Gas, Nipples, or Nudity

Magnus has started smiling recently. I don't know why babies start smiling.  Almost everyone has said, "It's probably just gas."  A bunch of nattering nabobs of negativism.  I don't believe it.  Magnus has gas, and when he does, he for sure is not happy. 

Why can't he simply smile because he is happy?  Or, when he is sleeping, smile because he is dreaming of something that makes him happy?  I have observed Magnus when he is happy, which is typically when he is either feeding or 1/2 way through a change, when he is naked to the world and happy to be just letting it all out. 

So, that's where my money is.  The smiles that pop up in the video below are so natural, I'm betting it's nipples or nudity. 

 

Life of the Party at UB's

Last Sunday, Magnus went to his first party.  It was hosted by my long term friend, Brent.  A friend with whom, I realized upon reflection, I have shared quite a few parties with in the past, in a number of foreign destinations: Tokyo, Borneo, Australia, Bahamas, Miami Beach, Barbados...  So, definitely a great person with whom to share your first party!  It should also be noted that Magnus's first bar visit was a few weeks ago to Brent's little wing place in the Toronto Beaches.  There may be a trend starting here with Magnus and UB (as Brent's nephews and niece, and all their friends, refer to him). 

"...then after the beach we'll find a nice patio for afternoon cocktails..."

Magnus seemed to have had a pretty good time.  Another friend of ours, Frank, was more than happy to carry Magnus around for most of the afternoon (sadly didn't get any pics of Frank and his little charge), allowing Karen to get a break and allowing me to not always be on call.  Once Frank put him down, one of Brent's  young bar managers, Courtney, was willing to give it a try.  She was a little scared at first, but she did a fine job of handling the little guy.  Plus, we were all very impressed that she used very little of her sailor language while cuddling the baby.

Courtney with her boyfriend AJ and, I think, her first baby

So, although it was a relaxing afternoon with friends (and a charitable one: all women had to bring an unwrapped gift for a teen and all men had to bring a non-perishable food item), the party for some of us non-bar staff ended sooner than we might have liked.  As Brent said, "Oh, how the mighty have fallen." 

Not to fear, I am sure that Karen and I will once again rise from the ashes and, hopefully some day soon, stay out later than 7pm.  If not, we will just have to start a little earlier!

Magnus's 1st Snow

For those of you who are not in Toronto, we got our first big dump of the season on Saturday.  It is great for us displaced Ottawa Region folks who like the snow and all that it brings (still haven't figured out yet if it will be worthwhile bringing the skis to Halifax with us). 

Outside, the 15cms looked like this:

Back Patio

Front Balcony

Meanwhile, inside, Magnus was practicing his neck exercises, push ups, and planks.  We think he might be going through a little growth spurt, as he isn't giving his mom much of a break the past couple of days.  Maybe my Great Santini moment will come sooner than I had anticipated!

Family Visitors and The Campsite Rule

On Monday, we had a couple of family visitors.  One was a fly-by-drop-in while the others decided to stay for a few nights.

Grandpa Hawkins stopped in on his way to Guelph for a meeting with the Grain Farmers of Ontario. Although a quick visit, I think that I might have unwittingly volunteered to work in the fields over the Christmas break.  Ross's last words to me before he left were, "Bring your boots, there is always work."

Grandpa Hawkins, Smiling on the Inside

Nan and Grandpa Raz also showed up Monday night, crossing paths slightly with Ross.  They stayed for 2 nights this week and, like always, lived by the "Campsite Rule".  For those of you familiar with the sex-advice columnist, Dan Savage, and his Campsite Rule, you might be curious (you sickos!) how a visit from my folks and the Campsite Rule fit.  Without going into the detail of how the Campsite Rule is interpreted by Dan's readers, the high level concept is that one should always leave a campsite either the same or better than how it was found. 

So, inevitably, Peg brought a meal that, with leftovers, equated to 6 servings along with some Christmas cake and a tin of shortbread cookies shaped into snowmen, Christmas trees, and other holiday shapes.  Always fun to bite off the head and show Frosty who is boss!

