As for the move, I think we're going to hold off until May, if we're going to move at all. Erini has been gaining a lot of weight, and last time doctor weighed her, she is now up to 7lbs 3oz, a full pound higher than her original birth weight! She's getting a lot more active, and at four weeks five days, she's trying very hard to hold her head up.
I like to say that she's like her mother in that respect. She likes to hold her head up high, as any princess would. The baby shower presents have been a great help to our patience and effectiveness as parents, I like to think. The Snuggli carrier has been invaluable, especially during the Mikado run at the Winspear, and in Leduc. Caitlin was able to wear our little girl, and help out with everyone else. It was also easy to carry her home, since we live walking distance from the Winspear theatre. The little bed/rocking chair has been great for rocking her to sleep. I still need to get batteries for the "soothing vibrations" motor.
We might not be moving for a while yet, because there is the possiblity that I could get on with Colt Engineering. Their main office is on the south side, but it's still doable as a bicyle commute. Might take 45 minutes or so, but I think that it would be worth the ride. This is of course assuming that I get hired. I put in an application with Halliburton too, but they are located in Nisku. If I get on there, then I would think that living in Beaumont would be easier for travel. April will tell all, and hence moving in April would be a little premature.
Goes to show, it takes two women to raise a man: his mother and his wife.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Crazy Month
I knew that March was going to be a crazy month. I have said so on numerous occasions, especially in February. I had no idea what was in store for myself and my family.
First.... I don't know where to begin. The fact that there has been a change of management at work, the fact that rent is going up at the end of the month, or just the whole fun of Erini spitting up on us.
Erini should come first, because contrary to some belief, we were not having the most perfect start to our family. Rini was getting thin, she had lost 9oz, and was down to 5lbs 8oz. At that point we had to supplement. We could not afford to have our child lose much of the little weight that she already has. We didn't want to, Caitlin had the idea of getting Rini to breastfeed from the start. Even before we were pregnant, that was the plan that Caitlin had. Plans go astray, but she's eating pretty much whatever we put in that bottle, whether it be formula, or breast milk.
Caitlin has been able to express on average 6oz of breast milk a day. Sometimes more, sometimes not. But the formula is a supplement to her breast milk diet. At first I thought that we were going to path of least resistance, and this was going to go from bad to worse. Now, I can see that it was a smart decision, and pretty much the only thing we could do at the time. Rini is back up to 6lbs 1oz, as of 13 March 2007, the last time we went to the doctor.
I feel bad that I haven't done any updates for sometime. Between work, The Mikado, and being a daddy, I haven't taken much time to record my thoughts on the whole ordeal. I know that some people consider this to be a main source of information in regards to my little family's status, especially since I haven't put minutes on my cell phone yet.
There is reason behind that. This is because of the new cell phone that I obtained, and with which I've been able to post pictures of my little girl. I was planning to transfer the number on March 14, but when the day came, I had another idea.
Caitlin and I have been discussing ways that I can contribute more to our family income. One way, of course, is to attain employment with an engineering firm. Preferably downtown. Barring that, the best place would be Nisku or Leduc. Even when I went in for an interview with Finning, they mentioned that they were planning on moving their operation to Nisku in 2008. Other than consultation positions, which are for Professional Engineers, not EITs, working downtown is not the biggest option. I had some high hopes for a position with Intuit, but those hopes were dashed when I received an email on Thursday telling me that the positions where filled. I did get a phone interview, so that was more than most people get! I just need to keep sending out applications, and hope for the best.
However, with the job market, it's more of who you know rather than what you know. Getting networked is the key to it all. People need to know your name, know who you are, and what you can do for them. At the moment, I've been sending out applications online, and keeping a close watch on job websites. However, there are still jobs out there, and I keep reading in the paper there is going to be a staffing shortage in the near future.
In order to free things up, Caitlin and I have decided we need to make some drastic changes. Very drastic. First, I need a different job. Source is nice, but on a good paycheck, I make $10.50/hr. I could make twice that as a supermarket meat cutter! Heck, I know one of my friends, after his start-up business went into the ground, he worked at a shoe factory until he found his current engineering job.
