Motherhood

Since everyone keeps asking us ‘how is parenthood,’ I thought I’d try and explain some things about my experiences being a Mommy in Penticton.

We don’t have any family here.  Although they have visited and helped us cook meals and do chores, they are not around for day-to-day help.  So, we feel that we depend on each other and on our friends even more.  We have loads of good friends in town that have cooked us meals, held Rachel, and supported us.  Perhaps my biggest supporters in town in my world as a new mom are Sarah and Cathy.

Sarah and Cathy are two triathlete mommies in town.  Sarah and Scott had Brooklyn at the end of July; Cathy and Christ had Amy at the very end of August.  Us mommies hung out loads during our pregnancies and have enjoyed the first few months of having infants together.  Sarah and Cathy have been great 'Mommy mentors' to me in person, and I have several other helpful friends who are moms online and on the phone.

We go to BabyTalk class together every Monday.  We have pretended to do yoga together, which usually means we do a few poses between feeding and changing our girls and then drink tea and eat cookies.  We walk, hike, swim, and do weights together in whatever capacity our babies will allow.  Sarah and I recently went snowshoeing together.  It’s these times together that we can laugh and play and celebrate being mothers and being fortunate enough to have these amazing times together with our children.

When Sarah is too busy with the other 18,000 things she does or now that Cathy has returned to work, I fill my days without them.  My friends Tobi, Tamsyn, and Tricia are also pregnant and I can talk about being a mom with them!  Jason works split shifts most days so we have a great scenario of time together in the middle of the day.  Often we go to Nickel Plate and go skiing.  Other days we have appointments and errands to run together.  Sometimes I go skiing, running, walking, errand running, or shopping just with Rachel.  Other days Rachel is fussy and I feel stuck with her in the house.

Since I’ve spent the good part of the last 7 years focused on being a therapist, it’s very strange to be at home not working.  It’s a huge adjustment.  There are wonderful things about it, but I do miss working and the stimulation and productivity of work.  It’s nice to see patients and make money in a day and look back and feel like I did something useful.  I’m still wrapping my head around the notion that taking care of Rachel all day is the productive thing I’m doing right now… and I can’t feel guilty or lazy if I didn’t get to much else.

Rachel is so darn cute and such a fantastic baby that being a parent has been a fantastic blessing and journey for both Jason and I.  Of course there are some challenges, but each day is filled with tender and magical moments and things that crack us up and keep us falling more and more in love with our little girl.

Grandma Oliver and Aunt Karen visit

We weren’t sure that Jason’s mom / Susan / Grandma Oliver could wait until (US) Thanksgiving to make the trip… but she did finally arrive to see her new Granddaughter.  She and Karen made the very long trip out West to spend a few days with us. 

During their stay, we had ridiculously cold temperatures and all the adults were either sick with a cold or exhausted or both… so we spent many days visiting inside.  Meggan and Jason got way more than usual done, since Susan held Rachel all the time.

We tried to go for a couple of walks but nearly froze to death when we were out.  We did have a successful Thanksgiving dinner with our friends Nick, Jehanne, Scott, Sarah, and baby Brooklyn.  Lots of yummy dishes and full tummies!! Mmmmm.

We rounded off the visit with a trip up to Nickel Plate.  Susan spent time in the lodge with Rachel while Jason, Karen, and Meggan skied.  We thought Karen did an awesome job on her very first ever cross country skate ski.

Auntie Janelle and Cousin Teagan visit

November 5, 2010

We were thrilled to pick Teagan and Janelle up at the airport in Kelowna so that they could meet Rachel.  Teagan is almost 7 years old, and visiting her is always a treat for her Auntie Meggan.  As usual, after meeting them, the first activity was to sit in the airport and feed Rachel before returning to the car.  The rest of the day was spent snuggling the baby.

Our favorite part of the visit was a hike we did with Teagan and Rachel up the climbing bluffs.  We hiked all the way up to the viewpoint above Red Tail and back – a good workout for a still recovering Mommy and a 7-year-old girl.  During this hike, Janelle also got some time to herself to go on a run.  

Jason showed Janelle around Campbell Mountain during Janelle’s first ever trail run, while Meggan hiked around with Teagan and Rachel, looking for deer.  We’re hoping next time we adventure together we can show Auntie Janelle a bear or a whale – since she’s never seen either!!!

Visitors and social highlights from the first few weeks

As we got used to parenting, we had help from our amazing friends and family.

Meggan's parents Nana and Pops were with us for the first few days.

Meal train - friends in Penticton got together to bring us meals every night for the first week or so.  What a terrific treat!

First party - Neil Pearson's birthday party at 1.5 weeks old - she has quickly become a social little girl!

The D'Abreo family visits - To celebrate Rachel's 2-week birthday, our friends Robin and Dana came to visit, with their daughters Taylor and Rylie. What little empty space there was in the house was quickly filled, and it was great fun to sift through scattered clothes, diapers, toys, and try to figure out which child was crying in the other room.

Open House - many friends met Rachel at our Open House, where Rachel was passed around like a hot potato.  Thanks to Amber and Jehanne for their help in 'hosting' this event.

Rachel's first SNOW!

