We Made It!

1.  Hip hip hooray!!! I made it through another basketball season!  Gary had his last game this week. Phew.  The season could've been a month longer but they weren't very, uh, good.   This was the first time I did it with three kids.  Not terrible but not my favourite.  I'm so glad he's home in the evenings now.  It's not that I missed him (sorry Gary!), I just missed my partner in parenting!  It's so nice to be able to get out if I want to and so nice to have someone help with dinnertime/bedtime.  I'm proud of him for all of his hard work and I wish that teachers sometimes got more recognition for all of their extracurricular activity, whatever it may be. Not that Gary does it for recognition but it is nice to be appreciated.

{I love the after dinner time with Gary around.  All the kids together.  Full of cuteness and wildness and togetherness.  They LOVE Nya so much.  Kai especially.}

2.  My health has been sucky since October.  It's no fun having your chemistry off.  I'm not myself and I don't like it.  I'm in the hypothyroid/adrenal fatigue stage of `Oh I'm so tired and sad and fat and tired and sad'.  4lb weight gain in one week.  Lame.  You can't make yourself be normal and I know it will just take time.  Probably 6 months I'm thinking?  I won't dwell on how really sucky this is.  I know it could be worse, for sure.  It has gotten better this week so that is good!  I think last week was my low point mentally and physically.

3.  I received two unexpected gifts yesterday.  One being these beautiful purple tulips and the other was a lovely card with a pizza gift card! I love pizza and I love kind words!!!  I have wonderful friends in all different places and I am so thankful.  Yay for friends.

4.  Nya is full of tricks now! Clapping, waving hi/bye, being cute:)  Her personality is really coming out.  She's sweet, but man, she is going to be a bit of a handful I think.  Another Koen?  She is moving more and more each day.  She is still terrible at breastfeeding (really only in her bedroom in the dark) but I still love it.  I love looking down at her while I feed her.  I wish I could take a picture of it and have it painted.  Maybe I'll try to get Gary to do it (to get a photo, not the painting!).    I love watching as she goes from scratching my chin/face/chest to gently holding my shirt to falling asleep each night.  

{Eyes closed but you can see her clapping and her little tooth poking through}

{This is her new smile.  She sort of flares her nostrils and tilts her head back.  Not the cutest look but I'll take it!}

{Today Nya and Lauren, Lynette's girl, had a playdate.  Well, we kept them apart as Nya has a runny nose. But, very nice to visit with Lynette and our little girls!}

{You can see Koen biking `the loop' at the park behind Nya.  He loves it. }

{Below was Nya at 3am when she was busy teething.  Miserable.  Thankfully she is getting better and has started eating properly-ish again.  She loves feeding herself bits of food like bread and cheese so that's nice!  By the way, my favourite baby item?  The Sleep Sack. I never had it for the boys and just turned the heat up in their room.  So, so, soooooooooooooooooo awesome. Love it.}

{Have I mentioned how much the boys love biking?  Nya's hat might be a bit too tight hence the strained face.  She is now out of her bucket car seat and in a big girl one.  This means she is sitting up in a big girl stroller too:)  Our last single stroller was stolen and our neighbours were going to throw this one out so it's perfect for now.}

{Nya loves going on Kai or Koen's shoulders and running around the house.}

5.  Kai started skating lessons in school today.  They go for 4 weeks.  I went today at the start to make sure he got his skates on okay, and well, to make sure he was okay.  I really try not to worry about him and just let him do his thing but I always think `What if he's scared?' `What if nobody helps him with his skates?' `What if he forgets how to get up?' etc.  I really need to relax.  He's a big boy and he'll be fine.  I don't like worrying.  Probably not healthy for him either.  It's good for him to problem solve and be a bit nervous and overcome fears etc.  He was flailing all over the ice as it's been about a year since he's skated but he was totally fine with it.

