2 1/2 weeks in...

It's hard to believe that Henry is already 2 1/2 weeks old! I feel like each day zooms by!

Things have been going pretty well. I think I have been surprised by how challenging the first weeks with a newborn really are. I wished away the end of my pregnancy without realizing how great it was! Not to say I am not thankful that Henry is here. I love him to pieces!!! He is the greatest thing ever, and Joe and I are amazed each day.

That being said, some of the greater challenges have been:

1. Healing physically: As you can imagine, pushing out an 8lb 4oz baby takes it's toll on your body. I think because of my quick delivery and  being a first timer, the damage was pretty severe. Luckily, I have the most wonderful and supportive husband, and he was off for the first 9 days. He definitely took care of me, Henry and our home. I am very grateful! By now, most of the pain is gone and I'm feeling pretty good. But I'm still taking it easy.

2. Breast feeding: Oh my! I was definitely anxious about breast feeding before giving birth. Rightly so! Breast feeding has definitely been the biggest challenge. Not only does it take a substantial amount of my day (feeding on and off all day, on demand), and make it so I have no routine or schedule at this point, but it hurts! I'm talking excruciating, tooth-grinding, grunting pain. It is extremely painful still and I'm going to see a lactation consultant this afternoon. I hope she works some magic because I need it... and so does Henry. Luckily, Henry has been feeding like a champ!

3. Lack of sleep: I know, I know... this is what everyone talks about. I have to say, I prefer the lack of sleep to number 1 and 2. Also, Henry has been pretty good at night for the most part, and we have been co-sleeping, which makes nights a lot easier. Still, there have been a number of fussy stretches through nights, so Joe and I have both been feeling it.

4. Lack of time: You'd think that being an at-home mom I would have lots of time to do things around the house and cook. And write on my blog. However... being at the beck and call of a newborn means very little time for anything else! It is amazing... poor Joe has been coming home and STILL picking up my slack. I can't wait for there to be more of a routine in place so that I can do more. The good news... it has given me lots of special time with Henry, and time to read :)

Despite the challenges, I couldn't be happier. Being a mum has been something I always looked forward to. Having a baby with Joe makes it even more special! He is the greatest Dad and Husband. I feel extremely fortunate. Plus, Henry is pretty darn adorable! He makes me smile and laugh out loud every day. I am one proud Mama. 

Introducing Henry

Anyone who is friends with me on Facebook probably already knows our news! 

Today marks one week from the birthday of our first son, Henry Louis. He was born on Friday, February 1st, weighing 8 lbs 4 oz. He shares his birthday with my brother, his Uncle Mike!

This first week as a Mum has been more challenging than anything I've ever done before. It has also been the best week ever! One of my students' Dad's said to me this fall when he found out I was expecting; "Having kids is the best thing you'll ever do. The hardest thing, but the best thing!" I thought it was cute... but only now am I fully understanding the truth in his words! The lack of sleep, recovery from birth, and challenges getting started breast-feeding are all worth it when I get to hold my sweet little boy in my arms. It's still surreal! And I know things are only going to get better.

I've decided I want to write out his birth story, so I don't forget it! Plus... I am still amazed at how things went down. It was NOTHING like I expected it would be... and in hindsight, it was perfect!

As a precursor... there were a few reasons that I wasn't supposed to go into labour on February 1st. For one, my sister-in-law and Dad were both out of town. More importantly, my midwife had the weekend off! So, I told my pregnant belly, "you can't come until Monday!"

On Friday, I was feeling pretty normal. Well... pregnant-normal. I had a busy day planned. I started off visiting with my sisters and nephews for a few hours. My sister, Kate, and I played a couple of games of Dominion. Kate told me she was playing Dominion when she went into labour with her first... and we joked the same might happen to me! I left and dropped off my other sister at about 4:30. At this point, I still felt normal.

Afterward, I went to a coworker of Joe's house for a little gathering. I had been there about an hour when I stood up to go to the washroom. That's when I felt a small gush of waters. It wasn't the big gush I pictured... but enough to make me wonder if I was about to go in labour. As discreetly as I could, I convinced Joe it was time to go. I still didn't know for sure if this was labour, so I was trying not to let anyone know why it was so important we leave!

We called my back-up midwife after leaving, and told her what had happened. She told us she would meet us at our house at 7:00 to test whether or not it was my water that had broke. It was about 5:45, so Joe and I went to a local restaurant to order some take-out. While we were waiting for our food, I started feeling some cramping in my lower abdomen. I told Joe I was even more sure that this might be labour! We were pretty excited.

By the time we got home at about 6:30, some real contractions started to come. I managed to scarf down a few bites of my dinner, but the contractions seemed to be coming too close together for me to really get anything in. The midwife and a student midwife came at 7:15 and checked me. I was 4 cm. Yep, I was definitely in labour! They told me to stay home, eat as much as I could, and come to the clinic in 2 hours, at about 9:30. (For those of you who don't know, I decided to labour at the KW Midwifery Birthing Suite as an alternative to hospital or home birth). She told me I'd be having this baby tonight! I couldn't believe it... aren't first labours supposed to be longer than a few hours?

