freedom!! :)

Doesn't she look like an angel here?! The first picture I've taken that I feel really needs to be framed and hung up :)

This was taken while still in the hospital, from which we were set free yesterday. Happy to get out a day early too!

So we have follow-up tests and appointments to keep us busy over the next couple of months but she is doing amazing and we are sooo happy to be home.

Our last day included a visit from Aunty Diane who is breezing through town for a wedding this weekend! It was lovely to go for lunch in the park with my friend while Mark stayed with Sasha...making the last day that much greater! :)

Right after we arrived home we headed to Ches' school for the Family BBQ event which was a big hit this year again! I had thought I was going to miss it, and still didn't end up volunteering...but Mark was lending his energy to the grill so I just strolled around with Sasha and enjoyed the chaos of fun :)

Now it's time to clean house and get things in order again. Our hospital adventure started just as I was finally getting myself organized...so I'm starting over on my plan of things to do. High on the priority list is just to ensure that we enjoy the day - every day! Whether that is relaxing at home or going out and about I'll be playing by ear. Only solid plans we have (other than appointments) is a weekend at Vancouver Folk Fest, a camping trip (at least one!), a visit to our friends in Castlegar, strawberry pickin', farmer's market and next weekend I'm so excited that my best friend from Ontario is coming for a visit over the long weekend...and I'm having my annual backyard BBQ party for my bday...so a lot to look forward to actually :)

Though Sasha is smiling much more these days, it is rarely when I happen to have the camera ready for the photo-op...I remain determined to get one soon! Below are some of my fave pics from the past couple of weeks: Mark, Sasha & Kathy ready to leave the hospital; a visit from Diane; Sasha in her stroller...I LOVE this pic!; back at home with her brother, Granma, and napping on the couch; Sasha pics and some family moments from our stay in the hospital; another for the 'is that comfy?' category of sleeping positions and a couple from the weekend before when we had a picnic in the park...the tye-dye is one of my favorite outfits passed on to her :)

pics from weeks 7 & 8

the hospital revisited

We have been hangin' out at Children's hospital for the past week with Sasha who has a urine & kidney infection. The good news is she is doing super and is recovering nicely. The bad news is only that we'll be here until Saturday the 24th.

Last week I thought I had "cooked" our little one when we were out for a long walk on a hot day. I thought we were both overheated from her being next to me in the snuggly. But afer the second day when she was still very warm I took her temperature and found she had a fever. At first it seemed it was going down on it's own, but then it went back up so I got her to the hospital asap on Wednesday morning.

I was feeling pretty guilt ridden and thought I had damaged her myself, but it turned out she had an infection which we could not have done anything to prevent. I've been told repeatedly that these kind of infections are a luck based phenom...you either get them or you don't - and they are very common. Not that this made me feel much better! It turns out that boys often get these in their first month of life, but it is a problem for girls from the 2nd month on (I actually had a urine & kidney infection when I was in high school). Yet another thing women have to deal with that men don't. Until they are really old...then it switches back to a male problem. Very strange.

I must say I'm very impressed with the level of care she has received here at Children's! From the moment I brought her to emergency (thanks to her Uncle Heath who 'delivered' us here!) she was instantly the recipient of much attention as everyone worked quickly to determine what was causing her fever. They take fever in babies very seriously and she was put through a battery of tests in no time with a high level of TLC from the ER staff.

Once the type of infection was determined she was instantly put on antibiotics and we were admitted to our own room for our stay here. We had to wait for further test results to find out the exact bug we were contending with. It turns out that 90% of these types of infections are caused by E Coli, and 10 % from three other types of bugs...and wouldn't you know Sasha has one of the 3 super bugs!

Her meds were switched and she has been doing great since the antibiotics began entering her system the first day we were here. Today is day 5. She has had many tests done - ultrasound, ECG, and many others...for a while she was radioactive baby even! - to rule out any possible damage the infection may have caused as well, and it looks like ridding her of the bug is the only challenge we have yet to face.

Though it looks like we will be here until the weekend there is still a chance we might be released earlier. They want to ensure the super bug has been flushed from her system before we head home so we need to stay for the full course of antibiotics. The jury is till out on how long this will take. We are waiting for further test results and should know definitively sometime Monday.

I'm certainly not looking forward to another 5 days here, but at least she is getting super care from the nursing staff and the pediatric team who are looking out for her. Everyone has been really amazing here and I am grateful for their care. We also don't want to take her home before knowing for sure that she is perfectly healthy again.

