The Name.

Like last time, I spent HOURS and HOURS looking up baby names for this little one.  Probably even more hours than I spent trying to find the perfect name for Nory.  It seemed harder for Baby #2, just as I described to you HERE.  There was much more to consider and even once we thought we had the perfect name picked out....the name we had been trying out around the house for weeks.....the name we were 99% certain about.....we made a last minute decision to change it up with a name that wasn't even on our radar!  (Yes, I feel completely silly for wasting precious hours of sleep due to my obsession with Nameberry in the last however many weeks!)

We thought it was a neat tradition to have a male middle name for both of our girls because in Arab culture, girls do have male middle names! So, with that, the middle name was always Tyko - a Scandinavian name that is extra precious as it was Phil's grandfather's middle name.  Phil's Grandpa was his ultimate FAVOURITE person in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD (and BEYOND!!!!!).  Grandpa passed away before Phil and I were together but, based on the amazing woman he married, it's clear just how incredibly special he was (women like HER don't get scooped up by just anybody!!!).  Stories of him, told by Phil and Grandma, always make the room tear up and even though I never met him, I miss him like they do.  We hope you had a big bowl of ice cream on December 5th, Grandpa! xo 

Given that the middle name is masculine, we decided that - like with Eleanor - the first name had to be quite feminine.  We wanted something that wasn't super popular or trendy but something that wasn't way out of the blue either (crazy celebrity style).  Well, laying in the hospital bed during my second admission (and second round of stop-this-baby-from-coming medicine), Juliet popped into my mind with the circumstance-appropriate nickname "Jet".  It was girlie enough, classic enough, and had a sporty little nickname that referenced just how quickly she wanted into this world!  I sent Phil a message at work and he fell in love :)  Juliet Tyko Parkinson it was!

We adore you, Jet Tyko!!!  You came into the world during my favourite month and - after December 25th - I think you too will have a favourite holiday!  You're our Christmas Angel :)

XOXO   

There are way more superheroes on this Earth than we think!

We are almost two weeks into this "family of four" thing and I have to tell you, we have looked at each other TOO MANY TIMES and said "people without a live-in nanny survive this?!"  I mean, even WITH Kumari, Phil and I busting it 24/7, one of the kids always requires (or desires!) our 100% attention and the house remains in a relatively constant state of disaster.  Please see Exhibit A, B, C and D in support of the latter discussion point:

Exhibit A:  Nory's room.

Exhibit B: our room.  Gosh, it's embarrassing.

Exhibit C: living room, part #1.

Exhibit D: living room, part #2.

What's even more puzzling to us is that not only do families without live-in nannies survive this, but single-parent families do too!  SAY WHAT?!!!!!  This is where the title of this post comes into play:  there are WAY more (WAY, WAY, WAY MORE!) superheroes on this Earth than we all think.  These miraculous do-it-themselves parents may not look so super on the outside (can you blame them?!), but it's clear to us that their cape is an invisible one and they are ROCKING LIFE like no one's BIZ-NAZZZZZ!  Congratulations to these exceptional individuals who keep their children alive and happy in an intriguingly independent manner. 

Besides this babble, I have lots to tell you!  Lucky for you, last night Phil let me sleep for 4.5 hours in a row (GASP!!!!!!) and I'm feeling like a bit of a superhero myself!  Consecutive hours of uninterrupted sleep is no joke, people!  It's LEGIT!

Here's to hoping I can power through some more posting this afternoon! XO

Speedy in every sense!

After delivery, Jet was sent to the NICU on the fifth floor.  The doctors reassured us that the only reason she was there in the first place was because she was born premature (and they continued to repeat these words to us due to the proximity of other families in a completely different situation).  The cords and sounds and tears from other parents elevated our concerns, but the doctors said Juliet was a mighty little thing and, despite a slightly elevated white blood cell count, all things pointed to perfect.  We felt so, so lucky. 

Never leave the house without holiday props!

Our early Christmas present.  Santa did GOOD this year!

