Many Kids!

Diapering...

I have 2 babies in diapers.  And since I refuse to begin potty training Jenna until SHE shows me that she is ready, I probably will have 2 in diapers for the next 6-12 months at least.  Every week the garbage collectors to our house.  And every week we have 2-3 bags of diapers to throw away.  I change my babies bottoms more than the average Mom I think, I change them every 1-3 hours, around the clock (except for Jenna who sleeps through the night).  And I have recently become more worried about the amount of waste I am creating.  So, I have been thinking, and thinking and doing MORE thinking about my options.  

So I have decided to cloth diaper.  Right now my plan is to cloth Jordyn, and then as the money comes in, cloth diaper Jenna as well.  No, it's not going to be easy - at all!  But summer is coming.  Diapers can be line dried (and they are recommended to be line dried) and poopies (for Jenna) are fairly solid.  Just a quick trip to the toilet is all that will be needed.  For Jordyn, a breast fed baby, there is really not much that I will  have to do.  Just a rinse.

I have now bought 3 all-in-one diapers for Jordyn (they fit from 8-35 pounds), 2 pocket diapers, 45 liners and doublers, and now a starter kit from greenline diapers.  These diapers, the ones from green line, are the ones I am most excited about.  They seem to be the most like disposables.  I like that you can adjust the leg openings without fiddling with the waist.  And I like that, after a pee diaper, you can just remove the soaker from the holder and not have to change EVERYTHING.  

Can I cloth diaper my kids?  Successfully?  I have no idea.  But when I was a single Mom with Carly and Cory, I used to cd them.  Not all the time, but a lot of the time.  And I never had leaks.  Never had a blow-out.  Never had a problem.

Cd'ing the girls will probably add 1-2 loads of laundry every few days.  But, I think I can do that.  That is my plan anyways....

Once all of my diapers come in, I will have enough diapers and soakers to last us about 3 days.  If, at that time, I just don't like it - well, at least I can say that I tried.  Right!?

A story...

Once upon a time, Mommy had a sweet little boy named Cory.  And he was adorable.  Everywhere Mommy and Cory went, people would talk to him, just so that they could see his dimples.  And yes, Cory was adorable.  Too cute in fact!  Because when he got in trouble, he would give Mommy "that" grin, and Mommys heart would melt.  Mommy says it is hard to punish a child when your heart is melting.  

Fast Forward a year or two - and Cory is still cute.  Even cuter than cute!  

Fast forward to now.  Cory gets suspended all the time.  He runs from teachers.  He runs from the Principle.  In fact, he has even hit his little sisters.  As much as Mommy wants to keep him in the house, she has to think about the safety of the other 4 children.  There was a few days where Mommy ran out of medication for Cory.  Medication that helps Cory control his body and allows him to THINK before reacting.  With no medications, Cory didn't have the very basic instinct of 'cause and effect'.  

During his days off of school, Mommy wanted to go to the washroom.  Since Mommy refuses to use the "kid" bathroom in the hallway, she went to open her bedroom door.  It was locked.  Jenna was sleeping.  Jordyn is too small to get around.  And the other girls were at school.  Only Cory could be in her bedroom.  Mommy knocked on the door, heard some rustling, and then the door opened.  Cory was in there.  Watching TV he said.  Mommy thought nothing of it.  She just went to the washroom.

Later that night, Mommy put Baby Jordyn to bed.  Baby Jordyn likes noise while she sleeps, so Mommy turned the TV on.  But!  What is this?  The TV is on the 'online' content.  Mommy has an idea.  And she checks the "My Orders" portion of the TV.  Mommy was very surprised when an adult movie was listed.  Mommy doesn't order adult movies.  Daddy doesn't order adult movies.  And only Cory was the other big person in the house.  

Mommy doesn't say anything to Cory.

The next day, Mommy, Cory and Daddy were sitting in the living room when Mommy turned the VOD on.  Cory went white.  When Mommy went to "my orders" he went whiter.  When Mommy hit play, and a woman began screaming, he went grey.  Stress will do that to a kid I suppose.  Mommy let the video play for about 15 seconds, just so that Cory would know that he was REALLY caught.  It was 45 minutes into a 2 hours movie.

Mommy checked her bill for any additional charges, and was in shock when she saw over $80 in "adult programming" in the past month.  Mommy asks herself "Hw long has he been doing this", she calls the cable company.  Every month, for the past 6 months, Mommy has been paying for "adult programming".  

