LUKE STARTS KINDERGARTEN

I am officially the mom of a school age child, and a very independent one at that.
My sweet, 5yr old, little Luke started his first day of 'big school' on Tuesday.
He is attending Grant Elementary school in Livonia.
He goes to school from 8:54am - 3:58pm (totally random hours, I know. lol)
His teacher this year is Mrs Dimopoulos.

I drove him to school on Tuesday morning so that I could see him to his class and get some photo's.
On the way to school he said, "Mommy, tomorrow I want to ride the bus to school".. my heart jumped out of my chest. I thought for sure I had at least a couple weeks to drive him to school before he even thought about driving the bus and before I even had to start considering it... When did he get so independent?
At school, he happily went in, found his seat and seemed completely unconcerned about me leaving him. He was sooo ready for his first day of school. I was so excited for him.

Yesterday morning, he was still determined to ride the bus, so I walked him to the bus stop, waited with him until his school bus arrived, and then swallowed the lump in my throat as I watched my heart drive away on that big yellow bus.
I know he'll do great this year. I'm so proud of that sweet boy.

2 MONTHS OLD

My little cutie turned 2 months old on June 9th.
She is sooo sweet and so cute, but sadly she is already seeming less and less like a newborn. Time is definitely going by TOO fast.

She had her 2 month well check a couple weeks ago and had to get her first round of shots. Broke my heart because she was so sad and cried so hard...big meanies with their ugly needles :/

She is still a little lightweight, although compared to a few weeks ago, she's developed some sizable little thighs recently. lol

2 Month Stats:

Weight: 8lb 12.5oz (3.98kg)
Length: 21.25 inches (54cm)
Head: 14.75 inches

I was surprised that she was still under 9lbs at her appointment, because Kate was already 9lb 11oz by 2 months, and they were only 5oz different in size at birth. By 2 months though, they were 14.5oz different in size so Eden has been growing a little slower than Kate did. 

Eden has a very sweet temperament. She doesn't cry a lot for the most part. She has recently developed a 'fussy time' in the evenings, usually around 8pm, but it's not awful and because she's so easy going the rest of the time, it's easier to tolerate the sometimes inconsolable crying during her fussy time. She still wakes up regularly at night, though we have recently been getting the occasional 4-5hr stretch from her, so hopefully over the next few weeks, she'll sleep longer more consistently.

She started smiling right around 6 weeks, and her little face just lights up. Big, bright eyes and huge dimples and she just melts your heart. She likes to be held (a lot)... I love love love her sweet, warm snuggles, though there are times during the day where I'd rather put her down so I can get things done. Can't have it all I guess :p
She also coo's and it's so adorable.

Life before Eden is slowly becoming a foggy memory. She is so very much a part of our family and I can no longer imagine our family without her. Luke is still a doting big brother, and Kate although not as interested in Eden, is very sweet with her. We have 3 beautiful children.
Life is good :)

Starting to smile

Eden's Blessing Day

Some of my favourite cellphone pics from the last month.

1 MONTH OLD

Our sweet little Eden is one month old.
She's an absolute little darling and so far, our easiest baby yet.
I'm really hoping her sweet, relaxed temperament sticks because she's really just the cutest little thing.

She cries briefly when she's hungry... but stops the minute a bottle hits her lips, and she gets a little fussy when she has a stuck burp (which is fairly regularly), but once we're able to get it out, she's good as gold again. She has some pretty stubborn gas issues, and has a hard time getting those burps out, but that really is about the only time she is fussy.

Today was her 1 month appointment.
She is 'just a little peanut' according the her pediatrician.

