Welcome Lucy Rose!
I fully realize this blog has taken a big backseat over the last year - but I'm hoping that I can revive it now that I'm on maternity leave again. I know that second children usually have smaller baby books, fewer photos, less focus on the details - but hopefully I can attempt to capture memories of Lucy like I did for Evelyn. Looking back on blog posts already reminds me of things I otherwise would have forgotten, so I can only imagine what my memory will be like years from now.
Before the real sleep deprivation takes over and while its still fresh in my mind, I wanted to share the story of Lucy's arrival into the world early in the morning on March 11, 2017.
My due date was March 13th, and for the whole pregnancy I had assumed I would go into labour a bit early. Even though everyone says no two pregnancy/labours/births are the same, I still thought I'd be about a week early like I was with Evelyn. At 39 weeks (last Monday), I was pretty uncomfortable and eager to have a membrane sweep done and hopefully get things moving. I had my appointment, and afterwards convinced myself that every little cramp, stomach pain, different feeling was labour starting....unfortunately, the sweep didn't work this time around (I had Evelyn the day after having it done).
My co-workers were probably pretty tired of my complaining all week long, but I made it at work until my scheduled last day - In all my preparations to go off early, the last few days were actually quite relaxed. I don't think I've ever really got through my "To Do" list, but it actually happened this time around. Friday night followed our normal routine - ate dinner, got Evie to bed and then tidied up/watched some TV and headed off to bed. I wasn't feeling great when we went to bed around 10, but had been feeling similar the night before and figured it was just tiredness/indigestion at the end of the day. In hindsight, I think I had been having contractions for the past day, but didn't recognize them as they didn't feel the same as the first time around.
Evie woke up that night around midnight, and I was in her bed just calming her down and started feeling more regular contractions. By about 12:30am, I was pretty certain that "this was it", so hung out in the bathroom for a little while and let Craig get a bit more sleep. The contraction got stronger fairly quickly and I woke Craig up around 1:30am.
We had a few different friends/couples lined up to be 'on call' to help us out, but of course this timing wasn't the most convenient. Luckily we were able to get a hold of my friend Robyn (who also happened to be up comforting her toddler and heard her phone....life as parents) and she came over at 3am. The pain was getting progressively more intense and even though I wasn't quite meeting the 5-1-1 rule (Go to the hospital when your contractions are at least a minute long, less than 5 minutes apart, for at least an hour), my gut told me that we had to get there sooner rather than later - Glad I went with my gut on that one.
We made the 10 minute drive to the hospital...It was a bit of a blur, but I do recall Craig saying "I just went through a red light" :). Of course at 4am, the hospital doors are locked and Craig dropped me off at the door since there was no way I was walking in from the parkade (which I was able to do the first time around). It was also -20 or so outside. I rang the buzzer, and the admission office said "how can I help you", my response: "I'm in labour and need to go inside". Craig luckily caught up within a minute (since I was moving at the pace of a snail).
We got up to labour and delivery by 4:30am and luckily it seemed to be a pretty quiet night. My cervix was almost completely effaced and I was 6cm dilated - so I was glad we were at the hospital. Having had a really good experience with an epidural the first time around, I went in knowing that I was going to ask for one so they put the order in for that. I got the epidural at 5:30am, and it definitely helped but was different than the first time. I still felt an incredible amount of pressure with the epidural and was still breathing through contractions (though it really did help with the pain a lot and gave me a bit of a rest before the delivery).
With Evelyn's birth, it was much more relaxing overall - They would check me every hour or two, and then when I was fully dilated they basically told me it was time to push. This time around, there was really no need for checking because my body just reached a point where that baby was coming out. Around 6:15 I started getting really shaky, and the nurse told us that was the effect of adrenaline and we were ready to go. The doctor came back in and I pushed through two contractions, then some pausing to allow for stretching while the head and shoulders were coming out. That was pretty painful, but the doctor said that slowing down would decrease the chance of tearing (and it worked, so the pain was worth it). Luckily the pain didn't last long, and I'm sure it was less than 10 minutes of pushing total.
Lucy Rose arrived at 6:28am, weighing in at 8'4 lbs and measuring 50cm. She cried right away and was pronounced healthy based on all the initial screens they do. I was overwhelmed with happiness and a huge sense of relief that the process was over and that we both made it through healthy and well. For those of you who know me well, you know I like a good plan - so waiting for her arrival (and just not knowing when/how it would happen), has made me a little anxious over the last little while. At least with a labour this quick, you really don't have too much time to worry about the details. It just happens, and we were very lucky overall with the process and the outcome.
