finally, a name

Introducing... Elliot Urquhart Naylor.

a for aiden

More and more words tumble out of Aiden's mouth each day. He wowed us yesterday reciting the whole alphabet, and he can sing along to some of his favourite CDs. He's been remarkably good with his wee brother, today he brought one of his CDs over to show the baby. That little effort to connect with his brother gave Mae and I the warm fuzzies.

It's also neat to see Mei and Ian with the new baby. They have been great with him and Aiden.

you want to name me what?!!

I'm shocked I tell you. Shocked! Come back when you have a better suggestion. In the meanwhile, I'll just be over here on this comfy red cushion.

snowpea!!!

"Snowpea" arrived early this morning. We still haven't decided on his name, so we're still calling him by the nickname we gave him during the pregnancy. Labour was about 3 hours, with only 5 minutes of pushing. As a comparison, Labour with Aiden was 13 hours with 30 minutes of pushing!!! I almost missed the birth as I was filling out some paperwork when active labour started.

Mae gives the thumbs-up for launch. This photo isn't really indicative of the labour process, things were progressing much faster than anticipated, so there was no time to epidural, instead Mae received a Spinal injection, but it was enough to relieve the pain and allow her to concentrate on pushing.

Snowpea arrives! 3.58 kg (close to 8lbs). Mae looks amazing for someone who has just delivered.

Initially he's not that impressed by the world. It's too bright & cold and there are doctors checking on him every so often.

But he soon calms down.
He's got a little more hair than Aiden had at birth, and it's jet black.
Anyone recognise any family resemblance?

Aiden's curious about his little brother. I made sure to read him Za-Za's Brother for his bedtime story tonight. I'm not sure how much has sunk in, but the real test when Mae and the baby come home.

He's a cutie.

not popped yet.

Our estimated due date is drawing to a close, with 1 1/2 hours to go it looks unlikely Mae will deliver today. We had another doctor's appointment today and the estimated weight of Snowpea is 3.6kg - almost exactly the weight Aiden was. If we make it to next week without any sign of Snowpea, the doctor will discuss whether snowpea will need to be induced.

counting

we've reached one milestone - this is the 100th post to our blog, but the main milestone we're expecting is still keeping us guessing.

Mae's estimated due date is in two days but there are no signs that anything is happening any time soon. Aiden was 4 days late so if snowpea is late by the same amount, he'll arrive on Mei and Ian's anniversary which would be nice.

Of course if he arrives on his estimated due date - Friday the 13th, perhaps we can name him Jason.

no more space

Who says Aiden doesn't resemble me? Both of us have muffin tops!

At my weekly OBGYN check up today, Dr Choo told us that the baby is approximately 3.4kg! That's pretty close to what Aiden weighed at birth (3.65kg) so that put my mind at ease that the baby is growing just fine.

When I asked Dr Choo if the baby could be running out of space to roll around (and yes, there have been heaps of somersaults) she reassured me (or so she thought) with the comment that "oh, don't worry, you'll just stretch to accomodate." Gee, thanks. I'm ElasterGirl.

Apart from tumble-dry sessions, the usual suspects for 8 month pregnancies are adding to my growing physical discomfort: back pains, fatigue, difficulty sleeping & breathing.

And yet, I can afford to wait just a tad longer because there's so much work to clear! Plus tax season is coming up...plus we're having our company launch next week...plus we still have to find a nanny to help out...

Technically, I'm already at full term this week, but it would be great if Snowpea waited another 2 weeks. (One can hope!)

running out of space

With 2 months to go, snowpea is at an estimated 2.6 kg, so he'll be a very large boy indeed when he makes his debut. It's hard to imagine that Mae's belly can expand any more, and yet, he'll put on a lot of weight in the last months.