I've always thought I was a good parent until I had a six year old.  Younger than six didn't seem like a big deal.  They were happy and disciplined and healthy and eating and loving life.  Now?  I'm still a good mom but everything I say or do will affect who he becomes!!!!  How do I help him feel confident but keep him humble?  How do I help him learn how to deal with failure?  How do I prevent him from becoming a perfectionist?  How much praise is appropriate? What kind of praise is best?  How much do I tell him when he asks questions about alcohol or how babies are made or about what struggles people may have?  What kind of interactions/disagreements with Gary are appropriate with our children around?  What words are okay/not okay to use?  Overall I feel okay in my parenting but I really feel like he is developing so much emotionally right now and everything we do/say is crucial.

6.  Koen.  He's great. And hilarious.  He says things out of nowhere that make me smile.  The other day I said I was going to cut his hair and he said, `Well, I'm racing cars so make it snappy!'.  Who says that? Or looking at cereal, `We should get Cheerios.  They contain oat fiber and oat fiber helps lower cholesterol!' (just quoting the commercial).  He  LOVES preschool.  He loves learning about letters and words.  Right now they are learning about Canada and manners and I don't know what else, but he loves learning.  He is very easy going but when he's tired he gets grumpy.  No meltdowns, just grumpiness.  I wish he could go to kindergarten in September because I think he is so ready.  So tough for January babies!

7.  Totally looking forward to our trip in July!!!  Can't wait!!!  We are doing the Philippines for 2 weeks (visiting our friends there) and Thailand for 1.  Yay:)  In the meantime, we'll just look forward to our Spring break of Vancouver Island and Green Lake.  I love travelling with my family.  They are exhausting but they make me smile.

8.  We have a wedding on Saturday and for the first time, I will be away from Nya for about 8 hours.  I am kind of nervous about it.  And sad.  My baby.  I know she will be okay but still, not something I want to do too often!

Hope you are well!!!
Love,
Louise

Harrison Hotsprings Resort and Spa

For Koen's birthday, we went back to Harrison for one night (we were there for my birthday in August).   We got a suite with a separate bedroom for the boys this time and then Nya slept in the playpen beside us.  Well, she didn't sleep much. PUNK.  She's 7 months old now, shouldn't she be sleeping more than 4 hours in a row?!!  Last night was 9pm, 12am, 3am and 5am (up for the day!!).  I shouldn't complain, she did pretty well the first 6 months of her life just feeding at 11pm and 4am.

{I realize this cake looks kinda funny but this is how he wanted it to look:)}

On the way there, we stopped at Gary's parents and had a birthday cake for Koen.  All the Chapmans were there so that was fantastic.  It was at this point that I realized he had a fever.  He had a good time, although sort of out of it, and says that his car cake was the best part of his birthday. Go me!  If you ever need a car cake pan, I have one!

{We all feel crappy, besides Gary, so this is what we took along...}

As a side note, I'm pretty sure Kai and Nya have fifth disease. Not terrible but not awesome.  They are in the rash stage so not contagious.

{Watching the boys at the pool...can't rotate.  Love my Ergo.  LOVE it.  }

Anyway, Harrison is great if you like the pools.  If you don't like pools, don't go.  Not the nicest hotel in the world.  I got a pretty good deal and we used the pools a lot!  Also, we bring our own food (pizza and cereal) so that saves a ton of money!  We had to go in shifts in the pool though because I didn't want Nya to go in.  It was below freezing outside and although the water is really nice and warm, I didn't want her head to get cold.

{Bed time is for the weak! It's party time!  She is such an easy going baby, even though she is currently sick, but she is a TERRIBLE sleeper like her cousin Georgia!!!!!!  Also, unlike her brothers, I cannot just feed her to sleep.  Her tummy is so small.  And, I'm a weird person who is unable to breastfeed lying down.  I physically am unable to do it.  Weird eh?  Maybe there's a trick I don't know about? }

Gary took the boys and I held Nya and watched:)  At night, Kai and I went swimming under the stars which was really awesome.  My highlight.  Well, the shower I had this morning was pretty awesome too.  So much pressure, I loved it!  Yes, when you have 3 kids, a good shower makes the highlights of the trip.  The kids were up by 5am but had to wait until 8am for the pools to open again.

