BABY LEO'S BIRTH STORY- GIVING BIRTH AT THE START OF COVID-19

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On March 16th, 2020 the world was shutting down. Schools were closed, playgrounds were being taped off, people were being sent home from work, stores were closing, the world was FREAKING OUT
... and I was having baby Leo.

What a wild ride it was.

Here’s the short story:

Leo John Liira was born on March 16th 2020 at 11:29am, weighing 6lbs 14oz and 19 inches long.

Scroll down for the long version ;)

This pregnancy was by far the hardest of my three pregnancies. I had awful nausea 24/7 July-October. My body ached more than it had before and then in January my left leg started swelling and aching and by the time I was sent in for an ultrasound, I couldn’t even walk…I was diagnosed with a DVT. My blood was clotted all the way from my groin to my ankle. I immediately started blood thinners (a shot into my love handles every single day!)..and the recovery from that was worse than labour! I was on pain killers for weeks and had to use a cane to walk.
My low risk pregnancy was now high risk and the birth had to be perfectly-ish planned out.

I met with a Maternal Fetal Medicine OB and an anesthesiologist at 38 weeks and they were going to make a plan with my hematologist once they got my leg ultrasound back. Those last few weeks I had SO many appointments because there were so many elements/people involved.

The tricky thing about the birth would be timing my blood thinner injections. Once injected, they lasted for 24 hours and then I would inject the next one. Ideally you don’t want to have blood thinner in you when you’re giving birth, because there can be complications if you needed an epidural (which I MOST CERTAINLY WANTED ONE) or an emergency section.

My only birth plan was to be able to get an epidural, ha. My body responds wonderfully to them and I praise God for the amazing person that invented them. As I said before, you cannot get an epidural if you still had blood thinner in your system. So I did NOT want to go into labour naturally. Normally I’d be doing allllll the things to go into labour but this time, I just wanted to be medically induced.

When the MFM doctor checked me, I was only at 1cm so his plan was for me to take my blood thinner at 8am on Sunday, March 15th and then go to the hospital that evening to be induced with the balloon catheter. This induction method is a mechanical one and it slowly opens you till you’re at 3cm and then it falls out. Also, sorry if this is TMI but what do you expect, if you’re reading a birth story??

Let’s just say I WAS NOT EXCITED ABOUT THIS PLAN. I thought it would be super uncomfortable, and most likely, we’d have to drive back to the hospital in the middle of the night. So I prayed hard that I would be at 3cm before that appointment ha.

When I got to the hospital late that afternoon, it was a GHOST TOWN. Things in the world were really scary and it seemed like people were holding their babies in. Normally VGH Labour + Delivery is a bustling place but that evening it was dead and even the nurses commented on that!

I met my doctor there and she checked me and I was at 2cm but she got the ob to check again and miraculously I was at 3cm!!! PRAISE, thank you Jesus. We got to go home and they said they would call me the next morning. My only instruction was to not take my blood thinner the next day.

I had two prayer requests for this birth.

• Not have to get the balloon catheter (which God already answered!)

• Be able to get an epidural (I just had to make it till 8am!)

Oh and of course, for Leo to be healthy and strong!

So that night I went to bed nice and early around 9pm. Hospital bag was packed, grandma was on standby for when we needed to leave and I was so ready and excited to meet my little man, my last baby.

But it wouldn’t be a birth for me if I wasn’t up most of the night before, ha. (I was up all night the night before both Luca’s birth and London’s birth!!) I woke around 2am with contractions. I really should have just taken tylenol and tried to sleep but I didn’t even think about it. It’s so long ago, but I remember reading and trying to sleep and timing the contractions and praying I’d make it to the epidural ha.

I woke up James around 5 and he made us some breakfast. I remember not eating too much and the contractions getting stronger. We called his mum and she came over just before 6.

We got to the hospital around 6:30am and it was STILL a ghost town. I think there was maybe 1 other birth over night…just insane. We got settled into a room and got the BEST nurse. Oh my goodness, I could go on and on about the amazing nurses at VGH. Every one we had was so kind and so boss.

I think they checked me around 7ish and I was at 4cm. Contractions weren’t crazy strong but they were starting to ramp up. I remember watching the clock praying I’d make it to 8am, and thank you Jesus, I did!

