Baby times

Yes, it's that time. I'm pregnant again and we are going to have baby#2! Our excitement quickly got muffled when things turned sour and I started having what feels like a long list of complications that as it turns out have turned my life upside down. So what' wrong?

My biggest problem is that the hormones produced during pregnancy raises cholesterol levels in your gallbladder (if you are unlucky) which can cause your bile to turn into a thick sludgy mass. This is extremely painful when the gallbladder will try to function normally but cramp and spasm instead and the bile is not able to be released the way it should. Since it's very irritated it may do this all the time but not always with the same intensity. I am lucky so far that no stones have been found or that the gallbladder is not infected as that means surgery. Although, getting that non functioning organ out sometimes sounds pretty good to me. What does this mean for me  and baby on a day to day basis?
Baby is fine, no problems there yet anyways. For me it means unpredictable pain most days, sometimes all day sometimes a few hours. It can mean anything from a dull lingering pain to sever attacks that put me in a hospital bed until it's under control again. I never know what the day will bring. I spend at least a few hours in bed most days. Luckily with a low fat diet I am able to reduce the severe attacks a lot and with a steady dose of morphine I can get through most pain here at home, no hospital needed. I am told this likely will go on until the baby is born which is 6 months away, yuck. The hope is that it wont get worse and that surgery is not needed, at least not until baby is born. Most likely this will go away by itself after birth, that's about the only good news about this I have gotten. Sounds fun, right? But wait there's more!

As I have a history with my last pregnancy of kidney infections and kidney stones (yes, I had a great time then too..) I am high risk for that again. Like a junkie I leave my urine sample every week and hope it's clean! In the last 4 weeks I have had 2 infections, awesome, they are pretty painful on their own and I am getting sick of antibiotics. Now you though I was done?

But lets not forget about a little thing called gestational diabetes. I had it last time and now they tell me I have it again. The good news is that I can wait a few more weeks before I start checking blood sugar levels 4 times a day and I am not on their strict diet quite yet. I am on my gallbladder diet only right now. You just wait until I have to be on a diabetes, gallbladder and pregnancy diet all at the same time. Please invite me for dinner, I'm so fun to cook for!

I have a great medical team helping me though.
1- Midwife, oversees the "normal" aspects of the pregnancy thus far
2-Ob-gyn, follows my complications during pregnancy
3- Surgeon, decides what happens with my gallbladder
4- Family doc, oversees and makes sure I see all the right people
5- Speciality nurse, diabetes clinic at LGH, follows my diabetes
6- Dietitian at LGH, helps me with what I can and cant eat

All I can say is I could not be luckier to live in Canada, seriously, the medical care is AMAZING. Never complain about it.

I may sound bitter, well, that's where I'm at right now. I try to focus on the fact that there will be another incredible little person in my life pretty soon and that I have an end date to all of this. Some people are sick and never get better, I at least know I will. My body just cant handle pregnancy so this will be the last time I put myself through this.


//Nina

Tulip Tip

I love fresh flowers and try to have some around the house as often as possible. This time of year it mainly is tulips that cheerfully dress up my home. One thing that is crucial for me with just tulips (and often many other flowers too) is to try to extend their life of beauty by re organising them after a few days. Tulips grow alot once they are put inside in the warmth, sometimes by 2inches even, they bend and the curve of the stem changes dramatically. If they are not taken care of, cut down slightly or re-arranged you run the risk of them getting damaged and the beautiful arrangement may not look so beautiful anymore. Here are some photos of what I did with my beautiful tulips... I recommend this to everyone who loves tulips!
//Nina

Final...

How much I cut off..

Final...

What they looked like when only 1 day old...

Luxury Day!

