good baby?

I really have no place to reference from on whether or not I am a lucky mom or not. I think I have a good baby. For example, most of the time she is quiet, and just babbles, or goos and gaaas.. but rarely cries. She cries when she is hungry, or tired, or uncomfortable. But that is pretty well the only reason. She has been a little cranky for the past few days, but I think it is her 3 month growth spurt. She seems to be hungry and sleepy a lot!
I took her to the Doctor on Thursday. IT was to check her weight gain since the last appointment. She gained less than a pound. she weighs 10 lbs 13 oz. The doctor suggested that we try different formula's for her to see if maybe she likes one better than the one we currently use. He also says we will start her on cereal next month when she is 4 months. She is still eating 3oz every 3 hours. Although I think she is starting to get hungry sooner, like at 2.5 hrs. We can try to give her 4oz but she doesn't finish it. I think she probably has a really small tummy.
So, is she a good baby?
Night time routine... Because our doctor recommended that we have her in our bedroom, we don't put her to bed until we are ready to go to bed. We find that we wake her if we put her in bed earlier. So.. at bedtime, we take her up and change her diaper, and then we read her a book, and give her a bottle, and rock her. Some times she falls asleep in our arms, sometimes we put her down when she is still a little awake when we put her the crib. She usually goes to sleep and will sleep anywhere from 3hrs to 6hrs before she wakes up for a feeding. Then we get her up, change her and give her a bottle, and she falls back to sleep while eating, and we put her back in the crib and she again sleeps another 3 to 4 hours, and we repeat with the diaper and the bottle, and she sleeps again. Usually we will end up getting up for the day at around 9 or 10am. Maybe I shouldn't talk about it... Maybe my luck will change. Maybe I just think she is a good baby but maybe this is not a good baby.. Like I said.. i have no comparison.
ok.. we got a new camera because we were tired of only having cell phone quality pictures, and our other camera is just too big to carry around everywhere. So here are a couple of the pictures... just randoms, trying the camera out.

Happy Valentine's Day

Got Engaged this valentine's day. Ange asked me at dinner tonight. I didn't really get her anything for Valentine's day because, well we don't really do that stuff. Mostly we just get each other gifts when we want to, not for occasions. You know.. not because we are supposed to. Well we went out for Greek food with Maizey's dad and papa. (our donor and his husband). During dinner, I pulled out a "cash 4 life" lotto ticket, and passed it over to Angela and said.. "Happy Valentine's Day" and she said.. "oh we're doing presents? well I didn't get you anything". I said "its OK I'm use to it" as we're all laughing and joking, Ange pulls out this ring box opens it and says "will you marry me?" .. OMG! I cried, and said "of course". Hugs and Kisses etc... Yay.
Here is the ring.
Oh, and some pictures of Maizey too... :)

mamma called the doctor, the doctor said...

I was just so worried about Maizey's fussing when it comes to eating that I called the doctor. The doctor said that it's OK to just let her eat what she'll take. she eats so randomly. sometimes 1oz. sometimes 3oz. Last night she ate 5oz within 3 hours.
The doctor also noted that her right eye is turned out a little and has suggested we monitor it.

la la la la la la tonight!

Yay! Tonight Mama comes home from Portugal. I am going to pick her up from the air port. Yes.. I use to be all brave and this wouldn't have even phased me in the least... but not anymore. I'm a little nervous about knowing what I'm doing. I'm sure I will figure it out though. It can't be that hard. I hope the weather is ok for driving.
I have decided that I am not going to bring Maizey with me. Ange I am sure wants to see her right away, but it would just be too much. I don't think I am ready to drive that far with her in the back seat all by herself. I can't stand to listen to her cry, so if she got fussy, it would not be a good thing. Although, I did drive to London with her back there and she just slept. My brother has offered to babysit for me. So I will take him up on it. My mom wants to see Ange too, so this will be good. When we stop at my brothers to pick Maizey up, we can visit for a while. Her Flight is scheduled to come in at 6:45pm.
While Maizey spent the day with her dad the other day, I went shopping across the boarder (USA). I went a little bananas on the baby clothes. But she looks darn cute. My favourite score? A tie! It is between the Giraffe outfit, and the cute jeans outfit. I absolutely LOVE me some GIRAFFE. I've always been fascinated by them. I also stopped at the mall here, and picked up a swing for her. She loves it. I was worried that she would fall asleep in there all the time but she hasn't .. she likes the mobile. so cute!
I want to do something today.. but I don't know what. The day is going to go by way to slowly if I don't.

