#71- Don't bug the baby

It's taken 3 newborns to figure this one out; my two oldest children slept beside our bed for the first 3 months (with Rosalie, nearly 4) of their lives. This, we thought, was easiest. 
They wake up, I don't even have to get out of bed to feed them, we all go back to sleep, everyone is happy. Or at least I assumed this was the best possible scenario, often I would find myself feeling frustrated at the baby having a 'rough' night where he or she was waking up 5 or more times during the night to eat and being impossible to put back down, but I would tell myself that it could have been so much worse if I had to trek across the house to retrieve the little one and sit in a cold rocking chair to feed for 20 minutes.

Oliver was quite a noisy sleeper in his first couple weeks of life, grunting, sighing, sniffing, whimpering; we tried different things, thinking he was too close to the window, too sensitive to the light, in the wrong sleeping position, just wanted to be held, wasn't swaddled tight enough, didn't like swaddling, etc etc, it was also very difficult to get him to STAY sleeping once we got him down at night. Finally one night we decided to try and see how it would go to put him to bed in the crib in the toy-room.
BY HIMSELF.
We didn't hear from him after we got him down for FOUR AND A HALF HOURS (in case you have never been a parent of a breastfed newborn, this is a very long time) of course when I woke up and looked at the clock I completely panicked and ran to his room to see if he was still alive, which of course woke him up and I proceeded to feed the certainly starving little chubster, and ever so carefully put him back down and didn't hear from him again till morning, 3 hours later.
We thought we must have just gotten lucky, but it's been over a week now and he consistently has been sleeping at night for up to 5 hours straight at a time before waking up to eat.

And it has dawned on me; I think I was the one waking him up, not the other way around!
For the first few weeks, there is nothing lovelier -and definitely beneficial- as snuggling and sleeping with your baby, and being always very near. In fact, I think it's an essential part of a newborns development and creating a close bond and trust to you. 
However after the baby has regained his birth weight and then some, breastfeeding is established, and there is some kind of pattern to his sleep schedule, more often than not  the baby does not need to eat every 2 hours round the clock, especially if he is eating every 2 hours during the day. (this is not medical advice, only my experience with my children) with Isaac I automatically fed him whenever he seemed cranky and irritable, and at night it seemed the best way to get him back to sleep, which was true. but now I'm realizing that not every sigh and whimper through the night means hunger. I think I was afraid of moving Oliver sooner because I thought i wouldn't be able to hear him. Trust me, unless you are an incredibly deep sleeper, if you find yourself waking up to your baby snuffling and sniffling, you will definitely wake up to the sound of your baby crying because he or she is hungry. But often the baby is just sorting things out on their own before settling back to deep sleep. A healthy, growing baby will let you know when they are hungry!

So all this to say; we are ALL sleeping better, it's kind of sad for me because I did enjoy having Oliver so close to us during the night, but in my groggy states of waking up during the night and grabbing him and fumbling around to feed or comfort, I think I was really just bugging him more often than not and he just wanted to go back to sleep!

Of course I know there will be stages where he is up a whole lot during the night (I haven't forgotten growth spurts and teething!) and in those times we will keep the bassinet by the bed just in case, but for the most part, I think this has been the solution for us!:)
Good luck to anyone who wants to try this, and to new moms I'd say, if the thought of moving your newborn out of your room seems too much, maybe just try even moving them to the end of your bed instead of right next to you, or across your room, so they are still with you, but not 'cheek to cheek' so that you wake up to every grunt. Also as a sidenote; I know many mothers do co-sleep and everyone does just fine and sleeps even better! I am not condemning this practice at all, whatever works and keeps mom, dad (dont' forget about dad) and baby happy for the first while! But if you are having a hard time with a noisy sleeper, it can't hurt to try it one night! Your baby may surprise you!

#70- Be the boss of your breastfeeding

I recently saw a poll on the internet simply asking 'do you breastfeed in public?' with two options: YES or NO.
Not conditional; you're on one side or the other apparently.

