J is 5 months old now and wow things are great. She's in a routine, she's happy, she's sleeping through the night. She's a thumb sucker so that really helps as she can always find her thumb to sooth her when needed!!
N is warming up to J to. I have this vision of them being best friends when their older, but right now my 3 year old needs a playmate and sometimes she doesn't understand that she needs to be gentle! But she loves climbing into her crib in the morning and laying down next to her or bringing her princess dolls in with her and playing with them for J. And J ADORES her. Oh my gosh I can't even feed her with N is in the room because J just wants to watch her big sister! She loves watching her play, and gives HUGE smiles to her sister!
It is still a bit complicated playing with both kids though. N is older and wants me to play with her all the time. On the weekends she has trouble occupying herself when I have to feed J or change her. She's getting better at playing on her own though. When we all play together sometimes she gets mad when J touches one of her toys or grabs for something. I think it will be even more frustrating for N when J is crawling around and into everything of hers! But we'll cross that bridge when we get there!
Changing the world one diaper at a time.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Second Time Around: Woes
OK so it's been almost 4 months since baby J was born and oh my gosh, she's given me a run for my money. I really thought that I knew what I was doing this time around, and well J just is a different kid. As I mentioned in a previous post, she is super fussy, she doesn't like the car seat, car rides, stroller rides, but she is getting better at being put down. She likes the bouncy seat now and she likes the play mat, and we even put up the jumpy seat (that hangs from a door frame) and she likes that. So she's getting better at liking stuff! Yippee! But here's what we went through to get where we are today.
Turns out J is allergic (well sensitive, not allergic apparently) to milk. Specifically the milk protein as it is broken down by Mom. So I am now on a dairy free diet. I've been doing this for about a month now and wow has that changed her. She would scream bloody murder, and well it was because her tummy hurt from the milk. I only figured it out because a.) i did a little research on line about it (very little) and b.) I just couldn't take the fussing anymore and one day brought her in to the doctor to see if something was wrong. They looked at and tested her poopy diaper. And she had bright green poop - sign of an allergy - and it had microscopic blood in it. So her intestines weren't liking the milk. So the Doc told me to go off dairy for two weeks. I'm thinking no big deal, no ice cream, pizza, cereal...but yikes milk and milk by product are in SO much stuff!! I started freaking out about what I could and couldn't eat! I took one day and spend quite some time at the grocery store reading labels. I did lots of reading of recipes on Pinterest (my favorite place to look for stuff) and found some great snacky food easy to make stuff. Dinners are pretty much the same as we would normally eat, I just might skip the cheese topping on my chili. It actually makes going out to dinner really hard. So we don't do that. The one time we did go out, for my birthday, I had a sandwich wrap with just plain chicken and lettuce and tomato, but I think their must have been dairy in the wrap itself because J was not happy the next day. So I've stopped going out to eat! I get too anxious and its not worth it for me to feel all worked up and not enjoy dinner out and then not enjoy the next day if J is sick.
One of the other things that basically had me on the verge of a nervous breakdown last week was sleep, or lack there of. J had been sleeping in our room in a bassinet next to our bed. And she'd be up every 2 hours at night to eat. And well you can only live on little pieces of sleep like that for so long, and last week I just lost it! I needed sleep! While I have great support around me, my husband, in-laws and parents, I like to try to do it all by myself. I'm stupid like that. But my husband was at work when I lost it and emailed his mom to come over and watch J so I could sleep. While she was over J was sleeping in her car seat and we were chatting (before I took the nap) and we were watching J move her head side to side, stretch her arms, and then fall back into a deep snooze. And it dawned on me, I would wake up because I heard her move, and then I thought she was up and hungry so I would feed her. BUT it turns out I was waking the poor kid up! So we put her in her own bed and wow the kid sleeps 4 hours at a time. And more and more each night! And I've stopped bouncing and rocking here. I put her in the crib and walk out and she goes to sleep. She did cry a lot the first time, but now she cries for a minute or two and then puts herself to sleep. So many huge accomplishments this past week. Sleeping in her own bed/room, putting herself to sleep. Ugh so great.
