Up on the farm

Fiona and I took our first road trip together. We really missed Ross, but I am sure glad we had the opportunity to visit Blackbird Farms for a couple of nights.

Fiona was pretty good in the car, she napped and chatted to the sky (which was all she could see out of her back window) When she fussed, I was able to reach around and pop a soother into her mouth and this made her temporarily happy. She is not very good with the soothers and they always fall out after a minute or two, and I was prepared for this happening. I had 8 soothers in the front seat and I would keep popping them in her mouth, by the time we go to about the 5th or 6th she was usually asleep or sometimes, I had to pull over, collect all 8 and start all over again.

When we hit the highway early Thursday morning, the sun was just rising as we hit the mountains past Chilliwack. The scenery was totally gorgeous, as the fog burned off over the farmers fields and the sun shone on the changing autumn leaves. The drive along the Hope-Princeton highway was almost euphoric it was so beautiful and we were pretty well the only car on the road, I felt the freedom that one wants to feel when roadtrippin'


2 great nights were spent with Corey, Colleen, Simon and Mia on the farm. I was so glad that we all got to bond with our cousins. Corey took Fiona and I to the market on Saturday mornin to sell his eggs. It was so great, watching all of the farmers set up their stands and get ready to flog all of their homemade/homegrown wares. Our eggs sold out immediately and we had lots of time to taste the treats at the market. Peach Gallettes, Cranberry and Orange Scones, foccacia bread, Bratwurst and Sauerkraut, homemade truffles....to heck with the fruit and veg, we stuck mostly to the baked goods !

Yes, it was a wonderful weekend with the car loaded with frozen chickens, eggs, fresh apple juice and fruit and veg from the market. Thanks Corey and Colleen, we will be back as soon as possible.

Fall is nearing

Fiona has her new snuggly bunting bag installed in her stroller and not a surprise that Naya is taking advantage of this added warmth.

Off to her fist gig

She wore her kilt to the city last Friday night to see a Celtic band...and yes she was a major hit !!! They changed the words of "Donald where's your trousers" to "Fiona where's your trousers" and she even got her own personal mention in the bands' review of the evening . There were pipers and dancers and great traditional music and plenty of beer, caesars and milk were enjoyed at our table.

Look at how intently she is watching the band...cute !

More on sleep...for the last time ! ! ! !

I know that I talk about sleep a lot (or our lack of sleep) but I am finished. I have been sounding a little bit whiney like we are not enjoying parenthood because we have been so tired. This is not the case at all, we have been enjoying this little one immensely, despite our lack of sleep. I can say that with a very upbeat tone in my voice because we have had 4 nights of great sleep and things just look a little bit rosier this week. I know that being tired comes with the job of being new parents, but after a couple of months, the adrenaline starts to wear off and we have been looking and feeling totally haggard so it is perfect timing for baby Fiona to start to enjoy her sleep rather than fighting it.

These photos were taken last Wednesday when my mom was here for the day. Leslie has claimed Wednesdays as her day with Fiona. She has been coming in, doing some cleaning and tidying and looking after the little Fiona during the day. Then, in the evening when Ross gets home from work we can go out for a few hours to dinner or a movie or whatever. Yes, we are very lucky ! We get a date night, free babysitting and the house gets tidy. Thanks Mom, we all love you and appreciate you very much.

Oops, I was excited and posted to soon ....

...turns out that 7 hours of sleep was just a one off. She is back to her old tricks again, just 3 or 4 hours per night. As I have previously mentioned her motto is still "sleep is for the weak" I am getting a sign made for our front door.

The midwife, Linda, suggested that when she wakes up after her 3 hours' sleep, which is usually 12am-3am, we should feed her then put her to sleep in her own room. That way when she wakes up again, she can do 'what she does best' in the privacy of her own room and we can sleep right through until she is hungry. (What she does best is poopin' and she spends a long time building up to the big crescendo. ) And so we will try it and see how things go .

Anyways, she is 9 pounds and 15 OZ as of Thursday's appointment . Gaining a half an oz per day which is average. So that means sometime this weekend she should hit the 10 pound mark. We finally had to pack away her preemie clothes that she has been wearing since Day 1. She is now onto the Newborn size outfits ( 0-3 months are mostly too large still) The photo above is taken at the midwife's office.

Thats the face of a happy girl !!!

And Mommy and Daddy are just as happy as we all had 7 hours sleep last night. That doubles the amount that we have been having for the last couple of weeks. Just when I was beginning to think that I couldn't survive one more day with just 3 hours sleep, she pulls a 7 hour-er for us. I am kind of scared to brag about her sleeping skills just in case that was a one time happening, but hopefully we will have a repeat again tonight. Fingers crossed !

Ross has just returned home from work. After changing into his play clothes and cracking a beer, he is now on baby duty for the next while, at least until her next feed in about an hour or so. Our plan is for me to start pumping some bottles so that he can take some of the evening feedings. It would give me a little break and give Ross a chance to bond with Fiona. I purchased a pump for this purpose and have been using it frequently , but honestly, out of all of the degrading things in this world, this has got to be one of the worst. To add insult to injury, when the pump is 'plugged on' , it actually sounds like a cow merrily mooing a merry milking tune. Muu Muu Muu Muu . It is awful !

Gardens and things

After her 3rd breakfast this morning, Fiona and I climbed back into bed for a half hour and watched my old boyfriend Jamie Oliver (pre-ross) prepare a meal for his family with ingredients that he picked straight from his garden.

Jamie made a simple, rustic pasta sauce from his home grown tomatoes which he had canned last summer. He simmered them with basil, oregano and garlic which were all fresh from his garden Once he had combined the sauce with the linguini noodles, he topped it with his fresh home grown peas and baby basil leaves. It looked so tasty, fresh and healthy and it put me into a daydream about one day turning the yard on Kelly Street into a fully stocked organic produce store...with a little chicken coop and everything. It is a common daydream of mine and one which I hope to bring to fruition in the distant future.

~ ~ ~ Now visualize those dreamy swirls that take you from reality into dreamland on television and fast forward 5 years~ ~ ~ ~

Come supper time, I would ask Fiona to please go and gather the veggies and salad for the evening meal. She would be dressed in a white eyelet dress (that I sewed for her of course) and oversized gumboots and she would skip merrily out into the garden and after carefully selecting some of our finest fare, she would return to the kitchen with a melange of fresh, sun-ripened ingredients for our dinner.

Now come back to reality for some actual update on tonights dinner plans. Fiona is having her usual delicacy, Ross has gone downtown for a liquid dinner with Fred. I have cooked myself a fresh sockeye salmon which was caught just yesterday in the Fraser River,now thats a salmon thats worthy of a daydream.

Linda the midwife was here today. Fiona weights 9.8 and is gaining about an ounce per day which is excellent. Linda is still coming as she is trying to help us get Fiona to sleep more at night time. She thinks Fiona should be sleeping 5 hours and then another 4 after a midnight feeding...right now she sleeps about 4 or 5 in total and then she is up again and ready to party, so I will try anything Linda has to suggest ! ! ! She suggests going back to the system that we were feeding her on when she was born. Spend an hour feeding her every 3 hours and then as the evening comes I should spend an hour feeding her every 2 hours. This is a grueling schedule and it means that it makes it difficult to go out for daytime adventures, but it should only be for about a week and then we should see an improvement in her night time habits. Right now I survive on about 5 hours sleep in a 24 hour period and I think thats just about enough of that !