A Month Of Bliss, Eleven Months of Hell?

Good lord! It's been a while, and frankly, I think it's rather ironic that the first time I have the opportunity to write a new post is the first day that my husband goes back to work...I wonder what that means? Needless to say, I am alive. The joys of being a mother to two haven't swallowed me up and spit me out. At least, not yet!

So, most of the visitors I've had over the past four weeks are extremely curious to see a) how my recovery has been and b) how it's been with two kids. I'll start with a).

My recovery has been ...um...interesting to say the least. After my first c-section, the recovery time was pretty minimal. I was out of bed after the first day home, racing up and down the stairs, carrying heavy objects, pretty much tempting fate. This time...not so much. I had to actually fill my prescription for Oxycontin (don't tell Lindsay Lohan...she'll be knocking on my door tonight on her way outta jail). Granted, I only took two of them (again, LiLo doesn't need to know that I have a surplus, so keep it on the downlow, please), but I had to take them so I wasn't feeling great about that. When I wasn't doped up on Oxy, I was popping Advil and clock watching to see when I could take another. I was bed ridden for almost 2 weeks and up until this weekend, I wasn't able to walk around the block without feeling a terrible pull and tug in my midsection. So, you can imagine the distress I was feeling when I realized that my husband was off to work this week and I was having to tend to an overly active 2 1/2 year old and a newborn who is constantly feeding. Luckily my immediate family has stepped in with their time and allowed me to break myself into the role of mom o' two slowly. Hence, I have some free time as my newborn sleeps and my toddler is off to Nana's house.

I do, however, now realize how much one forgets about the grossness that is a recovering mother's post-natal body. Ugh! Starting with the disgrace and embarrassment of having your first pee accompanied by the unsympathetic and immodest nurse, squeezed into a 10sq ft bathroom, followed up by a constant flow of stool softeners (which I felt were unnecessary to take), only to end with the first post-natal poop (and realization that I should've taken those tootin' stool softeners!!!!!!!). GAWD! How could I have ever forgotten my initial experience???? Not to mention the inability to soak in a bath because of the gaping axe wound I had across my belly. It was shock after shock after shock.

So other than the fact that the recovery time of the c-section didn't go as planned, all is well in my household. The sleep issue is horrendous, but expected. The baby is feeding every two hours (and gaining weight like a fat kid threatened with a hunger strike). She is, however, giving Mom and Dad a little bit of a break on the sleep front, generally knocked out from 10pm - 3am without issue. It's the other one that's giving us a hard time. When we first came home, my eldest got a cold, so was up all hours of the night hacking away. Now, it's not the cold that's keeping him up, it's more that he's discovered the art of manipulation and that he's a mildly independent human being. "Mommy, I need water", "Mommy, I can't find my soucie" (yes, we haven't kicked the soother habit yet...), "Mommy, I'm not tired", "Mommy, can I sleep in your bed?"...From what I've heard from other mothers, this is ONLY THE BEGINNING....Luckily we have a safety gate in front of his room, so he's not able to escape the confines of his firetruck bedroom...that being said, it certainly doesn't sway him from screaming at the top of his lungs from the threshold.


As for bringing the new baby home and the issues that may follow, luckily I haven't encountered those ... YET... My son seemed ultra excited at the hospital as the entire family converged over my constantly filling catheter bag (oh the shame of labour) to meet the baby for the first time. He was all about holding her and checking her out. Nowadays I'm not sure he's even aware that she exists until she cries. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I'll take the peace while I can, as I'm sure it's not going to last forever.


Since my husband has been home, and my family has been a super help, we haven't really had to deal too much with one parent vs. two kids...and between the two of us, it appears that my husband has had more practice juggling than I have. That being said, I did wake up ON MY OWN this morning and had to put the baby in the crib (screaming of course!) while I did the morning routine with my toddler. All in all, it wasn't as terrible as I had anticipated. Granted, I only had two hours of two kids on my own before my mother-in -law rescued me and whisked my two and a half year old outta the house. I can't believe how quiet it is, though, with only one child here. Especially one child that sleeps often and can't talk or run! I feel like I should've had a training kid, so that I could've enjoyed my first born as much as this, rather than being stressed out over every little thing that happened. Ah, the joys of motherhood and hindsight!


