The Car Seat Hunt

Everly is a tall girl. She is growing like a weed and we are now finding ourselves in the car seat hunt. Everly just recently has stopped fitting into a bunch of sleepers again, I think she has grown another inch which means we need to get the next car seat pronto!

Jason is almost an obsessive researcher when it comes to purchasing anything really. Thankfully in Canada they do all the hard work when it comes to safety for us. Really you can buy any car seat and know it meets the safety requirements and then some, its more so a matter of finding one that fits in the car.

However this still has not stopped us from wanting to learn more. We have put it out there on our Facebook before asking others which car seats they got next, after their little ones out grew the infant car seats. Diono and Britax were the first ones to always be mentioned, recently Foonf was a brand also mentioned to us. We'd never heard anything about the last brand before. We have also considered going to an "in between seat", which would be something like a Britax Marathon, and then farther in the future switching again to a different seat. Lots to think about.

I am really indecisive when it comes to things, Jason tends to be as well. Its probably why we research things to death. We also tend to disagree on things, such as paint colour, or couch styles. Most recently we finally agreed on a clock to get for the living room (we've been looking for a clock since we got married!).

We do plan on having our children rear face for a while. So that is something we are looking into as well, especially since Everly seems like she is going to keep getting tall very quickly. We are looking for a seat we can keep rear facing for longer based on her height especially, as well as weight. Sure extended rear facing is not something everyone agrees on, but after researching it and seeing more and more info on internal decapitation when a child is switched to forward facing too early, we want to keep our kids rear facing as long as possible. Yes they might not like having to cross their legs, I would rather them learn to deal with that, then to deal with heart ache and guilt of injuries in an accident if we were to switch to forward facing too early.

Now we just need to make the trek to the other side of the bridge to try out several car seats at Baby's World. This is our go to store to check things out as they are great about letting you try car seats out in your car to see what instillation and spacing is like. We also went there to try out strollers to see which we liked, and how they packed into the car.

It will all come down to ease of instillation, fit in our SUV, and fit for Everly now and as she gets older.

I need Mary Poppins

I don't know why, but today I feel like I may go absolutely insane. 

Though I have gotten a few things done. I feel overwhelmed by everything... I think its just one of those days where everything will send me over the edge... plus shopping SUCKS!!!!!

I hate trying to find new clothing sometimes. All I want is a new pair of capri pants because the ones I have are either maternity and I don't want to wear them anymore or are now 4 years old and have holes in them. Toss in bra shopping and then I am beyond grumpy. 

Why do all plus size clothing options have to be so boxy, I have curves I would like to show them off. However some modesty without looking like a fridge box would be amazing. Its either boobs-r-us, or fridge box! 

Where is Mary Poppins when I need her to snap her fingers and have everything go back in its place? 

My house still looks like a volcano exploded post Anvil. We are having a birthday bbq at our place this weekend and I feel like I'll never have our house presentable for it, so thankful right now that most of the bbq will be outside (praying for sun!). 

The car has been taken over by spiders on the outside, they decided to make it home while we were away. Jason I am leaving this one for you to deal with! I loath spiders!

Goober does not want to nap today. It has been battle of the nap all day. She has put up a good fight, but I will win. Thus far I have won, as she has now been napping for more than 5 minutes. Sweetheart a 5 minute power nap will not do, you are beyond exhausted... and so am I. I am going to bed early tonight if possible. 

 *rant over* 

Bring on diaper laundry to help me process and relax, I don't know why but stuffing the diapers after they have been washed is almost therapeutic. I get a lot of thinking done then, maybe I'll have a plan of attack after.

Why at home?

I am so confused and trying to figure this out. Everly was able to go without a bib almost all of the time at Anvil. Why? Why is it that now we are home we are having more throw up and projectile moments? Is there something I am missing? 

We have the same routine as when we were there. Maybe all that fresh air did her some good? She only had  two moments the time we were at Anvil. 

It breaks my heart because she was so happy last week. It has gotten to a point where she notices that it is happening and she is sad when it happens.

I am waiting now for her appointment with the pediatrician again, needless to say I am putting my foot down and will have a Mommy freak out moment if need be. I want her sent to Children's for further testing my gut is telling me that there is something else going on here. My gut has been telling me that since its started, 6+ months of this is enough. We asked about Children's at her 6 month check up. 