I think the public is pretty well informed now that Breast is Best for Baby. Every single pregnant woman has this fact drilled into them before they have even conceived; and it's all well and good. I'm all for breastfeeding. But what has been really bothering me lately is the increase in pressure on how you go about doing it.

We all know the stories of women being told to 'please put it away' in restaurants and malls, causing an absolute uproar among the breastfeeding community, whom often respond by protests usually involving a group of women storming the offending location, whipping out their breasts and nursing their little nurslings in defiance.

We hear the slogans and posts and articles on breastfeeding not being a crime, not being shameful, how women have the right, it's feeding your child, no different than giving them a bottle in public, breasts are for the babies, etc etc.
And it's all well in good, if a lady is going to breastfeed in public, so she should, and how she does it, whether stark naked or in a burka is really none of my business. We are all well aware we live in a free country concerning our state of apparel.

But how about us modest mouses? Not all of us feel comfortable feeding our wee ones in certain circumstances. And we have the equal right to cover up as we see fit. However there is increasing amounts of subtle pressures to these women to feel badly about their levels of comfort. 'What, are you ASHAMED of your body? Don't you KNOW breastfeeding is BEAUTIFUL? Why are you letting the opinion of others keep you from feeding your child? They're JUST breasts. If someone has an issue with you exposing them in public, it's THEIR problem.'

Let's be frank; if breasts were not a big deal, it wouldn't even be an argument on when, where or why you're exposing them in public, but because it gets everyone as giddy as gummy bears to see someone breastfeeding openly, it's natural that some women would rather not breastfeed in public all together, or at least cover up. It's not like some young fellow walks by and thinks "ooooooh, a breast. Oh wait, that's not a breast, it's a natural feeding device for that young human child. Interest lost. Carry on!"
Haha, but seriously.

Again, I personally am not bothered or in the least offended by how other women choose to breastfeed, I myself prefer to have some privacy in public, and even in the company of friends and family feel more comfortable with a blanket or scarf on hand (or on chest, ta ha ha) It's nto because I'm ashamed or embarrassed, it's just my comfort level.
So come on, this really shouldn't be such a big issue, I mean why make a poll about it? I'll be a voice for the ladies out there who are feeling a little put down by the pressures of some of the more liberal; Let the girl be!
'Nough said.

#69- one month

I think I can officially state my experience of 'the transition' from what 1 to 2 children and 1 to 3 children has been like. 

Most people told me that 1-2 was the most difficult, but almost the same amount told me the 3rd was the hardest. 
Oliver is a month old now and for me, going from one child to two was definitely harder! I think all of it really just depend on age, personalities, etc. I'm pretty sure the fact that the kids are born so close together in age had a lot to do with the difficulties I had with Isaac and Rosalie; there was simply no way to explain to him what was going on other than what he saw and felt for himself. I think Rosie would have reacted quite similarly to Oliver had she been the eldest and he the second. She doesn't give much of a toot about him now though, other than the odd time she'll toddler over singing 'Oldi-ba!'and squishing his face and then promptly losing interest. While Isaac sometimes obsesses a bit over getting to hold him and tend to him, which is usually terribly adorable:) Either way, they both don't seem to mind too much anymore when I am feeding Oliver or carrying him around. 

