Mama in the City

The experience of birth is an amazingly huge experience in your individual life. I believe it is so powerful that it shapes you into a different person after birth. Like any big life experience really. When I go to work and attend a labor in the same room where Ben was born, I can't help but reminisce about my own labor and delivery of my son. Every single time. Of course some of the painful memories have faded and I am left with these fuzzy amazing memorized moments my labor and birth.

I have started to pay more attention to how a persons individual birth experience shapes their post delivery feelings, especially when things don't go as they had hoped or planned. For myself, I had a great labor and birth ( all be it long) and I left that part of my life with positive warm fuzzy memories of the people involved and my general experience. However, I know from girlfriends who had STAT c/s or instrumental deliveries were left with different types of memories than me. One friend even had such strong emotions tied to her stat Cesarean birth that it was months before she could talk about her daughters birth without feeling traumatized. Another felt like the nurses played a negative role in her stat forceps delivery and she still harbours anger around her birth experience.


This isn't a new topic by any means but I think that I finally understand the importance of each individual persons birth experience since I have had my own. It may just be 'another long shift' at work for me but it is a life time of memory for the family that I am working with. I get that and now I totally practice based on that belief.



The thing that I struggle with is how can I, the maternity RN, help you get your warm fuzzy memories when things like STAT c/s or forceps deliveries have to happen in order to have healthy alive babies and mothers? I want all of you to have amazing powerful birth memories and feel full of strength and support. When the power of your personal experience is taken away how can we give it back to you and recognize what may have been lost along the journey?

There is Christmas cheer in our house! The 3 sisters spent the weekend together and sipped wine and enjoyed dinner out and an evening performance of Irving Berlin's White Christmas at The Stanley in Vancouver. If you want to get into the holiday mood this is a great festive musical to help you glide into that holiday spirit. There was some stunning voices in this performance and you will leave humming, 'I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....'. I'm still not sure if I am a huge fan of musicals but holiday musicals are what they are. A burst of Christmas cheer that just might be a tiny bit cheesy.



We took the Zip car out of the city and went to Steveston Village for a little boutique shopping and lunch at the marina. Someone asked us if we were triplets and it made us all giggle. We got wet wet wet in the rain and the children had mini meltdowns but really we had a great time being together. It is so nice having your children around when there are sisters to tag team with and another pair of welcoming hands to hold your tired toddler.

A sisters weekend would not be complete without the traditional posed photos and this year we donned matching pajamas. Usually we do this particular picture on Christmas day but this year we won't all be together, so we decided to take the photo a little earlier. Here we are wearing matching red flannel pajamas!



Is your house starting to feel festive this time of year? What's do you have planned for the upcoming season?

We have a winner!



Congratulations Krista! Your comment was randomly picked using www.random.org! Email me your mailing details at mama@apartmentbaby.com and Gumdrops Wet Weather Boutique will mail you off a gift card to spend at your leisure. I can't wait to hear what you buy. Maybe it will be a nice new umbrella for all this wet weather we have been having?

Tomorrow is a special day for me! My two sisters are making the trek to my neck of the woods and we are having our annual sisters holiday shopping trip. We have plans to go and see the holiday musical 'White Christmas' at The Stanley here in Vancouver.

My husband will never ever go to a musical and so I am happy to have my sisters to go with. Especially as we have a whole evening out on the town planned. Over the weekend there are shopping trips planned through out and I have my Zip car booked so we can trek around the city.

I am really excited that my older sister Sarah has offered to help put up our Christmas tree. She knows me too well and knows how much I hate putting Christmas lights on the tree. She is going to be bringing my 5 year old niece with her and the little cousins will get time to play together.



Then there is my little sis Glynis. She is going to be coming and going through the weekend and is always so helpful with entertaining Ben and so I think that some actual shopping just might get done on this holiday shopping trip.

You might have noticed that it has been raining a lot in Vancouver a lot over the last couple of weeks. There are large deep puddles all around and a constant spritzing of wet whenever I go outside.

Instead of being all gloomy about the current weather I decided to embrace the rain and host a fabulous giveaway from Gumdrops, a hip rain gear shop in Vancouver. Click HERE to go check out their website.

Gumdrops is gifting one of my readers with a $25.00 gift card to their shop. All my blog readers are invited to enter to win. To enter just leave a comment on this blog post. One comment per person. Contest starts tonight, Monday November 23rd. The winner will be drawn on Friday evening November 27th by a random number generator.

I'm so excited to hear what the winner chooses from their shop. I have my eye on these cute cherry boots and umbrella for a sweet girl.



This little blue duck umbrella would be perfect for my 2 year old nephew. I can already see him having a fun time hiding beneath the duck and walking along in the rain.


