Proof!
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Weird sleeper
So Damian, since the day he was born, has been a tummy sleeper. He recently has decided to be able to sleep in any position possible.
Proof!
I think he fell asleep while kicking his crib. Haha. I hear banging coming from there every once in a while.
Proof!
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Couponing
I've recently gotten in to couponing. I don't know what sparked my interest, but I just became completely enthralled in it with my spare time (I know, what's that!?). Unfortunately, Canadian law says we can't do "extreme couponing" like it's done in the US where you can use 3 coupons on one item and get away with it. Here, we can't stack offers. Boo. :( I would have loved to be able to do that!
Oh well, a saving of $1.50 off Kotex liners is $1.50 saved. :)
Oh well, a saving of $1.50 off Kotex liners is $1.50 saved. :)
Part one!
Aha! My first blog post! Well, let's get started then. Who am I, and why am I here?
Well, I am a 22 year old mom, and together with my fiancé Eric, we have our one and only son, Damian Jack. He's a barrel of laughs, and probably the most polite, quiet, and funny just-under-9 month old you'll ever lay your eyes on.
Perhaps I should start at the beginning.
Eric and I met at our Dojo. I had my karate lesson right before his grappling class, and since I started training there he would come to class early just to watch our class (creeper much? Haha!). I didn't notice really, until our Sensei asked for him to help with a demonstration. It was a really hot day (Early August) so Eric had his shirt unbuttoned. That was when I really noticed him. My first thought was "holy crap he's tall (I'm 5'2" so everyone is tall compared to me, but he's 6"0')." My second was "he has gorgeous blue eyes."
One class when my lesson finished I didn't see him sitting on the couch, so I wandered over to the change room to change and go home. I opened the door because I didn't think anyone was in there. I WALKED IN ON HIM! LOL. I was so embarrassed. Luckily he had finished changing, but regardless my face was BEAT red, and I just about died. He just smiled and thought it was cute.
A week later our Sensei asked if I was going to participate in the tournament. I agreed, and I saw Eric's name on the list. I was really happy to see that since we'll be training together. We talked and got to know each other over the next couple weeks of training. He gave me and my brother a ride to the tournament (long drive). We found out we have the same taste in music (System of a Down and Rammstein lol) and we had a lot of fun just talking to each other. At the tournament I won a Gold Medal, he and my brother a Silver (all different divisions).
On the way home, we decided to stop by Tim Horton's for something to eat, and while we were walking in, I exclaimed I was going to have a BLT and a Chocolate Milk. He laughed and said to stop copying him. He then said "I'm afraid to know what your favourite pizza is." I said Chicken Club with Garlic Dip. And apparently it was his too!
That night when I got home I got over my nerves and asked him out. We went on our first date September 30th, 2009 (my moms birthday). He proposed to me December 2nd of that year, and we found out we were pregnant with Damian December 11th.
The whole pregnancy was a bumpy ride. I ended up leaving my full time paying job as a custodial worker for my old job in retail with the promise that I would be given full time, and eventually, the assistant manager position. Needless to say, it was a lesson learned to ALWAYS get that in writing, because I was ended up given 1-2 days a week, with no more than 4 hours a day. It really bit the big one. We struggled just to make ends meet, barely making our rent bill, let alone how we were going to pay for baby equipment. Our crib and dresser for Damian was bought for us, and everything else aside from a few articles of clothing and the high chair were all hand-me-downs from friends, which we are so so grateful for!
As time went on, my pregnancy was closing fast. I had a membrane sweep the Wednesday before I went in to labour (August 18th, I was 39w1d along) and I felt so crappy the final 2 days. I was swearing up and down I was going to give birth on the 18th because of how icky I felt on the inside. Alas, no baby that night. I felt just as bad on the 19th. No baby. By the 20th and no baby came by 6pm, I told Eric we were going to go for a walk/hike at Seal Bay and that was that. He agreed and we went for the drive out there. 10 minutes in to the walk I had to sit down, I was having some pretty bad cramping.
