Grayson is here!!

 Our son has arrived!! We introduce to you Grayson Franklin David Seymour. Grayson arrived on Friday June 22nd at 12:34pm.

Little G weighed 7lbs 2 oz. He is not a chunky baby like Mira, but he has long legs like Geoff, long fingers like his gramma Seymour and giant long feet like me (good for running I say!).

My labour was the opposite of what it was with Mira. Mira took three long days of labour and 45 minutes of pushing to get her to come out and see us.

On Thursday afternoon, Geoff and I went to the ob/gyn for my 39 weeks appointment and found that I was 2cm dilated and 75% effaced. I'd been having contractions during the couple of nights prior.

Thursday night I started getting contractions about 12-20 minutes apart and Friday morning at 6:30am, I told Geoff that he might as well go into work since my contractions were so far apart. Well, before he even made it to work I was asking him to come back home. Within the 30 minutes of Geoff leaving, my contractions were 4-5 minutes apart and lasting 1-3 minutes. Geoff came back home and we made our way to the hospital, getting there around 9:30am. I was measured at 4cm dilated and at 1030am they admitted us.

I had asked the nurses to let me walk for a bit in order to encourage labour and within about 20 minutes I was in far too much pain to do any kind of walking. I was now begging for the epidural and it was only 11am.

The epidural always takes a little while to arrange so during that waiting time, the contractions got stronger and stronger and I was now unable to move because the pain was paralyzing. I could only stand (barely) and cling to Geoff in hopes that I wouldn't fall to the floor.

By 11:45am the epidural guy (as I called him) came in and 20 minutes later the juices were flowing. Before the epidural could kick in (it takes 10-20 minutes), my ob/gyn came in and checked me to find that I was 10cm dilated and that Grayson was right there and ready to come out. So much for a slow poke baby!!

The nurses allowed me to put off pushing for about 10 minutes to allow more of the epidural to kick in before I had to push. Within 4 pushes, Grayson was out. My ob/gyn barely had time to put his gloves on before Grayson made his arrival.

The labour was faster than Geoff and I were expecting which is both good and bad. Good in that I was still somewhat energetic by the time Little G came out and I wasn't in a daze (with Mira I was almost too tired to care that I had just had a baby). The bad part was that I had progressed so incredibly fast that I felt everything the whole way along. The nurses figure that I had hit the 10cm dilated well before I had the epidural and in reality I might as well have just passed on the epidural and pushed him out. I left myself to suffer longer by waiting for the epidural guy.

But, all that matters is that Grayson is here and healthy. Our little boy is our pride and joy and he makes us so happy. He is all Geoff. He looks like an 80 year old version of Geoff, being all wrinkly still from being squished up in my belly.

So far he has proven to be a good baby. He's easy going and doesn't fuss too much, except when he's hungry. The sleep deprivation is starting to kick in, but we are also still full of adrenaline from the excitement of him being here in our little family.

Due Date

The big D Day has arrived. Barely a squeak out of little G. I'm convince that this heat wave we are experiencing is keeping him inside. I would be a little put off by having to arrive in the middle of scorching weather too. I have tried to convince him that there are lots of splash pads, pools and air conditioners to keep him cool "on the other side", but so far, he's showing signs that he got a good chunk of DNA from Daddy. Stubborn and opinionated. I love my Geoff for who he is, but I fear that this character trait may be keeping our son in hiding.

I am grateful for all the friends and family of ours who have been asking about our little guy. I get a kick out of all the suggestions for getting labour started. Some are definitely worth trying and others......well, I think I'll hold off for now. I've been making it to the gym most days. The elliptical has been great at encouraging him to come down. I've been doing lots of walking. We did Thai food and the fresh pineapple. There have been some hints that he's getting ready, but nothing that would make me sound the alarm bells. I'd hate to get everyone excited over something that isn't labour (especially Geoff who is already "easily excitable"). When I was in labour with Mira they sent me home from the hospital twice because I wasn't in labour enough. I'm determined that I'm not going to be sent home this time around. I'm going to make sure I'm in full blown labour before travelling down to Milton.

So I'll keep the updates coming and hopefully the little guy decides to show up sooner than later. 

Big Daddy

Today, Geoff and I celebrated our own little "Father-to-Be" Day. Geoff is going to become a Daddy for the first time any day now. The anticipation is killing us. Only 3 days until baby G is supposed to hit his expiration date.

We were crossing our fingers that little G would show up before Father's Day, however, it didn't happen. Little G is apparently very comfortable in there. He's waiting for the perfect opportunity to make his appearance. :)

To celebrate, we walked with Mira and Austin into Glen Williams to take in the Big Daddy Festival. This is a festival that takes place in different spots throughout Georgetown. In Glen Williams (which is about a 20 minute walk), they had all the artistic stuff for kids to do. Mira painted a big mural, listened to some music and coloured a picture of Astro Boy (does anyone remember this cartoon!?). We then hiked a bit further down the road to the Beaumont Mill. Here, Mira was able to paint a boat (yes, a real sized boat!) and decorate a cupcake. Mira threw on a plastic dress to protect her clothes and then set right to work on painting a giant octopus and shark on the side of this boat. It really was the highlight for her.

Mira's painting on the boat. It's a shark and "Don't Touch. Love Mira"

Mira got to spend some time with her father and grandfather today as well. We got her back just before dinner and my treat to Geoff for his "Father-to-Be" status, was to take him out to dinner. We aren't big into gifts (except Christmas and Birthdays) and we prefer to just spend time together and say some nice words to eachother via cards. Time together with Mira means a lot more to us then just spending money on something for the sake of it. So we hit up our favourite Thai restaurant here in town and Geoff was able to enjoy some Thai beer :)

What a great way to spend Father's Day. We got to relax, take in some warm weather and Mira got to partake in some pretty cool things. Taking in all the family stuff that Georgetown has to offer is truly one of my favourite things to do. Georgetown is so family orientated and everything is geared towards children and family. That's what I LOVE LOVE LOVE about our town. Father's Day and the Big Daddy festival is just one great example of that.

