have a feeling digital mail will be in our future with these price hikes for stamps. 

We also received a great product review in the mail!! More on that to come next week, along with a give away for not 1, but 3 lucky winners!! Stay tuned!! 

In the mean time I'm going to hang out with Mr. Attitude! (Don't worry he's not actually grumpy).


Have a great weekend friends! I think we will!! 


Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Noah's Birth Story

I will for warn you, this is a very long post, and I decided to forgo pictures and just write the story, as I needed to get it all down before I forgot more and more! Prepare yourself and grab a drink!

I guess the beginning of this story really started at our OB appointment on the 12th of February, when we were almost induced at that point because of high blood pressure. Luckily my blood work came back fine, my blood pressure meds were increased with hopes of buying us one more week to bring us to 37 weeks. But we were officially on borrowed time. My OB's opinion was that "my wheels were falling off my wagon".

So home we went, I decided it would be best to take it easy to help us make it the whole week, so I stayed home, essentially on bed rest, sitting on the couch doing nothing. We noticed my blood pressure was starting to climb in the evening, but we got it to come back down after 2 hours. At this point I wasn't feeling over confident that we would make it the week without having a baby.

Come Friday, I sat around, getting blog posts ready to schedule, crocheting, sitting around, trying to get caught up on my PVR, my blood pressure was doing great! I actually thought to myself that maybe we will last the week. I decided to bake some cookies, checking my blood pressure throughout, and it was still good! M had some running around to do for the fire departments big wing night. During his travels he dropped off dinner to me and that is when I noticed my blood pressure starting to climb. I let him know, and we decided to watch it and see if it comes down like it did the night before. However that was not the case, it was climbing at a steady rate. M was doing set up for the event, and I decided after not seeing the numbers come down, and having a headache, that I better call him to come home around 8 PM. He came right home, my bags were packed for the most part, just had to throw in the last minute items, as well as some extra pjs and my crocheting to entertain me, I was sure they would either send me home or admit me for observation. My BP when leaving the house was 172/110 - the highest I had seen it! I was sure by the time we arrived at the hospital, it would be fine.

I texted my friend J to let her know I was heading in to the hospital and hoped she would let the dogs out later just in case we weren't home. M's parents were still in St. Maartin, which is who we were going to have watch the dogs when it came to having the baby, luckily I had made alternative arrangements as my back up plan.

We arrived at the hospital around 9:30 PM, headed straight to labor and delivery triage, where they took me back right away. They checked my blood pressure and sure enough it was up - 167/107. The nurse checked it 5 times, before bringing in a resident to double check it. They checked my urine and sure enough there was protein. By 10 PM I had an ultrasound to double check my placenta where they found calcification, but otherwise baby was doing well and no other concerns. They gave me a fast-acting blood pressure medication to help bring it down and then told us we were having a baby. They were inducing us that night - M and I were surprised and had very little information on induction. But they weren't fooling around, this when things started moving quickly. I had a nurse come in and start an IV, she informed me that I would be going on a medication to help protect me from having a seizure/stroke, since my BP was so high, which was magnesium sulphate - horrible stuff.

Within 10 minutes I was changed into a gown and taken down to have a Foley catheter inserted to help dilate my cervix, which was at a 1. This process was far from fun or easy, because my cervix was soo high, she had issues getting the balloon catheter in place after trying twice, before bringing in a senior resident, who got it on his first try, but of course it took a while and was very uncomfortable. I wont lie, a few tears were shed, but once it was in, it wasn't horrible.

We were then taken down to labor and delivery to our room, where we would be staying until after the baby was born. We had a great nurse, who walked me through the whole process, as we hadn't really looked into induction. I loved that the nurse we had was in our room the whole time, I wasn't left alone at all, when she had a break, another nurse would cover for her. We actually ended up with the same nurses for the most part after their 12 hour shifts. I was given the magnesium sulphate in my IV, as well as a catheter. I was contracting regularly every 3-4 minutes with ease. Shortly after the catheter was in place, the Foley catheter ended up coming out around 3 AM. They checked me at 4 AM and I was at 2 cm dilated, my cervix was still high. They tried to break my water, with no success. It was horrible, not sure how M slept through that part, as I was soo very uncomfortable and I am sure tears came again at that point. They decided to give me more time, and rechecked me around 7:30 AM, where I was maybe 2.5 cm, still high cervix and no luck with breaking my water. At this point they recommended getting the epidural, which would further help with my blood pressure, as well as the fact that they were about to start the oxytocin to get my contractions more regulated.

