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| My happy little man - 3 months old |
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| Family photo - Christmas Day 2006 |
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| Santa picture 2006 |
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| Keira is 27 months, Ryan is 2 months |
| Keira and her new baby brother at the hospital |
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| Welcome to the world Ryan Gonzalo |
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| He is very bruised on his temple and chin from the forceps |
Ryan's Birth Story - October 9-12, 2006
We had a Boy! I had a feeling it would be... which is a good thing since we never did choose a girls name! Ryan Gonzalo
was born October 12th (on my due date!) at 5:24 pm. He was 7 lbs 11 oz and 18.5 inches long (you should see his short
little legs!) The delivery actually got a little terrifying and I was really scared as the baby was in serious danger.
I went into labour on my own on Monday October 9th. My contractions started at 5am and were 2 minutes apart by 9am, so
we went to the hospital. I was only 1 cm, but since I was trying for a VBAC and my BP was a little high, they admitted me.
But unfortunately, my labour died out and I ended up going home 10.5 hours later. I contracted irregularly, but strongly
all day & night Tuesday & Wed. Thursday the 12th (my due date) was my Dr Appointment and I was 5 cm dilated. Even
though my contractions weren't regular, she sent me over to the hospital to get admitted. They put me on continuous monitoring
even though I told them that confining me to the bed would slow the contractions down. They let me move a bit, but not
much. After 5 hours, my Doc said the head was down and they wanted to break my water to get it moving and letting me off
the monitor was not an option (not sure why since the baby was doing amazingly well). For some reason, I agreed... Right
after breaking it, she says, well the head is still a little high... Ticked me off since I wouldn't have let her break
my water if she had said that earlier!
The contractions did increase, but the contraction immediately following was horrible. The baby's great heart rate, which
was usually up around 155, dropped to as low as 86 for the length of the contraction. They immediately got me back into
bed and kept getting me to change positions during the contractions to get the heart rate up. Now, the heart rate never truly
came back up and it became the kind of strip that the nurses had earlier told me you never want to see. They hadn't been
able to get an IV in me, and they immediately started harassing the specialist (can't remember their name right now) to come
now and get my IV started since it was quickly becoming apparent that this VBAC was failing. The heart rate started going
as low as the 50s & 60s and they sent a surgeon in to see me. He checked me and there was no progression and obviously
no chance of this happening. He wanted to do a C-section, which I obviously agreed to and he called in the specialists
from the lab to get the IV done NOW.
The anesthesiologist was the one to finally come get the IV started and then they took me into the OR. There, they couldn't
get the spinal in. They were getting ready to just put me under when the 3rd try finally worked. I completely broke down
and was sobbing the whole time because I could hear the monitor and knew how low the heart rate was getting and could hear
the Dr's talking around me about how this needed to get down now. I begged them to let Joe in early and they of course
wouldn't. I had great nurses through the monitoring and they were great during this time too. The student nurse was wonderful.
She offered me her hand and basically did everything she had seen Joe do with me during the contractions. I honestly do
not think I would have been able to calm down without her help.
The surgery was very long with a lot of bleeding to get under control and was extremely scary. The baby needed to be pulled
out of the canal with forceps, so he was all bruised at the top of his left eye and along the right side of his jaw line.
The Dr has told me that it is his medical opinion that this should be my last baby, which upset me a lot more.
Keira is adjusting so well. She is excited and really good with him, but was initially jealous when the baby would start
crying and need to get attention. We had a few tantrums, a few meltdowns and few occasions of throwing things and trying
to hit us. We have worked on it pretty good and she is great now. She'll even tell me if she sees him spitting up or thinks
I should feed him when he cries. She keeps petting his head and saying that he is beautiful. It is quite cute!