As soon as they left, the contractions became even more intense. From what I'd learned in our prenatal classes and talking to others, you usually have some time between contractions in early labour. I expected to have at least 5 minutes between to relax and eat. However, the contractions were coming every 1-2 minutes, and were extremely intense. After an hour of this, I told Joe to call the midwife...we needed to go! At this point, I was feeling like I didn't know if I could do it all natural. This was WAY more intense than anything I had ever imagined. I was still pretty set on a natural birth, though. I had 4 intense contractions in the 3 km drive to the clinic... just to give you an idea of how things were going!

We were at the birthing suite at about 8:50 p.m. or so. After a few more contractions, the midwife checked me, and I was already 8 cm dilated! When I heard that, I knew I could do it. It was definitely a good thing that we went there earlier than planned. I powered through some more intense contractions, and in no time I was ready to push. After 20 minutes of pushing, Henry came into the world at 9:50 p.m.! Joe's first words were "It's a boy... it's our son!". My first words were "He looks just like you!" Henry was placed on my chest and it was the most amazing and perfect moment of my life.

Our healthy boy!

The birth was intense and fast, but I am so proud that I was able to deliver him naturally. It was everything I wanted.

Our first family photo

After a week with Henry, Joe and I have learned so much and our lives have changed completely! Everything revolves around wee Henry! We are completely in love, and couldn't be happier.

Here are a few photos, just because I can't NOT share his cuteness :)

39 Week Update

This week I started my maternity leave. I thought relaxing would be a lot of fun, but after 2 days, I am going stir-crazy! It hasn't helped that the weather here has been frigid.... around -25 or -30 degrees with the wind chill. I don't have a proper winter jacket that fits my large belly, so the daily walks I had planned have not been happening. I tried a balance ball exercise from YouTube and quickly realized I am waaaay beyond sit ups on a ball. Oh well. My goal today is to get out of the house. Maybe to a mall, where I can walk!

Other than that, things on the pregnancy end have been going ok. I have been having some sciatica pain (it comes and goes!) but otherwise feel pretty good! I am definitely at the stage where it is "The Waiting Game". I am getting antsy, and so are baby B's grandparents! 

I've been thinking more about the sex of the baby lately. For most of my pregnancy, I was SURE it is a girl. Lately I've been feeling more like it may be a boy. After telling Joe last night that I thought it is a boy, I had a dream that it was a girl. What it comes down to is... I have no clue! I no longer have that instinctual feeling. Whether a He or She... baby B will be the perfect match for our little family! I can't wait to meet him/her. I'm feeling really glad that we didn't find out the sex, as I am feeling pretty excited about the moment that Joe and I find out. It will be so special! Our midwife even said that she'll leave it up to us to figure it out (instead of telling us), which I think it great! 

Anyway, here are some photos!

39 Weeks 

And even though I was SURE I would never publish a photo of my bare preggo belly... here it is. I couldn't resist! It really is quite amazing... 

One week until Due Date! Although I have a feeling this little guy or gal may decide to take his/her time coming out... I will keep you posted!

on becoming vegan

Since the beginning of the New Year, Joe and I have converted to eating vegan.
It has been a definite challenge, but we feel pretty convinced that it is the best choice we could make. We've had a few people wondering why we made the switch, so I thought I'd explain a little bit!

Back in November, we watched the documentary, "Forks Over Knives". The gist of the documentary is that eating animal products (including dairy, eggs, etc.) is THE cause of the obesity problems and all of the icky diseases that are killing North Americans. (ex. Heart disease, diabetes, many types of cancer, liver disease, etc.) It claimed that eating plant-based prevents (and can even reverse!) these diseases. Since Joe and I generally strive to live healthy lifestyles, we thought we would research a little further.

Through a lot of reading on the topic, we became pretty convinced; Eating a plant-based diet is the best thing you can do to live a long and healthy life.

It was a huge challenge at first. We thought we could start cold-turkey, but found it challenging to cut out eggs (our high-protein, filling, daily breakfast) and yogourt (my favourite snack!) So, for about a month, we still ate those. Then at Christmas it was extra challenging, with so many yummy goodies around. We did pretty well, and only indulged on a few things. 

That being said, in the New Year, we have cut out all animal based foods. We have been eating oatmeal, fruit and peanut butter to fill up in the morning, and I have simply been choosing to snack on plant-based foods like fruit and nuts. There are definitely moments (especially being 38 weeks pregnant!) where I crave things: mostly it has been chocolate or a glass of milk. But, so far we have stuck to it.

Of course, there are other huge benefits to going vegan. As many of you know, I was previously a vegetarian for environmental reasons... so that was no surprise. I still ate eggs and dairy, though. What did surprise me, however, was to learn that the production of eggs uses more energy than the production of chicken meat! So vegetarian eating can still have quite the negative environmental impact... Anyway, here are some of the benefits we have discovered, besides the healthy benefits:

1. Environmental

 Meat production is the number one producer of Greenhouse Gas emissions worldwide. Yes...more than cars! Eating plant-based drastically decreases your carbon footprint, and that is always a good thing in my opinion!