Her 1 month stats are:
Weight: 7lb 7.5oz (3.38kg)
Length: 20.25 inches (51.4cm)
Head: 13.75 inches

She's in the 10th percentile for her weight..another little lightweight girl like her sister was (actually, a little smaller than Kate still)

The kids have adjusted pretty well to having Eden around and they are both very loving towards her. Luke is so great with her, and quite the little bossy boy when she's fussing. If she starts to cry, Luke likes to say in a very assertive voice, "Mommy, just go get her!". lol.
She really loves him... she rarely fusses or cries when Luke is holding her. It almost seems like he relaxes her.
Kate isn't quite as helpful as Luke is, but she isn't even 3 yet, so I don't expect her to be.  She just adores Eden though and will hold Edens face in her hands, get right in her face, and say, "Hi baby Eden" in a cute, high voice. :)

We're EXHAUSTED from being up with Eden so much (typical newborn 2-3hr feedings etc), but other than that, we are just adoring this new little addition to our family. She's perfect.

Don't grow TOO quickly little Eden... slow down, so that we can enjoy this time with you :)

10 DAYS OLD

2 WEEKS OLD

1 MONTH OLD

PERFECT LITTLE FACES

Eden is 8 days old today and she is perfect.
We are so in love with her.
Right now, she's a content, easy going, happy baby.
We'll have to wait out the next few weeks to see if that's her regular demeanor or if we're just getting to enjoy a little newborn bliss before the storm. lol.
But for right now, she's a total little gem.
She doesn't cry much.. and when she does she sounds like a little squeaky toy. It's the cutest thing.
As long as we keep her fed and snuggled, she's content and happy, and sleeps pretty well in her bassinet. She wakes up regularly at night, but that's to be expected with a hungry little newborn.
After losing a little weight (she got down to 5lb 10oz), she was back up to her birth weight (6lb 1oz) by just a week old, so she is doing GREAT.

We're still having some feeding troubles, so I'm starting to lean towards just pumping like I did with my other 2, but other than that things with her are going smoothly so far.

Today I was able to coax Luke and Kate into sitting for a photo with Eden. I bought Jake a photo frame for Fathers day that he can put on his desk at work, and wanted to get a picture of all 3 kids to put in it.

I think considering the 3 minute window of co-operation I got, I didn't do too badly. lol

So here they are... my absolute pride and joy.
I love these perfect, little faces.

EDEN ELIZABETH

Our family has grown by one more little person.

Yesterday we welcomed Eden Elizabeth Geddes into our family.

She was born on June 9, 2014

39 weeks 2 days

11:45am

Weight: 6lb 1oz (2.74kg)

Length: 19 inches (48.25cm)

Head: 13 inches (33cm)

Her labor story:

I arrived at the hospital at 6am for a scheduled induction.

Upon arrival, I was hooked up to the monitors and checked, and I was having mild and irregular contractions already, on my own (they felt like menstrual cramping) and I was 3-4cm dilated.

At 7:40am they started me on the pitocin, which they kept at a very low dose because I was already contracting.. so the pitocin just helped to strengthen and regulate the contractions.

At 8:40am they ruptured my membranes.

As the contractions got stronger and stronger, I spent most of my time on a birthing ball, leaning over the foot of the bed.

For a couple hours as things got more intense, I debated about whether or not I wanted to get an epidural. Finally, after a few hard contractions I called it, and asked for the epidural.

When the anesthesiologist came in, my nurse first checked me and I was at 6cm. We figured I still had a ways to go. For the next 20 or so minutes, I had to sit dead still on the edge of the bed, breathing through hard contractions while the anesthesiologist got the epidural in place.

She inserted the bolus dose and left... it usually takes a little while to kick in, and my nurse still had to hook up the epidural pump.

Right as the anesthesiologist walked out of the room, and before the bolus dose had a chance to kick in or the pump be hooked up, I had a monster contraction and instantly felt a huge urge to push. My nurse quickly checked me again and I had gone from 6cm to 10cm with Eden's head crowning in the time it took for the epidural catheter to be placed.

