Video made for Alison

Throughout the course of my pregnancy I pieced together pictures and thoughts into a video montage for Alison about her journey into this world. Hopefully one day she will be able to look at it and realize just how much she was loved before she even made her grand entrance into this world.

Post pregnancy pitfalls

Nobody ever tells you how much pain you will be in after you give birth. You hear all about how tired you will be because they baby doesn't sleep, and how you're life in general changes, but the mother is often over looked once the baby arrives. Its almost as though its a taboo topic, too personal, which is funny because giving birth is about as intimate as you can get.

I definitely wasn't prepared for stitches in my lady regions to be so sore that i'd rather stand all day then attempt to sit down. I walk at a pace that is so slow turtles could pass me and trying to get in and out of a vehicle has never been more difficult. At almost a week post delivery I can finally sit down in the bathtub without asking for help getting back up. I know its only a few more days before things get better down there but its been a difficult week.

Then there is the sore nipples. I now completely understand women who say breast feeding too difficult or try it and quit within a week or two. It is a challenge. Lucky for Ali I don't give up easy. I know the benefits of breastfeeding will far exceed the temporary discomfort I'm feeling and the every time it does indeed get a little easier. Its a learning curve for both Ali and I, but by next week I'm sure her and I will be pros.

The last pitfall I am experiencing I know not every woman does. Because my water broke more than 24 hours before I delivered Ali, they had to constantly pump me full of fluid to keep things hydrated. Little did I know (and no nurse ever mentioned it) my entire body would remain water logged for weeks. My feet, ankles, toes, calves, knees, and basically everything below my belly button is swollen to two or three times its original size. I have sausages for toes and my once tiny ankles are now referred to as the dreaded cankles. When Ali had her first doctor's appointment I asked my GP if there was anything I could do about it and he said "Nope. It'll go away eventually in a few weeks". I stared at him blankly just thinking "WEEKS"..... I tell ya, its a good thing I own a lot of flip flops because that's the only footwear that fits currently.

Aside from the few pitfalls that make the days slightly more difficult, being a mother is everything I hoped it would be and more. Its amazing how quickly you can fall in love with such a tiny little person. She is perfection in my eyes. Its hard to believe that a week ago she was in my tummy! In hindsight, the 9 months seemed to fly by even though while I was waiting for her it seemed to drag and drag. Life will literally never be the same, and I couldn't be happier! .

Jake meets Alison

I was really looking forward to this. Jake has really been involved in preparing for Ali's arrival. We let him sniff everything coming into the house, inspect all her gifts, explore the crib and stroller, and even poke at my pregnant belly to get him prepared that we would soon have a new little member of the family. We knew he was fantastic with other peoples kids so had little to worry about.

We we arrived home with Alison she was strapped in her car seat. Jake ran right passed me and was eager to say hello. Rob put the car seat on the ground and we bent down to introduce them to each other. As expected her started sniffing and then kissing her wherever he could. To our surprise Ali wasn't bothered in the least. Didn't even seem to notice to be honest.

His tail was going a mile a minute as we took her out of the seat and into her room. I sat in the rocker with her and Jake was able to come sniff out this new visitor.

He has done remarkable well today. The initial excitement has worn off a little but he is already helping me with her. Whenever she starts crying in her room, he will run and find me as if to say "mom go help her!" When I sit and nurse her, he curls up at my feet and even when it was bath time, he sat and watched me clean her up.

He's an incredibly smart dog and I am happy that things are adjusting so well. Alison doesn't appear to be having any reactions to him allergy wise, so it looks like a beautiful friendship is hatching before my very eyes. I really look forward to them growing up together.

Hospital Recovery

The hours following delivery are kind of a blur. There was a whirlwind of excitement and it felt as thought hours passed by in seconds. By 10pm the night she was born I was moved into the maternity wing of the hospital. They only had semi-private rooms available, so I was roomed in with another mother who had given birth the day before.