Oliver is a little snuggler! I suppose most newborns are, but he in particular just loves snuggling, I love seeing him snuggle with Eric especially, he calms down right away and will just lay head to chest with his big blue eyes staring into space completely at ease.
He's growing like crazy, I need to do some shopping because he's out of pretty much all his clothes right now and fits comfortably into 3-6 month! We have a midwife appointment tomorrow (second last one!) And i'm looking forward to seeing how much he's grown, at his 2 week appointment he was over 10 lbs so I'm putting him most definitely at at least 12 by now!
He had a bit of trouble getting his nights and days in the right order at first but we have it down now, he was also going to bed reeeeally late, and like we did with the other two, we eventually just starting putting him 'to bed' at a more decent time and he sleeps from then till morning (well, obviously between feedings, which is still every 2-3 hours, occasionally 4, and the odd 'fussy' time where he's not really awake but just trying to fart or something, he makes enough noise though!) Eric and I try to make sure we are both getting adequate rest, downtime is rare time so we treasure it when we get it!
I also recently invested in a double jogging stroller from kijiji, which I am yet to get to use, it's been so darn cold! but I'm pretty excited about it, I think I would like to start trying to make library trips part of our weekly routine, it's really not THAT far, I just haven't had the motivation to go with the wagon, this new stroller rides like a dream though, (however, I doubt I will be doing much jogging with it)
We've been trying to make the most of the cold days, sometimes I do go to all the effort to get them all dressed (Rosie and Isaac at least) and out the door even for 10 minutes just because from start to finish the whole process takes up about an hour which is an exciting activity for everyone...isaac does enjoy being outside more but Rosie gets sick of it pretty quick. Oliver is usually sleeping nice and warm inside during these romps and the fresh air does everyone SOME good at least. and is a great excuse to come back in and have some tea or hot chocolate, a 'special' treat for our adventures.
If we can't get outside we try to be creative indoors, my recent ideas have been attempts to nudge the kids in the direction of helping around the house in ways or general life skills, most recently Isaac and I baked cookies together and Rosie and Isaac gave all their toy animals 'baths' in the kitchen sink- great fun for everyone! And the end result was clean toys, clean sinks, AND a clean floor because I had to mop it up after we were done:)
Anyone else have great indoor activities for toddlers that you have used recently? Im' always looking for more!

#68- It happened once..

We've had a fun, busy, exhausting, sick, stressful, loving week. 

And it's moments like this that come ever so rarely but just at the right time that any grumpiness and exhaustion melts away in a second and I feel heaven on earth.

All the boys having a nap

Last few weeks..Photos

My cousin, Krista, announces she is pregnant! 

We welcome new cousin/nephew Avraam!

Rosie practicing Christmas cooking

Skating at the park with daddy

Skating...and trying to get baby on the move!

Skating- Christmas eve

And about 10 hours later...:) We welcome Oliver!

Isaac meets his little brother Christmas morning!

Reading the Christmas story

First visitors! Dear Darryl & Sarah

blue-eyed boy!

1 week old

New Years Eve with friends

Hardly cries when Isaac is holding him:)

#67-Big, Late, New Years Update!

Happy 2013!! 

What a great year it has been; And the last week of 2012 was just magical.

As most of you readers know, our eagerly anticipated Christmas present arrived 38 minutes short of Christmas day on Monday the 24th, 4 days late and just on time:)

Our third child, a BOY (we were so surprised!), Oliver Creed! 8 lbs 9oz, 21 inches long. 

Blonde hair, blue eyes, but otherwise looks just like his big brother!

We chose the name Oliver in accordance with our tradition of naming our kids after the fruits of the spirit, we have Joy (Isaac) Love (Rosalie) and now we have Peace (Oliver:) Creed means 'statement of faith' which we hope is lived out in Oliver. We had a couple other names but Eric decided on Oliver once we got to take a look at him, a very fine choice indeed!

There were certain concerns regarding excess amniotic fluid (turns out my polyhydramnios had returned) which resulted in my waters having to be broken in hospital to prevent cord prolapse, and once they get you into a hospital, you ain't gettin' outta there. I managed to get over my dread and tension, as, of course, the main priority was the healthy and safe arrival of Oliver.
Care was given back over to the midwives after a successful 'water break' and a few hours later (short but intense labour and delivery) little Oliver arrived! We got to go home a couple hours after and it was then 1:30 in the morning on Christmas day, snowing beautifully:)

Isaac and Rosalie did indeed wake up to the promised 'baby for Christmas' and were both quite thrilled. Though Rosie promptly lost interest, Isaac continues to be a very gentle and helpful big brother, holding Oliver whenever he can, burping and cuddling him, though sometimes he can get a little too rough (I once caught him about to walk off carrying Oliver by his armpits)
We are all adjusting very well to the latest addition. Oliver is a very calm and quiet baby (so far) and now that the flurry of visitors and holidays has died down and Eric has gone back to work, we are getting back into the swing of life, and maybe even naps!

