One Week of Sleepless Bliss

Exactly one week ago, I was laying in bed, crying, complaining to Dana that I didn't want to be pregnant any more. Little did I know that I would wake up an hour later with startings of labor. Now, I look back on my week and am amazed with the family we have. A 4 year old boy who acts more like a little daddy than the preschooler he is. A 2 year old girl who keeps me on my toes and laughing all the time. And now a precious baby boy who snuggles me any time I want and nestles right into my neck to make me melt. Did I mention that I am married to the sexiest most amazing man to ever walk the earth? Bliss. Blessed. Beautiful. I am lucky.

Burrito Baby and Other Miracles...

These are really a smattering of pictures taken over the last few days, but to start off with I want to draw your attention to the green sweet pea burrito baby above. For the last 4 days I think we have put Elijah down (not holding him) for a total of like 20 minutes... I love him so much, but this is not why. He does not like to be put down. He can be completely asleep to the point of 'konked out' (as I like to put it). I will creep him into his room, place him in his warm comfortable crib, slowly back out, and as soon as I may head hits my pillow- I hear him. I have been so tired, averaging about 3 hours a sleep a night, I really have been at my wits end. A friend reminded about the miracle workers that perform little acts of miracles for a small fee. We use to live closer to our very own miracle, who performed Kynan and Ava's very first miracles, but he is not accessible this week. So we called the chiropractor and loaded the van up for a family of 5 session with Dr. Ruben. A few other friends suggested that maybe he likes to be bundled and so we tried that too. Last night was the test run and Elijah..... passed with flying colours. He slept a whole hour in his own bed yesterday after his adjustment. And then, we started going to bed around 1am (sounds late, but this is actually early compared to previous nights). I nursed him, bundled him really tight, and tucked him in. From then on, he woke every two hours for a feeding and then went back to sleep in his own bed!!! Which meant, I got about 6 hours of sleep in total last night, which also means I am one happy mama of 3! Here is how we did it:

1. Adjustment from miracle worker (chiropractor) whom now I love and will be dropping off cookies for very soon.

2. Swaddle in receiving blanket.

3. Swaddle in knitted blanket.

4. Wrap in knitted cocoon.

5. Place hat on head.

7. Roll flannel blankets on either side of sleeping area.

8. Place hot water bottle in sleeping area while nursing burrito baby.

9. Place baby in sleeping area (CAUTION: remove hot water bottle first).

10. One final flannel blanket wrapped around whole set up for final cozy effect.

RESULT: Sleeping baby without being held... yay!

Some would think that either our burrito baby is sweltering away under all that, or that our house is an ice box but neither are true. In fact, Dana and I are sweating at night under our one blanket AND Elijah is perfectly warm with no sweat in sight. Go figure. Needless to say, I am super happy now that I am some what functional again (I am not a happy girl with no sleep).

The rest of the pictures are just a smattering of what has been going on here...

Ava news:
She is officially potty trained. We have very little accidents. She goes in the toliet! Only wearing pull-ups at night and on long trips. She got a baby stroller and diaper bag as a reward for her success and she loves it... as you can see her sitting in it above.

Kynan news:
Loves Elijah... he often wants to hold him, sing to him, comfort him. And is very demanding that I nurse as soon as he starts to cry. He has a real 'daddy's heart'.

Dana news:
The only thing I can say about this man is that I am so in love with him and so thankful for him everyday. He has been so helpful this week, not complaining for the lack of sleep he is getting too. He feeds me, makes sure I am hydrated, tries to give me 'cat naps' for as long as possible, and is being the best dad to our older two playing all day with them and never stopping with the pouring out of love. He amazes me and this week reminded me with every moment why I am so blessed to be married to him. I love you Dana-bear!!!

His Story...

We would like to welcome our newest addition, our son, Elijah John McCallum. He was born at 9:16am Oct 13th at Regina General Hospital. He is beautiful, unique and absolutely precious. This is his story.