Leave a comment to enter. Winner drawn on Friday evening! www.gumdropsonline.com .

My sweet boy Ben is usually still sleeping as I creep out the door in the morning before work and he is definitely sleeping when I get home. It is a stretch of time that I don't get to see him and I miss him so much.

It is starting to feel a little festive in our household and I have started to do a little holiday shopping and even signed up for a baking exchange. I am totally one of those people who avoids doing major mall shopping during the month of December and instead I take to the Internet and search and google my way to the perfect present.

To help kick off the upcoming holiday season here are some gift ideas from me to you for the little ones on your list.

For that squishy newborn in your life that you just want to spoil gift them a little luxury would be much adored and keep those little baby feet toasty warm. These faux shearling baby booties are from Egg Baby and you can get them at Purl Mama & Baby too.


This delicious breakfast may be wooden but it is perfect choice for your 3 + year old. I really appreciate wooden toys and the fact that they are usually pretty simple and basic. I think this would also make a great training set for your child until they are old enough to make you the real breakfast in bed. Check it out on line at Dandelion Kids.


My friend Heidi suggested this fun multipurpose toy from Bilibo that is a hit with the 2.5-5 year old crowd. You can buy it on line at Chapters here. I love toys that don't just have one function and encourage imagination. Plus this pick won't break the bank.


How about this bright dish set from Emily Green for that 6 month old who has just started in the adventures of solid foods. I like the fun pictures and the fact that they are durable. You can buy it a Crocodile Baby. It is the thoughtful part of gift giving that makes me happy and thinking ahead to your friends baby's next milestone is one way of picking a great gift.


My last pick is the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Ice cream Parlour kit for the fun food play. I could see me niece and nephew having endless fun with this set and playing make believe market together. Who is up for a strawberry ice cream or how about a scoop of chocolate to go with it? Go to Amazon to order your parlour set.

One of the hard parts of city living is having to do your daily errands rain or shine and it is rain season in Vancouver! It doesn't make sense to drive door to door when you live downtown. Parking can be horrendous and it doesn't jive well with the environment to drive around the block. So, there are wet socks and stroller rain covers going on right now. Just because it rains doesn't mean that life has to stop. Instead I just have to adapt and get used to that damp feeling more often than not.

Today I HAD to get out of the apartment and go and pick up a few items at our neighbourhood drugstore. My dilemma came when I realized that I could either hold my umbrella and push the stroller OR sip my cappuccino and push the stroller. Tough decision and ultimately I decided that I could always go home and dry off. So, I walked around Yaletown picking up my needed items and dodging raindrops and puddles while sipping my cappuccino. That's life in raincity and I better get used to it!

Wondering where I have been? Noticing that I haven't been keeping up with my usual regular blog posts? Well, I'm just at home on my days off ,feeling sorry for myself, and lacking the energy to be creative and come up with an interesting awe inspiring read. I won't just post up any old bloggity post either.

Work has been busy and there are many new Vancouver citizens that have entered the world in the past few days and it has left me feeling wiped out. My last shift was on Monday night and I am still feeling the wrath of over extending my body and pushing myself to keep up with the crazy pace that a night shift can bring. Stretching over big pregnant bellies to hear a fetal heart beat, pushing equipment for a STAT delivery and continually walking for 10 plus hours can do a number on your body. All the proper body mechanics go straight out the delivery room door when an emergency is happening.

I need a good nap and possibly a massage but I really don't see that in the near future. So, instead, I will try to go through the motions of being 'mummy' and try not to complain too much to my husband or anyone else who asks me how I am doing.

Get your fancy party hats on because today is World Diabetes Day!! One thing that I have never talked about here is the fact that I am an insulin taking type 1 diabetic. Needles and pokes are just a normal part of my day and have been that way since I was about 19 years old.

The story goes like this; when I was a nursing student I was hitting the pathophysiology books pretty hard and the topic of the day was diabetes. I was sitting in the classroom and listening to the instructor talk all about the signs and symptoms that diabetes can have. I can vividly recall sitting in the plastic blue chair and thinking, 'that is so weird.. I feel ALL those things right now'. Never one to jump to conclusions I continued to down the cartons of chocolate milk to relieve my strangely dry mouth.

When I eventually did get to the doctors office I was pretty sure I just had the ol' standard bladder infection and was a little shocked to hear, 'Andrea you have diabetes. You might need to go to the hospital'. I went and did a bunch of lab work and learned that I was walking around with a blood sugar of 23. My (s-l-o-w) doctor put me on metformin and sent me home. He never once thought that a 19 year old could just become an insulin dependant diabetic.

