Introducing Sam!

So yes, it's been so long that we haven't even posted anything about our new baby! Samuel Jeffrey was born on July 31st (6 days early) at 3:02 pm after a very interesting labour experience. We wanted to attempt a VBAC, but with my past history and pelvic shape we had very low expectations that it would be a success. But much to our surprise, it actually worked! Labour was very different from our experience with Amanda (something I wasn't really expecting)...it started out easier, got bad very fast, and then progressed extremely rapidly (i.e., 3 cm to 10 cm in about 20 minutes!). Despite the cord being wrapped tightly around his neck (something we didn't know about until later), the delivery was pretty straightforward and recovery was 100X easier than our previous C-section.

Sam is generally a pretty happy and mellow baby, although he definitely has a temper! Much to our delight he is a better sleeper than Amanda; he was sleeping pretty good stretches (4-5 hours) at a couple of weeks and by 6 weeks was up to 6 hours or so, then 7-8 hours by 8 weeks. However, now at 14 weeks he's regressed a bit...he hit a big growth spurt at 12 weeks and I'm not sure whether it's still going on or whether we won't get our good sleeper back again! We're hoping things will return to normal soon.

One of the best things has been watching how Sam and Amanda interact. Amanda is such a little mommy with him...she talks to him in a high singsong voice and loves to play all kinds of little games with him. She has been a great helper to us, especially to me during the days when things get frustrating! Sam obviously adores Amanda and gazes at her happily for ages. She is often able to calm him down when Jeff or I can't. We were lucky that Amanda didn't have high expectations of what he would be capable of...just one of the nice things about them being over 4 years apart. We can't wait to see how their relationship progresses as he gets bigger!

A few favourite photos are below...or visit the entire Sam Collection on Flickr.
1 day old


13 days old


6.5 weeks


12.5 weeks


And a recent photo of Sam and Amanda together...

New Leaf...

We've been inspired to start posting to the blog again...just because we just have so much extra time on our hands these days (that, folks, is what's known as sarcasm). We've realized how much of Amanda's babyhood we remember because we wrote it down, and how much of Sam's we will probably forget if we don't! So we're going to try to get back into a regular habit of writing, but it might be pretty rusty for awhile.

We have no illusions that there are hundreds (or even dozens, or even any) readers out there, but while we're at it, it would be great to know who's reading! If you could leave us a comment we would appreciate it!

The Morning Dew

Playing on the Deck
Originally uploaded by JenJeff

It has been awhile since I've posted (Jeff). I just thought that I'd share this story.

We were at a friend's cabin a few weeks back and Amanda had left her colouring stuff outside on the grass the previous night. The next morning, we asked her to go out and get it and told her that it might be a little wet. She asked the usual "why?". We tried to explain that it was because of the dew. She asked "what is dew?". We explained that in the fall when it gets colder at night that water sometimes forms on things because of the temperature.

Our 4 year old replied. "Oh, you mean condensation"

Meet the Monkey!

I had the most frustrating ultrasound experience ever this week! Our ultrasound was supposed to be on Monday morning, so I dutifully got up 2 hours ahead of the appointment time and drank a full litre of water. You know you're in trouble when you haven't even finished drinking the water yet and you already have to go to the bathroom! By the time I left for the appointment I was totally miserable. Then I got there and found out that the computers were all down, so I couldn't have my ultrasound after all! Jeff and I had both taken 2 hours off work and we had pulled Amanda out of daycare for the morning, not to mention the water torture, all for nothing!

They were able to reschedule us for Thursday after work (this after I insisted we would not be coming in during the day and missing more work!). The unfortunate thing was that they didn't actually book us an appointment - they told us just to show up and they would "fit us in". I also pinned them down on how much water I had to really drink because I knew I would never make the commute home as uncomfortable as I had been on Monday!