Tomorrow is another day of just the baby...but Friday...Friday is the true test. The day where I have both kids ALL DAY, without ANY HELP until my husband returns from work. You'll have to check back with me then to see how I actually survive...until then, let me relish in the quietness and calmness that is my home.

PS- For those of you who are interested...I still haven't really given the tummy binder a real go, as it's been irritating my c-section scar...but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to start up a "Tummy Tuck Fund" cuz the appearance of my hanging gut is a horror movie more scary than The Shining. Feel free to donate!

Ze Operation

So, this past week has been rather eventful, if I do say so myself. Because I've been away for a bit and not keeping up with my blog, I'll spend some time discussing the operation, the sibling introduction, the recovery, home, etc. in separate posts if that's okay. (Also doesn't help that I don't have a handful of minutes to spare most days!)

Today's post will be about the actual operation. So I survived the hunger strike and zero liquid diet..surprisingly. The c-section was scheduled for 11:45am...but of course, that didn't happen. Apparently there was one thing after another with regards to O.R. room availability. I felt like throwing out the Seinfeld quote, " see, you know how to TAKE the reservation, you just don't know how to HOLD the reservation, and that's really the most important PART of the reservation..." but I decided to keep my mouth shut as emergency c-sections were happening (and they obviously take precedence) as well as an electrical fire (thankfully that didn't happen during MY c-section...yikes).

So, after watching my husband eat a gigantic sandwich, 2 PAINFUL I.V. pokes, no water, but 500 pees wheeling an IV wagon around and 4 hours later, I made the death row walk down to the O.R. to get prepped. I was peculiarly not nervous, as I'd anticipated I'd be. The spinal wasn't painful and the O.R. team were very nice and super funny which helped to keep my mind of the task at hand. Finally my husband came into the room and they got started. I wasn't really sure what to expect as the last time I'd had a c-section I was completely unconscious, although from watching a billion "A Baby Story's" on TLC, I'd anticipated a lot of discomfort, pressure and pulling. That wasn't the case at all (thank you Ms. Anaesthesiologist!) and much to my surprise within minutes the baby was out and crying.

SO...what did I have????

I had a beautiful baby girl! I couldn't believe it! My husband was equally as shocked. I think the last month that I was pregnant we were both pretty sure that we had another little boy in the belly...but that just goes to show...sometimes, one really shouldn't trust their instincts (or maybe that's just me...I've been wrong 2 for 2 when it comes to guessing the sex of my babies!) So, for all of you out there who were rooting for a little girl...we finally got one! And, now that the baby is born, I can tell you that the whole time I was secretly wishing for one. I always thought it would be nice to have one of each...less competition for the siblings, etc. Now, I couldn't say that beforehand, obviously for fear that my new son would one day read this blog and feel I'd been disappointed with the end result...But no feelings needed to be spared! I have one boy and one girl. YAHOO!

Anyway, the whole planned c-section went off without a hitch and for the most part, I think it was the right option for me (more on that in later posts about my hospital stay and my recovery - still in process). I was so happy to experience the birth of my little girl while being awake, and being able to kiss her and cuddle her as soon as she was scooped out was absolute magic. Not to take away from the sound of her little cries when they were giving her a little scrub. It was like music to my ears. So, I really do feel like I'm extremely lucky. I have two healthy babies and what feels like the perfect family (said the woman who's only been a mom of two for ONE WEEK). I can't wait to see what the next weeks/months/years bring!

Tick...Tick...Tick...

