July 15, 2007 Our baby boy Aedan arrived last Thursday morning - 11 pounds 1 ounce at 8:22 AM. Yes, it was all natural, and yes, it was drug free (despite my screaming and begging for them). We are all doing well and resting at home. I am looking forward to having those things called stomach muscles again (I look like the hunchback of notre dame). Labour lasted about 5 and a half hours, and most of it was spent quite peacefully at home. I didn't realize how far along I was at the end though, and thought that the hard part had just started. Thinking it would be several hours yet, we headed to the hospital for an epidural. We arrived in time for the midwife to get one glove on and deliver our baby into our arms - where he stayed until we were ready to let him be weighed, measured and given the standard treatments. It was an awe-full and beautiful experience, and I still can't quite believe it has happened! The only unfortunate part of it taking place so quickly was that we didn't have time to film or take pictures of it. I am doing very well physically (emotionally too), and only needed two little stitches. Being able to sit and move around freely is a lovely change from my last experience. Dan has uploaded pictures to the online photo gallery of our baby boy. The usual password combo applies (e-mail me if you need it). We have also written up a baby registry for the many of you who have asked if we need anything (see the baby list). April 3, 2007 Dan has uploaded the latest vacation pictures to the family section of the online photo gallery. Baby boy Tarbuck is doing well and growing as he should - and giving me lots of pokes, punches, squiggles and contractions. My bet is on an over-ten-pounder. As for date, it's anyone's guess - I'm just hoping not late. March 14, 2007 As some of you may have heard, I'm now home from the hospital after a bought of pneumonia. Never expected something that seemed pretty small to pack such a punch. I'm still taking it easy, and napping every day, but am otherwise on the mend. Baby boy Tarbuck (yup - it's a boy!) is doing well, and the doctors are less and less concerned about pre-term labour the longer I rest and recoup. Now that we're getting closer to "B" day - whenever that will be - I've updated the baby list a bit. January 5, 2007 Some of you may have hear through the grapevine, but some of you may have not - Willow's going to be a big sister sometime around July 5. I'm praying for an earlier delivery than last time........but not **too** early - wouldn't want to repeat my mum's experience (my brother was three weeks late, and I was three months early). We're very excited, and before you ask, no we don't know the gender - haven't made up my mind of whether I want to know or not. In the meanwhile, some of you wonderful people have already asked what we might need or want for our next little red head. So, after some head scratching, we've assembled a list. Enjoy. In other news, it has snowed again in Vancouver - a complete surprise to me when I woke up this morning. Have to say the novelty has worn off a little since last November. Particularly as I don't actually own any appropriate foot wear. Will check in later. October 22, 2006 My best friend gave birth to a beautiful little girl on Friday - 6 pounds 12 ounces. Hallelujah! Willow is keeping busy practising walking. She likes to stand a lot, and today decided standing up in bed would be fun - and it was! We celebrated Willow's birthday last weekend with family, friends and chocolate cake (talk about a sugar rush for Willow!). She was thoroughly spoiled, and enjoyed all the fuss. TOC work continues - in that it continues......sometimes. It isn't as steady as I thought it would be, but I'm hopeful it will pick up or I'll get a part-time contract somewhere, somehow, teaching something (anything). While it is nice not to have the preparation and marking work at home, I miss having my own students and all the joys and sorrows that come with teaching the same people. Someone asked me the other day what I'd like for Christmas. It's a bit early don't you think? But, it got my consumeristic juices a'salivating, so I thought I'd write down all the things that would be nice to haves - useful ones that is. It's here. September 11, 2006 Willow is 11 months old today, and in a few spare moments of searching for a song, I came across some interesting information on "Willow" songs. If you're interested, here are the lyrics. For those of you who were wondering, I am back at work as a substitute - truly an adventure every day (and sometimes, every minute of every day!). While it is a bit tiring and stressful at times, it is wonderful to be back in the classroom. August 14, 2006 Our little girl is now ten months old and growing (appropriately) like a weed. She has been "scooting" for a while now, and is a very able cruiser. Her first words are coming in bits and pieces and we've heard "da-da-da" (Dad) and "mommy". Her favourite toys are (suprise!) books and paper. Toilet paper and kleenex are the most enticing (after the cat). I'll be heading back to work as a teacher in September, but not to my old job. I'm going to try the sub route and see how it goes. The pay is quite good if the work is steady, and it will be a nice transition to work after a year away. It will also afford me considerably more free time at home than a full time classroom position. We haven't sold our place yet, but if you know anyone who wants to buy a fabulous