And the last thing that I've been working on this past week is putting J into a schedule and I'm using the book Baby Wise by Garry Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. Oh my gosh this is a life savor. It talks about how babies need routine and once they get into it they are better at sleeping and eating! The whole theory centers around this eat, play, sleep routine. I'm doing the eating every 3 hours exactly the same time each day. Then we play for a little, J rubs her eyes and I put her down for a nap. The morning nap is always screwed up because I have to drive my 3 year old to school, so J naps in the car, which is not as great as napping in her bed, but she gets a nap. The mid morning nap is always 2 hours. she sleeps from around noon to 2. The mid afternoon nap seems to always be short, 40 minutes, and the late evening nap is also short, but then she goes down to sleep at 8pm each night. Since we haven't even done this for a whole week yet the night is a bit sporadic as to when she's waking up to eat. Last night was great because she only woke up at 2am! So she's getting better at sleeping and I'm getting better at sleeping.
Ugh, the last two months have been horrible, but we're working on making them better. I can't tell if J is getting better due to the no dairy diet, schedule & sleeping in her own room, or if she's just growing and rolling with it more?! She smiles and laughs all the time now and is starting to have her own little personality peek through!
Turns out J is allergic (well sensitive, not allergic apparently) to milk. Specifically the milk protein as it is broken down by Mom. So I am now on a dairy free diet. I've been doing this for about a month now and wow has that changed her. She would scream bloody murder, and well it was because her tummy hurt from the milk. I only figured it out because a.) i did a little research on line about it (very little) and b.) I just couldn't take the fussing anymore and one day brought her in to the doctor to see if something was wrong. They looked at and tested her poopy diaper. And she had bright green poop - sign of an allergy - and it had microscopic blood in it. So her intestines weren't liking the milk. So the Doc told me to go off dairy for two weeks. I'm thinking no big deal, no ice cream, pizza, cereal...but yikes milk and milk by product are in SO much stuff!! I started freaking out about what I could and couldn't eat! I took one day and spend quite some time at the grocery store reading labels. I did lots of reading of recipes on Pinterest (my favorite place to look for stuff) and found some great snacky food easy to make stuff. Dinners are pretty much the same as we would normally eat, I just might skip the cheese topping on my chili. It actually makes going out to dinner really hard. So we don't do that. The one time we did go out, for my birthday, I had a sandwich wrap with just plain chicken and lettuce and tomato, but I think their must have been dairy in the wrap itself because J was not happy the next day. So I've stopped going out to eat! I get too anxious and its not worth it for me to feel all worked up and not enjoy dinner out and then not enjoy the next day if J is sick.
One of the other things that basically had me on the verge of a nervous breakdown last week was sleep, or lack there of. J had been sleeping in our room in a bassinet next to our bed. And she'd be up every 2 hours at night to eat. And well you can only live on little pieces of sleep like that for so long, and last week I just lost it! I needed sleep! While I have great support around me, my husband, in-laws and parents, I like to try to do it all by myself. I'm stupid like that. But my husband was at work when I lost it and emailed his mom to come over and watch J so I could sleep. While she was over J was sleeping in her car seat and we were chatting (before I took the nap) and we were watching J move her head side to side, stretch her arms, and then fall back into a deep snooze. And it dawned on me, I would wake up because I heard her move, and then I thought she was up and hungry so I would feed her. BUT it turns out I was waking the poor kid up! So we put her in her own bed and wow the kid sleeps 4 hours at a time. And more and more each night! And I've stopped bouncing and rocking here. I put her in the crib and walk out and she goes to sleep. She did cry a lot the first time, but now she cries for a minute or two and then puts herself to sleep. So many huge accomplishments this past week. Sleeping in her own bed/room, putting herself to sleep. Ugh so great.
