Seattle

Sunday we loaded up the boys and went down to Seattle to say "good-bye" to our friends. We were a little nervous about taking Everett on such a long drive as he has not shown much love to his car seat or the car. He managed to do pretty well. He fussed just south of Bellingham for about 15 minutes and then slept the rest of the way there and back.

He didn't even wake up for his photo next to his sign.
Once we met up with Jovana and her crowd in Bellvue we headed down to The Bite of Seattle at Seattle center to meet up with Bonnie. I have never seen so many food booths. We did not really venture out and eat anything wild though. Ryan and I had BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and Rawley had a hotdog. We sat by the big fountain and ate lunch.
It was pretty chilly so Everett stayed all bundled up in his jumper and blankets.

Elijah and Rawley however did not care it was cold and they played in the fountain.

It finally warmed up around 3 so the older boys dried off and Everett changed into his cute summer outfit.

It was a very very long day and Everett was cranky for the second half of it. I am so glad we went though and got to spend some time with our friends and say our "good-byes" before we move. It may be a while before we make it back to Seattle.

Scratch that

I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong.

Our day yesterday & so far today has involved a lot of crying/screaming. I am not sure if it is gas or constipation. He gets some relief when he farts or has a little poop.

Pretty much if he is not sleeping he is crying. Thank God he is sleeping right now.

I am exhausted but it I fall asleep now he may be awake crying in 10 minutes and that is harder to deal with than if I just stayed up.

We tried catnip tea yesterday and will continue to try it for a few more days. Everett is not so keen on drinking it though. If Catnip does not work...we will try Careaway next.

Poor Rawley is taking the brunt of my exhaustion. I have lost all patience with him. Glad he is at Hand-in-Hand today playing with other kids.

Thank You Similac

Dealing with Everett's tummy troubles has been a stressful trial and error. I am happy to say I am almost 100% sure we have found the solution.

From the very beginning of my pregnancy I was wanting to nurse baby for as long as I could. When he ended up coming early and being in NICU I pumped every 3 hours for him all through the day and night so that he would only have breast milk.

It was hard to tell if he was having tummy troubles in the hospital because he didn't eat for the first few days. His first little bottle was when he was three days old and it was only 5mls. Each day it gradually increased but not by too much.

Once we got him home and he was at a higher intake it was clear that he had a very upset tummy most of the day. We tried Ovol, Gripe Water and Bio Gaia (pro biotic drops). Eventually we tried him on a bit of formula and we noticed a difference but he was still very upset. We also tried formula because Everett was having trouble nursing. They say nursing gets easier and less painful if you just keep doing it, but I was still in ridiculous pain after 6 weeks and he was starting to pull away and fuss at feedings.

Everett was sent home from the hospital on Iron drops and we were told to continue to use them. So when we started trying Everett on formula we got a high Iron one. I saw my family doctor and told him all the troubles we were having. He told me I should still try to breastfeed but cut out the iron supplement as Iron is very hard to digest.

I was feeling really guilty now because both my labour & delivery doctor and my family doctor told me to continue to breastfeed, the health nurse urged me to keep doing it even though it hurt and Ryan was worried about the cost of formula. So the next morning I decided to start breastfeeding exclusively again.....I made it 4 minutes before I pulled him off. He was fusing and I was in a ton of pain.

I broke down and tried to find a different formula...one that was lower in Iron. It sounds easier than it is... Pretty much all formula is Iron fortified...The only one I could find that low in Iron was Similac Regular DigestEase. I bought it and tried Everett on it. Within half a day I noticed a difference in him. I have still been pumping a bit and giving him at least 2 breast milk bottles a day. I was doing this because I've been told over and over it is the best and that's what he needs and it is free and and and......

Over the past few days Everett has not enjoyed his breast milk bottles. When I give him that bottle he fusses, spits the milk out, lets it run out of the bottle instead of actively sucking and gags/chokes a lot. I could clearly tell he did not want it but forced him to have it anyway because I thought I was doing what was right.

Last night Everett made it very clear that he did not want breast milk anymore. Ryan started to feed him and after he fussed a lot I took over. He ate most of it and then when I tried to get him to finish up he projectile vomited. It was unreal. I have never seen anything like it. We were sitting 3 feet away from the wall and he soaked the wall, the phone, the books on the table.... It was such a forceful vomit that he didn't even get any on himself.

So, lesson learned. You can always hear the doctors, hear the nurses and hear everyone else's advice. Just because you hear them does not mean you have to listen to them. In the end you only have to listen to your baby. Do what your baby needs.

Now that Everett is exclusively on formula he is much happier and I can have milk and cheese again. Yay.

What Have I Done Today?

Too Much!

I managed to get a good sleep last night. "Thank you Everett". He did a 5 hour sleep followed by a 3 hour sleep.

Once we got up I started packing right away. Everett slept while I did Rawley's room then he helped me pack & clean the bathroom.

