Mellow jello!

and still sleeping!
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

So, here's a photo of Ryland at day 3 - he's such an easy going baby, I hope this lasts! We're all doing really well - the girls are still not sleeping great, and it's obvious that they are adjusting to some big changes (including a mom who spends much of the day in bed - not something they're used to!) but they're both absolutely thrilled with their brother and are amazingly gentle and loving towards him. I'm recovering well - milk has come in now, which is always a thrill but at least my bottom is hurting less and less!!!!! I always feel so mixed during these early days, it's such a magical time in terms of brand new life and the babies always grow too fast, but at the same time I can't wait for the first week or so to be over, where we've all recovered a bit and come up with a bit of a routine. For now, I'm just trying to savour all those little sounds, smells and glimpses into who this new personality is!

kea's drawing of our studly boy!!!!

kea's drawing of our studly boy!!!!
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Okay, so I just HAD to share this artistic impression of Ryland - placenta, umbilical cord, blue hat and all!!!!

Ryland Thomas

Ryland Thomas
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Just a quick update.......we had a beautiful baby boy last night, after 2 hours of labour he was born in pool on our dining room floor at 10:44. He's 9lbs, 6 oz and 56 cm long, and so far a very mellow guy!!!!

Soooooooooo, starting to have regular contractions. Ha ha, feel bad for all those suckers who ingest castor oil - seems the trick is to merely buy it and stare at the bottle!!! I'll let you know if this progresses anywhere - trying not to get too excited!

growing impatience.....

growing impatience.....
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Okay, so we're now 10 days overdue and still no signs of labour. I'm definitely feeling ready to NOT have a huge bowling pin bouncing along in my pelvis, but I can't seem to get this baby to cooperate. This afternoon we went into the midwives' office for a lovely little thing they call a 'sweep', which will hopefully stimulate the cervix a bit - but I'd really rather never have to do that again. And on the way home we picked up a bottle of this lovely concoction. I remember stories of my mom buying a bottle for her third birth, and the mere thought of taking it started up her labour that time - so I'll place it on our birth alter and see if it does the trick. If not, I may be convinced to ingest some of this horrid stuff tomorrow morning, we shall see!

Our evenings these days consist of me bouncing on our exercise ball while we watch a DVD, hoping that this night will find me in labour (I think I'll be in absolute shock the day/night it actually happens!). Lastnight we watched a movie I'd picked up from the library called "Nurse Betty" - I'm not a huge Renee Zellwiger fan, but Morgan Freeman was in it and I thought that would even it all out! And I was really surprised by just how much a totally enjoyed this silly movie! Now, either it's surprisingly good, or I'm just so full of insane hormones that I can't tell the difference - you watch it and let me know!

We woke up to snow this morning, more crazy weather for Vancouver! So far it doesn't look like it's sticking, but we'll see!!!!

midwife appointment...

So, we went to our 41 week midwife appointment - you know, the one I swore up and down that I was not going to make it to!!!! Everything looks good - baby's head is so far down that they couldn't even feel it (I could have told you that!), it's growing well and the heartbeat was strong at 150. My blood pressure was perfect as usual, and I'm about 3cm dilated - I was hoping they'd do a bit of a sweep to get things going, but apparently two other women are in labour right now (jumped the queue so to speak - not that I can blame them!!!!!) so they didn't want to do anything to get me into labour right now. I was told that perhaps this weekend....we'll see what I can do in the meantime!!!!!!;-) I was also told that in BC you can have a homebirth up to 43 weeks pregnant, as long as the baby continues to do well......though I plugged the baby's ears at that piece of news. NO WAY! I'm not even going to make it for my 42 week appointment..........!

Tiegan

Tiegan is so hilarious these days, she just keeps making up all these statements and I have NO CLUE where they come from! We often hear "Teacher Joan says I have to eat chocolate every day" or "Teacher Joan says it's okay for me to not wear underwear"...and evidently she does the same at preschool! "My mom says I'm not allowed to eat jello", "My family does not eat chicken", and a favourite "We are going to have a baby girl, and we have decided that if we have a brother that we will throw him in the garbage!" Oh, okay then!