He is a big boy and is packing on the pounds quickly! At one week old, he had already surpassed his birth weight and was
7 lbs 12 oz. By his 2 month appointment, he was 12 lbs 10 oz!
| Wonder Woman costume (gotta love the pose) |
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| Daddy made her costume |
| Another view of the costume |
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| Oct 19, 2004 - 1st Birthday |
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| She loved "reading" all her cards |
| Oct 22, 2005 - 1st Birthday party |
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| Rare family photo |
| "Can I get a 4th bite in there?" |
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| (1st taste of refined sugar) |
| "Mmmm sugar! Can I have some more please?" |
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| tuckered out at the end of the party |
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| I don't know why everyone is so jealous that I get |
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| to ride in the stroller - I want out! |
| Walking the picket line |
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| At least we get lots of family time.... |
| Canada Day |
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| (the shirt says "All Canadian Girl") |
| Keira on the Picket Line with mommy and daddy |
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| 9 months old |
| Is this not the cutest kid? |
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| 7.5 months - 1st time on the swings |
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| Having fun on the playground |
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| 7 months - 1st time trying cereal |
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| She loved it! |
| Keira's first trip to the beach |
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| (rare family photo) |
| The Baptism invitations we made |
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| (sorry, it didn't scan well!) |
| 5 1/2 mnths - I pulled myself up in my crib today! |
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| (note the drool from chewing her crib rail!) |
| 4.5 months old - She was in such a good mood |
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| so I just started taking pictures... |
| Another one from the same day... |
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| She seems to be posing! |
| Valentine's picture - 4 months old |
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| Keira with her Papa (Joe's dad) at 10 days old |
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| She was already holding her head for long periods of time |
| First Halloween Costume |
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| ...she wasn't too impressed with the wings |
| We can't stop taking her photo... |
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| ...she's just so cute... |
| Heading home from the hospital |
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| I love this cuddle time... |
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| Welcome to the world Keira Lorraine! |
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Baby Keira has arrived!
Keira Lorraine was born on Tuesay October 19, 2004 at 8:24 am. She was 7lbs 8oz and 21 inches long. We ended up having
a C-section, so she was just perfect... For the first few days, she looked just like my baby picture, but with a nose that
is closer to Joe's. However, as she is geting a little older, her look is changing completely! She is getting a darker pigment
skin (lucky girl) and getting a look that is all her own. Obviously, we think she is just beautiful!.
| The birth announcement we made for Keira |
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| The inside - We put a watermark picture of Keira |
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| on Vellum and then embossed the printing |
| Joe and I |
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| September 10, 2004 - one month till due date |
We heard the heartbeat on April 29th and began sharing the news with the rest of our friends and family. Everyone is so excited,
especially Joe's family. (His grandmother has been asking for babies since the moment we told her we were getting married)
Joe's father is so happy, he is wanting to retire so that he can look after the baby!
| 1st ultrasound on May 3, 2004 |
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| (17 weeks & 5 days) |
| 2nd ultrasound - June 15, 2004 |
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| (23 weeks & 6 days) |
Baby on the Way!
On February 13, 2004 (12 days after my mother passed away), we received some unexpected but exciting news... We
are pregnant! I had tested as soon as I was late so that if I was pregnant, I would be able to share the news with my
mother. Unfortunately, that test was negative and my mother never knew that I was going to make her a grandma.
Once my mom passed away, we didn't think anything more of it until one day I realized that I was two weeks late
and thought I should test again. We were both estatic at the news, of course. But it has been a sad time too,
as I wish my mom was here to share her wisdom and her memories of being pregant with me.
Our expected due date is October 6, 2004 (which is also my grandsfathers birthday).
We decided to wait until
we had either heard the heartbeat or had seen the ultrasound before sharing the news with anyone else. However, Joe's dads
birthday was on March 16th and a grandchild was really all he kept asking for. So, for his birthday, we got him an extra gift
and added a little note to it. Joe's sister Grace and her boyfriend Srdjan were there to share the news with him.
Keira's Birth Story: Oct 13-19 2004
Wed Oct 13; 1 week overdue.