We spent the next couple hours in the labour and delivery room bonding and doing a first feed. Lucy seemed to know exactly how to nurse from the first time we tried (another big relief, but definitely less of a stress for me this time around having had a good breastfeeding experience with Evie). The epidural I had was well placed and wore off quickly, as I was able to walk almost immediately to go to the bathroom and have a shower. We were then transferred to our postpartum room around 8am - definitely our most exciting night in a while!
Lucy's first few moments
She is already a big girl (more than a pound bigger than Evie at birth), and seems like she is going to continue packing on the pounds outside the womb too
Snuggles with Daddy
We hung out in the postpartum room on Saturday and I attempted to get some sleep (since I hadn't slept since Thursday night), but it was hard. I had a roommate who had visitors, and then when she got discharged around noon, the housekeeper came and made lots of noise cleaning up.
Craig headed home mid-afternoon to relieve our day babysitters/dog-walkers and pick up Evie. We are very lucky to have lots of friends who were happy to help out with watching Evie, stocking our fridge with food, and walking our dogs (Shout outs Robyn, Mac, Jocelyn, Nicole and Lewis :). It's very much appreciated to have this support when we need it.
Craig brought Evelyn back to the hospital to meet Lucy and have some dinner. Evie was pretty intrigued by Lucy, and overall, I'd say her reaction was favourable (maybe not as favourable as her reaction to chocolate or birthday cake, but good for a 2.5 year old ).
She was really interested in unwrapping her and looking at her tiny body, and holding her hand. She would just say "she likes me".
I spent Saturday night in the hospital. I got lucky and didn't end up having a roommate, but still only got about 3 hours of sleep as Lucy really didn't want to be set down. Eventually I asked the nurse to take her to the nursery as I was not able to stay awake any longer. Sunday morning we discharged and home by noon.
Craig came with Evie to pick us up from the hospital. Evie really wanted to carry Lucy's car seat out of the hospital...it took us a while to get to the car, but we appreciated the help :)
Our little helper
Showing Lucy her new crib
Late night snuggles
Jocelyn came over for some baby snuggles
Evelyn only really wants to hold Lucy for a few seconds - but those few seconds are pretty adorable
Enjoying her many hours of sleep (I swear, it felt like she was way more active and awake inside me)
We let Evelyn pick out a present for Lucy - she chose this dinosaur. We thought she might have chosen it because it was something she didn't like all that much, but Lucy seems to actually like staring at it. Whenever Evie sees that the dinosaur isn't in this bassinet, she makes sure to return it (kind of funny, since its pretty much the same size as Lucy is right now)
Ruby watching over her baby....The dogs are really interested in Lucy. Ruby is fairly gentle, Hudson just wants to sniff her and lick her all over, so we have to hold them back a little.
A few minutes of awake time
Overall, Evelyn has been doing pretty well. She has a positive attitude towards Lucy, and seems to be excited about being a big sister. I took Lucy to her day home for a visit when I picked her up the other day, and she was excited to tell the other kids and our day home provider "This is my baby sister". At the same time, I think she is still adjusting to not having 100% of my attention. It's hard to tell what causes toddler behaviour. The last couple nights bedtime has been really tough. I have still been able to read her stories and sing (our normal routine), but when its time for me to leave she is getting really upset and refusing to go to sleep. We are trying to have Craig be the one go in and settle her now, since my nights are already spent awake and feeding. It's tough to listen to the "I need mommy" cries and not feel guilty, but she will adjust I'm sure.
Baby cam view of Evie...insisted that she needs her sunglasses for sleeping
What better item to snuggle than a magnetic drawing board....I think we'll have to clear the toys out of her room.
I'm sure we'll get there with Evie and our new routine. She is still in day home full-time, which I also feel a little guilty about (for not spending the time with her) but I know she loves it there and am sure she is learning more and having more fun there than watching me breastfeed all day long. We are keeping her in for probably 6 weeks and then will drop to two days a week.
I am recovering really well. It is definitely much better than the first time around, which surprised me but apparently is common (I guess your body is just more prepared/already stretched out for the childbirth experience). The worst pain is now that my milk has come in. I will definitely have oversupply issues again, so am just trying to get through the initial engorgement and deal with milk just constantly soaking through my shirts. Lucy had her first projectile vomiting episode last night (Evelyn did the same for about 6 weeks until my supply regulated), so she's definitely getting lots of milk. It's pretty uncomfortable, but is an okay problem to have since growth I don't have to worry about Lucy's growth. We had her public health appointment yesterday, and she was only 50g away from reaching her birthweight, so she'll probably get there today or tomorrow. She's definitely following in her sister's footsteps in the weight gain department :)
It has been an exciting, happy and emotional week. Craig took Monday and Tuesday off and he always says he doesn't really need to be around as I've got it under control but it was still really nice. He has been amazing and really stepped up his Dad game to be there for me, Evelyn and Lucy (not to mention the dogs, who demand their daily walks and the baths that follow due to this spring melt we are experiencing). I am really looking forward to having lots of quality family time over the next year. I'm sure it will be filled with lots of challenges and learnings as we adjust to life as a family of four, but I know the memories and experiences of watching two children grow and develop will be amazing.
