I need more lap room.

Rawr!!

I am so sore right now. This morning was my first few hours by myself with both girls and I am now thoroughly convinced that we are not meant to raise children in this way. We are supposed to be a community. I should have all my siblings around me, friends, aunts and grandmothers - I don't think mothers were meant to be solely responsible for the well-being of their children for hours and days on end.

On the other hand, it went pretty well. I can tell that Squiget is trying her best to be a good girl and help me out, but she's only two years old. She's not really ready to grow up yet and still needs to be babied as well. I hope I can handle this when the holidays are over and it's just me, Squiget and Goomba day in and day out.

Anyway, Husband came home early from work, we had lunch and then sent Squiget upstairs to nap. She'll sleep until the evening and then we're going to Mom's for New Year's celebrations! For now, I'll be watching Star Wars movies with the Husband. Hooray!

The Last Christmas Dinner

Well, since Goomba hadn't pooped since Thursday morning, we drove in to the midwife's office first thing in the morning today to get her weighed and check her bilirubin levels. Thankfully she had two poops this morning and her numbers all checked out, so we won't need to worry about supplementing with anything for her. I don't think I would have, anyway, because she wasn't showing any signs of dehydration and she was alert and strong whenever she was awake.

There was obviously nothing to worry about.

After jumping through hoops for the morning, we went out to my in-law's for one last Christmas Dinner. Grandma and Grandpa B were finally able to make it out, so there were of course a ton of gifts for Squiget to open. She's probably the most spoiled little girl in the county. Why did I even bother buying her anything? But I'm glad she's so loved by everyone. It's good for a child to have more than 2 adult caregivers who love them.

Squiget and Goomba at the Christmas Party Today

Grandma and Grandpa loved their gifts, and Husband and I were just about as spoiled as our girls were. And my eyes are starting to look a little better as well. It will be great to not have to wash my hands every hour. I'm starting to get a rash.

New Couch Provides Motivation!

I woke up this morning, came downstairs, and found that the house was even more of a mess than it was yesterday. This was not good for several reasons:

1.) I am freaking sick! I have Pink Eye and it feels like my eyes are melting out of my face!!
2.) This house WAS clean yesterday when my mom stopped by to pick things up for me!
3.) There is a new couch arriving sometime between 9am and 2pm and as it was, there was NO ROOM FOR IT!

My mom got us a new couch for Christmas. Conveniently, my cousin was in need of another couch, so she will be taking our old one. While my Dad and Husband were playing delivery boys, Squiget, Goomba and I cleaned and rearranged the living room (Goomba mostly hung out in the baby carrier. And Squiget mostly just messed up my dirt piles while I was trying to sweep. So, I guess, it was just me cleaning...)

Cleaning up made me feel 120% better. It was so nice to see the floor clean and Christmas junk sorted out. Everything was clear and ready when the moving truck arrived - but when they came to the door the delivery boy explained that somehow our couch didn't make it on the truck. He wasn't sure how that happened, but they would have to bring it later. We didn't wait long, however, because they brought the couch while Squiget was at my in-law's for the afternoon. I was actually pretty impressed.

Goomba slept well for the rest of the day. When Husband left to go out for dinner with Squiget and his friends I had some time to myself to come on here and write about it. After I eat I think I'll watch a movie to myself. Probably Tintin, or one of the many others I've been wanting to see!

Though, I'm not looking forward to sitting on the new couch. It is too new. Very, very firm. I miss my butt groove from the old couch.

Goomba smiling in her sleep today.

The Plague!!

Today has been eventful.

First, my aunt and cousin stopped by to see our Goomba. My cold had become well established at that point, so I was trying not to give it to anyone. Also, Goomba hasn't pooped since yesterday morning, so neither of us is feeling very well.

While they were visiting, and during Squiget's nap, the midwife stopped by again to check on Goomba and me. Everything was fine and we visited for a bit longer. Squiget was definitely not napping, though, so we gave up and brought her downstairs. I guess she felt left out with so many people visiting downstairs and she was forced to sit by herself in her room. I kinda get why she wouldn't be a bog fan of doing that.