Today Jamie went to pick Tiegan up at preschool (I'm hiding out in the house because everyone's constant comments is making me INSANE!) and all the parents were all excited as they'd heard via Tiegan that we had actually had our baby two days ago, it was a girl and her name was Emma!!!! I sooooooooooooooooooooooo wish!!!!!

Okay, so all of those anxiously awaiting news of a birth can stop holding their breaths. I've decided that I actually LOVE being pregnant so much that I'm not going to bother giving birth this time around and would rather stay pregnant forever!

Reverse psychology HAS to work, no?!!!

Getting impatient.....

Still here, still with a big belly!!! And feeling increasingly impatient, especially when I'm up at 3 am with insomnia! Of course I know that it is impossible to be pregnant forever, but I want more than that - I want to go into labour TODAY!!!!!

Yesterday we heard on the radio how children born during the year of the pig will be polite, honest and very lucky.....Jamie just keeps telling this one to not be soooooo polite, and just push his/her way out!!!!! We'll keep you posted......and sorry if we get a little grumpy about the phone calls, we really appreciate knowing that you're all thinking of us, but everyone and their dog seem to be waiting for us to go into labour! All of our neighbours are constantly checking us out, and the other day we were all hopping into the car to go for dinner and had two different neighbours poke their heads out to see where we were going!!!!! Amazing how much more support we have this third time around, as we build up more and more of our community, but also funny how much more pressure I feel to go into labour already! ANYWAYS, evidently, we're moving into the grumpy, impatient stage - count yourselves lucky that you're not around me these days!!!!!!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today it is officially the year of the wild boar - I'm told it is a very auspicious year in the Chinese New Year calendar, and a great one in which to have a baby. Perhaps ours has been holding out for this day to come?!!!! Every day I wake up and say "TODAY would be a good day to go into labour!" and then we all sit around and wait for the signs!!!! So far, no luck, but I have faith that it WILL happen! Until then, we try not to get too impatient - yesterday I managed to finish sewing up some birthday gifts for March and April, and Jamie and I went to go see the ballet of "Carmen", which was a fun date! Today we don't have too much planned out - perhaps a few errands and then a big walk up to the top of Queen Elizabeth Park?! I think a good hill is in order today!!!!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

my first longies!

my first longies!
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

I am so thrilled to have figured this pattern out, and hopefully I'll be able to make a few more after the baby is born - they're wool pants that can be used as a diaper cover, and actually pretty easy to make once you figure out all the different details! It was kind of funny, last night I was suffering from a bit of insomnia and decided that instead of tossing and turning in bed all night, that I was going to get up and finish this knitting JUST IN CASE this was actually what was holding me back from going into labour?!! Evidently not, but it sure feels good to get them done. Perhaps I'm waiting for mom's birthday tomorrow?!!!.......I'll keep you updated!

Feb. 14th

Feb. 14th
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

I forgot to post this the other day.....so here I am, officially on my due date and still very much preggo! Bags under my eyes, extra fat on my face and all :-) Gotta love the last weeks of insomnia, discomfort, impatience and weightgain!!! All well worth it, but tiresome at the time.

still waiting......

So, it's one day past my due date, and everywhere I go people are watching me for signs of impending labour. Not that I can blame them, I'm starting to feel a little impatient as well!!!! We are soooooooooooooo ready for this new being now, I'm almost scared to start up any new projects in case not finishing it holds me up in any way!

To get ready, Jamie has built a new bookcase for our CD's - something that we've been meaning to do for ages now.....




We've FINALLY installed a sink in our downstairs bathroom, to the delight of all of those people who end up staying with us and having to run up to the kitchen to brush their teeth - no more!!!!



I have FINALLY finished painting up my belly cast from Tiegan's pregnancy (it's a good thing that I'm not planning on doing one for this pregnancy, seeing as it took me 3 1/2 years to do one!)



Our bedroom has been painted and set up, we've moved back in from the living room floor and have EVEN hung pictures and things on the wall now!!!






We've set up the baby's corner in "Tiegan's room"....



People have dropped by various beloved items for our birth altar....






We've blown up the birthing pool and have the hose adapter on our taps....



