Missing In Action

I've been totally MIA for the last few weeks. We've been super busy!
Firstly I have been trying to secure a small business loan for my business, Snaps & Snails. Which has actually proven to be much more headaches that I had anticipated with the company I chose to go through. Which is ironically a national company that is supposed to be there to help small businesses, ah well, c'est la vie I suppose. It's just annoying, because they gave me this little fill-in-the-blanks business plan to fill out. And I came back 2 days later with my own 30 page, 5 year business plan, which was above and beyond their expectations, but I am obviously the only one who is on the ball here, as it has been almost two months and I have heard nothing, and I call back nearly every day. I love how when people want money from you, there are all over it, but as soon as it comes to them giving it to you, they take their sweet time.

We've also been very busy helping my mother and brother in-law re-building a home they bought in New Brunswick. They bought a foreclosure and it is very obvious why. When we got there, there was no running water, no heat, no electricity, no toilet, no appliances. There were holes in every single wall, the tiles on the kitchen floor with glued on with wood glue, there was garbage stuffed into the holes in the wall. There were scratches in the wall paper, and it was just a mess in general.
My father in-law was called down to help with the plumbing as he is a plumber, so that helped a lot. He also helped with getting the electricity back on. And after he left, Merlin and I got to work while Grandma took baby out for fun and brother in-law went to University. (They moved to this dump so he wouldn't have to stay in student res like every other student in the world.) Anyways, we knocked down walls, put walls up, ripped out cabinets, put new ones in, ripped up floor tiles, layed new ones down. Tiled walls, ripped down wall paper, put new wall paper up, painted, cleaned, put in new light fixtures, put in wainscoting, helped them move their stuff inside, and now it's fairly nice and liveable.
There are still some smaller things that need to be done, we need to build a closet in the bathroom, put the trim around the floors and windows and put up crown molding in the living room, but it's turning out to be a nice little home finally.

Merlin has also started his own little business of picking and selling wild mushrooms. Something he's been doing since he was a little kid. And baby and I love it too. It's exciting when you find a big mushroom, and it's such a great reason to get out of the house and be active as a family. The dogs love going out into the woods and being able to be off leash. It's pretty win/win, as we are actually making some money off it, so it's a little more rewarding than simply hiking.

I'm also going to be heading to Regina, Saskatchewan for Thanksgiving, to get a little break and see my family there. Merlin has decided to sit this one out and spend it with his family in New Brunswick. I'm a little apprehensive to go on the plane with my almost 11 month old! It was A LOT easier when she was 1 month old (our first flight) and again when she was 4 months. As she didn't move much and was still breastfed at those times, so she nursed the whole flights. If anyone has any tips for flying with an older baby it would GREATLY appreciated, let me know in the comments!!

I'd also love to hear how you guys stay active with your families!!

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I think my dog has sleep apnea

We got a new dog a month or so ago, named Ava. And she is the most snorty, nasally beast ever. She's the most dainty looking little puppy, until you scratch her ears or she falls asleep. She wakes me up at night with snoring, actually.

She's a purebred boxer, and despite my better judgment of ever getting another boxer, we still got her. We already had a 2 year old purebred boxer, Maya, but Merlin seemed to think she was lonely and needed a companion. Not that I don't love both dogs or anything, but I think he just wanted a puppy.
A little background on Maya: she ate every single pair of shoes I had at one point, she chewed the railing going up the stairs in our old apartment, she chewed a corner of the wall, she are entire books. This dog, I kid you not, ate an entire frozen chicken one time. Wrapper and all, and she was fine. When we were on vacation in the Queen Charlotte Islands, she somehow got a hold of a box of chocolate exlax and ate it, luckily it didn't seem to kick in until the next morning when we opened up our tent and she ran onto the beach, and you know when you put your thumb on the end of a hose? and the water sprays all over? Well yeah, that was the end result of that, I'm sure you can use your imagination to figure out what I meant by it.
I just need to say that we would have taken her to a vet, had there been one around.

Also, Maya gets EXTREMELY excited when company comes over. I know it's normal for a lot of dogs to get excited when friends or family come over, but she is just SO intense and excited and in your face. So you can probably understand from all this why I was hesitant to get another dog, let alone another boxer.

