Boring to Busy

Life has been quite busy these last couple weeks. There have been a few noteworthy events and I've also been trying to catch up on a few loose ends.

As I've stated before, I tend to procrastinate. So it won't be a surprise when I tell you I spent an hour on the phone with three different customer service reps for three different reasons. I'll have to admit that two of the three calls went fairly well, but the third left me scratching my head.

The first call was to Phillips. We bought a Phillips Avent monitor when Pauly was born and I loved it but, after 9 or 10 months of use the rechargeable battery wouldn't keep a charge for more than 3 hours. The low battery beeping would wake me in the middle of the night so I stopped using it. I wanted to purchase a replacement but every store I went to didn't sell one. They all advised me to contact Phillips to get it. I had every intention of doing it but after a week this task was left on the back burner. Then Riley was born and when she started sleeping in her own crib it was just easier to borrow my sisters. Here's where things get frustrating. No matter where I plugged in her monitor, there was always static. Apparently she never had a problem with it so I took it as a sign to get off my ass and get mine fixed. Competing with static when your trying to sleep or watch TV is nerve wracking. So I finally called Phillips and told them what I needed. They didn't have any batteries in stock but my monitor was still under warranty so they went and shipped me a whole new monitor! It's just as good as the last and now I can watch Grey's Anatomy without background noise :)

The second call was made to Bell. It was an easy fix to my bill but one that shouldn't have happened. We'll see how things go next month.

The third was a call to Apple. I've only had my phone for 2 months but for some reason my USB cable stopped working. They were going to replace it at no cost but it took them three attempts to get it right. The first part was the wall adapter that the cable plugs into. The second was a USB video cable. Then finally after a third phone call I got the regular USB. Now I don't have to share one cable between my iPhone and iPad.

When I was about 8 months pregnant with Riley I was having my usual dental check up. My Hygenist noticed something peculiar and asked me to come back ASAP after the baby was born so she could take some x-rays. I did and the culpurate was two impacted wisdom teeth (I only had two btw). Since I wasn't in any discomfort and there were no cavities, we both agreed to wait a while before proceeding. So about a month ago I had my consult and two weeks after that I went in for the surgery. I was a little nervous since I'd never been under general anesthesia but it went surprisingly well. I think the worst part of it was getting the IV. When I woke up I wasn't in any pain. I wasn't groggy, sleepy or quezzy in any way. I was sent home with antibiotics and Tylenol #3. I took the Tylenol for the rest of that day since I wasn't able to nurse for 8 hours following. The next day my face was swollen but the pain was minimal. I resorted to ibuprofen twice a day for two days then didn't need anything after that. As of now my jaw is a little tender but I'm able to eat and drink normally without pain.

The second event that deserves recognition is the fact that Riley has started crawling. She was exactly 9 months old when it happened. Unlike her brother, she started on her hands and knees but you can tell she just wants to get up and walk. In the last five days she's learned to move around on her hands and feet which is amusing to watch.

And finally...Pauly turned 2!  On his actual birthday we took him to Chuck e Cheese but this past weekend we celebrated with family and friends and it was a blast. We started off at the splash pad and then made our way back home for lunch, presents and cake. There wasn't a rain cloud in the sky and it wasn't too hot. Just perfect.

Fun at Chuck E Cheese

     

Riley getting ready to party 

Splash pad fun 

  

  

   

      

 

 

 

      

Happy Birthday Mom!

Thursday was my mom's 60th birthday. We kept it low key as per her wishes and only celebrated with pizza, cake and coffee. She had a wonderful time with her daughters and grand kids but...my sister and I decided that a ladies night was also in order. So today we went out to dinner and left the kids with their fathers (except Riley since I'm exclusively breast feeding). We all gathered together afterwards including aunts and cousins but, it has been a while since we've done the mother-daughters thing.

Years ago, spending quality time with my mom was not something I thought I'd look forward to. We didn't have the best relationship and our views on life were very different. Now that I'm older, wiser and have children of my own, it's something I cherish and very much appreciate. I love seeing her happy and right now her grand kids put the biggest smile on her face. It's priceless to see her eyes light up when all five kids are together at her house, playing and causing a ruckus.

