photos

hard to believe

I was going through photos and found this on Ronel's camera. This was taken only 5 days before Micah was born. Hard to believe there was a 9lb baby hiding in there.
  
That is also me 26lbs heavier than I am today. I am so amazed and blessed that I am healthier today than I was 11 months ago before I got pregnant. I currently weigh 37lbs less than I did when I got pregnant, without a huge change in my lifestyle, but smaller meals (mainly due to a much smaller appetite), less "junk" snacks and an increase in physical activity (mainly walking more). Ronel & I endeavoured to get out and be active more to help us both be in better shape for our son. It wasn't difficult as BC is beautiful and there are lots of gorgeous places to go for walk. Even just walking around the block gets you up & moving. I am so thankful for a relatively easy pregnancy that allowed me to keep active and also to keep working up until 39 weeks.

just for fun

milestones

Two years ago today Ronel & I landed on Canadian soil together. One more year till we can start the process of making him a Canadian citizen! 5 weeks ago today we welcomed our son into this world.

updating...

thought it was time to update the blog, especially the header photos. I'm under the weather and not feeling up to much and I have a gorgeous baby sleeping on me, so what better way to pass the time!!

hope you enjoy it!


(the photos are in order -- Ronel & I engaged in Haiti, our wedding, Micah at 12 days old and our family photo taken when he was 16 days old)

where did the time go...?

I can't believe that Micah is almost 5 weeks old already! It has already been over a month since he was born! In so many ways it seems like only last week! He is growing and last Thursday at his 4 week checkup he weighed in at 10lbs 12.5 oz, which means he gained 1lb 12.1 oz since he was born (not counting the weight he had to gain to get back up to his birth weight!)

He is a great baby and has even been sleeping 4-6 hours in a stretch at night which Mommy loves! (though it often starts earlier than I am wanting to go to sleep so I am still not getting quite that much sleep at a time) We are slowly reducing the amount of formula he is getting as a supplement as my milk supply is increasing. He still often gets a 1-2 ounces of formula at one of his nighttime feedings which I think helps with the longer stretches of sleep.

Yesterday, the three of us headed out along with my mom for our first extended outing. We headed out to Deer Lake in Burnaby to do some letterboxing. (see here for more info on letterboxing) We had a great time and look forward to many more letterboxing outings with Micah! It was a day of many firsts for us - first letterboxing outing with Micah, first time changing Micah in the stroller on the side of the path!, first time nursing while walking!!, and for me, the first LONG walk since having Micah (we were walking for probably close to 3 hours)

I have some photos to add to this, but it is harder to do with only one hand so they will have to wait till later.

preview...

Click here to go see a preview of our photo shoot with Kendra of Bullfrogs and Butterflies Photography.

The photoshoot was a Christmas gift from my sister & her family.

clarification...

so I found out yesterday that the nurse who told us that Micah weighed 9lbs 4oz misread the scale... he only weighed 9lbs 0.4oz. - just a small difference! I was at a br*ast feeding clinic that my midwife referred me to and they weighed him in grams and when she was looking at the chart to convert it for me, I noticed that it was more in grams than he was at birth but less in pounds and figured something had to be wrong. In this day of internet, I used an online grams to pounds calculator and figured out that Micah's birth weight of 4093 grams equals 9 pounds 0.4 ounces. Then when we were looking at photos from the hospital, I noticed that the scale says 9 0.4!!
He is currently just above 9lbs 3oz, which means he has regained his birth weight plus 3 ounces. Which may not seem like a lot, but when they were using 9lbs 4oz as the starting weight, it meant he hadn't regained his birth weight back. I don't know if this will change anything, but I will be making sure to mention it to the doctor next week at the BF clinic that his birth weight was wrong as I think it may change what they are wanting to do in regards to his eating plan.

Family Photo

The Cledomins - -a family of three! We had a family barbeque today with lots of family and took some "extended family" photos (a yearly tradition when we all gather) and this year, we also took a Cledomin family portrait. This is us... 16 days after Micah's arrival.

day 8...

wow, it has been 8 days since Micah joined our family. The past week has flown by, but at the same time seems like it has been much longer than a week! Micah & I have both finally caught onto to the whole feeding thing... it took till Tuesday or Wednesday for my milk to come in, and until then we were supplementing his feedings with formula, which wasn't what I wanted, but was what was best for Micah. He was a trooper though and did great with switching between the bottle & bre*st - which was part of my concern with formula supplementing.  His weight was fluctuating and he lost weight again after a small gain after starting the formula. Today at our home visit with our midwife, he gained a small bit since yesterday's visit and she was happy with that, so we get to continue trying only bre*stfeeding and see if he gains again weight over the weekend.

It is so much fun to have Micah around. His expressions are constantly changing and it is so hard to not just stare and watch him all day! He is often wide-eyed and so alert - looking at the world around him.

It is so amazing being a parent. I know that I spent 9 months preparing for his arrival, but nothing can actually prepare you for that moment when they place your child on your chest. It is totally surreal and something I can't fully describe. I love being Micah's mother and am truly amazed that this precious bundle of joy came from my body... that this wonderful baby boy is part of Ronel & I. He is a precious gift from God.

getting a kiss from big cousin Ethan

My nephew Ethan is totally cute with Micah. It will be so neat to watch him as a big brother when his baby sister arrives in December. It will be so neat having a cousin so close to Micah's age. (he will have 2 that are fairly close. Ethan is only 16 months old and Micah will only be 4 1/2 months old when my sister has her baby just before Christmas. )

Mommy & Micah taking a nap snuggled up with Mommy's baby blanket. (the knitted green & yellow blanket)

Daddy loving on Micah.

I love watching Ronel with Micah. I've always know that he loves kids, but to see him with his own son is something special. 

Well, my son is requiring my attention so I will leave you for now......