11 Week Weight

Kale and I made the trek to the local health centre this morning to get a 1 week interval weight since his weight gain had slowed down. Last week we called our lactation consultant about the 3 oz over two weeks gain and she felt it was important we get another weight this week to see if there was something going on or if the low weight gain had more to do with the fever he had.

Today he weights 15 lbs 11.4 oz (7127 grams). That is an increase of 5.4 oz (153 grams). This is still less than is normal for this age range but a good improvement. I left a message for the lactation consultant to see what she recommends.

Thanks to everyone for their reassuring comments.

10 Week Weight..

I went to the drop in at the health clinic on Commercial drive for the third time today. It feels like a much more cohesive group than the one closer to home and the nurse who leads it feels a lot warmer. I think I will continue going in the new year.

I weighed Kale today since it had been two weeks since the doctors visit and was a little worried by the result. He only weighed 15lb 6oz which is only 3 oz in 2 weeks. Well below normal weight gain. The nurse reassured me that weight gain slows down at around 4 months and I pointed out that he was only 2 months old. She said she still wouldn't be concerned he was obviously doing well.

I guess I am still concerned because nursing is still such a challenge, he fights the breast and is fussy so I worry that he is not getting enough and that is why he isn't gaining. I also worry because we spent 1.5 weeks of those 2 weeks working to reduce my milk supply on the advice of two lactation consultants and my midwives. I finally agreed because it was obvious he was gaining enough weight and as soon as I did he stopped gaining. So I am worried that we shouldn't have done that.

Kale has also been really fussy since recovering from his flu or whatever caused the fever and so I am feeling drained and tired which makes it hard to think constructively. Especially when his fussiness invovles not wanting to eat for more than 2 minutes ever 3 plus hours.

Deep Breathe - I know my baby is okay and I know that I am doing the best that could be done.

Happy morning

Early sunday morning.
Kale's two-day fever has officially left.
Very worried parents starting to relax again.
Sunshine peeking through the window.
Simon and Garfunkel playing in the background.
Smiling baby slumbering in my arms.
It's a happy morning.

I love looking at myself..

Kale has a Gymini (see picture of the whole thing here at Amazon.) When were would first set him in it we would have to stay right there, talk to him and make the dangling toys move. Then he would stay content for up to 3 minutes. (It was impressive at the time.) Now we can lay him in there and he just stares at the toys fascinated. This picture captures him staring up at himself in the mirror on one of the toys. We talk to him about the other baby that keeps appearing in mirrors around the house but he isn't quite sure what to make of him yet.

FEVER!!!!

Kale has a fever -

When I changed his diaper after seeing CRAZY at Movies for Mommies today I got really concerned that he was way to hot. He had been in his snow suit durring the movie so I left it off for the ride home and hoped he would cool off though it felt like more than that. When I got home and his fever was over 101 F I started to do the new parent panic. I dosed him with Tylenol then called Keva and the doctor.

Keva came home, the doctor called back and the fever is responding to Tylenol and going down. We are supposed to call the doctor again in the morning so see when we should come in so he can check Kale out and make sure it is nothing serious. Plus continue to dose him with Tylenol through the night to keep the fever down.

Thank Goodness we didn't have TWINS...

Alex came to our open house party all dressed up in her finest hand knit dress. Here we were trying to compare their heights so I held them side by side. You can't tell in the picture but Kale is shorter than Alex.

Sorry I am pulling up your dress in the picture Alex (and not even showing off your ruffly behind).

Oh Christmas Tree...

We set up our Christmas tree early this year because we were hosting an Advent open house on the second Advent. Here Kale and I are getting ready to put the first ornament on the tree. =) Kale has enjoyed the tree more than I imagined. When we sit on the couch he spends a lot of time staring at all of the lights.

Oh and mom - behind us in the first picture is our new painting. I will take a better picture of it for you.

Could you say no to this face???

