For about the past three months, we've been having escalating sleep issues with Ava. I think it goes further back than that: she slept like a champ from about 7 weeks until she started getting ear infections at 9 months, and she had constant infections that meant a lot of sleepless nights for both of us until she finally got tubes at 13 months (and never had an ear issue after that). I seriously think those four horrible months ruined my good sleeper. Until recently though, she usually just cried out in her sleep, and most of the time we didn't have to go in there, she'd go back to sleep on her own. Three months ago, she stopped fearing the consequences of getting out of her crib and simultaneously became very needy at night, so we switched her to a big-girl bed, thinking as long as one of us had to go in there, we might as well have a bed to lay down in. This put us on a downward spiral with sleep issues and if I wasn't already pregnant with baby #2 when it had started, I definitely would've stopped trying! Here are the issues:
1.) Ava freaks out at bedtime and won't fall asleep unless someone (read: ME) sits with her. Oh believe me, we tried cry it out/tough love. But I have to admit now it doesn't work in every situation, as she had a complete meltdown, ripped things off of her wall, and slammed herself repeatedly against the door, screaming like a banshee. She peed on herself in the process...and I have to stop because she was acting like someone who was terrified, not angry. My desire to be tough kind of stops if it's traumatizing my kid, you know? So every night since late September/early October, I have sat in her room with her. Most of the time she falls asleep in 30-40 minutes, but not always...I sit in the corner and look at my iPad and refuse to interact with her.
2.) She wakes up during the night, usually between 12-2am, and comes into our bedroom to sleep on our chair-and-a-half. We let her because: 1. we both work full time and desperately need the sleep, especially me, being pregnant and half the time flying solo as a parent 2. one of us used to accompany her back to her room and sleep in there with her, but we felt that was worse 3. we've drawn the line at kids sleeping in our bed and the chair definitely feels like a lesser evil--half the time I don't even wake up when she comes in here.
3.)She cries out a lot in her sleep, talks, and sometimes gets up and runs around while having a total meltdown for no reason at all while saying things that don't make sense, so I think she has night terrors (or she's possessed).
4.) She's been taking Zyrtec for two years for allergies, and after my mom told me that certain cold medicines really messed with my sleep when I was a kid, I decided to take her off of it in case that was contributing to the problem. I think she's currently going through withdrawal, I'm not kidding.
Tonight, after sitting in there for over an hour without her falling asleep, I decided to have Tinkerbell help me out...about two months ago I bought her a Tinkerbell doll and told her she could have it if she stayed in her bed. She never got the stupid doll. So tonight, I took it into her room and told her that Mommy had to go take a shower and get ready for bed, so would it be okay if Tinkerbell stayed in there with her instead of Mommy? Ava was THRILLED. I reiterated several times that if she got out of bed, I'd take Tink away. I also left the door open, so she could hear us moving around, which I figured would be more comforting than feeling cut off from the world. After 10-15 min, she was still doing fine so I showered. Got out of the shower, she was still in her room.....SUCCESS!!!! Then a little while ago, Craig came walking out of her room...I had no idea he was in there. Apparently she cried when I was in the shower so instead of reinforcing the Tinkerbell thing, he sat in there and completely ruined everything. I could kill him right now....KILL HIM. I'm going to try again tomorrow but I think that's now been taken off the table, and it's back to having no earthly idea what to do.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Well, it only took five days...
...to get used to the idea of a boy. I'm good now, and the anomaly on the ultrasound (did I mention that? A weird "spot" they can't identify showed up on the ultrasound so I was sent to Duke Perinatal for a closer look) appears to be a something on his stomach. Or some kind of reflection. Nobody knows...going back for another u/s in 10 weeks to make sure everything still looks good, however, I'm going to request they stop photographing his genitals. Every ultrasound, they take a few pics and label it....poor little guy, there's just no dignity in there.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
ROFL!
I've been trying to reinforce with Ava the fact that she's going to need to be gentle with the baby once he's born, and what we do in certain situations: if he cries, he can have a pacifier, if he's hungry he gets a bottle, etc. Tonight, Ava said we could feed the baby soup and "eatmeal" (oatmeal)...I told her no, babies are too little for food and they have to drink milk. She exclaimed, "Mommy! The baby is going to eat your boob!" Craig and I were crying with laughter....of course, this egged her on and she kept saying it, which only made us laugh more. Well...she's right, but I have NO IDEA where she got that from! We certainly haven't said anything, I've only mentioned drinking milk and bottles, figuring that the whole breastfeeding thing would come up when she saw me feeding the baby after he was born. Maybe she has a classmate at day care who's got a younger sibling and said something about the baby "eating boobs?" That's my best guess at this point.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Roller Coaster
This has been the most emotional week I have ever had as a pregnant person: that includes my first pregnancy, finding out I was pregnant both times, finding out Ava was a girl, giving birth, you name it. I did not see this coming...I knew it would be a big deal, but I didn't think finding out the gender of my second and final child would be such a big deal. I'm going to try to explain everything that's been going on: some people are very understanding, others...not so much.
--I wanted a second girl more than ANYTHING. My heart was absolutely set on it...I have two brothers, who I love dearly, but my mom would work night shift at the hospital and it would just be me, Dad, and the boys. We don't have a big extended family but we didn't see my two female cousins very often, one of them being about ten years older than me and out on her own, and the other we saw maybe once a year. The families we saw frequently each have one son. I feel like I've been alone in a sea of testosterone my whole life. Now you are probably thinking that having one daughter should've cured that...no, I wanted Ava to have a sister. I wanted so badly for my kids to have a gender bond that I have never experienced. I know some people have same-gendered siblings they don't get along with, but just as many opposite-gendered siblings have that problem too....so why not wish for two girls? If Ava had been a boy, I probably wouldn't have cared THIS much about the second kid's gender, but it would have been nice to have another boy in that case.
--We have more girl stuff than I care to admit...Ava isn't turning three for another few weeks and yet I'm pretty sure we have at least four large tupperware bins of outgrown clothing of hers in the attic, with more in the closet that just hasn't been packed up yet. I was really, really looking forward to using it again: not just for saving money, but because the one thing that saved me from melting down when I packed those things away was that I was CERTAIN we'd use them again. I really, really thought we'd have another girl. I didn't doubt it for a minute, although I have no idea why. And most boy clothes? I'm so NOT a fan. Everything is covered in dinosaurs, bugs, puppies, or trucks. ANNOYING.
--I didn't think we were having the gender revealed on Wednesday as much as we were going to just confirm what I already knew: girl. I also looked at FOUR of those Chinese birth chart things online (I know it's junk science but it was fun, and it worked with Ava) and they all said girl. I had girl names picked out. I had a girl nursery picked out. I was warning people not to buy my daughters matching clothes because that's one of my pet peeves. To say I was shocked to see on ultrasound what I thought was my daughter with a set of testicles is the understatement of the year. I laughed because I didn't believe it, then I cried. I've cried a lot since then...it's not that I'm sad I'm having a boy, I'm grieving over the knowledge that this is it: there are no more chances. I will never have girls, plural. There would've been some sadness if the baby had been a girl, because it would mean I'd never raise a boy...but Billy is nine years younger than me. I changed diapers, fed him, bathed him when he woke up with poop up to his neck...I feel like I got at least a little of the experience already.
--I've been offended, or at least annoyed, by some of the comments people have made, such as, "I was hoping you'd have a boy!" Oh really? Why, out of spite because you knew how badly I wanted a girl?! These are people who will have no relationship with the child, why on earth do they care???? My family members are the only people allowed to say that, since this is their son/grandson/nephew/etc and they will have a relationship with him for the rest of their lives. I know some people who are excited simply because THEY have boys and that I understand...being happy for me because you love your own son is different from wishing I'd have a specific gender (when I wanted the opposite) for no real reason. My favorite is, "One of each! Now you have a complete set!" Oh, because families with all girls or boys are somehow incomplete? Because I'm starting a collection?!?! What the heck is that all about? I've NEVER wanted one boy and one girl....there's just something so Dick and Jane about it, it annoys me. Not that it's bad, mind you, it just wasn't for me (well, I guess now it is, I have no choice ;o). Probably the best situation is four kids--two boys and two girls--because then everyone has opposite-gendered siblings and a same-gendered sibling. But I'm so not going there! Here's a good one: "Now you have someone to carry on the name!" Oh, is this the middle ages? Are we royalty? WHO CARES! Craig wasn't close to his dad anyhow, and it's just a name. Big deal...if last names were that important to me, I'd never have given mine up in the first place. Last but not least--and this isn't offensive but I just don't get it--"Boys love their moms!" Well, I'm sure that's true....but so do girls. I kind of expect that my child will love me regardless of gender... ;o) When my little girl grabs my hand and says, "You're my best friend!" or throws her arms around my neck and says, "Mommy, I'm so glad you're here! I love you so much!" I feel pretty loved...not sure how a boy will do that better.
--Before you start thinking I'm clearly the most horrible person in the world, I *am* starting to warm up a bit. There are definitely of pros to having a boy:
1. Ava is insane. When people at work are talking about things their sons do and putting a "boys will be boys" label on it, I have to point out that my daughter does the same things. She loves to dress like a princess but act like a pirate. If I'm honest, I have to admit that a boy will be more her equal than, say, a sweet little girly-girl. If we'd gotten a gentle, feminine little thing Ava would've destroyed her.