I wouldn't be fooling anyone if I said my life was perfect. But when you have a mother who looks past your mistakes, forgives your stubbornness, and is always willing to put her life on hold in order to make yours a little easier, those rough patches don't seem so bad anymore. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful role model and I hope that one day my children will think of me in the same way.

I love you mom and happy birthday.

The Disappearing Act

Here is the long awaited post.
I'll try to keep it short but, that seems almost impossible considering this will be a birth story.

Lets's get down to it then...I'm now a mother of 2. A rambunctious boy, and an adorable little girl. Her name is Riley and she was born exactly on her due date of September 22, 2011.

It all started the day before Riley was born. I went to see the midwives for my 40 week appointment and was glad to find out that I was 1cm dilated. I felt good and went about my day which consisted mostly of cleaning and picking up after Pauly. I had been dealing with fatigue for a few weeks so it was no surprise that I was tiring quickly. As the day went on things started to change. I wasn't feeling as well and there was a persistent pain in my lower back. I started to think that maybe I was in early labour but, because I wasn't sure I kept this thought to myself. I struggled to finish dinner and was relieved when we all sat down to eat. The back ache subsided a little but I still wasn't feeling well. Soon after I put Pauly to bed and then sat infront of the boob tube to relax.

A few hours later Paul started getting ready for work and I was sure to ask if he had his charged cell phone with him. He did, so at 10pm he left. I decided that I should probably see if there was a pattern to the pain I was feeling and after an hour of monitoring I was sure I was in early labour. The pain was coming every 15-20 minutes and lasting 30 seconds. I then started to mentally prepare for the back labour I thought I would once again experience but, was happy when I started feeling the contractions under my belly.

The advantage of knowing what's coming is that you tend to be a little calmer and can make better decisions about what to do next. My plan was to sleep through early labour and hopefully Paul would be home before I needed his help. So at midnight I went to bed and tried to get some rest. I wasn't too bothered by the contractions and managed to sleep in 1 hour intervals until 5am. At this point I couldn't get comfortable in bed so I decided to get up and time my contractions again. They were now coming every 10 minutes and lasting for 45 seconds. I wrestled with the thought of calling Paul and came to the conclusion that he needed to come home. Even though I was still able to move and talk through the pain it would be 40 minutes before Paul got home and he still had to set up the dining/living room for our water birth. When I spoke to Paul he sounded excited and a little anxious about what was going on. After our conversation I went and sat on the birthing ball to try and relieve some of the pain but it didn't do any good. I just couldn't find a comfortable position. The contractions were now getting stronger but not closer together. I walked the house and tried different things but the only way I seemed to get relief was by slouching in the corner of the couch and breathing through the pain. I realized I should probably call the midwives too in order to give them time to get here. I had been hoping that Basak was going to be on call and was so happy when she called me back to say her and Adriana would be on their way in about 10 minutes.

When Paul got home he informed me that his mom was on her way to pick up Pauly and our dog. Before he started packing Pauly's overnight bag I had him attach a TENS unit to my back. I was a little skeptical about wether it would work for me but I was pleasantly surprised to feel that it took some of the edge off the contractions. As Paul went to work I concentrated on breathing through the pain and relaxing in between.

My mother-in-law showed up a short time later and asked how things were going. I wanted to tell her all about what was happening and how I felt but, I couldn't speak through the contractions any more and was forced to keep my answers short. She finished gathering things for Pauly and let me kiss him goodbye before leaving. I had really wanted him to stay but because he was still so young I knew it would be best if he wasn't home with us. After they left I told Paul that he needed to call our doula Jody. The contractions were getting stronger and closer together. He made the necessary call and continued to quickly prepare the birth pool.

At this point I was still on the couch breathing through the contractions and waiting for my team to show up. At 7:45am Basak and Jody arrived with Adriana following a short time later. The midwives began setting up all their gear and Jody came to my side to see how I'm doing. Because it was still early and Paul figured he had a long morning ahead of him, he decided to make some coffee. Although I didn't feel like having any, the aroma was somehow comforting and just the fact that he was able to do it was a little surreal.