And Jamie's even bought my most favourite pie in the world (Lemon Buttermilk from Savary Island!!!!!) in order to celebrate after the birth.




How much more ready could we be?!!!! Finally, I'll show you the shot of the moses basket that a friend has lent us for this baby - could you get any cosier?! Now we just have to convince this baby that it looks comfy enough to come out and check it out!

Waiting....

So, here we are, about 5 days from our due date and caught in that mode of waiting. Some days more impatiently than others, but trying our hardest to enjoy this time together before the chaos of a newborn arrives! Jamie and the girls were all sick for a while, so they're FINALLY over their colds for the most part, and though I felt like I was fighting it for a few days (and I heard many complaints that I was snoring a lot at night!) I feel MUCH better now. We're resting up, finishing up various little things that we want to get done - none of it vital to finish before the birth, but still nice to be finishing up, and spending lots of down time doing puzzles and reading books aloud. Mom arrives on Mon, and the two midwives we really want go on-call Sun night and are on-call all week, and so bets are that it will happen sometime next week! Though I won't mind if it does happen this weekend - I'm getting VERY curious to meet this little being, see if it's a boy or a girl, and to finally not feel so bruised and battered in my pelvic area!!!!!!

A sad goodbye

today to Nana Tindale, Jamies nan (Wayne's mom) who passed away in the hospital. It wasn't shocking news for us, as she had been in the hospital for quite a while, but it still feels so definite when someone actually dies. And sad. We were happy that we got a chance to see her briefly during our visit to Ottawa this Christmas, and we wish her well as she enters into the next stage of her life. xoxoxo

scary bit

scary bit
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

The kids have been sick with a bit of a cold, so yesterday we took a total rest day at home. They really wanted to watch Harry Potter, so cuddled up on the couch to watch it together. I love watching them watch movies.......no matter how many times they see the same movie over and over again, they still get really caught up in it and so scared about what is going to happen next. Guys, remember, they all escape and live happily ever after, like they do EVERY TIME - there's no need to get scared!

new toque

new toque
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

So, I FINALLY finished that toque that I was knitting for Jamie, and wanted to show it off......I really like the way it worked out, and it was relatively easy to knit. Maybe by next winter, I'll have one for each of us?!!!! Ha ha, won't count on that - this was supposed to be slipped into his stocking!

ice!

Can I just say, I'm LOVING ice this pregnancy! For the past month or so, I just cannot get enough of crunching on ice all day long. In fact, I have huge preferences to my ice - I love going to Science World, as their ice is small enough to really crunch but not freeze your mouth. I used to crunch up whole cubes from our freezer tray but had to spit much of it back into a glass so as to not freeze my mouth. But now, due to extreme impatience re: access to ice I've discovered that half frozen ice-cubes are thin and easy to chew, and most divine of all are those fully formed ice-cubes with water stuck in the middle. One bite and you get a cold drink and then ice to chew. You cannot understand just how excited I get when I get an ice-cube or two like this, it's heavenly. And so very freakin odd - I'm hoping this ice obsession does not continue post birth, as it may be a cheap craving but people really tend to stare!!!!!

And now Jamie finds himself trying to find a baby name that is related to the word ice.........!

Tiegan's drawing

Tiegan's drawing
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Today while we were at the midwives' office, Tiegan sat drawing - and created this little masterpiece. It's the first time she's really branched out from the very intense scribbles she usually does, so we were really excited! And therefore wanted to share it with all of you!!!!!!

Midwife appointment

Julia, one of the midwives, checking out the baby
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

So, we're officially 38 weeks, and all is going well. I feel ENORMOUS, but am measuring perfectly normally at 38 cm! Baby has been very active, and its heartbeat was at 140. Jamie was trying to figure out if it's a boy or a girl by the heart beat - apparently 120-140 is more likely to be a boy and 140-160 is more likely to be a girl. But at 140, it's kind of hard to figure out!!!!!!

I've been cleaning like crazy lately, and am determined to get the house in order before I go into labour! Which of course leads me to have a sore back, so tonight I'm going to take it easy with a nice hot bath! After I pay our bills for the month and put in my bulk order with the organics coop!!!!! I wonder if I'll actually go into labour once I check everything off my to-do list?!!!!