My Heart Aches

Please pray for my cousin Heidi and her husband Chris and their families...

Years after being told they had very little chance of conceiving they were finally given a miracle! Heidi was due this coming July 8 but sadly their baby (girl as it turns out) had been called to heaven, this last weekend, before being born. 

Please pray for peace and understanding and comfort for them!

Summer Starts Today!

Hmmm...I didn't realize that it had been so long since my last post! Life at times feels as slow as a snail (NOT!!) and at other times whizzes passed without so much as a how do you do! 

I can't believe little girl will be 6 months in just shy of 2weeks from today! The magic age where she's old enough for sunscreen (FYI...not a fan of this idea yet but that Oklahoma sun is looking pretty spicy!), sitting by herself, the beginnings of crawling, and FOOD!!! Oh my goodness this girl just can hardly wait for the Dr.'s go ahead...She watches our every spoonful at dinner and even mimics the chewing (with her mouth closed! Teach 'em early). I felt so bad for her one hot day so I let her suck on my slice of watermelon...she was so grateful, she refused to give it back!

Little girl has been growing so much too!! Last month she weighed in at a whopping 17lbs 10oz! (I'll find out next week what we're up to now!) This week I went through her closet & dresser and moved up the 12m-18m clothes and put away most of her 6m sized outfits...when did this happen!?! Lately she's been getting better at rolling from back to front and vice versa...that darn arm keeps getting in her way! She has no problems at all going for toys she wants...rolls and squirms her way across the floor as needed! Not even crawling yet and already I can't turn my back for a moment!

FAMILIES FIRST

This will be a major jumbled mash up from the last couple of months! 

• Babies develop from the head down. If you ever wonder what the next big thing your baby will be learning to do just take a moment and consider the above statement. 1-follow with eyes 2-smiles 3-holds up neck 4-reaches (hands) 5-rolls over (uses torso) 6-sits up (bum) 7-crawls (knees) 8-walks (feet)

•Family Practices & Traditions

I actually never thought to deeply about what our traditions are...it's just always been something we do! (ex: holiday gatherings/birthday parties/Christmas stockings/marriage & birth celebrations/etc...) It actually never really donned on me that these ARE North American traditions that I am passing on. Same goes for family practices...(swaddling/feeding/religious beliefs/who's allowed to hold baby/role of father/family lullabies & games/role of mother/role of grandparents) What practices are you bestowing on your child?!

•E-Parenting

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this...most of us naturally do this but knowing that there are some major pay offs has me doing it with a purpose!

Empathic parenting is basically asking yourself what your child is experiencing and putting his/her feelings into words and then doing something to help/support them. For example: You are hungry! Lets get you something to eat.  I know you are mad cause you have a yucky diaper...lets get that changed...here's a dry clean one.  Look at you all happy...you like playing with daddy! ETC....

This kind of empathy will let the child know and feel that you understand what he/she is experiencing and that you can be depended on! Some payoffs would be: fewer temper tantrums as children develop "feeling word vocabularies"/develop good coping skills/will not bully/are able to pay attention and learn in school/more sensitive towards others/respectful/good self-esteem/ and much more!

Sounds good to me...not to mention that the more you talk the greater your child's vocabulary later on!

Finally I will leave you young moms with this...TAKE HEART...It usually takes me a week sometimes two or until the next laundry day to fold and put away our clean clothes! Despite having a dishwasher, the dishes still pile up in my sink. My floors are sticky from baby puke. Dinner is only on time if one of three things happen: 1-someone has a good suggestion as to what to make 2-Ike or Claudia makes it 3-Ike or Claudia looks after Sonya so I can make it!!! Finally...I, only in passing, pluck a weed here and there!! What can I say...I would far rather enjoy playing on the floor or going for an afternoon walk with my girly than do any of the above mentioned atrocities! Oh and I occasionally blog during her nap time instead of picking up! 

