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Brothers

ONE MONTH OLD

Serina (left) Joshua (right)

Andrew (left) Joshua (right)

I should be a photographer ...

hands

Josh Video

Sorry it's a bit dark

and more pictures ....

you can click on the pictures to see in full size.

Some new pictures

Joshua's birth video

Joshua Archibald

We're HOME! A quick update, we are all good. The surgery went smoothly and baby Josh was born at 8:35 am December 26, 2007. 7 lbs 3.5 oz and 20 inches long. He is so far a wonderful baby except we are having a few issues with breast feeding that I hope we will work out this next week. Here is a few pictures and a short video of his birth ...

c - section confirmed today

Well it's official! baby Joshua should be arriving around 7:30 am on the 26th of December. I was at the hospital today and the lady that was booked in for the morning c - section, had her baby today. Sooooo We have to be at the hospital at 6 am (whoa) now I'm getting nervous.

So many babies were being born today, as I was waiting to see the nurse for pre-admission I over heard a excited new father in the lobby making phone calls to family. It was really sweet and I started to get a little emotional myself, as that will be Craig in just one more day. Walking down the hall past the breast feeding clinic I got to admire a few brand new babies, gosh they are just so small! I forgot how tiny they are ...

I am so afraid about the c - section and if I will be ok, I'm sure I will, I have a great Doctor and the nurses are great. Still, I can't seem to put Andrew's birth out of my mind and just relax. What really stinks is that the nurse told me today that I can't take anything to help with my anxiety. She told me it will make the baby drowsy and I don't want that. So I'm just hoping that I will be able breath through my anxiety ....

I want this baby OUT!!!

I am officially SICK of being pregnant ( ha ha ha) no, really - I can't take it anymore! I hurt all over, everything. I can't sleep, eat or rest without being uncomfortable.

This week has been really hard for me, here I was thinking that I would be taking it easy this week HA! I forgot that I have both kids here and Craig is working up until Christmas Eve at 9pm or so. The kids have been just crazy out-of-control and I just don't have the energy to do anything about it, they have been running a muck all over the house. Last night I put them to bed at 7:30 because I just couldn't keep awake any longer, I brought them both into our bed to watch a Christmas special on T.V. fifteen minutes into the show I fell asleep. Andrew was shaking me saying "Mommy! wake up you are making a loud noise and I can't hear the t.v!" HA! HA! I was apparently snoring really loud again.

Thank goodness Craig woke up this a.m and took the kids out for breakfast and then to the library. I really needed the break...

I am very ready for this baby to arrive and get my body back. Only a few more days :)

Kinda Gross ... SORRY!

Today I lost a small amount of my mucous plug. For those of you who do not know what a mucous plug is and you're not too grossed out yet, please visit this link.

http://www.babiesonline.com/articles/pregnancy/mucusplug.asp

The Tree, Craig and Kids

3:15

Today was my last appointment with the gestational diabetes clinic. All looked great and baby Josh is approximately 6 lbs 5oz. I think my guess of 7 lbs 2 oz migt be pretty close... Does anyone else want to take a guess at his weight?

I still have to visit my OB in a few hours so I might have more news about my status later.

As for the c-section, it appears that I am the second surgery scheduled for December 26th, I was told that I'm booked in for 3:15pm.

A quick update

Well here we are in the final two weeks, wow I can't believe how fast this has gone.The next two weeks are pretty busy around here.

Tomorrow in the morning, I am volunteering at Andrew's school. At 2pm I have an appointment with my family Doctor for a pre-operative medical before my c-section. After 3pm Kathy (the lactation consultant) is coming over for tea so we can meet and talk about breastfeeding.

Thursday morning I have an appointment at the hospital for my gestational diabetes and yet another growth ultrasound- boy, they are really anal about these ultrasounds when you have diabetes. I guess it's a good thing... Then in the afternoon I have a appointment with my obstetrician Dr. Morrow. I think I might get my first internal exam *yay*. It should be interesting to see if anything is going on down there, I've been feeling pretty crampy the last week and not really feeling that great.