Luckily they did get us in quite quickly (I had visions of us waiting for an hour), but they whipped us through pretty quickly. I seem to remember Amanda's ultrasound taking 30–40 minutes, but I think we were all done in about 10 minutes this time! The baby was sleeping away and barely moved for the entire time. I was a bit worried until I saw that heart beating away! The heart rate was around 150 bpm (quite a bit faster than at our OB appointment 1.5 months ago) and baby seems to be measuring right on target. The technician showed us a few different views, but did go through them very quickly. The bonus was that he switched quickly to the 3D ultrasound view and the difference was amazing! We could really see baby's face (he stuck to the face since we didn't want to know the gender). Amanda got to come in and see too, and she was very excited. She did seem to understand what she was looking at and really liked it when the baby moved! We only got two photos but they turned out pretty good. So all in all, a fairly good experience, although it would have been nice to have a bit more time in there!

So, without further ado, meet the monkey:

Pretty cute, right? We make cute kids. :)

Long-Overdue Update

WOW, it's been a really long time since we've updated our blog! I guess life has really been catching up with us. Between working long hours, chasing around after a 3.5 year old, and attempting (hah!) to keep up with the house, it's been tough to update as well.

Oh, and there's this...

(Yes, that's a very faintly positive pregnancy test...that's what you get on day 14!!). So yes, we're having a baby! All 3 of us are very excited, although I admit this pregnancy has been much less fun than the first one. Between the instantly-pooching belly (seriously, at like 4.5 weeks); the strong aversion to pretty much every smell I encounter on my daily walk to work downtown (exhaust, anything resembling a food...); the terrifying bleeding that started at 6 weeks and continued throughout my 1st trimester and into my 2nd; the unbelievable irritability (sorry family!); and fatigue so extreme that I've more than once fallen asleep with my head on the dining room table while Jeff and Amanda talk around me, I've seen better days. It's disappointing, because I so enjoyed my first pregnancy, and really I don't have that much to complain about - no serious nausea and so far I'm still down about 5 lbs from my starting weight (despite feeling and probably looking like I'm about 6 months pregnant!). I keep telling myself I'll feel better "when"...but when hasn't quite arrived yet. I thought by now (17.5 weeks) I'd be hitting that lovely 2nd trimester energy spurt, but it hasn't happened yet. I will definitely feel reassured when I feel the baby moving more consistently, but this one doesn't behave very well and I'm getting only faint and intermittent sensations that could possibly be the baby. On the upside: I've had 2 ultrasounds, both of which looked good, and am really looking forward to the 20 week one (on March 17th), to which we're hoping to bring Amanda. So really, everything is good! Baby is due on August 6th, but will probably arrive sometime towards the end of July.

So what else is new with us?

• Amanda's music lessons continue to go great. She had her first recital last weekend and we were so proud of her! She didn't get nervous, even a little bit - she was just so excited to get up in front of everyone and perform. She also played a pretty hard song (Mary Had a Little Lamb) for someone who only started a few months ago and is one of only two 3-year olds in the class, and did really well, although she got a bit lost in the middle; she totally recovered by the end and felt great about her performance, which was the most important thing! We celebrated with dinner out with her grandparents, then ice cream cake back at our place. A few photos are posted on a Flickr set; here's Amanda performing the "Sunshine Song" with her class:
  
  We have a videotape of her performance but haven't pulled it off the video camera yet...will update here once we've got it done (maybe this evening).
  
• Christmas! Well, we had a great Christmas although it felt pretty low-key this year. We announced our big news to both Amanda and our families on Christmas eve, after having a very reassuring first ultrasound early that morning, so that was fun. Didn't take as many pictures as we usually do, but there's a set on Flickr, and here is my favourite picture from this Christmas - Amanda and my Dad on Christmas eve (Amanda is wearing her Christmas nightie, handmade by Grandma):
  
  
• Jeff had a particularly exciting start to his year, with two surgeries - one pretty minor to remove a thingie from his lower leg, and a second more serious to remove his gall bladder. It's quite a relief to have it all over with and for both of us (especially him!) not to have to worry about the possibility of another gall bladder attack. He is recovering well although I think it was harder than he expected.
  

Hmm, sadly that's about all that's been going on with us. We will try to update more frequently with info about the new little monkey and everything else that's going on in our lives!