We have been so blessed by our family, friends, and church community with meals, cleaning, taking care of the two older ones, and other support and prayers. I haven't had to think about cooking in over a week and have a full freezer of meals ahead! (Which is GOOD because there isn't much space in my mind or day to get around to cooking and planning a meal.) We are well taken care of.
Other news of 2012...:
We've owned our home for almost 2 years this March and it is starting to come together, and we have continued to build relationships with the neighbours and other locals and meeting new people all the time!
Eric continues his work as a DSW which has been very good for our family in terms of benefits and flexibility, his hours and shifts allow him to be at home more in some mornings and afternoons and it is generally easy to pick up and give up shifts when needed. Earlier this year Eric also made the big move to cut off his legendary long locks of hair and is now sporting a stylin' short 'do and a ruggedly handsome beard. He is currently on our church board and is the social light of the family which is good for all of us! Eric is the hero of this family, his kids utterly adore him (and so does his wife) and there's never more excitement in the house then when daddy comes home from work! Way to go Eric.

Isaac is growing big and TALL, he will be 3 years old this April and toddler-hood is behind him. Isaac has grown up so much in the past year it's hard to believe he was ever a baby. His favourite things to do are play with any kind of cars/trucks etc, build tents, RUN, hide & seek, dancing, eating fruit, anything interactive that involves other people, and this year he finally decided to start enjoying the snow! So jumping off ledges and sledding are his new favourite things to do outside. He's quite the little conversationalist as well, although it's funny watching him in new settings or when he's playing 'shy' because he will clam right up and no one might think any better, although later around the dinner table or in the tub he will recount anything he saw or heard, so be careful!:)
This year has been quite challenging at times with Isaac and his very "strong personality", as we call it. On top of the fact that it is the end of his Terrific Two's, we've had a bit of a roller-coaster. We are starting to see some fruits of our labours in Isaac however, as he is learning a little better how to deal with his emotions and strong will. (As are we) All I can do I suppose is hold my breath and hope that I didn't screw up too much as a parent this year and that we can move on forgiving and learning and growing; A great thing about kids is how quick they are to forgive and forget! 
Isaac is mostly fully potty trained except for nights. He has pretty much grown out of nap time, though I'm convinced he still needs one now and again, but has been settling for 'quiet time' in his room which usually doesn't last more than 20 minutes. Isaac is a little man who loves to be involved! It's exciting to see him growing up and being such an integral part of it is truly a privilege.

Rosalie is now 16 months old, and also growing like a weed. She is ever the cute little charmer but is learning some wily ways! She's just so darling about it it's hard to stay strict and serious. She is catching up to Isaac in many motor skills and opinions (though mostly just sounds like babbling at this point) and although Isaac usually has the upper hand, she is learning how to stand up for herself and once in awhile even gets her way.
She's taken on a little bit of an attitude, and at this point it's still terribly adorable, Eric and I will have to keep ourselves in check so it doesn't get out of hand!
Rosie's favourite things to do are read books (especially books without pictures as of late), chase us saying "roar", do puzzles, naptime with her bunny, and play with little toys (cars, animals, blocks) and loves when Isaac lets her play with him.
With a newborn around now it's incredible to see how BIG she's gotten over the past few months, somehow I missed the transition from baby to toddler with her, and I try to spend a bit more extra time with my little girl, which I sometimes forget to do as easy-going as she is. (O, the plight of the middle child!)
She's adjusting very well to Oliver, she doesn't seem to care too much about him for now, but when she does notice him she just treats him like a doll:)
She is not speaking in sentences yet but has a good number of words under her belt. I can't wait to hear what's on this gals mind!