In the afternoon my sister and brother came over to take down my Christmas tree for me, and some more visitors stopped by to see the new baby. I'm starting to get stressed out by how awful the house looks - but I'm not up to any major house cleaning yet. Husband is doing his best... but I think he might be cleanliness handicapped?

While the visitors were holding baby and talking my eye started watering and feeling really itchy. It didn't take too long for it to turn serious, swelling up and turning totally red and awful looking. We had planned to go out for dinner and try our hand at moving outside the house with two children, but my eye was swollen shut and leaking goo by the evening, so we left my sister with Squiget and went to the emergency room to see what might be wrong. I said the whole time that I hoped it would be easy to fix with drops or something - but instead it turns out my cold had turned into Pink Eye. Also, I'm super contagious.

Excellent.

So we stayed in and ate panzerottis instead. I am miserable. Why should I have a cold, Pink Eye, AND have just delivered a perfect baby girl?! Ugh.

This has been a high-hormone day.

Not Quite a Routine

Today was wonderful and hormonal and awful and incredible. Husband has today and tomorrow off work as well, so I have him at home with me for at least a week after our newest baby arrived. It's been great having him around - he's trying his best to clean house. It's the thought that counts, right?

Today we took this picture of Miss Christmas Day:

First thing in the morning.

As you can see, her eyes are majorly swollen. When she gets upset and scrunches up her little face she looks like a Goomba. They bug out of her head! I have yet to see her eyes today, since she can hardly open them.

Squiget went to daycare today, which should be good for her since it brought some of her old routine back into her life. With Christmas and the new baby it's been a bit bonkers around here. She seemed calmer when we picked her up. 

While she was gone, Rick and I enjoyed naps and went grocery shopping because we were running seriously low on supplies in both fridge and pantry. The Goomba woke up in the store and being a 2nd time mom, I nursed her right in store! People kept wanting to see the baby and lifting up my scarf for themselves - then exclaiming and apologizing profusely when they saw the baby was eating! (I didn't really mind. In fact, I thought it was hilarious.)

While eating dinner, I was watching Squiget and became so overwhelmed with feels that I couldn't stop crying. I was nursing Goomba, but all I wanted was to sit beside my oldest and play with her. After her being at daycare all day, I was seriously missing her - even though I'm a little terrified for next week when I have both girls all to myself!

I seem to be coming down with a cold. Which is awful. I just had a baby! What the heck, immune system?!

Tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to the Christmas tree! Before bed I made sure to get this picture, because it just seemed like something I ought to do:

The Best Christmas Gift of All ❤

A Day With Many Visitors

Today was punctuated with visits.

When our new daughter and I woke up this morning Daddy was already downstairs with Squiget, watching cartoons and eating breakfast cereal at the computer. I set up camp on the couch, ready to nurse all day, as I remember doing with our eldest. Surprisingly, this daughter chose to sleep. And sleep. And sleep! So I took a nap as well! Amazing!

My mom and aunt came by to help organize the house after the Christmas tornado. Husband tried his best as well, but cleaning and house keeping are not exactly his areas of skill. And there was a lot to do. Needless to say, by the time the midwife came by new daughter was still sleeping and the house was still a disaster. But I suppose I should commend everyone on their efforts.

We noticed today that our newest baby has some swelling going on around her eyes. It seems delivery was not as smooth on her as it was on me. Basically, since I was determined to be done and I rocketed the poor kid out in 2 pushes, her face got pretty banged up on the way out.

After the midwife visit, and after a 3 hour nursing session, we packed up to head out once more to another Christmas party with my Husband's family. More presents. More delicious food. More toys for Squiget that I don't know what to do with - I am going to have to take out a second mortgage and buy my neighbour's house to have enough room for all her stuff! And now there will be two of them! Damn you, Capitalism!