2. I understand boy behavior, having been around it my whole life. A boy who pretends a stick (or a bread crust, like my brother Mike) is a gun isn't violent, he's a boy. Boys turn EVERYTHING into weapons. They draw pictures of soldiers on dinosaurs blowing things up. I am okay with this.
3. Two girls would've been double the girl drama. I don't do girl drama. For the most part, the middle school boys are way easier to deal with than the girls.
4. Only one wedding to pay for! Okay, that was Craig's comment....I don't really care. But I guess it's true.
5. I found a pirate nursery online. I can live with that. It's a little bit cartoony, which I don't like, but it isn't bad and I don't have to use all of the pieces from the collection, just a few key ones that I can supplement with other things. Yeah, I still like the girl stuff better....but pirates are pretty awesome. Ava loves it and is looking forward to helping me decorate.
6. Craig is THRILLED. Although I have to admit I only care about this a little bit, because he didn't care about the gender like I did. He isn't one of those guys who has to prove his manliness by producing a male child, so I thought, what better guy to have two girls? But, whatever.
It'll all be fine in the end...it's not like I will love my child less because it happens to have a different set of genitals than what I expected. I have actually talked to a couple of people who had a second child that was not the gender they were expecting or hoping for, and of course they love their kids but at least understand where I'm coming from. It's just taking some getting used to is all.
--I wanted a second girl more than ANYTHING. My heart was absolutely set on it...I have two brothers, who I love dearly, but my mom would work night shift at the hospital and it would just be me, Dad, and the boys. We don't have a big extended family but we didn't see my two female cousins very often, one of them being about ten years older than me and out on her own, and the other we saw maybe once a year. The families we saw frequently each have one son. I feel like I've been alone in a sea of testosterone my whole life. Now you are probably thinking that having one daughter should've cured that...no, I wanted Ava to have a sister. I wanted so badly for my kids to have a gender bond that I have never experienced. I know some people have same-gendered siblings they don't get along with, but just as many opposite-gendered siblings have that problem too....so why not wish for two girls? If Ava had been a boy, I probably wouldn't have cared THIS much about the second kid's gender, but it would have been nice to have another boy in that case.
--We have more girl stuff than I care to admit...Ava isn't turning three for another few weeks and yet I'm pretty sure we have at least four large tupperware bins of outgrown clothing of hers in the attic, with more in the closet that just hasn't been packed up yet. I was really, really looking forward to using it again: not just for saving money, but because the one thing that saved me from melting down when I packed those things away was that I was CERTAIN we'd use them again. I really, really thought we'd have another girl. I didn't doubt it for a minute, although I have no idea why. And most boy clothes? I'm so NOT a fan. Everything is covered in dinosaurs, bugs, puppies, or trucks. ANNOYING.
--I didn't think we were having the gender revealed on Wednesday as much as we were going to just confirm what I already knew: girl. I also looked at FOUR of those Chinese birth chart things online (I know it's junk science but it was fun, and it worked with Ava) and they all said girl. I had girl names picked out. I had a girl nursery picked out. I was warning people not to buy my daughters matching clothes because that's one of my pet peeves. To say I was shocked to see on ultrasound what I thought was my daughter with a set of testicles is the understatement of the year. I laughed because I didn't believe it, then I cried. I've cried a lot since then...it's not that I'm sad I'm having a boy, I'm grieving over the knowledge that this is it: there are no more chances. I will never have girls, plural. There would've been some sadness if the baby had been a girl, because it would mean I'd never raise a boy...but Billy is nine years younger than me. I changed diapers, fed him, bathed him when he woke up with poop up to his neck...I feel like I got at least a little of the experience already.
--I've been offended, or at least annoyed, by some of the comments people have made, such as, "I was hoping you'd have a boy!" Oh really? Why, out of spite because you knew how badly I wanted a girl?! These are people who will have no relationship with the child, why on earth do they care???? My family members are the only people allowed to say that, since this is their son/grandson/nephew/etc and they will have a relationship with him for the rest of their lives. I know some people who are excited simply because THEY have boys and that I understand...being happy for me because you love your own son is different from wishing I'd have a specific gender (when I wanted the opposite) for no real reason. My favorite is, "One of each! Now you have a complete set!" Oh, because families with all girls or boys are somehow incomplete? Because I'm starting a collection?!?! What the heck is that all about? I've NEVER wanted one boy and one girl....there's just something so Dick and Jane about it, it annoys me. Not that it's bad, mind you, it just wasn't for me (well, I guess now it is, I have no choice ;o). Probably the best situation is four kids--two boys and two girls--because then everyone has opposite-gendered siblings and a same-gendered sibling. But I'm so not going there! Here's a good one: "Now you have someone to carry on the name!" Oh, is this the middle ages? Are we royalty? WHO CARES! Craig wasn't close to his dad anyhow, and it's just a name. Big deal...if last names were that important to me, I'd never have given mine up in the first place. Last but not least--and this isn't offensive but I just don't get it--"Boys love their moms!" Well, I'm sure that's true....but so do girls. I kind of expect that my child will love me regardless of gender... ;o) When my little girl grabs my hand and says, "You're my best friend!" or throws her arms around my neck and says, "Mommy, I'm so glad you're here! I love you so much!" I feel pretty loved...not sure how a boy will do that better.
--Before you start thinking I'm clearly the most horrible person in the world, I *am* starting to warm up a bit. There are definitely of pros to having a boy:
1. Ava is insane. When people at work are talking about things their sons do and putting a "boys will be boys" label on it, I have to point out that my daughter does the same things. She loves to dress like a princess but act like a pirate. If I'm honest, I have to admit that a boy will be more her equal than, say, a sweet little girly-girl. If we'd gotten a gentle, feminine little thing Ava would've destroyed her.
2. I understand boy behavior, having been around it my whole life. A boy who pretends a stick (or a bread crust, like my brother Mike) is a gun isn't violent, he's a boy. Boys turn EVERYTHING into weapons. They draw pictures of soldiers on dinosaurs blowing things up. I am okay with this.
3. Two girls would've been double the girl drama. I don't do girl drama. For the most part, the middle school boys are way easier to deal with than the girls.
4. Only one wedding to pay for! Okay, that was Craig's comment....I don't really care. But I guess it's true.
5. I found a pirate nursery online. I can live with that. It's a little bit cartoony, which I don't like, but it isn't bad and I don't have to use all of the pieces from the collection, just a few key ones that I can supplement with other things. Yeah, I still like the girl stuff better....but pirates are pretty awesome. Ava loves it and is looking forward to helping me decorate.
6. Craig is THRILLED. Although I have to admit I only care about this a little bit, because he didn't care about the gender like I did. He isn't one of those guys who has to prove his manliness by producing a male child, so I thought, what better guy to have two girls? But, whatever.
It'll all be fine in the end...it's not like I will love my child less because it happens to have a different set of genitals than what I expected. I have actually talked to a couple of people who had a second child that was not the gender they were expecting or hoping for, and of course they love their kids but at least understand where I'm coming from. It's just taking some getting used to is all.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
T minus three days...
...until the anatomy scan. I'm losing my mind. Seriously--I'm like one of those nervous little dogs that shake and yip, the kind you just want to drop-kick because they can't hold still or calm down for one freaking second. AHHHHHHH!!!! I was this same way with Ava, I started losing my mind a few weeks before we found out her gender, and it got worse and worse until I was about to just throw up. I hate not knowing things...worse, I hate not knowing something when there's a definite date as to when the truth will be revealed. I was not this anxious before giving birth because although I knew it was coming, I didn't know WHEN. (I should have been nervous...I should have been terrified, in fact. If I'd learned anything at all from that experience, I never would've gotten pregnant again. But, here I sit, knocked up again and losing my mind again. Ahhhh well. ;o) I guess being half-crazy from curiosity is good because it keeps my mind off of the real reason for the scan, which is to make sure we've got a healthy baby. I'd rather be full of nervous excitement about the gender than anxiety about his/her health, you know? If there are any problems we will deal with it when the time comes.
That's about it for now. Craig is out of town (sometimes I really hate his job), so it's just Ava and me, which is not uncommon, just kind of lonely for us. We've had fun and I've actually accomplished quite a bit: Christmas cards are addressed and stamped, gifts are mostly purchased, birthday invites are sent (can't believe my little girl is turning THREE in less than a month!), and I've sort of kept up with the cleaning: I am not going to vacuum or wash the floors until Craig comes home and can help me. Better go make dinner now....
That's about it for now. Craig is out of town (sometimes I really hate his job), so it's just Ava and me, which is not uncommon, just kind of lonely for us. We've had fun and I've actually accomplished quite a bit: Christmas cards are addressed and stamped, gifts are mostly purchased, birthday invites are sent (can't believe my little girl is turning THREE in less than a month!), and I've sort of kept up with the cleaning: I am not going to vacuum or wash the floors until Craig comes home and can help me. Better go make dinner now....
