Where does the time go?

Holly is twelve weeks old!!! Almost three months!!! How did that happen? She's growing so fast! Its so sad to have to be putting away some of the cute things she wore when she first arrived, knowing that she'll never wear them again. She's over five kilos now. She is no longer teeny tiny.

She's developed so much. She's starting to take an interest in playing with toys. She's not quite ready to grab them, but knows that when they're attached the bouncy chair she can flail around and they will make a noise.

She is very close to holding up her head on her own. She is not quite there yet, and that made getting passport photos for her today very interesting. The photographer took about 30 snaps before she finally got one where she wasn't crying, tilted or my fingers in the way. Now I can apply for Holly's Aussie citizenship and an Aussie passport.

She's smiling so much now; it makes us so happy. Plus she coos and gurgles now. No more hair though. It hasn't grown at all! And she's sleeping through the night. So I can often get five hours of sleep at night.

A Shout Out to my Midwife

When I first found out I was pregnant I went to my regular family doctor. I hadn't been very happy with him but finding a good GP who's taking patients is hard, so it was all I could do. In typical fashion, he spent minimal time with me and did a very basic job. I was getting frustrated by the lack of care, especially on whether or not to have amniocentesis. Then luckily I was told about a group of midwives by one of my mum's friends who had just had a baby. I managed to get an appointment with Chloe from Bloom Midwives. I could not believe the difference in care I received over that of a doctor! I must admit that I thought of midwives as baby-specific nurses. However, they're really more like doctors - they can order tests, prescribe drugs and even do minor surgery. After I switched to the midwife, my appointments went from five minutes to 45 minutes. I was given so much support and information, so that I could feel good making decisions like amniocentesis (which I did not have to do luckily).

Then in my third trimester Chloe told me she would have a UBC midwifery student, Yarrow, interning with her and could she come to our appointments and delivery. I was initially very skeptical, having seen some pretty inept med students in my time. However, after my first meeting with Yarrow all my reservations went away. She put me very at ease with her professionalism and warmth. So when I went into labour, I essentially had two midwives looking after me, as well as an obstetrician monitoring my sky-high blood pressure. And I honestly don't think I could have kept pushing if it wasn't for Chloe's incredible coaching.

After I gave birth, both Chloe and Yarrow came to my house to check on us all almost everyday the first week. I've never had such great medical care in my life! Their knowledge really helped us to settle in to being comfortable as parents. My only sadness is that midwifery care is only up to six weeks after birth, and now I have to find a doctor for Holly's ongoing care.

So to Chloe and Yarrow - thanks so much!!! And to those of you in the Vancouver area who might have a baby anytime soon, I recommend Bloom midwives (I've heard equally glowing reports for the other midwives that practice there too).

A Wonderful Birthday Weekend

This past weekend was my birthday and it was really special. On Friday night Jaime, the sneaky boy, organised a surprise birthday dinner for me. It was just supposed to be us but when we arrived at the Afgan Horseman Restaurant, eight of our friends were waiting! Its was a fabulous surprise. After dinner we adjourned to our place to play Dalmuti, enjoy some drinks and hurl abuse at each other (just joking).

On Saturday we had folks over again to watch the Canucks hockey game and to try out Jaime's new BBQ (that I bought him for our anniversary). Even though the Canucks lost, it was still a nice time and much flame-grilled meat and cupcakes were consumed.

On Sunday, Mum, Jai, Holly (in her first outing to a real restaurant) and went to the Sandbar on Granville Island for brunch. My eggs benedict was fantastic and Holly was a very good little girl, suggesting that she might enjoy dining out as much as her parents do.

All in all, it was a lovely three days of birthday fun. Thanks to all for being a part of the festivities and particularly to Jai for making such an effort to surprise me!