Mommy and Daddy took all of Cory's birthday money away from him to pay for the video.

Mommy is now worried - 11 and 12 year old boys should not be interested in sex - this video was called "Big Penis in her Ass".  Boys this age definitely should not be thinking about anal sex!!  Mommy is scared for the girls in this house.  Mommy is calling the Dr.  Because, what else can Mommy do?  She wants all of her children happy and healthy, but a pornography-watching 12 year old is very scary.

The End?

Beautiful baby!

I just got to say - that MY little girl is adorable!  Sure, last night she was awake from 12;30am - 4am, but she was SOO cute!  She smiled.  Giggled and cooed the whole time (I tried to get it on video, but that baby never preforms correctly!

And yup, today I am tired - incredibly so! - but I love her too much to let a bit of exhaustion interfere with my day!  Because she is still smiling!  Normally, since it is a Tuesday (the day of the wek that she get one week older" I would have taken her in to get weighed and measured.  But since she is 4 months old tomorrow, I decided to wait a day - hopefully she'll be over that big 10 pound mark!  Double digits!

I just love her more and more every day - and I thought that was impossible!  

My babies!!

Wow!  Its been so long since I have updated this site ~ crazy!!

The children are all doig really well, as are Jason and I.  In fact, nothing really BIG has been happening lately.  Its winter-time, so I don't have to worry about losing children in the community since my kids hate being cold!  I don't have to worry about tons of extra car-pooling - since my mini-van is always full of MY children.  And I don't have to worry about children getting "lost" on buses since I now drive all the older 3 kids to their 3 different schools (while dragging the 2 babies along).  So really, life is...kinda slow.  Well, as slow as life ever gets with 5 kids!

I am a bit worried about Carly these past few weeks though.  She is gaining weight quickly and has little patience for any 'healthy' activity.  In fact, she is about 5 inches shorter than I am and only weighs 3 pounds less than me.  And right now, I am at my heaviest weight ever.  So, I worry about her.  Her self-image has always been fairly low - but it's dropping really quickly.  It has really made me focus on spending lots of one-on-one time with her.  So we go to the gy mtogether.  She is allowed to stay awake about 30 minutes longer than the other kids so that she and I can talk alone...or watch TV.  Whatever she wants.  I am trying my hardest to focus on her right now, because the teenaged years are hard no matter what.  But when you are heavier AND a teen, I can only imagine that she is having a much harder time that I know.  My poor little Carly :(  But she is a cutie no matter what!

IMG_4599

My only son.  *sigh*  He is driving me crazy - like usual!  But sometimes he out does himself!  Like when he starts fires in my house.  Or when he punches his 1 year old sister.  Or even when he tells Alix that she is fat, ugly, stupid and has no friends.  Yup. He is FUN these past few weeks!  In fact, so much fun that I am now OK sending him to the hospital for his 3-4 week stay.  Because, his behavior is NOT ok in our house and while the medication change won't FIX his attitude, perhaps it will help him have more self-control.    Regardless of how he acts though - he is my little man!  And he is a great kid when he wants to be.  He and I have some of the most amazing conversations together and I love having my one-on-one time with him so that I can hear all of his ideas and thoughts...he is such a smart boy!

IMG_3207

My little Alix is more and more of a handfull these days.  She is still coloring on her walls.  She writes on her bed.  She uses ink pads to post her handprints all over my walls :(  This is annoying.  This is hard for me to deal with.  And she gets disciplined every time I see something new.  But, and heres the kicker, I CAN NOT get the "artwork" off my walls because she uses permanent ink!  But, with that said, she is still SUCH a bright child!  Her reading speed is amazing!  She reads a chapter book every 4 days.  She reads to Jena constantly.  She reads everything.  Jason and I will spell out 'secrets' to eachother, and she always listens in and tells us that she knows!  So now we have to spell things backwards, which she STILL figures out!  I love her little mind - and her memory...wow!  She has such a fantastic memory! She remembers everything that we have ever done - good or bad!  A few weeks ago she got to meet her HERO - Ales Hemsky a player on the Oilers.  SHe has been telling me, since she was 3, that she was going to marry him.  Every year, on Ales' birthday, we celebrate his birthday.  She loves Mr. Hemsky!  And of course, she wouldn't say A WORD to him!  Cause, thats kids!!