Once the midwives were ready, Adriana offered to check me and I eagerly agreed. I wanted to know exactly where I stood and I wasn't disappointed. After 3 hours of painful labour, I was 6cm dilated and completely effaced. At this point I got the OK from the midwives to get into the pool and I absolutely loved it. The water combined with vocal toning really did help me get through the contractions. I had my eyes closed and was so focused on relaxing my body and resting between contractions that I can't tell you what was going on around me. I know someone was rubbing my shoulders and arms (I later found out it was Paul) and I could hear Jody guiding and encouraging me.

Then suddenly I had a few strong contractions, one on top of the other and there was no time to think. I started pushing. Basak got ready, my water broke and Adriana ran outside to get Paul because he was "making the phone calls". By the time he came back in Adriana was sternly telling me to stop pushing because things were going too fast. I tried not to push but with the next contraction my body didn't give me a choice. Riley's head was born. A few seconds later the midwives told me to stand up because Riley's shoulders were stuck. A few more seconds later and she was in my arms safe and sound. I sat back in the tub to keep her warm and waited for her to cry. It didn't take long for Riley to announce her arrival and Paul was able to cut the cord soon after.

Basak was concerned that there might still be fluid in Riley's lungs because things happened very quickly so she took Riley to the table to examine her. A short while later I was lying in bed with Riley in my arms again. I couldn't believe that I had been blessed with another little angel who was perfect in every way.




So I'm sure this new journey will have lots of sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and moments of pure chaos but, I'll also have twice the love, twice the affection and twice the amount of memories to cherish.

24 Weeks Pt.2

As I sit here and think of the past week I realize that my maternity leave is quickly coming to an end. My first day back at work will be June 20 and it's creeping up on me fairly quickly. To tell the truth, I'm not looking foreword to it. Mostly because things weren't ideal when I left and I don't know what I'll be going back to. The actual job is great but procedures and job responsibilities will probably be different and I'm not sure I'm going to like the new set up. The two things keeping me optimistic are
#1 - I'll only be there for 3 months before I'm off for another year.
#2 - I don't have to deal with dayshift bullshit (I'll be back on an afternoon shift).

What's kept me from thinking of work is Pauly's 1st birthday. It's 2 weeks away and I just sent out invites a couple of days ago. What's on the agenda you ask? Some time at the local park, including a simple splash pad, playground, a small beach, and lots of grassy field to run about in. Then lunch back at our house followed by cake and presents and of course...PICTURES!!!! I'm sure Paul will love playing with all his cousins and stuffing his face with cake...lol. But let's face it, this party is more for Paul and I than it is for Pauly.

On a completely different note, I've been really coveting a diaper sprayer. I've always thought I'd be using one once Pauly started solids but I haven't yet. Mostly because our upstairs bathroom is non-exsistant. With only one toilet located downstairs, it'll be inconvenient to go all that way just to clean a poopy diaper. I can sense the question that's rolling around in you head right now...so what do you do with the poop now? Well, I use a disposable liner. And even though I've been doing this for roughly 6 months, I'm getting tired of it. For more than one reason.
#1 - It makes more garbage for the landfill, which probably wouldn't have bothered me before Pauly was born but being "green" is something I think about since deciding cloth diapers was the way to go.
#2 - I could have paid for it with all the money I've been spending on disposable liners.
#3 - They stay wet so the fleece lining in my pocket diapers are redundant. This causes Pauly to get diaper rashes occasionally.
So in conclusion, I think I'll be getting one in the near future and just putting the diaper pail in the bathroom. Or I could use 2 diaper pails, one next to the diaper station for wet diapers and one in the bathroom for soiled diapers. I'll still keep the liners for outings though, that way I won't have to carry poopy diapers in the wet bag.
And finally, with only 16 weeks left until this lil' bean arrives I'm feeling a lot more movement. He/she is now the length of an ear of corn and weighs just over a pound. REM sleep is present when the lil' bean isn't dancing about and it may include dreams. The bones of the inner ear are starting to harden so all the noises outside the womb will be familiar and there'll be no need to worry about the barking dog or the train. He/she is gaining a little more fat and the lungs have started to develop surfactant. This will allow them to expand once he/she is born and there's also blood vessels forming in them. White blood cells have started production in order to fight infections and diseases and the brain is growing quickly. Fingernails are now completely formed and eyelashes have started to grow.