Visiting hours were over, so shortly after being moved all my company left for the night and I was alone to bond and get to know Alison. We had nurses come in and monitor both of us every 2 hours throughout the night. Ali managed to breastfeed well and then fall asleep at 2am. To my surprise she slept straight through until 7am when Rob returned to the hospital to visit. I didn't get much sleep that night as the adrenaline was still pumping and I was just to excited to be staring at my daughter.

The next day passed quickly as we had a few visitors pop by to say hello. The nurses continued to monitor both of us every 4 hours and the best news I received is that I would likely be able to go home the next day. Unfortunately I didn't know that "going home the next day" was code for "you're in for a miserable night."

As visiting hours drew to a close and nursing staff changed shifts, the new nurse came in to explain all the tests Ali would be put through before she could be discharged. There was a hearing test, a jaundice test and a test that checked for genetic disorders and any potential mental issues. These would be performed throughout the night, which boiled down to no sleep for either of us.

The hearing test was first. As the maternity wing grew quite around midnight they wheeled Ali down the hall to a room and put sensors in her ears. A sound wave was passed through each sensor and it displayed on the monitor whether she passed of failed (obviously passing meaning she was able to hear it). The nurse made my heart race for a few minutes as the test kept coming back "re-test". Apparently they sensor wasn't bouncing off the right part of the ear drum. Eventually it got sorted out and she passed with flying colours!

When we returned to our room, another nurse was waiting to administer the genetic testing. Once again we were wheeled off, but this time was much more invasive. They had to take a small blade and make a puncture wound on the heel of her foot to draw blood. She had to bleed enough to fill up 6 circles completely on a piece of testing paper. It took about 15 minutes and the nurse had to squeeze her heel very hard to keep her bleeding. Lets just say she was not a happy camper. As a new mom, its very difficult to listen to your child scream in pain and know you cant fix it.

They finally finished and we returned to our room again. We had some time, so she was able to nurse and fall asleep in my arms. As I was looking forward to getting some sleep myself I move her to her bassinet only for her to wake moments later. I'd pick her up and she'd stop, put her down and she'd start. There was no way that little lady was sleeping unless it was on mommy. Being that I was in a hospital bed, I obviously couldn't fall asleep while holding her so I had no choice but to battle thought my exhaustion and hold her so she could get some rest.

It didn't matter for long as once again another nurse came in and explained that she would be testing for jaundice. They would now be pricking her OTHER heel and squeezing blood out to fill up a vial. Are you kidding me? This test took about 5 minutes, and you guessed it!, she screamed the entire time. No wonder she didn't want to leave my arms! Every time she is put down someone causes her pain.

8am rolled around and all the tests came back with fantastic news! We could go home! Thank goodness. I was so sick of this place. Before we were to leave there was one more visitor that had to come, the lactation consultant.

The first night Ali nursed she didn't latch properly and although she was able to eat, she left me with giant blisters on both my nipples, which were causing quite a bit of discomfort as I had to continue nursing during our stay.

The wonderful lactation consultant came in and helped to make sure that the she was now latching properly and discussed any concerns I had. She was able to give me a prescription for a cream that would help heal and numb the pain as I continued breastfeeding. I was pleased to hear that Ali was getting tons of milk and that my flow was developing quite well. She expected my full milk to be in by tomorrow. The latch was perfect so at this point we are just powering through the pain until they heal. It should get easier day by day.

By 10am Rob had arrived and we were outta there! It was wonderful to come home as a family and know our new life was just beginning!

Meet Alison!

Minutes old. Cleaned off and getting ready to breastfeed



Fed, weighed, measured and happy. Was fantastic to look into her eyes



36 hours old and getting ready to head home from the hospital




On our way home!



First time at home and so happy to be here

We did it!

Alison Kenzie James made her way into this world at 5:39pm on Monday February 7th 2011. She weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz and measured 20 and 3/4 inches long.
Shortly after 5pm the 2 nurses who had been with me all day came in and said we were gonna start pushing with each contraction.

