in the middle

Tonight Mimi and I were at odds during bath-time. I told her that the rule that she can't pick up Timo yet applies all the time in our family. She said that I had my own family and she and Timo were in a different family - "the stinky bum family". Unfortunately we were already in the bathroom so I couldn't reprimand her bathroom language...
Then she sang a little song (maybe twinkle twinkle or row row row your boat) which was so high that I think she was seriously singing a high G above high C. (super duper crazy high- only canine audible almost)
Then after bath and before she fell asleep she said "Mum, can I tell you one more thing? Me: Yes.  Mimi: I love you. and after my good sleep I am not going to be so kooky in the morning".

5 Weeks

I am struck by the night noises- snuffling, gurgling, screeching, contented grunting. I plan to record these when I get to Spokane where my recording device is. Otherwise they will fade away/grow up.
Eyes are not goopy anymore
Acne comes and goes with every day- less in the morning, developing into the afternoon, clearing at night (sounds like a weather forecast)
longer between feeds- 4 hours during the day on one occasion!
Enjoys a soother on occasion - neither Ami nor Mimi ever took to one so this is rather handy especially considering all the changes that we anticipating ahead... and how many things I need to do accomplish....
Loves his morning walks in his Bugaboo with Mum and Gran and the dogs
He now weighs 10 lbs 2 oz (up from 8 lbs 1/2 oz at birth)

Timo on his new quilt made by my friend Mary (in all her spare time- Mom of 2, now 3!)

Ami's activities

I was going to write about what Ami has been up to these days but my sister so eloquently wrote about him on her blog that I figure you should read about it here!

Timo and Ami having a cuddle

Twin Summit part deux

Clearly world peace was on the agenda. And the boys were in agreement. Just look at their linked arms!

(if it looks like the same as last week's summit it is because Timo has a very limited wardrobe and this sleeper is my favourite- it's a hand-me-down from Ami!)

belly button

I remember when I had Ami that the issue of belly buttons was big for me. Not only is it the place where you were physically attached to your mother and is a little mark to remember that, but the mother's belly button is transformed in the process of pregnancy (at least mine was). You get to see right to the bottom of that part of you that you think you know but you have never actually seen the bottom of. I start to wonder how all that skin which has never seen the light feels after being exposed. After my babies were born my belly button did not go back to the way it was before- a lasting mark of my mother-hood perhaps.

I wonder what determines whether you get an outie or an innie. In my family we specialize in innies. Timo's is yet to be determined at this point but I must say that it is a particularly cute belly button. It reminds me of a little snail.

We have a plan

So the wheels are almost on the tracks for us to go to "Spoke" next Thursday. After today's bureaucratic hurdle of Timo's passport submission (which then required Martin to go to a police station in the Spoke to get them to verify his identity), we just want to double check with customs that we have all the documentation we need to enter the country. That will be tomorrow's morning adventure.
The kids and I have been in Victoria since the middle of August and now we have 50% more kids than we had when we arrived. I can't remember the last time I was responsible for 3 square meals for a day let alone weeks on end. It will be so strange to leave here and set up camp in a totally new place. As Little Red says it "makes me feel excited, well, excited and scared." Oh, and it makes me feel tired, and overwhelmed and sad too.

4 Weeks

Four weeks old means...
more clinging to Mum
difficulty staying asleep for naps in the bassinet,
longer sleeping at night between feeds,
more wake time during the day,
noticing more things in the room,
growing out of newborn clothes and "10lbs" clothes,
more Mimi wanting to pick him up and carry him around,
first trip outside of Victoria,
passport photos taken (hopefully successfully...)
more delight/interest in wiggling the body/straightening legs when it is diaper-change time

Timo and Miho together for the first time!

more and more cuteness everyday
of course another exploded diaper to mark the end of four weeks!

Twin Cousin Summit

Weekend in the City (Vancouver!)

On Saturday the kids and I set out for the weekend in Vancouver. We had a number of "dates" set up with our friends and family and miraculously we were able to see all but one family that we had hoped to see this trip! The kids were super excited to be heading off for such an adventure especially with the possibility that there might be snow in Vancouver. (the kids are super excited by snow- they have not experienced real winter in their memories and are eager to get their hands on the white stuff!!). We caught the 11 AM ferry (the Spirit of Vancouver Island- Ami's favourite BC Ferry Vessel) and were able to connect with our friends and neighbours on Turner Street Louise and her boys Elias and Mateo. So great to have a good visit and play at their house. Then it was a fantastic feast of veggies and super-duper sausages from Oyama on Granville Island for dinner at Kate, Jeff and Liam's and then a "late" night arrival at Oma and Papa's for sleeping.
On Sunday we went to the cathedral for church in the morning, remembered just how good church can be, confused a bunch of people with Caitlin and my baby (nothing like one mum holding the other's baby! yes they are exactly the same age, no they are not twins...etc etc), had to answer lots of questions about moving to Spokane, went for a lovely lunch with Hilary and Josh on Robson street ( Two Mums 4 kids!), then cousin time, Julia and Travis visit and a delicious dinner at Caitlin and Panos'. The twin cousins got to compare notes about almost being 4 weeks old and I got to hold another squishy, cute boy! Babies are so squishy it is awesome- something you forget when you haven't had one around for a bunch of years...
Monday AM was visiting time with Oma and Papa and then a visit with Lauren to round off our visiting in the big Smoke. Then it was back to the BCFerries to catch the Spirit of Vancouver Island (1PM) [designated "possible wait" but we got ON!!] Ami made friends with an elderly woman on the ferry- lots of discussion as to which vessel sailed where. I think she was totally charmed- even the woman sitting in front of the "friend" thought he was pretty incredible. So chatty and knowledgeable and fun.
I was proud of my kids for managing the rather grueling visiting schedule and there were no melt-downs or questionable behaviour.
The highlight for the kids (especially Ami) was that the snow from Sunday night had stayed around long enough at Lauren's house for us to make snowballs!