Happy Father's Day to all of my Dad friends out there and of course to my own father, David. My Dad has always been a source of inspiration for me. He has encouraged me in the areas of athletics, education, parenting, my personal life and relationships and my career. His support has never been ignored. He has been there through thick and thin for me and continues to be my rock. Love you Dad!

Geoff is a man that I can be proud of and has certainly blown me away with his love for Mira and I. He is such a family man who has shown me that family is his priority. He is going to make an exceptional father and he is everything I could ever want. He is deserving of such happiness and good fortune. We look forward to what the next few weeks  will bring with the arrival of our little peanut and all of the wishes for a Father-to-Be coming true. Love you baby, thank you for being such an incredible father-to-be of our son. xoxoxo 

Intuition?

Austin in the park with Mira and Mama

Our dog Austin has had an interesting week. He's a great dog. He's been, for the most part, everything we could hope for in a dog. He's obedient and a good house dog. He hasn't had any accidents in the house, which is quite the feat for a dog that we've had for the last 1 3/4 years.

We wouldn't say he's an overly intelligent dog, but he is eager to please and he's super affectionate and loving. He's what we call our 55lb "wanna be lap dog".

He is especially good with children, which is by far the most important trait when we were looking for a family dog.

In the past week or so, however, our pooch has been suffering from some anxious behaviour. For a few days in a row, he's been suffering from separation anxiety. He'll shake, pant and freak out when we are getting ready to leave the house. When we leave, he would jump up on the glass table in the kitchen and paw at the window-hoping (so I am guessing) to see where we went. Little does Austin realize (this is where the "not so smart" part comes in), there is a window at his level in the hallway which would provide him with the same view as from on top of the table.

Our fear, of course, is that he'll fall through the glass table and hurt himself. We are also a little afraid of the damage that could be done to the window.

Geoff seems to think that this anxiety is coming from the fact that I'm so close to birthing our son. It seems to make sense. I am now home full time and he's been attached to my hip. Dogs must sense that something is happening. Austin used to be Geoff's little buddy and would look to him for everything. Things have changed dramatically in only a week or so.

Austin has seemed to have settled in the past few days. The anxiety is minimal (I'm lucky to even get a goodbye from Austin as he's passed out on the couch) and he's much calmer. I am relieved to see this behaviour cease. I worry about our boy and how he'll adjust to the new baby. I know that he's good with children-exceptionally good. I just don't want his feelings hurt :(

Crash Boom Bang

Mira has had quite the week. Being a typical 5 1/2 year old has caught up with her. Earlier this week Mira was playing in the park with her friend and decided, like most kids her age, that jumping off a swing is a lot of fun. I agree, it is a lot of fun. What isn't so fun is when you don't get out of the way of the swing when it comes back down and you take the plastic seat right in the eye. So, Mira had a nice shiner and cut on her right eye as a result. The scream from the park was blood curdling.

Fast forward to yesterday, friday. It was a P.D day and so Mira wanted to go to the splash pad with other entire child population in Georgetown. So we did.

Geoff and I were parked in our lawn chairs, watching all the lovely children enjoying the water on this hot day. We were talking with a couple of people we knew when suddenly a mother came running over to where we were, carrying a bawling Mira. Blood was pouring out of my little girl's face! The mother saw that Mira had run full tilt into another kid's face.

The mother turned the crying and bleeding Mira over to Geoff. The mother then turned Mira's two teeth over to me. Mira had collided so hard with the other kid that she knocked out her top front tooth and one of her bottom teeth (which was loose already). It was also pretty obvious that Mira mashed up her lip pretty good too.

Mira tends to get herself all worked up when she's hurt and there is blood. To the point where she has been known to pass out (read my post from a few months ago). Geoff was trying to keep Mira conscious (she was drifting) and I was trying to keep Mira's teeth  protected, hold our dog Austin and pack up all of our stuff. A trip to the emergency room was in order I believed.

The other parents around us were amazing and offered to help us pack everything up.

At the hospital, we were told that they would not re-insert her baby teeth and that although the bottom lip could have used a stitch or two, they wouldn't put her through the trauma of a needle and stitching when they believed that some salt water rinses would help it heal.

This morning, she had another tooth pulled that was loose as a result of her collision so now she is toothless in the front. My little hippo girl.

All part of being an active 5 year old........first a black eye and now a busted lip and missing teeth. :(

Shower

Yesterday was shower day! Ali and Eric graciously hosted our jack and jill shower at their house. I can't believe the generosity of our friends and family. Although this is my second baby, it is Geoff's first and so his family and him wanted in on the fun of having a shower. Understandably so!

The weather was a little touch and go, but with the tents up, everyone was still able to enjoy the mild weather outside. The kids had fun in the pool, the food was delicious and Geoff's parents were giddy and vibrating with excitement at their new grandson making his arrival in only a few days!!

The best part of the party? Our friends Heather and Edd as well as Jay and Brenna were able to debut their little ones :) Heather and Edd brought 7 week old Zoe and Mira took to her like mad. Mira followed Heather and little Zoe around, wanting to be involved in every part of taking care of a baby. Jay and Brenna's Kingsley, just 2 weeks old, made his big entrance into the social world of ours too.

It was an incredible day for everyone. We are so grateful for the time and effort that went into the party. Now, we are just waiting for our next party...at the hospital....when little baby G makes his arrival.