Can't Buy Me Love

Nursery furniture has been ordered...again. We did choose a crib and a dresser and ordered them back in September with the idea that they'd come in time to set up the nursery before the little one's arrival. We ordered from a small store that had little but good selection, and a very helpful sales lady, and also ordered our car seat and stroller from them too. We did get the car seat but changed our minds about the stroller and had gotten our money back for that. 

The 8 - 10 weeks they said it would take for the furniture came and went and I hadn't heard anything from the store. I started calling the store and there was never an answer and the voicemail box was full. After a few calls like this we became quite suspicious. We went to the store and sure enough, out of business!  They didn't even have the decency to let their customers with orders know!  Fred looked on their website and there was no info there either. He finally found something on twitter on how to contact them (by email) about existing orders. Ridiculous. We emailed and did hear back from the owner that she was going to try to fill existing orders or give money back and that she would know in a couple of weeks what was going to happen. Well, those weeks came and went and we heard nothing. We then decided to go through the credit card to dispute the charge and get our money back. That is still in progress. Hopefully that will work out and we'll get our money back. Otherwise we'll have paid double for the furniture!  On the weekend we finally went and ordered the same furniture from a different store.

Meanwhile the nursery is a pretty empty room, just a chair, with a very full closet!  We do have a bassinet that she's sleeping in in our room so there's no rush for a crib. It would be nice to finally have the nursery set up though!  We haven't been able to decorate or anything without the furniture!

I'm writing this post with one hand on my iPad at 2 am.  Lennon was six weeks old yesterday!  I'll post some pictures soon. 

Help!

Lennon has her first cold :(  Last Friday she became very stuffed up.  On Saturday morning we called the Early Start Line, a phone help line you can use during the first two months after birth answered by nurses, and the nurse on the phone was very thorough with her questions and advised that we take her in to the Children's Hospital to be checked over.  So, we geared up and took her in.  They bumped her up in the line there because she is so little, only one month old!

The nurse took all her vitals and weighed her (8.5lbs!) and everything looked fine.  She didn't have a fever and her lungs sounded clear.  Then the doctor came in and checked her as well.  Her oxygen levels were fine although she was stuffed up and coughing a bit.  He said she has bronchiolitis.  He suggested we use saline drops to help clear her nose and suction it out.  So, off we went back home hoping this whole thing would pass quickly.

The saline drops and suctioning have been working well although difficult to do.  Babies don't like things up their nose!  Go figure!  She's still quite stuffed up a week later and has bouts of coughing.   Apparently symptoms of bronchiolitis can last from a week to a month.  Here's hoping we're on the short end of that!

Although it's really unpleasant hearing such a tiny person cough we are so lucky to have a healthy, happy baby!

starting to smile!

On another note, we have applied for Lennon's passport so we can take our first vacation!  We have a trip to Palm Springs booked for the beginning of April.  We are going with our friends Jerry and Danielle and their little one, George.  Should be a great time!  We are looking forward to getting away and into some warm weather!

Getting Lennon's passport picture taken was quite an adventure.  Since she can't hold her head up yet, I had to hold her up without having my hands appear in the picture.  Very difficult!  We went to Walmart to get the photo done.  The guy there was not very patient with the whole process and made us settle with a picture that was not very good.  Of course, when I took it to the passport office the next day they said it was no good.  Back to Walmart I went.  At least they will do a re-take for free if the photo isn't accepted.  There was a different girl working that day and she was much better at getting a good infant photo!  It's quite hilarious!


Sleep deprivation has been taking it's toll this week with Lennon and I both being sick.  She's been making a ton of noise and snorts in her sleep which makes it hard for us to sleep.  We definitely need to try to take even a small amount of time for ourselves soon!

With a Little Help from My Friends

We are so lucky to have such supportive family and friends!  Lennon has met many of them already.  On February 8, Mom and Marianne threw a wonderful "meet Lennon" gathering.  Lots of friends and family came to meet our little one.  Lennon was great and slept through the whole event!  I was worried about what she was going to be like for the party because in the days before she had been feeding pretty much non-stop all day.  I didn't want to have to sit feeding her the whole time and no one would get to see her!  But she was a perfect doll.  She was passed around a ton and never woke up until the party was over!

