kim through
   the looking glass

Today, I ventured out to the park! I called around and made sure that a friend or two would be there first and then bit the bullet … and it went much better than I could have anticipated! Thankfully, it appears that when you’ve got a newborn, other people really help out with the toddler

I’m falling more and more in love with Gil - all the while acknowledging that the newborn phase is not my favourite! Saying that out loud and being okay with it is allowing me to move past that guilt and move into a space of being with him more fully and more intentionally enjoying this time. Read the rest of this entry »

Gil is just over two weeks old. Although in some ways it feels like he’s fit right into our little family like he was never missing, in other ways, he is still very new, as are our experiences with him.

Gil has an almost constant need to nurse. Forget every 2 hours. Forget every hour. When this boy is awake, he is stuck like glue to my breast. When he sleeps, he sleeps hard - 1 or 2 hours at a time, minimum.

Gwen seems to be taking this in stride - most of the time, anyways. She seems to realize that “baby” needs mommy and needs to nurse. In fact, two days ago, Gwen was in my room with Gil and I while I was dressing for the day. Gil was propped up on a pillow on the bed looking around and Gwen was watching him. “Mommy. Baby.” She said. In Gwen speak, this means, ‘Mommy, I want you to hold Gil.’ I told her that just as soon as I was ready, I’d pick him up. “Mommy. Baby. Sling.” She said, again. I think I’ve got a novice babywearer on my hands! Read the rest of this entry »

… is about to get a whole lot more difficult!

The past two weeks, I’ve had some combination of Brad and my mom here with me. An extra set of hands to wrangle Gwen into her coat. A pair of hands to get a snack ready. Hands to hold Gil while Gwen and I enjoy our special time together snuggling down for her nap.

Sadly, I will be all alone tomorrow.

And I’m more than a little scared.

Gil is a very frequent nurser. As in, when he’s awake, he’s generally attached to the breast. The. Whole. Time. He’s hard to wear for extended periods because I’m frequently switching him from breast to breast. He’s very rarely awake and settled, happy to be carried around - his need to suck is great, and I’m happy to meet it. Unfortunately, that makes it hard to attend to Gwen’s needs as well!

I know I’ll survive - goodness knows other mothers have been met with more difficult challenges (ie. twins/triplets, two closer in age that mine, developmental disabilities, etc.) and survived - even thrived! Think of me while I find my way to mother another, would you please?

To see this article on frequent nursing on kellymom. Gwen ate every 45 minutes. This guy basically never unlatches

Happy one week, little man! Today you weighed 7lbs even - a full 4 oz over your birth weight! You seem to be gaining about 6 oz every two days … which translates to a LOT of time nursing you. I don’t mind much, although your big sister is a little jealous.

Here are some random facts I’ve learned about you in the last week:

• You hate having your diaper changed just slightly more than you hate being unlatched from my breast
• You are a switch nurser - at each feed, I switch you from side to side multiple times … someday I hope you go down to only one or two breasts per feed!
• When you sneeze, you whack yourself in the head … it’s quite cute!
• You definitely recognize both your daddy’s and Gwen’s voices

Here follows the birth story of our son, Gil. If you don’t enjoy reading the more graphic details of birth, I’d suggest not reading it

Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I should check-in with everyone and give an update

Gil is nursing very well … in fact, he nurses all. day. long. And it’s not just comfort nursing, either. The little guy switches back and forth stimulating letdown after letdown. He burps occasionally and spits up every once in a while, but even when he does, it’s only a mouthful.

Gil weighed 6 lbs 4 oz on Monday morning and my midwife came bac to do the PKU test - aka the torturous heel-prick test - on Tuesday afternoon. She agreed to weigh him even though she didn’t think that over a day we’d see much measurable gain - he was 6 lbs 10 oz! Two ounces shy of his birth weight by day 4!

Gil was a bit slow in getting his gut started. He had great easy meconium poops, but after that, the frequency petered out big time! My midwife was a bit concerned about jaundice - he was a teeny bit yellow and not clearing his bowels - so set a goal for two poops by noon yesterday. If we didn’t get our poops, we were to take him in for a bilirubin level. He gave us three by 9AM - stinker!

As for me, I feel great! A little tired, but compared to last time, I feel like million dollars! I am completely healed up, there is no soreness anywhere, and I feel like being a mother is a tonne easier this time. So much more relaxed!!!

More pictures and a birth story to come very soon. I’d like to check some of my details against the birth notes when my midwife comes on Friday.

Gwen has decreased the amount she’s nursing dramatically over the past month or so. It began with her no longer wanting to nurse to sleep - she would nurse, on both sides, but then before she would fall asleep, she would pull off and want to snuggle with Brad to fall asleep. We decided to go with it and changed our bedtime routine from books-nurse-sleep to nurse-books-sleep. I nurse Gwen, get her pj’s and nighttime diaper on and brush her teeth then call Brad up to read her books and put her down. It’s somewhat a relief to know that when Love Bug arrives, there will be a pair of arms available to hold him/her while the other parent is doing their portion of the bedtime routine. Read the rest of this entry »

Of my baby and her doll.

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Sigh.

Over the weekend, I developped a reddened, sore lump on the back on my leg behind my knee. I called the thrombosis clinic that I went to a few weeks ago and they made me an appointment for the next day.

After a quick examination and a compression ultrasound, I was diagnosed with Superficial Thrombophlebitis, which is a clot in a superficial vein. No deep vein involvement, thankfully. Read the rest of this entry »