2. Ethical

Of course... there is the fact that not relying on animals for food means that we're not supporting any inhumane treatment of animals that are raised for that purpose.

3. Financial

Relying on beans, legumes and grains for your protein tends to be much less expensive than meat. And yes, we do still get enough protein! 

Becoming vegan has definitely required a complete change in mindset around food.

By eating this way, you need to view foods more according to their nutritional benefits than whether or not they taste good. I have learned so much about the nutritional value of foods, and what nutrients my body actually needs in order to be healthy. Never before would I have considered eating a raw piece of kale, but now I do because I know how beneficial it is to my health (and my unborn child's!)  

That being said, there are still SO many delicious foods that are vegan. I'm not saying food around here is boring! 

Anyway, that just scratches the surface. It has been really eye-opening to learn about and become a vegan. We'll see how it goes!

Updated House Tour!

As of now, we have been living in our home for just over 7 months!

(It is also just over 7 months since finding out we were pregnant... I took the pregnancy test the day we moved in to determine whether or not I could go into our new hot tub :)

Anyway, I thought it is about time that I do an updated house tour. We have done a lot of smaller projects and things are really starting to shape up around here. Most of our rooms are still "in progress".

Some of the things you will see on here are things I have already blogged about. Feel free to browse!

Front of House

When we moved in, the garage and doors were painted an outdated reddish brown.

Before

We repainted the doors/garage in a more modern neutral. We have also done a bit of pruning and removing of some plants in the front. It is looking much nicer!

After

After

The Main Floor

1. Front Hallway
Unfortunately the only "before" picture we have of the hallway was taken during our initial house tours before buying the house. As you can see... the hallway was painted the same yellow as the rest of the house. 

Since moving in we repainted in a dark teal and we love how it turned out! It helps to balance out all of the other neutral colours we have chosen.

2. Living/Dining Room
We have made quite a few changes to this room. When we first moved in, we didn't even have proper furniture for the room, so we simply put in some existing furniture for the time being while we awaited our new couch and chairs.

Since then, we have made quite a few changes:
- We repainted the walls in a lighter and more neutral colour
- We replaced the window coverings with white curtains (The front window had heavy, dusty yellow drapes)
- We purchased a new couch and chairs and a new carpet
- We scored a cheap and large teak coffee table on Kijiji!

And we finally found some nice throw pillows for the couch to add colour and pull a few things together. We still want to add more art to the walls and a few more accessories.

3. Sitting Room
The same ol' yellow. The same heavy yellow drapes. At least the previous owners were consistent ?

Before

Before

We have made quite a few changes to this room, including:

- Repainting in a neutral grey
- Replacing the drapes with white curtains
- Replacing the light fixture (originally a heavy, ugly fan)
- Adding a couple of big bookshelves

After

After

 

4. The Kitchen
The kitchen is the room in the house that I have the most issues with. It is u-g-l-y! However, we looked into cabinet refacing, and it was so expensive it just isn't worth it right now. Instead, we simply freshened it up with new paint. It looks much more inviting!

Before

After

After

Upstairs

1. The office

 The office has now been turned into the spare bedroom, since our spare bedroom has turned into a nursery :)
We have repainted the walls using leftover paint from our sitting room downstairs (why not?!) and simply removed the heavy yellow drapes. It looks much better! Although it could still use some sprucing up with accessories.

2. The main bathroom
A great example of the "special" tile that was a part of our house when we bought it. I painted the tile and Joe took down the sliding brownish glass door over the tub and the awkward hanging cupboard. We replaced it with an extra-long, fun shower curtain. I also replaced the light fixture covers to make it match a little nicer.

Before

After

3. The spare bedroom

This room is currently being converted into our nursery! Here is the before.

We replaced the curtains, repainted the walls, and have been slowly aquiring some baby things to fill the room. Only 2 (or so) weeks to go until this room gets some use! We  have quite a bit of work to do in here still, as it is still really an empty palette, ready to be decorated according to our baby! We also plan on repainting and refinishing some of the furniture...all of which we bought off of Kijiji!

4. The Master Bedroom

When we moved in, the master bedroom matched the rest of the house in colour. Since then, we repainted a light blue and changed the window coverings. We still need to add some artwork and maybe a few colourful throw pillows to add interest. 

5. The Ensuite bathroom

We decided we wanted to take down the wall cupboard and replace the pedestal sink with a vanity that has storage underneath. We thought this would be a small project, but it ended up being much more challenging than we originally thought! Mostly because I attempted to do the plumbing myself with zero experience. Needless to say, I learned a lot through trial and error, and am pretty impressed that I did it! And we are really happy with the result... it is a much better use of the space. 

Before

After

The Basement

We have pretty much left the basement as-is so far. I think this will be the last part of the house we tackle, since it is the part of the house we use the least. 

Main area

Spare bedroom...aka storage room

The "Fun House" is still the same...Yikes!

Laundry Room

The Backyard

We haven't needed to do too much in the backyard. However, we did choose to rip out the awful fountain (it just wasn't my style!) and re-seeded that part of the lawn. It looks much better!

After taking out the fountain and adding seed

It is fun to look back at all of the progress we have made. It's exciting to think about the changes we still have to make!