They also watched over Magnus on Tuesday morning, allowing me to go into work and Karen to hit her favourite salon.  With a walk in the fresh air and a bottle to fill the hunger need, Magnus appeared quite content to allow his mom to get prettied up and his dad to try and pay for his bills.  With the wind-chill hitting -17C, Magnus really had to get bundled up. Many thanks to Sherrai for the white snowsuit, cousins Will, Bo, and Josh for not destroying the blue snowsuit when it was their's, and Steph's son, Evan, for having a "monster head" (Karen's words, not mine) such that the attached toque was too small and was perfect for a gift. 

Magnus Pre-Stroll

Magnus Post-Stroll

 

Besides the Tuesday morning walk, they also covered Tuesday night, allowing Karen to get in a 4 hour nap (Karen is quick to note: her longest sleep since October 30th) and allowing me to hit the gym for a quick workout, already prepping for my first one-on-one game of 21 with Magnus. 

After getting a couple of days with her "hands around that little baby", Nan and Grandpa Raz left Wednesday morning for Ottawa.  Again, before leaving, Peg changed the sheets on her bed.  Always living the Campsite Rule.  Definitely leaving the area better than it was when they had arrived.

Sleeping Magnus: Did Nan's stories finally knock him out?

So Many Visitors!

In the last 2 weeks we’ve had lots of visitors. Oma came to Toronto on her way to visit with her 5 sisters. It was the first time all 6 sisters had been together in 3 years. She tells me she had a wonderful time with them, but, of course, she LOVED her brief moment with ‘magnificent Magnus’ as she likes to call him. Sadly, with all the festivities planned with her sisters and the long travel, Oma only visited with us for a short while. However, she came back to see him again this past weekend with my Aunt Mary. This time, her sisters were getting together again for a party. Rare, indeed, for her to travel this direction twice in 2 weeks, but for a grandmother, any excuse to see her grandchildren is a welcome one.

 

Oma so happy with Magnus

 

Oma seemingly happier with Magnus

 

Aunt Mary with Magnus

 

Check out the confusion!

 

Uh oh!

 

My girlfriends Sherrai and Jen each came to see our little guy in the past few weeks. These are two of my best friends, and it was so nice to be able to catch up and talk about what’s going on in their lives…  a little adult conversation that I have oh so sorely already been missing! Thanks again, ladies, for the recent gifts! He is going to look so good in them at Christmas!

 

 

Sherrai and Magnus

 

 

Jen and Magnus

This past weekend my sister Tanya (or Tante {pronounce TAUNT-AH… Dutch for ‘aunt’}) and her friend Jo were going to Stratford for the weekend, so they stopped in. My mum had informed me that Tanya was really excited to meet Magnus. She brought a second awesome blanket for Magnus as well as a lasagna for Matt and I. Incredibly thoughtful and very appreciated! Thanks Tanya for the great pictures you took!

 

Tante proudly displaying Magnus

 

Jo with Magnus

 

How cute he looks!

 

My friends Alex and Charlie are expecting their first child early 2014. So they stopped by last week to meet the little man and pick up a few things we had set aside for them. Initially when we got pregnant, I didn’t know anyone who was preggers too, but now I have a few friends who are a few weeks to a few months behind me. So I’m really looking forward to lots of playdates next year! We also took a trip out to see Brent or ‘Uncle Brent’, Matt’s best friend in Toronto. It had been months since I had seen him and it was great catching up.  Sadly we did not get a picture of Brent, Alex or Charlie. Next time, friends!

 

 

Magnus hits a month

Well, on Sunday Magnus hit the 1 month birthday.  I guess after 30 days there's no returning him now.  Would be kind of tough to do, as he isn't the same kid that we brought home from the hospital.  He has gotten more physically adapt: no problem lifting his head during Tummy Time or punching away my face when not interested in Eskimo kisses.  He has gotten trickier: he has fooled me into thinking that the only way to calm him is to walk stairs (this posting was interrupted by at least 30 sets of stairs up to the Master and down with Magnus tucked into a football hold) and has tricked his mom into thinking that the only way he can fall asleep is if he is in her arms.

Also, after today's doctor's appointment, we know that he has gotten bigger.  Magnus weighed in at 10 lbs.  Nothing crazy, of course, when you consider that a friend of ours just had a 10lbs 6 oz boy at birth.  However, the business analyst in me can't help but think: he hasn't just gained 2 lbs, he has grown 25%!  The last time I gained 25% of body mass it took me a year of gym, creatine, and pizza.  He's done it by simply sucking on a tit for a couple of weeks.  If I had only known! 

