April has arrived!

Haha, in more ways than one. :) I was so tired and busy in the last few months but hopefully now I can focus more and get on here even just once a week to keep everyone updated, even if I don't always do a photo blog.


So I had my baby - April Selena, on March 19, 2008. Here's the full story, since I've had some requests for it. :)
- warning, long!

Tuesday (18th) evening I started having contractions off and on around 6 but they weren't regular so I shrugged them off. They continued for most of the evening but weren't enough to keep me awake. I woke up at 330 to contractions that were strong enough to wake me up, but still irregular - about every 5-10 minutes. Even though I was supposed to phone my midwife immediately (since this baby was going all over the place), I figured I'd wait until it was daytime - no point waking others up if this was just a false alarm.

At 9 a.m. I decided to finally phone, since the contractions were between 3 and 5 minutes apart and about a minute long. I got checked at the midwife's office at 10 - I'm dilated to 3 but stretchy, going up to 4 or 5 on contractions with the baby's head definitely there. She told me to go home, get things organized and that she'd be amazed if there wasn't a baby around by the end of the day.

Back home to watch the Incredibles with Caitlin, noticing the contractions as a strength not really as a pain, but not bothering to time them or anything. Just riding them out using mental imagery, walking, and some abdominal breathing with low exhale for stronger ones. Jon and Caitlin go take a nap and I just hang out on the couch, reading and drifting in between contractions. Next thing I know, my midwife calls to ask what's going on - it's been 4 hours (seemed to me like maybe an hour and a half). Since I hadn't bothered keeping track she tells me to time them and get back to her. I'm surprised to find they are 2 minutes apart and about 45 seconds long, so after calling her back, I get Caitlin and Jon out of bed and we get Caitlin off to grandma's, then off we head to the hospital.

I get to the hospital at around 4 pm, get checked and I'm at 5, stretching to 7 with contractions. I hop in the shower for a while until I notice I'm shaking a bit, uncertain on positioning, and slightly nauseous (but I thought transition was supposed to hurt!). So I go back and sit upright on the bed (tailor sitting) and in addition to my mental imagery (of the uterine muscles opening the cervix), low exhale with abdominal breathing, I also start taking any pain energy manifesting and push it slowly and steadily away with each exhale.

The midwife checks again around 6, and I'm amazed to find out I'm at 9cm and still haven't really gotten to a point where I found it very painful - then again 31 hours of back labour would be hard to match. A few nurses came in and said they were amazed at how calm and relaxed I was - joking and laughing in between contractions, and then just zoned in for contractions - no grimaces or even a frown. Anyway, it then took about an hour to go from 9 to 10, because my bag of waters is just bulging and making it so the head isn't exerting as much pressure on the cervix.

At 7pm I'm given the all clear to start pushing and this is when the pain begins! lol The baby keeps moving her head around while I'm trying to push her down, making her slip backwards. Then once I get her head out, her shoulders get stuck, so the midwife and nurses have to start pulling and turning her with each contraction, trying to get the shoulders to move in such a way they can come out. Finally she decides to turn with them, and with another push or two, she's out (at 7:53pm), onto my belly, and Jon cuts the cord. They almost had to take her away because she wasn't crying but then she gives this great big cry and starts pinking up. Apgars of 6 and 9, 9lbs even, 21 1/4 inches long. Her chest was actually a centimetre bigger than her head, which is why she was giving me all the trouble with her shoulders!

We decided to name her April Selena - April because we both like it, and Selena for my great-grandmother on my dad's side. Within 20 minutes she was latched and breastfeeding nicely. I had no tears or anything and was able to get up and shower within an hour of April's birth. I just can't believe how much better I feel after this birth - we went visiting on our way home from the hospital and I've been walking, cleaning, and do all sorts of other stuff since getting home! I have way more energy now than I've had for MONTHS! lol

I'm glad I was able to have the birth that I really was hoping for!

Now here are the pics!!

Holding On

Meeting her big sister

Mommy and the girls

After-bath story and snuggles


Miss April at one week

Party Time!

C went to a birthday party yesterday for two wonderful little girls - A & S. A was turning 2 and S was turning 4 so there was a good mix of older and younger kids for C to play with. The mom had the party at the local community centre which set up a wonderful gym area for the kids to play in as well as having cake and presents in the preschool room across the hall. C definitely had a blast!

Here are a few pics from the party!

They had this big thing for the kids to jump off (almost as tall as me!), into a blanket, which then got bumped and swung around. C loved it!

C being contemplative in the middle of a huge doughnut thing I was rolling her around the room in.


This girl is such a hat person! After cake and ketchup chips (hence the red crumbs all over her mouth), C went straight for the hat stand and paraded around wearing various hats. She ususally goes for the cowboy hat (we go here weekly for playgroup), but was all about the construction hat instead!

I'm ba-ack!

So after about a week off, I'm back to blogging. If I don't blog each day (or at least every second day) make sure you give me a kick when you see me. :)
Here are some shots of C playing at my mother-n-law's house. Nothing fancy, but at least I have new pics to show. :)

A nice big bite out of a play burger

Here she is wearing a doctor's smock, riding a horse, with a lion face on... and I think there might be a green tutu under the smock! lol


Enough With the Pictures Already!