Grandma and Grandpa B couldn't be there because of the blizzard - which is kinda hilarious because Grandma B called me before Christmas to tell me I'd better have the baby before Boxing Day so she could see her!

Home now and relaxing on a lovely day 2 with the new babe. Looks like tonight will be an early night.

The Longest Christmas Ever.

I always thought it kinda sucked having a birthday in January. Christmas was only just done, mom's wallet was still recovering from the blow of the holidays, and then my birthday would come along. But, at least I didn't have a birthday right on Christmas!

Husband's uncle's birthday is on Christmas, and I remember him telling me, when I said the baby was due in mid December, that I'd better not have the baby on Christmas!

Well guess what?

Labour started again on Christmas Eve. Specifically, during the Christmas Eve church service. I still went to my mom's afterwards to party with my family, but I was definitely in labour at that time. Around midnight we thought we ought to get Squiget home to bed. I tried to sleep as well, but the contractions were getting too painful. Around 5am I had to go downstairs and I laboured while walking around in circles until husband woke up and came to join me around 6. When it was pretty obvious I was going to have the baby sometime today, he called his mom to come collect Squiget again and she left around 7 to go enjoy Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

After talking to the midwife we decided to meet at the hospital for 8:30am. The drive in was hell. I was having terrible back labour and sitting in a car during contractions was AWFUL! When we got to the hospital I was almost ready to push. It only took an hour until I was fully dilated - and I went drug free this time, so I was probably the rudest I've ever been in my life. I was also exhausted from not sleeping since 10am on Christmas Eve. At one point I begged for the gas, then after one whiff I remembered  "Oh ya, I hate this!" and I threw it away.

Anyway, the gory details of labour aside, it was worth it. 1000 times worth it. Our new baby girl arrived at 9:56am on Christmas Day. She was 8lbs7oz and perfectly perfect. I held her for a long time before I would let the midwives take her to weigh her and measure her. In the happy delirium of post-delivery I remember clutching her to my chest and saying: "She's mine! She's mine!"

Also, I would like to add that my placenta was Perfect. So there, Mr crazy OB who wanted to induce me at 3 days overdue because the placenta was apparently going to die or something... (0_o)

We were asked when we would like to go home and I jokingly said "Today would be nice." Since it was Christmas, I got my wish, and they discharged us somewhere between 1:30 and 2. I wasn't paying very close attention to the clock at that point in time. On the way out they gave us a handmade bear, which someone had donated to the hospital as a gift for the "Christmas Baby". Our baby was nursing like a champ, and we brought her straight from the hospital to my Mom's for Christmas where the whole family was waiting for us to open gifts. Not that I did much gift opening. I sat down on one of the couches and didn't move for a solid 4 hours.

Home again after that, where I rested on the couch some more and cuddled with the new baby until Husband's parents returned Squiget to us - along with all the gifts we were supposed to be opening...

My house is a disaster, but we have been so blessed today I can hardly complain about it. I don't think I'll ever be able to out-do this Christmas!

First Post

This is going to be the first post! I'm writing this on Christmas Eve, 2012, because today I had a movie moment. You know in movies when a pregnant woman goes into labour and rushes to the hospital - then when she gets there it turns out she wasn't really in labour and they send her back home?

Ya. That was me this morning. The contractions started around midnight. I got up to time them and they didn't stop for almost 2 hours! We really thought it was time, so I called the midwife, called my mom, husband called his mom and I woke my aunt up in the guest room. MIL arrived at the house to stay over while Squiget slept upstairs. We shipped out for the hospital around 3:30 in the morning. But I was only 2cm dilated and the contractions weren't that bad.

Our midwife, Joanne, sent us back home to sleep through early labour and probably return later in the day.

Well. That didn't happen. I woke up around 10am - husband sent Squiget to his mother's for the day, but labour seemed to have stalled. So here I sit, starting a blog about our girls to pass the time while I wait and wonder just when baby #2 is going to make her appearance.