Didn't feel any movement for quite a while. After dinner which included carbs that normally get the baby moving, there was
still nothing, Called the hospital and they had us come in for monitoring. By the time we got there, there had been at least
9 hours where I had felt nothing. As soon as the nurse strapped on the monitor, the baby stared kicking up a storm. They monitored
me for over an hour and found my blood pressure elevated, but sent me home.
Thurs Oct 14; 8 days overdue. Regular
Dr's appt showed that there was no dilation and that my blood pressure was increasing, She sent an order to the hospital to
call me in for inducement to get my cervix dilating. Was thinking about the next day way too much and got less than 3 hours
of sleep.
Fri Oct 15; 9 days overdue. The hospital called and had me come in for 10:45 to get cervidal administered.
Blood pressure was back to normal. Regular contractions started a couple of hours later and were about every 15 mins apart
from about 7 to 10 pm. Then they became really irregular and tapered off enough to get about 3 hours of sleep sometime after
3am.
Sat Oct 16; 10 days overdue. Hospital called us in to get monitored. They checked me and there was some thinning
of the cervix but still no dilation. They tried inducing with progesterone gel, monitored me for another hour and sent me
home. Had me come back about 9:30pm for more monitoring and decided to give me another dose of progesterone. After each dose,
the contractions would get worse and more regular for a few hours and then change again to irregular.
Sun Oct 17;
11 days overdue. Hospital called me in for monitoring only. Everything was fine so they sent me home.
Mon Oct 18;
Hospital called. Said they didn't think they could induce me today, but to come in for monitoring. Got there and my Dr said
I was about 2-3 cm dilated (finally!). She wanted to break my water to get the labour progressing, Since we were now getting
quite overdue, I agreed and they admitted me to the hospital. The nurse that was assigned to me read my birth plan and questioned
me as to why I wanted no drugs. I said beyond wanting to go without for the baby, I also have a low tolerance of drugs (I
rarely take anything for a headache or allergies even). I said anti-histamines will knock me out and I don't want to be out
for any part of the birth. She then proceeded to push me every 20 minutes to take drugs. I kept telling her that I was doing
just fine and that as long as I could move around, walk the halls and use my birth ball, I would be able to cope just fine.
I tried the shower (highly recommended!) and that was nice and soothing.
Then the nurse had me get out of the shower
so that they could monitor me for a while. She had me strapped to the bed for quite a while and I was doing fine, so she made
me move to a really uncomfortable position that just killed my back and made the contractions so much worse. The whole time,
she was pushing me to take the drugs and I kept saying no. Finally, the contractions are hitting in my back so bad and never
letting up and she wouldn't let me change positions and was pushing drugs on me when they were at there worst and then told
me that I had to stay in the bed for quite a bit longer. She basically wore me down at my weakest and got me to accept a shot
of morphine. She kept saying it will let you sleep through them and get some rest and feel stronger to help with what is coming.
I have words for that lying ... All it did was make it so that I didn't feel the contraction building, Instead of being able
to breathe and deal with each contraction while they were minor, they would wake me up at their absolute peak and it was 10
times worse. The only thing that got me through was Joe. He would just stroke my arm and remind me to breathe and tell me
I was doing great.
Mon Oct 19; 13 days overdue. As the drugs wore off, my Dr came in and said it was time to try Oxytocin
since I still wasn't progressing much. So now the contractions were coming every 1 to 1 ½ mins apart and were not tapering
off very well. To boot, I had to be strapped to the bed for the rest of my stay. Had that stupid nurse just left me alone,
I could have handled all the labour up till that point on my own. The drugs were obviously still in my system since I kept
falling asleep between contractions. Then at 5am, my Dr comes in to tell me that she has to go because she is having surgery
on her knees that day and a different Dr would be filling in for her. My whole reason for being at this hospital was gone.
