~ Fossil Finds ~

The budding archaeologist - and baby.

Jungle Girl

Some of the fossils we found.

Some pieces with fool's gold.

No idea, but I like all the different types of stone in one.

We had a great day yesterday. Nathan took us girls out exploring to Lovell Cove, about 30km from town. It's a recently abandoned logging camp with all the buildings still in place. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the camp or the nearby airstrip.

But, what was really exciting was the Fossil Pit. It's located about 1km from the turnoff to Lovell Cove and was it a worthwhile trip. In spite of the heat, bugs and cranky children (mostly Lennah who's nap was cut short), we had a lot of fun exploring and looking for fossils. All of the fossils we found were sea life. The most common fossils we found were shells and sea snails; and that was only what was laying out in the open. We plan on going back with some hammers to see what else might be lurking underground.

~ Summer in Takla ~

Here is a great shot of Takla Landing. Nathan took this one while "out on patrol", on his patrol vessel. If you click on the picture it will enlarge it to full screen, and if you look closely on the right of the photo you will see a large building. That is the hotel/store, and we are located across the street.

Here is another fantastic photograph taken by Nathan's "partner-in-crime", aka Paul. This shot was taken just before 10pm the other night. It is spectacular, the sky looks like it's on fire. We really live in a special place.

~ 6 Weeks ~

Who's Who?

This one's easy

One daughter ...

Another daughter ...

So, did you guess correctly? Here is all three of us girls at 6 weeks of age. In descending order: first is me, then Lennah and then Charley. Does everyone still think they both look like Nathan, or is there a little of me in each of them? And how much do they look like one another? Let us know what you think.

~ 1 Month Old ~

Having a little tummy time.

We are truly blessed with two beautiful and healthy girls.

Well, one month down, a lifetime to go. I can't quite believe that Charley is a month old already. I know she's grown and changed so much, yet where has the time gone? It's amazing how quickly things happen the second time around. It seemed to take forever for the milestones to happen when we had Lennah, and already Charley is cooing and holding her head up quite well. She's extremely alert, following us around with her eyes and starting to smile. She's sleeping through the night, even if sometimes she doesn't go to bed until late. Lennah is absolutely fantastic with Charley, as well. She wants to hold her, kisses her all the time and doesn't seem to be the least bit jealous of Charley. Lennah is also amazing. She has mastered numbers 1 thru 10 and is working on her ABC's. Did I mention that she knows left from right? And she's not even 2 years old yet!

~ A Birth Story ~

This is how I spent the majority of my labour. It was the only position that felt comfortable.

Here she is!

Proud Papa

8lbs 7oz, 21 1/4inches.

Looking a little "overcooked".

I apologize for my tardiness in updating my blog, but it has been a whirlwind of a month. I'm not sure how other mother's do it, last night I had two children up until 2am. According to the blog, I'm still pregnant. So, that would make me about 38 days overdue. And since I'm not an elephant, I guess I should share our good news with the world.

On June 10th, at 22:08hrs, I delivered a healthy baby girl into this world - naturally. She weighed in at 8lbs 7oz and was 21 1/4 inches long. We've named her Charlie (or Charley, we haven't decided) and she does not have a middle name yet. Big surprise with us, at least she got a first name, it took us almost a week to decide on Lennah's name.

I also got my wish to have her naturally without any drugs. I finally got the birth story I always wanted. I can say that selfishly, as everything went well and we are both happy and healthy.

I went into labour Monday, June 9th in the morning. When I went to my Dr's appointment I was only 1cm dilated and was told a C-section had been scheduled for that Thursday. I was so happy that labour had started on it's own, but it was very obvious that my Dr wasn't too optimistic that I would progress on my own. I opted to cancel the Section and schedule an induction if things didn't change on their own.

Late that night, after a couple of hours of regular contractions, we went to the hospital and were admitted early Tuesday morning. I was exhausted, I hadn't slept in a couple of days and hadn't slept well in weeks. As a result, my contractions slowed down and I was induced that afternoon. Things really started happening later that afternoon, but, although my contractions were coming very regular and progessing in strength again, I was still not dilating. I was only 2cm late that afternoon. So, I got a little scared. Normally, in active labour it takes approximately an hour for each centimeter to dilate. Here I was looking at another 8 hours potentially and the contractions were starting to hurt. So, I talked to Nathan, and we discussed an epidural. We came to the conclusion that there was no shame in taking the medication, even though I had been adamant that I wanted no drugs. I ordered it, and was told we would have to wait as an emergency C-section was in progress down the hall. While we were waiting, Nathan tried to get me to take some of the laughing gas to "tide me over", I hated it. I tried three times, couldn't get more than one inhale each time and ended up just holding on to it for dear life instead of the bed rails. All of a sudden I could not stop pushing and the nurses were telling me to relax and not push, to not fight the contractions. I remember saying that "I can't not push!". I think they started to get a little concerned, and when I was checked next, I had dilated from 2cm to 8cm - in 25 minutes!!! Apparently, that is incredibly fast, especially in a first labour.

**Edited to say: My mom arrived to bring Nathan dinner that evening. She told me later that when she got there, she had no intention of leaving until I had the baby! Nathan also called his Mum when it was discovered that I was 8cm dilated. I always thought I would only ever have Nathan with me, but I was so happy our Moms/Mums could be there with us. It made it even more special for all of us.

This is when things really started to happen in my room, the nurses were calling for the Dr and rushing to get the equipment ready. One hour of pushing later and our little bundle of joy was born. She's beautiful and healthy and we couldn't be happier.

~ Baby Update ~

No news is good news??? Well, another week down and still no baby Fox #2. I had my check up with the DR yesterday and there hasn't been any changes "down there" (I won't go into the gory details). I guess I'm doing a good job of keeping the little gaffer comfortable in it's home! The lowdown is: if there hasn't been any new changes by Monday, I will most likely have to schedule a C-section. As a matter of fact, Nathan overheard the DR mention to one of her staff that I would probably be scheduling that C-section early next week. I guess even she isn't too optimistic that this baby is going to arrive on it's own. And, because of my previous C-section with Lennah, my options to wait any longer and induce are limited. We'll try to keep everyone posted on Facebook or by telephone if anything happens this week. Or, we'll let you know when surgery is scheduled, should be Tuesday or Wednesday next week. That's all for now, keep your hopes up for a natural (and hopefully not too painful) delivery sometime this week. And thanks to everyone for not calling everyday for an update.

~ 40 Weeks and a Day ~

So, here we are. 1 day past D-Day and still no Baby Fox #2. I have another DR's appointment tomorrow, so we'll see if there's any new news. I haven't had any signs of impending labour so far, just getting a little more tired and a little more uncomfortable. But, I really can't complain, I'm not terribly uncomfortable at all. It's just getting really hard to bend over and put on my shoes!