and freshly painted and carpeted townhouse in Fairview / False Creek, Vancouver, let me know! April 1, 2006 Happy April fools everyone. I managed to survive the morning without being the victim of any pranks. However, Willow did surprise me by managing to squiggle and roll herself somehow off of her mat and into a corner where I keep plastic bags (yikes!). It seems the "free" time is almost over - I won't be surprised if Willow manages to crawl sooner rather than later. I keep telling her not to rush ;-) March 16, 2006 Well, it's been a wee bit of time since I last wrote. Willow is doing well, and is now an extremely large, and well travelled baby. We've visited Singapore and Bali, and spent some good time with grandparents. Our "little" girl is now 17 pounds and (we think) teething. Parenthood gets better every day. I'm really enjoying watching her grow and learn to interact. It is much more gratifying than dealing with a newborn, who pretty much just eats, sleeps, poops, pees, and cries.....a lot! November 1, 2005 As many of you have heard, little Willow Tarbuck finally arrived on October 11 weighing in at slightly less than the average Thanksgiving bird (just shy of 10 lbs). Pictures of Willow are online at the FutureWest Gallery. You will need to login - e-mail me if you'd like the username and password. For those of you who want to read the labour story, continue reading. After trying everything under the sun to get labour started, we finally made peace on the prior Sunday to just relax and enjoy our time together. This seemed to be the trick, because at 1:00 AM on Tuesday morning my water finally broke. It was a very strange sensation - I felt a kind of pop as I was lying in bed. I woke up Dan, who had just gotten to sleep, and we started timing contractions. The midwife arrived around 3:30 AM, and very soon found that there was meconium in the fluid (yup, baby poop!). So, we grabbed our hospital bag and headed off to St. Paul's. At this point the contractions were not fun, but they were bearable. That changed very quickly. After checking in at the hospital our midwife drew a bath and got me into it - oh, heaven. It helped a lot with the contractions, which were becoming much more intense. However, it seemed to slow the progression of labour and I was very disappointed to find out (three hours later) that I was only 5 cm dilated. So, out of the bath I came, and then the party really got started. I couldn't get comfortable in any other position except standing and walking. It was also at this point that having people talk at me about the pain began to get really annoying. As well meaning and supportive as they were, it just didn't help to hear someone say "just visualize the cervix melting away" when I felt like there were hot knives being driven into my back. I was one of those lucky ladies who get to experience "back labour." For me that meant that there were no breaks between contractions - the pain never subsided, it just became unbearably intense during the contraction it self. At about the 10 or 11 hour mark of labour, I began to have thoughts like "I hope I die so the pain ends" and "I hope I have to have a c-section so that I'll be completely drugged up and the pain will end." That's when I realized that it was time to talk about drugs - which made me feel like a complete failure as a woman (yeah, yeah, I know - I'm not a complete failure, it's just one of those things that you feel when despairing). I decided that I wanted an epidural. But, we had to wait for around two hours before it could be administered. That was the hardest part. So, to keep me sane they gave me gas (which felt about as effective as sucking back stale air), and then moved to fentinol. The fentinol helped a lot, and made receiving the epidural bearable. Having an epidural had been the one thing I really didn't want to have - the thought of it just gave me the heebie jeebies (oddly enough, my fears were somewhat justified after having to have the equivalent of two more epidurals to repair the damage of the first one). And then, the epidural took hold.....and I cried like a baby! I was so relieved. Dan and I finally got some sleep (hadn't had any since Sunday night / Monday morning). It was then that my mother-in-law arrived (perfect timing), and I started to push. The pushing was the easiest part of the labour by far. Willow was born a little more than an hour later, screaming away, looking the colour of a ripe red plum, but perfectly healthy. Dan held her for the first two hours while the midwife and doctors stitched me up, and then my family arrived. October 4, 2005 I really didn't think we'd be into October without a baby...but it is so. Eight days overdue and counting. I joked with my brother today that perhaps the baby is just waiting to make its grand entrance tomorrow evening and ruin Dan's plans - the first game of the hockey season will be on, and my husband will likely be enjoying his weekly Swiss Chalet indulgence. October 5 is also World Teacher Day, and it would be a neat birthday numerically (05/10/05). There are a few strikes currently on my mind: BC Teacher's and the CBC. The timing of the CBC strike / lockout has been most disappointing. With all this spare time I'd really been looking forward to listening to them - how often do I have the chance to listen to Richardson's Roundup, or both editions of The Vinyl Café? (Sigh). However, it looks like they will soon be back on the air - and I can sit in my