Three months in parenting 202...

Wow, haven't been on here in a while!
Colin and I have both trashed our computers to the point that fixing both would basically be the cost of one new laptop... so needless to say we haven't been on them too much...
So... three months into being the mother of 2. Let's just say it hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be. Not saying it's a piece of cake, but definitely easier than I thought.
BUT... I've had my moments..
Here's a few...
1. First Sunday at church with a new baby... We has loosened the straps on Flynn's carseat while sleeping and forgot to tighten them before putting him in the car and driving home.
Yah yah... just wait... it get's better!
2. The following Sunday after making sure Flynn was in his car seat securely we got in to drive home. Only to realise Brant had been screaming something that we eventually realised was "buckle me in" so we had to stop the car a few blocks from the church and buckle him in. phew..
3. I hadn't been buckling Flynn in his swing because it had a tray and it was just a hassle as I usually only put him in it when he was sleeping. I had put Brant to bed and Flynn was taking his last nap before bed. I placed him in the swing while I was on the phone with my Grandma. I was doing the dishes or something and I heard him starting to cry. I figured he would survive for a few minutes while I finished up only to come in and find him on the floor, a good three feet away from the swing. Still to this day I have yet to figure out how how he did that!
4. Basically the same incident as the swing but in his bouncy chair...
5. While driving home from a store I was deep in thought about something, Brant reaches forward, taps me on the shoulder and asks me to help him with a sticker. I place the sticker back on his hand at the stop light and wait for the light to change. Then... I realise something... Brant shouldn't be able to tap my shoulder while strapped in his car seat. So while trying to talk my son into at least buckling the chest strap the light turns green. So we basically drove from one end of the city to the other with only his chest strap done up.

That's got to be the top five most mommy-brained moments I've had so far... but also, we've experienced first smiles, first giggles, lots of brother hugs and melting hearts!
We sure love our two boys and while being parents to two kids is a bit more work it's just that much more rewarding!

OB/GYN's... best interests of patients or wallets?

So I had my appointment with an OB/GYN this week, and it was... well, to say the least, interesting.
Ever since getting pregnant with Brant, I had always wanted a natural, normal vaginal delivery. The ones you see in movies and tv shows... maybe without all the hitting and screaming at the husband/father part. My hopes dimmed as I was being told Brant was going to be big and how I needed to be induced at 9 days over. Against my better judgement (aka the Spirit telling me to NOT being induced) I was induced and it was a delivery out of anyone's worst nightmare and it ended in an emergency section. And to top it off it was performed by my least favorite OB/GYN by FAR!! After that experience I vowed I would attempt a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesaerean) with my next child.
When I got pregnant with this baby, I contacted the local midwives right away. And while I won't go into detail about that big mess, needless to say I ended up needing to find a doctor/doctors who were willing and supportive of my hopes for a VBAC.
All of the doctors at the clinic I go to have been very supportive and encouraging about a VBAC, but told me I would need to see an OB/GYN to be cleared for a 'trial VBAC', basically meaning "we've checked over the patients history and body and find no reason to let her 'try'". I say 'try' because that's how they make you feel. Sure, go ahead and try but chances are you'll need a repeat section. (Well... I'm here to prove you wrong buddy!)
At the OB/GYN's office I was appalled to find that the previous OB (the one who performed my section, and who I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw him) had basically gotten all the facts of my L&D wrong in his surgical report. Which give the current OB/GYN the wrong impression of how my first labour went and he judges my chance on that. But of course, who is he going to believe... The woman who was there the entire time or the dweeb who came in a ripped out my kid??
Needless to say, I was given a 65% chance of a successful VBAC, and while that's still a decent chance, he never gave me a chance to explain the situation we had with Brant and any explanation I gave he 'poo poo'd right off the bat. "It's very unlikely his neck got deflected" (Unlikely, but still could happen right?) Thanks to the previous OB, he failed to mention how baby was positioned when he took him out so we may never know why he failed to descend, although I'm 90% sure his neck WAS deflected!
Anyway, the OB didn't seem too encouraging on the VBAC front and mentioned having a repeat section more than enough! It's just hard to stay positive when they really DON'T have the patient and baby's best interest in mind. Sections are a great tool when absolutely needed, but women have been having babies for centuries and our bodies are made for it! And these two OB's are a great example of why the section rate has soared over the last few years. Sections are easier to plan, schedule in, you know how long (typically) it should take to have a baby and because mom needs more drugs, anaesthetic and hospital time, the doctor and hospital are GUARANTEED MORE money! Not that I don't mind supporting my doctor, but sections are NOT always the best choice and it's NOT natural!
Maybe it's a flaw in the education of our doctors, being taught medicine is best, but you think because they put so much energy and years into their education you are getting someone who knows what's best, when really what's best is to (for the most part!!!) let nature takes it's course.
While I'm extremely happy with most of the doctors at my clinic and feel confident that with their help (Not the help of a 'scalpel happy' OB) I will have the best shot at a successful VBAC, I wish that those who put in the extra time, money and years to 'specialize' in their field would be more educated in what's BEST for the patient and not their wallets.



