Ani's Appendix

My sweet little niece, Annnika, is in the hospital. Ani, not quite 6, started feeling sick on Thursday. Maria brought her to the doctor because it was not going away (flu like symptoms with abdominal pain). The doctor wasn't too concerned although he did run blood and urine tests. On Sunday night Maria took her to the ER. Ani had appendicitis and they removed her appendix last night at 11pm.

They will be at the hospital until Wednesday because they weren't able to do it laparoscopically and we're just hoping and praying that there are no complications so that they will be able to go home. She did just go for a little walk and is eating a popsicle so that is all good news:)

Poor Maria is running on little sleep as she is staying there (and also 18 weeks pregnant). We are glad Ani is okay and I'm so glad Maria took her in when she did.

Hope you are all healthy:)

Love, Louise

Thankfulness

I am thankful for a lot, but especially these two today:

1. Gary and his students are okay after their Winter Campout. There was an incident while sledding where two girls ran into a tree and Gary actually ran into one as well (almost at the same time). Nothing like going to bed assuming you will see your husband the following evening and waking up to your husband limping beside your bed at 4am saying `Don't worry, everything is fine but....'. They packed up their camp stuff, dug out the bus from the snow, and drove home in the middle of the night to ensure the girls were truly okay. So, I didn't really sleep after that. Fortunately there are no broken bones.

2. My ultrasound report says baby girl is normal for everything. This is a first for me as Kai had several issues on his (ex. enlarged renal pelvis) and Koen did too (CPC's in brain). Midwives were surprised that Dr. P said no to a VBA2C for me and are looking into other options for me (other hospitals etc). Thank you for all of your encouragement in this department. I have been really confident about it up until this point and I know that with a little more research we will figure out what will be best for Baby Girl Chapman and for me. I would LOVE to naturally birth this little girl but I will be okay with a repeat C-section as long as I have time to mentally prepare for it. I really would love to see an ultrasound at about 37 weeks or so and see where baby's head/weight are at. I know it's not super accurate but I'm thinking it will give a picture of whether baby is closer to 8lbs or 10lbs:)

{Koen colours for about 1-2 hours every day. He doesn't draw anything, he just makes blotches of colours everywhere.}

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. I had my second massage therapy session (note: not a nice massage, it was a painful but good massage) for my sciatica. I do think it is getting better so I'm hoping that it continues to improve.

Love, Louise

Thanks Team!

Wow team, thanks for all the love!! I have to say that through blogging and facebook, I have realized that I have a lot of really cool and supportive people in my life:) Thank you!

This will be brief as I have a long list of household chores to get to in the next couple of hours...

1. So I've been reading on VBA2C's and was all ready to go until I met with the OB I would use at Surrey Memorial Hospital. He refused to take me because I've had 2 C-sections. I do understand his point because they no longer have an anesthesiologist on call on the labour/delivery ward at all times anymore and if there is an emergency, you have only 20-30 minutes to get baby out via C-section. The reason I was surprised is because based on the books I've read, it just seemed like such a realistic option. My success rate with a VBA2C and having a 9+lb baby would be about 66%+ which was totally high enough in my opinion to try. I meet with my midwives tomorrow and I'll see what they say. I believe I still have the option of meeting with OB's at the Women's Hospital in Vancouver but even then I have a low chance of them accepting me. I'm not sure if I want it THAT badly as I sort of felt really defeated after the appointment on Monday. He is quite convinced that I truly do have CPD (cephalopelvic disproportion aka head too big for my pelvis). Obviously, the safety of the baby and myself is #1 and there is definitely a higher maternal risk if I end up with another emergency C-section. Also, with two previous babies in the 9.5-10lb range, without gestational diabetes, it does make things a bit more difficult. I just really, really, really despise the C-section recovery. Especially the first 2 weeks.

