1 year ago
December 18, 2010
Photo Session with Deanna McCollum Photography
Last Saturday Roland, Joseph and I went to Deanna McCollum's home studio to get our photos taken. It was really fun and I was so proud of Joseph. He was so calm and would let Deanna put him in any position she wanted to. I am absolutely in love with the pictures she took. She is so talented! Here is a link to her website http://www.deannamccollum.com/ and also a few of the pictures from the day.
December 17, 2010
Breastfeeding Terrors
One of the things I've had the hardest time with is breastfeeding. Even though I didn't have some of the problems that moms can have such as latching issues I just did not like it at all, and that is putting it nicely.I felt so bad for hating it because, as a mother, wasn't I supposed to enjoy the closeness and nurturing that breastfeeding brought to my child and my relationship? Unfortunately I was not getting that feeling and I felt there was nothing I could do about it. I would actually watch shows where moms were feeding their children formula and look on through jealous eyes. When formula commercials came on I would look at them and want to switch so bad, sometimes I would even cry. But, I just couldn't bring myself to switch for some reason. R would always say that we should, and that it wasn't that big of a deal, but to me it was. Maybe it was everyone telling me that it wasn't actually easier. You see I asked a whole bunch of my friends who are moms and got a ton of advice, even my own mother had tried both (I'm adopted so she had to bottle feed me however, my brother is biological so he was breastfed.) That, by the way, is another reason I just couldn't up and switch. I have a horrible immune system and I am convinced it is because I wasn't breastfed meaning I missed out on those antibodies that help with immune systems. Some of the advice I got really helped. One of the things that stuck the most was to give myself goals such as: 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and so on. So, today I find myself two days away from my 6 week goal. And, surprisingly I don't hate it anymore. I still don't love it, and some days I still want to switch to bottles (like this week when Joseph was going through his growth spurt and either eating, sleeping, or crying.) But, I persevered and now sometimes I even enjoy it. Yes, thats right, enjoy it!
Becoming a mom has taught me a lot about myself. I never knew I could be this patient or that I could stick with something for this long even though I hated it. When I was younger I would watch my mom do things (let's be honest, everything) for us children. She even did all these things when she was sick. And, I never thought I could do that...I'm not a very happy sick person you see. But now I know that I can because if I can make it through and keep on breastfeeding, I can do anything.
Mom
Becoming a mom has taught me a lot about myself. I never knew I could be this patient or that I could stick with something for this long even though I hated it. When I was younger I would watch my mom do things (let's be honest, everything) for us children. She even did all these things when she was sick. And, I never thought I could do that...I'm not a very happy sick person you see. But now I know that I can because if I can make it through and keep on breastfeeding, I can do anything.
Mom
Being a New Dad
Nov 7, 2010 was the beginning of the end of Chelsea's pregnancy, and the end to the first stage of Joseph's life. 53 minutes after midnight, Nov 8, 2010, our son was born. 8 lbs 12 ozs of our boy came out of my wife with barely a cry, and alert as can be. The sheer joy that overcame me upon seeing our son for the first time was overwhelming, too the point of tears. Being at Chelsea's side had me torn... do I stay with and comfort my wife, or do I go and hold our son for the first time? I chose to stay with Chelsea until she said to go... which wasn't very long. Then I got to clip the remainder of Joseph's umbilical cord (not as tough as it's made out to be), see Joseph weighed and tested, and FINALLY got to hold our son, whom I immediately brought over to take some pictures with and meet his mom. While Chelsea was getting put back together after her c-section, Joseph and I went to meet his Grandma and Grandpa Sherwood, Grandma Larocque, Grandma Deena, and Uncle Jason. I have never seen such a calm and alert newborn as he turned his head to hear who was talking and see who was holding him. Everyone was overjoyed to see the healthy baby boy. We spent the next few nights in the hospital and had many visitors, all of whom welcomed our bundle of joy into this world. I can't wait to watch our boy grow and grow and see what adventure life has for us Larocques. Until then!
December 10, 2010
Milestones
Today our little one is one month old. Already?!?! are you kidding me? It surprises me how fast time passes, especially considering how slow nine months went when I was pregnant. I think that's because I was waiting to "get there". You know how when your traveling somewhere the way there seems so long, but the way home flies by?