*NOTE: this isn't really a rant, and I'm not aiming this at all doctors. It's just the discovering of an area I had put so much trust in (doctors and the medical profession) has a second agenda and how they don't always have the BEST interest of the patient in mind.

A Little Update...

It's been a while.
I'm sorry I don't have any pictures this time, we've lost the power cord to our camera and until we find it, there won't be any pictures! Boo... we better find it soon cause we would like some pictures of this new baby!!

This last month has been pretty boring pregnancy wise. LA#2 has just been growing and sitting extremely low. Which is new for me! Brant LIVED in my rib cage! This child likes my pelvis.
I keep commenting on how my belly looks so much different this time. I didn't know why, but then it clicked. This boy read the "Emergency escape" pamphlet! He's head down (very down) and butt out! Brant had his bum under my ribs! (posterior) So with this kid in the proper position I'm getting more excited about delivery. Basically because my hopes for a natural vaginal delivery are going up!!

I'm still measuring large, and my hands and feet are starting to swell. Again, never experienced that with Brant. I'm also looking into natural and homeopathic remedies to help with labor and I've started a few this week! (I'm 36 weeks) Hoping they do what they claim to do!!

We went camping this past month!! We went May 28 to June 3. It was a lot of fun! My friend Courtney has a trailer and so our two families packed up and went to Bow Valley Provincial Park. The husbands stayed on the weekends but it was just just girls (and kiddos) during the week. The kids had a blast! Brant LOVES camping, and mom fell in love with the idea of trailers!! ;)

I also signed myself up for a serging class. A friend of mine was given a serger and my mom gave me hers but neither of us had any idea on how to use them. So we took the class together! It was a lot of fun, although we felt like the young 'troublemakers' as everyone else in that class was basically a grandma! I've already made a couple pillowcases for Brant, and it took less time to serge them than to cut them out!! It was sooooo easy!

Tomorrow I have my appointment with the OB/GYN. Yay for another 'lovely' internal exam! They are just going to be checking me over to make sure I can provide enough room for baby to make his grand exit and answer any VBAC questions I have. Speaking of which I should probably go and write some down so I don't forget! (Mental note for later....)

I'm getting really anxious about impending labor, but becoming more confident each day. That or just sick of being huge and VERY uncomfortable!!

Happy Summer Everyone!

Curse You Genetics.... **CURSE YOU!!**

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is FLYING by! When I was pregnant with Brant it felt like forever and now I'm already seeing my doctor every 2 weeks. Getting closer!!

I had an appointment on the 2nd and I was shocked to discover I've gained 20 pounds in the last 2 months! I have NO idea where it's going! All the pants and clothes I wore when I was pregnant with Brant still fit! Ok... pants are a bit more snug, but not "You've gained 20 pounds" more snug!!

My GDS (Gestastional Diabetic Screen) came back 5.7, so normal and I'm measuring huge! Here comes the "Are you sure you aren't Gestational Diabetic?" question at EVERY appointment!

I'm apparently only 30 weeks 6 days pregnant, but by my calculation (and like... what do I know!) I'm 31 weeks 6 days. But I'm measuring 35 weeks. (Measuring from pubic bone to the top of the uterus) So the doctor wanted to send me for an ultrasound to rule out extra fluid. I assured her it was just big baby and while she agreed she'd rather be safe than sorry.

So off to an ultrasound I went. Baby looked great and, like I had promised the doctor, measured big! His femur length is already 34 weeks! I guess we're having another long baby!

Here are some cute pictures!!!

He looks soo much like Brant did when we got Brant's ultrasound pictures! So maybe they'll look alike?? The tech said he has hair too and I got to see him 'babbling' to himself!! I was getting soo excited!!

I was also shocked the next day when the doctor CALLED me to let me know the results of my ultrasound! I always just assumed "no news is good news"... (For the most part!) But no, the doctor actually called my house and had a good 5 minute conversation about the ultrasound. Confirming that he was indeed a big boy and there was no extra fluid. We discussed approximate fetal length and weight and precautions we needed to take. I literally almost fell off the couch! I had never had a doctor call because "I thought you would be curious about the results!" I was super impressed and am praying soo hard that she is the doctor on call when I deliver!

But on to the title of my entry... Genetics! I shouldn't be shocked that my babies are large! I'm a healthy person, I don't drink or smoke, never have and also have never done drugs! Not that those always guarentee a large baby, but those who do those things generally have low birth weight babies. I'm also cursed with the genes of big babies!