My daughter should not be getting sad because she is having these moments, it is now impacting her daily life. I don't care if my daughter is "thriving". Yes she is growing but that is most likely because she is supplemented with formula, the doctors have said before that is more than likely the reason she is growing. Now she is also having the bonus of solids, but that is not helping, it just makes those moments more disgusting for her and for us. 

Praying we get called for her appointment soon. I am calling now!

*We now have an appointment next week with the pediatrician... we wait and pray for answers*

Date Night

I asked my Mom last minute if she could come over this evening and watch Everly for us. No, it is not the most last minute we have requested her baby sitting skills... that one came with an hour and a half request. We are very thankful for her willingness to come and watch her granddaughter.

Jason's birthday is this week and he is still in recovery mode from camp last week, toss in the hot weather and he is a bit of a grumpy butt. This morning I thought a movie might be a good way to cheer him up, especially if its a movie that will surely get him to laugh.

We are going out to see Despicable Me 2 tonight! We both loved the first movie, and have heard good things about this one. Air conditioning, and a movie date night... sounds good to both of us!

Minions 

What are some other summer date ideas? I'll have to be more strategic in planning to get advance baby sitting requests in to others. Would love to have some more ideas. Especially budget friendly ideas, and even baby friendly ideas if they work for taking her with us!

Baby in a Carrier

My older sister kindly sent her baby carriers to me when my Mom went out to Ontario after Everly was born. My Mom's suitcase was actually crammed full of baby items for me that were handed down to me by my sister. In that suitcase was an older organic brown Ergo. 

Now, my older sister could be a super model, she is the opposite of my body type. I am plus size, so I was very apprehensive about trying out any baby carriers. I was able to get an extender to use with the waist belt to make it larger to go around my waist, I don't really need it, but it makes it more comfortable on my waist and hips. 

I love the Ergo carrier, it is super comfy to wear, and I have been able to use it with Everly since she was a newborn thanks to the infant insert. When I first had her there were several times when I put her in it just so I could blow-dry my hair and actually feel pulled together for once.

It was one of the first items I packed to take with me to Anvil, and I am so glad I did. After her lack of sleep the first night the poor girl was super tired and grumpy the next day. However, she did not want to be put down. I don't blame her with being in a new environment. She fell asleep several times during the week while in the carrier. I did not mind at all, I loved the cuddle time with her. She would spread out and take up as much room across me as possible and just relax. I could always tell when she had fallen asleep because I could feel her relax and the weight shift in her. 

This carrier was a life saver this past week. I could plunk her in it and know she was going to be comfortable in the carrier, and that I would be comfy with her on me. I was able to have my hands free and eat meals, or help with different things going on around the camp. It is so easy to put on, and I do not get a back ache while wearing it. I brought my Moby wrap to the camp as well, but I only used it once as I did not feel as comfortable with it on.

Going to try to use this carrier even more now, it may find a home in the car so that I always have it when I am out and about with Everly.

Anvil Island

We survived summer camp with a 6 month old! We returned this afternoon from camp 1 at Anvil Island. I have been attending the summer camp there since I was 9, first as a camper, and now as a part of the staff. Jason became involved with the camp there when we were dating. Its a big part of our summer and I was determined to go with Everly. I was told several times over that I was crazy for wanting to attempt to do this, but I knew I was not attempting this with the youngest infant to go to one of the summer camps.





The camp week had a holiday theme, each day was a different holiday. Easter, Christmas, Valentines Day (Single Awareness Day), New Years, and St Patricks Day. Instead of trying to find outfits to match the theme days for myself, I found stuff only for Everly. I checked out the clearance sections of stores throughout the year before camp, and also found a few things used for her to wear.

The morning we had to go to the boat dock was a little chaotic with packing the vehicles, and making sure we had everything. Everly woke up at 4:30am that day, and it worked great for her to be fed, and for all of us to hit the road.


My role that week was mostly to watch my daughter, but whenever she was napping or I had the opportunity I tried to bounce around to different groups and help them out.

Everly was very popular during the week. Everyone showed so much love towards her, which made the week so much easier for me.