nursing chair and have the pleasure of listening to something ear pleasing and advertisement free. September 29, 2005 No baby yet.....now three days overdue. Not sleeping well, and definitely getting accustomed to doing nothing for most of the day.....and despite my guilt ridden anal Affleck workaholic conscience, I'm told that this latest development is actually a good thing (and that I'd better get used to it). All the other fun, last month annoyances continue as well, but I'm accustomed to them now and am overall feeling well (yay!). However... When friends of mine with children told me things like "I thought was going to be pregnant forever" I didn't understand, or for that matter, really believe them. That all changed yesterday. I had gone out for a long walk and browse through some shops and the local library, and was making my way home. I was feeling tired after my puff up the hill and around, my shoes were starting to feel tight around the toes and ankles, and I was having lots of painless, but distinct Braxton-Hicks (practice) contractions. As I stopped walking to take a breather during yet another one of these contractions, I looked down at my belly and yelled (yes, yelled - on the street no less in broad daylight) "YOU BIG TEASE!" Then, realizing the spectacle I was making of myself, I continued more quietly (still of course out loud) "this is just some big practical joke isn't it...you're never really coming out, are you? You're just going to stay in there forever taunting me with annoying contractions that amount to nothing.....deny me the pleasure of ever trying on sexy shoes again, and making wearing socks a necessary form of torture for this entire fall and winter." In that moment, I felt deep in the core of being that this baby would never, ever, ever come out. And I'm still feeling like I'm going to be pregnant for ever. I am HOPING that my visit to the midwife today will put me in a different frame of mind. Today's fun activity will be to try and induce labour - I'll spare you the details on how that's accomplished (but no, it doesn't involve anyone jumping out of a closet and yelling "boo!" when I least expect it). Maybe we'll have a baby tomorrow. Maybe not. Maybe never ;-) September 24, 2005 Baby Tarbuck's "official" arrival date is just two days away....and it looks like this little one is taking his or her sweet time in arriving. I'm told to expect a "due month" instead of a due date. Feels like it. We're excited - who wouldn't be? But....a little nervous too. Big change - big responsibility. All this seems to have crept up on us so quietly....house buying, debt repayment, second car.....becoming parents. We started talking in terms of son and / or daughter the other day - the shift in language caught me by surprise. It has been an eventful year - a wonderful year. First year of teaching, my best friend getting married, a trip across the country, family moving abroad, family getting married, friends having babies....lots of babies. A blessing of a year. I'm coping OK with the change from work to being at home. It can be a bit monotonous some days - nothing really to do but find make-work projects at home. I don't want to spend a lot of money, and as going out seems to facilitate the process, staying in or going for walks seems prudent. I miss the purpose of work, the business of it, and the fulfillment of teaching. I am definitely a people person, and will probably handle all this free time a whole lot better when there's another person to hang around with at home......so I think in my naive mind ;-) Having spent a little time in Hong Kong, I lately was interested to find out what year in the Chinese Zodiac our little one would be born in. To my surprise, the year of the Rooster has rolled around without my even noticing. This is my Dad's year too - a fine family tradition it seems. I've found the following on the Rooster's characteristics: "People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster people¡¦s emotions like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave. They are most compatible with Ox, Snake, and Dragon." (Chinese Culture Center) I'm a Dragon, so here's hoping we don't butt heads too much ;-) Well, the little one is kicking and I'm overdue for a Tums or something starchy. Stay in touch folks - the web site may be out of date but the e-mail is still working. January 9, 2005 Have been frolicking in the snow today....mostly via the view from the study (marking, lesson planning, fiddling with things unnecessarily). Read a marvelous piece by Kayla McClurg called Assignment: Poetry. She writes: Look at your world, This week, we will be entering the exciting world of found poems and rhymes. Never thought I would get paid to have this much fun. Of course, now that I'm paid to teach, I find myself censuring my commentaries here - which is why this is the first post in months. Nothing quite like having your personal life hanging out as if on a laundry line ready for your students to read. A level of familiarity I'm not ready to come to....yet, or maybe, never. To those of you who keep up with my life by reading this (and I know there's at least one of you out there ;-), things are well. The new house still feels like a dream, the nephew is well and growing like a weed, and my dearest friend is getting married in March. Until later. July 27, 2004 Just to let y'all know, I'm still alive....just busy with renovations, life, and job-hunting....will re-surface soon. |