And the last thing that I've been working on this past week is putting J into a schedule and I'm using the book Baby Wise by Garry Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. Oh my gosh this is a life savor. It talks about how babies need routine and once they get into it they are better at sleeping and eating! The whole theory centers around this eat, play, sleep routine. I'm doing the eating every 3 hours exactly the same time each day. Then we play for a little, J rubs her eyes and I put her down for a nap. The morning nap is always screwed up because I have to drive my 3 year old to school, so J naps in the car, which is not as great as napping in her bed, but she gets a nap. The mid morning nap is always 2 hours. she sleeps from around noon to 2. The mid afternoon nap seems to always be short, 40 minutes, and the late evening nap is also short, but then she goes down to sleep at 8pm each night. Since we haven't even done this for a whole week yet the night is a bit sporadic as to when she's waking up to eat. Last night was great because she only woke up at 2am! So she's getting better at sleeping and I'm getting better at sleeping.
Ugh, the last two months have been horrible, but we're working on making them better. I can't tell if J is getting better due to the no dairy diet, schedule & sleeping in her own room, or if she's just growing and rolling with it more?! She smiles and laughs all the time now and is starting to have her own little personality peek through!
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Products I Love: Infant
Ok so this time around there is no messing around with baby products. I know that I've been there before but there are some things out there that I didn't know about before that are great.
Breast Friend Feeding Pillow
This is the best breast feeding pillow that I've found. The Boppy is good in that it is shaped well for you to hold the baby and be comfortable, but I found that the boppy tends to move, slide away from your body as you're feeding or if the baby moves. The breast friend has a front shaped like the boppy, but it also has a back that wraps around you and buckles to the front. This not onl keeps the pillow in place, it supports your back nicely to. My only complaint about this, is that it is a little trickier to get into or get out of if the baby is fussy and you need to try and feed her quickly or get out and change her as you have to unbuckle yourself from it. But that is a minor detail to the comfort of breast feeding overall.
Nursing Scarf/Nursing Cover
I just found this scarf that doubles as a nursing cover. I never used a nursing cover with my first daughter but I didn't really ever find myself in a place to need it. I could always plan or get to a place where I didn't need it. Now with a toddler who likes doing all kinds of activities, like go to the farm or the aquarium or dance class, I find that I'm out in public way more with her and a newborn in tow. This scarf is an easy thing to wear and convert into a cover if I need to nurse baby #2. I got mine here on etsy.
Nursing Necklace
You're nursing and all of a sudden the little hands are clamped down on your necklace, the nice one that your husband got you for your first mother's day, and you're afraid she's going to break it. Well I've discovered nursing necklaces this go around. Wooden beaded necklaces or wood with fabric over them, for their little hands to grab on to without breaking it! It also can be used later on down the road as a teething necklace. I got mine here on etsy.
Breast Friend Feeding Pillow
This is the best breast feeding pillow that I've found. The Boppy is good in that it is shaped well for you to hold the baby and be comfortable, but I found that the boppy tends to move, slide away from your body as you're feeding or if the baby moves. The breast friend has a front shaped like the boppy, but it also has a back that wraps around you and buckles to the front. This not onl keeps the pillow in place, it supports your back nicely to. My only complaint about this, is that it is a little trickier to get into or get out of if the baby is fussy and you need to try and feed her quickly or get out and change her as you have to unbuckle yourself from it. But that is a minor detail to the comfort of breast feeding overall.Nursing Scarf/Nursing Cover
I just found this scarf that doubles as a nursing cover. I never used a nursing cover with my first daughter but I didn't really ever find myself in a place to need it. I could always plan or get to a place where I didn't need it. Now with a toddler who likes doing all kinds of activities, like go to the farm or the aquarium or dance class, I find that I'm out in public way more with her and a newborn in tow. This scarf is an easy thing to wear and convert into a cover if I need to nurse baby #2. I got mine here on etsy.
Nursing Necklace
You're nursing and all of a sudden the little hands are clamped down on your necklace, the nice one that your husband got you for your first mother's day, and you're afraid she's going to break it. Well I've discovered nursing necklaces this go around. Wooden beaded necklaces or wood with fabric over them, for their little hands to grab on to without breaking it! It also can be used later on down the road as a teething necklace. I got mine here on etsy.