So, it's finally here. I am officially 12 hours away from my child's birth day. Can you believe it? I can hardly believe it myself to tell you the truth. I feel like this pregnancy has lasted a decade and in one day it'll all be done. Wow! The past couple of days have been particularly hard for me. I've tried to relish every moment that I've had alone with my two and a half year old. Yesterday we did all of his favourite things (including pretending to be a fire man with the hose in the backyard, taking a turn on ALL the ride-ons at Dixie Value Mall, having a soft-serve ice cream cone, eating Bunny Pasta for lunch and watching the whole "Cars" movie). I tried to make my last full day with him alone as special as possible, although I'm pretty sure he didn't see the importance of it. As I was reading him a story before bed last night I started to feel an enormous twinge of guilt. Although my husband and I have spent the last month "preparing" him for the newest edition to the family, he truly has NO CLUE what's in store. And for this I feel bad. I know there's nothing more we could've done. He's just at an age where he doesn't totally get what we're telling him, and until he experiences it, he won't. DONE AND DONE. But it doesn't change the fact that I feel terrible just "springing" this on him.

Tonight, as I was putting him to bed I realized that this would be the last time I would do this as a family of three. AND I CRIED AND CRIED AND CRIED AND CRIED. This should really be a happy occasion for the family, and in the grand scheme of things, it is. I know. But I couldn't help but get caught up in the moment, feeling like my son may hate me when the next time I put him to bed, it will be with another human being in tow. Okay, it's time to stop whining about it.

Tomorrow is a BIG DAY! I will finally get to meet The Bean!!!!! I'm so excited! And of course, a little bit nervous. I mean, it is major surgery I'm having...but I'm thinking as positively about it as I possibly can. It's all a means to an end, right? So, I've just finished my "last supper" (for those of you who know me, you won't be surprised that it was Kraft Dinner), because I'm not allowed to eat beyond midnight tonight. I also had to call the Labour and Delivery Triage unit this afternoon to confirm the "no drinking" beyond 3am policy they have. I didn't think it was that big a deal. I don't drink pop or juice or coffee...so it wasn't all that big a sacrifice. BUT...what I didn't realize was that the rule also included WATER!!!!!!!!!! Yes, it's true. Not a drop of water after 3am. Yes, it's a freakin' heat wave. Yes, my surgery isn't until 11:45am tomorrow...YES, THAT'S A LONG TIME WITHOUT AQUA!!!!! So, I'm drinking as much as I possibly can for the next 4 hours in hopes that my body retains it (hello pregnant bladder....?). I'm also crossing my fingers that I will actually get some sleep tonight, although I'm feeling like this is going to be highly unlikely...nerves and all.



I did, however, want to let everyone know that we appreciate all the well wishes that we've received over the past few days. The next time you hear from me I will have officially gone from one to two...I hope I can cope!

Hating Gisele

So, we all know how much I despise that rottenly beautiful Brazilian Gisele Bundchen, right? Well, if YOU didn't hate her before...you will now. This post is short and sweet, but I'm telling you, mothers of the world...brace yourself...cuz not only is she tall, thin, beautiful, rich, married to a hot millionaire with an amazing body and has a gorgeous child to boot, but she's also the perfect mother. All I have to say is:























Please read the below link and judge for yourself...



http://www.celebitchy.com/107008/gisele_claims_her_not-even_7-month-old_baby_is_already_potty_trained/

Try not to feel inadequate and enjoy your Sunday!

A Weekend Of Living In Relaxed Mode

So far so good. Sure, it's only Saturday, but technically the "weekend" is half-over, so I'm doing pretty well considering! I'm hoping that my long weekend of pampering will continue until tomorrow night, but if indeed it doesn't, I'm still feeling reposed.

On Thursday I dropped my son off at the in-laws for a sleepover, and then made the jaunt to my friend's house where she proceeded to make me a delicious breakfast of pancakes and fresh fruit.