So we made our 10 minute trek back to the car and went straight to the hospital. We got there at around 7:30pm, and the painful cramping/contractions died off. I texted my SIL Sarah, my twin Hillary, and my Mom to tell them that I thought I was in labour. My mom kept telling me I'd want the Epidural. I told her hell no!!
They checked me and I was 3cm and mostly effaced. They sent me home at 8:30pm and the nurse told me that she will be expecting me back there later that night. I told her the last nurse that told me that said that to me 3 weeks ago. I shrugged, and tried not to let myself be let down again.
So we went home, I took a shower, bounced on my yoga ball, had some red raspberry leaf tea, had a good ol' time with Eric, had Eric massage my pressure points in my feet, and by 11:30pm we went to bed. I laid awake in bed quite upset. I said to myself "Please God let me feel a painful contraction" and the moment the thought ended, 'lo and behold I was in paiiin. It was 11:50pm. I told Eric I was in labour and he rolled over and said "If you're going into the kitchen can you get me a glass of water?" In hindsight I wanted to grab the water and dump it all over his head, but I digress. ;) I started timing them as best I could. The first was 5 minutes, the next 4, the next 3. So I told Eric we gotta go NOW.
We got to the hospital and got me all up in the gown. I just walked around the room for the first 20 minutes contracting every 2 minutes. I felt comfortable kneeling over a chair whenever I contracted, so I did that. The nurse suggested I take a shower to help, so I sat down in the shower and Eric sprayed water over me. When I got out, I demanded some sort of pain reliever. The nurse gave me fentanyl. Each dose lasts about 15 minutes. I got a total of three doses, I think? The first dose was only a half dose, the other two were full doses. So I only got 45 minutes of the "edge being taken off."I didn't notice any difference at all with the drug, which is why I stopped asking for it.
When I got the 2nd dose, my waters broke naturally, and the nurse said "Really?" all surprised like. I had to laugh, it was funny. A half an hour or so after that I had these huge urges to push at every contraction. I reallly had to fight myself not to. I told the nurse this after about 20 minutes and she checked me and her eyes went all wide and said I was fully dilated and ready to go. She said that whenever I got the urge to push to do so and she ran out of the room really quick to go call my doctor. Apparently he was just as shocked and he made it here within 20 minutes.
I think I pushed for a total of an hour. When Damian started to crown, Dr Shoesmith asked if I wanted to feel the top of his head, so I did. It was really cool feeling. His head was about halfway out when he suddenly shot his right fist out beside him. He was literally born punching his way out. The Dr said that was the onnnly reason why I tore. I got a 1st degree tear. I actually didn't feel it at all. Once his head came out, and then his shoulders, he came shooting out and they plopped him up on my chest at 4:02am. And yes, Eric cut the cord. He weighed a very healthy 8lbs 5oz and was 20 inches tall. He had trouble breathing off the top because of how fast he was delivered. He still had fluids in his lungs because it didn't all get expressed from the pushing. He was put in an oxygen rich bassinet thingie for the first day and the first half of the second. His facial features were his own at first, but after the first day, I really started to notice Eric in him a lot. So did everyone else.
It was really hard to let them take him away from me after he was all cleaned up, but I knew it was what was best for him. They gave him a chest x-ray that night as well to make sure there was nothing dangerous happening as to why he wasn't breathing well. They gave him a clean bill of health, but kept him in the chamber anyway for piece of mind.
I tried breastfeeding him and when he wouldn't latch I opted to pump and bottle feed, which works amazing for us. So he gets the best in nutrition. We only feed him fresh fruits and vegetables instead of bottled baby foods. The only thing processed he gets is cookies and baby cereal, haha. And now comes to why I'm here. He's such a smart kid, and we unfortunately can't afford all the very best for him. My mom stepdad have offered us $100 towards "Your Baby Can Read" which is a great start to his education, but unfortunately, it ends there with our funds for his schooling. If you can find it in your hearts to help this very smart boy towards his post secondary education, you'll be giving him the chance that I didn't get. I grew up the same way, without a college education, and we struggle day in and day out to provide for our family. This would give me a piece of mind for him and his future.