Help!

I have got to have two of the greatest kids around. Today was the day that they had an appointment to get their "school age" booster inoculations. I didn't want to ruin their days today so I kept this info from them until after school. I picked them up and started driving to the public health clinic which was in the opposite direction from our house. Neither of them made any comment about this and so I didn't either. When I finally pulled over to the curb to park both of them "woke up" to the fact that we were nowhere that they knew. I turned off the car and I turned around to tell them what we were doing there.

I said, "Well, today is the day that you guys get your inoculations."
"What does that mean" Ami said.
I explained that it meant getting poked with a needle.
In his most golly-gee voice Ami then said "oh HELLLLLLL....p".

I don't think he meant any joke by it but it was hilarious.

I told them that we would visit the nurse and then we would go down the street to the bakery to get a treat. They seemed to have NO problem with this plan at all. I was expecting big resistance but Ami lead the way with his "oh well" attitude and it meant that it was the smoothest medical procedure ever. Ami went first and he had to have 2 pokes. After the first one he said "That was nothing!" The second one stung a bit more so that was a bit uncomfortable. Mimi was hesitant about her shot but her brother did such good behaviour modelling she couldn't really fight it too hard. Besides, Ami started picking out which sticker he thought Mimi would like even before the shot went in. He is such a kind and distracting brother!

the duo sometimes known as Amimi or Mimiel

Then we went to the bakery and got cookies. Ami chose double chocolate and Mimi chose shortbread with jam center and white chocolate drizzle.  All was well.

Things learned. . .

Ami's Hallowe'en hat/costume (Mr. BC Ferry)

Timo's Hallowe'en costume (Mr Small 'n' Cute)

Mimi's Hallowe'en costume (Ms BC Faerie)

Having two kids and a newborn teaches you all sorts of things that you may not have expected. It teaches you to go to bed earlier than you could ever imagine. It teaches you to get your "work" done first thing in the day - otherwise you will never fit it in at the end. It teaches you to type one-handed - with either hand. It teaches you that you have more than enough love to go around.

3 Weeks

Yesterday we celebrated Timo being three weeks old!!! He can do all sorts of tricks now!
Here is what he is like at 3 weeks

Timo is a champion nurser. He can nurse anywhere and in any position.
He looks around very purposefully. He mostly likes shadows and architecture (just like Ami did).
He gained 1lbs 1 oz from his birth weight as of Saturday last. (>15% of his total weight)
He likes being swaddled or being held nice and snuggly - a good way to fall asleep.
He sleeps in my bed with me at night and for the most part sleeps and feeds with not much wake-time.
He is finding out about his hands a bit and they have much more presence in his world.
He keeps showing signs of indvertantly rolling over- looking up and then arching his back and starting to get his opposite leg/foot involved... yikes
He lost his belly-button stump at exactly 3 weeks.
His eyes are gummy and he has a tiny bit of acne (all normal).

In celebration of his 3 week birthday he had his first poo all the way up his back.

clothes

I packed my bags at the end of May thinking that I would need clothes for the summer and also to accommodate my every increasing belly-size. I started out wearing my regular clothes and as my summer yoga pants ride pretty low I was able to even wear regular pants (not maternity wear) up to the end of July. Then I needed to dip into any available maternity wear I could put my hands on. Thankfully I had kept most of my small collection of maternity wear from my other pregnancies and had loaned it to my sister. She had stored it at our parents' place and in the middle of August when I came to visit I suddenly had a bunch of new clothes to wear (huzzah). As I got increasingly bigger this fall items started not fitting anymore and the change of season also ruled out a number of outfits.

Now I am into another awkward time in clothes. I don't have any "pre-pregnancy" clothes as I packed those away in May- thinking that I would see them again where-ever we ended up in the fall. I haven't ended up anywhere yet so I don't have them.