"Meet Lennon" Party
opening gifts, guests, Ashton the bartender, with Auntie Sue, the spread, friends Sarah, Tami and Erin

meeting Uncle Todd and Cousin Ashton
with Tami, with Adam, with Amanda
meeting Danielle, Jerry and little friend George

A Hard Day's Night

Our first nights with Lennon home were challenging. The one thing we consistently heard from other parents throughout my pregnancy, and always with a laugh, was something about sleep, or I should say the lack of.  I think other parents find some kind of pleasure in the fact that someone else won't be sleeping!  No matter what anyone said could have prepared us for what sleep deprivation is actually like. It's much worse than we could have imagined!  And the whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" advice is much harder than you'd think. When are you supposed to shower?  Eat?  Dress yourself?  Plus it's not always easy to just shut down and sleep even if you're exhausted!  Many times I would just start falling asleep and Lennon would be ready for her next feed!

Feeding is going much better now but we have had some struggles.  The day after we came home a public health nurse came to the house to check on Lennon and me. Lennon weighed 6lbs 7oz. Quite a drop but still in the safe range. She was also a little jaundiced so we had to make an appointment to go see a public health nurse again the next day.  Our appointment the next day, our first outing, was good and her jaundice was down. No need to worry!  

Our first outing

A few days, and sleepless nights, later we had a follow up appointment with my maternity doctor. Lennon had gained a little weight back but feeding was not going well. The night before she was literally on me all night, never satisfied. I fed her at the doctor's office and she weighed her again and she weighed the same as before feeding. This indicated that I probably had low milk production. The doctor put me on some medication and a feeding plan and also gave us "permission" to give a bit of formula after a feed if needed. 

I started the meds and we did supplement with some formula before bedtime a few nights. I'll admit this felt like a bit of a failure but she was constantly hungry and we were all exhausted. It helped her to fill up and get some sleep. After a few nights we didn't need the formula anymore and I've been exclusively breadtfeeding since!  We had another doctor's appointment about a week later and she was gaining weight. All was good!  I am continuing to take the medication and feeding (and nights!) is going much better.  She's still a slow and sleepy eater but I'm sure that will get better with time. 

Girl

She's here!  

On Tuesday, January 14, 2014 at 9:37am 

Lennon Margaret Marianne Litwiniuk 

came into the world! 

I'm going to make an honest attempt at blogging to keep family and friends up to date on Lennon and our new life as a family of three.  

Lennon is already one month old!  I can't believe how fast this first month has gone by.  What a whirlwind it has been adjusting to having this little person around.  From the first night home being up all night wondering what we were doing to now when we can't imagine a time without her!  I'll try to go back and recall the first month in my first posts.

First of all, her birth.  Monday, January 13 started like every other day.  I was four days away from my due date and feeling good.  There were no signs that baby would be coming soon.  I went to a chiropractor appointment, had lunch with my friend Danielle and baby George, and  had an afternoon nap. When Fred got home from work we went out for pizza and made plans about what other restaurants we wanted to try that week before the baby came.  When we were leaving the restaurant Fred spotted an Asian market across the road and suggested we go check it out.  I said let's do it another time, I just wanted to go home.  Maybe I had some sense about what was about to happen?!

We got home and I did a few things on the computer.  I got up from the computer and felt a bit of a leak. I told Fred I felt extra wetness and was going to go check. He half jokingly said "don't let it be tonight, I'm too tired!"  For some reason we had it set in our minds that she would come late not early.  So, I checked and yes I had soaked through. I called to Fred and said we had better go get checked at the hospital.  The Foothills Hospital is literally two minutes from our house.  Very convenient.  Surprisingly we were very chill and gathered all the stuff we had planned to bring along.  When we had everything ready to go Fred opened the door and set off our alarm which we had already set for the night!  That was exciting!

We got to the hospital around 9 pm, they checked me out and yes, my waters had broken and there was meconium (poop) in it.  I wasn't having any contractions or anything.  Because of the meconium they couldn't let me go to progress on my own, I had to be induced.  We then got admitted and set up in a labour and delivery room.  We had a nurse who was assigned to care for only us.  She was awesome and made us feel really comfortable and kept us informed about everything.  It also happened that the two doctors that I had seen for my prenatal care were on shift while we were there!  A different doctor was there for the delivery though.