Sonntag

Today we woke up and thought, "How can we make ourselves feel like outsiders, lost, and totally awkward?" Hmmm...how about we go to a Sangerfest in Schanzenfeld! Yep you read right! Ike's co-worker Galina invited us to her german church today for an all day song festival complete with delicious lunch. You wouldn't think that in a sea of white people at a church you could feel so uncomfortable...after all I did put a dress on (it may have been a notch too colourful). Despite how uncomfortable we were they did treat us really well; playing musical pews to allow a seat for us, giving us headphones so we could listen to a paraphrasing translator, letting me know about an enclosed corner for nursing in the quiet room(which I didn't use cause I already was in the quiet room why do I need to hide? I cover up...lol), and picking us out in a crowd of about 1000 people and ushering us to the front of the lunch line up(while 2000 eyes watched)!
Even though we felt so very awkward I have to say that it was pretty good...it felt like a typical Mennonite church with an amazing choir, great food, and my personal favorite boys in slacks with mini frilly aprons acting as busboys during the lunch(if I hadn't felt a million eyes on me I would've snapped a picture!! Guess you'll just have to use your wild imaginations!)

UPDATE:
Apparently my husband is bolder than I am! Enjoy!

A Weeks Worth of Highlights!

Last weekend we ventured out to St. Pierre where we enjoyed a fairly nice day(weather wise) at the Sugar Festival. I always enjoy having fresh made taffy on snow! This year they had a whole lot more stuff to do too! They had men and women dressed up in costumes...the men even had black powder rifles which they demonstrated to my mother's surprise! We also enjoyed an old school clothes washing demonstration by a very sweet little girl while waiting for fresh made straight out of the oven 'Pets de Soeur' (pastry cinnamon rolls). We also partook in a good old fashioned horse drawn wagon ride around town! Always a good time at the Sugar Shack!
Yesterday we had what was supposed to be Sonya's 2 month check up...her Dr. Is so busy it ended up being a 3 1/2 month check up! We weren't too concerned though cause she's been doing so well health & development wise! Our "little" peanut now weighs 16lbs 4oz...wow almost 7lbs gained since birth! No wonder her car seat is sooo heavy!
I've been doing pretty good too, besides exhaustion and plugged breast ducts (so so painful!). Even my incision has almost completely disappeared. The three month mark is definitely more fun and easier for outings! I love her smiles and giggles and her effort at talking and copying our crazy sounds!

FAMILIES FIRST
This week we watched a really cheesy 80s parenting video! The video was mostly about brain development and playtime. The biggest thing that I learned was to allow my child to learn through play without my direction. It's far too easy to want to help or to show them how to: get the puzzle right or appropriately play with a certain toy. By doing this we could be cutting short development in other areas of the brain.
'We often learn more by making mistakes than getting it right!'

NEW ME!!

FAMILIES FIRST
I have a wonderful seasoned mom-visitor who comes once a week to talk about child development and improving core family relationships. We also do crafts from time to time (something I prefer over those hard hitting questions)!
Today with Families First we talked about positive parenting; praising vs nagging. Hmm...I'm pretty sure I've done my share of nagging! Somehow, as a perfectionist, it has become easier to let people know what they've been doing wrong rather than praising what they've already done right. This is definitely something I need to work on as nobody loves and wants to spend time with a negative Nelly! Aaand I now realize how destructive and unproductive to a little persons ego, growth, and development it can be!
We also talked about family values and I received some homework for Ike and I to do this week (never was a fan of homework!). A while back Ike and I made a collage of some of OUR more important values that we want to instill in our children. Today I had to choose two that I thought we need to improve upon and we must answer a barrage of deep thinking questions and come up with a plan. The two that I chose were 'Having Fun Family Time' and 'Relationship With God'. I chose these two because I know that sometimes we get caught up in TV, me time, chores, etc... and we forget to stop and make memories as a family. For the same reasons mentioned earlier I have also been finding it difficult to make time to build on my relationship with God. It really shouldn't be this hard to make time for Him which is why it is something I want to work on so as to be a solid example for my children.

WISDOM TIDBIT
A book I read recently (thank you American Mom) talked about being 'the new normal'. It's a tough adjustment to make, going from doing what I want to doing what my children want and need! The author talked about how so many parents need to find themselves again after they've had children when really this is who they are now...THIS is the new normal...THIS is the new me! There is no need for a search-party!

Spoiled Sonya!

This year we celebrated Sonya for St. Patty's day! Aunty Vickie and my mom put on a beautiful baby shower for her! Family and friends showed up eager to meet her and spoil her with wonderful gifts, despite the looming blizzard. Luckily for most of us our husbands drove us there...unlucky for them, they were banished to the basement! A great time was had by all except for Sonya who decided to have a 'moody I only want daddy day'! Despite her grouchy-ness she received tons of very cute clothes...several pairs of shoes (just what every girl NEEDS)...fun books...a couple of playmats...a couple of exersaucers...AND a rocking horse that neighs and gallops and shakes its head and tail!! After opening all of these lovely gifts we indulged in sandwiches, pickles, and veggies...then dug into the desserts! Mmm...angelfood cake, fruit, whip cream, cookies, and brownies! So wonderful!

