Labour YES; Delivery NO?!

I'll skip the gory details, but let you know it's been a rough night/day for me here. I went in for my c-section pre-assessment and told the nurses how icky I felt, and gave them all my symptoms from the last 12 hours or so. The monitor was clearly registering regular contractions, so they checked me. I'm only about 1 cm dilated, but I'm having some pretty strong contractions now and then.

Obviously, however . . . they sent me home!

They said I could go back in anytime tonight if the contractions get to be unbearable, or if my water breaks. Gee, thanks! I thought the whole point of planned c-section was to AVOID labour!?

Their suggestions: "Lay on your left side, and drink lots of water. Hopefully that will slow things down."

Okay, then. So much for going out for a nice dinner with my husband to celebrate our 3rd anniversary, which is today.

I felt compelled to add this last post before what still looks to be tomorrow's delivery at 7:45 a.m., but now I am going to curl up in bed and curse the medical establishment! ;)) At least I should be in a much happier mood by my next post!

Egg Roll Found a Home! :))

Thankfully, I got a quick response from a family member who is going to adopt Egg Roll from us. I am so glad. It is one major thing off of my mind. :))

Happy 2nd Birthday, Andrea!

I'm TWO years old!

***

Gram and Grandpa Gagnon had us over for a nice BBQ supper today to celebrate Andrea's 2nd birthday. Here she is enjoying her angel food cake, whipped cream and berries (yum!). Gram also made some tasty shortbread cookies, too.

Then, she opened her card and present from Mommy and Daddy. She already got her big gift before her birthday (the little climbing castle and swing for outside), but we also got her a glitter and sound vacuum cleaner to open today.

She tries to help Mommy vacuum at home, so I figured she could use this one along side of me, instead of trying to grab mine all the time!
However, as you can see in the pictures, Gram's cat toys (springs) were still of as much, or more, interest to our birthday girl!

***

I am too overwhelmed by everything going on this week to sit and wax nostalgic about how fast Andrea has grown, and how she's not a baby anymore. But I definitely feel it in my heart. I mean, she'll always be my baby, but I am just amazed at how her little personality has blossomed over the last two years. :))

Egg Roll Needs a New Home!

We took Andrea to the pediatrician today, and it is just as I suspected: although she hasn't oficially been diagnosed yet, all signs point to allergies and asthma, so we need to find a new home for Egg Roll.

The doctor said Andrea's test results from the fall showed that the one thing she tested positive for was an allergy to cats, and she has a level 3 allergy, which is fairly serious. She is being referred to an allergist for further testing soon.

I feel really bad about this, because we had been told previously that she might have a cat allergy. But I still decided to adopt Egg Roll, thinking I had survived living with cats and cat allergies as a kid; plus, I knew how much Egg Roll needed a home. The local Humane Society can't accept kittens anymore--they have to destroy them.

I also feel really bad because I'm a firm believer in responsible pet ownership. In other words, when you adopt a pet, it becomes a member of your family for life, and you make sure it gets all the proper veterinary care. But now I'm in a position where I have to get down from my soapbox and put Andrea's welfare first.

So, seriously, are any of you interested in adopting a kitten? He's about 11 weeks old. He is very curious, playful, and friendly. He is used to being handled by kids. We'll give you all the supplies we have for him: food, litter, litter box, bed, and toys. All we ask is that you are a loving and responsible caregiver for him. :))

I would feel much better if someone I know could adopt him, or at least someone who is known by a friend or family member. So, that's why I wanted to put my plea up here, first.

Can you, or someone you know, give Egg Roll a good home?

On the Swings

Yesterday, Aunt Stephanie and Izzy stopped by for a visit. It was a beautiful day out, so we decided to take a walk down to the park. Both of our girls love the swings! Daddy got to practice pushing two little ones at the same time. He quickly mastered the technique, but made Mommy a little nervous with how high he was pushing the girls! However, they loved it. Izzy was saying, "Weee!" and Andrea was saying, "Higher, Dada!"

Izzy: "Your Dada is crazy!"

Andrea: "Tell me something I don't know!"

Andrea's Having Fun

Andrea's having lots of fun with the birthday presents she got at her party. She plays with them ALL, moving from one, to the next, and the next!

The funniest thing is that she had some confusion about which things are for her and which things are for her babies. I really had to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't try to put on her dolls' clothes, or climb into their strollers and chairs! I think she's got it figured out now.

However, she still insists on flipping the princess playpen onto its side, and crawling in with "Baby Dora." (By the way, she came up with that name herself; she has a slightly larger Dora already, so it makes sense!)

Tight squeeze!

I love my Baby Dora!

Look at me!

I'm ready for my close-up . . . CHEESE!

Last O.B. Appointment :))

Ahh . . . so close, yet so far away. Five more days!

We had our last O.B. appointment today. Everything looked good, as usual. I was a bit surprised because Dr. P. had said she was going to do an internal check-up today, and she didn't. Although internals are not pleasant, I had faint hopes that maybe she'd stir up some action in the labour department. No such luck!

I have been having lots of cramping, and some mild contractions, but they're not consistent.

So, as Dr. P. said, we wait for Wednesday. I've made it this far; I guess I can hang in there that long!

I go into Met for pre-assessment next Tuesday, and will get all the final c-section details then.

Welcome to the NEW Blog!

Hello, Friends and Family!

If you're reading this, then you've found us at our new location. :))

With Baby #2 due to arrive in less than a week, I've come to realize that it's just too hectic trying to keep up two separate blogs (one for each child), plus trying to find ways to tie in other personal/family events that deserve mention.

So, here's the simple solution: one blog for it all. I mean, the kids' blogs are starting to overlap already; why didn't I think of this before?! I think pregnancy makes you lose your common sense.

Anyhow, here's a few brief notes:

1. Why "The Gaggins"?: Well, I had a hard time coming up with a blog address that wasn't already taken, considering the millions of bloggers out there. And I always thought it was kind of funny how people always mispronounce our last name. "Gaggin" is my favourite--apparently, this is how Rod's golf group was announced one day at the golf course--the "Gaggin Group."
2. What about the other blogs?: I'm going to leave them up just in case anyone wants to look at something from the past, but from now on, they will be inactive. I won't post on them. I have saved copies of both on my computer. I'm sure that, eventually, they'll get deleted due to inactivity. But they'll just sit in cyberspace for now.
3. How often can you expect updates?: At this point, who knows? Usually I'm a proliferate poster, but with Baby due in a week or less, it might be a few weeks after he's born before I get a chance (or feel up to) telling the birth story, posting all the birth pictures, Andrea's reactions, and any other newborn happenings that may come up. Rest assured I will, eventually, get caught up.

Well, I think that's about it for now.