The three of us, captured together for the first time!  You can bet that NOTHING was going to stop me from making my way up to floor five.  NOTHING!!!!!!  Phil got to show off his smile for the picture :)

I couldn't believe how tiny she felt in my hands!

Nory would have loved the little "cat" sticker on her chest :)

After 31 hours (which seems short in retrospect but long at the time!), Juliet was wheeled down to the nursery outside of my room on floor two!  They kept her IV in while waiting for some bacterial cultures, but that was removed the following morning when the tests returned negative for infection.  I felt so much better knowing she was nearby, even though the doctor advised she stayed in the nursery (and away from any infection that was introduced by the massive amounts of visitors welcomed by other families!). 

On Monday, we received the proud parent report that Juliet was the only baby in the nursery to GAIN WEIGHT rather than lose it!    Accordingly, we were allowed to take Juliet home at lunch time!!!  We buckled all 4.8 pounds of her into the safest car seat Phil could find and the three of us put on our best "we're not afraid" faces as we drove the 30 minutes home to Mahboula. 

HOME SWEET HOME is AMAZING!  Our family feels complete (minus the little white dog that Phil promises he will get me in the future). 

The Last Post, Continued (Really Creative Title, Yes?!)

Funny things about the c section that I would like to share:

1)  This pregnancy, I had a whole lot of extra fluid surrounding the baby.  This is why I was feeling so anti-eating and FULL to the brim!  Well, as soon as that water had an exit route, Niagara Falls was formed!  The doctor actually said to the surgery room, "I guess nobody needed to shower today!!!!"  Haaa (and a little unsettling at the same time).

2)  Once the water was gone, the doctor was ready to get that baby out!  Apparently Jet helped her in the process, being the only baby she knows who literally kicked her way out of me!!!  Good job, Juliet - way to offer assistance where needed.  Because of this, I didn't feel like an elephant was sitting on top of me as I did with your sister who was stubborn in a different way ;) 

Our first picture together :)

I'll spare you the other uncomfortable details and move on to when I first saw our darling Juliet.  I couldn't believe how much she looked like Phil!!!  And it seems other people think so too!  It's so amazing to see this man I love so much in this girlie I love beyond measure.  SOOOO AMAZING! 

I'm not really sure what happened after Juliet was wheeled away to the NICU.  I have been trying my best to remember where I went, when Phil came to sit with me, what happened when I was taken to my room, etc. but all of these memories have escaped me.  If only Phil were home from school so I could pick his brain!!!  Then again, with me on anesthetics and Phil on NyQuil at the time, there's a good chance that he would be scrambling for details also! 

And Juliet is hungry again!  LATER Y'ALL!!!!!!! xo

Here's what happened....

DISCLAIMER:  From this point forward, "I'm tired" becomes a really suitable excuse for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, illogical blogging material, abrupt wrap-ups, unfinished posts, and infrequent posting ;)

Exhibit A:  I started this post yesterday morning. 

Remember those "here and there" contractions I told you about on Thursday?  Well, they intensified as the day progressed and reached a point where Phil believed we should return to the hospital.  I tried to reason with Phil for a little while, saying that perhaps the medicine needed time to kick in (it had been two hours already!) and that if we just relax and go to sleep they might disappear.  I also said that I was feeling a little stressed out and it's probably stress related pains......HA!  Can you tell I didn't want to return to the life of hard hospital beds, beeping monitors and IV drips?!  The thought of returning to the emergency room had me in tears and I was trying everything to get out of the dreadful situation that entailed Phil packing our bags frantically and giving me no choice other than to get into the car. (Thank you, Dear Graeme, for backing Phil up on this).  My mind was going crazy with doubt and worry.  We weren't ready for the baby.  We needed her to grow more.  We needed to catch up on lost sleep first.  We needed to make sure Phil and Nory weren't sick anymore.  We needed to set up the room.  We needed to buy a car seat.  The list went on and on and on.  But in that very moment (which I refused to realize) what we REALLY NEEDED was to get to the hospital.  Apparently these sorts of things make zero sense when you're an overtired, hormonal mess.