My nurse quickly called for my Dr who came rushing in, and said, "Don't push, don't push... I just need a minute to get my things together",  (easier said than done when your body is not in your control anymore. lol

2 more contractions and 2 big pushes and Eden was born without the glorious pain relieving effects of the epidural. lol. (4hrs and 5 minutes after my induction was started)

It was honestly the most painful experience I've ever had. It lasted just a few short minutes but in the moment it felt like eternity. I had an insane amount of pressure and an incredible burning. I've heard of the expression "a ring of fire" to describe how it feels to naturally birth a baby, and I didn't understand that until yesterday. WOW... no jokes...
I can now say I've 'involuntarily' joined the 'natural birthing club' LOL

What an experience.

Jake had been on the phone with Grandma Geddes right before the anesthesiologist left the room. He told her that they had checked me, right before placing the epidural and I was only at 6cm and we expected it to still be a little while... after her birth, we checked his phone and realized that Eden was in my arms just 13 minutes after that call. LOL. Once she decided she was coming, she came FAST.

I was again fortunate enough, just like with Kate, to not have any tears, cuts or need any stitches so recovery should again be a lot easier than it was with Luke :)

The few hours after Edens delivery I was still pretty out of it and feeling a bit 'off'. Quite different to the 'high' I was on when Kate was born. I honestly think that the suddenly fast and painful end to my labor and delivery put me into a bit of a state of shock. While sitting through those contractions getting the epidural in place, I had gotten into the mindset that pain relief was near. Instead, I was suddenly hit hard with a chaotic, FAST, and much more painful experience I could have imagined and I was totally unprepared for it.

But, now I can say I've done it both ways. lol.

And if I had to do it again, (which I don't plan too. haha), I would DEFINITELY ask for the epidural sooner. LOL :D

Eden is BEAUTIFUL. I think she looks a lot like Kate as a newborn, but where Kate had bigger cheeks, Eden has adorable dimples.

I seem to have done things backwards, and had our biggest baby first, and each consecutive baby has gotten smaller. Luke was 8lbs (3.65kg), Kate was 6lb 6oz (2.89kg) and then Eden, a petite 6lb 1oz (2.74kg)

We are excited to have her join our family. The final piece to our family puzzle.

Life is good and we are feeling richly blessed by these special little people we are fortunate enough to be able to call our own and raise as part of our eternal family.

36 WEEKS 5 DAYS

We're in the final stretch of waiting for miss Eden...
and I am SOOOO ready to be done. lol.
Just over 3 weeks until my due date. Hopefully she'll grace us with her presence before then.
This weekend is a long weekend, so we're using the time to finish up some projects here at home so we're fully ready for her. We've been getting the back yard cleaned up, getting the house more fully 'moved in' and we need to clean the car upholstery before we rearrange the kids car seats to accommodate one more seat. Hopefully all of that will get done this weekend. I've been trying to do a little every day. We've made a pretty big dent in the yard work already, so this weekend, hopefully we'll mostly just have the car to do and a few odds and ends around the house.

Today I had another OBGYN appt... I'm on to weekly appointments now.
There was at least SOME progress, which is better than last weeks 'NO progress'
I'm 2cm dilated, 40-50% effaced and she's dropped to a -2 pelvic station so she's moving down in preparation for her delivery. I only measured at 34 weeks, despite being almost 37 weeks, but that's because she's dropped so she's starting to 'hide' in my pelvis... Yay for progress, Boo for the discomfort I'm experiencing. lol.

My current prego complaints... EDEMA... by far the worst of my 3 pregnancies... my hands, feet, ankles, and calves balloon up quite nicely.. I barely recognise them some days. I'm looking forward to being able to comfortably wear my flip flops again. lol.
Cramping.. lots of cramping... but I guess that's helping along the process and progress towards her final debut so I'll take it :)
Heartburn... yay for Zantac.

Here is a picture taken at 36 weeks... the last one I'll be taking (I get far too puffy and swollen for pics after this. lol)



We're excited to be so close to meeting our sweet little girl... my family will finally be complete. Can't wait.