My grandmother had big babies. Both over 9 pounds. My mother had big babies... me being the smallest at 7 pounds 15 ounces (so one ounce shy of 8 pounds!) and my sister being 10 pounds 4.5 ounces (I think, that or 14.5 ounces!). My Aunt, had she not had all 3 babies early, would have had over 8 pounds babies too! So... I'm just cursed!

I'm not complaining, but seriously reconsidering wanting a girl! I would HATE to pass on this horrible genetic screw up to my poor innocent daughter! LOL

BUT... while we may have big babies, we also, for the most part, have healthy ones! So I should just be grateful for that!!

First visit to the park 2011... among other thoughts!

Easter Weekend Colin and I decided to ride our bikes to Bower to take Brant to the park.
It would FINALLY a beautiful day and I have been itching to go bike riding. I wanted to get a few rides in before I'm too big to go or we have our new addition who won't be able to go for bike rides for a year! :(
So here are some pictures from our first trip to the park!

Brant LOVES swings!

Bower Park has a fun little section that makes noise! And of course, Brant being a boy, loves to do such things!

Oh man! I remember... Last year that was too much for him, but this year it was the preferred way of getting to the top!! My little boy is growing up!!

Again, last year this slide was a bit too high for his liking! He needed a little motivation to go down and someone to catch him. This year he flew down the slide with ease! (He didn't even fall at the bottom!)

Something a little new this year... the BIG BOY swing! Of course we didn't go too high, but he thought it was pretty cool!

I can't believe how independent and big my little boy is getting! He rarely wants help with things anymore. He wants to put his own clothes on (even if it might take 1/2 an hour to do so, and a few backwards shirts! LOL), brush his own teeth and go to the potty by himself! He will usually get me to place him on the potty and then he'll hold up his hand and say "Go mommy!" and he'll tell me when he's done! We've been doing really well, even with pooping on the potty! He knows if he poops he get's his own cup of chocolate milk! So thankfully that's enough to motivate him!

He seems to be understanding that he will be having a little brother join him soon! He'll come in to bed with us in the morning and come and kiss mommy's tummy and say "Hi Little Brother!!", he also loves giving raspberries! Today he even said "Come out little brother!" so I'm starting to think he might be grasping the concept after all! I'm nervous to see how Brant reacts to having a newborn in the house. I can't see him being one of those kids that just accepts it and moves on. He's either going to love it or hate it!

I'm quite nervous to have 2 kids. I'm so tired most of the time (I think third trimester pregnancy being the culprit!) and I enjoy the quiet times when Brant naps! Brant is also a little handful! Don't get me wrong, he's a great kid and he's happy 95% of the time, but he's a little Forrest Gump! He LOVES to run, bolt and escape! He'll usually run without looking back or listen to us call after him to stop! He just keeps going! He's gotten better in malls and stores because he knows that if he takes off he gets put in a cart, but outside is a different story! YIKES... and to think I'll most likely be having another runner! yay... :S!

Mostly... I'm extremely nervous... no, scratch that... TERRIFED of labour! I wanted a completely natural labour with Brant, and to say the least, everything that could have gone wrong (besides death), went wrong! It was awful. Back labour was awful, c section was awful, spinal going stupid was awful and recovery was awful. I'm just so petrified it will go the same way again, especially an emergency c section! I remembering being almost fully dialated and my doctor telling me to push... and immediately my thoughts were "OK... I'm done! I don't want to do anymore!" I was so scared! (Granted, Brant was in a bad position and pushing brought NO relief!) People keep telling me that if baby is positioned right, pushing is the best part. Yeah... I don't know how much I buy that! LOL

I keep being reassured by Heavenly Father and family that things will go alright, but it honestly feels like my first time all over again. Eeeppp... Nevermind that I'm worried that if everything goes as planned, how will it affect my relationship with Brant? I never got those first special/critical bonding moments with him resulting in MONTHS AND MONTHS of post partum and anxiety. I'm just afraid I'll bond more with this baby and have more of a special bond with him instead of sharing that equally important bond with Brant!

Oh the worries and woes of us mothers!! What we put ourselves through! LOL I'm certain everything will be fine and it's just pre-labour jitters.

Oh a happy note... It's supposed to be 20 degrees on Monday! I think a bike ride is in order!

An Anderson Easter!

It all started with a hair cut!

For the most part he was pretty good! Near the end, Colin needed to hold his head still!

The finished product! Despite the funny face he's giving, I didn't do a horrible job!




Then we coloured eggs! Brant really had NO CLUE what we were doing, but he had fun naming the different colours we used! He still has no idea who or what the Easter Bunny is!