2. Kai loves watching sports. He likes to record who scores in hockey and is downstairs as soon as he is allowed (6:30am) to watch sports highlights. He had his last skating lesson today and he ended up not passing. He was pretty upset. I thought he met all the criteria but he is still doing too much `running' rather than skating around. I was a bit disappointed with the teacher because she didn't work on it with him once. I understand there are 4 other people in the class but I wouldn't mind if she took a minute or two to focus on him individually. So, Kai's dream of being a goalie for the Canucks is maybe getting a dose of reality:)

3. This is usually the toughest week of the year as Gary has basketball games (8-10pm), Winter Campout and a Staff Retreat. This means doing it all on my own and missing certain activities (like aquafit) and having to get babysitters for certain appointments etc. I'm thankful the boys are older so this year it's not so tough:)

Okay, off to laundry, bathrooms, and dishes:)

Have a wonderful week and again, thanks for the baby love!

Love, Louise

Baby Chapman Is....

All right, folks! I didn't make you wait until Monday because I'm mean. I made you wait because I booked another ultrasound for today to confirm the results:) Seriously, that UC Baby 3D ultrasound is the coolest thing. Quite a fan. So, without further ado....

**AND TO ADD, THE BALLOONS WERE HOW WE FOUND OUT WHAT WE WERE HAVING**

PINK BALLOONS!!!

{Thank you to my sister for getting the balloons and taking the photos....it was not ideal in the pouring rain and freezing cold and only minimal balloons fitting in the basket but it sort of worked:)}

I don't look that surprised in the photos because I was in shock and also I didn't believe it (hence the ultrasound booked for today). The boys are super excited to have a sister and Gary thinks it's great (Gary thinks a good meal is great too though, so I asked for more descriptive words from him but that's all I got). Although, Gary did say that I shouldn't expect him to learn how to braid and put in bows. I reminded him that if I had to learn how to do a level 3 Transformer, he can braid:)

How do I feel? I'm sort of in shock. When we found out Kai was a boy I felt the same way. I knew nothing about raising a boy as I grew up in a house full of girls. This time around, all I know is how to raise a boy! I'm really excited and very emotional. I feel that a third boy would've been awesome and sort of `easy'. However, I'm extremely grateful that I get to have a mother/daughter relationship and somehow it makes me feel more connected to my mom. Which makes me more emotional.

And dudes, seriously, the pink!!! My sister Jantina is having a boy so we swapped a bunch of our clothes for 0-12 months! I did three loads of pink sleepers/dresses/tights etc today and you know what? The lint catcher had pink lint in it! I always just thought lint was grey/blue because that's what it's always been here.

Oh, I should mention about the ultrasound today...I should've invited so many more people, it was a huge room with couches and flat screen tv's and we got to see everything in just 10 minutes. My beautiful daughter was yawning and swallowing and waving. The tech was showing all the parts, `Here's the heart, here's the bladder...' etc and Kai pipes up, `Yes, but where's the vagina?' (we were there to confirm that, he knew our purpose!). It was funny.

So there you have it folks! I am 22 weeks pregnant with my daughter. Kai and Koen will have a little sister. Gary will have a baby girl. Crazy. Awesome. By the way, do you know how much I love to braid hair?!

Boy or Girl?!

**I will update at about 4pm. I'm not trying to keep you in suspense, there is a reason! So, you don't need to check back until then:)**

Guess what we did yesterday in the pouring rain and freezing cold?

It was definitely not ideal for my balloon releasing idea but we still went ahead with it. Based on the weather outlook for the next two weeks (rain/snow/ice pellets) there was no good time. Besides, I kind of wanted some pictures in the snow before it all melted away. So, I will let you know the results on Monday but in the meantime, take your best guess and let me know what YOU think baby Chapman will be:)

PS With Kai we found out he was a boy and kept the news to ourselves, with Koen we didn't find out and with this one we are finding out and sharing it. All different but good.

Snow Day!

After all the snow and freezing temperatures we had this week, Gary and Kai had a snow day today! The roads were actually fine but some were closed closer to the school so that is why they cancelled it.

Anyway, to start, I got to sleep in! I ended up having to change Kai's bedsheets at 4am and then was up for 2 hours after that. By the way, nothing like a pregnant woman changing the sheets on the top bunk while her sciatic nerve is acting up.

Okay, on with the day:) We went to Greenaway Pool where I used to go sledding as a kid. The boys had so much fun.