The anesthesiologist came around 8:15, got the epidural going and then just after that they started me on oxytocin. LOVE THAT EPIDURAL LIFE. I tried to sleep and rest a bit more because I knew I needed to save my energy for pushing.

My doctor came and saw me at 9 and saw that I was progressing at a good rate. I honestly can’t remember if she broke my water or not. I think she did but I need to check with her at Leo’s next appointment because it’s killing me that I forget ha.

She then went back to her office to see some patients and planned on coming back a few hours later. Everything seemed chill for awhile and James went and got some food for him and snacks for post labour for me (bring snacks to the hospital!! Post birth, you’ll be STARVING!)

But by 11am things started getting CRAZY. The nurse checked me just before then and I was at 6cm but I started progressing verrrry quickly. By 11:10 I was feeling the urge to push. They checked me again and I was almost at 10!!! They called my doctor to come back ASAP. I remember thinking, oh my goodness, my doctor isn’t going to make it here in time. I tried my best to resist the urge to push but ahh that was so hard.

The nurses kept me so calm and I knew they would be able to deliver Leo but my doctor ran in around 11:25ish? She scrubbed in, put her gown on and 4 minutes later, Leo was born at 11:29am! He came out in two pushes ha.

He was the most beautiful baby just like his brother and sister. He was my smallest babe at 6lbs 14oz which I think is why he was so easy to push out ha. He had light hair and blue eyes and ahhh it felt like heaven to hold him.

We had already been through so much, and finally I got to hold this little pandemic baby in my arms and kiss his little fingers and toes.

It was a crazy time. I remember not kissing his mouth for a week because no one knew if they had gotten covid when everything was still open. I was an anxious mess in the hospital and had to stay an extra night and day because Leo was jaundice. I could have taken him home but then I would have to go back to the hospital to get his blood tested and I would rather just put him in the bilirubin blanket and get those jaundice levels down.

No visitors were allowed in the hospital and James slept at home at night with the big kids. It was a quiet time in the hospital and I remember overhearing nurses talk about building an isolation wing for covid moms and babies, it was WILD. We were all expecting this huge surge of covid and thank goodness it wasn’t crazy in our city.

But even in that crazy time, when anxious thoughts tried to take over, I felt peace. I felt God near me, I felt His presence in that hospital room, I felt his protection over Leo and I. I played a lot of worship music and read scripture cards that I had made the week before and I knew a lot of people were praying for us.

The bilirubin blanket was a Godsend. It got his levels down and then the next day I nursed him as much as I could, topped him with formula and put him in the sun as much as possible. Thank goodness, that all worked and his levels went down! (come to think of it, he was my least orange looking baby ha)

When we left, it felt like I was being released from prison. Breathing fresh air outside was such a relief. I just wanted to get home, be with my other babies and hide away from the world…..and I got that for many, many months ha. But looking back, I’m so thankful for that extra bonding time with my three treasures.

It’s wild to think that Leo’s entire life has been lived in a pandemic. He has only been to church a few times, has only met a few other babies and hasn’t even been to a play gym BUT he’s been cuddled and prayed for and sung over and loved. He’s been so so loved and really, isn’t that all that babies really need?

Leo John Liira, you are such a gift to me. Thank you for giving me the privilege of being your mama.

FIRST TRIMESTER BUMPDATE with Q + A

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Well hello there! If we’re friends on Instagram or Facebook you may have heard the news that we’re expecting baby #3.

I announced at 10.5 weeks this time around which is the earliest I’ve announced but you guys, my bump is totally noticeable and I hated how I kept complaining that I was sooo tired on IG stories, ha. I even had a friend ask, “Why are you so tired all the time!!”

I know it’s a bit risky announcing before I’ve even heard a heartbeat (my first ultrasound is coming up on Tuesday) but I’m choosing not to fear and trust that baby is a-ok. The first trimester can do a number on your fear/anxiety but I keep telling myself that it is out of my control….which is so hard for me as a control freak but that’s what parenting is all about, letting go of control and trusting God. Yes you do the best you can for your child but we ultimately are not in control. They will grow up and become their own person and make their own decisions (which I reallllly don’t want to think about right now!!)

I thought it would be fun to do a Q+A with this pregnancy so I put it out on my instagram stories and here were some of your questions…

Will you find out the gender?