Happy Birthday Pauly!!!

So I know it's been a while since I've posted an entry but, I've got a good reason for it.
I'M A MOMMY!!!

Here's my story...

Now I can't be sure but I think things started on Monday June 14th. I was confident that I'd lost my mucus plug and for two days I'd been experiencing inconsistent back pain but, I never put two and two together. Since I had reached 40 weeks I knew the midwives would be expecting me to form some sort of idea on what I'd want to do if I needed to be induced. Then, on Wednesday I went to see the midwives. We talked about induction and came up with a plan... just in case. She checked my vitals and I was happy to know that everything was still good. Then came the million dollar question... "did you want us to check you?" Before my due date I hadn't wanted to know my progress but since I was a couple of days overdue, I changed my mind.

To my surprise I was already 2cm dilated and about 40% effaced. At that moment I was so happy and wanted to celebrate! I know that sounds a little weird but I really didn't want to be the woman who needed to be induced. It would have been so much more stressful for me if things hadn't progressed naturally. Anyways, I went home happy that day and decided to email Jody so she'd be updated on my progress.

On Thursday the back pain was still there but there was no pattern to it yet. That all changed in the evening. At around 6pm I started to notice that the pain was coming more often and it did seem to last for a short while and then go away. I thought it might be contractions but wasn't sure. Either way, I started to pay attention to it and by 10pm I was sure I was in early labor. It didn't hurt but I was getting more uncomfortable and, a pattern was definitely forming. I didn't want to worry Paul so I decided to wait for him to get home to tell him.

An hour later, I felt the pain. It wasn't bad but, I was beginning to be more than just uncomfortable. I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since lunchtime and since I really wasn't in the cooking mood, I quickly came up with a plan. I waited until 11:15pm and then called Paul on his cell. I asked him if he could do me a favour before he came home and he agreed. I told him, in detail, what he had to do. "You need to go to the bank and get some money. Then go to Tim Hortons and buy me a Chicken Salad Sandwich because I haven't eaten since lunch and this baby is on his way." I can't remember what he said but he did exactly what I'd asked him to do.

At about 1am Paul started timing the contractions just to be sure, and they weren't anywhere near 5 minutes apart. I decided to take a bath to help with the pain and to relax a little. Paul called Jody to let her know how things were going. At about 2:30am (I think) things were starting to escalate and the contractions were hurting. I'd been sick and knew it wasn't going to be good having an empty stomach but I didn't feel like eating anything. I needed Jody there. So Paul made the phone call and I decided it was time to try another bath. As I made my way into the bathroom I had a sneaking suspicion that my bag of waters was leaking. I wanted Paul to call the midwives and ask them if we needed to go to the hospital or if we could stay home. After describing the situation the midwife told us it was OK to stay because she didn't think it was my water. We found out later that it actually was amniotic fluid leaking from a small tear.

When Jody got here she suggested that I try to sleep, or at least rest between contractions. As I drifted in and out of sleep, I really thought things were going well. It really hurt but I seemed to be handling it well. Breathing and the quietness of the house was really helping. Until 6am that is. Thats when the contractions were getting pretty strong and I couldn't sleep through them anymore. I couldn't find a comfortable position and finally decided to get up. I left Paul sleeping and joined Jody in the living room. As I sat there breathing through my contractions, things started to get worse. Jody suggested getting back in the tub, which I did. The pain didn't pass as well as before but any relief was better than none.

Paul awoke shortly after and then the real work started. The back labour was starting to get really bad and the only thing I was concentrating on was getting through the contractions. Things start to blur at this point. I don't know how long it was before Paul called the midwives again but when I talked to them, I had a hard time speaking through the contractions. They asked if I wanted them to come to the house to check me but, I figured that I was going to end up at the hospital eventually and decided to meet them there. So, we put all our stuff into the truck and headed for Guelph General.