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Not Really Feeling It.... :(
Not so much talking about the kicking here, although it's sporadic at best (which I expect this early)...talking about the pregnancy in general. It just doesn't feel real...kind of bizarre, since I'm excited about it, I'm over 17 weeks and feeling movement, and am talking about it frequently...but I feel like I'm talking about someone else's life. It's hard to explain and in a way it kind of makes me sad. Is this just because, being my second pregnancy, there isn't the same feeling of newness and amazement? Is it because now that I'm finally completely over the morning sickness, my body feels almost normal again? I don't really know what to think. One week from tomorrow, we have our anatomy scan to make sure (s)he's healthy, and to FINALLY determine the gender....hoping at that point, reality sets in. Of course, maybe subconsciously (okay, consciously) I'm terrified of taking on even more responsibility, especially the eating/sleeping/breathing/crying/helpless kind of responsibility. Again--don't know what to think. Hoping my emotions sort themselves out soon. :-/
17 Weeks!
17 Weeks!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
FEEL THOSE KICKS? HE'S GONNA BE A SOCCER PLAYER!
Sorry, couldn't resist a little "Billy Madison" quote... ;o) Anyhow, yes, (s)he has started to kick!! Aside from the weird, shifting pressure, I finally felt a couple of what I thought were kicks last week, and then last night the baby went nuts when I had some Ghirardelli hot cocoa while catching up on CSI with Craig. (UPDATE: I just got a few good ones while typing the end of this post :o) Yeah!!! It's the one part of pregnancy I actually like! Craig was a little disappointed he couldn't feel anything (I told him it was too early but he wanted to try anyhow), I forget how long it takes until movement can be felt externally, I'm thinking another month maybe? We'll know the gender (ten days!!!!) before then, at any rate. Not that it matters, I'm just continuing to slowly go crazy while we wait...
On another note, I've started to look at some baby gear I want for this one...aside from the usual diapers, clothes, crib bedding, etc. I have decided I would like:
1. Video baby monitor. When I was pregnant with Ava, I thought that was one of those stupid, useless extras (like wipe warmers....I still don't get those). I mean come on, how lazy do you have to be to not just go in and check on the kid?! Ummm....more like, how dense do you have to be to not understand how utterly useful a video monitor could be???? It would have saved me a LOT of trouble with Ava, when I didn't know if she was just being fussy or actually needed us, or when she was a little older so I could see what she was up to in her crib without actually going in there. I figure since we have all of the expensive baby gear taken care of already (furniture, car seats, strollers, etc) that we can splurge on this particular item.
2. Covers for the Boppy lounger. I just don't have any.
3. New bottles. I need these anyhow, and a few years ago (right before Ava was done with bottles, so I didn't get them) I saw some that were pretty boob-like, which seems like a good idea, especially because I don't plan on nursing very long. (I'm thinking I can almost exclusively nurse for 3-3 1/2 months and then maybe do enough pumping/partial nursing to last another month....but that's it. It's also dependent on exactly how my maternity leave pans out.) Unfortunately I cannot remember the brand name and a search of Babies R Us (online) didn't produce anything.
4. Glider. All I have is the creaky old rocking chair from when I was a baby (not that it isn't cool to have that, but it's LOUD), and it's in Ava's room...although she doesn't care that her old crib will be used for a new baby, I don't think she's going to part with the rocking chair. Unfortunately, the baby's room is half the size of Ava's so I don't think we'll have a place for one of those big things.
5. Fisher Price Rock n' Play Sleeper. It just looks useful--very portable, can have the baby next to the bed, or the couch, etc. Keeps the baby's head elevated in case reflux is a problem or if it has allergies like Ava and is frequently congested. I don't know that we NEED this but I'd like it. (Yes, there are other colors besides pink).
Things I currently have that are fairly useless?
1. The Boppy. Unless we have a small baby this time, the Boppy was only helpful for about a month or two before it was easier to sit Ava on my lap while feeding her.
2.) Diaper Champ. So, I don't think diaper disposal units are much help after all--at least, once the diapers take on any kind of real odor. But, it keeps the used diapers out of sight, doesn't require special bags, and I already have one, so I guess we'll use it.
3.) High Chair. These aren't useless as much as they are just disgusting. Even with wiping down after each use, we still had to drag it out back periodically and hose it off. But I'm too cheap to buy one of those little portable ones that sit on a chair (even though it's not expensive) so we'll use what we've got.
Tidbits About the Firstborn
As I was typing the beginning of this post, Ava was dancing--naked from the waist-down--with her stuffed camel and singing. Kids are insane. She drives me NUTS with some of her behavior (which I know is typical toddler stuff), but oh my goodness, she can be so sweet and so funny! Lately, she's taken to grabbing me by the hand and saying, "Mommy, you're my best friend!" Awwwww! And--this isn't good but I couldn't help laughing--she got in trouble for sitting on another kid at day care. That itself isn't funny or acceptable but when I questioned her about it, she very matter-of-factly told me, "Yes, I sat on David and got a time-out!" We talked about it and she hasn't done it since, but it was all I could do to keep from laughing. Unless she does something particularly vicious, I'm not going to spank her for a first time offense when she's already been disciplined at school with a time-out. She knows if she does the same thing twice (pushing, squeezing, sitting on someone) that she'll get spanked. I just hope this doesn't mean she's going to just get more and more creative with her misbehavior to avoid doing the same thing twice.... ;o) Doesn't seem like it thus far.
On another note, I've started to look at some baby gear I want for this one...aside from the usual diapers, clothes, crib bedding, etc. I have decided I would like:
1. Video baby monitor. When I was pregnant with Ava, I thought that was one of those stupid, useless extras (like wipe warmers....I still don't get those). I mean come on, how lazy do you have to be to not just go in and check on the kid?! Ummm....more like, how dense do you have to be to not understand how utterly useful a video monitor could be???? It would have saved me a LOT of trouble with Ava, when I didn't know if she was just being fussy or actually needed us, or when she was a little older so I could see what she was up to in her crib without actually going in there. I figure since we have all of the expensive baby gear taken care of already (furniture, car seats, strollers, etc) that we can splurge on this particular item.
2. Covers for the Boppy lounger. I just don't have any.
3. New bottles. I need these anyhow, and a few years ago (right before Ava was done with bottles, so I didn't get them) I saw some that were pretty boob-like, which seems like a good idea, especially because I don't plan on nursing very long. (I'm thinking I can almost exclusively nurse for 3-3 1/2 months and then maybe do enough pumping/partial nursing to last another month....but that's it. It's also dependent on exactly how my maternity leave pans out.) Unfortunately I cannot remember the brand name and a search of Babies R Us (online) didn't produce anything.
4. Glider. All I have is the creaky old rocking chair from when I was a baby (not that it isn't cool to have that, but it's LOUD), and it's in Ava's room...although she doesn't care that her old crib will be used for a new baby, I don't think she's going to part with the rocking chair. Unfortunately, the baby's room is half the size of Ava's so I don't think we'll have a place for one of those big things.
5. Fisher Price Rock n' Play Sleeper. It just looks useful--very portable, can have the baby next to the bed, or the couch, etc. Keeps the baby's head elevated in case reflux is a problem or if it has allergies like Ava and is frequently congested. I don't know that we NEED this but I'd like it. (Yes, there are other colors besides pink).
Things I currently have that are fairly useless?
1. The Boppy. Unless we have a small baby this time, the Boppy was only helpful for about a month or two before it was easier to sit Ava on my lap while feeding her.
2.) Diaper Champ. So, I don't think diaper disposal units are much help after all--at least, once the diapers take on any kind of real odor. But, it keeps the used diapers out of sight, doesn't require special bags, and I already have one, so I guess we'll use it.
3.) High Chair. These aren't useless as much as they are just disgusting. Even with wiping down after each use, we still had to drag it out back periodically and hose it off. But I'm too cheap to buy one of those little portable ones that sit on a chair (even though it's not expensive) so we'll use what we've got.
Tidbits About the Firstborn
As I was typing the beginning of this post, Ava was dancing--naked from the waist-down--with her stuffed camel and singing. Kids are insane. She drives me NUTS with some of her behavior (which I know is typical toddler stuff), but oh my goodness, she can be so sweet and so funny! Lately, she's taken to grabbing me by the hand and saying, "Mommy, you're my best friend!" Awwwww! And--this isn't good but I couldn't help laughing--she got in trouble for sitting on another kid at day care. That itself isn't funny or acceptable but when I questioned her about it, she very matter-of-factly told me, "Yes, I sat on David and got a time-out!" We talked about it and she hasn't done it since, but it was all I could do to keep from laughing. Unless she does something particularly vicious, I'm not going to spank her for a first time offense when she's already been disciplined at school with a time-out. She knows if she does the same thing twice (pushing, squeezing, sitting on someone) that she'll get spanked. I just hope this doesn't mean she's going to just get more and more creative with her misbehavior to avoid doing the same thing twice.... ;o) Doesn't seem like it thus far.
Friday, November 26, 2010
More pictures!
This is my 3rd post in the last twelve hours, so please scroll down to see recent pictures and an update. :) These are some older pictures I have FINALLY gotten around to formatting in such a way that I can post them on the blog. Enjoy! (Or not. I don't really care. If you don't like them, feel free to leave and explore other parts of the internet... ;o)
Ava's first sketch of the family--LOVE IT!!!! I cannot wait for all of the adorable and funny things she will draw for us! In case you were wondering, the big blob on the left is me, the medium-sized one on the right is Craig, and the one underneath "Craig" is Ava. :-)
Ava and Craig in front of the fountain at Goodberry's when we went for custard a couple of months ago. Good stuff, but the crazy fools don't know how to make a malt. When I asked for a chocolate malt they just looked at me like I'm nuts and the best I could get was a chocolate Concrete (their version of a DQ Blizzard I guess) with malt mixed into it. Craig said to ask for a milkshake with malt in it...maybe that will work?