Sonya

What's this...a post?! Yes! Sonya is currently napping which gives me a few minutes to speed blog!
There are a handful of you out there who have been checking my blog and requesting her birth story...so here's the quick version. :)
On Jan. 3rd I had a routine Dr. appointment just before noon where she accidentally broke my water doing a cervix check. Oops! We got ourselves (well actually me) cleaned up and hurried to the hospital! Good thing Ike was with me and that I am a 'planner' who had everything we needed in the van already!  At the hospital I laboured for 30 hours and even with the help? of pitocin (a drug to help induce labour/contractions) I remained stuck at 6cm. At 7pm on Jan. 4th my Dr. and a surgeon gave me my options and I nearly in tears (after being cut off from my epidural due to complications) quickly begged them to hurry up and cut me open and end the pain!  At 8:21pm we found out that our baby was a girl!  She was born just in time too as infection had begun to set in, in my uterus.  Both Sonya and I had to be put on antibiotics for several days but we did really well and had no issues with our health! We did however spend nearly a week in the hospital because Sonya lost too much weight after birth and her breathing had them slightly concerned.  It was kind of nice having the extra days there because I was well taken care of by the nurses, I didn't have to cook, and I didn't have to over exert myself which helped with the healing from surgery!  We were very happy though to finally be released on Jan. 9th...it was soooo nice to be at home where it was calm and quiet!
Ever since that day we've been doing awesome!  She has been growing like crazy and is one super strong kiddo!  Recently we've been getting between 5 and 6 uninterrupted hours of sleep at night which makes up for the need to be fed every 1-2 hours and snuggled all day!

I LOVE MY MINI ME!!!

Meal Marathon!

I do NOT like thinking up meals and then cooking them when I am tired....And I do Not like constantly eating chicken fingers and fries for dinner!  Therefore I spent lots of time searching website after website for the best tips, advice, and recipes for freezer meals and then I spent ALOT of time planning out the shopping list, the slicing and dicing, and the instruction lists! (Not like I don't have the time to do this!)

I managed to come up with 28 freezer meals--2 of which my mother in law is so kind to make for me (her specialties of course...Enchiladas and my favorite mexican beef stew of some sort)--On Sunday Ike and I managed to pump out 21 of the 28 planned freezer meals!  I feel so much better knowing that we will have great and easy meals to eat after the babe is born! 

Of course the first thing we decided to attack were the onions...Ike and I chopped and cried over probably about 8lbs of onions for various meals!  As you can see, giant freezer ziploc bags are my new best friend!  Each bag is a meal destined for the slowcooker!

Must have chicken!

And hamburger for Shepherd's Pie and Chili and Soup...oh and there was also more raw hamburger for meatballs.  Can't forget about the potatoes which were mashed up for the Shepherd's Pie.  Oh man I'm getting hungry just thinking about all this goodness in my freezer!

Shepherd's Pie, Scalloped Potatoes, Chili, Chicken Pot Pie, Greek Chicken & Potatoes, Pulled Pork, various Soups, and the list goes on!

I can't believe we actually managed this...if this works out as well as I hope it may become a regular thing around here!

I should also mention that on saturday night our hot water tank experienced a break down and we didn't get it fixed until sunday evening....We boiled water in our kettle numerous times just so we could wash our hands and some dishes during our meal making marathon!  Oy, talk about a disaster zone!

God is Awesome!

I apologize for not posting an update sooner!  Soooo....a few days after my infection/pre-term labour scare I had an appointment with MY doctor.  She said everything was great and that baby is healthy and still measuring big!  Thank you God!  Then I asked her if the other doctor had talked to her about my visit to urgent care...She said he had and she couldn't understand why he had made such a diagnosis because all of my urine tests (including the one done that day) came back negative for infection!  WHAT?!  Oh my goodness I was taking antibiotics and fearing for my baby's health for nothing!  Jackie and I have concluded that God works super fast miracles instead of being too angry at the other doctor!!

The bonus to this is that I am done work but still taking it easy and resting more! :)

Momma kitty news...