A study of C

I've missed blogging the last few days so I'll more than make up for it today! Here are a ton of pics of C. I just love seeing her different expressions and the changing colours in her eyes. Take a look!

This one is my favorite :)

The End of an Era

C has had the same lovey, Baby Tad, since she was about 9 months old. This stuffed toy has been wonderful for her - when we got it, it sang 6 different "daytime" songs; identified shapes and colours; made a kiss noise and said "I love you"; and most important, played 6 different songs for nighttime, in one minute segments. Ever since she figured out how to turn on Baby Tad's nighttime music we've heard at least 6 minutes of music every night, if not 12 minutes, or however long it took her to fall asleep.

Slowly but surely the other parts of Baby Tad stopped working... first the shapes and colours, then the kiss, then the daytime songs...

This week the unthinkable happened - the nighttime songs stopped working. C keeps saying Baby Tad is sick and doesn't understand why new batteries won't make him "feel better." I told her Baby Tad is still good for cuddling, just can't sing to her anymore but I know she's really disappointed.

(He's so well loved his hand is permanently dirty, no matter how many times I try to clean him.)

So, my dilemma is whether to get another Baby Tad and replace the one she has loved and cuddled for just under two years, or to leave it and let her either find a new lovey or become content with Baby Tad as is, with no music. Leave a comment and let me know what you would do!

Fun with Lightroom

C is getting older in front of my eyes. About a month back I started noticing a slightly different look to her face that would be there for a blink of an eye and then gone. Since then this look has been coming more and more frequently. I think it's part of her losing her toddler face, though I know it won't be completely gone for a good while to come. I managed to capture it a few days back and was just enchanted by it when in Lightroom, so ended up playing for a while just on the one shot. These plays are presets I got for free from a link Tracey included on Shutterbugs, with some tweaking after as needed.

I know which one is my favorite, but I won't share that until I hear others' opinions. Please leave a comment to let me know which you like and why.

Original (after my standard RAW conversion tweaks)

Blue Bear


Wheat Fields


Hit the Road

Tutu 2

So no pics yet of guys in kilts, those still have to be converted/edited, but hopefully I should have those for you tomorrow, with stories from Robbie Burns night.
For today, you get to see C and her tutu!

C's reaction when I brought the tutu out


She loved playing in her tutu but kept hiding when the camera came out :)

A (Cold) Day at the Park

Today C and I were supposed to meet three of her friends (and their moms, of course) at the park. It was a beautiful sunny day, but freezing cold - only 2 degrees Celcius (that's 35.6 degrees to all you Americans)! Considering we rarely get to zero around here it was way too cold for me!
The original plan had called for us sticking around for around 2 hours, including a picnic. Good thing is, the other moms all had to cancel out, so we only stayed at the park for around 20 minutes. :)

Here are a few shots of C playing. I had some fun editing in Lightroom, because with the bright sun and the shadows from the equipment they just didn't work without the edits. Let me know what you think!

By the way, the honey did seem to help at least a bit. We probably got an extra 3 or 4 hours sleep! Whoo hoo! Let's hope it works as well tonight. :)

Here's to Friends!

C's friends that is!
C is still sick at home so instead of more lazing on the couch shots, I thought I'd share a few recent shots of her little friends. I'm hoping that C will be feeling well enough tomorrow for us to get out and go to our usual Thursday morning playdate (with most of these same kids). We haven't gotten out since Saturday, so I'm definitely going a little stir crazy!

Contemplative C

Bright-eyed E


G's gazing at the rain...


Model pose!


Dancing E

Lazy Days...

Today we stayed at home instead of heading out to one of the three playgroups we like going to on Mondays. C's getting sick so hopefully a day of rest will help kick the cold to the curb. So here are some lounging shots that comprised most of our day...

How on earth is this a comfortable position? C sat like this for almost half an hour!

She must be sick if she willing lays down like this!

Princess for the Day

C just loves to play dress up. What little girl doesn't? For Christmas, C got a new princess dress up set - to go with all the other tiaras, shoes, and necklaces that she already has. :)
Hey if she's a princess, that makes me the Queen, doesn't it? :D

Dressy lady, but with a wand!


For some reason she just loves the "arms up in the air" pose for princesses...


Maybe she figures we'll all bow down before her?


Pretty Princess


Now for the Jester's hat!


Dress up time's over, but the dreams are still there!


By the way, yes I know the colour casts are horrible but her room is just not suited for taking pictures in... icky yellow walls, a frosted yellow-ish light fixture (if light bulbs weren't yellow enough already!), and then the (by comparison) blue light coming in from outside. Trying to get rid of the yellow without making her face look all blue and smurf like was interesting to say the least!

Artsy Day 2

Here are a few more shots from yesterday's playdate. Enjoy!

Colourful (playdough) Cutters

A Place to Build


Drawing Dreams


Miss "C"