IMG_4332

Little Jenna!  I love that kid SOOOO much!  She is by far my easiest child.  She is ALWAYS happy.  She ALWAYS naps/sleeps when I want or need her to.  She is just a great a good and nice person.  She has never had any jealousy towards Jordyn, in fact, she loves her little sister so much that she wants to pick her up and hold her all of the time.  She even uses her special blanket (her "nee-nee" as a burp cloth for Jordyn if no one else is around to help Jordyn.  Jenna was my earliest walker, and is now my earliest talker!  She is 20 months old and can say just about everything that we ask her to repeat.  She puts 4 and 5 words together in sentances.  And, her newest trick, is that she has begun to tattle!  "Mommy.  Cory.  Bad.  Boy.  Dora."  Translation:  "Mommy, Cory turned Dora off and now I don't like him."  She also has such a great little heart.  If anyone is sad, she will hug, kiss and cuddle with them to make them feel better - because really, how can you be sad when she is cuddled right into you and she is stroking your face saying "happy?"  She takes care of her dolls like a pro - she feeds them regularly.  She takes them for walks.  And she always has a burp pad over her shoulder - just like Mommy!  

IMG_5038

Baby Jordyn is now 16 weeks old - nearing the 4 month mark!  I can't believe that she is almost 1/3 of a year old!  She is so little still!  9 pounds and 5 ounces at 16 weeks.  Just over 20 inches long.  But she is a HARD baby!  She eats, pukes, poops, screams, sleeps on my shoulder for 20 minutes and then does it all over again.  It's really quite hard.  I am finally breast feeding 100% now - and I have tried her on Zantac for her spitting up (we call it puking since it is nearly constant) and it didn't work at all.  I tried her on Lactose-Free formula (I was willing to stop nursing if it would help her little belly) and that didn't work.  I actually spoke to her dietician yesterday, and she said to put Jordyn back on the boob.  She is not a Dr., but she deals with babies all day long that have feeding issues, and she said that it sounds as though Jordyn is a classic case of a baby who is suffering from GERD.  Or reflux.  Many babies have this - Cory included - but with him he was a projectile puker.  So that is what I thought GERD LOOKED like.  But I was wrong.  Constant vomiting is a HUGE indicator of GERD/reflux and that is what I am dealing with.  In fact, I am so incredibly amazed, every week, that she is continuing to gain weight.  I don't know HOW she is gaining weight.  The dietician also told me that Jordyn MAY have pneumonia (she is a very snuffly baby) because MANY children with reflux aspirate their vomit and then get pneumonia.  I was told to take her to a pediatrician - which I don't have - because her GP has never taken care of a preemie baby before.  So, I am working on finding a pediatrician.  

It's hard with Jordyn right now - but I KNOW it is only going to get easier - I hate seeing/hearing her screaming in pain.  Because I can't help her!  I can't fix her owies, her poor little belly :(  I am sad that she has been in pain for nearly 4 months.  

But, when Jordyn is not crying, she tends to be pretty darn happy!  She is smiling all of the time now, she is starting to coo and she loves to be held.  And with 4 older siblings, she has lots of arms that love her!  :)

IMG_7887

Jason and I are having a "down" period right now.  We are not fighting.  We are not angry with each other.  In fact, we are in love as much as ever.  But he and I are 'down' simply because we haven't had the time to focus on each other or our relationship very much lately.  It's either sports, kids, work or house hold chores that stop us from really being together.  And it has been SO long since we have BEEN together!!  We used to do that every 2 or 3 days - now its been about 2 months.  Its just really hard when Jordyn doesn't sleep.  I smell like puke and sore milk.  I haven't showered in DAYS.  And there are always socks to match.  Oh, and lets not forget that Jordyn sleeps in bed with us!!  All of these are hurdles that we would need to overcome for us to be intimate.  But...with 5 kids, intimacy is NOT on the top of my priority list.  Staying sane.  Fixing owies.  Taking kids to and form school.  These things are much more important to me.  

So, thats my life these past few weeks!  Busy.  Crazy.  But normal!  

IMG_7704

You are damned if you do. You are damned if you don't...

Jordyn has decided to not sleep, again!  But thats okay for now.  After just one good night I am ready to party all night for another week!  But hey, with this little face...

