It's a Girl!!

On September 15^th, we were blessed with the birth of our 3^rd daughter and we have been on cloud nine ever since. For 9 months we anxiously waited to meet this little child, we had some minor health concerns along the way, but to date she appears to be a healthy little girl.

This experience has been extra special because we have been able to share it with our 2 daughters. It’s been amazing to watch them love this new child. As a parent most of us experience that instant love for our child when he or she arrives into the world but for a 10 and 8 year old to get to experience this love is a precious treat. As our oldest daughter was getting ready for bed the other night she said “Isn’t it amazing that we didn’t even know Baby Ava before and now we love her so much.” And that they do, the girls cannot get enough of her. I know this will change as time goes on but the love won’t, it will just be stronger.

How is my husband managing through all of this? As always he’s my rock and we are a strong team. He is juggling things the best he can, which is pretty darn good I must say. He’s very tired but also focused on his studies while getting special moments in with all of his girls. Thank you for being the amazing husband and Dad that you are…this I am thankful for every day!

I must say how thankful we are to our parents for all the support they have given us along the way. Not only over the last couple of weeks but really our lifetime, you are the ones who have given us the love and support to get us to where we are today! Thank you, we all love you!

As for me, I am feeling great although I’m a little more tired than usual, life is good. We are adjusting well and taking things day by day with some easy ones and some tough ones. I am so very thankful for what we have been blessed with.

Back to school…

I am now 38 weeks and 3 days into this pregnancy so hopefully no more than 2 weeks until we get to meet Baby Wood!! We have been to so many appointments we’ve practically gotten to watch the baby grow each week with all of the ultrasounds. Our girls have been so good about attending these appointment; for the last 5 weeks they have had to sit in the waiting area for at least 2 hours at a time waiting for us. They have not complained or whined about it either (don’t get me wrong they whine and complain at many other events in our life ) but they’ve been super about this baby stuff. They are getting super excited to meet their little brother or sister!

Last weekend we hosted a BBQ and Corn Boil at our house for the Med 1s and Med 2s. Luckily we had perfect weather to host the 60 plus people that came. We had lots of food and I think everyone had a good time. Thankfully we have very understanding neighbours…we live in a court and parking for 60 people is quite a task and inconvenience to others...

My husband went back to school this week to begin Year 2 of Medical School and he’s already spending lots of study time in the dungeon. He’s trying to keep ahead as much as possible so when the baby does arrive he’ll hopefully have a little time with us.

The girls are back to school next week and are getting excited. Our oldest will be starting her final year of elementary school and our youngest starts French immersion. We have them signed up for their extracurricular activities for the year. Here’s to hoping I can fulfill my motherly duties of getting them to all of their activities on time with Baby in tow…I’m sure we’ll make it!

Let 2011-2012 be a fun filled, happy, bully free school year!!

Happy Summer Vacation Everyone!!

Apologies for not posting all summer but we've been busy just like everyone else. We went on vacation as soon as school was out for a week and had a lovely time. The girls and I spent 3 weeks in my hometown so they could attend various basketball camps in the area. We enjoyed time with my parents and got visits in with some good friends and family. My husband lived the bachelor life at home with the dog for those 3 weeks, we missed him and I’m pretty sure his eating habits included a few more drive thrus than usual!

We’re all back as one family now and enjoying our first summer in this house. We love the community life here and have made some great friends. So the transition is going well….yes, we’re still transitioning…it’s a much longer process than I ever anticipated.

My husband’s job is going well but I think it’s getting to him a bit, as it would with any humane person. He’s working in the anatomy lab daily on cadavers, learning amazing things and building his knowledge but at the same time it’s tough. I think he’s looking forward to a little break before school starts at the end of August.

We’re all anxiously looking forward to Baby Wood’s arrival. I’ve been feeling great with just a few rough days. We have to go to lots of appointments lately as they are keeping a close eye on things. The girls have been very understanding and well behaved- not having family around means we drag them to all appts. Last week they got to go on the hospital tour with us and it was so nice to have them there. We have 6 weeks left until this little one will arrive. We’re slowly getting prepared we have the crib setup and the girls have painted pictures for the babe. Also some great friends have given and leant us some great items to help out (Thank you!!). The latest debate is deciding on some names for him or her…I’m sure this debate will continue for the next 6 weeks.

Hello June!!

We have finally started to see some sun; I think we are all appreciating it just a little more this year since we’ve had such a cold wet spring. The Wood family has been enjoying some downtime and attempting to regroup after a busy first year in our new home.

My husband has officially completed his first year of medicine and has enjoyed a couple weeks off. He started his summer job this week at the Anatomy Lab. He is really looking forward to learning lots this summer. It’s so nice to have him around again…not only to get the ‘To Do list’ done.

The girls and I are winding down our school year in 2 weeks and we are all ready for the break. We’re planning a summer vacation somewhere and hope to get a few camping trips in. Last summer was spent packing, moving, painting, cleaning and unpacking, so we really hope to squeeze in some relaxing time this summer.

I am now heading into my 27th week of pregnancy, the 3rd trimester! I am feeling great and the baby appears to be healthy. We’re all getting more excited about the arrival of this little one. Lately the focus has been on narrowing down names and figuring out just how this baby will fit into our home logistically speaking. This is so different from our first 2 children, as we had the room all set up and we had every gadget out there for babies, this time around will be different. We’ll be keeping it simple.

Last month, my husband’s dear grandmother passed away. She was a sweet, kind, proud, and very talented lady who will be cherished in our hearts forever. I am so thankful that our girls got to know her and make memories with her. On June 1st she would have celebrated her 91st birthday, our daughters decided to sing happy birthday to her out on our porch that morning. At the end of the song our youngest daughter said “Ok Nanny you can blow out the candles now!” and a gust of wind blew. The girls came running in to tell us that Nanny just blew out her candles .This is just another sweet memory given to us by Nanny. We love you and think of you often Nanny.