Products I love: Toddler
Better than sippy cups sippy cups
I recently funded a kick starter that came through on their deadline and is awesome. SipSnap are silicone lids that slip on to any cup and turn that cup into a sippy cup. Its great because it is super easy to clean, super portable and spill proof but best of all it is only one piece. I keep one in my diaper bag and am even thinking of getting them as gifts for my parents and in-laws so we can get rid of those horrid, hard to clean, multi piece sippy cups everywhere!Bento Boxes
This year I got N a bento box for her lunches. After many years of a lunch box with small ziplock containers, I splurged and got a good one. The one I got was Fit & Fresh's Bento Lunch Kit. The reason why I settled on this one was because this has a built in ice pack in the lid. Since N will not be able to store her lunch in a refrigerator I needed to figure out how to keep it cold. I could've just put the ice pack into any bento kit, but why do that when this one was designed for what I needed! Exactly what I needed! I do wish they sold an extra set of ice packs for this specific lunch box because there have been days where we've forgotten to put the ice packs in the freezer after washing her lunch box. But other than that I like this kit.
Pitchers
Since N is n Montessori Preschool, one of the things they teach the kids is pouring. So we now have her pour her own drinks. This is the best pitcher I've seen thats a good size, not too big, that has a lid. We were using a creamer pitcher, which was a good size, but there was no lid. Right now we only put in enough for one serving, as N will pour the whole pitcher out into her cup, but hopefully soon we'll be able to have one with milk and one with water and she'll be able to go get something to drink on her own,Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Montessori At Home
This past fall N started preschool. She's at a Montessori preschool and it has been a great thing for her. Some people see Montessori as unstructured and therefore not good for their child. However, this is not the case, this method lets kids learn at their own pace, with great freedom and independence. It builds upon skills that they are taught throughout the year and lets them explore and master these skills in their own time by watching others, usually older kids, and trying when they are ready.
We first heard about Montessori a while back as my mother happens to work at the school that N is at. She showed us a video when N was first starting to walk of a kid at montessori and how their parents brought it into the house. Here the parents had a helper tower for their child. (if you've read previous posts you know we have one and I LOVE it) Here is where we first heard of this helping tower, which has been a great thing for us in the kitchen. But now we're beyond that. We have coat hooks at N's level, an art board at her level for her to hang up her artwork she brings home from school, a shelf in the pantry for her snacks and for the dog food - one of her jobs/chores, a shelf in the kitchen with her bowls, cups, plates and pitchers.
A lot of the things she learns at school carry over at home. For example, she comes home and takes off her shoes and puts them by the door, and takes off her coat and hangs it on the hook. This is what she does when she gets to school in the morning too. She clears her place when she is done eating lunch at school and she clears her place when she is done with dinner at home too.
Last week my husband went to the parent night for first year parents and brought home some information on brining montessori into the home and continuing the work they do at school. I think we've been doing almost everything on their check list for over a year with N. It just seemed to make sense to get her involved in what we were doing. I mean kids do play kitchen and play cleaning, why not let them actually do it for real and help you out?! Sure it may not be done as well and may be painstakingly slow but they're learning and that's what really matters right?
Second Time Around: Newborn & Toddler
The last few days of pregnancy I was SO ready to be done being pregnant. And then I finally went into labor and thought, I don't remember it being this painful last time. I guess we forget how painful it is for a reason... otherwise people wouldn't have more than one kid! Once I got the epidural though, things were much better!
J was born in the morning and this time my mom was there in the delivery room. At first I thought that it might be weird, kind of take away from this moment from me and m husband, but it was fine. I mean by that time there are so many people in the room looking at you giving birth, what's one more person? I think it was really special for my mom to be there, so I'm glad she was, even if she headed off to work after the baby was born! (She did return later that day to hold the baby!)
I was a bit nervous figuring out how to introduce N to her new little sister. My husband and I thought and over thought how we should have them meet. The good news, even though we didn't know it, was that the hospital maternity ward, did not let kids under the age of 19 in, which at first we were bummed about. But I think it worked out better that N didn't meet J in the hospital, and see mom hooked up to IV's and wearing a weird gown.