So about 6 or 6:30, the other Dr comes in. At this point, I'm telling Joe that if I haven't progressed, I might have
to take the epi because it is getting so bad and I can't get up to relieve the pain and pressure. He just said that I was
doing great and he would support me through it all. The Dr checks me and says that I am only 4 cm dilated, which totally depressed
me. Then he tells me that the baby's heart rate is increasing with each contractions as is normal, but it is now not coming
down at the end of it. He tells me that he wants to do a C-section. Joe said the look of terror on my face was horrible. I
guess the Dr saw it too because he changed the tone of his voice and was trying to be all soothing saying that he could let
me go for a while longer, but that the outcome looked to be about the same and I would probably end up with a C-section. After
that, I was having a lot of problems dealing with the contractions because I was starting to panic a bit. A couple of times,
Joe just had to grab my face and force me to look at him to focus on breathing a relaxing as I was starting to lose it. 20
mins later the Dr comes back with some forms for me to sign. I just looked at him and said if we are doing a C-section, can
you shut the Ocytocin off? They had actually left it in me. It didn't really matter that it was taken out as the contractions
never lessened.
Joe's dad and sister showed up about 8 am and Joe's dad kept trying to comfort me through the contractions.
It was really distracting though and made it worse. I just kept taking my hand from his to grab Joe when the contractions
hit. I didn't have the heart to tell him to stop since I knew he was trying to help. They finally came for me at about 8:15
am. They actually left me there for 2 hours knowing that I would be having a C-section but never offering me any more drugs.
Figures. They took me into the OR and made Joe wait outside. Getting that Spinal really sucked. The contractions weren't letting
up so I had to breathe through them and keep still while it was getting done. I just remember sitting on the edge of the bed
with my legs on a chair and telling the nurse that she had to hold me since my legs were already giving out. The Doctor almost
started the surgery and then I heard "Isn't the husband coming in?" That would have been bad!
I've never been so terrified in my life. The surgery was horrible, as I've never felt so separated from what was happening
before. But when I heard that cry and "it's a girl", it was the happiest moment of my life though. I instantly started crying
once I knew she was safe and breathing on her own. They took her away and told Joe to come. I didn't get to see her for at
least 20 mins after she was born, which was the longest of my life.
She was born at 8:24am, weighed 7 lbs, 8 oz and
was 21 inches long. She has the longest fingers and toes (of which we have no idea where she got them from!). She fed as soon
as I woke up in the recovery room and it seemed all would be good with the breastfeeding. But then she wouldn't eat much after
that. For the next 2 days, she would eat for maybe 5 or 10 mins and then get all lethargic and fall asleep. At the end of
day 2, we noticed that she was getting quite jaundiced. They weighed her the following morning and tested her for jaundice.
She had already lost 9.2% of her body weight. Some of the nurses were not so great and had me convinced that it was all my
fault since she wasn't feeding enough. They told me to call for help when I tried to nurse her. Yet when I did, the nurse
that would come would tell me there was nothing wrong and to not worry about it. Finally. This one great nurse gave us a few
tips on keeping her awake and it has been great ever since.
I had some complications with my incision. It didn't
seem to want to heal well and there was a bit of infection. They left the staples in for 10 days (Man did that hurt coming
out!) The nurse at my Dr's office had Joe on alert to check for any signs of infection so that he could take me straight to
the office if they are open or emergency if the office is closed. I wish my own Dr had been there. I really didn't like
the replacement (I never have but know I have a basis for my opinion!) He wanted to put me on antibiotics, but said I wouldn't
be able to breastfeed. I knew there were options out there that would allow it, so I asked for a chance to clean it up ourselves
and then talked to the public heath nurses about other possible options. There were plenty of options available and I just
had to fight for him to not just "put her on a bottle" like it's no big thing. For her, it would be. Joe and his family all
have so many allergies. I have to give her the best chance possible of not getting them, so she can't have formula!
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