So we went.  I had a pity party the entire 40 minutes it took us to get there.  Although I should get some credit for walking to the car by myself (no dragging or carrying required) and opening the passenger door to willingly get out of the car upon arrival.....right?

The nurses were delighted to see me, yelling "HELLO MADAM LINDSAY!!!!" with big smiles as we entered the fifth floor.  Heartwarming, yes?  Ha.  I was hooked up to the CTG, checked for dilation and then hooked up to an IV.  This time, however, they would not give me meds to stop the contractions.  Instead, they would give the baby a chance to change her mind overnight (how kind!).  If she remained insistent (which she had been for the last two weeks!), a c section would be scheduled for the morning.  If not, we would be discharged (my secret hope). 

This is where things get a little interesting and, looking back, it went by so fast that I feel it was all a dream.  It was already midnight once we were moved into a room, so Phil chugged some NyQuil and passed out like a light.  I was given some pain meds and was able to doze off between the really bad contractions.  Then four thirty in the morning rolled around and the doctor on call came in, read the CTG output and said she would call my personal doctor.  Twenty minutes later, three nurses came rushing in, turned on all the lights and said that a c section was happening............NOW!  They started getting me ready for surgery.  Phil "woke up", but as you NyQuil believers know (shame on y'all), he wasn't truly with it.  I called Dana and Emily quickly and just after they arrived (which was impeccable timing BTW), I was whisked away to surgery without the man of my dreams.  Yes, turns out I had to brave my second c section alone.  #GOLD STAR #rockedit

To be continued when I have another moment............

Juliet "Jet" Tyko Parkinson

Born December 5th, 2014

6:06 a.m. (Kuwait Time)

2.01 kg (4.43 lbs)

47 cm long

31 cm head circumference

Our hearts are SO, SO full!!!!

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful wishes!

Love,
The Parkinson Family XOXO

Turns out my "DECEMBER" post was really moving......

...so much so that I ended up back in the hospital on Monday night - with even worse contractions than I had round one!  Seems to me like this little baby is eager to join in the holiday fun :)

I spent two nights hooked up to an IV and the oh-so-uncomfortable (make my stomach break out in a bad rash) CTG machine.  This time around, I wasn't permitted to take the CTG off because my contractions didn't go away as well as they did last week.  They lingered around until the day I was discharged (yesterday evening!) and the possibility of a c section was legitimate.  The doctor says the baby is quite insistent on entering this world and I kinda feel like a ticking time bomb laying around in my bed today (having the odd contraction here and there).  I have some medicine to take until my doctor's appointment next Saturday although we're not quite sure the baby will accept defeat that easily.  How long before she builds up the energy to give it another try?  Next time, I have a feeling she might win. 

I was going to call in a Christmas decorating committee to enhance my view if the stay was extended.......

So.....here I am again.  On bed rest.  A little more strict than before.  Phil has given Kumari serious orders not to bring Nory to visit me while he's at work.  Apparently I am not so great at resting when there's an extra special little darling begging for my attention.  He also set up another table beside the bed with snacks, water, chargers, etc. so I don't have to get up too much.  AND Kumari is receiving food and beverage orders via Whatsapp for things that require preparation.  (Shout out to Kumari Poppins, once again!!!! XO)

In terms of my spirits, they were pretty low during my second hospital stay.  I had next to ZERO sleep because of that darn CTG machine and the doctors and nurses were checking on me constantly.  Different alarms kept going off and the idea of having a c section at 33 weeks scared me to death.  I'm much better now that I am comfortable at home, in my OWN CLOTHES, in my OWN BED, where peanut butter and decaf tea are plentiful :)  It's also nice hearing little Nory squeals throughout the day, even though I have yet to see her!