Karen is thinking of taking a pic of Magnus every month in order to track his growth.  For his one month we put him on his newest gift.  A great blanket from Pat & Mel, living in Vancouver, and Steph & Rob, Mel's sister's family living 5 minutes away in High Park.  The giraffe will definitely go with the jungle theme of his nursery. 

Magnus Receiving his First Giraffe Kiss

 There is stiff competition to see if any of his great blankets become a favourite.

Meet Magnus / Little Bruce Lee

Although Magnus has recently been out and about (Steph & Rob's, Wayne the drycleaner, and, yes, Uncle Brent's bar) and has had many local visitors (friendly neighbours, Karen's school friends, former colleagues), I realized that many people only know Magnus from still photos.  These photos do not give one a true appreciation of the man-child.  Of course, whenever I have tried to video tape his cuteness, he decides to cry, and then yell, and then scream, and then wail (all very progressively different and more extreme noises). 

However, I think that I finally caught him after a successful diaper change.  All I have to do now is figure out how to post it to the blog. Youtube says it didn't download, yet I think I've linked it.  If not, I might have to wait until Mangus is 3 so that he can show me.  Let's hope it works. 
(By the way, you can ignore the mumbled commentary.  Balboa enunciated more clearly.)



 Still hoping his raccoon noises go away.  Unfortunately, they seem to be getting worse!

Ed

Just a quick follow up on the last posting.  Some have questioned how I could have so easily succumbed to a couple of the poses.  To me, it is quite clear.  I will now be able to prove to Magnus that, before he showed up:

1. I had hair, and it wasn't grey.
2. I was in relatively decent shape. 

If any of that changes, we ALL know who is to blame!!!

If you are unsure of who that might be, see the suspect below, enjoying Tummy Time on Nanny's blanket.  Who would have guessed that, 6 years after buying it, my leather coffee table would fit a baby blanket so perfectly.  Definitely was not taking that into consideration when shopping at ELTE.  Definitely will not be shopping there again any time soon!

 

Oops, I almost forgot the 3rd thing that it proves to Magnus:

 

3. Always do what Mommy says.

Photo Shoots

Ever since I saw Demi Moore on the cover of Vanity Fair Magazine I have wanted to do a maternity photo shoot. Well, the day finally came in October when I was 36 weeks pregnant. I found the photographer online. I liked her portfolio a lot, and her studio was very close to the house. But the clincher was that her prices were better than most while she still seemed professional (the cheapest were obviously new to the game – their sites  and portfolios sucked).

Matt was hesitant but played the part of the doting partner quite well. Like most people, he is not fond of getting his picture taken, but just take a look at how great they turned out!

 

 

 

 

 

The shoot only lasted an hour which was more than enough time for my cheeks to hurt from smiling so much. When we were close to being done, I was informed my smiles seemed feigned. So the photographer asked Matt to stand behind her because my smiles were much more genuine when I looked at him. (sigh) She was right. The last one is the one Matt likes the best, and it was when I was looking right at him. J

Obviously, I had no intention of stopping at maternity photos. I couldn’t wait to get pictures of Magnus in crocheted hats posed with favourite stuffed animals. So when he was just 6 days old we returned to the photographer’s studio for Magnus’s shoot. It was supposed to take 3 hours but turned into 5 hours! The photographer was great with him. After I fed him and cuddled him to sleep, she continued rocking and cooing him until he was really down. And she had to stop the shoot and rock him again numerous times because of how often she would move him to get just the right shot. But she said she loves doing it. And we couldn’t be happier with the pictures.

 

 

We only received soft copies of the prints we purchased, even though there were a ton more. But we are thrilled with both the experience as well as with the end products. So for our Toronto friends, if you’re interested, look up Lucy Literna (http://www.lucyliterna.com/ ).

 

Nanny and Grandpa Come for a Visit

A little bit of a delayed update, but last weekend, after almost a week since Magnus was born, Nanny Raz finally got her hands on him.  Knowing that we were not yet taking in overnight guests, Nan and Grandpa were able to stay with Laurie Farrell, an old high school chum of Nan’s, in Burlington.  This allowed for 3 visits with us while they spent 2 nights with Laurie.