The first night though, by 2am I was texting Jason (when I was able to find a cell service in my cabin) and telling him I was going home in the morning with munchkin. Everly was up every hour that night, and permanently awake by 3:30am, I did not get much sleep that first night, and when I do not get enough sleep I am the grumpiest person out there. Thankfully I was able to get a nap in.

Everly has never been a major cuddly baby, she has always been very independent. This week though I got to enjoy lots of cuddles from her as she really liked being in the Ergo carrier, and it worked great for her to fall asleep in if there were activities going on that I still wanted to see, she was able to just fall asleep right there. I will gladly take cuddles when I get them!

The Monday there was hike day, we had a camper get hurt and the call came in that they needed help to get a camper down from the hike as she was going to be put on a spine board to err on the side of caution as she hit her head very hard when she fell. This happened around 2pm, and slowly we started having more and more of the young men disappear up the mountain to help and bring water. It took 12 hours to get her down, and almost 40 staff members. I am so thankful that we have such a willing group of people who will drop everything and help, but it was still a very tense time as they had to hike in the dark at the end and many had not eaten anything since having their lunch at the beginning of the hike. Don't worry, the camper was okay and she came back to the camp the next day, after being checked at the hospital.

When I went to put Everly to bed for the night on the Monday, she was not happy and was just going in circles in her packnplay, and tossing and turning, she was also calling out "DADA... dada... DADA!" the whole time. Our little one has figured out how to say "dada" and "mama" this past week, she tends to say it when the other person is not in the room as if she is wondering where that person is.

Whenever we had the chance we made sure Everly got tummy time to play, this often happened when in the back of the chapel, we thought for sure she was going to start to crawl this week. It has not happened just yet, but she has taken a few "steps" forward when trying to get to her toys she wants, or other items that are around. It won't be long now!

Everly got to finish up trying green beans, and started trying butternut squash this past week. So far she does not seem to be a picky eater, she loves her food! Between that, and wanting almost 8oz when she has a bottle now, she is one well fed little girl. The nice thing is its getting more spread out, meaning she can go longer between feeds. Its also really nice to have her sit at the table with us during meals now and she gets to have her little meal.


As a precaution I got noise cancelling headphones for Everly. I highly recommend them if you go to a church that plays loud music, or to sporting events. The camp does an emergency test at the beginning of camp to make sure everyone knows how to respond if there is an emergency. We were standing right beside the siren that blares, and Everly did not flinch when it started.

Best purchase before the camp, was the jogging stroller we found used for a great deal. It made going around the camp with Everly, and the diaper bag so much easier. We are planning to sell it as we hope it will help someone else this summer as we have no intentions of using it again. It does make me consider getting a better quality jogging stroller for in the future, those big tires sure do come in handy!

It was really nice to have amazing weather all week, the first few nights were still very warm. The baby monitor read 27C at 2am! Thankfully it cooled down towards the end of the week.

I did over pack for Everly. Which is good to know since we will be going for a week long trip again next month. I now know what to pack for that trip. I packed just enough diapers though! I still hate disposable diapers, but I like the ones from the Honest Company. No diaper rash, but as can be expected with disposables we had 2 blow outs. Glad I brought laundry detergent with me to hand wash a few things if needed.

Would I do this again? Most definitely! I feel very strongly that we are to be a part of Anvil still, even with a little one. It does take a unique mindset, and willingness to be able to do it. The first night I was a wreck because of a lack of sleep, but it got much better. I couldn't have done it without Jason, who is such an amazing, helpful, father to Everly. I will always have memories of how loved my daughter was by so many others at camp. I hope that will be something that she continues to know in the years to come at Anvil.

My Little Girl

My little girl will be 6 months old this Friday. It seems we just welcomed her into this world at 7 lbs and 7 ounces, she was 20 inches in length. Now my little girl is almost 18 lbs and is 28 inches in length. She is getting so tall, so quickly that we are having to look for the next car seat already. It really comes as no surprise to me, as apparently I got tall very quickly and filled out quickly too.

She will always be my little girl, I will always see that little face with eyes filled with wonder staring back at me. I've cuddled her lots this past week in pure awe and wonderment. I've even shed a few tears while holding her, this time is going by way too quickly.