Koen was pretty sick and when he wasn't in the pool, he was watching tv in bed.  Poor Kokies:(

I said to Gary in the morning, that next time, we will go there as a romantic getaway without the kids.  Gary had already checked out the rates:)  I love seeing my kids happy, but man, I also love REST and ROMANCE.  So, maybe next Christmas?

This was the very first trip we have gone on where we have not taken my work laptop or a DSLR.  I had my iPhone so I still had internet access and could take some pictures.  I find with three kids, especially one being a baby that needs to be held, having a DSLR around my neck isn't super convenient:)  However, I should take the camera next time or our yearly photo book is going to have some pretty crappy pictures in it.

We came home this afternoon.  I had a 20 minute nap and then I did a 6 km run.  I have been sick for one whole month.  Daily, I take my thyroid meds, sinus spray and buckleys.  I hate having medication in my body, especially while breastfeeding.  Anyway, dr called this evening and I had to go in for throat swab results for a test I had on January 1st.  I have strep throat.  I'm not even done with my sinus infection and I'm back on antibiotics for strep.  I've had it all week.  My throat kills and I've been so tired.  But, do I get to rest? Not really!  They didn't put me on the stronger antibiotics because I'm breastfeeding so I hope this does the trick.  I'm soooooooooooooooo ready to be healthy.  And seriously, I really, really, really need some decent amounts of sleep.

{Sunrise}

The one thing I kept thinking about was `PLEASE LET US ALL BE HEALTHY WHEN WE GO TO SE ASIA BECAUSE I CANNOT DO THAT TRIP WITH US BEING SICK.'. 

Okay, I'm going to bed now.  

Hope you had a great week.

Love, Louise

WHAT?!!!

For six months, Nya has refused a bottle.  Well today, Nya went on a nursing strike.  I did get one feed in her in the 12 hours when she was so sleepy and didn't know what she was doing.  Finally, because my chest was exploding, I pumped out some milk and put it in a bottle.  I gave it to her and SHE TOOK IT.  WHAT?  SHE CAN DO IT?

{Koen feeding her some yummy sweet potato the other day}

She is so confusing to me.  This is not the first time I've struggled with her refusing to breastfeed.  It's hard because the boys just fed non stop.  It settled them, it made them happy when they were hurt, it put them to sleep etc.  Nya couldn't really care less about breastfeeding and does not eat a lot.  I don't know how she is growing so much.  Girls, I tell ya....(ha, anything different than the boys and I'm just going to say it's because she's a girl even though I know that's not true:)

{PS One thing I am an advocate for is homemade baby food.  A lot of the stuff that comes in the jars is just really disgusting.  If you don't like the taste of it, then seriously, why would you give it to your kids?  If you want them to like food, make it yummy!  I do buy rice cereal (and mum mums) though because I haven't been able to make it less glue-ish.  It's way cheaper to make your own food and it tastes so good.  All you need to do is boil or steam your veggie, put it in the blender with some of the water it was boiled in, puree. Eat fresh or place in ice cube trays until frozen, place in a ziploc bag in the freezer and then you have the perfect serving size for later!}

{Added: Taken Monday  morning with my iphone.  She took 2oz again in a bottle.  Never thought I would see this picture!  Still no breastfeeding during the day.  PUNK!!}

I hope you had a great weekend and hopefully Ms. Nya is back to normal tomorrow!

Love, Louise

Cuteness

Reality has set in. With Gary back at work, I have no time to exercise, work, and take care of the house and kids. Not sure what one's going to suffer but ya...so far it's been exercise:( I had been running 3 days a week but I'm thinking it's going to be closer to 1-2 now. I also had to buy a pair of jeans in a larger size to get me through this fall. They actually look ridiculous on me but it's too late to return them because I wore them. I shouldn't say ridiculous, but they are just too big.