Teething?

Ok? A little bit paranoid again... Is it possible that Maizey is teething? She is cranky, drooly (not massively but a little more than she use to), she has rosy cheeks, she is eating.. but also chewing on the bottle nipple. Oh, she also had a second bowel movement today that was more yellow and a little less thick than usual. I stuck my finger in her mouth to feel, and the only thing I could find is something sharp on the upper gums, but they are where the lateral incisors or cuspids are? that would be weird first teeth no?

ugh.. I cant stand being paranoid.

Please feel free to comment... I need advice and a sounding board.

Paranoid Mom

So, I've been so paranoid lately. Maybe it's because I've been on my own.
The other day maizey was so cranky and fussy all day and not finishing her 2 oz of formula... I was so worried. I think in the end she was just a little backed up because she was more herself once she pooped. Then I was worried because she was dopey and sleepy all day mixed with a little more fussy than usual.. And she was eating like a champ! I talked myself into relaxing and chalking up the symptoms to a growth spurt. We were away at our friends in London so it was easier to try not to worry. Once we returned home, maizey has been in a great mood... !!! I even managed a load of laundry an cleaning the main floor !





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Miss Maizey went for her 2 month doctor visit yesterday. She did well. The doctor says she is a healthy girl. He would like to see her eat more, as she only eats 2oz every 2 -3 hours. He told me to wait the full 3 hours each time and offer her 3oz. That makes for a cranky last half hour. Then, she still only eats 2oz. How do you get her to eat more?
She also had her 2 month vaccinations. Oh she hated that! I managed to calm her down though. After that we ran out to the pharmacy to get some baby acetaminophen just in case she developed a fever. She was so groggy and dopey. Once we got home, she was sleeping with her eyes cracked open a bit. She basically slept from 4pm until 10am this morning. There was some uneventful waking for eating about every 3 hours. Definitely not her usual self. She had no fever and wasn't fussy at all. I was worried that she would sleep all day again today and then not sleep tonight, but she's been groggily awake during her usual wakeful times.
Something the Doctor told me that I find interesting. We were all proud of ourselves that we got Maizey to her own bed in her own room by 2 months. I guess that isn't what they recommend anymore. They like for the baby to be in the parents room now. I secretly would be more comfortable with this to begin with so the news didn't upset me at all, but now, the crib needs to be taken apart and moved. I could probably do that myself, but won't. I'll wait for Angela to come home. I guess the other option is to take the bedroom doors off so the crib can fit through. Right now, I'll just sleep in her room on the double bed we have in there.
Angela has buried her mom. She's called me each night from Portugal. I miss her so much, but lucky for me I have lots of supportive friends.
I'm hoping life can get back to normal in February. It just seems every where I turn, people's lives are up-side-down. Not good. :(

2 more Long weeks.

Angela's mom with Maizey in the Hospital.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and well wishes.

Angela will be leaving tomorrow to go to Portugal. I wasn't sure in all of the confusion if Maizey and I would be going with her or not. We were invited to join the family, but in the end, I decided that I didn't want to risk taking a 7 week old baby with no vaccinations on a plane, to a whole other country. I briefly considered leaving her here with family, but that thought did not last long, as I could not bare the thought of being without her for 2 weeks. I can't even think about leaving her for one night never mind.
Amidst the confusion of the decision making, we thought it was best to get our passports just in case. I picked them up today. It was weird. The guy at the passport office asked me if I was picking up the passport for myself. I replied to him that it was for Myself and "my daughter". I think that was the first time I said that out loud to someone who I don't know. "MY DAUGHTER". I like that.
It will be a long two weeks as a single mother.
On the positive side, Maizey has been sleeping better at night, and we have got her into her own crib for the most part. She sleeps well in her own room, in her crib. Last night she slept for 5.5 hrs straight through, until she woke for a bottle. She then fell back asleep for 3 hours and then another bottle, and then sleep for 2 more hours. When I went in to get her at 8:30 this morning, she smiled at me. a GREAT BIG GOOD MORNING SMILE!