The hospital is about 20 minutes from our house and I can honestly say the last 10 hours of labour was nothing compared to the ride to the hospital. The worst part of it was not being able to move around because of the seatbelt. But, life goes on and we eventually pulled into emergency and went in. Once we got to the Family Birthing Unit, Cindy was waiting to assess me. I was about 4-5cm dilated and during the exam my bag of waters accidentally broke. She found that there was meconium in the fluid but it was nothing to worry about just then. Once we got to our room I found it most comfortable to sit on the edge of the bed. I can't really remember what was going on around me but I do remember thinking that my birthing plan wasn't going as I had hoped. I knew things might not go as planned but the one thing I had really hoped for was to use the Jacuzzi for pain relief. Now that my water was broken, that wasn't going to happen. Instead I relied on Paul's counter pressure and breathing to get through the contractions. That worked for a while but the back labour was really getting to me. It was so painful and of course I was tired and hadn't eaten anything since the day before.

At about 1:30pm I asked for an epidural. It started working pretty fast but the pain wasn't completely gone. It was bearable. I was trying to get some sleep, but couldn't. I had gotten the shakes and between that and what I could feel of the contractions, I was only able to rest. For the next four hours I enjoyed the conversations I was having and the rest I was getting. Then at 5:30pm it was time to push.

It didn't take long before the midwife asked to have the epidural drip turned down. The reason behind it was that they suspected the baby was turned sideways instead of the usual anterior position and I needed to be able to feel the contractions in order to push effectively. Well... they could have just turned it off because I felt everything from then on. And it still didn't hurt as bad as the back labour. The epidural wore off pretty fast and after 3 hours of pushing, Paul James Romanelli was born.

The paediatricians checked him out and after a few minutes I finally got to meet my son. He was beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect little boy.


And that is how my pregnancy ended, and a new journey begins. I'm really enjoying being a mom and although my labour wasn't what I had expected, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It's totally worth it.

38 Weeks

This has been another good week, in many different ways. I'll start with work and the "surprise" baby shower. A few weeks ago I found out that Gail had put together a small baby shower for me. I wasn't expecting anything fancy, and it was simple. What I didn't expect was how generous everyone was. I thought I'd receive a few small gifts but instead I got a gift card with a substantial balance. Not to mention a delicious cake. Of the 6 years I've been working at SGS, I have been the only pregnant employee. And I've been one of three who have had children. I wasn't expecting so much and really appreciated what they did for me.

The day after that was my last day of work. I was supposed to go back for another week but since my feet were swelling so much I decided to start my vacation a week sooner than planned. It wasn't a problem with HR and was such a relief for me. My last day was uneventful, boring and ended at 10pm instead of 11:30pm. It was kind of surreal, having to clean out my locker knowing that I wasn't going to be back for a whole year. After I drove away from the building, things really started to settle in. It wasn't a bad thing at all but only different. It didn't feel like an ending, but more like someone hit a giant pause button in my life. It didn't take me long to get back to normal though. By the time I got home, I was feeling happy, and quite elated.

I started my first two weeks of vacation by celebrating Damien's 30th birthday. His wife, Karan held a surprise party for him now because they're going to be in BC for his actual birthday. It had been a while since we had all hung out and was a welcoming change. The day was nice & sunny but not too hot and the food was great. It was a great way to spend my Saturday afternoon.

Then on Sunday was my baby shower. Another day of festivities with good food and great people. It was fun seeing all the kids playing together and I couldn't help but think that my lil' bean would become part of it soon. I also received so many gifts that it took me a few days to organize it all. I'm well equipped and have tones of laundry to do!

Not to worry though, I had lots of time to catch up since I didn't have to go back to work on Monday. It was great. I got up late and made coffee for Paul & I. After Paul left for work I sat down in front of the TV (with my feet up) and watched a few episodes of Gilmore Girls. That's right...I said it. I'm addicted to Gilmore Girls. After that I had a nap then had an early dinner or late lunch, which ever suits you better. Thought about laundry but didn't do it. Read for a while and before I knew it Paul was home. I know everyday won't be like this but I'm still lovin' the time off.

I bet my lil' bean is lovin' it too. All this relaxing is great and what's good for mama is good for baby. Right now he's about as long as a leek - 19.5 inches, and should weigh just under 7 pounds. My little man is growing quickly and I can feel it! There's not much else to report as he is fully formed and full term.