This day was probably more exciting for Daddy than for Rachel. Daddy loves playing in the snow, and when we heard there was a bit of snow up at Nickel Plate we decided to take a trip up to check it out. Before we left, Mom and Dad spent a good 40 minutes trying to untangle the Baby Bjorn straps and get them adjusted so we could carry her. We chose the smallest of all the snowsuits Rachel has received (some hand-me-down and some new), packed her up, and drove up the hill.

Of course, as soon as we parked Rachel needed to feed before we could go walking. After the feed we dressed her and Daddy and Mommy managed to cram her into the Baby Bjorn carrier.

We walked around in the snow for 40 minutes.  Then we unpacked Rachel, fed her again, changed her diaper, and drove home.  When we got home, we unpacked the car, fed her again, changed her again and laughed about a wonderful day!

Rachel's First Few Days

Rachel's first few days were busy. We spent the first night in the hospital, trying to figure this whole parenting thing. We changed diapers awkwardly, handled Rachel as if she were a really cute but extremely breakable girl, and tried to discern the difference between the hungry cry, the tired cry, and the dirty diaper cry. It sounds simple, but it wasn't at the time.

Rachel comes home

The nurses told us we could stay a second night, but we wanted to go home if everything was going well. Things were going well, and Meggan's parents, Carol and Richard, were ready at our house to provide support. So after the 24-hour mark passed and Rachel's heel was pricked to check her blood for various conditions, we were allowed to leave. By the way, the heel prick was extremely hard for both parents (especially Daddy) to watch!

Leaving the hospital, Rachel was quiet as we walked to the car (oops, Daddy parked a little too far from the hospital), and seemed content during the ride home. I remember thinking while driving the car home, that it seemed crazy to believe MOJO was now MOJO + R! Back home we adjusted to life with Rachel -- so fun and busy! We loved her gestures, her soft her hair felt, and watching her squirm around. Daddy called her 'squirmster'.  Daddy really thought her sneezing was funny (see video to the right).

Rachel's first few walks were to nearby stores, Fabricland and Wal-mart. Our first outing as a family was to "Meet the Hashers," as we drove her to Trout Creek for the start of the Hash run on Sunday the 17th. There she was named in Hasher tradition as "JustRachel." We also received a number of fun visitors at our house, and we were excited to show Rachel off as she seemed to be content and not picky about who was holding her!

Delivery Day!

This post relives a very exciting day -- the day Rachel was born! In the interest of keeping this blog fun to read for everyone, some details were left out but none of the excitement. If you need more details, send us an email and we'll be glad to answer your questions.

Here we are the night before, in "Small Person's Room" (we didn't know Rachel's gender before she was born).

October 12, 2010
40 week appointment at the Doctor's office.  For weeks we have been told that the delivery must be imminent due to false contractions, the amount of dilation (2-3cm), and the baby's position.  The doctor again suggests that the baby is ready to arrive...

In the afternoon Meggan continues to have false contractions but we both feel that something is close to happening.

October 13, 2010

 ~3:00am: Meggan woke up with some contractions, and over the next hour they became more regular and she started to get excited. At 5am we called the hospital to check in with the maternity ward, and they said we could stay home a little while longer but to come in when they felt stronger or if her water broke. She also told us they were very busy as several other women had come in during the night.

We got ready, ate breakfast, and checked into the hospital around 7:45. Meggan was put into a small exam room in the maternity ward and assessed; she tried lots of different positions -- anything but lying down, she said! Eventually the nurse said she was "laboring really well" (3-4 cm dilated).  Meggan felt sure that things must be further along than this by now and was working hard to breathe through the contractions.  The nurse suggested we go back home until her water broke or the pain became unbearable.

We spent a few hours at home, trying lots of things including shower, reading to distract, using a borrowed TENS machine, and having Jason apply pressure to Meggan's lower back. We timed the contractions and found lots of variation in length and interval. About 11am, Meggan's water broke and suddenly the contractions were much closer together (only 1.5-2 minutes). Meggan did not want to move and felt nauseated, but Jason helped her to make it to the car.  We moved quickly to get back to the hospital, and went right back to the maternity ward.

Things progressed quite quickly from there, going from 5cm to 9cm relatively quickly.  We had lots of help from our nurse and before too long Dr. Lebel and a medical student named Alex arrived.  We reached the pushing stage and before long we could see the baby's head.  When the head was through, the Doctor noted that the umbilical cord was loose around the neck.  Jason cut the cord right then and there, and then the pushing continued.  The baby's shoulders were quite stubborn and some maneuvering was required to complete the birth.

2:31pm: Rachel Claire Oliver is born! Dr. Lebel held her up and said "It's a girl!"

Apparently it was a busy day in the Penticton Regional Hospital, which averages 1-2 births/day. There were 6 births on the 13th of October this year!

Another lady down the hall delivered two minutes later, and, unfortunately for her, we got the last private room.  She had to share!  Good job Rachel!

Rachel Claire Oliver weighed 7lbs, 9.7oz and was 19 and 7/8 inches long.

Introduction

Welcome to our blog. We started it to more easily share pictures, stories, and fun from our world. We started this blog on Rachel's 1-month birthday, but have gone back and written a few posts regarding her early life for fun and so we could include more pictures. Please note that you can subscribe to our blog on the right side of the page, which will automatically send you emails whenever we post something new and exciting.