Week One...

This one will be a list, since I am running on very little sleep today.

1. Veronica looks like an angry bird when she is displeased -- maybe it's the tufts of hair that stick up? It's super cute, and i have started calling her 'Birdy". Yep, Birdy and Button.
2. The first week postpartum is a crazy roller coaster ride. It wasn't as fraught as with Teddy (tongue tie, dehydration, jaundice) but we did run in to some problems (which - thank goodness - appear to have been resolved.
3. What problems? Well:

• V. had meconium-stained amniotic fluid, and had ingested some. She also had shoulder distocia (more on this when I do a post about the birth). So - it took a bit of time to get her out, and she was BLUE (Apgar of 3). She got rushed to the cart where they intubated 3 times and did a few chest compressions. As a result -- her ability to suck was a bit compromised for the first few days.
• When Jackie the midwife checked on her on Day 3 (my least fave postpartum day EVER) she, like Teddy, had dropped 11% (from 8lb15oz to 7lb14oz). UNLIKE Teddy, she'd been getting something, and was not dehydrated nor lethargic. But oh - did I ever cry.
• Jackie suggested that we finger feed so that we could correct her suck reflex. I had one lonely bag of breast milk left in the freezer, so we thawed it. She would nurse, then would take as much of the supplement as she wanted. She corrected her suck quickly, and reduced the amount of supplement she was taking.
• By the next day, she'd gained 3 ounces! So we stopped giving her a supplement and focused on breastfeeding only.
• This unfortunately coincided with 'my milk coming in' - wicked engorgement which was partially milk and partially tissue edema. I have had engorgement due to severe mastitis and this was WAAAY worse. Also - I had not idea what was milk supply and what was retained water, so had no idea if she was getting a sufficient amount. Also - I had a feeling that her latch was ok, but since Teddy never latched well (never effective, constant pain) I had nothing to compare it to.
• Armed with a bra full of cabbage, we plodded on, nursing whenever there was interest.
• Yesterday, Claudia the midwife came by...and discovered that with only breastfeeding, she'd gained 7 oz in two days!!
• Last night, she fed (good, consistent gulps) for an hour every 2 or 2.5 hours. I feel like I've been hit by a truck, but she is getting wrist rolls of fat and is a happy girl.

4. I am doing ok. Some physical stuff going on (my blood pressure is way high, so I am on beta blockers. Yep - my blood pressure went wonky AFTER giving birth.), but in general I am doing well. As is Dave.

5. Teddy is still a laugh riot. He gets a kick out of the baby so far. To be fair, she hasn't disrupted his life too much yet - he is still in day care this week (we weren't sure when I'd deliver, so arranged to have him go full time until Labour Day). We are taking advantage of that to get stuff squared away with Veronica (Dave is off on his firm's amazing parental leave). But he is very sweet with her, tyring to pet her and give her kisses. He calls her "Baby!!" and is very excited to see her.

6. Teddy is OBSESSED with the Journey medley in the final episode of Glee. It is literally the only TV he's ever seen (select musical numbers from Glee) and he LOVES it. Numerous times a day, he requests the "Na na na na" song and wants to hear it 'Again!" as soon as its over. He dances along and grins. He's hilarious - he true loves are the music of Glee (especially anything sung by Rachel) and anything with wheels. And compared to Veronica, he looks like he's 12 years old!

Ok...I should nap while she's napping. I will try to get more pictures up soon, as well as the birth story.

Introducing Veronica

There's a new face around these parts.

Veronica Floriana McLean was born at 8:46 a.m. on August 24th. She weighed in at a whopping 8 lb 15oz and measured 23 inches. Here she is being checked out by midwife Jackie.


Labour was...interesting. After my wacky labour with Teddy -- wherein contractions NEVER got closer together than 6 minutes -- I was a bit taken aback when I awoke to really intense contractions at 3 am. By 5 a.m., they were every 2 minutes. By the time my parents got here to watch Teddy and we got to the hospital at 7, I was 10 cm. It was crazy -- less than 6 hours from start to finish. And drug free once again!

We had some hiccups with delivery, and I will write about those in a bit. But we are all happy and healthy, and though we ended up having to stay in the hospital for 24 hours, we are home now!

But the important stuff -- the reason for her name! She is named for my Aunt Flo - my Mom's sister to whom I was very close and who died last year. Since childhood, I had dreamed of naming a daughter after Aunt Floriana and now I have! The name Veronica is a favourite and a family name on both sides (it's also the name of Dave's godmother). And it's a nod to her Aunt Beth, who is an amazing woman and whom we hope will one day literally have Veronica of her own (it's her favourite girls name, too).

My life - and how I'm shadowing Olive Esther Delmage Hawley

My Dad is into genealogy. I like it, too, but he's retired and has more time to devote to it. He really got into it when Teddy was born and seems to be back into it now that his first granddaughter will arrive any day. He's been inputting all sorts of stuff into ancestry.ca (which allows all sorts of cool cross-referencing with other trees) and is all excited to be sharing this information, first documented by my great, great Aunt Helen (my namesake, as I'm Sarah Helen) in the 1950s.

Anyway, I was playing around on the family tree and I noticed something kind of interesting. My major life events appear to be taking place exactly one hundred years after those of my great grandmother (Aunt Helen's sister, my Grandma's Mom).

Olive Esther Delmage was born in May of 1878; I was born in October of 1977. She married my grandfather, George Elmer Hawley, in Feb. 1904, while Dave and I were married in October of 2004. She had her first child, my great uncle Howard in 1908; if I hadn't miscarried before I had Teddy, I'd have had a baby in 2008 (as it was, Teddy was born in early 2009). I am having my 2nd child much earlier than she had hers, but still - I think it's kind of cool.