Craig and I at Lake Michigan in Chicago over the summer. I love this picture!
Arrrr, matey! My little pirate...Ava is obsessed with pirates. When I asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween, she answered, "A pirate!" immediately, as though she'd been thinking about it all year. ;o) She's also asked for a pirate birthday party.
This picture should've been included with the previous batch but I forgot. Oops.
The rest of the pictures are from a photo session on October 1st, when we were in Illinois. They were taken by Brianna, a girl I used to babysit when she was a toddler (holy crap, I feel OLD)...she's now seventeen years old and takes beautiful pictures! I'm going to use some of these on our Christmas card this year, and have some others printed out since I don't have any framed, professional pictures of Ava more recent than 15 months old....yikes. There were more of these shots by Brianna, these are just a few.
Ava's first sketch of the family--LOVE IT!!!! I cannot wait for all of the adorable and funny things she will draw for us! In case you were wondering, the big blob on the left is me, the medium-sized one on the right is Craig, and the one underneath "Craig" is Ava. :-)
Ava and Craig in front of the fountain at Goodberry's when we went for custard a couple of months ago. Good stuff, but the crazy fools don't know how to make a malt. When I asked for a chocolate malt they just looked at me like I'm nuts and the best I could get was a chocolate Concrete (their version of a DQ Blizzard I guess) with malt mixed into it. Craig said to ask for a milkshake with malt in it...maybe that will work?
Craig and I at Lake Michigan in Chicago over the summer. I love this picture!
Arrrr, matey! My little pirate...Ava is obsessed with pirates. When I asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween, she answered, "A pirate!" immediately, as though she'd been thinking about it all year. ;o) She's also asked for a pirate birthday party.
This picture should've been included with the previous batch but I forgot. Oops.
The rest of the pictures are from a photo session on October 1st, when we were in Illinois. They were taken by Brianna, a girl I used to babysit when she was a toddler (holy crap, I feel OLD)...she's now seventeen years old and takes beautiful pictures! I'm going to use some of these on our Christmas card this year, and have some others printed out since I don't have any framed, professional pictures of Ava more recent than 15 months old....yikes. There were more of these shots by Brianna, these are just a few.
A week in pictures
I never post pictures because frankly, it's a pain in the butt. Also, we no longer have a functioning camera so I have to take pictures on my iPhone, email them to myself, download them to my computer, and then do the resizing thing. And they aren't even that high-quality. Ugh. Maybe there's a new camera in my future, seeing how I have a birthday coming up tomorrow and Christmas in another month? ;o) We'll see!
This is the best family shot we were able to get for the Christmas card. Good grief. We all look like we're in pain....I think I'll do a Christmas card with multiple pictures this year, and make this one small! ;o)
Ava looking pretty cute...wish she'd have smiled like this for the family shot!
Ava at Beaverdam At Falls Lake...Tuesday, Nov. 23rd it was gorgeous outside (low 70s!) so Ava, Mom, and I packed a picnic and set off in search of a park...Beaverdam is awesome! I can't wait to take Craig...there are picnic areas, a playground, beach, etc....good stuff.
Ava and Mommy at Falls Lake...is my face puffy from pregnancy or does it always look like that? :-/
Ava and Mimi at Falls Lake
A shot of Falls Lake...it was a windy day, but on a calm day it would be fun to take out a canoe and explore from the water.
Wrightsville Beach--this is where Craig and I went for our weekend getaway. Not exactly beach weather but it was beautiful and the time alone with each other was fabulous!
On the beach...first sort-of belly shot for Baby #2! I guess I'll have to get on that.... ;o)
Craig on the beach...he's so cute... :o)
Ava with her prize for sleeping all night in her own room: a Tinkerbell doll!
She was SO proud! Unfortunately, it was a fluke and she has yet to do it again: she ends up on the chair in our room at some point every. single. night. Yeesh.
This is the best family shot we were able to get for the Christmas card. Good grief. We all look like we're in pain....I think I'll do a Christmas card with multiple pictures this year, and make this one small! ;o)
Ava looking pretty cute...wish she'd have smiled like this for the family shot!
Ava at Beaverdam At Falls Lake...Tuesday, Nov. 23rd it was gorgeous outside (low 70s!) so Ava, Mom, and I packed a picnic and set off in search of a park...Beaverdam is awesome! I can't wait to take Craig...there are picnic areas, a playground, beach, etc....good stuff.
Ava and Mommy at Falls Lake...is my face puffy from pregnancy or does it always look like that? :-/
Ava and Mimi at Falls Lake
A shot of Falls Lake...it was a windy day, but on a calm day it would be fun to take out a canoe and explore from the water.
Wrightsville Beach--this is where Craig and I went for our weekend getaway. Not exactly beach weather but it was beautiful and the time alone with each other was fabulous!
On the beach...first sort-of belly shot for Baby #2! I guess I'll have to get on that.... ;o)
Craig on the beach...he's so cute... :o)
Ava with her prize for sleeping all night in her own room: a Tinkerbell doll!
She was SO proud! Unfortunately, it was a fluke and she has yet to do it again: she ends up on the chair in our room at some point every. single. night. Yeesh.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
Just like last year, Thanksgiving 2010 was celebrated a day earlier with my mom, as the rest of the family stopped making the journey after 2008...we had a few busy years before that and then it just trickled off. Sad, but what can you do? We had a great traditional meal with my mom yesterday, complete with decorations provided by Ava (turkey hats, autumn leaf placemats, pinecone turkeys....totally cute). My mom left today and then we relaxed with Ava, ate turkey leftovers for lunch, Craig and Ava napped while I cleaned, ate turkey leftovers for dinner, and then conducted the bedtime routine. Ava didn't make it past 10pm in her own bed: she's sleeping on the chair-and-a-half in our room even as I type this. I have no idea how to get her to stay in her own bed all night but as I've said before, this is one case where the tough love thing is not the answer. It's been nearly two months and she has GOT to get over it! As much as I hate to admit that I do think it's sweet to hear her moving around and sucking on her fingers, she needs to remain in her own space at night.
Anyhow, in baby news, nothing is really new....the last of the first trimester symptoms are finally releasing their grip on me: it seemed like they were going away but then came back again, although not as severe. Oh, I had to reschedule the anatomy scan so now we have two more days of waiting...augh!!!! I hate Craig's stupid work schedule....and I almost didn't reschedule it because waiting an extra 48 hours just might kill me. ;o) Still nothing new to report in the movement dept...wish (s)he'd just haul off with a good kick already. Oh well.
Oh, on Sunday we celebrated my birthday a little bit early--while Craig and I were out of town, Ava and my mom made me a cake. The best part is that after the cake was done, my mom apparently got out a bag of potatoes so she could make a baked potato for dinner, and Ava insisted on putting one on the cake....haha! She was so excited about it too...it was definitely the most unique cake I have ever seen, and given my insane-o, gaudy, over-the-top wedding/baby shower cakes (anyone who knows the story knows what I mean here)....that's saying a LOT. I love my crazy daughter, and the fact that a potato sitting atop a red velvet cake is perfectly logical to her. :)
My next post will simply be a collection of pictures from this week: the trip to the beach, spending time with Mom, the potato birthday cake, Thanksgiving, etc....I just don't feel like doing the necessary resizing and editing at the moment.
Anyhow, in baby news, nothing is really new....the last of the first trimester symptoms are finally releasing their grip on me: it seemed like they were going away but then came back again, although not as severe. Oh, I had to reschedule the anatomy scan so now we have two more days of waiting...augh!!!! I hate Craig's stupid work schedule....and I almost didn't reschedule it because waiting an extra 48 hours just might kill me. ;o) Still nothing new to report in the movement dept...wish (s)he'd just haul off with a good kick already. Oh well.
Oh, on Sunday we celebrated my birthday a little bit early--while Craig and I were out of town, Ava and my mom made me a cake. The best part is that after the cake was done, my mom apparently got out a bag of potatoes so she could make a baked potato for dinner, and Ava insisted on putting one on the cake....haha! She was so excited about it too...it was definitely the most unique cake I have ever seen, and given my insane-o, gaudy, over-the-top wedding/baby shower cakes (anyone who knows the story knows what I mean here)....that's saying a LOT. I love my crazy daughter, and the fact that a potato sitting atop a red velvet cake is perfectly logical to her. :)
My next post will simply be a collection of pictures from this week: the trip to the beach, spending time with Mom, the potato birthday cake, Thanksgiving, etc....I just don't feel like doing the necessary resizing and editing at the moment.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
15 Weeks and All is Well!
The title of this post sums it up nicely: everything is fine, of course. I have been feeling sporadic movement, mostly changes in pressure rather than real "kick"-type movements. In 19 days we will find out if baby H is a boy or a girl, and of course I'm going to continue to lose my mind until then! Yes, I would prefer a girl but a boy would be awesome too...it's not like I'll be mad if it's a boy, you know? (Seriously, as long as it's not a hermaphrodite we're good. Although even if it is, I'll still love it and they can do that genetic testing thing and fix the parts accordingly. You know what? I'm going to shut up now.) Instinct tells me it's a girl, but I have crappy instincts so that doesn't actually mean anything...we shall see!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Raging hormones....well, the "rage" part is true enough...