We brought J home on a Friday afternoon and had a few hours to settle her and myself in before Dad went and picked up N at school. N was SO excited to see the baby she barely said hi to me, I mean she hadn't seen me in 3 days, I guess I'm chopped liver! Anyway, she was so excited to see the new baby and hold her and put her in the swing and then the bouncy seat and then the bassinet, that we had to slow her down a bit and tell her that in time she will use all of these things, but now she just needed to sleep.
J is now 6 weeks old and N likes to help out with her little sister. She likes to help mom changer her, she doesn't seem to mind her crying as much as mom and dad do, she likes to snuggle with her in the morning and she LOVES to have matching jammies with J.
The first week for me was really hard. I kept thinking once I was done being pregnant, which was just no fun in the end, things would be way better. I mean after all I'd done this before. I knew what I was getting myself into...breast feeding, washing bottles, taking the baby out for walks in the stroller with the dog, getting a few winks while she napped in the swing or bouncy seat or bassinet, because that't what I did with N. But let me tell you this kid is a whole new kid with a whole new set of rules and no instruction book. J hates the car seat, hates the stroller, hates being put down in the swing or bouncy seat or bassinet. So I spend most of the day holding her. If I put her down she cries. If she's not eating, sleeping or being held, she's crying. This makes doing things a little trickier. Its hard to nap when you are holding a baby, so naps are few and far between. Its hard to get things done with one hand, while the other is holding the baby. So my husband, has been doing 110%. He's been doing the laundry, dishes, dinner, cleaning, and most importantly taking care of N. He makes her lunch, does her tub, reads to her at night, puts her to bed, gets her up in the morning, gives her breakfast, gets her dressed and takes her to school. And what do I do during all this, I take care of J. I hold her or feed her, but mostly hold her. And I feel extremely guilty about not helping him or helping around the house or helping with N. In fact the first week home I was so emotional, mostly with guilt about not being able to give N my undivided attention and do things with her that we used to do, that I would just burst into tears randomly. Mostly at night when I could hear my husband playing with N in the tub or reading her books and tucking her in. It really caught me off guard because I didn't have any of these feelings or this reaction when N was a newborn.
After a few weeks, we as a family got into a routine. Or we just got used to having J around. We still sat down as a family for dinners (even if J was crying in her bouncy seat), N still read books before bed in our room. And N and my husband got used to me and J not getting up and going to work or helping in the morning. The biggest change I think was that N started to get up in the middle of the night and come into our room. I think she was doing this because she was a little jealous that J was sleeping in our room with us. So we implemented the Sandman - who leaves surprises under your pillow if you stay in bed all night. It got to the point where N was waking up at 4am and turning the light on to look under her pillow each morning, that we now have a sticker chart. So after x amount of days in a row of staying in bed all night the Sandman would leave a surprise. So we're not waking up each morning early looking under our pillow! So far it's been working well. We do have days that she does get up and that's expected, after all she's only 2!
One of the things that we've started doing to make N feel special, or to know that she's still loved is have sleepovers with Grammy and Nana. This way she gets that individual attention from the grandparents - ok spoiled is the word - and she loves it. In fact she asks to have a sleepover quite frequently! I know it's because they let her run the show, but she needs that release! Especially because we expect so much of her as a big sister now!
J was born in the morning and this time my mom was there in the delivery room. At first I thought that it might be weird, kind of take away from this moment from me and m husband, but it was fine. I mean by that time there are so many people in the room looking at you giving birth, what's one more person? I think it was really special for my mom to be there, so I'm glad she was, even if she headed off to work after the baby was born! (She did return later that day to hold the baby!)
I was a bit nervous figuring out how to introduce N to her new little sister. My husband and I thought and over thought how we should have them meet. The good news, even though we didn't know it, was that the hospital maternity ward, did not let kids under the age of 19 in, which at first we were bummed about. But I think it worked out better that N didn't meet J in the hospital, and see mom hooked up to IV's and wearing a weird gown.
We brought J home on a Friday afternoon and had a few hours to settle her and myself in before Dad went and picked up N at school. N was SO excited to see the baby she barely said hi to me, I mean she hadn't seen me in 3 days, I guess I'm chopped liver! Anyway, she was so excited to see the new baby and hold her and put her in the swing and then the bouncy seat and then the bassinet, that we had to slow her down a bit and tell her that in time she will use all of these things, but now she just needed to sleep.