Around 8 AM it was time for the epidural, which I was scared to get. But in all honesty it wasn't bad pain wise. I did end up almost passing out, but I think it was more from the unknown and anxiety of it than anything else, which of course made M not feel soo hot as I was leaning against him. It took a while for his skin color to come back! M was sure he could handle anything coming his way, being trained to deal with emergencies as a firefighter, but he admitted seeing me in pain/anxious, the size of the needle, etc., made him feel not so good. He handled IVF twice and was by my side the whole time throughout everything, so I was surprised by his reaction. But he handled it, chalked it up to being hungry on top of everything else.

The immediate after effects of the epidural were amazing after I was able to lay down and feel better, as my BP had dropped significantly. I couldn't lift my legs, passed the ice cube test - I had no idea they tested the success of an epidural with an ice cube! I didn't feel anything. Best few hours of the whole labor process. They checked me again at 10:30 AM and I was no further ahead. She could feel feel the head, but they said the baby was bobbing, not secure in the birth canal. I was contracting every 2.5/3 minutes comfortably. 

I slept for 4 hours, they checked me at 2 PM and they were finally able to break my water, although I was still only at 2.5 cm dilated. We were ever hopeful that things would pick up at this point, as they I was at the full dose of oxytocin and contracting every 1.5-2 minutes, feeling more and more, as my epidural was becoming spotty. I could feel different parts of my body during the ice cube test.

Around 3:30pm they tried to readjust my epidural, as it was just too spotty and I was uncomfortable. There was minimal relief after, which lead to discussions of redoing it completely, which I was not a fan of! By this point I was soo in need of water, the magnesium sulphate had made my mouth dryer than a desert. 

My sister showed up around 5:30ish (I think, time was becoming a blur as exhaustion was setting in). 

They checked me around 9 PM and still no progress. I felt defeated! I was sure that things should have picked up by now! I was anxious and upset, I really wanted water, an ice cube anything other than the sponge to wet my mouth. 

They rechecked my epidural around 10pm as back labor had set in and I was soo incredibly uncomfortable. The doctor readjusted it again, but it didn't touch the back labor! 

By this point crazy Ashley was on board. I was sooo incredibly uncomfortable, thirsty, and overwhelmed. The pain was bad. I couldn't lay on my side, or else contractions would stop for some reason. Midnight came around and my nurse checked me and discovered I was at a 3 cm. Only 3!! I became soo upset, I was done! I couldn't imagine labouring further like this. The anaesthesiologist came in to discuss further pain management adding Fentanyl in my epidural, which I was against, knowing it would transfer to the baby! The baby's heart rate was already lower than we had ever seen it at 110, with no fluctuations, which was a cause for concern. My urine in my catheter bag was now complete blood because of the mag sulphate. I was beyond upset at this point. 

They brought the doctor in to discuss my options, because at this point I was ready for a c-section, which M was trying to talk me out of. The doctors tried to talk me out of it as well, but I told them all I was worried about the baby, trusting my gut instinct, knowing my body couldn't go much further. I needed water, and that is when the compromises started. The doctor on call allowed me ice cubes and a sip of water if I agreed to try 6 more hours of labor before agreeing to a c-section had I not progressed to 5cm by 6 AM. If I was 5 cm by 6AM, I would go all the way, but I wasn't even considered to be in active labor at this point. The last 30 hours were nothing in their eyes, they started counting from when my water broke. She recommended adding Fentanyl to my epidural reassuring it would not have a negative effect on the baby, that was in deed safe and would be out of the baby's system if I needed a c-section. So I agreed to try it. 

I slept lightly with the new pain meds, but still continued to feel the back labor. I woke around 5 AM, discussed c-section with M and my sister, and decided I was going to push forward with it, had I not progressed. M finally saw my point of view, he was just worried because it is major surgery. They checked me at 5:30AM and I had made it to 4cm. The doctor came in, rechecked me and I opted for the c-section, which she agreed to. They stopped all meds at this point, aside from my epidural, but stopped the Fentanyl. I was supposed to go in at 7 AM, but got bumped for an emergency c-section. My contractions had stopped completely off the meds. 

At 8 AM I was wheeled down to the OR, we quickly gave guesses as to what we were having. I guessed boy, M guessed girl and my sister guessed boy too, along with my nurse. I figured I would be nervous going into surgery, but I felt soo calm, knowing this is what I needed to do to bring my baby into this world. 

They positioned me on the table, amped up my epidural and did the ice cube test. I could feel it cold, but not "as" cold, but the anestheologist reassured me they would recheck before cutting. The doctor came in, the room was full of people, but M was not in there yet. Next I know I could feel the scapal ripping through my skin, and I could literally feel my skin ripping apart. It wasn't necessarily painful, but a feeling I will never forget. I quickly announced that I could feel that. The anesthiologist was like feel what? I described what I felt, he reassured me it was just a test to try to keep me calm and from panicking and told me they were putting me out. Before I could even think to react, there was a mask on my face and I was out. 