This first month of my sons life has already brought so many milestones and I look forward every day to see what new thing he will that day. He is lifting his head 45 degrees, focusing on faces, focusing on objects, following objects with his eyes and as well as turning his whole head to follow them, he's found his hands, and today he smiled and it was the most amazing moment of my whole life. He has been kind of smiling for the past week but today his whole face lit up and I cried. I can't believe I'm one of those moms...actually wait...who am I kidding? I always knew I would be one of those moms.
When I was pregnant I could not wait for Joseph to come but now it all seems to be racing by faster than I would like. Although, I am so excited to watch him grow into the person he is going to be. I am so excited for his first laugh and words, crawl and steps. I am so excited to be his mom and to help him learn and grow. I am surprised daily at the amount of love that I have for him and also that it grows every day. I am really settling in to this mommy thing and I am loving it!
P.S I started writing this on the 8th so thats why it says "today our son is one month old"
December 07, 2010
4 Things
4 Things
I'm a sucker for these things!4 shows I watch:
One Tree Hill
Modern Family
Glee
How I Met Your Mother
4 things I am passionate about:
1 - family
2 - church
3 - shopping
4 - travelling
1 - family
2 - church
3 - shopping
4 - travelling
4 phrases I say a lot:
1 - tell me about it
2 - P.S
3 - really?
4 - are you kidding me
4 things I have learned from the past:
1 - hard times can make you stronger depending on how you react to them
2 - patience is important
3 - love matters more
4 - be kind
4 places I'd like to go:
1 - All of the Caribbean
2 - England particularly Brighton
3 - Montreal and Quebec City
4 - Greece
4 things I did yesterday:
1- Looked after my one month old
2 - put away Josephs clothes finally
3 - the dishes
4 - family home evening
4 things I am looking forward to:
1 - Christmas
2 - watching my son grow up
3 - going to see my grandma sherwood
4 - getting Josephs/family pictures done on saturday
4 things I love about winter:
1 - warm clothes
2 - nights in
3 - fires in my parents fireplace
4 -Christmas
4 things on my wish list:
1- Joseph to sleep through the night
2 - a new TV
3 - for us to afford Roland going back to school
4 - to be a stay at home mom
4 people I tag:
1- I don't really want to tag anyone...do this if you would like :)
Chelsea
December 04, 2010
Our New Arrival
I was hoping I would get around to writing this post a little sooner, but, as I'm sure most of you other moms know, being a new mom doesn't leave much time for blogging! So...here is the story of how our wonderful bundle of joy came into this world!
On Saturday November 6th Roly and I went to a Victoria Salmon Kings game. Now, we went to a game a week before that too and I had a feeling that I was going to go into labor after a hockey game, so when my parents offered their season tickets to us again I jumped at the chance to go considering I was three days late already! So, we went to the game with my grandma and unfortunately the Kings lost horribly (due to the worst reffing job on the planet might I mention.) After the game we dropped my grandma off and went home to watch some t.v and go to bed early since we had church in the morning. I think we went to bed around twelve and I ended up waking up at two-ish feeling like I really had to go to the bathroom but it turns out I didn't. While trying to go to the bathroom I had my show...sorry guys its gross but this is the story. But, I had read that having your show doesn't mean your going in to labor so I didn't really think much of it. I went back to bed and an hour later was to the bathroom again with no avail, but more show! This time I woke Roland up. We laid back down in bed and my cramps started slowly getting closer together. Around six am they were about 4-5 minutes apart and HURT so I figured it was time to call my Dr. who told me to go to the hospital. By the way I had had an appointment on the fourth and he had said he would be very surprised if I went into labor that weekend. I guess you should never tell me I wont be doing something cause I'll do it!
Roland and I drove to the hospital and checked in. When the nurse checked me I was 1cm dilated and 100% effaced, she called my Dr. and he decided to come and check me too. After he had arrived and I was still 1cm they were going to send me home and told me to come back around 6pm unless my water broke. They were also going to give me some painkillers and some sleeping pills to help me wait it out. So, we got up and I got dressed ready to leave the hospital and they changed their minds and said I could stay. I was pretty relieved considering I have zero pain tolerance and these contractions were killing me. I started with using just the laughing gas which surprisingly helped a lot because it made me concentrate on my breathing. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get me through the pain so the nurses gave me morphine. Morphine was a joke and barely touched the amount I was hurting so I begged my Doctor to give me an epidural which with much convincing on my part he finally gave in. Thank you Doctor Bill! I got my epidural within ten minutes which was super lucky considering I had talked to another lady who delivered the same day as me and she had to wait like three hours, thank you Heavenly Father for knowing ten minutes was all I could wait! When the specialist was giving me my epidural Roland almost passed out which I thought was really funny cause it didn't hurt at all to get it.Having my epidural slowed down my labor a lot (before I had it I was having contractions every two minutes and they slowed down to every four.)