I got 9 boxes packed today and everything taken off Rawley's wall. The cupboards in my bathroom have been emptied and cleaned. Then I made up all Everett's bottles for today. I actually cooked lunch; noodles for Rawley and eggs for me. Then we went and got the mail, walked part way around Mill Lake and then Everett and I sat in the shade while Rawley played at the park. Everett got nice and comfy under the tree and had a little nap.

Once we got home I was able to watch ER while I fed Everett. Then Ryan and I made dinner. Ryan did dishes tonight while I did the laundry.

We have been trying very hard to keep Everett up in the early evening so that he will sleep at night. His awake time is 9-midnight right now and that is a little bit late for me. So, tonight we gave him a bath to keep him awake a little bit. His new bathtub works much better in the bathroom sink than in the kitchen sink and Everett seems to like it more too.

Our bedroom is not very livable right now. Between my stuff, Ryan's stuff, Everett's stuff and the mountain of boxes we can barely move in there. I have to say though, looking at the boxes gives me a feeling of accomplishment. I am on box #62 now.


Time to relax on the couch now and hope that Everett has an early night.

It Couldn't Last Forever

Yesterday Ryan's parents left for home. Mom had been here for 2 weeks and dad for 10 days. I enjoyed having them here for so many reasons. They were very helpful with Everett, made it possible for me to get some packing done and just made good company to have around.

Mom helped me so much with Everett, feeding him when I was busy, taking him so I could nap when I had a rough night, and giving me helpful advice when I was lost with what to do for his tummy troubles. Even if she was just sitting on the couch knitting while I took care of Everett it seemed easier because there was someone here just to talk to.

I really love Ryan's parents and having a mom around to help me was a new a wonderful experience. I have always enjoyed doing family things and spending time with families. Growing up I always attached myself to a friends family to fill that need. It is nice to finally have a family I can call my own. (no disrespect to my dad whom I love dearly, but one great father just insn't the same as a whole family)

We tried to do as much with Ryan's parents as possible while balancing out work (for Ryan), packing and everyday duties. The boys took in a Canadians baseball game, Street Legal Drag Races and a round of golf. We all went to our favorite swimming place in Mission and took Dad out for a late father's day dinner. They stood in for our friends (who live in Manitoba) for Everett's baptism and Mom was able to come to mine and Everett's baby shower. We even all got to go shopping at IKEA.

Yesterday was a hard day. We had to take them to the airport and say good-bye. I know we will be moving in 3 weeks and get to see them anytime we want, but I am not going to lie...once we got pack to the parking lot I cried a little on Ryan's shoulder.

THANK YOU MOM & DAD FOR YOUR VISIT, FOR YOUR GIFTS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY FOR YOUR LOVE

Grandpa & Rawley at the Canadians game.

Ryan & Parents at the BerryBeat Festival watching the magician

Rawley & Ryan rock climbing

Famiyl dinner night with both my dad and Ryan's parents.

Relaxing in the sun at Suicide Creek (Properly named Norrish Creek)

"Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!"

Everett loved having the ice cold water put on his hot little head.

Friday night street legals

The boys all dressed up and ready for golf.

Canada Day & Berry Festival

Canada Day was not so great weather wise here. We did manage to go to the parade with Grandma in the morning. Everett and I sat under an umbrella in the back and Grandma & Rawley went and sat on the curb so they could see. It was not the greatest parade ever. It would be nice if the floats were closer together. Waiting 1-5 minutes for each float to come by makes for a long parade.
After the parade we went to the airport to pick up Grandpa. That night Everyone went to the fireworks while Everett and I went to bed. It was a nice quiet evening for me and a exciting evening for everyone else.

The Saturday following we all headed down to the BerryBeat Festival. The intention was to let Rawley have some fun and then get cotton candy. Rawley however didn't have all that much fun. A combination of him growing up and the festival getting lamer made for kind of a boring day. He did play a round of mini golf and go rock climbing though.

What a little goof.

Rawley didn't make it very far up the wall because he was too short to reach anymore grips to hold on to. He had fun though.

Ryan fell off the first time he tried, then made it all the way to the top the second time... Later that day he complained about how sore his arm was.

Everett hung out in his stroller and tried to keep warm.

This That & The Next Thing

Everett had to have a bath and get all cleaned up and smelling good before Grandpa W. got here last Thursday. Grandma was around to take some cute pictures. This was Everett's last bath in his roasting pan. We have moved on to bigger and better things.

Everett has the best after bath fuzzy hair ever. He looks so cute.
Getting some daddy cuddles.

Saturday night Ryan and I got a night out. Grandma & Grandpa stayed home with both boys so that we could go celebrate my sister-in-laws birthday with her and some friends. We also took advantage of a night out and went for dinner alone. While I was in the hospital I was not allowed to eat for the majority of the time and Ryan was enjoying all kinda of food. I told him that once I was out he owed me dinner at Olive Garden. So we went there for pre-party dinner.

While at home with Grandma & Grandpa, Everett watched in amazement while Rawley played marble works. Grandma took some great pictures.