The visit was greatly welcomed by all.  After their first day, as we were chowing down on Nan’s Chicken Stew, Karen remarked on how nice it was that we didn’t have to do anything for dinner (don't worry, I have been handling most of the meals - I know my place).  When they weren’t covering for me when I went to work on the Friday, putting together Karen’s new lamp for the nursery, or taking Magnus on his first ride in his stroller (thanks again to the Raz, McGuire, and Cade clans for such a great stroller), they were letting Magnus get some warm and snuggly naps in their laps. 

 

Getting ready for his 1st stroller ride!

 

 Cozy nap with Grandpa Raz.

 

Nanny Raz keeping a watchful eye.

Luckily for us, the gifts of their visit live on, much like a birthday that is extended by unexpected gifts from godparents ½ way across the country.  Although the chicken stew, cream of broccoli soup, and banana bread disappeared quickly (c’mon, I’m 6’3” / 220lbs and Karen is trying to supply a marathon cluster feeder!), we’ve put some of the spaghetti sauce in the freezer with, what I am calling, as succinctly as possible, the “Extra Container of Mystery Stew That Might Go Over Rice”.

And for those interested, the food was great.  No signs of pineapples or walnuts. 

There’s a New Kid in Town (And I’m Still Around)

Magnus will have many “firsts”.  One of his firsts at home last week was his first sponge bath on the kitchen counter.  I had been warned by a friend that he will try to, and succeed at, peeing on me every chance that he has.  Although he has succeeded a number of times at getting Karen during various diaper changes, he has yet to hit me.  During his first bath he tried, but misfired and hit himself.  I remember thinking, “Nice try, buddy, but I’m still the man of the house.  Plus, it’s bath time, so there’s soap and water everywhere anyhow! Rookie.” 

 

I thought that I had won.  But no, ladies and gentleman, I was naïve.

 

Magnus upset that he did not get his pre-bath sauna!

 

Comforted by Mom, post-sponge bath. Life is tough!

 

There must be a Sun Tzu quote out there somewhere referring to underestimating one’s enemies. 

The next day, while I was out, Karen and Magnus took a nap in our King bed.  Magnus somehow managed to leak out of his diaper and pee on my side of the bed.  The mattress cover, of course, had been removed a few days earlier and had not yet been replaced.   

Soon afterwards, with one of my favourite pillows acting as support during a feeding session, he did it again.  In my attempt to wash and dry the pillow, it was ruined.   

Some might think it all circumstance.  A baby being a baby.  To think such things, one would have to forget what I had forgotten: there is still Jodoin in his blood.   

Well played, Magnus.  Well played. 

Feeding and Feeding and More Feeding

Magnus had a hard time finding his latch.

The nurse informed me that his first few days of breast feeding would mostly be about practice. Babes don’t need much nourishment in the first couple of days until the milk comes in (which takes 3 or 4 days – until then, babes survive on ‘pre-milk’ called colostrum which is rich in antibodies).  But they need to work on latching and their nutritional requirements do increase a little bit each day.

The first night we were in the hospital he slept most of the night through as is typical. The next day we spent a lot of time practicing nursing. Every 3 hours on the dot we would get him up and throw him on my chest. But he wasn’t latching. He’d fight and fuss the whole time. Late in the day, our nurse was as concerned as we were (I was pretty stressed that he wasn’t getting anything). So the nurse recommended we start pumping and finger feeding the little guy. So we adopted our 3 hour schedule to the following:

·         We would attempt breast feeding to encourage the practice. But after a short while we ended up feeding Magnus the colostrum I had pumped in the previous 3 hours. Matt would hold him all swaddled up (Matt’s pretty great at swaddling) while I took the very precious little bit of colostrum I had managed to pump, dipped my finger in it and stuck my finger in his mouth. He had a strong suck which was encouraging.

·         Matt and Magnus would then go to sleep while I stayed up for another 40 minutes or so pumping so that we had something to feed him in the next 3 hour session.

·         I would then get to sleep for an hour or so.

We did this for the rest of the day and throughout the night. As the night progressed, I was getting even more stressed because the little bit of colostrum I managed to pump ranged from 0.5ml to 2ml which is practically nothing! The way it works is that the more you nurse, the more milk (or colostrum) your body will make. It’s a demand driven supply system – as long as there is demand there will be ample supply. My maximum pump had been 2ml, and the nurse could see I was pretty upset. She suggested that in the morning a lactation consultant would come to our room to help us out.

