Welcome home: Ethan David McLean!!!
Well, we are at home, it is Tuesday and we are trying to get into some sort of a routine. (Its Anna writing by the way, Dave is playing with Kaitlyn) Ethan and I stayed in the hospital overnight, while Daddy and Kaitlyn went home for the night. It took Dave a few hours and a lot of crying on Kaitlyn's part, but they finally settled for the night. At the hospital I didn't get much sleep and spent a lot of the night visiting with the nurses. I just can't sleep in hospital beds...they hurt. Monday morning around 9:30 Dave and Kaitlyn came back. I had my last examination and Ethan had his blood-work and exam done as well. Around 11:00 we finished our paperwork, finally picked a name and went home. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and letting Kaitlyn get acquainted with her brother.
Kaitlyn loves Ethan so much! She hugs, kisses, and pats him. She is a little jealous of him however, and doesn't like it when I nurse him....I've always been hers and she is not so sure about sharing. Today is a little better than yesterday though, and I hope it continues that way. She seems to be weaning herself from me and wants to cuddle instead. I almost feel bad like we are forcing her to grow up to fast, I hope that she doesn't feel that way!
Ethan has been very content since he got home, only crying when he is really hungry, otherwise he just hangs out, mostly sleeping or looking around. It has been quite an adjustment however, trying to balance our time between both children.
Dave and Kaitlyn have spent most of the last two days together, going shopping and running errands to give me a chance to nap. She has become quite the daddy's girl! I miss my time with her, and our naps!!! She hasn't had a normal nap yet so we need to work on that, problem is she wants daddy all the time and she will not go down for me right now. The moment she hears a peep from Ethan she is up and looking for him. With time I am sure she will adjust. Enjoy the pictures, there will definitely be more to follow.
Sorry about the lack of posts, I promise more to come soon. In the mean time please feel free to browse at 3 months worth of pictures @ flickr.com.
Link to my photos by clicking HERE.
On March 24th we drove to Regina to visit with Anna's Family. This was Kaitlyn's first Road trip in our new vehicle. She slept most of the way there, waking up to feed and to play with mommy for a bit. We arrived in the late afternoon and visited with Anna's family for the day. Anna's sister, Katie came over as did Anna's Grandma & grandpa Clark. We had an excellent family dinner that Anna's mom had made. The food was good, the company was great. Everyone was happy to see Kaitlyn and they all took turns holding her. Now that Kaitlyn is feeding via formula and the bottle it is alot easier to go on a road trip with her. I also believe everyone took turns feeding her. On Saturday we went out to the cottage and spent most of the day there. Kaitlyn spent her whole time inside sleeping, feeding and playing with mommy, Emily and grandma. I spent the day Skidooing and building this huge Fortress with Philip. Emily had pulled out a little 2 person pup tent and they spent part of their time playing in there. Anna and Emily were trying to nap in the tent with Kaitlyn, however she would have no part of that. Apparently, Kailtyn had squirmed her way to the end of the tent and was trying to eat it. Sounds pretty cute, too bad I missed it.On Sunday we drove back to Edmonton, but not before stopping to see Grandma & Grandpa Clark. When we got there, Ian, Debbie, Lisa and Dawson Clark were there as well. We visited for about an hour, but it was getting late so we departed for home. The trip home was without incident. As always Kaitlyn slept most of the way. She was so happy to be home and to sleep in her bed...I mean our bed. We had a great time and are so thankful for the wonderful family we have. Thank you. Check out a couple pics here.
Another month has gone by and so much has happened. On March 4th, Maryanne and Chuck came to visit. They were in town for a concert and stopped by to see us before they left town. We had lunch and they were able to see Kaitlyn and hold her. Kaitlyn wasn't all that happy, but this was during her starvation time, more on that later. On March 11th we sold our car to Lori and Fernando (my sister and brother in-law) and we bought their Durango. Tony and Alex (my nephews) got to visit with Kaitlyn. They love her so much, and Alex is always excited to see Kaitlyn. They came down from Calgary for the weekend and we had them over for supper.