Today is the 59th anniversary of her death. I hope to be longer-lived than she was, as she died of leukemia in her 74th year. I guess we will see. I can't help but feel close to her, though. We have her old rocking chair in Teddy's room and I love to think of her, rocking her little boy the same way, one century ago.

Saturday Night Leftovers - 37 Week Edition

Before we get going, I must give credit to Jen for this idea.

1) I couldn't get my act in gear for a "7 Quick Takes" post on Friday, so I thought I would harness this unexpectedly quiet Saturday night for an update. I apologize in advance for the lack of a cohesive theme.

2) Why is it unexpectedly quiet? Because we are supposed to be eating dinner at my cousin Erin's wedding right now. :( Erin is my only cousin on my Dad's side of the family (she and I are both only children) and she is 6 years younger than me. Her wedding, however, is a four hour drive from here and I am just too uncomfortably pregnant to get there, celebrate, stay overnight, head to a brunch at my Aunt's house tomorrow (an hour in the other direction) while wrangling a toddler. I also didn't want to risk the situation that Arwen had with Camilla - heading out of town for a wedding and going into labour unexpectedly. I am sad to miss it, though. That said - her fiance Ashley is wonderful and they will soon be moving almost around the corner from my Nonna as Erin embarks on her PhD at the University that all our parents attended. We'll get to see them more often, so that's great.

So - Congratulations, Erin and Ashley! We cannot wait to see the photos and to hang out with you again in person. I hope that my parents and Nonna are behaving themselves!

3) Also about to start University at that same school (albeit her undergrad) is my next cousin on my Mom's side - Rachel. She just turned 18 and she got into one of the most competitive programs in the province (so proud of her). But man - she's going to University! I was 14 when she was born (Aunt Pat and Fred's first) and she was the first baby that I spent lots of time with. And now - she's 5 ft 11 and off to school. I FEEL OLD!

4) It is also my mother-in-law's birthday. Not a huge milestone, but a special day nonetheless. Happy Birthday, Nanny!

5) So - I am now officially at full term. HOORAY! I suspect that I won't be going into labour in the next day or two -- I am not yet in full on nesting mode. The baking soda, though in the bathroom, remains in the box and I have not yet stolen Dave's toothbrush to scrub grout. I do have insomnia and...other...issues, but that's just normal. And I really want to eat some ice cream! But baby is measuring exactly on for dates (just like her older brother). I wonder if she'll be on her due date like he was? Bets? It's Aug. 27th, for those of you keeping track at home.

6) Teddy is a riot. We are still contending with throwing - gah - but we remain consistent with consequences for actions. It has been a bit of a challenge lately -- his daycare provider has been away and we've had grandparents and others helping out (as I am still supposed to be resting). The lack of consistency has had him testing limits more and more, but the timeouts/putting the thrown toy in "toy jail" appear to be working.

7) His language skills have TAKEN OFF lately. His comprehension is awesome, and he's now able to modulate his wants by using "Yeah!", "Ok" or "Nah" when we give him options. He dances all the time, and spends much of the day giggling. He is particularly attached to Dave right now, which is not a bad thing (considering the imminent arrival of little sister).

8) Also hilarious of late - how easily he goes down to sleep. If we suspect that he is tired before nap time or bed time, we ask him "Are you ready for bed" and almost invariably get an "ok" or "yeah". He has, on occasion, walked up the stairs himself and waited by his crib for us to put him in. It's so nice to have a better sense of what he wants!

9) I should get some pics of him up here, huh? I am such a slacker. I will work on that this week. That and the post of lactation, since he is almost finished the final bag of frozen breastmilk in the freezer. Not too shabby for the kid who never could latch, as he is approaching 19 months.

10) I am nervous about breastfeeding with baby #2. I mean, I have no doubt that I can lactate after doing so for 14 months with Teddy. And I am very hopeful that we won't have to deal with tongue-tie again, though we have better strategies if it crops up. But I am nervous about getting the mechanics right. However, there is no sense borrowing trouble (especially since we have contingency plans in place). As I learned with Teddy, you just cannot predict how things will go until you have a real infant who is trying to get a meal at Restaurant Mom. But if you're praying folk - I'd appreciate any you can spare.

11) As I mentioned above, Teddy's beloved babysitter has been away for 2.5 weeks. My inlaws came to help, then my parents took him for a week at their place (we went out several evenings to see him). This week has been a blend of me, Dave and my Mom/Nonna helping out. My parents, grandmother and inlaws have been so awesome - we appreciate your help so much! He is a busy little guy, and tiring him out is a tiring prospect. You have been amazing - thank you so much.

12) My husband is a total and utter pro-star. He does a tonne around the house and is amazing with Teddy, but he has gone above and beyond lately. He has never made me feel guilty about resting and is just generally awesome. I am so very lucky to have him as my partner; there's no one else I can imagine doing this with. I love you, Dave! I hope that you are enjoying "Inception".

13) Speaking of "Inception", it was actually filming on the WB set when we toured in while in LA back in October. We saw Leo's hybrid on set, and saw a bunch of extras in fancy duds milling around on the backlot. It was very hush hush, but it's neat to have heard about the movie all those months ago.

14) We finally saw Toy Story 3 (thanks, Mom and Nonna, for letting us sneak out while you all slept on Thursday night). Toy Story 2 is possibly my fave Disney movie (that or the Lion King) and I liked #3 almost as much. But oh - did I cry. I am not surprised at all, but did I ever cry. What a delightful movie.

15) I think that is enough minutae for the moment. I hope that all is well with all of you. Anyone who read to the end of this deserves kudos -- you rock!