Also, we need to cut expenses. Rent is going up at the end of the month, and it's probably going to increase again in six months. Our apartment is alright, and it was great while I was going to school. Nevertheless, I don't want to raise our child in a downtown apartment. When I put in the rent check for April, I'm also going to submit a notice of departure. As of 1 May 2007, Caitlin and I are going to be residing in Beaumont.
I know that this will lengthen my commute to work, hence I'm going to be leaving Source on 14 April 2007. This will allow for time to move, and also search for a new job.
Is this drastic? Oh yeah. Is it necessary? We think so. Is this the best option? Under the circumstances, I would say so, and Caitlin agrees. Ideally, I'd like to get a job downtown, and commute by bike all year long! The odds of that seem pretty slim though. But anything is possible, and I haven't given notice to anyone save Source, and to make it official, I need to put it in writing.
First.... I don't know where to begin. The fact that there has been a change of management at work, the fact that rent is going up at the end of the month, or just the whole fun of Erini spitting up on us.
Erini should come first, because contrary to some belief, we were not having the most perfect start to our family. Rini was getting thin, she had lost 9oz, and was down to 5lbs 8oz. At that point we had to supplement. We could not afford to have our child lose much of the little weight that she already has. We didn't want to, Caitlin had the idea of getting Rini to breastfeed from the start. Even before we were pregnant, that was the plan that Caitlin had. Plans go astray, but she's eating pretty much whatever we put in that bottle, whether it be formula, or breast milk.
Caitlin has been able to express on average 6oz of breast milk a day. Sometimes more, sometimes not. But the formula is a supplement to her breast milk diet. At first I thought that we were going to path of least resistance, and this was going to go from bad to worse. Now, I can see that it was a smart decision, and pretty much the only thing we could do at the time. Rini is back up to 6lbs 1oz, as of 13 March 2007, the last time we went to the doctor.
I feel bad that I haven't done any updates for sometime. Between work, The Mikado, and being a daddy, I haven't taken much time to record my thoughts on the whole ordeal. I know that some people consider this to be a main source of information in regards to my little family's status, especially since I haven't put minutes on my cell phone yet.
There is reason behind that. This is because of the new cell phone that I obtained, and with which I've been able to post pictures of my little girl. I was planning to transfer the number on March 14, but when the day came, I had another idea.
Caitlin and I have been discussing ways that I can contribute more to our family income. One way, of course, is to attain employment with an engineering firm. Preferably downtown. Barring that, the best place would be Nisku or Leduc. Even when I went in for an interview with Finning, they mentioned that they were planning on moving their operation to Nisku in 2008. Other than consultation positions, which are for Professional Engineers, not EITs, working downtown is not the biggest option. I had some high hopes for a position with Intuit, but those hopes were dashed when I received an email on Thursday telling me that the positions where filled. I did get a phone interview, so that was more than most people get! I just need to keep sending out applications, and hope for the best.
However, with the job market, it's more of who you know rather than what you know. Getting networked is the key to it all. People need to know your name, know who you are, and what you can do for them. At the moment, I've been sending out applications online, and keeping a close watch on job websites. However, there are still jobs out there, and I keep reading in the paper there is going to be a staffing shortage in the near future.
In order to free things up, Caitlin and I have decided we need to make some drastic changes. Very drastic. First, I need a different job. Source is nice, but on a good paycheck, I make $10.50/hr. I could make twice that as a supermarket meat cutter! Heck, I know one of my friends, after his start-up business went into the ground, he worked at a shoe factory until he found his current engineering job.
Also, we need to cut expenses. Rent is going up at the end of the month, and it's probably going to increase again in six months. Our apartment is alright, and it was great while I was going to school. Nevertheless, I don't want to raise our child in a downtown apartment. When I put in the rent check for April, I'm also going to submit a notice of departure. As of 1 May 2007, Caitlin and I are going to be residing in Beaumont.
I know that this will lengthen my commute to work, hence I'm going to be leaving Source on 14 April 2007. This will allow for time to move, and also search for a new job.