I had a lot of people at the hospital to entertain me throughout my 21 hours of labor. My in-laws were able to make the trip over to the mainland hoping I would have Joseph by 5 o'clock because my father-in-law had to take the 7pm ferry back. However, that wasn't the case considering I had him at 12:53 am. Also at the hospital was my mom, dad, birth mom and her boyfriend Evan. So, at around 6pm my Dr. decided to get a consult from another OB to see if I should get a c-section because my sons ginormous head just would not engage in my pelvis (we found out later on it's because my pelvis is shaped weird.) So at I don't know what time, probably 11:30ish, the other OB came in and examined me. By now my epidural wasn't working anymore even though they had just put more medicine into it. The other OB tried to turn Joseph because he was facing up instead of towards my back, hence why the epidural wasn't working, and it was the most excruciating thing I have ever felt. Unfortunately, Joseph wouldn't turn so I was offered to wait a little longer and see if we could try to get him out vaginally, or, have a c-section. Now, I know some women are against c-sections or they feel like they failed at being a woman because they couldn't have their baby the way billions of other women have but, at this point I was in so much pain, balling my eyes out and so done with this whole situation that I decided to have a c-section, and you know what? I don't regret it at all.
How fast everything happens once they decide to do an emergency section is mind blowing. Within five minutes I was being wheeled into the operating
room and getting put onto the table. For sections you aren't put under you are given a spinal tap, which by the way was one of the scariest experiences of my life. Getting it wasn't the hard part, it was just like getting an epidural. It was the way your body freezes that was scary. I felt like I couldn't breathe and I was given an oxygen mask which made me feel claustrophobic and all I wanted was to take the mask off. Once they got me all frozen and prepped they let Roland in, I'll let him tell you about it from his point of view. Having surgery when your awake is a weird feeling, I could feel pulling and tugging but no pain. And, all of a sudden my son let out his first cry, which, by the way, was right as his mouth hit the incision and it was his only cry. My dr said he came out wide eyed and alert looking at everyone and everything around him. They cleaned him off and wrapped him up (dad got to cut the umbilical cord shorter than they had cut it) and passed him to Roland who in turn brought him to me. I'm not going to lie to you, that instant connection that you see moms feel in movies or read about in books, I didn't really feel that right away. Roland brought him out to see our families and I'm told he looked around at everyone then too. I couldn't hold him until I was in recovery because I was shaking so bad from the anesthesia. The nurse passed him to me so I could nurse him and he was the perfect little latcher (thank heavens I was so worried about nothing!) As soon as he started nursing the shaking stopped and I fell so in love with my little bundle of joy.
Healing from this c-section, and adjusting to becoming a new mother has not been easy for me. But, I am finding the joy in this role I've wanted to play my whole life. Through foggy minds and fuzzy eyes from tiredness I have grown to love my son more than I ever knew possible. And that love grows every day. I am so thankful for the other moms in my life who have helped me with words of counsel. And, especially to my mom who has helped with absolutely everything from dishes to diapers. This new mom task I have taken on is a big scary one but it is one I know I will enjoy thoroughly. Maybe even more when he starts sleeping through the night?
Mom
On Saturday November 6th Roly and I went to a Victoria Salmon Kings game. Now, we went to a game a week before that too and I had a feeling that I was going to go into labor after a hockey game, so when my parents offered their season tickets to us again I jumped at the chance to go considering I was three days late already! So, we went to the game with my grandma and unfortunately the Kings lost horribly (due to the worst reffing job on the planet might I mention.) After the game we dropped my grandma off and went home to watch some t.v and go to bed early since we had church in the morning. I think we went to bed around twelve and I ended up waking up at two-ish feeling like I really had to go to the bathroom but it turns out I didn't. While trying to go to the bathroom I had my show...sorry guys its gross but this is the story. But, I had read that having your show doesn't mean your going in to labor so I didn't really think much of it. I went back to bed and an hour later was to the bathroom again with no avail, but more show! This time I woke Roland up. We laid back down in bed and my cramps started slowly getting closer together. Around six am they were about 4-5 minutes apart and HURT so I figured it was time to call my Dr. who told me to go to the hospital. By the way I had had an appointment on the fourth and he had said he would be very surprised if I went into labor that weekend. I guess you should never tell me I wont be doing something cause I'll do it!