Craig and I just had a discussion about whether I'm suffering from crazy pregnancy hormones, or if I always hate people this much. Mostly it consisted of me asking him what he thought, and him making grunting noises because he was probably too afraid to answer. There are just a lot of people rubbing me the wrong way lately...I don't know if I want to blame myself/pregnancy crazies, or if I want to think people really are that obnoxious/lame/passive-aggressive. It's a lose-lose situation.
Speaking of pregnancy, since that's most of what I speak of here...things are weird and tense right now, because it's less than a week until my next appointment. This happened with Ava: there's a month between appointments, right? So I go, and everything is fine and I feel good about everything for about a week. Then another week and I'm pretty neutral...then the last two weeks I go into panic mode thinking of a hundred things that could have gone wrong and time slows down to a crawl until I FINALLY go to the next appointment, find out everything is great, and it starts all over again. Maybe I'll start feeling a little better about things when I can actually feel the baby moving? I keep thinking I feel something, but maybe I'm imagining it...it's not exactly kicks, just more of a sensation of something moving around in there. With Ava, I remember the exact moment I first felt something, she kicked me twice and it was unmistakable. Is 14 1/2 weeks (where I am right now) too early to be feeling something? Also, I'm not very excited about this baby yet...so, either I'm a horrible mother or this is normal for the second child. I am so consumed by everything else going on that I am not as focused on it as I was when it was pregnant with Ava. I think it'll change once we know the gender and pick out the name and start to really prepare for him/her, won't it? I just don't know what to think or expect I guess.
In Ava news...not much. Spanking today because she spit on a kid--SPIT ON THEM--at preschool. I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff...it's mortifying but as long as we can knock it out of her before kindergarten, I'll be happy. I'm sure she'll be fine, she just likes to test the water. And see how quickly she can turn my hair gray. She's still funny and says the most random things...in the course of a discussion we had today, she told me that God made the moon, Jesus made the sun, and Mommy made her. Haha! She also spotted a pile of cat barf on the newly cleaned floor (don't even get me started on the stupid cats) and started to shriek and cry, so maybe in spite of not liking to pick up toys, she's inherited the cleanliness gene after all. ;o)
All right, off to bed...I need all the rest I can get! Still fighting the neverending cold, plus tomorrow I have to pick up Mom from the airport and pack for the beach getaway. Woohoo!
Speaking of pregnancy, since that's most of what I speak of here...things are weird and tense right now, because it's less than a week until my next appointment. This happened with Ava: there's a month between appointments, right? So I go, and everything is fine and I feel good about everything for about a week. Then another week and I'm pretty neutral...then the last two weeks I go into panic mode thinking of a hundred things that could have gone wrong and time slows down to a crawl until I FINALLY go to the next appointment, find out everything is great, and it starts all over again. Maybe I'll start feeling a little better about things when I can actually feel the baby moving? I keep thinking I feel something, but maybe I'm imagining it...it's not exactly kicks, just more of a sensation of something moving around in there. With Ava, I remember the exact moment I first felt something, she kicked me twice and it was unmistakable. Is 14 1/2 weeks (where I am right now) too early to be feeling something? Also, I'm not very excited about this baby yet...so, either I'm a horrible mother or this is normal for the second child. I am so consumed by everything else going on that I am not as focused on it as I was when it was pregnant with Ava. I think it'll change once we know the gender and pick out the name and start to really prepare for him/her, won't it? I just don't know what to think or expect I guess.
In Ava news...not much. Spanking today because she spit on a kid--SPIT ON THEM--at preschool. I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff...it's mortifying but as long as we can knock it out of her before kindergarten, I'll be happy. I'm sure she'll be fine, she just likes to test the water. And see how quickly she can turn my hair gray. She's still funny and says the most random things...in the course of a discussion we had today, she told me that God made the moon, Jesus made the sun, and Mommy made her. Haha! She also spotted a pile of cat barf on the newly cleaned floor (don't even get me started on the stupid cats) and started to shriek and cry, so maybe in spite of not liking to pick up toys, she's inherited the cleanliness gene after all. ;o)
All right, off to bed...I need all the rest I can get! Still fighting the neverending cold, plus tomorrow I have to pick up Mom from the airport and pack for the beach getaway. Woohoo!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Sick and Tired
This will be short, because Craig is standing in the other room, giving me the evil eye, saying, "GO TO BED! GO TO BED!" The title of my post doesn't actually refer to the pregnancy (although that's always a factor these days), but rather the fact that the entire three-person clan of the Haynor family has been pretty sick for over a week now: Ava is a little under the weather, Craig and I are faring considerably worse. It's some kind of evil cold that will not let go (not flu, we've had our shots)...today I went to work with a leaky faucet for a nose, and virtually no voice to speak of. No pun intended. THAT was a fun way to teach, let me tell you...but, I saved myself a sick day so it's all good. Praying it passes soon because my throat hurts, my nose is raw, and my body aches. On the upside, I think the morning sickness is almost completely gone! I had a few mild, passing moments of nausea today and didn't even have to take Zofran, woohoo! And my aversion to all things fruit/vegetable has improved greatly, although I still wanted to vomit when Craig stuck a slice of watermelon under my nose at dinner. He does not get it. At all.
Ava is still going through the phase where she doesn't want to sleep in her bed, so we've resigned ourselves to allowing her to sleep in our room...sort of. We insist that she goes to bed in her own room (I have to sit in her rocking chair until she falls asleep, which actually forces me to have some down time...I just take the iPad and some earphones and watch movies. She lasts until sometime between 1-3am, and when she wakes up she just comes into our room and sleeps on the chair-and-a-half/ottoman in our sitting area....she usually doesn't even wake us up, although we do hear her and make sure she's got a blanket. This results in all of us getting more sleep than when one of us would go sleep in her bed with her, and hopefully it'll pass before too long.
In six days, my mom arrives to (sort of) spend Thanksgiving with us! She'll actually leave Thanksgiving morning to be with the rest of the family, but we'll celebrate the day before. And next weekend, she's going to watch Ava so Craig and I can get away for our first ever escape since becoming parents nearly three years ago....I'm so excited! We're going to stay at a resort on the beach, and even though it's far from beach weather the view will be beautiful and the smell of the ocean will be refreshing. I can't wait to have him all to myself for a whole 48 hours! We're going to go out and eat great food that someone else will cook AND clean up, we're going to see the latest Harry Potter movie (holy crap, I'm way too excited about that), we're going to sleep without interruption and wake up on our own...and we're just going to generally enjoy being together without the stress of being parents for a couple of days....not that we don't love Ava like crazy, but every couple needs time together, right?
Ava has had quite a few funny quotes recently, but the one that stands out the most is this: the other night at dinner, Craig handed her a cup of milk and she turned to him and said, "Thank you, Peanut!" We just about DIED....I have no idea where she got that from! hahaha!
Ava is still going through the phase where she doesn't want to sleep in her bed, so we've resigned ourselves to allowing her to sleep in our room...sort of. We insist that she goes to bed in her own room (I have to sit in her rocking chair until she falls asleep, which actually forces me to have some down time...I just take the iPad and some earphones and watch movies. She lasts until sometime between 1-3am, and when she wakes up she just comes into our room and sleeps on the chair-and-a-half/ottoman in our sitting area....she usually doesn't even wake us up, although we do hear her and make sure she's got a blanket. This results in all of us getting more sleep than when one of us would go sleep in her bed with her, and hopefully it'll pass before too long.
In six days, my mom arrives to (sort of) spend Thanksgiving with us! She'll actually leave Thanksgiving morning to be with the rest of the family, but we'll celebrate the day before. And next weekend, she's going to watch Ava so Craig and I can get away for our first ever escape since becoming parents nearly three years ago....I'm so excited! We're going to stay at a resort on the beach, and even though it's far from beach weather the view will be beautiful and the smell of the ocean will be refreshing. I can't wait to have him all to myself for a whole 48 hours! We're going to go out and eat great food that someone else will cook AND clean up, we're going to see the latest Harry Potter movie (holy crap, I'm way too excited about that), we're going to sleep without interruption and wake up on our own...and we're just going to generally enjoy being together without the stress of being parents for a couple of days....not that we don't love Ava like crazy, but every couple needs time together, right?
Ava has had quite a few funny quotes recently, but the one that stands out the most is this: the other night at dinner, Craig handed her a cup of milk and she turned to him and said, "Thank you, Peanut!" We just about DIED....I have no idea where she got that from! hahaha!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Whew....
We had a little bit of a scare today when I went into the bathroom and found that I was bleeding. It wasn't very heavy but I'd had some cramps earlier in the day, so I was sufficiently freaked out to call the doctor. They had me come in right away and it turns out everything is fine: the baby was kicking away, with his/her little heart beating strong, the doctor checked out all of my various components (you don't want the details about my ovaries and cervix, I'm sure) and they look great...so the bleeding was entirely random, which happens for some people. Scared the crap out of me though....Craig is out of town, which made it a LOT worse. Luckily I have a friend who was willing to pick up Ava from day care and watch her if I didn't get back in time (the doctor is a good 45 min away), but I was able to get in and out fairly quickly considering the short notice. Still keeping my Monday appointment and if things still look great, we'll be spreading the news. :) I cried quite a bit watching that little bean jump around on the ultrasound.