This week I had to make an emergency trip to Value Village to get some clothes for the transition time of post pregnancy body to "normal" (whatever that is). I went with Mum on Tuesday which is seniors' day (30% off!) and got a couple of pairs of pants, a few shirts, a sweater to wear in bed (for mid-night nursing) and a coat/sweater. I am almost feeling normal again! I plan to go back on Tuesday with my Mum (gotta get that discount) for more shirts and maybe another pair of pants. I also want something warm and soft and nice to wear- I am moving to a colder climate than I have been in for 3 years - plus sometimes this house is just freezing! :)

Visitors

Drinking in the sun and his second grandson

looks like Timo will be as handsome as his Papa.

Having a new baby means that people want to come and visit you! Timo has had visitors from Germany, Sorrento, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, Vancouver and from right here in Victoria! All this before 2 weeks old! His first (non immediate family) visitors were sisters Michaela (from Munich) and Sophia (from Victoria) who came to our house before Timo was even a week old. It is amazing to see and hold such a tiny person and be in the presence of someone so new.
We had a big visit from Oma and Papa from Vancouver who came over for the day bearing clothes for the baby and treats for the Mum. Chocolate really is the best thing for a nursing mum! :)
We might go visiting next weekend to meet Timo's twin cousin in Vancouver. Gotta see that boy before he gets any bigger.

Remembering

Yesterday at school Mimi and Ami had a Remembrance Day Ceremony. They have lots of questions about Remembrance Day and War and Death. I love how Canadians have Remembrance day rather than Veterans Day- it just seems more all encompassing. I love the poppies and the poetry and the remembering. I also love that both my kids were wreath-bearers (representing their respective classes) at their assembly. I hope they teach Timo everything they know.

Sleepy-time

so sleepy

so, so sleepy

can't get enough sleep!

sleepy baby boy in traditional boy colours

sleeping in a sunbeam

sleepy baby boy with sleepy big sister

Stroller triumph

isn't it a great colour!!

Sleeping beauty in his stroller

the bassinet part which detaches from the wheels means 

sleep can happen anywhere!

Well, so much for my goal to post every day. I fell asleep last night super early (almost before Mimi went to bed) and so my evening blogging time evaporated. Now I am sitting on the front porch at Applecross with a sleeping babe in his stroller/bassinet. I am feeling very pleased by my purchase of said stroller/bassinet. This is a very fancy stroller [Bugaboo Frog] that I bought at the local kids' consignment store (Abra'kid'abra) for a fraction of the original purchase price. I needed some sort of little bed for the baby while in Victoria and it is super nice to have a "new" item for your new baby and my sister Bridget swears by hers (justifying justifying)... I have been fixing it up for Timo since I got it about 5 weeks ago. It needed a good cleaning of the fabric (the washing machine worked wonders) and the wheels needed greasing and cleaning. The little basket underneath needed a tricky repair (I am tricky!) and the strap-that-you-can-put-around-your-wrist-to-prevent-runaways-on-hills needs to also be trickily fixed (I have a plan!). The stroller came without a canopy/hood but I ordered up one and it is waiting for me in Spokane.The ticket price on these strollers is over $1000 so I am feeling pretty pleased with the $140 I paid!!! Plus I have enjoyed the project of fixing it up!!

Blogvember

My sister Caitlin is blogging every day in November and I thought I'd better keep up with her seeing as she has a newborn only 10 hours younger than mine! There have been so many changes in the past couple of months and I know that there are those of you out there that might want to see pictures of the latest addition to our family so here goes!!

   The most recent news is that Timothy and Michael are the latest grandsons in our family! Timo was born at 17:04 on October 24th to me (Phoebe) and Miho was born at around 03:30 on the 25th to Caitlin. My Mum is convinced that it was the picture of Timo that she emailed to Caitlin on the evening of the 24th that precipitated Caitlin's labour! Here we are in August at our sister and cousin-fest. We joked that we could have babies on the same day but never imagined that it would actually come close to happening! We had very different births and we were both a little disappointed that we couldn't be each other's doula (labour support). As it is the babies have their own birthdays but they qualify to be twin cousins too!

i don't know why his nose was so red!

 Timothy was born at Victoria General Hospital under the care of our Midwives Misty and Heather and also the obstetrician Dr Denny. It was great to be surrounded by loving professional women and to have their presence at each of the stages of Timo's birth. I was very glad that the midwives were able to take pictures when every one else's hands were full (and we didn't bring a camera!)

i didn't recognie that it was Martin who brought our baby over for me to see! I hardly recognise him in his clericals let alone scrubs!!

 

 My Mum and Ami and Mimi followed us to the hospital and waited very patiently to discover what kind of baby we got. All the nurses, doctors and midwives were super impressed by how patient the kids were. They waited and waited and waited and waited until they could come into the recovery room to see me and our new baby boy. The waiting was all worth it in the end.

Ami and Mimi meet their new brother!

I wonder who would use a microscope in this room...! I guess it has to get stored somewhere!!