Friday, we are venturing out with the kids in the snow to cut down our Christmas tree at Drysdales tree farm This should be good for a laugh, I hope Craig is up to pulling me, the kids and the tree in the toboggan back to the car ha! ha! ha! In the evening Granny is coming over to watch the kids as Craig and I are meeting his shift mates at The Miller Tavern for our yearly Christmas party.

The weekend we have the kids over so we will be doing some fun stuff with them.

Next week looks way less busy ( which is how I planned it) I need the rest before Joshua arrives. I may have one last appointment with Dr. Morrow on Thursday and I'm volunteering again on Wednesday morning, just helping out at the school.

On the 24th I go to to hospital to sign stuff, they are calling it a "pre-admit" for the c-section. Christmas Eve I will be alone with the kids (Craig is working till 9pm or so). We are planning to watch a Christmas movie and bake some cookies for Santa. December 25th Granny is coming over to stay for a few days to visit the kids and help me out at the hospital.

So as you can see everything is pretty much in place unless Josh decides that he wants to come out sooner LOL! I have everything done ( I can't believe it) the bag is packed, all the clothes are washed and put away and the nursery is ready to go. I have finished all the Christmas shopping and have wrapped all the gifts. It's funny, it really just hit me the other day that I'm about to have another baby!!!! I just can't believe it, life truly is amazing isn't it?

Special delivery for Joshua!

We received a very special delivery in the mail today for Joshua from Nan & Paps! I can't even begin to tell you all the beautiful stuff that was in there but there is TONS! I really am in shock ...

Everything Josh received is so adorable, I especially love the giraffe outfit and the handmade hat and mitts, Thanks you sooooo much Nan & Paps!! what a lucky boy ...

Joshua's horoscope and other stuff

The Capricorn Baby
Capricorn December 22 - January 19
Planet - Earth
Element - Saturn

Provided by Astrology.com

The Capricorn baby has a plan from day one and will definitely stick to it! A bit on the serious side, this is a child who is disciplined, methodical, and highly organized to boot. Is this really a child?! Well, yes and no. Not adventurously inclined, the Capricorn baby almost seems dull, but they are simply taking time with things, learning lessons slowly, so as to learn them well. This child enjoys feeling important from an early age, so don't hesitate to give them responsibilities. The Cap baby is up to the task! They also understand things better as they get older and appreciate the merits of a reward system. Good deeds are repaid in kind! This babe will rejoice and will happily live with that precept in mind. When it comes to learning, the Cap baby shouldn't be rushed, preferring to follow their own pace of discovery. Early lessons will be of the organizational kind which is how this tot's mind operates. Organizing the play group will be play indeed. As with everything, the Cap baby will be hyper-focused and determined. Even speaking will be undertaken with great effort and diligence, leading many Cap babies to bypass babbling and go straight to chatter! To sum up, the Capricorn baby prefers to play it safe, enjoying the efforts of a job well done.

The Chinese year of the pig - 19 February 2007 - 31 January 2008

If you were born during the Chinese sign of the Pig, you will make a great pal. Pigs are everything you would want in a friend: kind hearted and easy going, they forgive easily and don't bear grudges. They prefer to be generous and have sunny natures, preferring to be calm and cheerful.

People born under this sign work hard to secure their own comfort. Although not very ambitious, they can be successful because they prefer to do a job well. They accept advice so tasks are usually accomplished without difficulty.

Pigs enjoy their food and have healthy appetites.

This is a lucky sign and good things often happen to the happy pig.

Joshua
Meaning God is my salvation.
Biblical context Origin - Hebrew

Joshua was the minister of Moses and the commander of the army of Israelites. He was a brave warrior who defeated six kings and conquered thirty-one kingdoms.




BLUE ZIRCON
December Birthstone poem
"If cold December gave you birth
The month of snow and ice and mirth
Place on your hand a turquoise blue
Success will bless whate'er you do."

Finally picked it out!

New belly

Whoa! looking and feeling pretty big now ...

What do you think of this picture?

The photo on the left is me and the right side is Andrew, see a resemblance?

Here is a short video of Andrew about 6 months old

I always laugh at this because of his mohawk hair style ( not done intentionally) for some reason it just fell out that way and took quite a long time to grow back.