That was a long post! I'm sorry about that! Hope you enjoyed my last year. ;)
Well, I am a 22 year old mom, and together with my fiancé Eric, we have our one and only son, Damian Jack. He's a barrel of laughs, and probably the most polite, quiet, and funny just-under-9 month old you'll ever lay your eyes on.
Perhaps I should start at the beginning.
Eric and I met at our Dojo. I had my karate lesson right before his grappling class, and since I started training there he would come to class early just to watch our class (creeper much? Haha!). I didn't notice really, until our Sensei asked for him to help with a demonstration. It was a really hot day (Early August) so Eric had his shirt unbuttoned. That was when I really noticed him. My first thought was "holy crap he's tall (I'm 5'2" so everyone is tall compared to me, but he's 6"0')." My second was "he has gorgeous blue eyes."
One class when my lesson finished I didn't see him sitting on the couch, so I wandered over to the change room to change and go home. I opened the door because I didn't think anyone was in there. I WALKED IN ON HIM! LOL. I was so embarrassed. Luckily he had finished changing, but regardless my face was BEAT red, and I just about died. He just smiled and thought it was cute.
A week later our Sensei asked if I was going to participate in the tournament. I agreed, and I saw Eric's name on the list. I was really happy to see that since we'll be training together. We talked and got to know each other over the next couple weeks of training. He gave me and my brother a ride to the tournament (long drive). We found out we have the same taste in music (System of a Down and Rammstein lol) and we had a lot of fun just talking to each other. At the tournament I won a Gold Medal, he and my brother a Silver (all different divisions).
On the way home, we decided to stop by Tim Horton's for something to eat, and while we were walking in, I exclaimed I was going to have a BLT and a Chocolate Milk. He laughed and said to stop copying him. He then said "I'm afraid to know what your favourite pizza is." I said Chicken Club with Garlic Dip. And apparently it was his too!
That night when I got home I got over my nerves and asked him out. We went on our first date September 30th, 2009 (my moms birthday). He proposed to me December 2nd of that year, and we found out we were pregnant with Damian December 11th.
The whole pregnancy was a bumpy ride. I ended up leaving my full time paying job as a custodial worker for my old job in retail with the promise that I would be given full time, and eventually, the assistant manager position. Needless to say, it was a lesson learned to ALWAYS get that in writing, because I was ended up given 1-2 days a week, with no more than 4 hours a day. It really bit the big one. We struggled just to make ends meet, barely making our rent bill, let alone how we were going to pay for baby equipment. Our crib and dresser for Damian was bought for us, and everything else aside from a few articles of clothing and the high chair were all hand-me-downs from friends, which we are so so grateful for!
As time went on, my pregnancy was closing fast. I had a membrane sweep the Wednesday before I went in to labour (August 18th, I was 39w1d along) and I felt so crappy the final 2 days. I was swearing up and down I was going to give birth on the 18th because of how icky I felt on the inside. Alas, no baby that night. I felt just as bad on the 19th. No baby. By the 20th and no baby came by 6pm, I told Eric we were going to go for a walk/hike at Seal Bay and that was that. He agreed and we went for the drive out there. 10 minutes in to the walk I had to sit down, I was having some pretty bad cramping.
So we made our 10 minute trek back to the car and went straight to the hospital. We got there at around 7:30pm, and the painful cramping/contractions died off. I texted my SIL Sarah, my twin Hillary, and my Mom to tell them that I thought I was in labour. My mom kept telling me I'd want the Epidural. I told her hell no!!