It wasn't until a week later that I went over to visit with the diabetes nurse educator and she started me on insulin right after taking a look at me. My body craved that first dose of insulin and I couldn't believe how much energy I had all of a sudden. Those high blood sugars can make a person tired!

The constant need to nap, the crazy cotton mouth, the frequent trips to the ladies room all cleared up. I am only alive right now because of the insulin that I take through out the day. I am only alive today because I check my blood sugar levels many times each day and make sure I am between reading between 4 and 7 mmol. I was only able to have a healthy baby because of the advances and education behind pregnancy and diabetes and the desire and need to maintain excellent tight blood sugar control through out the entire pregnancy.

High uncontrolled blood sugar in pregnancy is no different than taking alcohol or drugs in pregnancy. They are all toxic to a growing fetus and that was my motto while I gestated. There was no binge eating of pregnancy cravings. Instead there was up to 10 insulin injections a day and at least 10 finger pokes each day to check my blood sugar before and after eating and sometimes just because.

Today, I am celebrating National Diabetes Day and for every person that comments from now until midnight tonight (my time!) I will donate $1.00 to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

In the perfect world I'd have enough money so that I did not have to work but I'd still pop by the unit once in awhile on my own accord!

Today I'm feeling quite fortunate to have the job that I do have and the flexibility that comes from having to work shift work. 2 days on and 2 nights on and 5 days off; of course the shift is 12.25 hours long but the point is the 5 days off. During my last bunch of days off I was able to do all the mum stuff that I want to do with Ben and so I feel so fortunate that I can still do that.

-went to bumblebee baby music class at one of the community centers
- had a baby play date at our pad complete with an Okiedog outing
-....and went to another play date in the burbs with lots of little ones all about
-we walked all around downtown in the rain and played at the park a few times
-and also Zipped to and fro

I even managed to squeeze in a little visit with some friends and had a pedicure and now have some shiny toes pained in Miami Beet by OPI. Pretty good days off were had and soon it will be time to start the cycle all over again.

When Ben turned 1 we found the perfect birthday present for our busy boy who wasn't yet walking; we gave him a fun green Okiedog Cheeky Chick push and ride on toy. He knew what to do with it as soon as it was out of the box and we posted some fun full of glee pictures HERE. Ben has played with this toy daily since he got it 2 months ago. He really learned how to walk once he could use this toy like a walker and get around with ease.



Now we take it outside to the park beside us and let him go to town on it. The only thing is that you can't find the push handle anywhere in Canada and so we had to get creative and use the end of our Swiffer. It is totally nerdy but clicks in semi perfectly to the back of the toy and you can push Ben around for as long as you can tolerate. He will stay on that toy for an endless amount of time.



Today I had a baby play date with my friend and her 1 year old daughter and we headed over to the park with our Okiedog and got many comments about the toy from other parents. Some people were proud owners of their own Okiedog and wanted to know what push stick we were using and others wanted to know more about the toy. I felt silly each time I admitted it was our Swiffer handle but you've got to be creative!



We bought our Okiedog at Granville Island Kids Market in Vancouver but you can check it out on the official webpage at www.okiedog.com.

My husband has always been the overtly creative one in our relationship. He makes amazing delicious meals from scratch, he can take the most memorable family photograph, buy a truly great present for any occasion and is a very hands on dad to our boy Benjamin.

On our third date he cooked me a full on three course dinner that blew my mind. There was a layered potato concoction that contained 2.5 cups of reduced cream and was so tasty that I decided right there that this was 'the man'! The level of deliciousness in that meal was out of this world and I realized that he was a very special guy, so I quickly made another date! After dating for a couple of years he decided to put a ring on it (in the words of Beyonce of course) and we got hitched in a traditional type of wedding in Vancouver almost 4 Decembers ago.

When our son was born my husband asked me to get the labor room with the best natural light so that he could be sure to shoot some quality pictures. At the time I sort of laughed about it but I did find the ultimate best labor room that made my photographer husband happy all around. He hauled in two cameras, four lenses and a flash and took over 500 raw images over the course of my 2 day labor.



I have been so fortunate to have a partner who takes quality intimate photograph for our family albums. All of our special moments are captured and even those routine daily moments too. Of course, when your partner is the main photographer in the family there are not too many pictures with him actually in it! Our trip to Europe in Spring of 2008 is about 90% of me and the remaining 10% is either my husband holding the camera out in front of our smiling faces. He has a genuine interest in street photography and stealthily capturing everyday moving moments.



You can find my husbands photography site HERE and he is listed as one of Vancouver's essential portrait photographers over at www.vancouvermom.ca

I am absolutely in love with sleep; long uninterrupted hours upon hours of heavenly sleep that leaves you feeling rested and ready to go. When it comes to those moments where there is a lot of stress in my life, sleep seems to be the best cure for relieving the side effects. Feeling overwhelmed? Have a nap! Feeling burnt out? Go to bed early!