On Sunday March 12th, we had a family breakfast at Walter and Marianne's house. Kaitlyn's Great Grandma McLean was there as well as other family. Everyone (of course) took turns holding Kaitlyn, telling us how cute she is. Like we needed to be told, Just look at her!On March 24th we went to Regina to visit Anna's family. If you want to read about, you can in the next post.As previously noted, Kaitlyn was not taking a bottle and would not eat formula. To top it off, because of Anna's pregnancy her milk supply had turned back to colostrum. Not near enough for Kaitlyn!! Kaitlyn had lost about a pound, but we can now proudly say that she has regained her weight, as she is now eating formula. She eats about 5 oz. per feed and will feed about every 3 hours. At night she will usually sleep for about 5 hours then feed and then sleep for another 3 or 4 hours. Formula is pricey, WOW! Kaitlyn is just like mommy in the fact that she has expensive taste, but just like daddy, in that she is a picky eater. She only likes the most expensive concentrate formula...go figure. Thank goodness she only needs to be on it for a few months!When Kaitlyn was not getting enough to eat, her whole mood had changed. She was constipated and would go once a week. She would pee very little and she just would not play with anything. She always wanted to be held and was trying to nurse almost all day long. It was a sad time. Thankfully those days are gone, because they were hard on Kaitlyn and mommy. After being on formula for about 2 weeks Kaitlyn had regained her previous weight back. On March 21 we took her in for her 6 month shots. She weighed 15 lbs and 11 oz. Her shots went well. She cried as did mommy, but they did not cry for long. She was a real trooper.
Now that she takes the bottle, I have been able feed her. It is so much fun. I mean, she may act like a monkey when you are feeding her ( she grabs both her feet with her hands and holds them in the air), but it is cute. She keeps pinching me......Ouch!Check out the new PICTURES.
Hi Again, well Kaitlyn finally went on a trip to somewhere other than Calgary or Regina. On Feb 21st we went to Jasper for the day. This was Kaitlyn's first trip in her new car seat.
Anna's brother Paul and his girlfriend came down and wanted to go skiing, so we drove them there for the day. They went skiing at Marmot Basin for the day while Anna, Kaitlyn and I hung out in town.
In the afternoon, we went for a snack a Restaurant that we saw on a TV show called "Opening Soon". While waiting for our food, Anna was spraying a lemon into her water. Kaitlyn wanted the water so Anna held the glass up to her lips. Kaitlyn sipped the water and then grabbed the Lemon and shoved it into her mouth.
To our surprise she loved it! She sucked a lot of the juice from it. On our way home we had to drive in horrible road conditions but we made it home safe and sound with no incident. Thank you Lord.
Trip Pictures
Well today we went to have an ultrasound done. Anna's doctor thought that either Anna was further along or it was twins. Well it is not twins. Thank goodness. Wow, I can't even think about it. Anna is 15 weeks, her due date is Aug 29 th. Everything looks healthy. We saw the baby however it was still too young to tell the sex, so I guess we will go for another ultrasound. That's today's news, now on to Kaitlyn's eating habits for the last 2 months.
As most of you already know Kailtyn has not taken the bottle or eaten formula at all. Well she really hasn't been too fond of solids either. We have tried to feed her solids since about Jan 1 st, with little to no luck. The exception being Arrowroot cookies, as she just loves them. Anna gave Kaitlyn her first one on Feb 15 and she gobbled it up. She has one almost every day. Unfortunately they have no nutritional value what's so ever. After she first had the cookies, she started to grab for the food that we were eating, so Anna gave her pieces of fruit or muffins, which she loved. She likes to hold her food and do what mommy and daddy do, and eat when mommy and daddy eat. Which is a problem because she wants to eat mommy and daddy's food, not hers. On Feb 20 we tried Rice Cereal and some puree foods, and she ate them. Well she ate a little of it and by the 23rd she was eating up to 4 tbsp's. Which seemed like a breakthrough, however she will go through fazes. One day she likes something and the next she does not. Then she will like it again, then she will never eat it again.
Which brings us to the bottle. She started taking the bottle in Feb, but not with formula. Of course not that would be too easy. She likes water and Apple juice. However we cannot give her too much juice and of course there is no nutritional value in water. She has actually been losing weight over the last 2 months and due to Anna's pregnancy she has run dry. It has been tough on Anna, because Kaitlyn is always feeding, all day long, but she is not getting half of what she used to get. She has lost a pound in the last month.
March 8th: BREAKTHROUGH!
After trying most types of formula, we finally found one that Kaitlyn would eat. It was either that or she had had enough of starving. For the last couple of weeks, we always had a bottle near Kaitlyn, it was usually filled with water. She must have got used to it because, Anna said that she had tried to feed and because no milk was coming out, she reached for the bottle. For the past 2 days she has been drinking formula and using Anna mostly to nurse to sleep.
Well we hope this is the sign that things are going to get better and we hope that Kaitlyn will stop losing weight and get back to being fat.