{Nya in her new toy! She's not quite strong enough for it yet so we'll wait a few more weeks. In the meantime, it's good for her little baby cousins!}

{Gary and I have long tongues. We can touch our tongues to our noses. I think Nya will be able to as well! Poor Koen with his tongue tied tongue:(}

{Nya: `Mom, do you really think this is safe? Koen has my ear and who knows what he'll do with it!'}

Kai has put Koen to bed twice this week. He reads him stories and let Koen participate. He brushed his teeth for him and even brushed his nose `to make it fun'. He let him pick three stuffed animals to take to bed because `his behaviour was pretty good' and he tucked him in and prayed with him. So cute. Kai has been great the past two days so maybe a good talking to was all he needed!

I usually find yoga relaxing but not really when the kids participate too...

We've been playing some football with Kai. This kid does not struggle with confidence but I think he may struggle with reality. He thinks he's amazing.

And to remember not only how much I love feeding this munchkin (and my `station' of stuff beside me) but how much I love this outfit of hers. Soon it will be fall and I will have to pack it up:(

I said to Gary the other day that this is the happiest/most content I've ever been in my life. Now, it's not as much fun as I had in university (truly an awesome time!) but it's good. I wouldn't want to change anything...well, maybe I would like to sleep through the night. I can't complain, she goes to bed at 6:30pm now:)

OH YES, I FORGOT!!! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO OUR RUN FOR THE CURE THIS YEAR, PLEASE DO!!! THERE IS A TAB AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG. BOTH GARY AND I ARE TRYING TO RAISE $150.00 EACH. NO PRESSURE. THIS TIME OUR TEAM WILL HAVE A LITTLE MORE PINK IN IT:) YAY NYA! I will be running the whole thing as long as my health continues.

Have a great long weekend! I think we might hit up the water slides.

Love,

Louise

Lower Falls

On Tuesday we `hiked' Lower Falls at Golden Ears. We had a nice early start as it was going to be pretty warm. I am a very organized/prepared type person and I'm finding that it's taking us longer to get as organized as I would like. I would rather get out of the house quickly then to spend an extra 20 minutes to make sure everything is all good to go. So, we had done this trail a few years ago with a jogging stroller so I thought we could do that again. Definitely not. We had to ditch the stroller in the bushes after 10 minutes and Gary ran back to the van to get the Ergo. We didn't have a backpack to carry our snacks and water so we only made it half way to the falls. And really, that's fine. More about the journey than the destination:) The BOYS love running in the trails and climbing giant rocks etc.

{Trying to teach Kai, a leftie, how to skip rocks}

I actually breastfed Nya in the Ergo while hiking because I didn't want to stop moving and get attacked by mosquitoes. Now that's a calorie burn! Talking about calorie burn, I ran 20 minutes yesterday! Go me! I thought I had lost 3 lbs so far but we realized our digital scale is broken. I've lost nothing. Oh well, at least I'm getting more fit?!

Last night Gary took the boys to his parents house so that they could all sleep in the tent trailer and I think they had a good time. I took Nya shopping and we enjoyed a nice quiet morning before heading to my sisters house for our weekly play date.

I have come the realization that 3 kids (one being a newborn and one being Koen)+ me working 20 hours a week = life is a lot busier. Leah, don't read this, but I'm thinking that I'm not sure that I can play football this fall. The idea of being gone for at least 4 hours on a Saturday (and driving into Vancouver) and then a practice during the week in Vancouver is a bit overwhelming. I do need to do something but maybe something not on a Saturday and less time consuming. We will see....

Looking forward to dinner with friends tonight and then a wedding tomorrow!! I'm going to shoot about 1.5 hours tomorrow:) My first full wedding is in 2 weeks and Nya has to take a bottle by then. I will say that yesterday I got her to take 3oz in a Tommee Tippee bottle in 15 minutes (well, it took 13 minutes to get her to want to take it and then just 2 minutes to down it)!! Let's hope that this is the new normal. Apparently you have to walk around with her while you feed her?!