Roland and I drove to the hospital and checked in. When the nurse checked me I was 1cm dilated and 100% effaced, she called my Dr. and he decided to come and check me too. After he had arrived and I was still 1cm they were going to send me home and told me to come back around 6pm unless my water broke. They were also going to give me some painkillers and some sleeping pills to help me wait it out. So, we got up and I got dressed ready to leave the hospital and they changed their minds and said I could stay. I was pretty relieved considering I have zero pain tolerance and these contractions were killing me. I started with using just the laughing gas which surprisingly helped a lot because it made me concentrate on my breathing. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get me through the pain so the nurses gave me morphine. Morphine was a joke and barely touched the amount I was hurting so I begged my Doctor to give me an epidural which with much convincing on my part he finally gave in. Thank you Doctor Bill! I got my epidural within ten minutes which was super lucky considering I had talked to another lady who delivered the same day as me and she had to wait like three hours, thank you Heavenly Father for knowing ten minutes was all I could wait! When the specialist was giving me my epidural Roland almost passed out which I thought was really funny cause it didn't hurt at all to get it.Having my epidural slowed down my labor a lot (before I had it I was having contractions every two minutes and they slowed down to every four.)
I had a lot of people at the hospital to entertain me throughout my 21 hours of labor. My in-laws were able to make the trip over to the mainland hoping I would have Joseph by 5 o'clock because my father-in-law had to take the 7pm ferry back. However, that wasn't the case considering I had him at 12:53 am. Also at the hospital was my mom, dad, birth mom and her boyfriend Evan. So, at around 6pm my Dr. decided to get a consult from another OB to see if I should get a c-section because my sons ginormous head just would not engage in my pelvis (we found out later on it's because my pelvis is shaped weird.) So at I don't know what time, probably 11:30ish, the other OB came in and examined me. By now my epidural wasn't working anymore even though they had just put more medicine into it. The other OB tried to turn Joseph because he was facing up instead of towards my back, hence why the epidural wasn't working, and it was the most excruciating thing I have ever felt. Unfortunately, Joseph wouldn't turn so I was offered to wait a little longer and see if we could try to get him out vaginally, or, have a c-section. Now, I know some women are against c-sections or they feel like they failed at being a woman because they couldn't have their baby the way billions of other women have but, at this point I was in so much pain, balling my eyes out and so done with this whole situation that I decided to have a c-section, and you know what? I don't regret it at all.
How fast everything happens once they decide to do an emergency section is mind blowing. Within five minutes I was being wheeled into the operating
room and getting put onto the table. For sections you aren't put under you are given a spinal tap, which by the way was one of the scariest experiences of my life. Getting it wasn't the hard part, it was just like getting an epidural. It was the way your body freezes that was scary. I felt like I couldn't breathe and I was given an oxygen mask which made me feel claustrophobic and all I wanted was to take the mask off. Once they got me all frozen and prepped they let Roland in, I'll let him tell you about it from his point of view. Having surgery when your awake is a weird feeling, I could feel pulling and tugging but no pain. And, all of a sudden my son let out his first cry, which, by the way, was right as his mouth hit the incision and it was his only cry. My dr said he came out wide eyed and alert looking at everyone and everything around him. They cleaned him off and wrapped him up (dad got to cut the umbilical cord shorter than they had cut it) and passed him to Roland who in turn brought him to me. I'm not going to lie to you, that instant connection that you see moms feel in movies or read about in books, I didn't really feel that right away. Roland brought him out to see our families and I'm told he looked around at everyone then too. I couldn't hold him until I was in recovery because I was shaking so bad from the anesthesia. The nurse passed him to me so I could nurse him and he was the perfect little latcher (thank heavens I was so worried about nothing!) As soon as he started nursing the shaking stopped and I fell so in love with my little bundle of joy.
Healing from this c-section, and adjusting to becoming a new mother has not been easy for me. But, I am finding the joy in this role I've wanted to play my whole life. Through foggy minds and fuzzy eyes from tiredness I have grown to love my son more than I ever knew possible. And that love grows every day. I am so thankful for the other moms in my life who have helped me with words of counsel. And, especially to my mom who has helped with absolutely everything from dishes to diapers. This new mom task I have taken on is a big scary one but it is one I know I will enjoy thoroughly. Maybe even more when he starts sleeping through the night?
Mom
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