And one for Craig..this is addictive!

Here is one for Nan & Paps

A short video

Thanks Mom for putting this together and sending it to me VERY FUNNY!

How adorable is this??!!

First off I wanted to say I look absolutely horrid in this picture ha ha ha, I have no make up on and I was just getting ready for bed. I bought this matching nursing PJ's and baby sleeper from Thyme Maternity I think it's the most adorable thing EVER!

LOL

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources.

In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activity, applications such as Poker Night 10.3 , Football 5.0 , Hunting and Fishing 7.5 , and Racing 3.6.

I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0 , but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0 . Please help!

Thanks,Troubled User.....

**********************************************************************

Dear Troubled User:

This is a very common problem that men complain about.

Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its creator to run EVERYTHING !!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0 . It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed.

You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony/Child Support . I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" to alleviate software augmentation.

The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway.

Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0 , Cook It 1.5, and Do Bills 4.2 .

However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0 !

WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3 . This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system!

Best of luck,

Tech Support

Toronto Santa Claus Parade 2007

Ummmm is something going on?

The last few days I've been having some weird stuff down below :) Like a stabbing/pinching pain in my cervix that is kinda sharp and hurts. Along with (sorry too much info ahead) some very watery cervical mucus. Good thing I'm seeing my Dr. on Wednesday ... I have a feeling my cervix is thinning out a bit or changing. hummmmmmm I wonder???

More baby updates

Well today I was in SHOCK to find out that the baby (yes it's STILL a BOY) has put on 2 lbs in just two weeks. I do feel much bigger and my back is killing me! The ultrasound tech told Craig and I today that the baby is now about 5 lbs and is head down in the GO position.

I am posting two ultrasound pictures the first one was done at 31 weeks and the baby was around 3 lbs, the second picture is at 33 weeks and about 5lbs. From looking at these pictures, I really see Serina in his profile. Not long now ...

31 weeks
33 weeks

Serina School Picture

I thought I would post a Serina's grade 1 school picture, awwww isn't she cute!

The Goods

Well here is some pictures I took of our new goods all set up and ready to go.




Craig and I also decided we are going to save and store the baby's cord blood. This was a hard decision to make as it is quite an expensive thing to do. However, we realize that this "might" be the last chance we have to do this and that this baby's cord blood could save the baby's life or anyone in our family over the next 20 years.

UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD:

Research has shown that umbilical cord blood, which in the past has been routinely discarded after a baby is born, is a valuable source of potentially life-saving stem cells.

After the birth of your baby, there is (on average) 60-180 ml of blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta. This cord blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and stem cells.

Collection of cord blood is a safe and easy procedure that takes only minutes to complete. It does not interfere with the standard birthing practices of your caregiver or the institution where you will give birth.

Stem cells are the "master cells" or building blocks of the bone marrow that continuously replicate and differentiate into the cells of the blood and immune systems: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. In adults, stem cells can only be found in bone marrow, and can only be collected by a bone marrow biopsy, which is a painful procedure.

Umbilical cord blood stem cells are created during your baby's development during pregnancy. These stem cells are readily found in the fetal circulation (and umbilical cord) at the time of birth. Therefore, at the time of your child’s birth, parents have a once in a lifetime opportunity to harvest, process and store these cells.

Aside from being the precursor cells for the blood and immune system, there is increasing evidence that stem cells collected at birth can be directed to different cell lines such as neural tissue, liver cells or cardiac muscle. Recent evidence has shown that umbilical cord blood stem cells can produce all of the cell types found in the body

Cord blood stem cells are a viable and useful alternative to bone marrow stem cells in reconstituting diseased or depleted bone marrow resulting from conditions such as leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and immune system disorders. They can also be used for repair of bone marrow after extensive chemotherapy or radiotherapy in diseases such as cancer.

• Cord blood collection is a safe, quick and non-invasive procedure.
• Cord blood stem cells have a superior proliferative capacity.
• Cord blood stem cells have a greater immunological naivete, allowing possible transplants to siblings or other family members if needed.
• Use of Cord blood stem cells results in significantly less graft versus host disease.
• Cord blood is readily available at the birth of every baby.