Have a good night.

Love, Louise

Milk Savers

**Heads up that this is all about breastfeeding **

My friend told me about this today and I went out and bought one to try. It is so awesome in the sense that it saves milk that would otherwise just end up in a breast pad. I used it three times today. When I was nursing on one side, I used this on the other. I just got 1 oz each time, but still, then it wasn't wasted. Normally I only use one pair of breastpads per day so I'm not a big leaker so I wasn't sure how much I would get. Also, I'm thinking it would increase your supply because it allows the other side to flow a bit more so it would increase how much you made.

The downside is that it is not discrete and you could not wear it out in public but it works well at home. I'm thinking it would also stretch out your bra from wearing it during a feed. Finally, it is expensive ($29.95 from TJ Kiddies). However, I'm a fan and would definitely recommend it!! Wish I had it when I was breastfeeding Kai and Koen as I leaked WAY more with them.

By the way, Nya is 8 weeks old today and beautiful. Maybe it's because I'm her momma, but seriously, aren't her eyes so adorable?

Family of Five

We had a good weekend! I have just been resting up while Gary manages the big boys. I feel really good recovery wise and I'm a little nervous for tomorrow...my first day with all three kids on my own. My goal is to have a shower:) We went for a walk to the mailbox on Friday and I think that might have been too much for me. However, today we went to church and that was super do-able.

As per with the boys, I'm dealing with some lovely engorgement going on which may be too much info but seriously, so painful and frustrating. Oh well, ample breast milk so I shouldn't complain! When the midwife checked her on day 4 she was 7lbs 10oz so almost back up to birth weight. She is spitting up a lot but I think she's just dealing with all that I'm giving her:)

{She looks like a skinny baby Koen here:)}

Talking about breastfeeding, Kai is very fascinated and asks a lot of questions. He likes to help with the burping. Koen has now started specifying that he would like cow's milk to drink:) So far, she is still a super baby just eating every three hours and going back down to sleep pretty easily. I feel the most rested this time around, that's for sure!

And now Koen wants my attention so here are some pictures of the boys loving their little sister...

{She loved bath time!}

Arms and heart are full. Love it.

Love, Louise

PS Someone is celebrating their anniversary tomorrow!! Not sure how we'll celebrate but we sure have a lot to be thankful for.

Tongue Tied and Reflux

I found this article interesting. If there is just one person that this helps, then it's worth it for me to post it!

Koen was quite tongue tied and a nurse was the one that recognized it in the hospital. Because breastfeeding was working (although extremely painful for 2 months due to being tongue tied), they did not clip his frenulum. If it is true that being tongue tied is related to reflux as well, I am regretting even more that I did not encourage my doctor to clip it. The doctor said we would wait and see if it affected his speech. Koen had to be upright after every feed, had pain with his reflux, had to sleep on his tummy, and had to be held for most of the day. It does not affect him anymore (that I know of) but I wish I had been a bit more `pushy' with the doctor.

So, if your baby is born tongue tied (which you can see when they stick their tongue out, it doesn't go out far and it is heart shaped), please consider having their frenulum snipped. The end.

One Year Ago...

(Pictures of his party are in the next post)

We woke up at 5am and went to the hospital. We checked in and put our stuff in our post delivery room. We were supposed to be the first C-section of the day (8am I believe) but we got pushed back. Koen was actually due on January 12th but with C-sections, they do it up to 10 days early which I felt best with. I was very uncomfortable with Braxton Hicks non stop and Gary was still home on holidays. Had Koen gone all the way to his due date, he would have probably been well over 10lbs!

So, here we are getting ready.

I was sooooo big.

Then, at 9am, they wheeled me down just outside of the operating room. Here, we waited. The anesthesiologist came to talk to us and let me know what would be happening. He was very nice.