M was gowning up while I was in the OR being prepped and next thing he knew the nurse came out to tell him he wasn't going to be coming in because they ended up putting me out. About 15 minutes later the nurse came back to grab something and reassured M that we were both fine, the baby was born and she asked if he wanted to know the sex. M said no he wanted to see for himself. Half an hour later they came to get M and brought him into the resuscitation room, where he met our son for the first time. He had tubes and wires all over and M was surely overwhelmed. They reassured him it was all precautionary, as when the baby came out he wasn't breathing. His heart was beating, but he didn't gasp for air and cry like most babies do. He was born blue. He was intubated at this point, but he was doing 95% of the breathing on his own at this point. He was just a little lazy. He was wheeled over to the NICU and M just sat by his side.

I really don't remember waking up, it's all a blur, but I remember being upset to hear my son was in the NICU, but that he was fine. I remember feeling pain, but didn't want meds as I wanted to stay awake to meet my son, but they told me I wasn't able to go. My sister had pictures and videos of him and my Dad was at my side. M followed my instructions to stay with the baby no matter what. I maybe saw M 2 hours after the baby was born, when my sister switched off with him. I was still a mess. I wanted nothing more but to see, and touch my son. My heart was breaking being a way from him. It felt good to have M's reassurance that he was fine, but no one could reassure me more than seeing him for myself. So I started compromising again. I promised I would sleep after I saw my son, but I knew I wouldn't be able to settle until then. 

Since this post is soo incredibly long, I will do a separate post on meeting my son, along with the rest of our hospital stay! Stay tuned!!

If you got through this whole post you now deserve a snack!! I didn't want to tell you to get a snack just in case your tummy got queasy.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Weekend Rewind

Happy Monday y'all.

We had a great weekend and accomplished soo much!! 

Friday I meant to blog, but Noah wasn't having any of it! He just needed to be held all day and chose not to sleep all day long, except for when I took him to get his hearing tested. Which he passed!!


Saturday M's Mom came over to watch Noah while we tried to finish outting stuff away in the bathroom and clean the dining room. We ended up getting most of the stuff put away in the bathroom, but we didn't end up cleaning the dining room because Noah needed to eat. But we changed the living room around instead while M had his Mom's help, since I am not allowed to do anything yet. I don't love the new layout, but it works for all of the baby parafenalia! 

K ended up popping in with W for a visit in the afternoon and then M had to run into town to get something for the new sump pump. He grabbed Swiss Chalet for dinner, which was alright, but they forgot to send a bag home with M, so we were missing half of our stuff! They at least credited my account! We relaxed the rest of the evening! I managed to get Noah's birth story done, as well as his birth announcements!! 

Noah had a great nights sleep, giving us 5 and 4 hour stretches! M and I woke up feeling soo refreshed and Noah was super content. We celebrated Noah being 1 month old!! I still can't get over how fast that month went!! I feel like I love him more and more each day and I continue to fall in love with M all over again seeing him as a Dad. I am soo honestly blessed with an amazing family. 

We managed to get the dining room completely cleaned, aside from the closet in there, which I'm not in as big of a rush to do. 

Wow it feels great to see my dining room table again and for the space to be soo clean!! I also love the way the bathroom is looking, feels great to have that big job finished!! Now We just have the spare bathroom, kitchen, mudroom and bedroom to spring clean!! 

J and H came over with the kids to meet Noah later in the afternoon. It was great to catch up and meet their little one. We had a nice roast beef dinner and then went for a quick walk before it got dark. We had to bundle right up, but it was great to get some fresh air and sunshine, even if it was -18! Then we relaxed the evening away!! 

Today Noah has his 1 month check up! 

this shirt lasted an hour before he spit up all over it!!

Happy St. Patty's Day!! 




Thursday, March 13, 2014

3 on Thursday

Of course one of my 3 things is going to be a rant about the weather!

I'm sooo over Winter! We were hit with yet another messy snow storm and to top matters off, instead of the nice +10 we had Tuesday to follow up, we are back to -30.... Turns out that Monday and Tuesday were just a tease! Here is a pic of just some of the snow we got yesterday: 

They might look impressed, but I wasn't! And I wasn't impressed when all that snow in the door way came pouring in the house when they entered! But it didn't matter which door I used, it was belly deep on the dogs no matter what! 

Moving on to number two... I found a great deal with photo book Canada to get for starting his Noah's maternity journey, which will have my weekly pics and letters! I know I tried photo book Canada before and didn't love it, but I couldn't pass up the deal, so we will try again. They replaced their screw up last time and the finish was good. I just didn't love making it - it wasn't as easy as Shutterfly! I also need to get cracking on his birth announcements!! Order premade cards or design my own.... 

Three. I took Noah to get weighed today and he is up to 7.6 pounds!!! He has also grown an inch since coming home!!! Can't believe he will be one month old on Sunday!! 




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