At 8am I was incredibly relieved when the lactation consultant walked into our room. I couldn’t hold back the tears as I told her the tale of what we had been doing over the last 48hrs to try to feed Magnus. She was incredibly reassuring and was confident he would latch with ease soon. She watched my attempt to nurse him and got her hands right in there to reposition him over and over again. She cheated a bit by taking some of my colostrum in a syringe and pouring it into his little mouth as he was latching, the point of which was to associate my nipple with where the good stuff came from. And it worked pretty well. But she wasn’t happy with his suck. She said he was flicking his tongue as opposed to strongly sucking. And to make things worse, she declared he had a bit of a temper, wanting the satisfaction of the milk without having to work for it.

So after working with her for more than an hour, her advice was to continue doing what we were doing but to no longer finger feed him as the suck he was using for finger feeding was not the type of suck we wanted him to have on a nipple. Instead, she taught us how to spoon feed Magnus. And to ensure Magnus got his minimal nutritional requirements each day, we topped him up with formula. I was disappointed to have to use formula, but the plan was to use it only for a few days until my milk came in. So I continued to pump gaining more and more colostrum with each pump. At each feeding, after attempting to breast feed (which was getting better with each session) and after spoon feeding him the pumped colostrum, we would also spoon feed him some formula. On the third day of life the lactation consultant said he minimally needed 15ml at each feeding. So if I pumped 8ml of colostrum, we would finish his feeding with 7ml of formula. And I have to admit that I was beyond relieved when it worked. I just felt so much better that he was getting something into his little belly, and that with more practice he would latch well.

So it ended up that we stayed one extra night in the hospital because neither the staff nor I were comfortable with Magus’s latch. But when we left everyone was happy he and I had synched up. We continued with the spoon feeding for another day or so until my milk came in, and since then Magnus hasn’t had a problem nursing at all. J

 

The 24 hour…48 hour…84 hour stay in the hospital

What was expected to be a one night stay at Mt. Sinai turned into 2 nights (as Karen went through labour on night 1), then 3 nights (as you are kept for 2 nights after a C-Section), then 4 nights, as Magnus was still trying to figure out how to eat! 

Although at the time I did not know that I would be having a 4 night stay in a Lazy Boy lounger (hello Osteopath and Massage Therapy appointments!), the beginning of our stay post-labour was helped by 2 key events:

 Ron, our man on the inside:

§  While waiting in the recovery room post-labour, I witnessed the Room Scheduler instruct a nurse to wheel a patient BACK to the recovery room, as there was still insufficient space on the newborn floors for new mothers.  Concerned that we would not get a private room because of the volume, a quick text was sent to our good friend, and Mt. Sinai Director of Operations (thank you MBA connections!), Ron.  Ron was quick on the draw, got a call into the 16^th floor, and confirmed that we were good to go, even giving us our check-in time before it was known by our nurse. 

 

§  For this we were extremely thankful.  During my numerous hallway walks to get water or outside food, I saw a number of shared rooms with (shared) visitors.  I’m sure that if there were 12 family members hanging out for hours on the other side of a curtain while Karen and Magnus tried to recover from surgery, there would have been a minor issue.  Just because Magnus’s first outfit was prison stripes, it didn’t mean that Daddy needed to follow suit.  Thank goodness for a multi-tiered health care system!

 

Magnus in his Johnny Cash outfit

 Oma and Grandpa Hawkins:

§  Another great start to our stay was that, as I was confirming our room status with Ron in the hall outside the recovery room, Karen’s folks showed up.  Ross and Betty came down from Elgin first thing on the day Magnus was born.  They even brought him a card (two cards, if you include the one Betty bought in case it was a girl!).  They helped get us to our room and comforted Magnus during his first hours of life.  Magnus is their 2^nd grandchild and first grandson.  Only time will tell if he will be able to keep up with his extremely energetic cousin, Jacoba. His step cousins Cam and Tyler are pretty chill, so hopefully they'll be calming influences on Magnus.

 

 

Although the post-labour stay started well, it would end up being extended as Magnus and Karen got synced on the whole feeding scenario.  I will leave it to Karen to describe the whole finger feeding, spoon feeding, pumping cycle, etc...