IMG_5032

...how could I possibly get too frustrated!?  

Isn't she getting big!?  I hold her now (all 7 pounds 1 ounce of her) and she feels like a MONSTER!  I love it how people come up to me and 'ohh' and 'ahh' over her and they always comment on how little she is.  But to me, she is HUGE!  Jordyn is still smaller than Jenna was at birth, and when Jenna was born, I was SO careful with her.  Putting a onesie over her head was terrifying because I was worried I was going to hurt her.  But with Jordyn?  No big deal!  It's amazing how your perspective changes!

Just LOOK at how much she has grown in the past 11 weeks! 

 **More stuff is written about the other kids below Jordyns pictures...there is just a huge gap between the pictures and the text**

Carly went to Winnipeg with her GodParents for 2 weeks.  She left boxing day by bus (a 4 hours trip to Calgary) and then they drove 14 hours to Winnipeg.  She had a great time, missed a WEEK of school, but it was what she needed! A super vacation from her siblings.  A chance for her to be spoiled rotten and be #1!  When she came back, by plane (her first time ever!) her attitude towards her siblings was much better.  I think that she really missed us!

IMG_4599

Alix is doing great in school still!  She is the best at everything she puts her mind too.  Whether than be printing, spelling (no other Kindergartener has spelling tests), math, reading, hockey or whatever else she dedicates herself too.  She is still an amazing little kid.  But she is also starting to act up more and more at home.  SHe does this screaming/growling thing.  And it drives me up the wall!  Cory will walk by and give her a silly smile.  He'll stick his tongue out at her.  Carly will tell her not to do something.  And Alix growls.  She also destroyed her nice bedroom!  She used permanent marker all over her walls.  She has lists of the "good" kids at school.  The "bad" kids at school.  She has a list of baby names.  She has all of the Oilers players listed on her wall.  We have talked to her about it.  We have spanked her hands.  We have really tried to get her to stop.  But it seems that no matter HOW hard I try to hide the markers from her, she ALWAYS finds them!!  So you know, that is a...challenge :(

IMG_4332

Jenna is still a funny and happy kid!  She loves to play.  She plays well with others AND by herself.  Right now she is in a Dora phase.  One particular episode of Dora actually.  She loves the "squeaky" episode and we watched it constantly for days and days.  But then Daddy accidently erased it from the PVR!  She cried for 3 days for her "squeaky!"  I googled it online, found the DVD that has that episode and went out and bought it for her.  She asks for so little.  She demands so little from us.  The least we could do as her parents is give her her darn Squeaky!  Jenna seems to be following her big sisters footsteps.  She is a very smart little girl!  She knows all of her ABC's.  She just started (yesterday) to be able to identify about 3 of them (S, Q, M) and she is counting to 5 already!  SHe is only 19 months old!  I read to her about 20 times a day.  I can say, that as many 'mistakes' that I may or may not make as a parent, Jason and I are awesome at reading to our kids.  We NEVER say no when it comes to books.  In fact, I don't care if I put my older kids (who ALWAYS have a book with them!) to bed at 9 and they read until 11pm.  Jenna, she can bring me book after book (and she does!) and I always read to her.  We are a book-loving family and NO kid will ever get in trouble for reading!  

IMG_5038

You'll notice that I skipped over a Cory update.  ANd that is because I am really dreading talking about him :(

Cory has been quite the challenge lately.  He hit me a few weeks ago.  I am sure it was a knee-jerk impulse.  I am sure he didn't mean to.  But, regardless, he did it.  It was then that I began to realize that we have to do SOMETHING about Cory and his behavior,  I mean there is so much else going on.  He can't walk by his sisters without making a remark, making them flinch by trying to hit them or doing something.  He gets chores, he doesn't do them.  We have already taken everything but his bed, dresser, clothes and blankets from his bedroom.  He has lost the ability to use the remote.  The gaming systems.  Even the washer and dryer.  He has begun playing with fire - in the house.  Using the hot water tank to set things on fire. He has been swearing - even calling Alix a "skanky bitch" and a "whore".  He skips classes, al the time.  Sometimes 2, 3 or 4 per day.  His school is frustrated with him.  Jason and I dont really know what else to do.  So it was time to take him back to his psychiatrist.  Because obviously the medication he is on to help him with his ADD/ADHD, ODD, Conduct disorder and OCD are not working as effectively as before.