Before the real sleep deprivation takes over and while its still fresh in my mind, I wanted to share the story of Lucy's arrival into the world early in the morning on March 11, 2017.
My due date was March 13th, and for the whole pregnancy I had assumed I would go into labour a bit early. Even though everyone says no two pregnancy/labours/births are the same, I still thought I'd be about a week early like I was with Evelyn. At 39 weeks (last Monday), I was pretty uncomfortable and eager to have a membrane sweep done and hopefully get things moving. I had my appointment, and afterwards convinced myself that every little cramp, stomach pain, different feeling was labour starting....unfortunately, the sweep didn't work this time around (I had Evelyn the day after having it done).
My co-workers were probably pretty tired of my complaining all week long, but I made it at work until my scheduled last day - In all my preparations to go off early, the last few days were actually quite relaxed. I don't think I've ever really got through my "To Do" list, but it actually happened this time around. Friday night followed our normal routine - ate dinner, got Evie to bed and then tidied up/watched some TV and headed off to bed. I wasn't feeling great when we went to bed around 10, but had been feeling similar the night before and figured it was just tiredness/indigestion at the end of the day. In hindsight, I think I had been having contractions for the past day, but didn't recognize them as they didn't feel the same as the first time around.
Evie woke up that night around midnight, and I was in her bed just calming her down and started feeling more regular contractions. By about 12:30am, I was pretty certain that "this was it", so hung out in the bathroom for a little while and let Craig get a bit more sleep. The contraction got stronger fairly quickly and I woke Craig up around 1:30am.
We had a few different friends/couples lined up to be 'on call' to help us out, but of course this timing wasn't the most convenient. Luckily we were able to get a hold of my friend Robyn (who also happened to be up comforting her toddler and heard her phone....life as parents) and she came over at 3am. The pain was getting progressively more intense and even though I wasn't quite meeting the 5-1-1 rule (Go to the hospital when your contractions are at least a minute long, less than 5 minutes apart, for at least an hour), my gut told me that we had to get there sooner rather than later - Glad I went with my gut on that one.
We made the 10 minute drive to the hospital...It was a bit of a blur, but I do recall Craig saying "I just went through a red light" :). Of course at 4am, the hospital doors are locked and Craig dropped me off at the door since there was no way I was walking in from the parkade (which I was able to do the first time around). It was also -20 or so outside. I rang the buzzer, and the admission office said "how can I help you", my response: "I'm in labour and need to go inside". Craig luckily caught up within a minute (since I was moving at the pace of a snail).
We got up to labour and delivery by 4:30am and luckily it seemed to be a pretty quiet night. My cervix was almost completely effaced and I was 6cm dilated - so I was glad we were at the hospital. Having had a really good experience with an epidural the first time around, I went in knowing that I was going to ask for one so they put the order in for that. I got the epidural at 5:30am, and it definitely helped but was different than the first time. I still felt an incredible amount of pressure with the epidural and was still breathing through contractions (though it really did help with the pain a lot and gave me a bit of a rest before the delivery).
With Evelyn's birth, it was much more relaxing overall - They would check me every hour or two, and then when I was fully dilated they basically told me it was time to push. This time around, there was really no need for checking because my body just reached a point where that baby was coming out. Around 6:15 I started getting really shaky, and the nurse told us that was the effect of adrenaline and we were ready to go. The doctor came back in and I pushed through two contractions, then some pausing to allow for stretching while the head and shoulders were coming out. That was pretty painful, but the doctor said that slowing down would decrease the chance of tearing (and it worked, so the pain was worth it). Luckily the pain didn't last long, and I'm sure it was less than 10 minutes of pushing total.
Lucy Rose arrived at 6:28am, weighing in at 8'4 lbs and measuring 50cm. She cried right away and was pronounced healthy based on all the initial screens they do. I was overwhelmed with happiness and a huge sense of relief that the process was over and that we both made it through healthy and well. For those of you who know me well, you know I like a good plan - so waiting for her arrival (and just not knowing when/how it would happen), has made me a little anxious over the last little while. At least with a labour this quick, you really don't have too much time to worry about the details. It just happens, and we were very lucky overall with the process and the outcome.