Kale's New Sweater

When we popped in on Jane and Rachel Jane gave us this beautiful sweater that she knit for Kale. We were a little worried it might be too small but it actually fits quite well. Sorry the picture doesn't do it justice. Thank you Jane.
PS - We won't emphasize that minutes after the picture was taken he spit up all over the sweater...lol

8 Week Doc Visit

We had our first routine well-baby visit today. Normally it would also be the time for the first round of immunizations, but since we are delaying those it was a pretty easy visit. Kale got checked out, we talked about his behaviour and then he got weighed and measured.

6.9 Kilos (15 lb 3 oz)

61.5 CM (24 1/4 inches)

I appreciated the fact that our doctor cosleeps with his two year old son and was able to share info about cosleeping and the like rather than questioning my decision like some of our friends doctors. Over all it was a good visit and I wished I had more questions or concerns. I am sure they will all come pouring out now that the visit is over.

Laugh

Jane and Rachel surprise visit

On our way back through Seattle after our trip to Yuma we dropped in on Jane and Rachel since they hadn't met Kale yet... It was great to see them and they supplied us with our Sex in Seattle fix (though we must admit - the DVD isn't as good as the live play).

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent this Thanksgiving in Yuma, Arizona. Robyn was a great hostess. Thanks Robbs!

Grandparents changing diapers...


Safe from that Yuma sun!


Hanging out at the sand dunes...

Baby Cowboy

Molly wore this outfit when she was little...

All Bundled Up for a Walk

Now that it is colder out we are bundling Kale into his stroller. The entirety of the buggy is filled with blankets so there isn't room for him to move or any cold air to get in. I remember when I lived in Berlin thinking women were pushing around buggies full of blankets with no baby in because they would be packed in even tighter than this because it was a lot lot colder.

Hazards of Sling Eating

Thank goodness it wasn't soup!

Week 6 Weight

We went in yesterday for our 6 week visit with the midwives. Both Kale and I recieved a clean bill of health (something we were pretty assured of walking in).

Kale was up another 11 oz weighin in at 14 lbs 3 oz (or 6.4 Kilos). The master weight gainer ranks high on the list of chubbiest babies the midwives have ever seen. =) It is fun to be proud of weight gain and chub since normally we are eager to not gain weight or be viewed as chubby.

One from the archive

Courtesy of David and Kim Block.

More cute bathtime photos

Our fussy evenings

Believe it or not, Kale is not always smiling peaches and cream. Lately, we've been having fussy evenings - starting a few hours after Dad gets home until around midnight. We've been employing a few tactics to help make the evenings better for us all:

Quiet nursing time...


...a warm baby bath with Dad...


...and tightly swaddled baby on dad's chest.

Our Little Lion

Oma Gungi sent us this cute little lion suit for Kale and he has been snuggly warm in it all day today. Thanks so much for the stylish outfit.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently there weren't enough exclamation points about Kale rolling over.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Advancements...

He rolled over...

babies aren't supposed to do that until they are like 2 or 3 months old.

We were doing some tummy time and bare bum time combined so he was laying on a mat in front of the heating vent. I turned away for like 3 seconds and his vocalizations changed so I turned back around. He was off the mat on his back.

I am constantly impressed by the new things he does on a daily basis.

5 Week Weight...

I made my weekly trek to the Community Health Centre to weight Kale this morning (well actually more like lunch time). As I was heading there I vowed that this would be the last week. He will get weighed next week at the Midwives and after 6 weeks he will just end up being weighed at his Well Baby visits to the doctor rather than on such a regular basis.

So today he weight 13 pounds 8 oz (6123 grams). That is up 11 oz (312) from last week. Our chubby baby continues to get chubbier. Hard to believe he is already over a month old. It is funny how some days can go by slowly but the overall sense of time is overwhelming speed.