His appointment was yesterday.

And I am still in shock with what the Dr said.  I have been advised to hospitalize him for 3-4 weeks, it may even be longer.  They want to take him off his current medication (he is taking the largest dose that he can take - and he has been for 2 years now) which will put him through a serious withdraw.  Think of a cocaine addicted person going through de-tox.  That is what Cory will have to endure.  Then, for a week, they want him on NO meds at all.  They want his body to be 100% med free for at least a week.  And then, once he is free of meds, they want to begin him on his new medication.  That could be 1 week.  2 weeks or it could take up to 3 MONTHS to get the medication adjusted properly.

I am freaking out about this.  Completly.

He CAN be so good some days.  There are days that he makes me laugh.  There are days that he plays so nicely with my girls.  Cory IS a great kid...but he gets in such crappy moods that it makes me wonder what he will ever become when he grows up.  I know that Cory has had many suicidal thoughts - so I often wonder IF he will ever grow up.

But, I spoke to a few people since I began this post.  And I now see that Cory is really dealing with an illness.  Something life long - like diabetes.  He can not control his disability, just like a child with diabetes can not make himself produce insulin.  There is a chemical missing in his body. Unfortunately, there is no test to discover WHAT hormone he is missing.  Mental health issues are lacking in funding.  

I am going to allow Cory to be hospitalized.  Because, if I don't I don't know what will become of him. What if I DON'T do everything possible and he ends up killing someone one day.  I would always wonder 'what if'.  What if I DO do this and something bad happens to him?  Ugh!  

I just hope that I am making the best choice here.  Because, my choices are so incredibly limited.  I just want Cory to have a good life!!  No matter what.  For the past 24 hours I have done nothing but think of Cory.  I am really scared to send him away and have him hospitalized.  But at the same time, they can not change his meds without having him hospitalized - which means he will never get better than he is now.

You are damned if you do.  You are damned if you don't  

My gorgeous little boy...

IMG_3207

Better!

After my post yesterday (whic, I think was my lowest) I am feeling much better today!  

Last night I gave Jordyn gas drops before I nursed her.  And then, after she was "done" I gave her another 2oz from a bottle.  She slept, in her own bed, from 10pm until 5 this morning!

It was great!!

I woke up feeling very alert!  Very happy!  And I actually had a good dream (it has been so long since the last time I had the chance to sleep long enough to have a dream!).  I nursed Jordyn (at 5am) for about 20 minutes, placed her next to Jasons back and she promptly puked all over him!  In his sleep he just said "it's okay" and he moved over just a bit!  Lol - that is how comfortable we are with Jordyn puking!

While she was laying beside daddy, I went for a shower!  I thought about shaving my legs, but decided against it.  I need the warmth after all!  

I made the kids home made croissants for breakfast.  The kids were all loaded up and ready to go by 8am.  I dropped Cory off, then Carly, I went for a coffee and then dropped Alix off at school.  As I was parking the van, Alixs school called to let me know that I didn't need to come in for Home Reading!  So I just went and got Jordyn weighed.  And then tried to go to the mall to buy ALix some new clothes.  

All in all, today has been a GREAT day!  I am OS much more alert and chipper!  I am even thinking about taking the kids tobogganing tonight!

Crappy Mom

Today I feel like crap.  Jordyn has been awake nearly all day.  She just will not stop crying!  

Something is bugging her, so I gave her tylenol for the first time ever, and that is not working.  I nurse her, and she pukes (not spit up - Jordyn PUKES) and then she nurses again...

For the past 10 nights she has been awake all but one of them.  I have tried everything, and nothing is working.  I am so incredibly tired.  I want to sleep, but JORDYN will not sleep.  I lay on the couch, at 1am, only an hour since the last time I fed her, and she screams.  So I nurse her.  She will suck, not eat, for 2 hours.  I get a cramp in my arms - which are above my head so that she can 'pacify' - and I try to move. Just. A.  Bit.  And she wakes up and screams. And we do this.  ALL NIGHT LONG.

AND ALL DAY LONG.

I haven't slept in weeks, at least not more than 2 hours straight.

I wish I had family around me that would help.  I wish I had a Mom who enjoyed their Grandchildren.  I wish that Jason would wake up with the baby sometimes.  I wish I could THINK straight.