In celebration of her reaching her half birthday I want to share her birth story. If you are not one for details on labour and delivery then continue reading no further.

The story of Everly's birth...

On the evening of December 27th, Jason and I had decided to go on a date night as we were not sure if we'd be able to get another in any time soon. We'd actually crammed in a few date nights when my due date was approaching, and a this one after it passed. There had been controversy since day one as to what my due date was, either the 21st or the 27th of December.

I had been craving the honey mustard dipping sauce and chicken from Red Robins, I had not had many cravings during the whole pregnancy, but near the end this was one of them and I finally caved and begged for us to go. We actually got seated at the same table where we had lunch together on our first date. During all of dinner I felt a little off. I did not think much of it then, but realize now that it was signs of impending labour. I felt a cramp feeling occasionally during dinner. Jason asked me a few times if I was okay, but I just shrugged it off as some more pain. I'd been in constant pain for awhile because the pregnancy had caused my pelvic bones to separate too much.

We went home that evening and relaxed, we also took a few more tummy photos near the Christmas tree that we had not bothered to take down yet. I sure did not have the energy to do so. Little did we know that those would be the last tummy photos. We settled in for the night. I did not sleep well, I woke up every couple hours, and soon every hour with more cramp pains. Still for whatever reason it was not registering with me to keep track and pay attention to what was going on. Eventually I just surrendered and waddled my way downstairs to curl up on the couch and watch the news. It was then that I started keeping tack of what was going on with an app I had on my ipod. Jason had to work that morning, but was checking in on me.

Soon enough I said that I thought I should call the hospital and see what the thought about what was going on. I had been told that I needed to go to the hospital early so that I could have a few rounds of medication as my strep test had come back positive during a recent doctor's visit. In order to make sure all was well with baby, and that she did not get an infection I needed this medication when in labour. I got told to get my butt down there. Jason contacted his manager and informed work that he would not be able to continue his shift for the day, baby was coming. We packed the car up, and left the house for the last time as a family of two.

Our dreams of becoming a family with a child were about to come true. All the heartache from having a miscarriage at the beginning of the year, was about to be filled with so much joy with the arrival of our daughter at the end of the year. The moments of fear we had several times over during this pregnancy, from moments where we could not feel any movement, or moments when the technicians could not find her lung or a part of her heart, all of this was about to be replaced with the fears that come from being new parents. Fear that we will always have, but its a good fear.

I was nervous, and afraid, but my heart was full of so much excitement for what was to come. Overwhelmed with anticipation to hold my little girl, and to see her face.

The early stages of labour were fine. I was admitted quickly at the hospital, which was odd for a full moon I was told. Apparently babies like to make their entrance into the world around the full moon. I had several nurses check in on me. I started with the doctor who I had seen regularly for my prenatal visits. Her shift was coming to an end, and another doctor who I had also seen on a few occasion came in to see me. We had made lots of calls, and sent several text messages to let people know. Some how though in all of the craziness we still missed some people, our apologies. My Mom said she'd come and join me when she was done work in the afternoon. Thank you to those who gave us gift cards to Tim Horton's, those sure came in handy, especially for lunch when Jason was hungry.

During the time I was waiting, trying to get through the pain of contractions. I went in with an open mind about pain relief. I would try my best to get through it naturally, but I was open to things like laughing gas, and an epidural. I do not have a high pain tolerance, I actually get ill when I am in a lot of pain, or I pass out.

The laughing gas and morphine combo I had was interesting, apparently I became very talkative. I actually had a bit of a panic attack with the laughing gas, I am very claustrophobic so they had to switch the way I was able to inhale the laughing gas from just using a face mask, to this weird tube thing. It gave me something to focus on during each contraction.

By the time my Mom arrived, and a bit after I was feeling everything and it was getting harder to handle, the morphine had warn off, and the laughing gas was not helping. At some point my water broke when I got up from a chair. The doctor came to check me again and by then I was really hurting and decided it was time for an epidural. The anesthesiologist could not have come at a more perfect time. I was able to get an epidural right around 6 or 7 centimeters. After having the epidural I was able to relax much more, because of that, things progressed much more quickly. It was already evening time.