Today I managed to nap for a solid two hours (is this my post-hospital ritual?!) and I also finished season 5 of The Real Housewives of NYC.  Throw in a few episodes of The Mindy Project, some time wasted on Pinterest, and you've got yourself a successful day of bed rest!  Phil should be home in about 15 minutes and I can't wait!!!  IT IS THE WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Phil and Nory news, both of them are sick.  Phil's is stress-induced, I'm sure, but he needs to get better ASAP so he can hold our wee little babe if she comes early!  Kumari really does have her hands full with all three of us needing a little extra TLC this week ;) 

Thanks for all the warm thoughts you've sent to my bedside in Kuwait!  YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!! XOXO

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday my Dad sent me the best message ever - a message reminding me that it was the last day of November and that TODAY marks the start of my FAVOURITE MONTH!  Isn't that the best reminder message of all?  (Thank you Dad! xo)

Here's why I place December on such a pedestal amongst les autres mois:

1)  For some reason, the celebration of Christmas is just starting to become socially acceptable with everyone else.  I don't actually care that I look like a complete wacko during mid-November, but it's so great for the rest of you to join in the fun :)

2)  GOODBYE MOVEMBER!  I'm all about supporting a good cause, but Mr. Parkinstache (as he INSISTED THE STUDENTS CALL HIM) was getting a little much and I'm happy to see a clean shaven face once again.  Our mistletoe can finally go to good use ;)

See ya next year, STACHE!

3)  It's the month of my birthday, my sister's birthday, my niece's birthday, my brother's birthday, some friends' birthdays, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve.................(so much awesome packed into 31 days!!!!)

4)  Traditions return (in heaps)!  Holiday baking, tree decorating, Christmas readings (THE POLAR EXPRESS!!!!), family gatherings, Christmas cards, advent calendars....

5)  Family pictures.  If you're a social media junkie, you would agree that the spirit of FAMILY is captured so beautifully over the next few weeks.  And it's not because people took photography lessons in November.  Or upgraded their camera equipment.  Or that professionals were hired for the job.  It's just the genuine HAPPINESS that comes with building a snowman, watching a Christmas movie or having a hot chocolate in a messy, messy living room that make these sorts of pictures THE BEST.  

6)  People seem kinder.  Don't they?  More likely to let things go, more likely to help out, more likely to show thoughtfulness and consideration.  Door holders are out in full swing.  Smiles are reciprocated.  There's a general sense of JOY that radiates throughout the population and I soak every cheesy moment of it RIGHT UP. 

7)  For this year only, I can say that THIS MONTH may be THE MONTH we welcome our little Goose.  (Although we'd like you to hold off a few more weeks, Honey). 

If you need a little help getting into the holiday spirit yourself (and my 7 supporting statements haven't already pushed you over the edge!), this WestJet commercial is SURE to do the trick!  I can't believe I've never flown with WestJet before.  It's as if we should do it this summer sometime, just because!!!

HAPPY DECEMBER TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Singing Christmas Tree / Whatever Would We Do Without Her???

Let's begin by telling you that I spent a long time preparing this felt Christmas tree and it comes with HOMEMADE, PERSONALIZED, FELT ORNAMENTS for her to enjoy the whole decoration process over and over again.  Alas, Eleanor has found great joy in using it in ways of her own thinking.....

In the end, I suppose it's still spreading the same joy I had envisioned :)

An Evening at the Parkinson Theatre!

Today Phil brought home a bunch of things we had been storing at our friend Steve's house. Most of of the stuff is for Goose (baby toys, 0-3 month clothes, the baby swing, etc.), but included in the stash was a sweet little playhouse made by my grade six students last year.   Nory, of course, was instantly intrigued by this "house" and I think I've had my most fun "bed rest evening" to date!  She is a DRAMA QUEEN and I'm not sure if it's being a toddler or if it's being my daughter that is the cause of it!  (Let's just say my Dad nicknamed me "Hollywood" for a reason!) 

You can tell she is completely OVER the mamarazzi in the last video.  Enough is enough, Mama!  (So I secretly took ONE more....and it is also quite entertaining!!!!!!  Will post it soon!)

WE LOVE YOU CHICKEN! xo