We tried to make the best of the beautiful weather this weekend. We went to Queen Elizabeth Park in the morning on Saturday and had lots of "fun" - actually, Max cried the whole time so it wasn't great. But then in the evening we met up with friends for a BBQ on Locarno beach - my favorite view of Vancouver is seen there. Margarita and Xavier Crespo are from Equador and their son, Alejandro, is Callum's good friend.Max behaved better, so it was a beautiful night. When it was time to go, locating all of Callum's toys strewn across the beach was an interesting activity, and we found Ernie perched on a log, not far from Callum's $7 horse (I call his toy horse the $7 horse because I think it is ridiculous that I paid $7 for a little plastic horse!).
5 weeks old, now, and I think life is returning to as-close-to normal as it can, (other than our sleep patterns). Callum and I are back to going to the beach, the park and playdates, though with Max in tow, and Jeff is back to work, (well, sort of). As opposed to Callum at this age, Max actually lets me put him down, so things like showering, preparing dinner and attending to Callum are realities instead of memories.
Actually, because my sister Kami is applying for Saint-hood, Max and Callum stayed at her place for the night last Thursday, to play with her 4 boys and her friend's kids too (so she had 8 kids, 7 of which were boys! I know, she's insane, but to my advantage, at least!). Anyway, the next day we visited my parents. Jeff and my Dad went out on their road bikes together... only to end up with my Dad in the hospital with a broken hip, crushed knuckle and scratched up from ankle to eyebrow! In the past, my Dad has ended up in the hospital after a day of skiing with Jeff, so I am beginning to think that maybe letting the 2 of them take my 2 boys on a hike a couple weeks ago wasn't such a great idea! Yikes.
Apparently the hike last weekend was quite successful. They went to the 2nd peak at Stawamish and when they got up to the chains and ladders, Callum kept saying, "Wow! Cool!" as my Dad carried him up. I guess the way down was a little scary for him, though, but Max slept through most of it as he was cuddled next to Jeff.
Nearly three weeks have passed now, and life is beginning to resemble normalcy. My days seem to begin around 4 or 5am since Max doesn't like to go back to sleep after that feeding and then Callum has been getting up like clockwork at exactly 6am every day. This makes it pretty hard to get more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep at night, and that is with the help of a husband who stay up to do the 2am feeding for me. So, I am working hard at pretending to feel well rested and jolly, though some days I am better at pretending than others.
Jeff was adventurous today and took both our boys to climb the Stawamish Chief with my Dad - Max on Jeff and Callum on Dad. I am very curious to see how that turns out, but their intent was to leave me alone to sleep, and I already got 3.5 hours of beautiful slumber that have cheered me up. Anyway, I do have the two most handsome boys ever - Max is opening his eyes a lot more now and I am optimistic that he will have Callum's gorgeous eyes (size and shape maybe, but color undetermined).
He came out with his fists up, ready to take on the world - no really, he actually came out of me with his fists against his face, making the birthing process that much more fun!
The morning of Jeff's birthday started at a relatively civilized hour as it was 5:55am when my water broke and woke me up. I walked to the hospital while Jeff waited at home for Callum's grandma to come get him. By the time I was admitted, assessed and Jeff joined me, the contractions had quickly picked up and I was frequently reminding them that I am ready for an epidural as soon as I can get it... Ironically, it seems, the elusive anaesthesiologist finally shows up exactly as I scream out "the baby's coming - NOW!" So, unlike Callum's birth, there was no miracle drug this time to ease the process, but luckily it didn't take too long.
The dark hair and huge size seemed to help Jeff and I decide on the name Max for our new little boy. We are all home now, got through the first night with about 40 minutes of sleep (Max's day and night are apparently reversed), and my optimistic vibes towards breastfeeding seem to be working... Here's to surviving night number two...
Ok, I decided I have something to say about the wonders of pregnancy. People have been asking me, "So, how are you feeling?" and I usually reply, "Good, ya, fine"... Well, it's 3:48am and I just spent the last 30 minutes trying to rearrange my body into contorted positions on the floor and against the couch to relieve some of the pressure off my pelvic area - Are you sure you really want to know how I'm feeling???
To begin, I have aching hips and thighs from only being able to lie on my sides while trying to sleep - I have recurring pinching and poking sensations on my bladder that are sharp and make me leak little squirts of pee at random times of the day and night - my lady-parts are swollen to 5 times their regular size that feel like balloons filled with blood ready to pop - I have skin and muscle stretched so taut that I feel prickly burning sensations of impending ripping and tearing beneath my ribs - I have the most tender and eye-squinting case of hemorroids due to the fact that a regular bowel movement seems like an unattainable dream - I have heartburn that singes my throat constantly - I have uncontrollable facial acne like I'm 15 years old again and hair that falls out and lies limply...
I guess I'm done. Sitting here to write this isn't making me feel any less uncomfortable, so I might as well return to bed to toss and turn, try to sleep through my grumpiness instead of complain on a Blog.
We went to Queen Elizabeth Park in the morning on Saturday and had lots of "fun" - actually, Max cried the whole time so it wasn't great. But then in the evening we met up with friends for a BBQ on Locarno beach - my favorite view of Vancouver is seen there. Margarita and Xavier Crespo are from Equador and their son, Alejandro, is Callum's good friend. Max behaved better, so it was a beautiful night.