Then I puttered around the house until my husband came home from work. Date night followed with a fantastic dinner out at a local Italian restaurant only to be topped off by a LONG and RESTFULLY UNINTERRUPTED night's sleep where I woke up at 8:30am the next morning (Can you even imagine? For those of you without children, a mom waking up at 8:30am is the equivalent of a single person waking up at 1:30pm - It's a dream!).

AND THAT WAS ONLY THURSDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Friday, we SLOWLY made our way back up to the in-laws, where again, I was made breakfast. Then I made an appointment to have my eyebrows threaded (I was starting to look like a hairy caterpillar). Having one's eyebrows pulled out by a piece of tooth floss isn't high on most people's lists when it comes to the most relaxing things. I get it. Especially when the salon sits you in a chair in front of a HUGE window where the entire city of North York can see you in your hairy glory...but needless to say, it was as relaxing as the situation could be. Plus, then I was able to come back to the in-laws for a dive in the pool. At this point the pool is my sanctuary. When you're a 175 pound whale it is not often that you get to feel almost weightless.

Then my husband made me lunch and we sat out in the sun while our little one napped, and then the in-laws kept an eye on the wee guy until it was essentially time to put him to bed. When we got back home I filled my tub with some Mediterranean sea salts (a wonderfully thoughtful gift from MJ) and soaked, ate dark chocolate (another gift from MJ) and read until it was time to crawl into bed myself!

I couldn't really ask for a more easygoing two days. And again, it's only SATURDAY. Today we have a pool party scheduled (where I'm anticipating (aka demanding) my husband will be in full charge of the child, as I'm a little bit too obese to be chasing my agile 2 1/2 year old around a huge water-filled death trap)...which means I will be spending the day relaxing poolside and being fed someone else's food in which they've slaved over. Tough life. I guess I'm going to have to milk this for as long as possible, because I have a feeling it's going to be short lived. My house still has to be cleaned, the laundry still has to be washed and dried, the groceries still have to be bought and put away and this all looms ahead for my Sunday. Yet, I still have a full 24 hours to enjoy the day and I will make the most of it, mark my words!

I hope you all are having an equally relaxing Canada Day long weekend filled with fun, friends and family!

Emotional Rescue

Good grief! I am a wreck. Not sure what the straw was that broke the camel's back, but the floodgates have opened and there's no stopping it. And a long dose of "A Baby Story" on TLC is not helping the situation AT ALL. It always gets me when you hear that baby cry for the first time. Ugh. I'm going to be a disaster next week. Sheesh!

It appears that any little thing can set me off. In addition to the heat, exhaustion, uncomfortableness and total and utter irritability that I have been dealing with (not to mention my poor husband, who's had to endure this for almost 10 months - with the emotions hitting the apex only NOW!), this morning I scratched our new car. Yes, you read it right. The same car that we purchased LESS THAN A WEEK AGO. I was overconfidently backing out of our shared driveway and scratched the side of the car along our neighbour's house. Who does that? (I don't want to hear any comments from the peanut gallery about my driving...). Of course, then the tears came. So, I immediately jumped out of the car to check the damage. It didn't look fantastic, but it didn't seem overly terrible either. At least that's what I thought. I took it straight to the body shop down the street to get an estimate, and they basically blew my mind. $1200 worth of damage. There goes the waterworks again...You'd think I had ripped the entire side off the car! Anyway...so much for saving for a rainy day. Looks like I'll be taking donations.

In addition to the repair costs being ridiculous, they say they need to keep the car for 3-4 days in order to repair it. WHEN WILL IT END????? I don't know about you, but the timing couldn't be worse. If I wanted to get it fixed immediately, I would be stuck without a car...stuck at home...all stinkin' week. P.S. - In case you're not aware...I'm having a baby on Wednesday...I can't give up my car. But will I have time to have it in the shop for 3-4 days once the baby has arrived? I'm not convinced of that either. Anyway, not sure what the best course of action is to deal with this, but I feel like such a jerk. My fear now, though, is that I'll be too scared to back out of the driveway again...and be stuck at home, or worse yet, I'll be the lame wife that has to have her husband back her car out of the driveway anytime she wants to go anywhere. I'll have to start a mantra..."I'm not afraid to drive. I'm not afraid to drive"...What have I become?