With each contraction I took a deep breath and pushed for 10 seconds, took another breath, pushed for 10 and repeated one more time. Her head was visible almost immediately. Rob was able to take a peek around and his response was "oh wow!" because of all the hair she had. I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

At about 530pm, after I had pushed 4-5 times the OB finally arrived. Just in time. He say down with his catchers mitt and with 2 good pushes her head was completely out. He suctioned her mouth and nose and then went on to delivering the shoulders.

She had both her hands up at her shoulders so they actually came through first. With one slight tug she was out and placed on my tummy to be cleaned off. Rob was able to cut the cord and assisted the nurse in towelling her off.

I got a good 5 minutes with her before they took her to get measured, weighed and checked for over all health. My OB delivered the placenta and stitched up the small tear I received during delivery. Everything was such a whirlwind at this point as the enormity of what just happened set in.

My mom, Rob and Dawn were busy snapping away pictures and Alison was screaming her head off. She was not happy to be out of her home for the past 40 weeks. Eventually, after she got wrapped up she began to settle down.

After everything was cleaned up, Rob's parents arrived and Ali got to meet everyone. Its hard to say who she resembles at this point, although I do think she has Rob's eyes and it appears she may have strawberry blonde hair like me. Time will tell.

Pictures to be posted soon!

Drugs are a girls best friend

Overnight my contractions didn't increase much in intensity so come 8am, my regular OB arrived to check my cervix. I was 2 cm dilated but the baby's head had dropped down and re-sealed my water, which is why labour wasn't progressing.

He used his handy tool and ruptured my membranes, which came gushing out. They then started me on an Oxytocin drip which would cause contractions.

Throughout the rest of the morning the contractions did increase in strength and length. A nurse came in every 30 minutes to increase the amount of medication entering my system. Around 11am there was definitely a change in pain. I found it difficult to talk and all I could focus on was getting through the 30 second contraction.

I moved from the bed to a gliding rocking chair to help things along. As the pain increased the nurse asked if I wanted to sit in a hot bath. I had heard how much this can help with managing pain so I jumped at the chance. She checked my cervix first. I was at 4cm, and then I hopped into the tub. There was immediate relief sitting in the piping hot water. It was still painful but a little easier to breathe through.

As the water began to cool the story changed. It took all my focus to get through a contraction. Around 2:30pm I decided to get out of the tub and head back to the room. I was desperate for some medication.

The nice nurse (Lisa) paged the anestheologist. As I lay on the bed the pain became intense. My mom was by my side and I was squeezing her hand so hard the rings left an imprint. I couldn't open my eyes and could barely breathe. Half an hour later the drug doctor finally arrived.

They had me sit on the edge of the bed cuddling a pillow and between contractions he mapped out the proper location on my back. First he used a local freezing to numb the injection site, and then inserted the needle. I felt a little pain and what felt like a surge of electricity shoot down my left leg making it kick straight out. The whole process took about 10 mins from start to finish and from there took about another 20 mins before I felt no pain. What a relief!

The nurses re-hooked up all the monitors and got me settled in bed. Shortly after I mentioned to the nurse that I felt a little pressure in my rectum area. She went ahead and did another exam to check dilation. A shocked look came over her face and I asked what was wrong. She told me I was fully dilated. I had gone from 4cm to 10cm in just over an hour and the pressure I was feeling was the baby's head. She was so impressed! No wonder I was in so much pain, I had basically dilated the entire way without any pain medication.

So that's where I'm at right now. We are awaiting the ob's arrival so we can start the pushing process and meet our sweet baby James.

Water Works

I'm writing this blog entry as I lay in the hospital's labour and delivery ward. This afternoon at 1pm, Rob and I were leaving the vet's office after Jake got his booster shots when I suddenly felt incredibly damp. Not entirely sure if it was my water breaking or not we made our way home.

At home it became clear that it was indeed my water. There was no huge gush like you see in the movies but instead a constant little trickle. I was having very mild contractions that didn't hurt at all. Not sure if we should go to the hospital I called the birthing dept and they rattled off a questionnaire. After about 5 minutes, the charge nurse concluded that we should come in to be examined and make sure it was indeed amniotic fluid.