Dana and I headed to bed after watching some TV and relaxing. We talked for a bit. Mostly I cried, saying that I am so 'done' being pregnant and Dana consoled me trying to offer any words of encouragement to keep me going. We kissed and then went to sleep. Not long after I woke up (around 12:30am) with the starting of contractions. Thinking it was false labour, as the contractions were not very strong and about 15 minutes apart, I went back to sleep. I floated in and out of sleep for the next couple hours, until it was too uncomfortable. I started timing the contractions again and they were down to about 5 minutes apart, the same intensity as before though. I went and had a shower thinking maybe that would relax me and stop these 'false' labour pains, woke Dana up to message my back, and at about 4am Dana and I went for a walk. At this point, the contractions were still only 4 minutes apart, but much more intense. I was having to breathe through them. The fresh air felt so good on my face, and walking seemed to help. We came back inside, and put on a movie. What better movie to labour to then, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants... LOL. It didn't take long before it was too uncomfortable lying on the couch so I went back up to the bathroom, only for a warm bath this time. Dana started noticing that the contractions were getting a little closer together, but much more intense. That's when we decided, maybe we should go accessed at the hospital. I was still convinced that I was false labour. It was about 6:30am when we left the kids with mom, texted my friend and doula- Jen, and headed out. The labour and delivery ward was buzzing with other women labouring. Apparently, we picked one of the busiest weekends to have a baby. The put me in an assessment room and checked me all out... only 4 cm dialated. All night of labouring, that is not what I wanted to hear. BUT the nurse did say my membranes had ruptured and they would be admitting me, so I was happy to know that my baby was on the way. After the assessment the contraction got much more intense and frequent. We got into the delivery room and I was able to try different positions... I rocked on the ball, went in the tub and eventually squated on the bed to deliver. With only two pushes he was out.... it was fast once I got to the hospital. And he only took two pushes to come out. Basically, it went like this:

Susie; "I need to push!!"
Nurse; "No, no. You are only 7 cm. Let's breathe through this one."
Susie thinks... I hate you.
Next contraction...
Susie; "Okay, I really need to push... I'm sorry... I can't stop..."
Nurse; "No, no, you are not ready. Don't push... oh! There's the head! Okay, the heads out. Let's wait for the next contrac... oh, there's the shoudlers... okay, here's the rest.... It's a boy!"

I always find it utterly amazing that your body just knows what to do. We can say we know, but ultimately our bodies were designed to know better. And thus was Elijah. Perfect in every way. He looks so uniquely different with his round head and fuzzy black hair, but also familar- sharing many characteristics with Kynan.

We only stayed at the hospital for a total of 9 hours and then were allowed to go home. So I was able to have all the comforts of a hospital birth and still sleep in my own bed. It was great. Lunch and dinner provided, and then on my way to the comforts of home. I feel really good, so happy to have Elijah in my arms and not in my belly. This morning I enjoyed a nice nap on my belly for the first time in 9 months... yes, it was heaven. I have had 3 hours of sleep in 36 hours so I am exhausted, but utterly delighted. I have so much more to share, but right now Kynan is yelling at me: "Go get him! He's crying! You are too slow... go now." Elijah started crying 30 seconds ago. LOL.... bliss.

MIA... and Still Waiting

Well, I have to apologize to my readers because I have been MIA for a few weeks. Hopefully you will forgive me, as I have been preparing to birth my third bambino and finishing up some renovations. Pictures all soon to come, as my little girl broke our card reader and we still have not got a new one. And I am not patient enough to figure out the camera cords.

So the basement is finally finished (minus the bathroom). It looks fantastic. The kids love it. And Kynan especially loves that he knows where all his toys are. Everything has a place and everything in it's place. I know I am geeky, but have been extremely anal retentive lately and even find myself day dreaming about labelers AND labour.....

Which brings me to the 'still waiting' part of my title. Yes, I have officially gone overdue for the third time in my life waiting for a bambino to enter the world. I know that baby's come when they are ready, everything in good time, a watched pot doesn't boil..... but cut a girl some slack already. Can't I just once be one of those lucky pregnant ladies who go into labour early or even 'on time'??? No such luck; however, I just finished the most relaxing message given by my husband. And am ready to settle in for the night. No real contractions, but here is to hoping that baby decides to come soon. Just thought you would all like an update, but I am going to run now and kiss my baby girl good night.