The past few days have been all about getting out of the house and getting good at changing diapers in washrooms (and the car when needed). We have breastfeed in parking garages, on the nice comfy recliners in a Sears Display area, at moms groups, and baby reunions. We spent most of Sunday out of the house and even ate dinner in a sit down restaurant. It was only Red Robin where we figured if he did start screaming it would blend in to the loud music and other dining famimlies. He slept through the whole meal though (happy on daddy's chest in the Baby Bjorn). Yesterday we left the house many times rather than staying out for an extended period. We drove Daddy to work, then we went to the Moms group, then we went to the library (in the Stroller!) and then we picked Daddy up from work. In and out of the carseat, In and out of the carseat. Luckily he seems to sleep in the carseat pretty well and we only had one screaming drive (a short one thanks goodness).

Baby Group

Our prenatal class had a reunion this weekend. We met some great new parents in our class and this was our chance to meet their babies. Here's the obligatory babies shot (ours is the sleeping big boy in the middle, of course):

Learning to Dance

We thought Kale might be ready for dancing, but decided to work on standing upright first...


One of the ferrets, Bannister, wanted to help -- but decided he wanted to be the baby, too.

Playdate

Our friends David, Kim and Alex invited us over for a Cheese Bagel brunch and playdate for the wee ones. They had a good time hanging out together, checking out the mobile in the crib (or were they watching the four parents and a flashing camera that stoood above them). They also had their own brunch a while after ours and a good jiggle in their Mama's arms. Note how the babes are dressed in pink and blue as well as the moms. Don't want anyone mistaking the sex of these little ones (Laugh).

Anxiety

Main Entry: anx·i·ety
Pronunciation: a[ng]-'zI-&-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -eties
Etymology: Latin anxietas, from anxius
1 a : painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill b : fearful concern or interest c : a cause of anxiety
2 : an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it
synonym see CARE

From http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/anxiety

The first definition and the synonym seem to really be how I am experiencing motherhood. I care so much that I am positively afraid something is wrong. I am constantly worried about something. My milk will be too little because he wasn't suckling enough during his cold. He spit up, is he getting enough nutrients. He screams during feeds, what am I doing wrong, how can I help him, how can I calm him down.

Yesterday all of these worries, concerns, anxieties reached a peak level and I crashed. I called Keva in tears and he surprised me at home a few hours later just for a quick half hour in the middle of his day to hold me or give me a chance to be away from the baby a little and regroup in some Molly only time. I took him up on both we cuddled and then I took a half an hour to eat a big lunch and drink some fluids. Kale and I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed interchangeably sleeping and eating which was restful but didn't relieve all of my fears. Come bedtime I was crashing again and while Kale slept in Keva's arms I cried for what felt like an hour. The night went smooth (we tried sleeping him in his carseat to relieve congestion as well as a steam and it worked well) and I woke up feeling a bit more confident and relaxed. I am not saying I won't worry like crazy for the rest of his life but this little bout of extreme worries is calming down.

Week 4 Weight

Well the past week has been a challenge and a half. Kale has been sick for a week now and while things are definitely getting better I think I am about ready to crash. Babies are supposed to sleep for longer and longer stretches as they get older but with this cold we have regressed to a completely random sleeping schedule. Twenty minutes here and twenty minutes there. It is hard to sleep when you can't breathe. We spend time every night in the shower steaming out the boogers as well as filling his nose with saline to soften boogers so we can suck them out. He gets stuffy sleeping next to us but sleeps better on our chests so the boogers can drain out. But we definitely don't sleep as well with him on our chests. Plus it is hard to feed when you can't breathe so breastfeeding has become a major challenge. 3o seconds on, screaming because he can't breathe 2 minutes on, screaming because he can't breathe. We haven't had many solid feeds this week and I was curious what he weight gain would be. I knew he had gained some and I knew he was getting milk (dribble out at times, and a few throw-ups confirmed that) but I was sure it was less than previously. I went to the Health Clinic this morning and weighed him at 12 pounds 13.8 ounces. That is a 7.3 oz gain. Half a pound compared to a whole pound which I guess isn't bad considering how sick he was. I am glad he is healing now; the nasal passages only get stuffy at night. We keep talking about getting a humidifier or a vapourizer but peoples opinions are so varied on which is superiour that we can't decide which type to get so we end up just steaming him during the night. If anyone has their own definitive answer on humidifiers versus vapourizers let us know.