Is this drastic? Oh yeah. Is it necessary? We think so. Is this the best option? Under the circumstances, I would say so, and Caitlin agrees. Ideally, I'd like to get a job downtown, and commute by bike all year long! The odds of that seem pretty slim though. But anything is possible, and I haven't given notice to anyone save Source, and to make it official, I need to put it in writing.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Left too early
Caitlin, Erini and I are back from the hospital for the second time now. Woof, what an adventure. When the nurse from the "Healthy Beginnings" program came to see Caitlin on Wednesday 28 Feb, she wondered if there was any trouble with feeding, how many diapers Erini was going through, etc. Our answers surprised the nurse, and we kind of surprised ourselves in telling them. She had only gone through about 2 diapers that day, and one of them wasn't messy at all. If it was 3am, that would be that bad, but it was 11am, and in the past 24 hours, she had only gone through 4 diapers. By this time, she should have had 8 or so.
After a blood sample delivered to a lab via courier and analysed, it was determined that Erini's Biliruben count was too high.
We were to take her back immediately to RAH so she could undergo photo-therapy in order to bring the level down. I went back to the hospital after work instead of to home.
Unlike the days following Erini's birth, when Caitlin was an admitted patient, had a private room, and I was able to sleep in the same single bed with her (that was a throw back to the newlyweds days), the only room that was available for us was the nursery chairs, or the waiting lounge where I could make a bed out of chairs. They had border beds, but they were all taken. Besides, I would not have been allowed there, and it was quite the distance from the nursery where Erini was under the photo-therapy lights.
I thought that I could tough it out in the nursery chairs, but at 4am, when there were 11 babies in the nursery, including our own, I thought I would give the lounge a try. Foolish me, I waited too long, and there were no longer enough chairs to put together a make-shift bed. So I took a blanket, laid it on the floor, made a pillow with my gloves and toque, and got a moderately decent sleep for four hours. At 8am, I tried doing the chair bed thing, and that wasn't nearly as sucessful, but at 10am, I found that I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. It was day time, and I had to join the rest of the world.
On the plus side, yesterday was the first day of the new fiscal year. That is the time when they reset the vacation days. Now I know I dropped the ball on applying for parental leave, yet if I do get some vacation days, and I might qualify for 8 days, I could take that pretty quick here to help out with Caitlin and Erini. I could have applied for Parental leave, yes, but I have to do it at least 2 months in advance. Hmmm... Let's do some math. If my parental leave started on 24 Feb 2007, the day Erini was born, then my last day to apply would have been Christmas Eve 2006. I HAD A FEW THINGS ON MY MIND AT THE TIME. I think. Or I could have put the application to start on March 6. Then I could have put the application in by the new year.
I think, at this point, it's vacation days or nothing.
After a blood sample delivered to a lab via courier and analysed, it was determined that Erini's Biliruben count was too high.
We were to take her back immediately to RAH so she could undergo photo-therapy in order to bring the level down. I went back to the hospital after work instead of to home. 
Unlike the days following Erini's birth, when Caitlin was an admitted patient, had a private room, and I was able to sleep in the same single bed with her (that was a throw back to the newlyweds days), the only room that was available for us was the nursery chairs, or the waiting lounge where I could make a bed out of chairs. They had border beds, but they were all taken. Besides, I would not have been allowed there, and it was quite the distance from the nursery where Erini was under the photo-therapy lights. 
I thought that I could tough it out in the nursery chairs, but at 4am, when there were 11 babies in the nursery, including our own, I thought I would give the lounge a try. Foolish me, I waited too long, and there were no longer enough chairs to put together a make-shift bed. So I took a blanket, laid it on the floor, made a pillow with my gloves and toque, and got a moderately decent sleep for four hours. At 8am, I tried doing the chair bed thing, and that wasn't nearly as sucessful, but at 10am, I found that I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. It was day time, and I had to join the rest of the world. On the plus side, yesterday was the first day of the new fiscal year. That is the time when they reset the vacation days. Now I know I dropped the ball on applying for parental leave, yet if I do get some vacation days, and I might qualify for 8 days, I could take that pretty quick here to help out with Caitlin and Erini. I could have applied for Parental leave, yes, but I have to do it at least 2 months in advance. Hmmm... Let's do some math. If my parental leave started on 24 Feb 2007, the day Erini was born, then my last day to apply would have been Christmas Eve 2006. I HAD A FEW THINGS ON MY MIND AT THE TIME. I think. Or I could have put the application to start on March 6. Then I could have put the application in by the new year.
I think, at this point, it's vacation days or nothing.
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