When we talk next I will tell you all about Kaitlyn's first trip to Jasper. TaTa!
It has been a while since we last posted. Sorry about that, a lot has been happening. In January we found out that Kaitlyn is going to be a big sister. On March 9 we have to go for an ultrasound and we will find out when the due date is, as the doctors think Anna is further along then we thought.
Over the last month, Kaitlyn's life has changed so much. She has a new ride...car seat. On Feb 8th we got her weighed and measured, she was 26 inches tall and was 15 lbs and 9 0z. since she was over 26 in. tall, we had to get her a new car seat. On Feb 18th we installed the new car seat in the car. Wow, she is such a big girl now! She did not like it very much at first, but she seems to be used to it now. Her neck is still not all that strong, so when she's tired her head bobs around a lot.
Her new car seat has lead us to another problem. Our Car. We have a 2 door and it wasn't too bad putting her carrier in the back, however now we have to get in the back to put Kaitlyn in her car seat, it just is a bit too hard. We tried to sell the car however no takers. It's pretty hard to sell anything in Jan or Feb. We finally decided that since my sister and her family needed a new vehicle for her and they had to buy a new truck, to pull their new trailer, that we would switch vehicles. On Saturday March 10th we will be the proud owners of a 2000 Durango. It's not our dream car, but it will match our needs for our growing family.
For two weeks in February, Kaitlyn was a true Canadian. She had to watch the Olympics every night. She really enjoyed watching Hockey and Speed Skating, short and long track, but don't mention the Canadian men's team, as it will make her upset. Apparently however, her favorite sport was ... The Fireworks?
Kaitlyn has also started to eat solids. She hasn't liked solids all that much so far. We have been trying to get her to eat Rice Cereal, but with no real progress. On Feb 15 we gave her her first Arrowroot cookie. She loved it and just gobbled it up, so every day she has at least one cookie. If only the cookies contained some sort of nutrition value. I mentioned earlier that she was 15 lbs and 9 oz., well that has changed. She is now 14 lbs 12 oz. That's right, she is loosing weight. Anna's pregnancy has definitely affected her milk flow. Kaitlyn has been nursing all the time, because she is not getting enough to eat. She is still too young to give her cows milk, however we have given her a couple drinks of Homo milk. She seems to like it once, then doesn't like it. But more on her eating patterns in the next post. I will post again on March 9th with info on the Ultrasound and with more on her Eating habits..or lack there of.Enjoy these PICTURES ... Until we meet again!
On Jan 15 Kaitlyn turned 5 months old. She is such a little person now. By that, I mean all grown up. Look at those beautiful blue eyes. She has lost a lot of her hair and in the sunlight it appears quite red. Definitely the Greif in her coming out, Thanks Mom! She still has the bald spot on the back of her head. I hope it grows back soon.
On Jan 16, she rolled over for the first time. It was so cute! She had her whole body over, except her arm was stuck under her, and she couldn't move so she would start to cry. We would pull her arm out from under and put her on her back and she would do it again. It was so funny. That's the exciting news. I know there will be a lot more like that in the future. I can't wait.
On Jan 18, we took Kaitlyn for her second set of shots. While there, we weighed and measured her. She is 15 lbs 10 oz and she is 25 and a half inches tall. Yes I said tall and not horizontally. Gimmie a break, she really likes to stand these days. Of course Daddy had to play bad guy and hold Kaitlyn while she got her shots. Mommy sat there and was almost crying, actually I believe she was crying. Kaitlyn of course cried. However, it did not last too long after she was done getting the last of her 3 shots. New pictures are located HERE!Hasta La Vista!
On Dec 27 we drove to Regina to visit Anna's family and to spend New years eve/day with them. It was a long foggy drive, but Kaitlyn behaved excellent, as usual. She slept most of the way there. We arrived at Anna's parents place just in time for Christmas Dinner. They did not have their big meal on Christmas day as they were waiting for us to visit. Anna's mother made dinner for 18 people. It was pretty crazy but fun at the same time. Grandpa and Grandma Clark, Ian and Debbie Clark and their Kids, Stephanie and her husband Greg, Lisa, Erika and Dawson, plus Doug and Judy and their kids, Katie, Paul, Danny, Philip and Emily. And of course, Myself, Anna and Kaitlyn.