I was reversing out of the garage the other day.  And I hit the side of the house.  I had 5 very loud kids.  My van was dirty  The mirrors were covered in sand/dirt.  I couldn't see where I was going.  Plus I was in a rush trying to get my older kids to school on time.  It was dark.

I scraped my bumper.  Put a hole in the tail light.   And I am SO mad at myself!!  I *SHOULD* have been more alert.  More aware.  But I am so incredily tired all of the time.

Jason doesn't help me with the kids (well, in the evenings he does - if he doesn't have hockey, need to watch hockey, talk about hockey) he is great.  But he doesn't change a diaper without asking me if "______ needs a diaper change". He has to ask me first.  I can't sleep when he does that.

I love my kids, don't get me wrong.  But I am a crappy Mom right now because Jordyn is taking up all of my energy.  

She is growing.  She seems to be healthy.  But as a Mom of a newborn I am tired.

ANd, about me, I have begun oozing from my incision site again.  The wound is still open.  Its been 11 weeks (tomorrow) and I am still having a great deal of pain.  I cry all of the time.  I can not do a sit up without having shooting pains all the way up to my shoulders.  I have NO feeling from 2 inches above my incision to my rectum.  I mean NO feeling.  Sex is an act.  Because I can't feel anything other than pressure...there is no pleasure.  I go for an ultrasound in 2 weeks.  I am now seeing 2 different Drs about my lack of sensation.  

So not only am I exhausted.  Not only do I feel like crap from a lack of sleep.  But now I can't even feel sexual pleasure.  I have tried to 'click my mouse' myself, and I can;t do it.  There is NO feeling.  I am 29 years old.  I am, still a very sexual person.  I used to ENJOY sex.  Now?  It is just a motion that I go through.  I make the right faces.  I say te right things and I let him go as long as I can handle it.  But then it begins to BURN.  And itch.  And I begin to swell up to the point where I feel I am 10 years old.  And it hurts.    I am NOT okay.

I want to be a good Mom - but i am too tired at dinnertime to really hear my older kids stories of school. I want to be a good wife, but I can't even feel the sex that we occasionally get to have.  And I always smell like baby puke. Always.  My breast leak.  I am 'dry'.  And I am just so tired that I make him finish in minutes (abut 5!!) rather than having good sex which would normally last 30+ minutes.  I just don;t enjoy it anymore!!  

How sexy is that?  

And Don't get me wrong. I love being a Mom.  I honestly really really do!  But I think I May have some post partum depression.  But, how much of what I am dealing with is PPD in comparison to just lack of sleep?  I am tired.  ANd last night I let Jordyn cry for 40 minutes (whining, crying, sleeping, crying) while I WATHED her.  I sat there and just LOOKED at her.  I really think I need to have a 4 hour+ nap in order to feel like ME again.

A List...

"Make a list of all of the things you do well"

I read that, today, in a magazine.  And really, I have never tried to 'list' my own life.  So, I sat at the computer and I thought about what I am good at.  I mean really good at.  You know what I came up with?

I am good at...

• doing laundry (there is NO stain I can not get out!)
• EATING the owies away (we don;t kiss them, we eat them!)
• snuggling my kids
• organizing they kids toys
• folding - I hate doing it, but I make such neat little packages
• I am good at unloading the dishwasher - really, how could you be bad at this!?

Otherwise, I am not great at anything else.  

Sure, I can nurse my baby.  And yup, she seems to enjoy it; but to do it WELL, I should enjoy it too.  ANd right now, its still such a fight to get her to nurse.  

Sure, I clean up, but again, I hate doing it.  Its pointless to me.  I clean one room, go on to the next and then find the first room up-side down in 10 minutes = after I cleaned it.  

When I realized how short my list was, it made me a bit sad.  I would love to be better at many other things.  Photography.  Orginization.  Editing video/pictures.  Being a more attentive wife and Mother.  

What are YOU good at?

Maybe these should be my New Years resolutions?

Christmas!