At the end, when I said they could do two more runs, they wanted to do one without Gary. We did one half way down the hill so that they didn't go too fast and Gary could stop them. Then, for the last run, they wanted to go from the very top. I'm a `safety first' kind of girl and Gary is more of a risk taker. It's good Gary is around or my kids would be in helmets all the time (sort of kidding:). Although I wasn't so sure it was safe enough, I let them go. Oh my. They were so out of control and going so fast. I was half way down the hill and went in front of the tree they were headed towards as I couldn't stop them but I could possibly divert them. Had they hit the tree, we definitely would've needed an ambulance. They missed the tree by a foot and then crashed down further where Gary was. Fortunately they were both okay but Kai was devastated that his brother got hurt because he didn't steer properly. Totally not his fault at all. Koen had a bloody face but it cleaned up okay. It's now a lot more red like road rash...poor Bubba.

I have to say that seeing my two boys hurdling towards that tree was the scariest parenting moment for me in the last 5 years. (Previously it was when I was running with 6 month old Kai in the stroller and he fell out and landed face first on the pavement...bad, bad mommy). I'm so thankful they were okay. Gary apologized to the boys and me and I know he felt so bad. Such a balance, hey? Between letting them take risks and sheltering them. I know it's only going to get harder as they get older:)

Have a great weekend!

Love, Louise

21 Weeks

The funny thing about blogging is that it feels like everyone knows how you are doing and what you are up to so they never ask:) Anyway, I know I already blogged in the wee hours of this morning but my friend Ali pointed out that I haven't shown my new haircut yet. I guess because I don't look too different, I never remembered to do it. This sounds weird but I'm not sure what's going on with my face...I'm assuming it's pregnancy but my face looks different to me these days. Maybe rounder? Maybe older? I'm pretty confident and always think I look `nice', but these days, I feel a little less nice looking:) Oh well, I just won't look in the mirror. At least I know that my husband always thinks I'm hot, no matter what:)

I took the boys sledding this morning but it was cold. I mean, only -7C but with the wind it was chilly! I wish I could have taken my camera but I didn't want to have to deal with two kids, sleds, my own comfort and a camera. However, they went down head first lying on top of eachother and it was pretty cute:) Maybe we can go with Gary later.

{Kai not happy to have his picture taken because I'm interrupting his practicing. He has great dreams of playing every sport well...}

I'm hoping the roads are okay because we're headed out to skating lessons soon. Kai has done 4/7 lessons so far and I asked him what his favourite part was. He said that it was when they skate around the whole rink. I was so surprised he said that because he is always last by about half a rink length. I'm proud of his perseverance. We go a bit early and last time I asked him if he just wanted to sit down and relax but he said he wanted to practice. He went out and practiced his skating and then gliding while touching his toes. He is a hard worker:)

{21 weeks}

In regards to this pregnancy, I'm feeling good. I've been walking less and my sciatica has gotten better because of that. Not ideal as I feel lazy but fortunately the recumbent bike works by not putting pressure on it. We had two weeks of sugary baking in this house and that is stopping today. If something is in the house, I eat it. My husband loves having homemade cookies in the house so I've always done it for him but I think we'll hold off on it for about 4 more months. Gary says, `Well, just don't eat them!'. Ya right. I've got to get back to those healthy muffin recipes and Gary will just have to `suffer':)

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Louise

Restless Legs

They are driving me crazy!! This is the second night in a row that I'm up until 1:30am because I feel like I need to run. So annoying. In other news, life is good. I got to cuddle one week old Isaac for a couple of hours today and it felt like I was holding one of my own babies due to the fact that he's a boy:) I can't wait to meet the little one that is growing inside of me. I can't believe a little person who could be just like Kai and/or Koen is in there.

I love the snow but can't really do the cold. Especially since I can't really zip up any of my coats.

Oh ya, and here's Kai's `great idea' of a game to play:

Kai: `Mommy, you close your eyes and I'll hold up some fingers. You have to guess how many I hold up. If you get it wrong, I get to throw all the pillows at you.'

I got it wrong. Three times. I could have peeked but he had a lot fun throwing them at me.

Finally, Kai and I have been playing a lot of UNO lately. I have to say it's a billion times better than Chutes and Ladders or Candyland.

