Getting Out!

Eric’s home on parental leave for 3 weeks. We’ve been trying to get out and do more activities. Vanessa and Eric have done some alone and some we’ve done as a whole family.

There’s been tobogganing, skating and snow shoeing. We’ve been to the Presbytery, Parc regional de Longueil, Bas de plain air Brossard and the Bell sports complex. It’s been lots of fun.

Here are a few pictures. Vanessa has really improved her skating. While she can skate for a while unassisted, she prefers to use the bar because she can go faster.

		Skating on the lake VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

		Snowshoeing–Parc Regional VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Emotional

I’ve tried and tried but I’ve run out of tricks. I added formula to the grocery list. I’m done with washing two bottles for less than 2oz of pumped milk twice a day. My milk is going down and Hailey’s finally getting thirsty. I tried to nurse her today and for the first time she didn’t flail, she did bite me instead.  Since I’m not a masochist, we’re going to move on and focus on things we can enjoy together.  I’m disappointed but we can enjoy bigger and better things with a healthy adorable baby.

Vanessa’s growing up FAST

Vanessa’s been making huge strides. A couple of times this week she actually dressed herself in the morning and sometimes into her pjs at night. The pj dressing came with bribes but she got into them at sonic speeds. Dangerous for her because now I know what she’s capable of.

We’ve had almost pleasant trips to the grocery store with her walking by my side. Something I thought would never happen. We went to a bulk food store and she was awesome. A lollipop bribery didn’t hurt… but if it was even this summer and I tried that it wouldn’t have worked.

We went to the McCord museum  a couple of weeks again to see the toy exhibit. The toys were in the middle of the museum with two exits without doors. Vanessa really impressed me and stayed in the toy area until she wanted to check out the rest of the museum and then asked me to come with her. WOW. In the past she would have just took off and wandered. It made me think of all the things that could be possible now without keeping her really close.

She’s now talking your ear off on random things. She made Pamela a birthday card. Vanessa: “Pamela will think this is stupendous. She will think I’m so clever. Pamela with think this is awesome.” She went on and on as she drew a smiley face and added all sorts of stickers.

She’s done many more things but that’s what I can recall.

I feel cheated

Over a week ago Hailey woke up in the middle of the night flailing limbs everywhere. She wouldn't settle down, she wouldn't nurse and she didn't want to be held. I was uneasy to keep trying to nurse her because she had bit me twice that evening and giggled maniacally. We lovingly called her our devil child because she seemed possessed doing things completely out of character.  Eric actually took her for a walk in the stroller in the cold. All that work and she was out at the end of the road.
In the morning I dropped V off at school and brought Hailey to the CLSC to see a doctor. Call me crazy but I just wanted to make sure nothing was physically wrong. Once I got there,  I found out that there were no more doctors for the day. The receptionist saw the look of despair on my face and suggested I talk to the secretary for Hailey's paediatrician. I went over and pleaded my case and the secretary called the doctor to tell her Hailey wasn't nursing and was biting. I could sense the doctor wasn't sure what she was suppose to do so I asked the secretary to ask if the doctor could just check her ears.
The doctor was kind enough to see Hailey while she was seeing another patient. I had that horrible feeling when you hope something's wrong so you feel validated and hopeful for a resolution. The doctor took one look in her ears and said they were really red and no wonder she's miserable and not nursing. She prescribed drops, antibiotics and pain medication. I was sad she was in pain but grateful to have answers.
Since then, I've been pumping milk everyday except Monday where my pump broke. Christine came to my rescue Tuesday and brought me hers. I was thankful. I've been pumping 4 times a day and get about 6oz per day. What scares me is that I've been able to freeze some because Hailey's just not taking it. I think tomorrow we'll be trying to give it to her in a cup because bottles aren't her thing. One night she drank a whole 4 oz at 5am just to throw it all up at 7:30.
I think I'm going to throw in the towel and give her formula. She's napping pretty well. She's slept through the night twice this week but she must be dehydrated. The little girl that was always happy is no longer a morning person and gets really cranky at dinner time.  She needs to be entertained all the time. One thing we have noticed is that she’s extra cuddly these days. Until this week, I was never able to rock her to sleep but now she does it willingly. It’s really lovely but unlike her and it worries me.

We’ll see how I feel in the morning… Eric is home on paternity leave for the next 3 weeks. Hailey turns 10 months next week.

All flat

Last Monday we had a little a little bit of an adventure. That morning I had to walk over to Canadian Tire to have them fix the flat on the van. Eric had pumped it up and drove it there before leaving on the bus to work.

Christina came over to hang with the girls so I wouldn’t have to take them. They took the tire off and patched it and sent me on my merry way. I came home and had breakfast nursed and put Hailey down for a nap because I was……Heading out to Funtopia with Vanessa to meet friends. I roped Christina into staying while Hailey napped.

We had a fantastic time there. It was a little busy but the girls got along famously. Vanessa was relatively low key and tried to show the girls the ropes there.

We went to our van and found the tire flat again! I called CAA and they came with in 30 minutes. The guy wasn’t able to put on the spare to get home because he couldn’t get it off the car. He said it must be stuck so he inflated it and I prayed all the way to our CT which is about 5km. I called Christina and told her the situation and said that there was minestrone for her and Hailey to have with bread. I would be home as soon as I could.

At CT they had a look and told me the tire needed to be replaced. Hmmm. but that it was under warranty and would only cost me the taxes and balancing. Yippy Oh and by the way I was going to be refunded since I wasn’t suppose to pay earlier for the first fix. Even better. They gave me money back, fixed the tire and I was on my way.

Vanessa was great! She lived in the moment and soaked all this newness in. (oh TV in the car came in handy) She started asking for candy while at the garage of course. It was 2:30 and we had not had lunch so I indulged her and we split a kitkat.

We got home and Christina had just put Hailey down for her second nap but Hailey wasn’t happy about it. She was thirsty. I have never been away from her for 5 straight hours. I nursed her and she had a good nap and Vanessa and I finally got our lunch.

PS: no more minestrone soup for Hailey for a while. The beans woke her up 3 times during the night.

Balaklava not baklava making

This is my first attempt at a hat every. It’s pretty good I think but later this week I’m going to try again with a modified pattern.

Vanessa has very sensitive skin when it comes to cold and wind. Sometimes you can see whiteness within minutes. I bought her the balakava that covers her mouth but she won’t wear it. This orange fleece matches her snow suit. When I was halfway making this hat I realized that it’s going to be Halloween all winter since she looks like a jack-o-lantern. (I didn’t make blue, her favourite colour because the weren’t nice.)

I look forward to finishing it and wonder if I should edge in the eyes and mouth since it’s raw edge now. Hmmm… Do I have the skills? Does club tissu carry that? Questions for another time when Vanessa is at school.

Twinkle Twinkle’s Next