Jared's Birth Story

We are so happy and blessed to have Jared enter our world. This is his arrival story. I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday. The doctor informed me that I was 2 cm dilated and that I would be having this baby by the weekend, which would mean I would be at 38 weeks. She talked about it with such certainty that I rushed home and did any last minute packing and preparation. I was at first very anxious but as the days wore on I became more at peace and excited about the up coming arrival. Ryan and I decided that we would make plans for the weekend. We did not want to be stuck at home just waiting. So we had a wonderful weekend, having a picnic with our neighbours, going to church, and playing at the park. However, by the time Sunday night came I was feeling discouraged… still no baby. The doctor was so certain that the baby would come by the weekend and now the weekend had come and gone…

I woke up around 4:30 – 5 am Monday morning needing to go to the bathroom, which was not usual. I felt some minor cramping, I tried to go back to sleep but the cramping would not go away. Around 5:30am I woke Ryan and we phoned my doula. She suggested to time them for half an hour. They were three minutes apart but they still didn’t feel real (like I remembered with Micah); however, they were becoming stronger, so I told Ryan that I think we should go to the hospital and to call our friend to come look after Micah. She arrived at 6:45am and by then the contractions were coming on strong. Ryan and I made the slow trek to the car and by the time we reached the car I didn’t know how I would survive a car ride. The idea of sitting for twenty minutes seemed awful. Ryan was so wonderful during the ride and amidst the painful contractions he even made me laugh and I felt so loved. We made it to the hospital and by the main entrance our doula was waiting for us. She took my hand I helped me walk as Ryan quickly parked to car. I had just entered the hospital when my water broke in a big gush… it actually provided a few moments of relief. Ryan joined us shortly after and we had to wait for the slowest elevator ever. We finally made it to the maternity floor and by the time we reached triage (the nurses desk), I was feeling the need to push. The nurses scrambled to get a bed ready at triage because at that point it was obvious that I would not make it to the labour and delivery room (so much for being able to soak in their fancy new Jacuzzi tubs). The obstetrician on call was paged and Ryan stated that she came huffing and puffing and just in time to ‘catch’ Jared. Jared was born at 7:38 am Monday morning, July 18, 2011, only ten minutes after arriving at the hospital.

Needless to say we have so much to be thankful for. We are so thankful that Jared coming into this world screaming and healthy. We are grateful that we actually made it to the hospital and did not have a car delivery. We are thankful for the medical system in Canada and the good care that we received. It was also so wonderful to see the supportive face of our doula, Amanda, when we arrived at the hospital. We are appreciative of her support before, during and after Jared’s birth. We are so appreciative of our friend, Lara’s willingness to look after Micah when we went to the hospital, Jared came one day before she was leaving for holidays.

We are enjoying getting to know our newest addition to our family and look forward to many new family memories.

Jared's Arrival

Eight minutes old

Micah meeting Jared for the first time.

Peace after the wild arrival.

Coming home from the hospital

At home the one of the first things Micah wanted to do with Jared... read him stories.

38 weeks

Tomorrow will be 38 weeks in my pregnancy, which is new territory for me as Micah was born at 37 weeks. I am bigger this time around and yes, I am waddling :-) We are anxiously waiting for the arrival of our precious new addition to our family. We will keep you posted.

Centre Island

"Hello, Mr. Beaver."

Playing at the beach.

Ferry ride.

Downtown Toronto

Run. Run. Run.

Settling into Life in Toronto

It has been two weeks since we left the Alberta. We have been settling in to our new place. I have to admit I was bracing myself for the worst especially when it came to our apartment but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It looked exactly like was presented on the family housing website. The place was relatively clean and with a few extra shelves there was room for all of our stuff and room for Micah to play. There is also a playground just below by our building, a roof top garden and a drop in play room. Also, a week after moving in the building got new laundry facilities. I feel blessed in where we are located in the building – we are on the 20th floor facing north. On the bottom on the south side of the building there is a lot of construction (including jack hammering) that is very loud- luckily the only noise we hear is regular traffic noise and the occasional fire truck siren.

I also feel so blessed regarding how multiculturally diverse our building and area is. We were told that 61 countries are represented in the Family Housing Building. We are definitely the minority and what a blessing for Micah (and us) to be surrounded by such a rich diversity of cultures and languages.

Outside our window I can see the Holt Renfrew Mall and down the street is a shoppers paradise with Channel, Prada, Coach, Louis Vuitton (any big name designer/fashion house you can think of) and many cool independent shops. Too bad my mat leave and Ryan’s student salary will only allow window shopping (or maybe that is a good thing ☺.)

We have been checking out the neighborhoods around us – including the parks, green spaces and playgrounds. So far they have all been Micah approved.

We have loved the family time and having been doing special outings to explore our new city. We went to Kensington Market on Saturday and Tuesday we had a fun trip to High Park. We took the subway (or as Micah calls it “the noisy train”) and spent the morning looking at the animals at the mini zoo, playing at the adventure centre, having a train ride around the park and enjoying a picnic lunch. Recently, there was also a Safety Fair outside our building where Micah got to meet the local firemen and sit inside a fire truck.

Good Bye Edmonton... Hello Toronto

I feel a sense of relief as I sit on my hand me down futon (thanks Bryce!) in my new living room surrounded by U-haul boxes …we made it!!!! Ever since we made the decision to make the move to Toronto back in February, it has been almost non-stop go, go, and go.

I feel so grateful for all the help that we received in making this move possible with Rob helping Ryan with house/yard projects; my mom babysitting and helping me clean; Rob and Meg allowing me to stay with them for several days and Meg babysitting Micah while I had to work; my friends Niki, Lana and Meg who helped me clean the house; Ryan’s parents and brother in law who helped Ryan pack and unpack the trailer and move our stuff 3200 km; and then Ryan’s parents helping us get supplies for our new place. My heart is so full with love and gratitude. All of the support we received has helped make this transition a little easier. It is tough to leave behind a good job, a wonderful neighborhood, a great church community and most importantly wonderful friends and family. However, I am excited about this new adventure and having a new city to explore and new people to meet.

I thought I would include a funny picture of Micah riding a bike at our roof top garden. More pictures to come once we are more set up.

Micah's First Bike!