MOTHER'S DAY 2011

Mother's Day was super-special this year; with 2 little ones under my wing (Georgia freshly "out of the oven"), we were really just looking for a little R&R to celebrate.  What better place than one of my favourites- Collingwood, here we come!  Funny enough, we've owned our vaycay property for almost 2 years, and this was the first time we got to enjoy it ourselves!  Here's a pic of our dinner out at the Village at Blue.

Rowan also honed his gardening and crafting skills at daycare with a super-special gift for mommy:

I'll have to figure out how to turn this photo, but the daffodils are actually Rowan's hand cut-outs, with Happy-Mother's-Day-Love-Rowan written on each.  Without a doubt, our daycare provider rocks with this take-home gift!



Things I've learned...

1. Much to the debated relevance and effectiveness from a number of other women I know...NO- CABBAGE LEAVES DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO HELP DRY UP THE BREASTMILK OF A NON-NURSING MOTHER.  Do they offer relief?  Yes- for a short time, while they are still cool from having just removed them from the fridge.  Do they have some magic naturopathic properties that work wonders in decreasing the engorgement from one's breasts?  Absolutely not.  I'll never look at cabbage rolls the same way again!

2. Recovery from one's delivery is much easier without tears.  Hands-down.

3. Everyone should have a 2nd birthing experience- and it would be nice if it happened the first time around.  Seriously.  Once that highway has been paved of a babe outta a woman's bajingo, its like the subsequent deliveries are a piece of cake.  No comparison!

4.  Sleep is a wonderful thing.  I'll update when I start getting some again...

5. Nothing bounces back post-natal, not even my 80-year old pregger-induced vericose right leg.  It is getting better, but by now, I was back to legs I was happy to wear shorts in, after Rowan.  At this rate, I'll either be visiting my vascular surgeon customers for some cosmetic work, or I'll be removing all shorts and capris from my wardrobe for an indefinite amount of time!

6. Stretch marks suck.

7. People don't talk enough about "down there" issues post-natal.  No one tells you that hemorrhoids are common after delivery.  No one tells you about leakage.  No one tell you that you will consciously have to tighten your bajingo for the next 5 years every time you sneeze to avoid having to change your pants and underwear!  I'm wondering if Depends are going to come out with some sort of sexy, lacy version soon to market to younger, post-natal women. 

8.  The "natural methods" of inducing labour don't really work.  Believe me- I tried them all.  Spicy food?  nope.  Copious amounts of pineapple?  nope.  Grapefruit?  nope.  Chinese- no.  Walking- nope.  (we did the zoo, long walks with Gryph, many trips to the park...you name it, anything to stay vertical to try to get gravity to do its' work!).  Bumpy road trips- definitely not.  I may put a little interest in the "what got you there in the first place might get that baby outta there" theory, but then again- coincidence is possible!

BIG BROTHER

Rowan has surprised us with his acceptance and love for his new baby sister from the beginning.  He arrived at the hospital, peeking into the room where Georgia and I were staying- timid, unsure and curious (I learned later that Glen had told him that they were going to a place where they would see Mommy, and that Rowan would get the biggest surprise EVER).  He clambored on my lap, where we introduced him to his new baby sister, Georgia.  He was excited and engaged- wanted to see her, hold her, cuddle and kiss her...and we were thrilled. 

WELCOME, GEORGIA LILY BUCHANAN!

Georgia Lily Buchanan- April 18th, 2011 7lbs 14oz  6:01am

After the much-awaited and long anticipated pregnancy, labour started as a "tease" around 1pm on April 17th.  Contractions were mild, and would come and go throughout the afternoon and into the evening.  By 9pm, the discomfort was enough to put a call into the Birthing unit, where they advised that my symptoms of labour could either escalate to full-blown labour, or could dissipate back to "normal" state (what is "normal" at 9 months preggers, anyway?), and that I should try to get some sleep and see what happens.  Sleep wasn't really an option at that point, but I did jump in the bath for 40 minutes, and by the time I came out, contractions were about 8 minutes apart and were getting stronger.  11pm, both Glen and I did a lights out...wondering if perhaps we should have called his parents to come over "just in case"...

By 1pm, I hadn't slept a wink- the contractions were getting worse, and we were unsure as to when we should call Walter & Eleanor, as they were our "relief" for Rowan.  We quickly decided that this was THE time, and they arrived only 40 minutes after our call...long enough for my contractions to go from 7 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart, as we waited in the driveway for their arrival.  Unsure if we'd actually make it to the hospital, Glen sped (cautiously on ICY roads- ...and as a side-bar...icy roads in April?  Yes- we do live in Canada!) about 120km/hr along Davis Drive.  And...as any good Hollywood movie highlight during the RUSH TO THE HOSPITAL SCENE, we did fly by a police officer, he did pull out  behind us...but with no lights or sirens, and a contracting wife in the passenger seat, Glen just kept on going.  Fortunately, the police officer pulled up beside us on a red light, took one look at me in a full-on contraction, and politely turned the opposite direction and let us go along our way.

Once in Labour & Delivery, the nurses quickly triaged me, and got us settled quickly in The Buchanan Delivery Room (again!  what luck!), describing that if the anaesthetist was available, they would get me an epidural- otherwise I'd be delivering the baby au naturel within the next 30 minutes.  Thank goodness anaesthesia was available, and the epidural was on board and working its' magic within 45 minutes (45 LOOOOONG minutes, but still appreciated once in place!).  Funny- the labour experience was so different with Rowan- no real understanding of early labour contractions (thats what happens when your water breaks, but you don't go into labour naturally), no knowledge of the pain of escalating contractions, but definite memories of the pushing-out-the-babe experience, as 12 hours of epidural wore off just in time to welcome Baby Rowan into the world!  Georgia was completely different- I almost felt like I was cheating, given that I could see contractions occuring on my monitors, yet felt nothing...and when they asked me to push, I could push, but again, felt only a minor amount of pressure in my 'nether regions!  After a challenging pregnancy, I was grateful to have had such an easy delivery!

7 PUSHES LATER...

Out came our baby girl (to our surprise and joy!  Both Glen & I were certain we were having another boy)- Georgia Lily Buchanan at 6:01am on April 18th, 2011.  She was a perfect 7lbs 14oz- arrived with a beautiful little head (again, different from her brother!), a head full of dark hair, warm white- almost olive- complexion, and steel blue eyes that would almost pass for gray.  She was curious and alert from birth, and won our hearts, much like her brother, from the start! 

The Buchanan Family- Corrie, Georgia, Glen & Rowan