Something I think I realized--and I talked to Craig about it, and he said he was thinking the same thing--is that this is it. If we were to lose this baby, I could not do this again. I couldn't go through trying to get pregnant, having it work and then losing yet another one, or having it work and dealing with the way I've been feeling the past 5 weeks. I know it sounds stupid, but I feel like it's been going on forever and will never end. No matter what happens I do not see any more pregnancies in my future. Having said that, I really think it will be fine....I mean, the funny thing is that we didn't even try and it happened, which I NEVER would have believed possible. All I can do at this point is pray every day and know it's out of my hands and trust it will all work out for the best, no matter what.
On an amusing note, I was sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor (you know, when they make you sit naked from the waist down with only a sheet over your lap) and some guy with a beard and tattooed arms burst into the room and said, "Hi!" I didn't even know what to say because I was still trying to work out if he was a very unprofessionally attired doctor, but a few seconds later he realized I'm NOT his wife and he slowly backed out. I really hope he didn't see my butt crack, which was hanging out the back because I couldn't get the sheet wrapped around back there. Classy! Ah well, at least it gave me a distraction. ;o)
Something I think I realized--and I talked to Craig about it, and he said he was thinking the same thing--is that this is it. If we were to lose this baby, I could not do this again. I couldn't go through trying to get pregnant, having it work and then losing yet another one, or having it work and dealing with the way I've been feeling the past 5 weeks. I know it sounds stupid, but I feel like it's been going on forever and will never end. No matter what happens I do not see any more pregnancies in my future. Having said that, I really think it will be fine....I mean, the funny thing is that we didn't even try and it happened, which I NEVER would have believed possible. All I can do at this point is pray every day and know it's out of my hands and trust it will all work out for the best, no matter what.
On an amusing note, I was sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor (you know, when they make you sit naked from the waist down with only a sheet over your lap) and some guy with a beard and tattooed arms burst into the room and said, "Hi!" I didn't even know what to say because I was still trying to work out if he was a very unprofessionally attired doctor, but a few seconds later he realized I'm NOT his wife and he slowly backed out. I really hope he didn't see my butt crack, which was hanging out the back because I couldn't get the sheet wrapped around back there. Classy! Ah well, at least it gave me a distraction. ;o)
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Ava-isms
Let me start by saying I was going to attempt to post a few pictures, but apparently the image uploading is down right now, so I get to be lazy a little while longer. ;o) There are about a million funny things Ava has been saying and doing lately, and I never write them down....I really want to remember them later though, so here are a few of my recent favorites:
Ava: "Is it raining?"
Me: (bursting into song) "IT'S RAINING MEN!"
Ava: (looks excitedly out of the window, but then looks at me like I'm crazy) "No, it's not."
When she wants to get out of her car seat: "Mommy, buckle me OUT!"
Bursting in on me while I'm in the bathroom: "You're going pee-pee in the potty?! I'm so proud of you!"
In response to a reprimand from Craig: "Yes, ma'am!" (To be fair, I'm teaching her to be polite but she's rarely around men, so "yes, sir" has not come up often...we're working on it.)
Names she has given her three dolls: Baby Lauren, Baby Tasha, and Baby Haynor
Proof she watches too much Dora and Diego: "Mommy, there's a caiman after me! Help! Help! Ayudame!"
Mistaken Identity: She thinks I'm Jessie, the cowgirl from Toy Story. This is a step down from when she identified a picture of Padme (Natalie Portman) as me....
After I told her that there's a baby in my tummy (because it's starting to become much more noticeable, everything really popped out this week): "But *I* want to be the baby in your tummy!" (I told her that she already was....now she is referring to my little baby gut as a "pocket")
Craig: "Ava, do you want Mimi and Papa to come visit?"
Ava: " NO! Just Dada, Mommy, and Ava!" (This was after our trip to IL a few weeks ago, she really missed her daddy and being in her own house, even though she had fun with my family)
I guess that's about it for now. I'm determined to get some sleep...last night I was down around 9:30 (woohoo!) and woke up at 2:45 due to some psychic mom vibe. Sure enough, few minutes later I heard little footsteps and Ava wandered in, asking to sleep in our bed. We went back to her room and slept in her bed instead, although I use the word "sleep" very loosely: she kicked a lot and kept turning her music on. GAHHHH. Could've been worse I guess... :)
Ava: "Is it raining?"
Me: (bursting into song) "IT'S RAINING MEN!"
Ava: (looks excitedly out of the window, but then looks at me like I'm crazy) "No, it's not."
When she wants to get out of her car seat: "Mommy, buckle me OUT!"
Bursting in on me while I'm in the bathroom: "You're going pee-pee in the potty?! I'm so proud of you!"
In response to a reprimand from Craig: "Yes, ma'am!" (To be fair, I'm teaching her to be polite but she's rarely around men, so "yes, sir" has not come up often...we're working on it.)
Names she has given her three dolls: Baby Lauren, Baby Tasha, and Baby Haynor
Proof she watches too much Dora and Diego: "Mommy, there's a caiman after me! Help! Help! Ayudame!"
Mistaken Identity: She thinks I'm Jessie, the cowgirl from Toy Story. This is a step down from when she identified a picture of Padme (Natalie Portman) as me....
After I told her that there's a baby in my tummy (because it's starting to become much more noticeable, everything really popped out this week): "But *I* want to be the baby in your tummy!" (I told her that she already was....now she is referring to my little baby gut as a "pocket")
Craig: "Ava, do you want Mimi and Papa to come visit?"
Ava: " NO! Just Dada, Mommy, and Ava!" (This was after our trip to IL a few weeks ago, she really missed her daddy and being in her own house, even though she had fun with my family)
I guess that's about it for now. I'm determined to get some sleep...last night I was down around 9:30 (woohoo!) and woke up at 2:45 due to some psychic mom vibe. Sure enough, few minutes later I heard little footsteps and Ava wandered in, asking to sleep in our bed. We went back to her room and slept in her bed instead, although I use the word "sleep" very loosely: she kicked a lot and kept turning her music on. GAHHHH. Could've been worse I guess... :)
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Make it go away...
If i survive the last four weeks of the first trimester, I will consider it a monumental achievement. I am miserable...MISERABLE. At this point, if I encounter anyone who tells me how much they love being pregnant, I may punch them in the face. Healthy food makes me want to puke (heck, just being conscious makes me want to puke, and that's even with my double strength Zofran prescription), I can't so much as peel a banana for Ava without dry heaving. The only healthy food I can stomach at this point is smoothies (frozen fruit, yogurt, fruit/veggie juice, and a touch of honey...so it really is healthy) and grapefruit juice but I don't know how long that will last. I'm not getting adequate sleep because Ava--who is in a regular bed because the crib was no longer keeping her contained--wakes up crying every night and runs into our room, insisting she needs to sleep in our bed. We compromise by one of us sleeping in her room, otherwise nobody gets any sleep. This is fine except when Craig is out of town and I'm stuck losing sleep the entire week when I have to get up at 5am. The urge to drug the kid to sleep is very strong right now and I may actually call the pediatrician to see if there's anything homeopathic I can give her to help her stay asleep. One of us also has to sit in her chair until she falls asleep....usually this takes about 35-40 min, but I've been in here an hour now and she is still not asleep! Before anyone suggest just locking her in here, we already tried that approach and it was a total disaster, she seriously freaked out and then ransacked her room and peed on the carpet. Tough love doesn't work on anxiety. Hopefully this will pass soon, because I really want to feel happy about being a parent right now, instead of frustrated and depressed.
Anyhow, the one still in utero seems to be fine, to the best of my knowledge. Had a doc appointment on Thurs...oops, I thought that's what it was supposed to be, but it was just paperwork and drawing SEVEN vials of blood from my arm. I did surprisingly well, considering my fear of needles, but I wish before they'd taken my blood and credit card they'd have at least checked up on the little bean sprout, ya know? :-/ Ah well....in 8 days we see the doctor so if all goes well, we will henceforth make the pregnancy public knowledge.
Well, I'm off....I think the beast is sleeping so I'm going to go fight the urge to vomit in the comfort of my own room now.
Anyhow, the one still in utero seems to be fine, to the best of my knowledge. Had a doc appointment on Thurs...oops, I thought that's what it was supposed to be, but it was just paperwork and drawing SEVEN vials of blood from my arm. I did surprisingly well, considering my fear of needles, but I wish before they'd taken my blood and credit card they'd have at least checked up on the little bean sprout, ya know? :-/ Ah well....in 8 days we see the doctor so if all goes well, we will henceforth make the pregnancy public knowledge.
Well, I'm off....I think the beast is sleeping so I'm going to go fight the urge to vomit in the comfort of my own room now.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Backtracking
Friday, Sept. 24th
If you are reading this, it's after the fact and you already have a good idea what's going on in our lives. You aren't actually reading it on 9/24 because I'm saving it to draft so we can maintain some secrecy for the next few weeks until we let the general public know our business yet again: Haynor Baby #2 will be arriving on our around May 17, 2011...yeah!!!!!! I'm writing because I'm practically exploding from a need to talk about this, but not wanting to let people know too early. Here's what happened...