Yes!! When we talked about #3 I suggested that maybe we don’t find out this time but James veto-d that and we’re going to find out. I’m a planner, so finding out is what I usually do but we already have a boy and a girl so I thought a surprise tie-breaker might be fun. BUT I’m excited to find out around 20 weeks. I want to do a fun reveal again because London’s was so fun!!

Was this little one a planned pregnancy?

Yes it was fully planned! I wanted more than 2 kiddos. 4 would be amazing but honestly I think we’ll be done at 3 as I love working and don’t think I could commit to working and have 4 children. Also this pregnancy has been TOUGH with nausea and fatigue…don’t know how I could do that again with 3 kiddos.

Did you have any c-sections?

Nope! Both Luca and London were vaginally delivered. Here is Luca’s birth story and here is London’s. Both completely different births but beautiful in their own way. Hoping for another vaginal delivery (with an epidural of course!)

Any good prenatal vitamin recommendations?

Ha, I’m probably the worst at this because I have a huge problem swallowing pills so I just get gummy ones from Walmart. When I was pregnant with Luca, it was impossible to find them in Canada and I’d have to go to Target and stock up but thankfully these days I can find them anywhere!

FYI- Gummy ones don’t have iron in them…which usually is good for you if you are super sick as iron makes you more nauseous. I usually have an iron deficiency, so I’ll take a powder/liquid iron come second trimester (mine was making me sick first trimester).

Tips on catching your breath…I’m always out of breath.

Ha, I’m always out of breath so I’m no help! It’s usually the first sign how my friends can tell that I’m pregnant.

How have you been feeling?

August was a hard month. My nausea has gotten worse with each pregnancy so this pregnancy has been the hardest. I don’t puke but I’m constantly nauseous and very, very tired. I feel a bit better now that I’m nearing the second trimester. Hoping the nausea goes away for good soon!

How did you find out?

My cycles can be pretty irregular so we tried over a week window. I had a rough estimation of when I should test but I tested early because I always do ha. The first test was negative and I waited a few days and tested at night and there was a faint positive. The above pic was from the test from the next morning. I was almost 4 weeks when I found out.

Thank you for all your congratulations. We really are so thrilled to be expecting baby #3…and my sister is due 2.5 weeks ahead of me! How exciting!!!

XO,
Laura

HOW WE GOT OUR BABIES SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT (PART 2, 0-3 MONTHS)

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Baby sleep. It is SUCH an obsession! 
Well, at least it was for me...and maybe you if you're reading this...or you've reached the end of your netflix queue and have nothing else to do, ha!

In this post, I will go over baby sleep from 0-3 months. If you haven't read part 1, then get on with it and then come right back! In Part 1, I go over our sleep story and the methods that we used to get our babies sleeping through the night.

This post will be broken up into two parts: 0-6 weeks and 6 weeks-3 months.

NEWBORN STAGE (0-6 weeks)

Newborns sleep A LOT! Usually people are totally okay with newborn sleep and just let their baby dictate the day. Which is totally cool but for me it was different because my babies were both jaundice. I had to wake them every 2 hours to feed and then put them back to sleep until the next feed. During those feeds, I googled the heck out of baby sleep and once they were at a healthy weight and the jaundice was at bay, I put this stuff into practice and they started sleeping in 5-6 hour stretches.

Here's what worked for us:

• SLEEP, EAT, PLAY, REPEAT. You can't really put newborns on a schedule but you can put them on a routine. Try to get in the routine of feeding after they wake up (I'd always nurse 15 mins on each side so they get a good fill).
  Then it's awake time, which for newborns should be about 45 mins to an hour max, then it's time to sleep.

• SWADDLE. I am a HUGE believer in the swaddle. Newborns have the startle reflex and their arms need to be held down or they'll wake themselves up. These swaddles are my absolute favourites. The velcro ones actually hold their arms down. You can use swaddle blankets but honestly they aren't fun to try to do at 3am. We weaned from the swaddle at 4 months.

• DOCKATOT. Luca didn't have a Dockatot but London did. They both were amazing sleepers but I feel like the Dockatot helped London settle easier and she napped way better than Luca did. We took the Dockatot away at 4 months.