Anyway, I'm hoping that this is the worst that I will encounter now that I've officially started my maternity leave. It was supposed to be a relaxing couple of days before the little bean arrives, not the exact opposite. So, beginning RIGHT NOW, here's to one week of thoroughly tranquil, tearless and sleep filled days and nights. CHEERS EVERYONE!

Ho Ho Ho...Merry New Baby's Birthday!

Hey! Guess what? It's 4:30 am and I'm up! Surprise, surprise! In the words of John Lennon, "I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink. I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink". Thankfully there's no one to blame but myself (and the neighbour's cats remain intact...for now). I have a feeling this is going to be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG day, though, and nap time seems extremely FAR AWAY at this point. Ugh!

This evening I checked off the last thing on my to-do list. Wrapping presents. Why am I wrapping gifts, you ask? Good question. In my constant hunt for things to do while I'm up at 4am, I read somewhere that a toddler sometimes feels a bit left out when a newborn is brought home and people arrive with gifts for the little one, and nothing in tow for the eldest. Obviously the eldest has had his share of gift giving over the past two and a half years, so why would anyone think to bring a prezzie for them when it's a time to welcome a new baby into the family? Well, as the guilt slowly sets in that my attention will be halved when this new beaner arrives in a week and a bit, I wanted to avoid as many hurt feelings as possible. I'm not sure if this will work, but it's one small step for man, right?

I made a trip to the local Dollarama (another fave of mine) to find some tiny gifts to give my toddler if the need arises. In my experience, I've found that Dollarama is one of the better "small gift" places out there. Especially when you have a little boy. They have a plethora of dinky cars, colouring books and puzzles, as well as loads and loads of anything Diego and Cars "The Movie".

So off I went to grab a handful of crap (essentially) and individually wrapped EACH ONE to hand out if the time comes. I got some Sesame Street cups (of the Elmo and Oscar variety), Lightning McQueen magnets, Diego stickers, dinky cars, farm machines, a recorder (which I'm sure I will instantly regret after 10 seconds of honking) and a bunch of other things. I figure even if I don't need them, they'll be good stocking stuffers at Christmas time.

My only issue, now, is feeling like I'm going a bit overboard with the whole thing...I realize that this is going to be a super difficult transition for my little guy. He's had the entire family's attention for a full 29 months and now, in one day, some little bugger is going to come along and steal ALL of the thunder. Not only that, but that little worm is going to come into his house, use all of his old stuff and be attached (at the boob) to his mother for the majority of a year. I can only imagine that a year in the life of a toddler is about 45 years to a normal human being.

And how do most parents deal with the guilt of feeling like they're potentially abandoning their child? They buy their kids gifts OBVIOUSLY (presents = LOVE, no?) What a terrible habit I'm starting. Ugh. In addition to the small gifts that I've bought, the "new baby" has also purchased our son a bribe gift (I can hear me saying it now, "What a nice present your brother/sister bought you. You love the new baby, don't you???? Right???? Please? PLEASE!!!!!!")

We have now invested in a new sand and water table to set up in the backyard (as a hopeful distraction while he gets used to having this new human being around). For some reason I have a feeling this whole rigmarole wasn't done when my Nonna was popping out 7 kids. I'm sure she was like "Here's another brother. Deal with it"...(In Sicilian, of course). Done and done. All of her kids survived but was there jealousy in the house? Did the siblings actually like each other and get along? Good question...and thankfully I wasn't around to see those relationships unfold, but I can't imagine that a shiny new sand table was the key to washing away any sibling rivalry... Either way, this seems like it's a potential sign of what's to come. Will I do anything to keep the peace in this family? Or is it more a matter of trying to buy some extra time until my son can really understand the concept of the sibling "bond"... A mother can dream, right?