2 Months Old

Marc turned 2 months old on Sunday. I can't believe how fast time is flying by - he's growing and changing so quickly. At the same time, it feels like we've had him forever! I can barely remember what it was like being 9 months pregnant, never mind what life was like before we conceived. It all seems so long ago...

I don't break out my good camera very often (my phone is getting a workout though!), but I do want to at least use it for these monthly photoshoot. It will be so nice to look back on these and remember how tiny he was.

These "blue" photos were taken at 8 weeks (last Thursday).

And then these "white" photos were taken on Sunday:

I know I'm biased, but he's pretty darn cute!!!

Marc really hit some major milestones this month: he can lift his head like a champ (as seen above), he's sleeping in his bassinet (instead of in bed with us) almost all night and for most of his naps, he's no longer fitting into his newborn clothes (except the onesies), he's "talking" up a storm and we've made some big strides with breastfeeding. On that last note, we are currently working on weaning off of formula. I wish we had never been convinced to supplement in the first place... he's just a small baby and gains weight slowly with or without formula. But now that we're really getting the hang of things, we're slowly cutting down and it's going well.

Marc loves his playmat/jungle gym (especially the light-up, music-making elephant), taking a bath and snuggling with mommy in the sling. Marc hates his swing, getting out of the bath (so cold!) and not much else. He's still a pretty chill baby!

So much love! I can't wait to see what the next month will bring.

2017 Goals: February

We are well on our way into March, but I thought it would be worthwhile to look back on my progress for February. I certainly didn't have as much time to focus on some of these, but I'm pretty happy with what I was able to accomplish considering.

17 GOALS FOR 2017:

1. Read 30 books. (6/30)
2. Finish 2 cross-stitch patterns. (0/2 - basically done the Woodland Sampler, just want to modify a few of the summer panels)
3. Finish Amber art book and start a new one. (no progress)
4. Take monthly baby and family photos. (2/12 - except for the family photo, need more of those)
5. Journal or sketchbook daily. (17/28 - not back considering)
6. Set a schedule for blogging (weekly) (2/4), crafting (daily) (17/28) and getting out of the house (3-4x weekly) (3/4 - one week I only made it out twice).
7. Make and freeze meals for post-partum. (done - will blog later)
8. Gather 10 good crockpot recipes. (3/10)
9. Set a routine for exercising (3-4x weekly). (0/4)
10. Catalogue library. (no progress)
11. Host Thanksgiving. (not there yet)
12. Organize, declutter, minimize, purge. (no real progress)
13. Figure out cloth-diapering (not there yet), nursing/pumping (still working on both) and making baby food (not there yet).
14. Stay in touch with friends while on maternity leave. (yes)
15. Tackle a new "kitchen challenge" monthly (challenging recipe / technique). (0/12)
16. Be intentional deepening relationship with Pat. Set weekly date nights. (4/4 - counted having a few moments to ourselves while Marc is not in our arms)
17. Plan a family trip (overnight, not counting grandparents' house). (not there yet)

1 Month Old

Marc turned 1 month old on Sunday, February 26th. It is incredible to think that he has already been with us for a whole month! It still seems so surreal... although we are settling into a routine (more or less), it is still mind-boggling to think that we are parents! To this perfect little man no less! And really, we are beyond blessed. He is such an easy-going baby - he barely fusses, eats and sleeps like a champ, and is just all around so sweet!

Here are a few photos I took to remember his first month with us.

He's so tiny, and yet he's already changed so much! He's putting on weight, as evidenced by his chubby cheeks. He's losing his hair too, which makes him look like a little old man, especially when he makes his serious frowny face. He makes the sweetest little noises and is just starting to smile. He still isn't sleeping in his bassinet - he'll only go about 10 minutes sleeping independently on his back - but we're working on it. He's starting to enjoy his swing and playmat and really loves being in the sling/wrap while I walk him around.

We went on our first walk last week (using the sling) and he slept the whole way. Last weekend we also went on our first outing (not counting doctor's appointments), and he was so good - wide awake in the car on the way to Babies'R'Us, and falling fast asleep in the store, not waking until we returned home. We are slowly getting the hang of being parents and I'm so in love with watching Pat interact with Marc. He's such a good father!

The days go by so fast - I want to savour every second. I know I'm going to miss him being this small and yet I'm so looking forward to watching him grow. I just wish it wouldn't happen so fast!

Sketchbook Pages: Weeks 6 + 7

As a busy mom, I don't have much time for my sketchbook. So I've resorted to simple designs, quick doodles and playing with patterns so that I can get something on the page. Here are my pages from the first 2 weeks of February:

2/5 Red arrowheads
2/6 Blue shells

2/7 Our breastfeeding adventures
2/8 Wavelengths

2/11 Green grasses
2/12 Our little life

2/12 Red botanicals
2/12 Layered journaling

2/14+15 Framed doodles
2/16 First day alone

List of Supplies:

• Pilot Precise V5 extra fine pens (various colours)

Sketchbook Pages: Weeks 4 + 5

Here's a look back at the sketchbook pages I completed during weeks 4 and 5 of this year. Since I gave birth to Marc during week 4, I wasn't able to keep up with my goal of a page a day - but I think that's a pretty good excuse! I'm still working towards getting back into a daily habit, but it's getting there.

1/22 Let go
1/23 Waiting (not so) patiently

1/24 Florals
1/25 My water broke!