J is now 6 weeks old and N likes to help out with her little sister. She likes to help mom changer her, she doesn't seem to mind her crying as much as mom and dad do, she likes to snuggle with her in the morning and she LOVES to have matching jammies with J.
The first week for me was really hard. I kept thinking once I was done being pregnant, which was just no fun in the end, things would be way better. I mean after all I'd done this before. I knew what I was getting myself into...breast feeding, washing bottles, taking the baby out for walks in the stroller with the dog, getting a few winks while she napped in the swing or bouncy seat or bassinet, because that't what I did with N. But let me tell you this kid is a whole new kid with a whole new set of rules and no instruction book. J hates the car seat, hates the stroller, hates being put down in the swing or bouncy seat or bassinet. So I spend most of the day holding her. If I put her down she cries. If she's not eating, sleeping or being held, she's crying. This makes doing things a little trickier. Its hard to nap when you are holding a baby, so naps are few and far between. Its hard to get things done with one hand, while the other is holding the baby. So my husband, has been doing 110%. He's been doing the laundry, dishes, dinner, cleaning, and most importantly taking care of N. He makes her lunch, does her tub, reads to her at night, puts her to bed, gets her up in the morning, gives her breakfast, gets her dressed and takes her to school. And what do I do during all this, I take care of J. I hold her or feed her, but mostly hold her. And I feel extremely guilty about not helping him or helping around the house or helping with N. In fact the first week home I was so emotional, mostly with guilt about not being able to give N my undivided attention and do things with her that we used to do, that I would just burst into tears randomly. Mostly at night when I could hear my husband playing with N in the tub or reading her books and tucking her in. It really caught me off guard because I didn't have any of these feelings or this reaction when N was a newborn.
After a few weeks, we as a family got into a routine. Or we just got used to having J around. We still sat down as a family for dinners (even if J was crying in her bouncy seat), N still read books before bed in our room. And N and my husband got used to me and J not getting up and going to work or helping in the morning. The biggest change I think was that N started to get up in the middle of the night and come into our room. I think she was doing this because she was a little jealous that J was sleeping in our room with us. So we implemented the Sandman - who leaves surprises under your pillow if you stay in bed all night. It got to the point where N was waking up at 4am and turning the light on to look under her pillow each morning, that we now have a sticker chart. So after x amount of days in a row of staying in bed all night the Sandman would leave a surprise. So we're not waking up each morning early looking under our pillow! So far it's been working well. We do have days that she does get up and that's expected, after all she's only 2!
One of the things that we've started doing to make N feel special, or to know that she's still loved is have sleepovers with Grammy and Nana. This way she gets that individual attention from the grandparents - ok spoiled is the word - and she loves it. In fact she asks to have a sleepover quite frequently! I know it's because they let her run the show, but she needs that release! Especially because we expect so much of her as a big sister now!
Monday, August 25, 2014
Second Time Around: Pregnancy
Ok so we're doing it again. Having another baby. And it's been really different this time around. I'm 35 weeks and my how the time flies the second time around. I honestly haven't kept track of the weeks. Each time I go to the doctor they tell me how far along I am, that's the only way I know! Unlike last time when I kept track of every week, day, second....
This pregnancy has been different in many ways, but mostly because I'm constantly chasing a toddler and well, there isn't much time to rest. This third trimester I've been exhausted. The doctor warned me but I didn't believe them! I'm much larger and still trying to do the same things, like pick up N and put her in the car, carry her places when she needs me to, walk her and the dog down the street. And well its just not as easy when you've got a baby in your belly!
One of the other things that is different is that I've done this before, so I think I'm an expert. I remember that I shouldn't eat certain things, but not sure why anymore. And every now and again I forget and have a sandwich with lunch meat or french toast for breakfast. And only after do I think, should I have eaten that?!
I also haven't taken one belly picture. First time around I think we took photos every week! 35 weeks in and not one posed photo of me and the belly. But I'm totally fine with that! Even though this is most likely my last time being pregnant, I don't seem to feel the need to record every second of it!