 Frozen Blueberries for dessert tonight

 Fresh tulips is a must this time of year

It's very rare but sometimes my work schedule changes so that I get a day off when Sam has daycare, a day to do whatever I want with. What?! I know, I can hardly believe it myself. Today was such a day so after dropping Sam at daycare my day of luxury started. I hopped into a nearby parked car2go and drove down for a 90min bikrams yoga pass. I have been feeling tired these past few days and todays yoga pass was not easy and I felt a bit out of it at times but I stuck through and felt golden when I was done. After lunch at home I went to a day spa that is just around the corner from us, it's small and very cute. They are running some promotions right now that I took advantage of, I was there for almost 3hours! It started with a mani/pedi then I had a back massage and last but not least an hour long facial, I have never felt so pampered in my life, it was amazing! I will go back for sure (next year when I have another chance..).  By the time I was done at the spa it had started poring outside, but walking in the rain pushing a stroller home from daycare is much easier after you have been treated like a star and feel like a million bucks. It could have been a hurricane outside and I would have still strutted along like the sun was shining. Today was such a treat and the "cherry ontop" was picking up Sam who was thrilled to see me.

//Nina

A not so welcome cold

Today Sam woke up with a cold, all the classic cold symptoms are there and I am bracing myself for what may come in a day or two. Sam has asthma which flares up when ever he gets a cold, he is still wheezing  from his cold in January so needless to say this cold is not welcome what so ever. (it never is) He takes Flovent twice daily which is a preventative steroid drug that we hope will lessen and shorten the asthma symptoms when he gets exposed to a trigger, in this case a cold. The idea is that he hopefully wont have a chronic cough for 8weeks like he did before Christmas for example or that he has difficulty breathing etc etc. This is his 1st "new" cold since being diagnosed in January and I am anxious to see whether this flovent treatment is working or not, will his symptoms be less and for a shorter period of time? Will he have spells of really having a hard time breathing? Will he stop breathing? Will we be up with him all night making sure a coughing fit does not go over into something worse? Many questions arise at the first sign of a cold.
A cold used to mean that you feel a bit sick, cuddle up and drink soup. A cold has a very different meaning for me now. Let's cross our fingers that my little boy wont have to cope with this shittyness this time. May the flovent work magic!!

//Nina

A year later

I stopped this blog last year but have recently been feeling that I wish I had not as it makes for an amazing diary. There is also a need to say things, I find that I feel a need to vent to a non-responsive party about the day to day stuff. I tried writing without posting it but it felt pointless and awkward actually, I need to think that I am writing to someone. Cannot explain why. Anyways, I think I'll start it up again and post from time to time. Lets' start with a quick update.

Sam just turned 2years old, he's a happy little dude who is becoming funnier and funnier by the day.
We moved into a big place with a backyard and could not be happier in our new home!
I still work 2 days per week as a pastry chef instructor at a culinary school, I love my job so much, it's by far the best job I have ever had. Since christmas Sam has been sick  (as most kids) quite a bit and I have had to stay home from work quite a few times, today is one of those days and I am so jealous of my coworkers who get to hang out in the kitchen teaching people how to make cool stuff all day!

Things to look forward to in 2013:
Visits from my dad, mom, sister and cousin are all on the books.
A Hawaii trip
A Disneyland California trip
Spring and Summer in our backyard (so fed up with cold and rain)
Christmas in our new house!

Cheerio,
Nina

Mormor Visits

My mom has been here visiting us for 3 weeks. It has been a great visit although we were somewhat unlucky with the weather. We had some nice days though. Regardless we did a bunch of things when she was here and Sam really enjoyed her company. After she left he still looks for her when he wakes up from his nap! We visited the aquarium, maple wood farms, walking in ambleside, did some shopping(without sam), park visits, nature walks in lynn valley, picnic in deep cove, granville island, the ubc botanical gardens etc etc and also squeezed in many restaurant visits! Since my mom left this past saturday we have continued to be busy, the children's festival was on at granville island this weekend so we went to check it out on sunday. Sam loved all the performances he saw!  He was somewhat impressed with the adults in costumes (butterfly,fish, clown etc) but only from afar. If we came too close, he nearly squeezed my head off trying to hold on tight to me. All in all the festival was really fun and highly recommended!

Now life is back to our old routine and we are starting to make plans for the summer weekends. I cannot wait for the summer weather to come to our rainy city, you will find Sam and me hanging out almost everyday at the water park or pool for sure. //Nina

Photo dump

 Picnic in the park with Mamma

 Some reading requires a comfy place

 After seeing the older kids swinging on this Sam had to give it a try, it's really easy to fall off so thankfully Mormor was there to help