It's rather simple really and the only thing that gets in the way of all these hours of potential sleep is just two things. Working shift work and having an active toddler named Ben. However, my husband is seriously awesome because he knows how sleep will make me a better person to live with and so he gives me a good chance for sleep. Ahhh....sleep!

To encourage the best sleep possible I like to have a gentle night time routine. If you know me personally than you know that it all starts with a bath. A long warm bath with the best smelling bath products and a magazine to read of course! My absolute pick for the most relaxing bath is Kiehl's Lavender Relaxing Bath with Sea Salts. You can actually see the collection of fine salts in the bubble bath bottle and the scent is such a nice vibrant lavender. You can soak in the foamy bubbles, get some aromatherapy and the product leaves your skin oh so soft because of the salts.


You also need to have a something to wrap yourself in before you get into bed to unwind and sleep. I am all about the nightgown and usually never wear pajama pants other than to lounge around the house in. I also think a beautiful soft robe is the perfect way to keep yourself warm after your bath. Something like this nightgown from Victoria's Secret would totally help make me sleep so much better, I just know it!

Of course you need to have some luxuriously soft bed linens to crawl into after your warm bath. I love a fresh set of clean sheets that are soft and inviting and feel so nice against your skin that you don't want to get out of bed! That is probably one of the best parts about staying at a luxurious hotel. High end, high thread count sheets and duvets! This is my pick for some really great bedding from Pottery Barn. The white and blue are my perfect combination for soothing bed colours.


I even do the whole ear plug deal to block out any noises and have been known to don an eye mask to keep light out. What helps you to get a good sleep?

Back in the day when a new baby was born neighbours and friends would take to their stove, whip out their cookbooks and create casseroles and home style cooking for their friends and family. These dishes were welcomed and appreciated and eaten with gusto. Well, at least that sounds sort of accurate and don't correct me if I am wrong.

When my friends started having their babies I took to bringing food to them during the early days or sending a big gift basket filled with snacks. I knew that this was a decent idea after having a conversation with a good friend when she was pregnant. She told me that she really hoping people would bring over food dishes to put in her freezer. It would free her up from having to think about cooking or ordering out and allow her to totally focus on recovering and breastfeeding and just having a new baby in the house!

This post is my public service announcement to YOU; let's bring back the casserole craze for our friends with new babies. It doesn't have to be elaborate or fancy just something easy to heat up; you will be appreciated on a whole new level and a tired family will be singing your praises. What do you think? Will you join in?

When I had Ben I had an amazing girlfriend who cooked up a delicious storm from the moment I was in labor until about 2 weeks after Ben was born. There was: vegetable lasagna with oodles of cheese, handmade perogies with all the fixings (including the sour cream!), stir fry, a foodie gift basket of treats and some serious snacks. I can't sing enough praises of my friend Krista and her smart ways of supporting me. It was awesome to have these meals brought to us and she went above and beyond.


The times I have ordered gift baskets of snacks for freshly new parents they told me how nice it was to have a supply of easy snacks for visitors that would pop by to see the new baby. I have made fresh cannelloni for a girlfriend who had her second daughter and my husband has whipped up broccoli cheese soup for another close friend.

The point of this post is easy; bring food to your friends and family who have new babies at home and bring back the tradition! It should never have faded away. You don't need to be fancy at all and even gift cards for a local pizza joint will be gladly received. So, tie up those apron strings and get cooking!

I am feeling it...the pressure of working long busy shifts while having an active toddler at home is catching up with me. Gone is the natural high of just returning to work and here are the days of feeling like I am drowning at times. I assume that this is normal and that some days will be smoother than others. I feel like there is a constant catch up on the laundry and less time to make plans with girlfriends and less time to keep up with emails and something has gotta give!!

When things get busy in my life I turn to list making to help me feel balance. I don't even have to be particularly busy to make a list and find comfort in the whole process of coming up with the 'to do' part. It isn't so much the act of crossing off each items but more about the process of writing things down. Sometimes I write down things that I have to go and do and other times it is a list all about advanced planning. Along with list making, advance planning makes me feel less stressed when things get busy.

Tomorrows 'to-do' list looks something like this:

-take Ben to baby music class
-send off sisters birthday card
-buy friends anniversary card and send off
-plan meals for coming week (a whole other 'to do' list!!)
-buy bath wash for Ben
-reschedule dentist appointment

Not too bad and not too crazy. Are you a list making fool like myself? Do you think making lists actually help to get things done? Let me know what you think. Make a list for me if you want ;)