Something I've been noticing since Oscar got his first shot is little tiny crystals when he pees. They're like little tiny bits of clear jello. He's not in any pain when he urinates, he doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain or discomfort at all, ever. No fever. Nothing.

Just these little clear jello-like crystals.

He's 2.5 months old... what's going on?

Anyone else experience this with little boys?

Three important milestones today.

1. Oscar slept through the night last night!

He has in the past (like when he was brand spankin' new and very lethargic from the IV) (and again when we had the Thrush), but this time it was different. It was a milestone. It wasn't nerve wracking (at 5 weeks it's kind of scary) at 9 weeks. Well, then again, when I woke up at 6:30 I was all confused. I was wondering why I woke up on my own and not to a fussing baby. I couldn't remember if I had fed him during the night. When I realized I hadn't, total panic set in and I rolled over and put my hand on his chest to see if he was breathing! (The thought of SIDS terrifies me.) When I got a good look at him, I had to laugh. He was EXACTLY as I had put him down at midnight. Hadn't moved an inch I don't think. usually he manages to get out of the swaddle and has blankets and swaddles all askew and he's sideways in his bassinet. But there he was, asleep, a little angel, exactly as he had drifted off. He must have sensed me staring at him because he immediately woke up RAVENOUS and it was on!

2. Oscar was a total trooper when he got his shot today.

We got the 6-in-1 and will go back each month now for the PCV 7 and Men-C and then the boosters up until 6 months, and then continue (again, only one each visit) with the rest of the schedule. I can breathe a sigh of relief. God, I SO worry over things that don't exist/haven't happened yet. What the hell has happened to me? I never used to be this high strung. And it's been since WAY before Oscar came along. I hate being so off-guard. That's how it feels sometimes. But I digress... I'm just so proud of my little guy for being such a trooper today.

3. I had a great hair day.

Trust me, this is a milestone. Remember, I'm not doing well on the self-esteem or body-image scale these days, so I'll take any small amount of outside validation that comes my way. And this one I believed because it wasn't a friend (because they HAVE to tell you you are gorgeous and look fantastic), this was a gal at the McDonald's drive through window (HAD to get a sundae!!).

So there you have it. A great day. Two important milestones, one... not so much. An all around good day!

S.

I'm just reading The Vaccine Book as we're scheduled for Oscar's shots on April 9.

We're definitely vaccinating the little dude, but the aluminum talk scares me. So much stuff in such a little person's system all at once!

I'm going to call Burnaby Public Health tomorrow to chat with someone about what brand of vaccine they use (not that I know anything about that but can research more with that particular info), and what levels of aluminum re in them and if I really have to worry here in Canada.

Basically, I'm just going to ask a lot of questions and probably call them a few dozen times.

Talk to me... anyone here in Vancouver/Burnaby staggered the vaccinations of their little ones, and why?

• Weight gain: so far only 17 lbs in total. Not bad.


• Blood pressure: 100/60.


• Fundal height is 27 or 28, so right on track.


• Baby's heartbeat was 150. Which reminds me... since we have the doppler, I'm going to record his heartbeat and put it on here. Must get on that! Must get on alot of things.


• Blood work: aok. No diabetes. BUT, GP called thismorning wanting to see me to discuss blood results (why? She hasn't called me in 6 months and I've had loads of bloodwork with this pregnancy) So I go in and they tell me I'm anemic. But my OB said all was good. So I'm a bit confused. Left a message with my OB earlier, I'll take her word for it, whatever that may be when I hear back.


• Speaking of GP... I'm looking for a new one. Anyone who may be reading this from Greater Vancouver recommend one in Burnaby or East Van? I don't want to drive too far for a doctor's appointment for my child. Me? I usually go 30 minutes away to appointments because I don't mind, but not if I'm panicking when my baby's umbilical cord is falling off and I want to get to a doctor YESTERDAY out of sheer panic. ;-) Ya know? Let alone if he gets really sick...


• Vaccines. Brought up the fact (with my GP thismorning) that we are starting discussions on whether or not we are going to vaccinate and everything to do with that. Well, the response I got was pretty rude to say the least. And after I told her that I didn't want to know her thoughts, just her facts, I also asked for the list of vaccinations and vaccination schedule for babies. So now we have that information to go forward with our research. Yikes.

Anyone care to weigh in on why you DIDN'T or why you DID decide to vaccinate? Facts and sources would be fantastic too please so me and the D-Man can follow up on this end.

Random updates.

Just a few notes for tonight:

Re: my cold. Thanks so much for your well wishes. This cold is actually the worse part of my pregnancy. It's been a breeze up until now. And it's just the cold that is bad, the pregnancy still rocks!

Re: rolling over at night. I was trying to put it into words but couldn't exactly find the right way to describe it. Some ways you all did was beached whale (yes), production (yes) ordeal (yes), but I've finally found the phrase that I've been trying to reach.... it's like a friggin' three-point turn! Seriously, it's like a 3-point turn.

Re: cloth diapers: back to wanting to use them. If they don't work with our little guys needs, we'll just use disposable instead. Done.

Re: vaccinations: just now ordered the Dr. Sears (his son actually, Robert I think?) book on vaccines. We'll see.... lots more posts on this topic, I'm sure.

And a final note before I shut the light off for the night: it is easy to second guess myself about so many decisions -from what colour to paint the nursery, to the circumcision decision. BUT, I do have to trust that I'm not the first woman to ever go through this. Every mom was, at one time, a first timer! I have to remember that and continue on.