Christmas 2008 is officially over ~ and it was great!
It started on the 23rd when we visited with Jasons Moms' side of the family at the hall. We saw lots of family and the kids ran in circles for hours while playing with their cousins! We stayed until about 11pm.
Christmas Eve, during the day, was spent at my brothers house with my side of the family. More cousins. More food. And lots of happy noise! The kids received some gifts and I was surprised by how UNintrested Jenna was in opening gifts. I had thought for sure she would really enjoy the gifts, but she was too busy stealing cookies! We stayed there until about 6pm before heading home in order to put the kids down for a nap before midnight mass.
Typically we go to church for the 12am service and then go to the hall to open family gifts until about 4am. This is the tradition. However we got a call at 5:30 telling us that this year we would be attending the 10pm mass - which meant less time for the kids to nap! So we had to gather our kids and belongings and start home earlier (and faster) than we had expected!
I decided that Jenna and Jordyn wouldn't attend service this year since Jenna (who thrives on routine) was still sleeping. The other 4 kids (Brianna, Carly, Cory and Alix) went with Jason. Jenna, Jordyn and I met up with everyone by 11:30pm.
The kids got even more gifts from family. Again Jenna wasn't all that excited about her gifts. Yes she liked them, but she wasn't that pumped to open them. We left the hall by 3am.
Santa came by 4:30 and everyone slept until about 11am.
More gifts. Still no excitement from Jenna. But the other kids made up for it! Alix was hilarious! Everytime she opened up clothing she would have to hold it up to herself to make sure it looked ok on her. Carly and Cory were happy with everything that Santa brought for them.
Then it was time for a quick breakfast before going back to the hall. Jason took Brianna, Cory and Alix while the other kids and I stayed at home so Jenna could nap. I should have started cleaning, but I decided to nap too!
At the hall we visited with about 50 family members and had a great dinner! I left early with the same 3 kids that I brought in order to get Jenna to bed and to help carly pack for her trip.
Now, the 26th, carly, Jordyn and I are at a bus station so that carly can go to Calgary to visit with her God Parents. Tomorrow morning they are taking her to Winnipeg. I'm not sure what they are going to do there - or even when she is coming back - but she always loves going to visit her God Parents!
It's been a busy few days, we are all very tired, and once Carky gets on that bus I'm going home to nap!!
Hope everyone else had a great Christmas!!

Full Term

My little Jordyn is officially full term now (as of the 22nd).  She and I spent the day celebrating her "birth" by shopping!  

I had her weighed, and she is now 5'5; if you are keeping track, her weights have been:

At birth she was 3'13

1 week she was 3'9

2 weeks she was 3'15

3 weeks, 4'2

4 weeks, 4'6

5 weeks, 4'14

6 weeks 4'13

7 weeks 5'5

The nurse who I see every week to get her weighed asked me what I had been doing differently to have Jordyn gain SO much in one week.  And I was honest with her.  The only thing I have done different is I STOPPED listening to everyone elses advice.  I am no longer suplementing her with formula - especially that high-calorie high-concentrated formula.  I am no longer waking her up to feed her.  She determines when to eat.  I supply the breat.  ANd she continues to grow.  ANd all it took was for me to get mad.  I got mad at the dietician - how DARE she tell me to stop nursing my baby.  All the research shows that a Mother of a pre-term babys' milk is significantly different than the milk of a full-term babys milk.  My body is MADE to nurse her.  And my God, if I want to burse her, I will!  And then her Dr started on me.  Perhaps you breast milk isn't rich enough for her.  SHe's too little.  Then the Nurses started on me; she's wasting too many calories nursing - bottle feeding would allow her to gain more weight faster.

All this great information just made me feel 100% inadequate.  

I spent over 36 hours with a puking baby who screamed when she was not being fed.  I wore her around the house in the HotSling and just...bounced with her against my chest. Then I got mad and started offering her the breast full time. At that point, I wasn't going against what everyone was telling me; I was just doing what I felt was natural for me.  My baby is crying, lets feed her.  WHy warm a bottle, mix formula, offer a soother?  Nope, for me, breast feeding is perfect and what I do well.  So unconsciously, I began to breast feed.  One night I went the whole night with her on my breast.  And then she kept gaining.  So obviously, my body - and my baby - are doing their jobs.

I am so proud that Jordyns largest weight gain within a week is all because of breast milk!  

Jason held her today (well, he hold her everyday!)but today I noticed something.  When he holds her, she no longer comes to the mid-forearm - she now can stretch out and fill out his whole arm, up to the elbow!  Even though she is not gaining a great deal, her length is increasing!  She almost fills out her 3-5 pound outfits in length!  

All though, her Christmas dress, which fits her perfectly, was bought from Build-a-Bear!!