Another shot of us colouring Easter Eggs...

Brant and the finished product!

The Easter Bunny was pretty good to Brant! He loves to colour and draw so he left Brant lots of colour supplies sure to make his mother follow him around with a sponge and bucket! :)

He sure thought chocolate for breakfast was the bestest thing ever!!

He eventuall found all the eggies hid by that tricky Easter Bunny!

Brant's haul! Mommy is very grateful the Easter Bunny didn't spoil him with too much chocolate!

We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Easter!!

The Andersons

Because apparently my blog is boring...

I've been razzed by a friend saying my blog is boring and I need to add more pictures! Gah... easier said than done. Since I fried my computer I haven't taken the time to move all my pictures and stuff over from my computer to Colin's. (Don't worry I won't fry Colin's too!) So today because it was so gross outside, I decided to take the time and transfer everything over!

-----3 HOURS LATER-----

I got everything transferred over and am updating all my pictures on both my blog and facebook!

This picture was taken at 25 months. He was complaining of a very sore bum, and he had a wicked rash. My grandmother mentioned putting him my kitchen sink with baking soda in it to help neutralize the 'burn'. Worked like a charm and Brant looked so funny in my sink! But he quite enjoyed himself! This picture was taken after I noticed Brant has been quiet for an unusual amount of time. I was on the phone and I went to go check on him. Let's just say NO ONE likes a baby they can smell before they can see!! I could smell, out of his room, the wonderful odours of SudoCreme before I could even see him. Let's just say I couldn't imagine he could get it anywhere else! Finally, after enduring WAY too many cold days, we finally had a beautiful *Sun*day. I wasn't sure how I felt about going out sledding on a Sunday before church, but we hadn't had a nice day in such a long time that I caved! *May I be struck down by lightning!* Brant had a GREAT time! He thought it was so fun! We weren't sure if he'd like it, but after going down once we had him hooked! He continually asked to go 'gain'...

After one of his many trips down with dad!

For Christmas, Brant got some money from his Uncle Rick. For the longest time his favourite book was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" (Thanks Grandma Wendy!) and we were walking by that Calendar Club place in the mall and saw "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Game. It was on sale half price! So for 16.00 dollars we bought Brant his first board game! It's a *little* advanced for him but if we do a quick version he has fun!

Some more of the wonderful "Caterpillar" game.

Brant wasting time with Dad while waiting for bed. Usually he get's mad when Dad plays because he'd rather be playing with Dad. But this time he wanted to play with Dad! Maybe a future concert pianist in the works...?? Here is one of the most exciting recent events in our house... Brant decided he was *ready* for potty training!! After spending a few too many hours in a cloth diaper (bad mommy!) he was soaked! And I mean S-O-A-K-E-D!! So, after taking off his diaper I let him run around bottomless just to air dry.
I've been trying to get him to go on the potty, but everything I ask "do you want to go pee on the potty Brant?" He just replies "Mmmm... no." So I've never pushed it. I've been told by multiple moms of boys to not bother trying to potty train till they are three! So I never did!
So, he was running around bottomless, and I always set his potty out just in case, and he was reading his now favourite book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" (Again... Thanks Grandma Wendy!) and all of a sudden he says "Oh... pee!" and gets up and run to his potty and pees in it! I WAS FLOORED!! Needless to say, that's been occupying a bit of time! He'll now wear underwear and say when he needs to pee! Poop is still an issue, but we'll get there! We had a "freak" snow storm today. (If there is such a thing in Alberta) When Dad got home from work, Brant and Dad decided to go out and shovel! Couldn't miss that photo opp! Oddly enough, Brant has JUST begun to show an interest in shoveling because we couldn't get him to touch that thing all winter! But he had a hoot out there with Dad! A few pictures as he's so cute!

Ok, one more cute shoveling one!

Sorry, I lied! Brant was just having a great time! He'll be an even better help next winter! And then of course... the inevitable snow ball fight! Than of course, the snow was perfect for a snowman! Brant hasn't built a snowman yet, the snow has been yucky! So today was perfect! Then, it turned into a "Yoda" snowman! (All Colin...)

Then of course the SMASHING of the snowman!

Hey... don't look at me! Brant started it! :P

Wow... what the update!

Here's one of the LA#2...

I've just sort of popped! I feel huge! Way bigger than Brant! This kid LOVES my ribcage and my bladder! Must be a tall kid! He seems to be a bit more mellow than Brant, which might be nice! Brant is definitely 'ON THE GO' personality and it takes a bit to keep up with him! BUT - he a super happy kid, so we're so glad to have him in the family!

Impending labor has me nervous! Somedays I'm all for it, others I just want to sit and cry!! But it will all work out in the end!