Around midnight they started me on the oxytocin.  I slowly began to have some mild contractions.  I was able to lay down and rest and Fred was able to get a bit of sleep in a comfy looking recliner.  Later, probably around 3 am or so, my contractions started getting a bit stronger.  I was only 4 cm dilated and the doctor suggested I get up and move around to try to get things going.  I walked the halls for a while until the contractions got really uncomfortable.  I then went back on the bed on my hands and knees - the only position that felt at all comfortable.  The contractions started getting much stronger and were coming really fast. There was very little time in between them and they were intense!  I started using the laughing gas to get through them.  It did help but I think it mostly gave me something else to focus on rather than the pain.  

Around 7:30 am the doctor checked me again and I was still only 4 cm!  At this point she suggested I get an epidural. She said it could help relax things since I wasn't progressing and if it didn't we'd have to go for a c-section. Baby wasn't liking the whole labour process either.  Her heart rate was dipping a bit after contractions, although not dangerously low.  We really didn't want to go the c-section route but tried to mentally prepare for the possibility.  I said yes to the epidural since it seemed like the only option and the contractions were pretty unbearable at that point and not getting us anywhere. 

The anesthesiologist got there just after 8 and put in the epidural. It was really hard to stay still during that.  Fred was basically holding all my weight and pep talking me through it. Once the epidural started to kick in I didn't need the gas anymore and could breathe through contractions which was such a relief!  I could still feel the contractions but they felt a lot different.  About 20 minutes after the epidural went in the doctor came to check me. She had a resident who checked me first and said I was 4 cm - I was pretty sure she was wrong and didn't feel up high enough but was also a bit worried I hadn't progressed at all. Then the doctor checked and quickly said "nope, she's ready to push!"  Yay!  What a relief!  They stopped giving anything through the epidural so I could feel more of the contractions to push.  Pushing felt like a relief although difficult.  After about an hour of pushing they finally had to use the vacuum through one more contraction to get her out at 9:37am!  They put her on my chest and Fred and I both cried.  Fred cut the cord and they quickly had to take her to suction out her nose and mouth because of the meconium that had been in the fluid.  She was all good though!  She was then returned to my chest where she immediately began rooting for my breast.

Lennon Margaret (my mom's name) Marianne (Fred's mom's name) weighed in at 7lbs 1 oz and measured 19.5" long.  What a little doll!

What a crazy experience that was.  Fred was amazing through the whole process.  He remained calm the whole time, even though I'm sure it was difficult and he probably saw some crazy things!  I feel so lucky to have such a supportive husband.

We were moved to the post-partum unit at 11:30.  We got settled in there and gazed at our little girl.  Fred went home in the afternoon to sleep for a bit and I was also able to get some rest while Lennon slept.  Fred came back later and Grandma Litwiniuk came to visit.  The nurses helped me with breast feeding.  That was difficult and painful as Lennon had not latched on properly at her first feeding and had bruised my nipples a bit.  I was determined to power through and make it work though.

The night at the hospital was good.  I did get some sleep while the nurses took Lennon to the nursery.  They brought her to me a couple of times for feeding and she had her first bath in the middle of the night.  She did not enjoy that at all!

In the morning Fred came back, he wasn't allowed to stay the night.  We met with a lactation consultant who helped me with getting a good latch and showed us some different feeding positions.  It was going a bit better but still super painful.

We were discharged in the afternoon and left the hospital to start our new life with Lennon.

Going home!

Taken at 4am on our first night home

Our first nights at home we're pretty rough.  She was up constantly.  I was exhausted.  And feeding was painful.  Again, Fred was super supportive and stayed up with me and fed me toast in the middle of the night and got whatever I needed.  Love!

Mom and Dad came on the 16th and stayed until February 11th.  It was absolutely amazing to have them here.  We both don't know how we would've done it without them.  They did grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning up, holding Lennon so we could sleep...everything!  I'm so grateful to have all of that support.

Grandma and Gramps Brinkman

Grandma and Pugga Litwiniuk