Words Of Lincoln And Lacey

I love all the things Lincoln and Lacey say and do, so I have to write them down so we don't forget them:

Lincoln

- "you hurt my feelings, it feels like you are breaking my heart"

- Lincoln is such a boy, I was trying to take a picture of Lincoln and Lacey for Pink Shirt Day and all they would give me was their silly smiles. I told them if they give me one good smile we'd be done. Lincoln then farts and said " that will make Lacey smile". Making the perfect picture that we got with natural smiles.
-" We drink cow milk, Oliver drinks your milk, so your like a cow"

Lacey 

-Here's some words Lacey says, "bemember" for remember, "pars" for cars (just like lincoln use to), "wash mouth" for mouthwash, "alligator" for Gatorade, "kitchen" for chicken.

- Lacey loves watching Peppa Pig (it’s a english pig cartoon), she has started using words from the show like, rubbish bin, super market, sofa,…

- Lacey loves making us laugh, she held a bowl up to her chest and said "look at my big boob".
- At church Lacey sees a bolding man. Lacey says " mom what happened to all his hair". In quite a loud voice.

I love how all prayers by Lincoln and Lacey mention Oliver. Lacey will almost always say "thank you that Oliver is home from the hospital"

Myelomeningocele Clinic - 6 Weeks

We had a long busy good day with all of Oliver's appointments. 

Physiotherapy - They are glad we are already seeing a physiotherapist in Lethbridge. Both physiotherapists will be working together to helping Oliver. The Physiotherapist just assessed Oliver today.

Orthopaedic surgeon- He can't predict any thing at this age as so many things can change. Can have a better prediction at 3-6 yrs, for his leg ability. They had concern that Oliver's right hip might be dislocated due to weak muscles. Oliver was sent for an ultrasound of the hip. Good news is Oliver's hip isn't dislocated. They will check its position when he's a year old.

Nuerosugeron - Oliver's head circumference is their main concern. When he was born it was in the 97 percentile and it's gone up from there. But there are no other symptoms/concerns for the need of a shunt yet like vomiting, fussy, full fontinel- soft spot, etc. They like to push the shunt surgery off as long as they can. As it's more beneficial to do the surgery when the child is a bit older. Nuerosugeron- Dr Riva-Cambrin says that Oliver's soft spot is soft and not full. That he'd like us to wait and see if Oliver's body can manage on his own before intervening with surgery. We will still monitor his head circumference and call in the numbers weekly. The plan to see the nuerosugeron in 6 weeks. Unless we have concerns come up before hand.

Urology- Where Oliver's lesion was it can affect his nerves that go to his bladder. The ultrasound showed that Oliver's kidneys are beautiful, bladder is doing everything it's supposed to. Bladder lining is normal thickness. If a bladder isn't functioning properly if can get thick also causing the Kinsey's to enlarge. Next appointment in 3 months, if ultrasound is good then next appointment in 6 month, then in a year.

We got lots of good news today. With Oliver not having to have surgery this week, wasn't quite what we expected. But we know that Oliver has a good group of doctors looking after him and know what's best for him.

Oliver's Baby Blessing

Oliver's baby blessing day was a special day! He was given a beautiful blessing by he's dad. It was a day spent with all our family. We have been truly blessed to have Oliver apart of our family.

Father and Son.

Great grandma and great grandpa Stewart. 

Great grandma and great grandpa Thomas.

Cousin Time

We love when Lincoln and Lacey's cousin Abigail comes over to play. It's always a party when these three are together, with non stop giggles.

 

Oliver's 6 Weeks Old

At 5 weeks, Oliver feeds at night are anywhere from 3.5-6 hours, which is so nice.

At 6 weeks Olivers' weight is 10 lbs 5 oz. Oliver loves to grunt and groan and make lots of noises. A trick to calming Oliver down is to hold is hand. Oliver has also started doing a side smirk like Josh thats so cute. 

Life As We Know it

Life is good and very busy. Here's a few things that we have been up to.

Can't believe how big Oliver's getting.

My boys having night time snuggles together.

Lacey adores her little brother and loves holding him.

Feeding time!

Mini Golfing with cousin Abigail.

Oliver's first real bath. He loved every minute of it.

Lincoln and Lacey loved pouring water on Oliver to keep him warm. By the end of the bath Oliver had fallen asleep.

First 5 Weeks Of A Mom of 3

Oliver jointed our family five weeks ago. Five weeks ago, I became a mother for the third time over. We are now a family of five! I see my firstborn Lincoln, Oliver's big brother. My daughter Lacey, Oliver's big sister. I see my husband, Oliver's dad. I see myself, Oliver's mom. But more than that, I see sweetness and beauty and resilience. I see heaven in his big beautiful eyes. I see strength and I see our little newborn, who has blessed our family.

These weeks has been tiring and busy. If you've ever brought home a newborn, you know. The days have blurred into one another. Add two rambunctious kids on top of that, and life is pretty busy at the moment. While still running my Day Home, thanks to the help of my sister in-law Sara.

 I'm feeling the pull between my three kids. I'm torn between giving my newborn my everything and letting his two older siblings know they are still my everything, too. My love has multiplied, but my arms haven't. And that's hard, but I know it's something I'll figure out, in time. The pieces will eventually fall into place and we'll get our rhythm down.

As with everything in life, it's just going to take some time. So for now, I'll continue to give my all to three kids, as much as I possibly can. I'll continue to love them with everything I have and pray that they feel it's enough. And yes, this is hard. Nobody ever said parenting would be easy. And parenting three is a whole new ballgame. Plus adding in the many appointments that come along with Oliver having Spina Bifida. But there's a reason not all people stop at one baby. There's a reason we decided to have another one and another.

The night time feeds that turn into exhausting days are worth it. The guilt and fear of not being enough will subside. I will soon be more than just a milk machine, as beautiful as that may be.

And we will be left with these three precious beings to call our own. I'm already so in love, and I can't imagine once I adjust better this our new normal, just how much deeper I will fall.