But we got Ava (the new white puppy) and she's such a good puppy in comparison. I was worried all boxers were these terrible, demon animals, but no, it just happened to be ours. AND Maya seems a lot happier since we got Ava, and they are the best of friends.

So those are our dogs, enjoy!

Finally, my Tetro review!

So after a week or so of testing, I'm finally writing my Tetro Fitted diaper and Tetro Wool Cover review. Seeing as I am selling these as well, I will try to be as unbiased as possible, though I do love them, and use them every night now.
Tetro Fitted Diapers:
When I first got them in, I was super excited. They looked sooo cute! I knew I had to prep them, but I wanted to use them right away. Anyways, I washed them once with 2 hot rinse cycles and once they were dry put them on Lily. I guess it just takes a little getting used to, going from snaps or velcro to a tie-up diaper. But I'm pretty good at it now, I even did a couple changes in the middle of the night in the dark with them, so tying them is definitely not a problem. What I love most about these diapers is that they are adorable. They function really well too.
I did have a couple people concerned with how well they would stay on without a cover, because of the flap being made for EC. Well we didn't have a single problem with the flap coming down, and I also found that I was able to get a tighter fit along the waist with the ties than with some snap up diapers. They were moderately absorbent, Lily isn't a particularly heavy wetter, and they were more than good for through the night. They fit nicely under most diaper covers, like bummis and thirsties, but not my kushies covers, they worked best for us at night time with the Tetro Wool covers though and this is primarily what we use them for now. The one size aspect of them is amazing, because you can adjust the rise and the tie closure to pretty much the smallest baby you could think of! You just have to pull the front flap up as high as you need and fold it into the diaper or just over the ties.
If I could change one thing with them, it would be that the leg elastics don't go all the way around the leg gussets. We didn't have any leaks because I always used a cover, but if someone wasn't using a cover on a baby with really skinny legs, I could see it causing some leakage. But it could be easily solved by using a cover of some sort.

Tetro Wool Covers:
These wool covers changed my whole perception of wool diaper covers. I looove them. Not that I didn't love wool already, but these work wonderfully. When I got them in I was kind of confused because the way the manufacturer had explained them to me was kind of different than how they turned out to be. Which was fine, they were better than I had expected actually. I have to explain them to you and then you can see the pictures below. The wool covers come with buttons down the middle to adjust the rise, and with hook and clasp closures on the waistband, which is really heavy duty and stretchy. There are 4 clasp closures on the waist band making it a pretty good fit for most babies, small or large. And the 4 buttons on the rise are actually pretty diverse sizing leaving lots of room for the Tetro diapers, or the doubler that is made for the wool covers.
Yes, these have a doubler that is made for them. It has another clasp system to secure the doubler in. The doubler is made of 4, 2 layer pieces of organic cotton sewn together. Which is really awesome, because it keeps it in place. The doubler is a little less absorbent than the diapers though and I preferred using the diapers instead of the doublers, but they are a cheaper option if you are on a budget.

Clasps inside cover to hook in doubler.

Doubler

Doubler spread out, all 4 of the layers are sewn together.

Clasps on doubler to hook into cover.

Over-all this is one of my favorite diaper systems I've ever tried. Like I said, it takes a little getting used to, but any mom who has been cloth diapering for a while, or even a little knows it takes some getting used to for any new diaper system. We use them mainly for over-nights and I would and will continue to recommend the fitteds and covers to all moms who want to or already cloth diaper. It was also really easy for my fiance to learn to use this system as well, he actually really likes the system and thinks they're great. And that's coming from a guy who was hesitant to even use cloth diapers at all!! (He's been assimilated :P) Another great thing about these diapers is they are all organic. The diapers are certified organic cotton and the wool is hand loomed especially for the covers, these diapers are all hand made in Poland. The only problem we seem to be having is that after the 4th wash the diapers and doublers began to pill, as you can see in the pictures. It didn't seem to effect their absorbency though and I'm 99% sure it's just because my washing machine is ancient and we're in the market for a new right now. We will have these ready for sale on the website September 13th.

In Action Pictures!!!