We grabbed a bite to eat and made our way to the hospital around 3pm. Once we arrived they hooked me up to monitors to track the baby's heartbeat and my contractions. Contractions we're coming every 5 minutes but because I wasn't doubling over in pain they didn't consider it "active" labour.

After about 30 minute the on-call ob made his way to the hospital and started the exam. They took a swab from inside and because it turned from yellow to blue, it confirmed that the leak was amniotic fluid.

Since contractions weren't that painful, I was told to get up and walk around to help things along. Rob and I spent the next few hours walking the halls, checking back in every hour to monitor the baby's heartbeat.

Around 6pm the doctors completed shift change and the new on-call OB told the nurses that since my water was broken and I was having mild contractions I was to be admitted. We got moved to a private birthing suite and got settled in.

I am the only patient in labour and delivery currently so they gave us the "Cadillac of birthing suites" . Its the size of 3 other suites put together and has wall to wall windows on 2 sides. Its a huge corner unit with a great view.

Rob and I have made calls to the family members that will be making their way to the hospital eventually and told them its still going to be several hours before anything happens so not to rush here. The only person who has arrived is my good friend Dawn because she had to travel in from Toronto.

Its going on 11pm now and the contractions are getting closer together and stronger but I'm still not in much pain. The nurses are encouraging me to get some sleep, and by encouraging I mean offering me a sleeping pill every 30 minutes. I understand that I will need to get some rest to have energy for the rest of labour and the delivery, but since I'm not in pain I'd rather not take any sleeping pills.

They have wheeled 2 other beds into the room for Dawn and Rob and provided pillows and heated blankets. The nurses keep asking if there is anything else we needed like snacks or more pillows. Its like a really nice 5 star hotel. I gotta say I am impressed.

Here's hoping the contractions get stronger soon!

Due Date - 40 Weeks!

We made it! Its officially my due date. The baby is full term and gearing up to make her appearance any day now. Unfortunately most first time mom's go overdue. I was hoping to escape this reality, but it she doesn't look like she is making any effort to come out today. Hopefully it won't be to much longer!

39 week check-in

I had my 39 week appointment with the OB today. Upon arrival we find out that he had just been called out of the office to deliver another baby. Because I was so close to my due date we had to wait for him to return, along with 4 other 39 week pregnant women.

While waiting, the nurse checked my normal stats. Blood pressure was fine and I had gained 4 lbs this week. I guess the baby is finally putting on some weight to keep herself warm when she arrives. The nurse informed us that when the OB arrives he would be checking my cervix for dilation.

2 hours after our appointment time he arrived back in the office. While waiting Rob had noticed an autographed Yzerman jersey that the OB had hanging on his office wall and so he asked him about it. That turned into a full-blown hockey chat about favourite players and teams and as I lay on the exam table, naked from the waist down covered only by a sheet and all I could think was "Seriously! You're discussing hockey now? ". The OB carried on the hockey conversation with Rob for a good 10 mins while examining me. It was very strange being examined and feeling invisible at the same time. I'm glad that Rob and the doctor get along, but you kinda want the OB to focus on what he's doing while he's poking around your lady parts.

He checked the baby's heartbeat, which was a strong 146 bpm, and then checked my cervix. He, as well as a few friends, had warned me that this part could be quite painful but it didn't seem that bad for me. Just a little uncomfortable. Unfortunately, my cervix was still closed up tight. He mentioned that its really no indication of what's to come because some people can walk around for weeks 3cm dilated before they go into labour, and other women can be closed up tight at lunch time and have their water break and deliver a baby before bedtime the same day. I sure hope I can be one of those people.

So we have another appointment scheduled for next week and if at that point there is no action he will start discussing plans for inducing labour. He won't induce until I'm over 7 days past my due date just because due dates can be off by a week or so and they don't want to have any unnecessary medical intervention if they can help it.

So once again, there is nothing to do but wait and enjoy my last few uneventful days.