Then, they wheeled me in. While they were giving me my spinal and prepping me, Gary had to wait outside. The needle in your back really doesn't hurt at all. I would say an IV hurts more. Last time, I was 10cm dilated, had been pushing for an hour and half, and got an epidural in while contracting. Try not moving while going through a contraction!

Didn't notice the catheter going in either. I was nice and numb. They prick your skin to see if you can feel it and you are pretty numb up to your chest.

Then, Gary was allowed in. This is where things got emotional! My baby was almost here and I couldn't believe it! Boy? Girl? Size? Healthy?

I was feeling sick so the anesthesiologist gave me some different meds until I felt better. It works instantaneously. It felt like just a few minutes had passed and then Gary was allowed to take pictures because our baby's head had emerged!

And out he came! It's a boy!!!

They quickly showed him to me but then checked him over before I held him.

Crying. Please note that Gary is wearing my hair elastic on his wrist.

Sounds good!

My first real look at my big, beautiful baby boy Koen. Koen Jacob Daniel Chapman. We had decided on his boy name VERY early on. We had also considered Logan (mix of Louise and Gary) but stuck with Koen.

Proud parents!

Chubs. 9lbs 7oz. Check out the chubby thighs! He was so unflexible, his legs would not bend. His head was a lot smaller than Kai's 95th percentile head...I think Koen's was just in the 50th percentile. His chest was huge too. That was the part I felt when they took him out. It feels like you are having a major mass removed from your abdomen, well, because you are, but you can feel it. Not hurting, just pressure, tugging, and movement.

We were tired. He needed to be fed every 2 hours for his low blood sugar levels. He also needed his poor little heel pricked each time he fed. He had a hard time feeding being tongue tied and later we realized, having reflux. The first few days recovering from a C-section are not fun. Very painful. Very limited mobility. Didn't help that I was also sick and when I coughed I had to hold a pillow to my incision and somehow get a good enough cough in.

Because I was feeding him so often, on the 2nd day, my milk came in like crazy. Painfully crazy. I borrowed an electric pump from the hospital and pumped away. So much milk. Container after container. Once I got home, I remained engorged for over one week. I used cold packs in my shirt and a pump. I tried to feed him as often as possible, but feeding him was difficult. But, we persisted and after 2 months of painful, difficult feeding, all was well. Two months!

I guess the paper says he was born at 10:30am even though I thought it was 10am:)

My dad with `Little Jack' as he calls him. It was pretty snowy out so it was difficult for people to make it to the hospital to see us all.

Kai meeting his little brother for the first time!

Daddy with his boys!

Gramma and Grandpa check him out.

Auntie Janny (who is due in March)

Auntie Trisha trying to get him to drink...

Auntie Jackie and Uncle Tyler

Taking a snooze on daddy

He slept okay in the hospital but we had to keep waking him up every 2 hours to monitor his blood sugar levels. Very frustrating.

When we got home, we realized after about a month that he had reflux. He was happiest upright, and not moving too much. He loved being held in the baby bjorn for hours and hours and hours. He slept best on his tummy. If he was on his back, he would vomit. He was a happy baby but he was in pain from the reflux. He would arch his back after each feed. Fortunately, we got through it and he started feeling better and better. Now, he has small little spit ups still, but usually its only if he has a lot to eat or drink and then is in a sitting position. He has not been the best sleeper throughout this year but it is getting better and better each and every day.

I would say he is a very healthy boy. He is very happy and easy going. He does love all people, but probably enjoys being with mommy the most. He is nearly done breastfeeding as he doesn't do it more than a minute or two. He loves being outside. He loves running around. He loves the stairs, garbage can, and fridge. He loves music and will stop crying if I start singing to him.

Here is a picture at 10am on his birthday...exactly a year old (although maybe he was born at 10:30am)!

We love our Kokinator so much. He makes us laugh and I think he is absolutely adorable. This year he has progressed so quickly through the sitting, crawling and then walking. He's a bundle of energy and he is so loved. Our 23.8lb ball of cuteness is now a one year old! Happy Birthday Koen!!