Momma is doing much better!  She had spent the whole weekend at the vet so they could keep an eye on her and give her IV fluids (because she wasn't eating or drinking).  The vet figured that it was pancreatitis and that just runs its own course.  They did give her a pill to help with her nausea and make her hungry which really helped!  She came home on Monday....VERY tired and angry at being caged up and apart from us and home!  She slept most of the week and just today has been showing more signs of returning to her old self.  Very happy to have my silly Siamese back!

THANK YOU TO ALL FOR PRAYING!!!

Update and a Couple of Prayer Requests!

Yay we are down to the single digit weekly countdown!  8 more weeks to go (I'm praying for at least 6 more!)

This last Tuesday I noticed that I was having alot of Braxton Hicks contractions...I figured that maybe I had been overdoing it and the truth is that I had done too much that day (I guess being stubborn does have some downfalls).  So I took it much easier the next day...in fact I spent half of my shift at work (at the restaurant) sitting on a stool watching everybody else work!  When I got home I took a nap!  We had planned on going grocery shopping that evening when Ike would get home from work while Claudia went trick or treating with her friends.  It didn't quite work out as planned...I had still been having too many contractions and was quite uncomfortable so instead of heading to Superstore we headed to the Urgent Care Clinic (basically Winkler's version of a walk-in clinic).  There I saw a very young but very nice doctor!  They discovered that I had a bladder infection which is irritating my uterus and causing the contractions.  He also said that this is in fact very serious as it can lead to pre-term labour!  I just about started crying!  This baby is not nearly ready to come out!  He checked the baby's heart rate which was good! He also (ahem) checked my cervix (sooo uncomfortable!) which is still closed! Praise the Lord!!!  Then he gave me a prescription for the infection and sent me to the hospital for a non-stress test.  At the hospital the maternity nurses (such sweet ladies!!) hooked me up to a fetal monitor which measured the baby's heart rate (Ike recorded the sound of the heartbeat on his phone, at the suggestion of the nurses) and it measured the contractions.  I could watch on the machine when a contraction was coming and going (I could feel them too!)...Apparently I was having more than I thought!  I had about a dozen in the hour that I was hooked up!  Everything I read says that 3 in an hour is enough to be concerned about!!  Yikes!  At the end of the test the nurse talked to the doctor who had seen me and she came back and let me know that he wanted to follow up with me the next morning...She also gave me a stern talking to about taking it easy and resting MORE! (sigh...very difficult for an independent go-getter/Baldwin).  That evening when we got back home I went to tell my boss/great friend about the day and we sadly decided that I would officially be done work as of that day!  So far I feel the same or maybe a bit better which is ok...The doctor said that if it gets worse or more painful or if I have a fever to go directly to Emergency, and that they will be keeping a closer eye one me from now on.  

Prayer Request #1~ Baby stays in! Infection goes away!

Thursday morning my kitty decides to get sick and is puking everywhere almost non-stop!  We decided to take her to the vet to get checked out (I had my follow up appointment that morning anyhow).  They couldn't find anything seriously wrong with her just possibilities like bad food or treats, irritated pancreas, or swallowed foreign object.  They gave her fluids and an anti-nausea pill and let me take her home to keep an eye on her.  She seemed happier but tired and weak like a kid who had been puking all night.  The vet asked that I call around noon the next day to give an update so I did....She hadn't eaten or drank anything and was pretty lethargic all day...she also started to puke again that morning.  I brought her back in to the vet and they kept her there all day doing x-rays and blood work.  Which all came back normal BUT the vet said that soft foreign objects don't show up on x-rays very well so there's still that possibility and she would keep her overnight and give her IV fluids since she wasn't eating.  Waiting now for them to call with any updates.  I miss my kitty!

Prayer Request #2~ Heal my kitty!

(I am so overly emotional lately that this would just be too much for me to lose her now!)

Busy Weekend!

We had a really great but busy weekend!  On Saturday we attended my good friend Ghislaine's wedding!  It was beautiful!  They decided on an outdoor wedding at a place called Evergreen Village (basically a done up farm yard on the 59Hwy) and lucky for them...they were blessed with gorgeous weather!  Unfortunately they had one major snafu...The justice of the peace they had hired showed up an hour late for the ceremony!  She claimed to have gotten majorly lost...hmmm maybe figure out ahead of time where you're going!  The bride did need some make-up touch ups, obviously, but all went well after the jp showed up!