I'm also grateful to our visitors who help keep my positive energy replenished! Words can't express how nice it is to have company in this place. I only have the smallest idea of what it is like for parents who's children need long term care (for any reason), yet still can't imagine what it is like when what your child is going through isn't "normal". If there is anything we have been fortunate with it is that everything Sasha has been through has been totally 'common' and 'easy to treat'. (Jaundice and now the infections) Yet this is still the hardest thing I've ever been through!

Once we are home again I will post more pictures and provide another update. I can't wait for you all to see how gorgeous she is when she smiles...which she is now doing on a regular basis! :)

A special anniversary

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary! :)

I know that 6 is not one of those traditionally special years, but for Mark and I it couldn't be better! Our years of wishful thinking on having a baby are now reality. I'd say we're doing great as partners in parenting Sasha so far, and we are both very much looking forward to the years to come. I try not to think too far ahead though, as things can change so quickly over the years. what she will experience as a youth is bound to be similar yet so different from our own experience...so I hope I can remain open-minded in guiding her on her own journey!

In our 8 1/2 years together I have learned a lot from Che too (like how to accept his need to make funny faces in every picture! teehee) , so she will gain from her brothers' experiences as well. We've already learned that parenting is a challenge at every age, and it's a challenge for both parents and their children. But the challenges are well worth it for all the positives that children bring to the family...and to our own growth as individuals!

I chose to post the first picture taken of our family of 4 because our family is one of the things I'm most happy to celebrate about our marriage. We truly have so much to be thankful for - two children to love forever, great family and friends, a comfy home environment we have created together, a fulfilling life of activism, and no worries about going hungry - and for today we return to our gratitude to simply have each other.

Granma Penny has offered to babysit little Sasha so we can have a date night! Though it will be so strange to go out without her attached to me or Mark (something that feels totally natural now), we are looking forward to the time out. It's made far easier knowing that she couldn't be in any better hands while we're out!

We've chosen to go for a laugh and see some improv on Granville Island. starting our 7th year of marriage with laughter...and gratitude for everything! :)

Sasha meets Charlie :)

Today Sasha & I had lunch with my friend Anita and her son Charlie. Our due dates had been two months a part, but she was 'late' and I was 'early' so our little ones are only two weeks a part!

It was a wonderful afternoon and I'm feeling pretty lucky to have a friend to experience this special time with. (I am actually lucky to know so many amazing moms with amazing kids, and I continue to learn so much from each of them.)

It will be great to watch Sasha and Charlie growing up and see what kind of friendship they develop together. What kind of choices will they make based on what they learn from their activist parents? Anita and Randy have often inspired me so I am very glad they are a part of Sasha's life, and know they are already great role models for their boy Charlie! :)

Cheers to the next generation!

"Whenever I held my newborn baby in my arms, I used to think that what I said and did to him could have an influence not only on him but on all whom he met, not only for a day or a month or a year, but for all eternity - a very challenging and exciting thought for a mother." ~Rose Kennedy

more random pics

"is that comfortable?"

is it june?...already?!

The month of May has been a blur in retrospect. When I realized yesterday was June 1st I was shocked! When people told me time with a baby passes quickly, they weren't kidding. But, like with most things in life, you just gotta experience it to understand it.

Happy to say she has shared her first official smile with me...her face totally lit up & I knew it was a genuine happy face...not just one of those 'I've just passed gas' smirks. teehee.
Once I'm able to capture a pic of this beautiful new expression of hers I will be sure to post it.

She is now 9 lbs 5 oz and still growing. We've just increased her food intake again! Going up 20 mL about every few days. When she has just finished feeding Mark likes to say she gets a bit 'jabba' faced, but other than that she is certainly not getting chubby with her large appetite.

After 5 weeks I feel like coming up for air and reconnecting with everyone now. The past few weeks I've been pretty tired overall, but my energy is really starting to come back to me. Our inbox is overwhelmingly full of emails I need to reply to (gotta start with at least a few a day!), and there are just so many people I want to talk to. I hope you'll hear from me soon!

Next week I will go to my 3rd meeting since Sasha's birth (the Charter for Public Education Network AGM. The last two I attended were for Kensington community centre) and I hope to start 'doing lunch' more often with friends. Last week I walked to Britannia for a visit and then lunch with a friend and it was a great day. Long walks are nice, and with Sasha getting onto more of a predictable schedule, I'm also ready to start socializing more often again!

I know the next few months will also pass in a blur with so much to do, so many 'firsts' for Sasha and what looks like a hot summer to enjoy! :)