Laboring about labor

I've never actually written my own labor and birth story. A part of me just never wanted to put the thoughts into words. This has been on my mind a lot lately though, as we have been discussing and planning when to have our next child.
From an outsiders view, my labor and birth probably doesn't look that bad in comparison to some. But in my mind it was terrible. Now, I didn't go in there with a list of 100 do's and don'ts. But I have to say, not a single one of the books or videos I watched about labor and childbirth can give you even the slightest idea of what it's actually like to experience. This can be a good or a bad thing.
By the time my due date rolled around, I was so impatient for things to start happening. Every day I just hoped and wished something, anything would happen to show me some sign of her wanting to come out. But no signs, not one. By the time I was 10 days over-due, my doctor suggested to me that we should try inducing, to which I said a big N-O. But then she explained to me this can be done with this wonderful gel product or a shoe-lace like insert, called cervidel. Which is basically a hormone used to ripen the cervix. She stated it was an awesome way to "kick-start" labor and it was pretty much harmless. If contractions started and things started moving too quickly or in a bad direction, it could be washed out or removed and that always slows things down. I think at this point in my pregnancy I was just so uncomfortable, sore and impatient that when I saw a means to an end, I took it. I was scheduled for my first gel insertion and monitoring at 11 days past due. No contractions, no labor, no baby. So we tried again at 12 days past due, nothing. One last effort to jump start things at 13 days past due, they inserted the shoe-lace into me. The doctors and nurses all raved, "We'll be seeing you back here tonight for sure!!" as they sent us back home, yet again. Well what would you know, I did get some mild contractions, but 12 hours later, I was back in the hospital having it removed and being told to go home. Still with my big belly and baby-less.
I was definitely more than discouraged at this point. I felt like, not even the doctors and nurses can help me get this baby out, I am doomed for a c-section. I thought "How am I supposed to be a good mother to this baby if I can't even get it out of me?"
Well I guess my baby heard me, because at 4 am, only 8 hours after they removed the shoe-lace, I went into labor at home, all on my own. Now the one thing none of my books or videos or resources online told me about, was the intense pressure I would feel, in my butt. I woke up, feeling like I had to poo like no body's business, I had never felt anything like it. So I tried to go to the bathroom, but I couldn't, and the pressure wouldn't go away. I tried to go back to sleep, but then I started getting contractions. Yay! Real contractions, I was actually in labor this time. I tried to hold out at home as long as I could, but we were living in a two bedroom, basement suite apartment and it wasn't very comfortable in there. Along with the intense pressure on my bum, things felt like they were moving along. I couldn't keep focus long enough to time my contractions properly, so around 10 am, Merlin and his mom packed up our stuff, and me into the car and went to the hospital.
When we got there, I immediately regretted the decision to go there. We had to sit in this waiting room full of people while they checked me in. Then I had to climb into a bed in another waiting area and wait to be checked. Ironically, the doctor who walked through the curtain was the one doctor I hated and had even said "I don't want her delivering my baby". As I had met her earlier in my pregnancy, and I was having some problems with my pelvic bone being in a lot of pain, to which she told me not to wear such tight pants. I had also heard from other patients that she liked to do c-sections. But alas, she was the doctor on-call that day, and this baby was coming regardless of who the doctor was.
So the doctor came through the curtain to check my dilation and my cervix. I can't really describe how this feels other than painful. There is the pressure of a baby pushing down on your entire nether regions, preparing to come out, and someone comes and sticks their fingers up, it's just not pleasant. It's not the fact of their fingers are in there, which is unpleasant in and of itself, but it was so painful to be checked. More-so than my contractions were. Anyways, they checked me, and I was only 3cm. The next thing the doctor said made me break down into tears, and made Merlin extremely angry, to the point he yelled at her. She said "That baby is too big to come out of her, she is going to need a section, put her on the list". I know what I did probably wasn't the right thing, but I just layed there bawling. Luckily my fiance is my biggest supporter, and he knew as much as I did that a c-section is a big deal, and beyond that, he wanted a medical reason for me to need major abdominal surgery. I am so glad I made him watch some films with me. Since there was no medical reason, and they couldn't cut me up without my consent, we were checked into our own room, with a nurse who was to be with us for the majority of our stay.