• WHITE NOISE. It's loud in the womb. It's loud in the hospital. Babies are used to noise. I highly recommend getting a white noise...one that goes all night. It will also help disguise your noise when you sneak into bed! I don't love the one we have (not very durable) but I've heard great things about this one!

• HEATING PAD/BOTTLE. During the night I would always pre-heat the bassinet/Dockatot. It helped to keep them calm and settle back into sleep after nursing. Just remember to take it out before you place baby in obvs!!!

• SWING/BOUNCER. In the early days, I would nap them in the swing/bouncer a lot. We have an older version of this one. I like it because you can remove it from the swing and take it from room to room. I wouldn't do a swing/bouncer overnight because I'm a bit paranoid.

• SOOTHER/PACIFIER. Both my babies weren't big on the soother but they did use it for the first 6 weeks. I remember placing London in the dockatot, and then holding her soother in with one hand while I placed the other on her chest. It got her to sleep very quickly!! I recommend these ones.

• GET DAYS + NIGHTS ON TRACK. Often babies get their days and nights mixed up. It's a common thing but it's not hard to fix. During daytime feeds, bring your baby to the living room. Go outside during the day. Talk to your baby while nursing during the day but at night, keep the lights low and your voice quiet.

• DARK ROOM. Some babies can sleep through anything but some can't. Mine needed dark to sleep so by two weeks, I usually had them napping in their own rooms with blackout curtains.

• WAKE UP AFTER 3 HOUR NAP. I would usually wake them up after 3 hours. If they sleep all day, they'll be up a lot of the night!

6 Weeks to 3 Months

After the 6 week mark your baby technically isn't a newborn anymore (cue all the tears!!!) but they are still little and snuggly! And by this age they are probably awake to the world a whole lot more than they were! This means that sometimes sleep is harder but it isn't impossible. Luca started sleeping 8 hour stretches by 8 weeks and London was sleeping anywhere between 8-11 hours STRAIGHT.

Here's what worked for us:

• We kept doing all the things listed above: swaddle, white noise, heated dockatot, but at this point I really tried TO NOT NURSE TO SLEEP.

• PUT BABY DOWN DROWSY. As I said above, at this point I really tried to not nurse to sleep. It's a super easy and natural routine but it can bite you in the butt at 4 months when they can't go back to sleep unless they're nursing.

• FUSS IT OUT. At this point, I would put them down drowsy but awake and then I'd close the door and wait ten minutes. Often times they'd go to sleep. Other times they'd fuss a bit more and sometimes I'd go in and either nurse again or settle with the soother/hand on chest. If I heard a cry in the night, I would check my clock and then wait TEN minutes before entering. Usually by then, they'd be fast asleep. I never let them cry hysterically at this point, just a soft cry/fuss.

• ESTABLISH A BEDTIME + ROUTINE. I'd try to put them down at the same time and wake up 12 hours later. Usually 7-7 at this point but most people do about 8-8 at this age. For routine, we'd do a bath, nurse, cuddle lay down in crib.

• MOVE THEM TO THEIR OWN ROOM. We moved both out babies to their own rooms at 7 weeks and they slept waaaay better. I was crazy paranoid but had a video monitor so I could watch them breathe! They could always smell my milk or me tossing and turning would wake them up. For us, we slept way better in separate rooms.

• NAPS ARE IMPORTANT. An overtired baby is NOT a fun baby. This chart from Precious Little Sleep is a life saver. At this age we'd usually do 2 out of the 4 naps on the go (car seat, stroller, wrap or carrier).

If you have any questions, please let me know! I'm no expert but I have two babies who sleep through the night ;) I'll be posting part 3 soon!!! 

all photos by Rachael Alexandra Co.

WHY WE LOVE OUR DIONO RADIAN RXT CARSEAT

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I received this car seat c/o Diono but all opinions expressed are 100% my own.

I often get asked about the baby gear I have purchased for my babies. I have lists on lists on lists of things because let's be honest, babies need ALL THE THINGS. But one of the MOST IMPORTANT items you can purchase for your babe, is the carseat! In my city, they won't let you leave the hospital without one!

We used a bucket seat for the first 6 months. I love starting out with the bucket seat because you can take your sleeping baby everywhere but after about 6 months, it starts getting HEAVY and by 6 months, both of our kiddos hated the bucket seat. For Luca, we toughed it out until he was almost a year but for London, I knew I didn't want to suffer through those carseat meltdowns so at 6 months we graduated her to the Diono Radian RXT. 