1/31 Announcement
1/31 Leaf pattern

2/1 Stolen heart
2/2 Pattern play

List of Supplies:

• Uniball delux micro black pen 
•  Pilot Precise V5 pens in various colours
• pencil crayons

Valentine's Day Flowers

Pat surprised me with flowers this Valentine's Day. I was in the nursery feeding Marc when he arrived home from work, and when I came downstairs I had 2 bouquets waiting for me: beautiful red tulips from my husband and a potted mum from my son. So sweet - I'm so lucky to have these boys in my life!

Introducing Marc Olivier Lafond

On January 26th at 1:34AM, we finally met our baby boy, Marc Olivier Lafond. He weighed in at 6lbs 10oz and measured 19.75" in length. He is the sweetest, cutest baby I have ever seen (but I may be a touch biased)!

My water broke at 4:15AM on January 25th. My contractions didn't get started right away though, so I had a bite to eat, showered and got ready before we headed to the hospital around 9. Here's the last photo of my bump before we left that morning:

As you can see, I was super excited. My water broke on its own! I wasn't going to have to be induced! I would get the natural birth I wanted.

So we made our way to the hospital, and they admitted me to triage. The nurse checked... and the swab test found no amniotic fluid. They didn't think my water had broken. But I knew. There was no way the small gushes that had been occurring all morning were anything else! So they called in my doctor and she went to do another swab - as they lay me down, another gush of fluid came out and sure enough they confirmed what I knew to be true: my water had indeed broken!

But, since I wasn't having any real contractions, they sent us home. We were scheduled to come back in at 4PM to be induced (if things hadn't progressed by then). We went home. I ate and paced (and paced). I was having small contractions, but nothing consistent or really all that painful. Just a little uncomfortable. I took a nap around 2 and woke up at 3 to a much stronger contraction than I had experienced thus far. Progress!

We went in for 4 and were admitted to labour and delivery. At this point, no one had yet checked me to see if things were really progressing. When the nurse indicated that they would be starting the induction, I asked whether they could see if maybe things were moving along naturally. She was a bit shocked I hadn't been checked yet that day, so she did and sure enough I had dilated a little over a centimetre since the previous day. And since contractions were underway, they would let me labour naturally.

And so I laboured. Around 6PM, the nurse suggested I eat something light to keep my strength up. When Pat returned with the food, things got real. My contractions suddenly got WAY more intense. Close together, I would sometimes get 2 in a row and then a small break before the next one started. Through the next 3 hours of intense labour, Pat was awesome - rubbing my back through each contraction as I rocked/bounced on a birthing ball. Finally, after 3 hours, they checked me again... and I had only dilated another centimetre.

That was... discouraging. I was losing energy fast and didn't know how much longer I could take that amount of pain. As much as I wanted to have a natural birth, I also wanted to have a good experience - so I opted for the epidural. It was the best decision! Once in place, I was able to relax and dilated another 4cm in one hour! Everyone was so surprised - the nurses had expected me to deliver sometime in the morning but this was happening that night!

By 1AM, I was fully dilated and ready to push. They dialled back the epidural so that I could feel a bit more pressure and know exactly when to push. Again, Pat was right there, encouraging me the whole time. Once started, about half an hour later our son was placed on my chest. The moment we had been waiting for - words cannot describe how incredible that feeling was!

And here he is - a few hours after birth:

 And the next day, curled up in his daddy's arms:

He's already changed so much in the last 3 weeks. And I think we're all starting to get the hang of things, settling into some sort of a routine. Pat has been wonderful with him - such a great dad already! The biggest challenge now is to get him to sleep independently - he much prefers being in our arms. But we're getting there - as I type this, he's snoozing in his swing. Next up: the bassinet!

While our new life is quite hectic, and busy in the most mundane ways, it is very rich. There is so much love in our little house! I am so looking forward to watching this little man grow!

2017 Goals: January

Yes, I have a big announcement to make... but that will have to wait as it is the beginning of February and I already had a draft of this post ready to go. So we'll review my 2017 goals and then (when I have a few spare moments again), I'll officially announce the birth of our son.

I must say - I'm really happy with how much progress I've made on these goals so far. Of course, it helped that I was home alone most of January with lots of time to kill. Still, I was very productive! My goals journal also made staying on top of things very easy (not to mention how easy it was to put this post together!).

17 GOALS FOR 2017:

1. Read 30 books. (5/30)
2. Finish 2 cross-stitch patterns. (0/2 - basically done the Woodland Sampler, just want to modify a few of the summer panels)
3. Finish Amber art book and start a new one. (no progress)
4. Take monthly baby and family photos. (1/12)
5. Journal or sketchbook daily. (26/31 - missed a few days due to the birth of our son)
6. Set a schedule for blogging (weekly) (4/4), crafting (daily) (26/31) and getting out of the house (3-4x weekly) (4/4).
7. Make and freeze meals for post-partum. (done - will blog later)
8. Gather 10 good crockpot recipes. (2/10)
9. Set a routine for exercising (3-4x weekly). (0/4)
10. Catalogue library. (no progress)
11. Host Thanksgiving. (not there yet)
12. Organize, declutter, minimize, purge. (small progress, mainly in kitchen)
13. Figure out cloth-diapering (not there yet), nursing/pumping (working on both) and making baby food (not there yet).
14. Stay in touch with friends while on maternity leave. (yes)
15. Tackle a new "kitchen challenge" monthly (challenging recipe / technique). (0/12)
16. Be intentional deepening relationship with Pat. Set weekly date nights. (4/4)
17. Plan a family trip (overnight, not counting grandparents' house). (not there yet)