And, taken from the book `Weird' by Craig Groeschel, `If the Devil can't make us really bad, then he'll try to make us very busy.' I've been a lot less busy these two weeks of 2012 and I have to say that it feels really, really good.

Bon nuit and safe driving tomorrow.

Love, Louise

Baby Dream!

Had my first dream about the baby:) Well, I didn't meet the baby yet but I was at the hospital three weeks before the due date and apparently I was in labour. The doctor asked if I had girl and boy names picked out yet and I said just the girl one. She said, `I think that's all you need!' after looking at the ultrasound. She also said the baby would be in the 8lb range:) I said `Not likely!'.

In other news, this snow is awesome!! I'm so glad we have winter weather. Finally. I love that we have snow tires. I love that the boys love the snow. I'm hoping to get some good photos of them in the snow because I love it as a backdrop.

And finally, my sciatica is seriously a pain in the butt. Yesterday afternoon we went for a walk and I had to lay down for 2 hours afterwards to actually be able to walk around again. If I'm sitting or laying, it's fine. I'm not a sitting/laying type person. Thank goodness I'm not teaching. I went to chiropractor but I'm thinking I would have to go every week for relief? I did not like the experience at all and was cramping for 4 hours afterwards....no thank you. My sister recommended someone else so we will see. I'll see how a massage therapist does with it this week. I wish my body would behave. To anyone who has ever had sciatica, I feel your pain. It sucks big time. I don't know how I'll do 4.5 more months of this with an even bigger baby belly. Sorry to be all `woe is me', but I feel like I'm falling apart from head (jaw) to toe.

Off to church and then...taking the boys sledding!! And then, snuggles with my new baby niece and nephew!! Woohoo. (**I added some pictures from this afternoon**)

My two little (sleep deprived) sisters with my newest niece and nephew!

Hannah-the expert sleeper and farter. Three weeks old.

Isaac-the `I wanna stay awake' guy with the heavy breathing. One week old.

Both super cute and such a gift. Oh, and both filling up on momma milk and gaining some serious poundage! Both are about 9.5-10lbs each:)

PS Have I told you that three year olds are possibly the cutest things ever?! Koen's two huge dimples and silly personality bring me so many smiles. He is adorable.

Yoga and a Haircut

Things here have been good. My sciatica has started getting worse again so tomorrow I have a chiropractor appointment and then I have two massage sessions booked over the next two weeks. I'm hoping it's a quick fix:) Sometimes it's fine and sometimes I can't even walk. It feels like a horse kicked my left buttock:( Have I ever told you how much I dislike spending money on things like this?!

I went to aquafit on my own yesterday and I have to say I now love it. It took 4 times but it is seriously the best exercise for me (especially with my sciatic nerve). Today, as soon as Gary got home, I went and got my hair cut at the spa (aren't I fancy? Yay for mastercard points!) and then went to my first prenatal yoga class. It was good and definitely interesting doing some of the positions with my belly. I am not flexible and I'm not good at just thinking about my breathing but it was good. I think it will definitely help with strengthening and flexibility. Although I'm due in about the middle of everyone, I think I have the biggest belly. When I got home, Kai gave me one of his apple slices for `all my hard work':)

We might be able to find out the gender tomorrow. The ultrasound location we went to is very strict on not releasing it until 21 weeks so it depends when they think I'm 21 weeks. If we do get it tomorrow (written down in an envelope), we would do the reveal on Saturday. I'm very nervous as this will sort of determine our family. Will we be a `boy family' that is just 100% into sports, wrestling, farting and talking about male genitilia? Yikes. I love my boys and I think I am a pretty good momma of sons but ya, you know. If you are a momma of all boys, I think you know where I'm coming from. You wouldn't trade them for anything but a mother/daughter relationship is pretty special and seriously, girl clothes? ADORABLE!!!

Anyway, better hang out with my husband now as he's actually home:)

Love, Louise

PS Pictures of haircut to come...I should've taken a photo when I got home but alas, I will have to figure out how to do it myself:)

PPS Apparently I'm measuring small (ha ha, right...according to the ultrasound) so gender will be released NEXT week. I absolutely know their dates are wrong if they think baby was conceived a week later but oh well:)