The doctor had checked me earlier, and had been concerned that the baby was turned the wrong direction, that she was posterior. The doctor had me move around several ways, and was eventually sure that the baby had moved to the position that she wanted her in.

At some point it was noted that meconium was present in the amniotic fluids. Around this time, a monitor had been attached to our daughter's head so they could monitor her heart-rate. Her heart rate had been dropping and rising back up for awhile, concern had been expressed that she was either pressing on her umbilical cord of it was wrapped around her some how. Everything started to become a bit of a blur.

My doctor was called back in, and suddenly there were many more nurses in the room. . At one point I was being told a c-section was going to be needed because of my daughter's heart rate not returning to normal and it was continuing to decrease. At some point verbal consent was even asked for as they were still trying to round up the papers for a c-section. Thankfully the doctor checked me again and I was fully dilated, I was told that I needed to push and that the baby needed to come out quickly. After a bit of pushing, a vacuum was used to aid in helping get my daughter delivered quickly. Something that I didn't really want used, but in that moment you do not care, you want your child safe, if it meant the vacuum or a c-section I did not care then. Just get my child here, and safe.

Everything seemed to happen so quickly, within 30 minutes of pushing, our daughter arrived. She entered this world posterior, with the umbilical cord up and over her shoulder and a bit around her neck. This was the reason for her decreasing heart rate. They did not want her to cry for fear she may get more fluids or any meconium in her lungs or system. Thankfully she was not a green baby. The doctor and nurse commented on how I could have had her here in as a little as 15 minutes if she was not facing the wrong direction, good to know for future deliveries if we are blessed with more children.

She was placed on me for what felt like not even a minute before she was quickly taken to the side to be checked. I did not even know that Jason got to cut the umbilical cord with all the frenzy going on around our daughter. Jason told me later that evening. During the delivery I had said that I felt like I was going to be sick several times. After our daughter was taken off me and to the side, I said it once more and turned to my side and was sick, all over my Mom. Sorry Mom.

Jason kept a watchful eye over our little one. He saw the bump on her head from the vacuum, I thankfully never saw this as I would have burst into tears at the sight of it, the photos still make me sad. They put a little white hat on her head, this helped hide it from me. Once again my daughter was placed back into my arms. She was alert and looking right at me. I'll never for get that little moment. It felt like she was piercing through my soul, trying to take everything in, yet it also seemed like she already knew me. It was like her eyes were begging me to love her. Don't worry little girl, you were loved the moment we found out we were expecting you. You are so very much loved.

Everly Anne Janelle Goyette, was here at 9:36pm on December 28, 2012. All 7lbs and 7 ounces, and 20 inches of her. Her cute little squished face from entering this world the wrong way. She was set to do thing her own way from the start.I held her and cried tears of joy.

Her arrival is a defining moment in our lives, we are parents now. We were now a family of 3.

She was checked over by the doctor and a pediatrician. We were told she was perfect. We were told that the swelling around her eye would go down, and that it was normal. We were told her lump and bruising on her head would take awhile to go away, and that it is normal. It was not until later in the evening when I tried nursing her several times that we knew something was just not right. Every time Everly tried to nurse she ended up choking and throwing up. We called the nurses in every time asking for help, begging for help, desperate to know what was going on. Only to be told it was normal.

Everly would not sleep that night unless she was in someones arms, she spent most of that first night curled up in her Daddy's arms so that I could try and get some rest. Jason never left his little girl's side, he was so concerned for her. He showed me then and there the type of father he would be, totally committed to our little girl. She already had him wrapped around her little fingers, all ten perfect little fingers.

If its even possible the next day I fell even more in love with this little girl. She has taken over ever corner of my heart. We went home after 24 hours, looking back I wish we had stayed longer. We were sick of the hospital, we wanted to be home with our daughter. I will always remember the car ride home. How nervous we were to be returning to life outside the hospital, with someone so little that we were responsible for.


Sure she has come into this world with some challenges, reflux and a squinky eye, but she is our perfect and unique little girl. We cannot imagine not having her in our lives, she has made our lives so much more. Everly is a true blessing to us.

Life together continues, and we continue to write new chapters each day in the story of our family of 3. Page by page we will write this adventure...