I am learning how to adjust to my new family of 5, it's actually been easier than I thought (we're only 2 weeks into it:) I don't feel too nervous about Eric going back to work as things have been going so well. Probably my biggest concern is just making time for each person on top of keeping an orderly-ish house and meals on the table, though I know that there will be many a time there will be neither of these things, I want to remember my priority is time with my husband and children, absolutely more important in these early days than any chicken dinner or washed walls...as nice as that is:) Balancing all this I know also how important quiet time is for myself, even if it's only 10 minutes here and there, that time to 'regroup' and breathe can make that much more of a difference in my attitude and patience towards others.
Also with it being winter I don't know that I'll get out and about as much or as easily as I was able to with 2 kids, being outdoors is a lifeline for me when Eric is at work, but we'll figure that out.
I am truly enjoying my life right now, though in many ways I am not where I thought I would be even 5 years ago, I know I am now just where I should be. Even though there are days where I don't have time to myself for even a moment much less time to pursue any 'hobbies' or 'other interests', I know that these years where every ounce of my energy is required of me, are absolutely irreplaceable, and one of the great things is, I don't have to wait for the reward, they are all here every moment of every day:)

As my card reader is still broken, there won't be pictures in this post, so I'll make up for it next post with NOTHING BUT! (And maybe some explanations) 

Happy 2013! There's always a kettle hot in London if you're ever in the area, stop on by!

#66- Expectancy

December; where did you come from?
 Days are plummeting by at an alarming rate and yet at the same time I'm having a very difficult time coming to terms with that and the fact that Baby3 will be here. At this point, any day!!! Everything is ready, but I don't feel quite there, this pregnancy went by so fast it's really hard to believe I'll very soon be holding my third.
Nonetheless, excitement mounts and each and every squirm and very impatient punch reminds me of this little person ready to come out and greet us ASAP!
We've narrowed down on names and have people lined up to take in Isaac and Rosie should there be a need.
Meanwhile, life goes on quite normally at the Buckley's. We recently celebrated Christmas with my family and Eric and I had a lovely day and night together at home for the first time in at least a year, (thanks to my parents for taking our other two) we even managed to accomplish some things on the 'to-do' list, though it was very tempting to just laze around and do absolutely nothing for as long as possible. 
Sometimes I think it's important for parents to be away from their children for a period of time to fully appreciate them and parenthood and all it brings. It does get difficult at times to remember how incredible and precious this time is, to really FEEL it and realize it. I commented to Eric the night the kids were gone "ah I spend too much time thinking of how NICE it would be to get a few hours break without the kids, and then when I DO get it, all I can think about is how much joy they bring and how much I miss having them around!"
I could never go back to any old lifestyle of mine. Life without Isaac and Rosalie is simply unimaginable. 
And yes, I do get overwhelmed sometimes thinking about having '3 under 3' and how will I possibly manage, but I distinctly recall feeling that same way about the arrival of each of my children, and each time was a bit of an adjustment but now has just become normal life! It's strange to think about how soon 3 will just seem like the norm! And I won't be able to imagine life without this new little member:)

I love 'em all so dearly. God has blessed me so much with this little family. I am overwhelmed with all that we have; that we are able to pull off being a one-income family while owning a home, a car, having 3 (GROWING) children, and that my dear husband is able to be at home as much as he is on top of that (so blessed!) That we go out in the cold and come home to a warm house, with food both in fridge and freezer, with clothes in the closet and toys in the chest, and some left over for us to be able to share all these things with others. We don't live recklessly and certainly count our coins, but we are not in fear, we are not alone, and we have this incredible God who is somehow fulfilling all our needs and then some!
I expect this new year will bring it's ups and downs and challenges and joys, but we are well looked after, and may I never stop counting my blessings.