We spent the next couple hours in the labour and delivery room bonding and doing a first feed. Lucy seemed to know exactly how to nurse from the first time we tried (another big relief, but definitely less of a stress for me this time around having had a good breastfeeding experience with Evie). The epidural I had was well placed and wore off quickly, as I was able to walk almost immediately to go to the bathroom and have a shower. We were then transferred to our postpartum room around 8am - definitely our most exciting night in a while!
Lucy's first few moments
She is already a big girl (more than a pound bigger than Evie at birth), and seems like she is going to continue packing on the pounds outside the womb too
Snuggles with Daddy
We hung out in the postpartum room on Saturday and I attempted to get some sleep (since I hadn't slept since Thursday night), but it was hard. I had a roommate who had visitors, and then when she got discharged around noon, the housekeeper came and made lots of noise cleaning up.
Craig headed home mid-afternoon to relieve our day babysitters/dog-walkers and pick up Evie. We are very lucky to have lots of friends who were happy to help out with watching Evie, stocking our fridge with food, and walking our dogs (Shout outs Robyn, Mac, Jocelyn, Nicole and Lewis :). It's very much appreciated to have this support when we need it.
Craig brought Evelyn back to the hospital to meet Lucy and have some dinner. Evie was pretty intrigued by Lucy, and overall, I'd say her reaction was favourable (maybe not as favourable as her reaction to chocolate or birthday cake, but good for a 2.5 year old ).
She was really interested in unwrapping her and looking at her tiny body, and holding her hand. She would just say "she likes me".
Craig came with Evie to pick us up from the hospital. Evie really wanted to carry Lucy's car seat out of the hospital...it took us a while to get to the car, but we appreciated the help :)
Showing Lucy her new crib
Late night snuggles
Jocelyn came over for some baby snuggles
Evelyn only really wants to hold Lucy for a few seconds - but those few seconds are pretty adorable
Enjoying her many hours of sleep (I swear, it felt like she was way more active and awake inside me)
We let Evelyn pick out a present for Lucy - she chose this dinosaur. We thought she might have chosen it because it was something she didn't like all that much, but Lucy seems to actually like staring at it. Whenever Evie sees that the dinosaur isn't in this bassinet, she makes sure to return it (kind of funny, since its pretty much the same size as Lucy is right now)
Ruby watching over her baby....The dogs are really interested in Lucy. Ruby is fairly gentle, Hudson just wants to sniff her and lick her all over, so we have to hold them back a little.
A few minutes of awake time
Overall, Evelyn has been doing pretty well. She has a positive attitude towards Lucy, and seems to be excited about being a big sister. I took Lucy to her day home for a visit when I picked her up the other day, and she was excited to tell the other kids and our day home provider "This is my baby sister". At the same time, I think she is still adjusting to not having 100% of my attention. It's hard to tell what causes toddler behaviour. The last couple nights bedtime has been really tough. I have still been able to read her stories and sing (our normal routine), but when its time for me to leave she is getting really upset and refusing to go to sleep. We are trying to have Craig be the one go in and settle her now, since my nights are already spent awake and feeding. It's tough to listen to the "I need mommy" cries and not feel guilty, but she will adjust I'm sure.
Baby cam view of Evie...insisted that she needs her sunglasses for sleeping
What better item to snuggle than a magnetic drawing board....I think we'll have to clear the toys out of her room.
I'm sure we'll get there with Evie and our new routine. She is still in day home full-time, which I also feel a little guilty about (for not spending the time with her) but I know she loves it there and am sure she is learning more and having more fun there than watching me breastfeed all day long. We are keeping her in for probably 6 weeks and then will drop to two days a week.
I am recovering really well. It is definitely much better than the first time around, which surprised me but apparently is common (I guess your body is just more prepared/already stretched out for the childbirth experience). The worst pain is now that my milk has come in. I will definitely have oversupply issues again, so am just trying to get through the initial engorgement and deal with milk just constantly soaking through my shirts. Lucy had her first projectile vomiting episode last night (Evelyn did the same for about 6 weeks until my supply regulated), so she's definitely getting lots of milk. It's pretty uncomfortable, but is an okay problem to have since growth I don't have to worry about Lucy's growth. We had her public health appointment yesterday, and she was only 50g away from reaching her birthweight, so she'll probably get there today or tomorrow. She's definitely following in her sister's footsteps in the weight gain department :)
It has been an exciting, happy and emotional week. Craig took Monday and Tuesday off and he always says he doesn't really need to be around as I've got it under control but it was still really nice. He has been amazing and really stepped up his Dad game to be there for me, Evelyn and Lucy (not to mention the dogs, who demand their daily walks and the baths that follow due to this spring melt we are experiencing). I am really looking forward to having lots of quality family time over the next year. I'm sure it will be filled with lots of challenges and learnings as we adjust to life as a family of four, but I know the memories and experiences of watching two children grow and develop will be amazing.
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