The delicate art of eating while mothering

...takes lots of talent and skill!

My Sick Boys

Our out of town guests brought another visitor into the house...the dreaded head cold. Keva has been home from work and Kale has been sneezing boogers all day long. I had hoped we would avoid cold season until Kale was a little older but now we are learning how to steam out boogers and help a sick and snuffly boy get a little rest. He definitely has been having shorter feeds and sleeps today as he copes with his icky feelings. Keva on the other hand has been having longer sleeps as he copes wiht his icky feelings. Heres hoping I will make it through this without getting ill as well.

3 week weight...

Kale and I had our 3 week midwives appointment today. It was the first time Kale visited the midwives office outside of the uterus and we had a good time. He got weighed again and surprise surprise he had gained another pound, weighing in at 12 pounds 6.5 ounces.

Our chubby baby!

Baby Maya

Back when I was in midwifery school in Seattle my classmate, Tracy, used to stay with us after her daughter Maya was born. I remember Maya as a tiny baby (well with a birth weight over 12 pounds she wasn't all that tiny) and it has been fun to remeet her as an active toddler since we moved up to Vancouver. Today she and her mom came over to visit and brought us lots of fun treats and toys. Maya got to hold her first baby. Kale fussed a bit... (may be the beginning of a cold).

Out of Town Visitors

We had some guests this weekend. Nikki flew all the way out from NY and then she and Jen drove up to meet the newest member of our family. They even managed to cross the border even though Nikki had absolutely no photo ID with her. Kale enjoyed meeting these lovely ladies and warming himself on them as well as screaming into their ears. Jen was able to smile through it while Nikki cried along with him.




















Thanks for visiting us girls...Love You!!!!

Paranoid Mother/Midwife Syndrome

Keva has accused me of this and over the past few days I have been worried Kale hasn't been eating enough. Getting him to feed for more than 6 minutes (at one breast) before a long nap feels like an accomplishment. He seems to feel that a couple 3 minute gulps are all he needs.

Well apparently he is right. He and I ventured out by ourselves today and took the sky train 1 station to a Community Health Centre. They have a baby scale in the lobby where you can weigh your baby and then talk to a nurse if you have any concerns. Kale weighed in at 11 lbs 6 oz exactly. That is one pound up from where he was a week ago. I didn't think babies were supposed to gain a pound a week but I won't complain. And I will relax about his feeding habits. They are obviously working for him.

Tomorrow I think I will attempt to venture out again as there is a mom and baby group at this same health centre. Tomorrows topic is infant CPR which doesn't excite me but I figure it will be good to see other babies and mums if nothing else. Kale is waking up so I had better go.

Hanging out

We spent our first day alone as a family hanging out, resting, and eating some of the frozen meals that Molly prepared for us.

Kale and Dad hanging out on the couch...


...practicing our singing

Baby Rockstar

Keva is trying to jump-start Kale's musical appreciation...

Goodbye Grandma!

Today was Grandma Kitch's last day here helping us out. We went to Solly's for bagels and hot cinnamon buns in the morning and then took her to the airport.

Thanks to her for so much help - Kale misses her already!

PEE

One Week Weight...

At Birth Kale was 4455 grams (9lbs 13oz).


Today at one week he was already up to 4700 grams (10lbs 6oz). We got to impress the midwive with his stellar weight gain.

What a champion eater.

I will post a picture later (they are on moms camera which we can't upload here, she didn't bring her cable.)

Kale's first bath!!

We tried to wait as long as possible, but the inevitable struck: it was time to bathe our little boy. We poured some warm water, suds him up, dried him off and then put on a new cozy sleeper.

Bath time!!


Drying off...


Warm and cozy!

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

Kale and we celebrated our first Canadian Thanksgiving!
He decided to dress up for the occasion:

pumpkin boy