And we've been absolutely loving it!

Here are five reasons why we love our Diono Radian RXT carseat:

1. LONGEVITY

A child can be rear facing in the seat from 5lbs to 45lbs, forward facing in the five point harness up to 65lbs and then it converts to a booster and can be used from 50lbs to 120lbs! The carseat is also good for TEN years so chances are you can use it on your next babe!

2. SAFETY

When we took the carseat out of the box, both James and I commented on how strong it felt! The frame is made of steel and the sidewalls are reinforced with aluminum. It is one STRONG carseat.

3. STYLE

We went with the Midnight (all black) seat and it looks great in our SUV. It's so sleek as well! But that sleekness isn't just for good looks, it's sleek enough to fit THREE carseats across a single row...(can someone please tell my hubby if we have another baby we won't need to buy a minivan, ha!)

4. COMFORT

It's such a comfortable seat! London just loves it and actually fell asleep in it the other day!! (She stopped falling asleep in her bucket seat at 3 months old!!)

5. EASE OF USE

One of my favourite features of the Diono Radian RXT carseat is it folds flat and can be worn as a backpack. That my friends, will make air travel a BREEZE! It also is super easy to install and the whole cover is machine washable...I unfortunately had to find that out after London got sick all over it :( Thank goodness it all went in the wash and I was able to easily attach the fabric back to the seat.

Visit Diono's website to purchase your seat or learn more about it. Our family HIGHLY recommends it!

XO, Laura

LONDON ROSE // 9 MONTH UPDATE

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LONDON AT NINE MONTHS

I cannot believe sweet London Rose is NINE MONTHS!! This is hands down my favourite age of the first year. She is sweet as can be and her little (or should I say BIG) personality is coming out!
 

Here's the London's 9 month update:

WEIGHT: 20lbs 9oz
London had some great gains the past 3 months, ha! She's now in the 85th percentile for weight

HEIGHT: 27.5 inches
Her height went down to the 50th percentile but that's totally normal that it goes up and down the first year!

WEARS: I know I've said it a number a times but dressing a baby girl in the summer is SO FUN! She wears lots of dresses, rompers and shorty-shorts! She's mostly in 6-12 month clothing.

SLEEPS: Her sleep has gotten MUCH better. She usually sleeps through the night but sometimes has a feeding around 5 and then I have to wake her around 7! She is a champion napper and NEVER skips her naps. I mostly always have to wake her up from both of them. She's still on two naps and will probably be until about 15 months.

EATS: She eats EVERYTHING! We're pretty much off purees (unless it's a pouch on the go). She finally cut her first tooth but without them, she's been a champion eater! Honestly, she sometimes eats more than Luca!! She's still nursing. Luca weaned around this age but I don't see her weaning anytime soon. (Praying she doesn't bite me!!!) She nurses about 6x a day but only for about 5 minutes and then has about 6oz of formula before bed.

PLAYS: She's been crawling for the past month and it is crazy! She's soo fast and gets into everything!! She constantly tries to open the fireplace and has gotten into our avocado plant, ha. I took her to Bumble and Hive (a local play centre) and she loves it now that she's crawling! She's sooo close to pulling herself up on things.

HIGHS: Reading with her before naps and bed is my absolute favourite. She loves books, especially with lots of colourful pictures. She's also giving the BEST open mouth kisses.. Love my sweet girl so much. 

LOWS: Last month she got a bad GI bug so that was not fun....and then came teething, a few days of a lot of crying. But she's honestly such a happy and easy baby.

PARENTING: Oh man, if you've seen my latest IG post, parenting a TWO year old has been so hard lately! But I've been reading this book and it's already been so insightful. London is a breeze right now (aside from the pic below, ha!!) 

Taking them out by myself is a bit of an adventure as Luca likes to run and she likes to be on the move and then put everything in her mouth. But thankfully if I bring LOTS of snacks, it will occupy her or bribe him, ha.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Summer is hard because James works long days BUT we're living for the weekend. Lots of family time is my favourite!! Oh and I'm also looking forward to going to Van next month to see my bestie. TWO nights BABY FREE!!! I love my babies but I am SOOOO looking forward to some personal space LOLS!

Love ya!

Laura