Since about spring, we've been tossing around the idea of having another kid and trying in the fall. We had no expectations since getting Ava wasn't easy, but weren't really feeling any pressure. Worst case scenario, if we weren't able to have a second one, we knew we were blessed with one pretty awesome kid. We finally narrowed it down to September to begin the process, just because that would work out nicely with my work schedule. Anyhow, for well over a year we've been following natural family planning (I didn't like some of the things chemical birth control did to me) and it's been a piece of cake. Then, in August, I somehow miscalculated the days. Didn't think about it too much because, what, was I actually going to get pregnant without any effort? Yeah, right. So imagine my surprise a few weeks later when I took a pregnancy test (just to rule it out, I was very convinced I was just late for some other reason) and it came out positive!
We're pretty crazy happy right now...yesterday we went to the doctor and they confirmed it, and we saw the lima bean on ultrasound, it's little heart beating away so things are good. :) I'm also feeling pretty miserable physically....which is a good sign, but it doesn't make me any less nauseous. Like with Ava, I feel miserable 24/7 EXCEPT in the morning--even waking up at night because of it--but I don't throw up. I gag a lot and go between wanting to eat everything in sight and not being able to stand the sight of food. Ironically, I also have an aversion to ginger, which is everyone's #1 suggestion for relieving morning sickness. Soooo......THANK HEAVEN FOR MODERN MEDICINE AND DOCTORS WHO DISTRIBUTE IT FREELY! I have a prescription for generic Zofran which knocks out the nausea, and another prescription that's apparently a combination anti-nausea/sleeping pill. Probably won't take that one but it's good to have anyhow, since feeling like crap has literally made me lose sleep.
That's about it for now...more later!
Monday, October 4th
I forgot just how much I loathe being pregnant...how is that even possible, to have forgotten how awful this is? No, not the part about having another baby (okay, sometimes when Ava is acting psycho I kind of wonder what on earth I've gotten myself into), but all of the symptoms that accompany the first trimester (the only one of which I'll speak in this blog is the "morning" sickness). Yeah, right....morning is about the only time of day I don't wish I were dead. The nausea, while not as bad as it was with Ava, is still pretty miserable and I have aversions to most foods right now: vegetables (especially salad), ginger tea and ginger ale, cake (why???), pork...and even the fruit I was craving recently has started to bother me, maybe because I've eaten so much of it. About a week ago, Craig ate some really garlicky pasta and the once it was in his system, I could smell it just as strong as if I'd shoved a whole freaking clove of garlic up my nose. He reeked of it so bad I was gagging and had to sleep in a different room that night. I swear I could still smell it the next day.
Oh, and yesterday when I went to pick up more of my Zofran--the only thing that gets me through the horror that is the first trimester--it turns out insurance has gotten really stingy with it...instead of receiving my 30 pills (which last between 10-15 days for me), I was only allowed 12 and my doctor has to contact the insurance company and explain to them exactly why I need it. Let's see...because I'm bordering on underweight to begin with and even with the meds I can hardly choke anything down, which means I'm not even able to eat for one, let alone for two? SEEMS LIKE A PRETTY GOOD REASON TO ME. Ugh...clearly, there are no women (or at least no women who have ever been pregnant) working at the insurance company. I bet they don't give this much grief to men who are prescribed Viagra, because the system is totally unfair like that. And don't even tell me it's because insurance companies are bad and government-run health care would take care of it, because I can pretty much guarantee that no one in the government would deem this medication a necessity for me. Again....people who've never been pregnant. If I get desperate, the meds are $100 for 30 pills. If it comes to that, I'll do it because I'd probably be able to get away with only filling it once more, but I'm hoping the doctor can straighten things out. I have approximately 6 more weeks to get through before I leave behind the worst of the symptoms and actually reach the part of pregnancy that I will admit I like. :)
If you are reading this, it's after the fact and you already have a good idea what's going on in our lives. You aren't actually reading it on 9/24 because I'm saving it to draft so we can maintain some secrecy for the next few weeks until we let the general public know our business yet again: Haynor Baby #2 will be arriving on our around May 17, 2011...yeah!!!!!! I'm writing because I'm practically exploding from a need to talk about this, but not wanting to let people know too early. Here's what happened...
Since about spring, we've been tossing around the idea of having another kid and trying in the fall. We had no expectations since getting Ava wasn't easy, but weren't really feeling any pressure. Worst case scenario, if we weren't able to have a second one, we knew we were blessed with one pretty awesome kid. We finally narrowed it down to September to begin the process, just because that would work out nicely with my work schedule. Anyhow, for well over a year we've been following natural family planning (I didn't like some of the things chemical birth control did to me) and it's been a piece of cake. Then, in August, I somehow miscalculated the days. Didn't think about it too much because, what, was I actually going to get pregnant without any effort? Yeah, right. So imagine my surprise a few weeks later when I took a pregnancy test (just to rule it out, I was very convinced I was just late for some other reason) and it came out positive!
We're pretty crazy happy right now...yesterday we went to the doctor and they confirmed it, and we saw the lima bean on ultrasound, it's little heart beating away so things are good. :) I'm also feeling pretty miserable physically....which is a good sign, but it doesn't make me any less nauseous. Like with Ava, I feel miserable 24/7 EXCEPT in the morning--even waking up at night because of it--but I don't throw up. I gag a lot and go between wanting to eat everything in sight and not being able to stand the sight of food. Ironically, I also have an aversion to ginger, which is everyone's #1 suggestion for relieving morning sickness. Soooo......THANK HEAVEN FOR MODERN MEDICINE AND DOCTORS WHO DISTRIBUTE IT FREELY! I have a prescription for generic Zofran which knocks out the nausea, and another prescription that's apparently a combination anti-nausea/sleeping pill. Probably won't take that one but it's good to have anyhow, since feeling like crap has literally made me lose sleep.
That's about it for now...more later!
Monday, October 4th
I forgot just how much I loathe being pregnant...how is that even possible, to have forgotten how awful this is? No, not the part about having another baby (okay, sometimes when Ava is acting psycho I kind of wonder what on earth I've gotten myself into), but all of the symptoms that accompany the first trimester (the only one of which I'll speak in this blog is the "morning" sickness). Yeah, right....morning is about the only time of day I don't wish I were dead. The nausea, while not as bad as it was with Ava, is still pretty miserable and I have aversions to most foods right now: vegetables (especially salad), ginger tea and ginger ale, cake (why???), pork...and even the fruit I was craving recently has started to bother me, maybe because I've eaten so much of it. About a week ago, Craig ate some really garlicky pasta and the once it was in his system, I could smell it just as strong as if I'd shoved a whole freaking clove of garlic up my nose. He reeked of it so bad I was gagging and had to sleep in a different room that night. I swear I could still smell it the next day.
Oh, and yesterday when I went to pick up more of my Zofran--the only thing that gets me through the horror that is the first trimester--it turns out insurance has gotten really stingy with it...instead of receiving my 30 pills (which last between 10-15 days for me), I was only allowed 12 and my doctor has to contact the insurance company and explain to them exactly why I need it. Let's see...because I'm bordering on underweight to begin with and even with the meds I can hardly choke anything down, which means I'm not even able to eat for one, let alone for two? SEEMS LIKE A PRETTY GOOD REASON TO ME. Ugh...clearly, there are no women (or at least no women who have ever been pregnant) working at the insurance company. I bet they don't give this much grief to men who are prescribed Viagra, because the system is totally unfair like that. And don't even tell me it's because insurance companies are bad and government-run health care would take care of it, because I can pretty much guarantee that no one in the government would deem this medication a necessity for me. Again....people who've never been pregnant. If I get desperate, the meds are $100 for 30 pills. If it comes to that, I'll do it because I'd probably be able to get away with only filling it once more, but I'm hoping the doctor can straighten things out. I have approximately 6 more weeks to get through before I leave behind the worst of the symptoms and actually reach the part of pregnancy that I will admit I like. :)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April Fools!
I had no motivation to prank anyone today, sadly...oh well. At the moment, I'm relaxing on the back porch with the remnants of a puff-pastry-wrapped brie and a glass of wine--a work friend came by for a bit and we chatted and just chilled out, which was nice, but I'm not ready to go in yet (it's cooled down significantly and I'm wrapped in a blanket but I love it out here!) so updating the blog seemed like the thing to do.