Ghislaine & I

Chantal (my friend since kindergarten and G's older sister) / Ghislaine / My prego self / Marjolaine (G's twin sister)

Then on Sunday we spent the day at my mom & dad's to celebrate mom's birthday as well as mine!  We surprised my mom with a kindle from all of us kids (special thanks to Auntie for the help)....It definitely made her day!  I got some great loot too and strawberry shortcake for dessert just like I had requested...Mmmmm!!  

Just before dinner mom dragged us outside to take pictures of the grandkids and of course she snapped this one of the one on the way. 

Ike and I and "Mistletoe 27w5d)"

Baby Update & Artist Tour!

On Thursday I had my 24 week ultrasound...I was so excited getting ready to see my baby, probably for the last time before it will be born!  It didn't even matter how bright and early my appointment was!

 Baby is healthy! Yay!  Everything is developing properly! Baby weighs approx. 1lb10oz!

 So cute!  Can't wait to meet this little one!  Some people say they see little hair whispys...hmmm are we going to have a full head of hair?!  :)
P.S. the little black spot in baby's chest is it's heart beating away!

ARTIST TOUR

Yesterday I had invited my mom to join us for a yearly local artist tour.  There were something like 32 stops available...I think we managed to visit 6.  Art varied from paintings(oil/watercolour/batik/encaustic), pottery, metalworks, textiles, clay, and glass.  Some stops were better than others but all were interesting!
First we visited our town pride "Gallery in the Park".

 The Schwartz House was built in 1902 and recently renovated and transformed into a beautiful gallery for local artists!

 The town created a beautiful park surrounding the Schwartz House complete with water feature and sculptures.

The gallery in the House is beautiful and they are constantly changing the art to display the many talents we have here in Manitoba.

We also visited a local place in the country called Elemental Stone.  Somewhere I've wanted to visit for years now!  It did not disappoint!

 Their farmyard was full of stone from all over Manitoba that he has trucked in.  He then carves or breaks them into wonderful pieces of art.

 He carves and polishes artistic faces, abstract sculptures, Stonehenge masses, and even furniture! 

 Of course they have landscaped their yard to accommodate the sculptures.  This pond held several beautiful Coy fish

We spent almost an hour and half wandering the paths and finding cool art along the way. 

 This rock is amazing!  It's got many colourful rocks inside it!

 Water feature!

Apparently Claudia needed help climbing up onto this boulder.  One of many in his "backyard" awaiting creativity.

Barn Concert

On Thursday evening Ike and I attended a barn concert.  Yep you heard right...I live in the sticks so what else are we gonna do for fun!?!  Actually though, it was great!  A high school teacher and his artist wife converted an old barn into their home (very cool) and they use the upstairs loft to hold random concerts.  Looked like about 100 people showed up for it!  The opener was a local guy, Paul Bergman, and his friend...great singers...depressing songs...and quirky stage presence!  Hmmm....good thing it's BYOB....oh wait I can't drink!  The main band was AWESOME....The New Lightweights...check 'em out on Youtube or ITunes.  They were kind of a bluegrass rock combo...lead singer was hilarious and kept us laughing between songs.  It was great with the exception of the couple sitting next to us who had never heard of deoderant or bathing...sigh....country people...

Half Way There! :)

 20 weeks! YAY....Can't hardly wait for Christmas!

P.S. Props to Kara...It is mighty awkward taking your own belly shots!

Besides growing a baby here's what else I've been up to on my days off from work...

I made a wonderful diaper bag out of denim and lined it with super cute baby teddies material...It has tons of pockets and space for everything!   And it's uber chic! :)

I made a matching change pad for my diaper bag...found this cute animal vinyl print in the States and used baby teddies on the reverse to match the bag!

Also in matching baby teddies and denim...play/nursing pillow!  I can attach toys (like Sir Prance-A-Lot & Olivia The Owl) to the ribbon loops for baby to play with!

Check out this snuggly blankie!  I also bought this super cute farm animal panel in the States and turned it into a super soft blankie with the SOFTEST material on the back side and cutesied it up a notch with the cotton lacy frills!  Can't wait for snuggle time!

Fancy burp cloths are a must!  One side is nothing but softness!  Terry-cloth.  And the other side is a new material I found called 'Pul Material'.  Basically a waterproofed soft polyester material in super sweet baby designs.  Of course I couldn't leave the terry-cloth side so plain so I jazzed it up with some matching owl embellishments!