On Dec 28 we went skating at the local rink. By we I mean; Anna, Dave, Paul, Emily, Philip and Danny. We played some hockey and i got to try my new skates. They worked pretty good. Anna's parents watched Kaitlyn for us while we went. When we got home from skating Kaitlyn and Emily had a bath together. They both wore their bathing suits, and Kaitlyn looked so cute.
On Dec 30 we went to the cottage. It was Kaitlyn's first trip there. Kaitlyn and mommy stayed inside all day, while the rest of us went ski-dooing and ice fishing. It was a great time (as usual), however it would have been nicer had there been more snow.
On Dec 31 Kaitlyn tried Rice Cereal for the first time. She ate some of it but, mostly she just blew bubbles and let it drool out of her mouth. For New Years Eve, we did not do much at all. We all just relaxed and played games and talked. Kaitlyn was still awake at midnight, so mommy and daddy gave her a big hug and kisses.
On Jan 2 we drove back home. It was a long drive, as always, but she was so good. She slept most of the way home.On Jan 3rd it was back to work for me, so mommy and Kaitlyn had to fend for themselves. Not much has happened between Jan 3rd and Jan 15th. Kaitlyn sticks everything in her mouth, her drool has turned thicker and there is more of it. She has basically stopped trying to talk and is more like saying hmmmmm, and puting her lips together and going brbrbrbrbrbrbrb. We do have some exciting news for the next post, wich will be no later than Jan 25th. Once again please check her new pictures @ FLICKR
Well, the Holidays have come and gone. Time to catch you all up on what happened.
This year we spent Christmas day in Calgary. We went down there on Dec 23. It did not quite feel like Christmas, as there was no snow, however we all made the best of it. On December 24, Christmas Eve, we went over to my sister's place for dinner. They wanted to go to mass, so we went, however the church was so busy that we had to sit downstairs in these rooms that had the service projected on to screens. After mass, we went back to my sister's place and had dinner and played Trivial Pursuit. When we got back to my parents it was quite late, however I still had time to start our first Christmas tradition. I read Kaitlyn, Twas the Night Before Christmas before we went to bed.
We got up christmas morning and there was just me, Anna, Kaitlyn, My mother and stepfather. Before we opened our presents I started our second tradition and read to Kaitlyn the Jesus's birth. We then opened our presents, and Kaitlyn seemed to enjoy things, but she is still too young. By 10:30 my sister, brother in-law and their 2 kids, came over and we opened more presents. Kaitlyn was handed a present and then started to suck on it, while my sister helped her open it. Alex and Anthony had a lot of fun with Kaitlyn, holding and playing with her. We all just sat around and played games or talked until supper was ready. For Christmas my mother and step father had bought Kaitlyn a High Chair, and she sat in it for the first time during supper. After supper we all sat around the fire and and talked. Kaitlyn got alot of stuff for Christmas and our thanks goes out to everyone who got her a gift. On Boxing day we took Kaitlyn to the mall, well actually to Future Shop and Sport Mart. It was zoo as to be expected but we had to go. The rest of the day we spent around the house, we played Rummy-O and Kaitlyn slept while daddy worked on Papa's computer. We left Calgary @ around 5 pm to go back to Edmonton, and stopped in Lacombe to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Anderson. We did not stay too long as we had to rush home, and pack to go to Regina on Dec 27. When we got back to Edmonton, we went to Anna's work to clean. My sister and her family were in town and they invited us over to my cousins place. We stayed there and visited for a while. then we went home, packed, did laundry and went to sleep. Stay tuned for the next chapter in our holiday story.
PRELUDE TO CHRISTMAS, PICTURES
CHRISTMAS PICTURES!
Kaitlyn loves Ethan so much! She hugs, kisses, and pats him. She is a little jealous of him however, and doesn't like it when I nurse him....I've always been hers and she is not so sure about sharing. Today is a little better than yesterday though, and I hope it continues that way. She seems to be weaning herself from me and wants to cuddle instead. I almost feel bad like we are forcing her to grow up to fast, I hope that she doesn't feel that way!
Ethan has been very content since he got home, only crying when he is really hungry, otherwise he just hangs out, mostly sleeping or looking around. It has been quite an adjustment however, trying to balance our time between both children.
Dave and Kaitlyn have spent most of the last two days together, going shopping and running errands to give me a chance to nap. She has become quite the daddy's girl! I miss my time with her, and our naps!!! She hasn't had a normal nap yet so we need to work on that, problem is she wants daddy all the time and she will not go down for me right now. The moment she hears a peep from Ethan she is up and looking for him. With time I am sure she will adjust. Enjoy the pictures, there will definitely be more to follow.