Anyhow, a LOT has happened in the last few days: Craig's car broke down again (the clutch went out) but it could've been worse, Ava climbed out of her crib but got hurt (nothing bad, just fell and scared herself) and has not attempted it again, and--this is the worst--Ava's baby-sitter sold her house and will be moving in one month--still in the general area, but too far away for us to continue using her as a sitter. It's only "the worst" from our perspective because we love her! She's had her house on the market forever so I'm happy for them but sad we're losing such an awesome "second mom" for Ava, who has done so well and been very loved while in her care. So, after a lot of tears and panicking on my part for about 48 hours, I finally let it go and am in the process of trying to find a new caregiver--I was dead set on private care but we're looking into day care as well, just in case something good presents itself--the in-laws arrive tomorrow around noon so after Ava goes down for her nap, Craig and I will head to a new day care facility down the road to check it out. I'm comfortable with Ava being at day care at this point, but I'm trying to think ahead to when we have our second (AND FINAL) child...no, I'm not pregnant and we're not even trying, but I like to plan ahead. :) Ideally, I want to place Ava in a situation where we could add a second child and not have to uproot our firstborn again, be it private care or day care. I'm trying to just pray that the right person/place comes along and just trust that it will all work out, but I like to be in control of all the details and find it difficult to let go. I'm trying though, and some possibilities have presented themselves so we're waiting to see what happens. Honestly, I think Ava is waaaaay more adaptable than I give her credit for--I'm the one who thrives on routine and freaks out when anything changes. ;) But, I do think stability and routine is good for kids so hopefully she'll settle into something good and we won't have to change it on her for quite some time. Please pray that something wonderful comes along for us and for Ava! :)
Anyhow, in other news, it is BEAUTIFUL here in North Carolina!! As much as I miss my Illinois family and friends something awful, I LOVE living here. Last week when we returned from our vacation, I felt such contentment when we finally got back into NC...it's just gorgeous, even driving down the interstate. Today we went to Lowe's and got our yearly supply of plants: ferns to hang on the front porch, some pretty pink flowers (no idea what they are) to go on the stands by the front door, trailing petunias for Ava's window box above the garage, and seeds for my herb garden: basil, cilantro, oregano, and rosemary. I love growing my own herbs, it's so easy that even I don't screw it up! :) I think a vegetable garden would be nice but Craig is right: the deer would eat it. I'm wondering if we could built some kind of enclosure but I don't know if he'd really be on board with that...it would be nice though, and would go a long ways towards my "eating healthier" mission.
The in-laws arrive tomorrow for Easter weekend...looking forward to having family around! Not sure exactly what's on the agenda, I'd like to take Pat (mother in law) to the tea room in Wake Forest on Saturday, I'd like to dye eggs with Ava that evening, and do an Easter egg hunt the next morning before church. Then, I'll be cooking up a storm...can't wait! I love food...
That's about it for now. I should probably start thinking about bed, as it's 11pm and we still have things to do in the morning before they get here. Nite!
Anyhow, a LOT has happened in the last few days: Craig's car broke down again (the clutch went out) but it could've been worse, Ava climbed out of her crib but got hurt (nothing bad, just fell and scared herself) and has not attempted it again, and--this is the worst--Ava's baby-sitter sold her house and will be moving in one month--still in the general area, but too far away for us to continue using her as a sitter. It's only "the worst" from our perspective because we love her! She's had her house on the market forever so I'm happy for them but sad we're losing such an awesome "second mom" for Ava, who has done so well and been very loved while in her care. So, after a lot of tears and panicking on my part for about 48 hours, I finally let it go and am in the process of trying to find a new caregiver--I was dead set on private care but we're looking into day care as well, just in case something good presents itself--the in-laws arrive tomorrow around noon so after Ava goes down for her nap, Craig and I will head to a new day care facility down the road to check it out. I'm comfortable with Ava being at day care at this point, but I'm trying to think ahead to when we have our second (AND FINAL) child...no, I'm not pregnant and we're not even trying, but I like to plan ahead. :) Ideally, I want to place Ava in a situation where we could add a second child and not have to uproot our firstborn again, be it private care or day care. I'm trying to just pray that the right person/place comes along and just trust that it will all work out, but I like to be in control of all the details and find it difficult to let go. I'm trying though, and some possibilities have presented themselves so we're waiting to see what happens. Honestly, I think Ava is waaaaay more adaptable than I give her credit for--I'm the one who thrives on routine and freaks out when anything changes. ;) But, I do think stability and routine is good for kids so hopefully she'll settle into something good and we won't have to change it on her for quite some time. Please pray that something wonderful comes along for us and for Ava! :)
Anyhow, in other news, it is BEAUTIFUL here in North Carolina!! As much as I miss my Illinois family and friends something awful, I LOVE living here. Last week when we returned from our vacation, I felt such contentment when we finally got back into NC...it's just gorgeous, even driving down the interstate. Today we went to Lowe's and got our yearly supply of plants: ferns to hang on the front porch, some pretty pink flowers (no idea what they are) to go on the stands by the front door, trailing petunias for Ava's window box above the garage, and seeds for my herb garden: basil, cilantro, oregano, and rosemary. I love growing my own herbs, it's so easy that even I don't screw it up! :) I think a vegetable garden would be nice but Craig is right: the deer would eat it. I'm wondering if we could built some kind of enclosure but I don't know if he'd really be on board with that...it would be nice though, and would go a long ways towards my "eating healthier" mission.
The in-laws arrive tomorrow for Easter weekend...looking forward to having family around! Not sure exactly what's on the agenda, I'd like to take Pat (mother in law) to the tea room in Wake Forest on Saturday, I'd like to dye eggs with Ava that evening, and do an Easter egg hunt the next morning before church. Then, I'll be cooking up a storm...can't wait! I love food...
That's about it for now. I should probably start thinking about bed, as it's 11pm and we still have things to do in the morning before they get here. Nite!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bad Blogger!
Ava playing in the fountains on Clematis in West Palm Beach, FL
Want to know why I don't blog much these days? Because I just typed a paragraph and the internet apparently swallowed it up. I don't have time for this crap! But, I feel guilty...this blog was a huge part of my life during my pregnancy and Ava's first few months and I'd hate to just delete it, so three months after my last post I'm attempting to resurrect it yet again. Craig mentioned starting a photo website of Ava (I guess sort of like a blog?) so maybe I can transfer my past posts over there if it ever happens, we'll see.
ANYHOW--Ava. She's now approaching 2 1/4 years old and holy crap is she growing! Not just physically--32 lbs and 36 inches at the two year appointment--but mentally and emotionally too. I don't know if she's slow, right on target, or advanced for her age because I have no basis for comparison, but she is constantly amazing us with what she knows. She can count to fourteen, and not just reciting the numbers, she can actually count objects. She can identify almost every letter in the alphabet--not just sing the song, actually point out and say the letters when she sees them. She's been identifying emotions (sad, happy, scared) and can name a few shapes. Colors...not so much. She knows green and purple so far and that's about it. ;o) She speaks in short sentences and makes up "songs"--this usually consists of saying the same phrase over and over in a sing-song voice (today in the car, it was "Mommy's otay! Mommy's otay!") about a thousand times. On the way home from our family vacation to Florida last week (more about that later) she pointed to the sign outside a Honda dealership and said, "Dada's car!" Craig drives a Honda Element (although that's probably changing later today, as he's in the shop with it yet again--it hit 200K miles and then just started to fall apart--not bad)...I have heard her say that when she sees another Element, but not just from seeing the Honda logo. All of the two year molars are FINALLY in, so crankiness in association to teeth is over but she can still throw down a tantrum like a pro. Kid is going to give herself a stroke if she's not careful...and usually it's over something stupid like not wanting to wear pants or sit in a car seat. Today she learned how to get out of her crib--not a good thing--and I think potty training is in our near future, as she now informs us every time she has a wet or dirty diaper. Hasn't quite managed to line that up with actually using the potty yet, but it's a start. I'm totally not pushing it...when she's ready, she's ready. Fine by me.
So--Florida. The three of us finally packed up and took a family vacation down to my parents' condo in West Palm Beach...yeah!!! It was warmish and VERY windy so we only made it to the beach twice, but Ava has NO FEAR (or sense) whatsoever and jumped right into the ocean. Thank goodness we had a life vest for her or I would've been terrified, even though there was always an adult next to her. We also took her to the fountains on Clematis and she went nuts playing in them! Wouldn't even get out when she fell down and skinned an elbow and both knees, just continued running through the fountains, crying and bleeding. My favorite part was when she told me that that "water is jumping" and chased after it, growling, "RARRRRRRRR!!!! RAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!" Awesome. We also got to spend time with my brother Mike and his girlfriend Gio while we were there, which was a lot of fun....Ava LOVED the attention. (Uncle Mike even babysat so Craig and I could go out one night!) I got to spend time with a few old friends, and we just did a lot of relaxing in general.
Right now I'm on spring break and other than our vacation, no huge plans. Craig's parents will be here for Easter and the weather is supposed to get gorgeous around here in a day or two so it looks like we'll be spending a lot of time outside....woohoo! I'm also trying to eat healthier these days: not a dessert-free type of diet or anything, just adding more healthy things: more fruit and veggies, less meat. Smaller desserts, if I can manage that. :) I just need to be healthier, you know? It can't hurt. So far I've done two healthy meals and I'm a little hungry but it could be worse. With the weather improving, I'm hoping to take more walks and I'm also going to attempt my Pilates abdominal workout again but that probably won't last, since I hate exercise. But it would be nice to see my abs again. Plus, if we do decide another child is in our future, I need to be in good shape...I figure if I have abs of steel (or at least not abs of jello like I have now), I can squeeze that sucker right out instead of taking two hours to push like I did with Ava. Slightly less fun than a day at the spa.
On that note...the kitchen needs cleaning and the TV needs watching (hey, I'm on VACATION) so I'm out! Hopefully be back again a little sooner than three months from now but don't hold your breath.... :)
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