After Merlin got things settled and I got into our room, I immediately went into the shower. This was my number one best friend for the majority of my labor. By 12 noon things were progressing, but it wasn't zooming by or anything. Whenever I tried to get out of the shower and onto the bed it was such a struggle, because of the pressure on my bum, I felt like I was going to crap everywhere. By 2pm, the doctor came back and was not pleased with how little I had progressed. She suggested to me that I need to be induced, to which I replied "Why?" Again she told me I wasn't progressing fast enough and that I needed to speed things up for babies sake. On one hand, the nurse I had was very good for helping me through contractions, and standing behind me in saying I didn't need a c-section. But was definitely open to giving me drugs. From the moment we got into the room she offered me laughing gas and morphine. And now she too agreed with the doctor, but I knew the consequences of induction. The contractions would become stronger, faster. I liked the pace we were going at. But then my support person, Merlin, had to leave for a short bit. I don't want to think that him leaving is what lead to the things that follow, but I really needed someone who knew me and knew what I wanted to be there to help me and talk for me.
Once he left, my contractions were getting a little stronger and I was doing my best to work through them. He was gone for one hour, and in that time, I was convinced I needed to be induced. So I was hooked up to an iv which was pumping me with artificial oxytocin. I can see the total domino effect in my mind to this day still. I don't remember why I have in to the induction, I don't even remember them telling me why I needed it so badly. The contractions were so intense now and they were only getting more and more frequent and more and more painful. I had no time to wait for the build up of the next one, they were almost on top of each other. Merlin still hadn't returned, and I don't remember them giving me morphine, but they sure as heck did, because I remember when Merlin came back. I was sitting in the rocking chair and rocking through the contractions, but when I tried to talk to him all that came out was a big slur, "heyystheygavedsmeneedls", I was high as hell. And he was pretty pissed off, he said he felt like they were just waiting for him to leave to swoop in and convince you, you needed these things and that he wouldn't doubt if they do stuff like that all the time.
Eventually, the morphine wore off. By now it was around 4pm, and the contractions were so intense I was throwing up and could barely stand. I was very tired and I couldn't even keep water down. I had to be hooked up to another iv so they could get some fluid in me. By 6pm the contractions were so bad I was nearly passing out by the end of each one and there was very little to no time in between. For the last hour they had been trying to convince me and Merlin to agree to an epidural. Finally I caved in, they called the anesthesiologist , and within half an hour he was needle-deep in my spine. To this day I know the exact spot where the epidural was inserted into my back and every now and then it actually hurts. I do not regret anything more in my life than getting that done. But on the flip side, sweet relief came to me. I couldn't feel anything past my boobs, well I couldn't feel the pain. I could still feel the contractions, but it was like they were muffled. I was able to sleep from 630pm until 9, which is when I started to feel the strong urge to push.
That urge to push is unlike anything I have ever felt. Just the urge to push itself is relieving, because you know the pain of labor and the joy of your child are so close. I had read about the urge to push in all my books, and I was so confused by it, how will I know when to push, but there's no doubt about it, even being heavily medicated, my body knew when it was time. Which is why I think I have so much regret about taking all the medication, I know in my heart that my body knew what it was doing and I should have let it do it's thing. By 10 o'clock my nurse turned off the epidural, or did something to make it go away, because I could feel everything again. I told her that I could not wait anymore to push, I couldn't hold it in. So she called the doctor. I was pretty excited even though pain was so immense, she put up the foot bars and coached me as to how to push.
It's basically like taking a big poo. Every time there is a contraction, I push like I'm going to take a poo. And the relief of pushing is, heavenly. I can't even describe. Pushing relieved the pain of the contraction, it alleviated the pressure everywhere. It just felt good after a day of things feeling bad. Finally the doctor arrived and this meant big time pushing. Again, the doctor was doubting my ability to get this baby out, and without my consent, or knowledge once the babies head was crowning, she used the vacuum extractor. My poor little baby had a circle on her head for a good week afterward. So at 11:15pm on Friday the 13th of November, my little girl was born.

My labor did not go at all the way I had hoped. But I know life very rarely turns out the way you plan it to. All I can say is I am thankful that I was able to deliver a beautiful, healthy baby girl who is my world now. I may have regrets about my labor and the choices I made, but I do not have regrets about bringing my girl into the world. All I can do is hope that I can be better prepared next time.