I'm also so ready to be done with being pregnant this time around. The nostalgia of it has most definitely worn off this time. I don't feel that glow that people speak of, I'm not enjoying it as much - as I'm chasing a toddler and am exhausted - or maybe it's because I know exactly what I'm in for this time. I know they say each kid is different, but having a new born with needs 24 hours and sleep being an option for mom, not a necessity in the newborn's eyes, isn't something that I look forward to. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited about 'Thing 2" as we're calling it - no we didn't find out the gender so Thing 2 it is. I can't wait for the little tiny feet and hands and person to arrive, to snuggle with and love - unlike my toddler who's favorite word is No, questions everything, repeats the same new sentence 100 times and won't snuggle with you anymore! I know this sound cynical but I do love her to the moon and back! I think the one reason I'm ready to be done with this pregnancy is because sleeping is super uncomfortable. Not just the getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom every few hours, more that I'm a back sleeper, and well, you can't sleep on your back when you're pregnant. ( I knew why the first pregnancy, but can't seem to remember why now - something to do with circulation to the baby being cut off....maybe?) And sleeping on my side gives me a terrible soreness in my lower back. Yes I'm using a body pillow to help with this but it's not comfortable no matter how I sleep. And I find once I do get up to go to the bathroom, falling back asleep is really hard if not impossible some days. My brain just turns on and starts thinking about: all the things I need to do that day, for the baby, for work, what I should make for breakfast, how the people in the movie we watched last night really got away with whatever they got away with... anything and everything. So I keep telling myself, once the baby comes, sleeping will be better...at least the few hours in between feedings will be better!
This pregnancy has been different in many ways, but mostly because I'm constantly chasing a toddler and well, there isn't much time to rest. This third trimester I've been exhausted. The doctor warned me but I didn't believe them! I'm much larger and still trying to do the same things, like pick up N and put her in the car, carry her places when she needs me to, walk her and the dog down the street. And well its just not as easy when you've got a baby in your belly!
One of the other things that is different is that I've done this before, so I think I'm an expert. I remember that I shouldn't eat certain things, but not sure why anymore. And every now and again I forget and have a sandwich with lunch meat or french toast for breakfast. And only after do I think, should I have eaten that?!
I also haven't taken one belly picture. First time around I think we took photos every week! 35 weeks in and not one posed photo of me and the belly. But I'm totally fine with that! Even though this is most likely my last time being pregnant, I don't seem to feel the need to record every second of it!
I'm also so ready to be done with being pregnant this time around. The nostalgia of it has most definitely worn off this time. I don't feel that glow that people speak of, I'm not enjoying it as much - as I'm chasing a toddler and am exhausted - or maybe it's because I know exactly what I'm in for this time. I know they say each kid is different, but having a new born with needs 24 hours and sleep being an option for mom, not a necessity in the newborn's eyes, isn't something that I look forward to. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited about 'Thing 2" as we're calling it - no we didn't find out the gender so Thing 2 it is. I can't wait for the little tiny feet and hands and person to arrive, to snuggle with and love - unlike my toddler who's favorite word is No, questions everything, repeats the same new sentence 100 times and won't snuggle with you anymore! I know this sound cynical but I do love her to the moon and back! I think the one reason I'm ready to be done with this pregnancy is because sleeping is super uncomfortable. Not just the getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom every few hours, more that I'm a back sleeper, and well, you can't sleep on your back when you're pregnant. ( I knew why the first pregnancy, but can't seem to remember why now - something to do with circulation to the baby being cut off....maybe?) And sleeping on my side gives me a terrible soreness in my lower back. Yes I'm using a body pillow to help with this but it's not comfortable no matter how I sleep. And I find once I do get up to go to the bathroom, falling back asleep is really hard if not impossible some days. My brain just turns on and starts thinking about: all the things I need to do that day, for the baby, for work, what I should make for breakfast, how the people in the movie we watched last night really got away with whatever they got away with... anything and everything. So I keep telling myself, once the baby comes, sleeping will be better...at least the few hours in between feedings will be better!
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