BENEFITS: REASONS TO PROTECT UMBILICAL CORD STEM CELLS

Most families do not have identifiable risk factors that necessitate the need for umbilical cord blood and fortunately, most will never have to use their frozen stem cells. Most clients choose to store their baby's cord blood simply for the security it offers. Experts vary in their estimates of the need for a given cord blood sample and estimates range from 1:1000 to 1:20,000 for use by the baby. The probability of use increases to around 1:10,000when the potential need by other family members is taken into consideration.

Treatment with donated bone marrow transplantation is limited by the shortage of suitable donors. The search for an unrelated donor can be a time consuming and often futile process. The chances of finding a Caucasian match is approximately 30% and the chance for a suitable match is much less if the patient is of different ethnic origin. Furthermore, bone marrow transplantation using an unrelated donor more often results in graft vs. host disease (60-90%), which if severe, is a major case of death (50% survival at 2 years post transplant).

Umbilical cord stem cells have been frozen for at least 15 years and theoretically, can be stored for the lifetime of the baby. Medical research in the field is growing at a rapid pace. New treatment options will undoubtedly become available, and it simply makes sense to have frozen umbilical cord stem cells available for potential treatment options for certain cancers, diseases or conditions. For a minimal expense, couples can have their stem cells safely stored at Cells for Life for potential future use.

Benefits of Cord Blood Transplantation:
1. Perfect match to the child, siblings have a 25% chance of being an exact match and a greater chance of being a viable match.
2. Parents and relatives are a potential partial match.
3. Easily obtained at time of delivery without risk or pain to mother or child.
4. Stored for personal use and readily available.
5. Important for ethnic minorities that may have difficulties finding a suitable match from bone marrow registries.
6. Decreased risk of infectious disease contamination.
7. Less stringent HLA matching required for use in transplantation as compared to bone marrow.
8. Fewer side effects and significantly less Graft versus Host Disease after transplantation.

here have been thousands of successful cord blood treatments worldwide to-date. Below is a list of categories of successfully treated diseases:

• Chronic and acute leukemia • Immune system diseases
• Stem cell diseases • Platelet abnormalities
• Red and white cell diseases • Autoimmune disease
• Reconstitution of the bone marrow
following high dose chemotherapy for cancer

Now that umbilical cord blood stem cells storage and transplantation is widely accepted by the medical and scientific profession as a valid and immensely useful procedure, medical literature on the topic has increased on an almost daily basis.

In addition to the many diseases and cancers that can be treated with umbilical cord stem cells, there is new research showing potential for treatment of the following conditions:

• Lupus (SLE)
• Neurologic Disorders such as ALS & MS
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer's Disease
• Parkinson's Disease
• Heart Disease
• Liver Disease
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Stroke

Andrew

Just a good Picture of Andrew that Craig took this weekend.

Lactation Consultant

I think I've found a lady to help me, I will have to pay her but I did tons of research and she looks like the one for me. Her name is Kathy Venter.

I am a registered nurse (30years) and midwifery trained. Also have been a registered lactation consultant since 1990. I work part time at Sunnybrooke and Women's College Hospital in the breastfeeding clinic and teach lactation management courses for health care professionals all over Canada.

New belly shot

Well doesn't look like too much change to me, however I know I have put on 6-8 lbs since the last picture.

Packing the hospital bag & PPH info.

Today I'm going to pack the hospital bag and also start in on some baby laundry nothing really that exciting I guess, I can't believe it's that time already!

This pregnancy has really been flying by and I'm really starting to get nervous about the c-section. Many of you may already know what happened to me when Andrew was born, I had what they call a Postpartum hemorrhage.

Postpartum hemorrhage - refers to heavy bleeding during pregnancy, labor, or the puerperium. Bleeding may be vaginal and external, or, less commonly but more dangerously, internal (which was what happened to me) , into the abdominal cavity. Typically bleeding is related to the pregnancy itself, but some forms of bleeding are caused by other events. Obstetrical hemorrhage is a major leading cause of maternal mortality.