Rest In Peace

Angela's mom passed away early this morning. Her pain is gone. She can truely rest in peace.
There will be visitation in Canada tomorrow and Sunday and a service on Monday. Angela and her family will then go to Portugal to take her to her final resting place.

One day at a time

My mom made it through the surgery ok. She's been recovering in the progressive care unit. She looks better than she has in a long time. It will take a while, but I think she will be better than ever.
Ange's mom is hanging on. They are saying she has days left, but I imagine she will hold on longer because she is stubborn! Angela has been staying with her in the hospital. I visited two days ago, it is a very sad situation. Her mom has lots of pain, and is for the most part delerious.
Maizey thinks 3:30-4:00 am is a good time for a party. I do not!
She needs to shift her time just a little and we'll be good.


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When it rains it pours

Things have become bad. Right now I'm sitting in the hospital waiting room. My mom is in surgery. They have to remove a section of her bowel. It's an emergancy. She has an obstruction and if it ruptures, she could die. The silver lining is that this surgery will cure the colitis.

Angela's mom has been moved to paliative care. The cancer is too far progressed and their focus is to keep her comfortable and out of pain. They have stopped treating the cancer. They are thinking she may only have days left.
I'll update as much as I can.


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This and That...

So, Christmas wasn't traditional this year. Strange. Mom was still in the hospital, but insisted that we still go to our uncle's house for Christmas dinner. After visiting her in the hospital we did end up at my Uncle's. It was nice, but just not the same without my mom there.

My mom has at least been diagnosed. She has Colitis. She has finally admitted that she has been experiencing symptoms for quite some time. I guess she might have had this for years, but never knew because she was a smoker. She quit in September of this year after smoking for 40 something years. I guess they say that the nicotine in the cigarettes suppresses the symptoms of Colitis. Unfortunately quitting causes symptoms to show.

Mom is feeling a lot better, and is responding well to the treatment. We expect that she will be out of the hospital some time this week. She hasn't held her granddaughter in over 3 weeks, and it is just killing her. As soon as she's out of the hospital we will go spend some quality time. I'm looking forward to it. My brother's family and us will have Christmas with mom once she is out of the hospital as well.

Maizey is sleeping better, sometimes, at night. We are having her sleep in our bed with us. This is something I thought that I would never want, but it works and we all get to sleep this way, so we will just have to transition her to her own crib/bed later when she sleeps better at night. She's changed so much over the last month. She's gained almost 2 lbs. Such a sweet little girl. I feel like we are the luckiest people on earth.

I do get paranoid about lots of things. She makes this loud "snoring" like sound when she breathes sometimes. We ended up taking her to the Emergency at the hospital one night last week after paging the midwife and having her listen to it over the phone. It sounded a lot like croup to her. After seeing the ER doc and then the pediatrician on call, we came home that night with a diagnosis of Tracheomalacia, the "snoring" sound is "stridor". We were told that it is not really anything to worry about and that it will likely go away with age. Usually disappearing by 18 months.

I am also paranoid about her eating habits. She is still eating only 2oz every 3 hours or sometimes more than 3 hours. We don't let her go more than 5 hours without eating. Sometimes she eats less than 2oz, and that is what starts me worrying. The midwife has told us since she has gained so much weight, it is fine to let her eat by her own appetite, especially because she is peeing and pooing regularly.

Something we haven't really mentioned too much on this blog, is the fact that we used a known donor to conceive Maizey. We do have a legal agreement with this donor, who is a very good friend of ours. Angela and I and the donor and his husband all agreed to have Steven (the Donor) play an active role in the baby's life, as a dad, on a social level, he has given up any legal rights he has to her, and understands that Angela and I are the legal parents who will make all decisions regarding Maizey. Angela and I allowed him in the delivery room for the birth. He took the pictures for us. :)





Yesterday, for the first time, I let Steven and Michael take Maizey for the day. They had some Christmas visiting to do, and well they wanted to show her off. We all survived. :) I missed her all day, but it was nice to have some time to sleep and clean the house. Angela and I also got to go on a date, and have some alone time. That was really nice too.