They checked me and I was 3cm and mostly effaced. They sent me home at 8:30pm and the nurse told me that she will be expecting me back there later that night. I told her the last nurse that told me that said that to me 3 weeks ago. I shrugged, and tried not to let myself be let down again.
So we went home, I took a shower, bounced on my yoga ball, had some red raspberry leaf tea, had a good ol' time with Eric, had Eric massage my pressure points in my feet, and by 11:30pm we went to bed. I laid awake in bed quite upset. I said to myself "Please God let me feel a painful contraction" and the moment the thought ended, 'lo and behold I was in paiiin. It was 11:50pm. I told Eric I was in labour and he rolled over and said "If you're going into the kitchen can you get me a glass of water?" In hindsight I wanted to grab the water and dump it all over his head, but I digress. ;) I started timing them as best I could. The first was 5 minutes, the next 4, the next 3. So I told Eric we gotta go NOW.
We got to the hospital and got me all up in the gown. I just walked around the room for the first 20 minutes contracting every 2 minutes. I felt comfortable kneeling over a chair whenever I contracted, so I did that. The nurse suggested I take a shower to help, so I sat down in the shower and Eric sprayed water over me. When I got out, I demanded some sort of pain reliever. The nurse gave me fentanyl. Each dose lasts about 15 minutes. I got a total of three doses, I think? The first dose was only a half dose, the other two were full doses. So I only got 45 minutes of the "edge being taken off."I didn't notice any difference at all with the drug, which is why I stopped asking for it.
When I got the 2nd dose, my waters broke naturally, and the nurse said "Really?" all surprised like. I had to laugh, it was funny. A half an hour or so after that I had these huge urges to push at every contraction. I reallly had to fight myself not to. I told the nurse this after about 20 minutes and she checked me and her eyes went all wide and said I was fully dilated and ready to go. She said that whenever I got the urge to push to do so and she ran out of the room really quick to go call my doctor. Apparently he was just as shocked and he made it here within 20 minutes.
I think I pushed for a total of an hour. When Damian started to crown, Dr Shoesmith asked if I wanted to feel the top of his head, so I did. It was really cool feeling. His head was about halfway out when he suddenly shot his right fist out beside him. He was literally born punching his way out. The Dr said that was the onnnly reason why I tore. I got a 1st degree tear. I actually didn't feel it at all. Once his head came out, and then his shoulders, he came shooting out and they plopped him up on my chest at 4:02am. And yes, Eric cut the cord. He weighed a very healthy 8lbs 5oz and was 20 inches tall. He had trouble breathing off the top because of how fast he was delivered. He still had fluids in his lungs because it didn't all get expressed from the pushing. He was put in an oxygen rich bassinet thingie for the first day and the first half of the second. His facial features were his own at first, but after the first day, I really started to notice Eric in him a lot. So did everyone else.
It was really hard to let them take him away from me after he was all cleaned up, but I knew it was what was best for him. They gave him a chest x-ray that night as well to make sure there was nothing dangerous happening as to why he wasn't breathing well. They gave him a clean bill of health, but kept him in the chamber anyway for piece of mind.
I tried breastfeeding him and when he wouldn't latch I opted to pump and bottle feed, which works amazing for us. So he gets the best in nutrition. We only feed him fresh fruits and vegetables instead of bottled baby foods. The only thing processed he gets is cookies and baby cereal, haha. And now comes to why I'm here. He's such a smart kid, and we unfortunately can't afford all the very best for him. My mom stepdad have offered us $100 towards "Your Baby Can Read" which is a great start to his education, but unfortunately, it ends there with our funds for his schooling. If you can find it in your hearts to help this very smart boy towards his post secondary education, you'll be giving him the chance that I didn't get. I grew up the same way, without a college education, and we struggle day in and day out to provide for our family. This would give me a piece of mind for him and his future.
That was a long post! I'm sorry about that! Hope you enjoyed my last year. ;)
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