I was transfused 3 units of blood. After the PPH I developed some sort of internal infection that caused the to stay in the hospital for almost 2 weeks on I.V. antibiotics along with a HUGE Hematoma.

Hematoma From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A hematoma, or haematoma, is a collection of blood, generally the result of hemorrhage, or, more specifically, internal bleeding. Hematomas exist as bruises (ecchymoses), but can also develop in organs.

Hematomas can gradually migrate, as the effused cells and pigment move in the connective tissue. For example, a patient who injures the base of his thumb might cause a hematoma which will slowly move all through the finger within a week. Gravity is the main determinant of this process.

The Doctor's were concerned with the hematoma because of it's size and wanted to do daily ultrasounds on it to track where is was going. Apparently, it was very close to my kidney and they were afraid of where it would travel to. Luckily, it just moved slightly and disappeared on it's own.

Everyone keeps telling me that this time all will be fine, still in the back of my mind this is causing me some major stress and worry.

No news is good news...

Well I had my "routine" ultrasound today. The baby is measuring perfect and all looks good, he is now about 3 lbs !!! I did get some new pictures, the baby is getting so much bigger now it's hard to get a good profile picture. I will try to scan the pictures in the next few days and post them.

I am experiencing quite a bit of braxton hicks contractions now, especially when I am doing a lot of walking and exercise. Last night I was really uncomfortable walking Andrew around for Halloween. I think the weight gain is also taking a toll on my body and making me really tired and sore. I have gained a total of 17 lbs so far and I still have just under 2 months to go!!! NOT GOOD ...

Jack o Lanterns

Here are the Jack o Lanterns that we carved yesterday and today!

HELLOOOOO out there!!!!

Ok I've set up a tracker on my blog and I can see I've had quite a few visitors over the last little while, can you guys start posting some comments??!!! I'd love to hear who has been here to visit.

U.S. Shopping!

Well, we certainly did good! LOOK AT THE STASH HA! HA! HA!We made off with a swing, playpen and a TON of clothes from The carters outlet. No boots for me :( I just couldn't find what I was looking for and my size was tough to find. We figured we saved a few hundred dollars. Crossing the border was also no problems, we had all our receipts ready to go because I told Craig I'm not going to lie about our purchases, I didn't want to risk having them seized. We get to the booth and the border officer only asks us - how long have we been and are we bringing any bottles back, that's it!

Now we hardly have anything left on our list to buy just receiving blankets, a monitor and some bath stuff. I was also considering buying a bouncy seat & Craig wants to get the new back support baby bjorn.

Family

My Uncle Dan just sent me some awesome pictures he took and I thought I would post a family picture here. Although there is a lot of my family here, there is still many missing. I can think of at least 10 off the top of my head.

LURKERS

	lurker
	A person who is just "there." Nobody really knows why, other than they show up and don't say a word. Possible reasons for this could be: -They don't know what to say -They are pretending to have friends -They are trying to scare you -They are there just to be seen with you, as if they have some kind of relationship with you. Person 1: Who's that? Person 2: The lurker. He shows up everyday, just ignore him.

Crossing the border

Tomorrow at 8:00am Craig and I are going to cross the border and make an attempt to get some good deals on baby items. With only 8 weeks 3 days left or 58 days and 3 Doctor's appointments, I'm getting a bit anxious to get things done and just focus on Christmas.

So, we are looking for:

- a fisher price baby swing
-Graco playpen with bassinet
-breast pump (only if it's a good deal)
-boots ( for me lol!)

I will post when I get back pictures of the goods!

Surprise in the mail ...

A few days ago I received two cards for me and the new baby in the mail. Hand-made by my two nieces Emma & Grace in Greely, Ontario (Ottawa area)I cried when I opened them - pregnancy hormones gotta love 'em. Thank You girls, that is so special!

Haute Mama

Just a new picture of me, after finally breaking down and buying the "in" shades ... I must say I look pretty chic.

Not really a baby post but too cute not to add ...

Serina had her first horse show last weekend and I couldn't resist showing the pictures of her. She won 5th place in beginner walk and 3rd place in beginner walk, posting trot,we are so proud!!