Growing up...

Wow, where did April go? We’ve had a busy month of celebrating and getting ready for Spring! On the weekend we held a BBQ for my husband’s med class and also celebrated our oldest daughter’s 10th birthday. I can’t believe she is ten years old, although I can’t really remember life without her.

I’ve watched many of my little cousins and friends’ children grow through the awkward preteen years of 9 through 12. Now I’m right in the middle of it with my own daughter. She is becoming more independent and hopefully more confident in herself. Which are excellent qualities to be building and I am so happy to see her grow into a strong girl. But with this comes stubbornness, moodiness, strong opinions, and attitudes; this has been a hard battle for us to get through. I know this is “just” the beginning, I can’t even allow myself to think of the teenage years but I believe we are in training now. Some days I have no idea where my sweet little girl went but the next day (or minute) we are back to normal and moving on.

The hardest part for me has been the decreasing time she spends with me (selfish of me, eh!). It seems like I see her at meals, when we are driving somewhere, and when I tuck her in at night. We don’t have as many quiet times together doing crafts or reading together anymore. We do get our moments but not as often. I knew these times were coming but when you are faced with them head on it kind of hits harder. I’m sure we all go through it many times in our children’s lives. It’s just not easy to take some days.

I am so proud of our daughters and hope that we’ve done a good job raising them so far and that they will make their good choices as they become more independent in this big world. There will still be moments when I just want to sit and snuggle them and pretend that they aren’t really growing up.

The storybook “Love You Forever” makes more and more sense as your child grows up ( I remember the first time I read this book I thought it was one of the nuttiest stories but it’s one of our favourite stories now).

Cherish every special moment with your little ones (and big ones!) because they will grow up in the blink of an eye!

“I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always
As long as I’m living my baby you’ll be.” Robert Munsch

Love you my sweet girls!

Life So Far Being Married to a Med Student

So we are 7 months into our adventure of Medical School. Notice I stated “our” since it really has been a family adventure in all aspects. Our lives have all changed in some way or another and we have adjusted well, with a few bumps along the way. I thought I’d make this post about what life has been like since my husband started med school. I haven’t really taken the time to think much about it since we are always running full tilt ahead, so this will be interesting for me to take a minute to reflect.

The first few months are now a blur for all of us. One thing I do distinctly remember is eagerly waiting to hear about his day and the exciting things he learned. He works with a Doctor each week for 4 hours (electives) and it is always interesting to hear where he has worked each time; without the “confidential” details of course. In the fall he did some interesting rounds in the OR, paediatrics, psychiatry (eye opener for him), and obstetrics. It was a great way for him to really get to see different areas of medicine. Then came the 1st exam and the preparation for it, he began studying for the exam 4 weeks before! It was a tremendous amount of information to study and I was overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge one has to cram in…and this is just the beginning. But he pulled it off and did very well!

After Christmas we all began to get into a better routine, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights we never saw much of him as he was in the “dungeon” preparing for his week’s work. By Wednesday night he’s wiped out and exhausted and needs to take a break, which we all welcome. Friday nights are our family nights typically when he is home. We get to enjoy a movie or games on the wii with pizza and popcorn! We may have less time as a unit but we still really enjoy those times and cherish them.

Now (after 7 months of studies) when I ask about what he learned each day or for an explanation about various medical issues, I am reminded that he is definitely absorbing and learning from all the hard work because I have a hard time pronouncing let alone understanding some of the things he tells me. I’m sure that will make him smirk just a little.

As for his recent elective he’s been working in the ER department and he loves it. He gets to learn and see so much there. In school part of this semester he’s learning about human reproduction. How convenient is that? Recently I’ve also been his mock patient for various things, the latest one was gathering patient information (which was simply annoying) and getting a physical done. After hearing what next month’s lessons will be I’ve informed him he’ll have to find someone else to be his mock patient!

All in all life has been great being married to my med student and I couldn’t be more proud of his hard work and dedication. I know busier, tougher times lie ahead. I miss him sometimes but know that he’s working hard to become the best physician he can be. I have no doubt that he will be amazing just as he has been as a husband and a Dad to our children.

We just take things one day at a time and keep trucking!

Decisions, Decisions

We make them every day, little and big ones. Sometimes we don’t even have to think about it. We’re constantly making decisions that may not feel like a big deal at the time but some have a huge effect on our life! Lately my husband and I have been facing more tedious decision making with the upcoming new addition to our family and all the changes involved.

Due to my “age” I am considered on the cusp of being a high-risk pregnancy which opens the door to additional testing and increased complications. One decision we both agree on so far is that we don’t want to know the sex of the baby until he/she is born. I always thought I’d want to know when having a third child but after a very short discussion we both wanted to keep it a surprise, call us old fashion.

The latest upcoming decision is whether or not to have an amniocentesis test done. We’re leaning away from it as I don’t like the idea of sticking a needle near my baby and the fact that it really won’t change the outcome. We’ll have this baby no matter what issues he/she may have. But the question I have is, if we do have it done and an issue is diagnosed, is there something that can be done in utero to help improve the child’s life/outcome? We will be meeting with our new prenatal Doctor this week and hoping she can provide and guide us with some more information. We put so much trust in these professionals.

In writing this entry I had a discussion with my daughters about decision making and it was interesting to hear their responses to my question of “When you are faced with a decision how to you decide what to do?” Both responded similarly saying they think about what will happen, how they will feel, and how it will affect others. One also said they make some decisions with their heart. I think those are reasonably good responses for 7 and 9 year olds.

For now we’ll just do our research and keep moving forward as usual and hope for the best.

Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs in the world! But the most rewarding job ever!!