And right now I'm going to continue on with putting myself into bed for the night! I'm exhausted.

S.

I'm dreadfully sick with a cold. Feel horrendous. Is it multiplied because I'm pregnant? Or are colds getting worse becuase I'm aging? Hey, last Christmas I was deathly ill with a cold, it was freaky. It was just a cold, but it knocked me out for three days.

Anyhoo, I'm sick. I have a cold. I can't think.

But a quick update: The D-Man and I have finally agreed on the circumcision dealio. It was Round 4 last night. He told me who he talked to, I told him who I talked to, then we both got on a computer and did some more research. I was visiting Dr. Pollock of Circumcision Vancouver (who, for some reason, kind of freaks me out. Reminds me of a hair-plug surgery website... scarey), and he was over visiting the folks of the Canadian Children's Rights Council.

On Dr. Pollock's website, it states that he gives them sugar-coated pacifiers to take their attention away. I voiced my concerns over this, and that "So he's trying to create an alternate reality for a newborn so he won't feel pain. A NEWBORN. CREATING AN ALTERNATE REALITY FOR A NEWBORN." Uh, hello???? Sybil, anyone? When Rabbit Howls anyone? (Ok, ok, that might be a bit extreme, but that's exactly where I went. I mean, it's just to take his attention away - and Donald does the same thing to get a bandaid off me.... but it still freaked me out). Anyway, as I was voicing my concern over this, Donald silently got up and walked into the kitchen.

"We're not circumsizing."

I was shocked silent. I mean, I thought we'd have a few more goes at this. What changed his mind was the information on the Canadian Children's Rights Council website.

So I didn't really know what to do at that moment. I saw the look on his face and my heart hurt. He looked almost defeated. I said to him, "I feel like I've taken a piece of you away."

His response?

"At least we won't be taking a piece of our son away."

So I knew he was ok and we had a good chuckle and actually chatted about it instead of butting heads. If only 13.9% of Canadian boys are now being circumsized (as of 2003), that tells me that our little guy isn't going to be the only one in the locker room with a different looking penis, so to speak.

Two battles over and done with: exclusive breastfeeding and circumcision. Next up, cloth diapers and vaccinations. Oh joy.

(I'm sad that simple conversations over these kind of things tend to turn into WWIII in our household. It always turns into a battle - one of us trying to "win". And that's sad because it's not about that, it's about trying to make the best choices for our baby until he can make his own choices. But we lose track of that most times. Perhaps bringing that into the consciousness will help to change things from here on out.)

All for now.
s.

3rd Trimester! Here we are. We've made it this far. Week 26. My god. Week 26!

(The cucumber pic is the only picture I could find that shows the relative size right now. Weird, I know.)

The little guy is still taking little breaths, even though it's amniotic fluid, it's still great practice for him. So he's a superhero to me now. I mean, did you ever try to breath liquid?

His little eyes are starting to open. HIS EYES ARE STARTING TO OPEN! He is in a growth spurt from here on out and his brain is developing at an intense rate - so nutrition is important right now. More grains and veggies! So much for the Ga Lei Bau and coconut bun (and caramel macchiato) I had for lunch. Hey, even mom has got to treat herself once in a while.

He might start jumping around more when he hears loud, unexpected noises because the nerve endings in his ears are still developing - so he responds to sound more consistently. And will from here on out. No pun intended (funnier when you say it outloud.) (or really not funny at all) (let me repost:) "....so he responds to sound more consistently. And will from here on out."

It's not even funny to me actually.

The placenta is equal in size to the little guy. Question - my placenta is in the front... if something happens that I have to have a c-section, will this be an issue?

And my belly button is now 1/2 and innie and 1/2 an outie. I'm having an identity crisis. My body is not my own. Weird things are happening. Werid spots showing up on my chest (that I thought was just sun damage - but it's getting worse and I'm covered up and not baking on the beach). No stretch marks though - still oiling up daily with the Escents aromatherapy stuff.

Rolling over at night is uncomfortable hilarious a production all on it's own. By the time I manage to get comfortable, I'm pretty much wide awake and have pissed off the cats and then Chicken starts to knaw on my foot and thinks it's Game On and "Oh yay, mummy's awake!" and Ling Ling just looks at me, turns her nose up and leaves the room.

At least I then have the bed to myself.

Until my husband rolls in around 3am, then it's a whole other production as I've got to get rid of my massive body pillow so he can have room too. ARGH.

***

The breastfeeding issue is no longer. Donald and I are on the same page and he's looking forward to all the other ways of bonding with the little guy. Circumsicion, on the other hand, is an ongoing issue - and I'm starting to rethink my decision based on what a few fathers have said, both circumsized and non-circumsized and who have circumsized their boys and some who haven't. It's been eye-opening, but it's not over yet! I still can't stand the thought of my child being cut. Of inducing trauma, knowingly. More research required...

And cloth diapers. Someone mentioned the other day that there is actually LESS diaper rash with disposables than with cloth because of the layering - that the pee is soaked into the diaper and away from baby's bum. Again, more research required. (It's not just about diaper rash, it's also about the environment but there you go.)

And another big one: vaccines. This is going to be difficult. Or perhaps not. I'm going to grab the Dr. Sears book and have a gander.

Also, your comments really help us to see through our fear of doing the wrong thing and our preconceptions, etc, so please continue to comment! Weigh in on the subjects - I love hearing from all of you. Makes me feel less alone in this journey. There's been a few lately that I have yet to respond to, but am going to in a few minutes, so feel free to browse through them for my replies.

Phew, this was a long one today.

S.