26 Weeks

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Week 26


How far along:
26 weeks

Best moments so far:
Celebrating Christmas. Obviously, new baby isn't here yet, but it was so much fun watching the boys open gifts and spending time with family. I expect our winter travel is soon to get pretty limited in the next month and a half or so, and I'm not sure how many more times we will all be together again before the new baby joins our family, so it was good to make some memories as our last Christmas as a family of four.

Maternity clothes:
Most of my clothes - other than sweaters - at this point are maternity. I have an entire tote of maternity wear in a closet downstairs that I haven't even opened yet, but the majority of what I didn't get out is summertime clothing that won't work this time of year unless I can convince T that we should sneak away for a little warm weather getaway yet this winter before baby comes...hint...hint :)

Sleep: 
Ok. The temperature in our home is so HOT that it makes sleeping hard. When G's bedroom door is shut at night (before T & I call it a night), his room has been dipping down to near 64 degrees BRRRRrrrrrrr! (It is on an outside corner of our house furthest from the furnace and has a drafty window). Meanwhile, T & I's room feels like a sauna as it is the closest bedroom to the furnace. It would be great if we could figure out how to get some more heat transferred to the other side of our house! So far shutting vents hasn't been helping :(

Miss Anything:
Energy. Supposedly, energy is supposed to come back during the second trimester, but I feel like mine has gone the opposite direction lately. Even my Grandma noticed how tired I was at Christmas. That being said, it is no small feat to keep up with our boys, so even if I wasn't pregnant, I'd probably still be exhausted by the end of the day!

Baby Movement:
LOTS of movement this week! I've been feeling baby move more during the day too which has been fun. T tells me that baby is about 1.5-2lbs this week, and baby's muscles are developing more and more every day making the kicks stronger and more noticeable. 

Cravings and Aversions:
Chocolate cake. I've been dreaming of this chocolate peppermint poke cake, but have been holding off until after my next appointment when I have to do a glucose test. If I pass, I think I'll make it for New Year's to celebrate!

Queasy or sick:
Nope. So far our house has avoided any serious sickness this winter. C had the stomach flu over Thanksgiving, but the rest of us have managed to escape without anything but occasional pesky winter colds.

Symptoms: 
Still fighting occasional back pain. I've also been super tired this last couple of weeks. By 9pm I have been struggling to keep my eyes open most nights, and thus find myself with approximately only one hour of the day to enjoy to myself without having to keep my constant attention on the boys or spend my entire time cleaning/doing laundry/picking up toys/etc. I'd be completely crazy without some 'me time' to decompress at the end of the day, so I guess one hour is better than none!

Looking forward to:
Hopefully passing my glucose test this week! It will likely be by some miracle if I do after all of the sugar and sweets from our Christmas celebrations over the last couple of weeks!

25 Weeks

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Week 25


How far along:
25 weeks. On one hand, 25 weeks still seems like I have a long ways to go, but on the other hand, realistically, we are likely only about three months away from meeting this new little person. Eeek! At some point, after the chaos of the holidays dies down, I should really find some time to go through my totes of baby supplies to see what I have, and what I may need to acquire in preparation for the newest member of our family.

Best moments so far:
Hmmm...maybe the fact that growing a baby requires calories, and makes me more hungry than usual, so I tend to justify that second Christmas cookie...so...#cookiejustification

Maternity clothes:
All of my bottoms at this point are maternity. Still able to wear lots of my non-maternity sweaters with a maternity cami underneath if it is an open cardigan. 

Sleep: 
Ok. My back has been bothering me a bit, so that has made sleeping a bit more uncomfortable when it is acting up, but other than that, no issues.

Miss Anything:
Fresh air and regular exercise. It was cool and super windy this week, so aside from one walk while the boys were both in 'school', I didn't get any exercise. Hoping to get to the gym at least once before Christmas and hopefully more regularly in the new year until baby arrives. 

Baby Movement:
Yes. Still not noticing much during the day (probably because it's a rare moment that I have been able to sit down), but can feel baby moving around before I go to sleep for the night.

Cravings & Aversions:
Nothing in particular this week. 

Queasy or sick:
Nope.

Symptoms: 
I've still been dealing with some occasional back pain this week, and suspect I have a nerve getting pinched in my lower left back around my tail bone. I'm hopeful it will work itself out without a visit to the chiropractor, but time will tell. At least it's not constant!

Looking forward to:
Christmas! Celebrating the holiday with little people is so much fun! Also hopeful there will be Christmas cookies along the way. I'm planning to make some sugar cookies to take along to our celebrations, and am excited to have C help with the decorating!

Sibling Snapshot

Friday, December 15, 2017

Brothers make the best of friends. At least in our home :) C & G have come to share a special sibling bond that has been so fun to watch develop over the past six months or so. Let me set the record straight, they enjoyed each other prior to G turning one too, but now that he is more active and able to participate and articulate some of what he is thinking, these boys have such a fun time. Just this morning at school pickup, C climbed into the car and went right over to G planting a great big smooch on his forehead...quickly followed by an eskimo kiss...and loudly exclaimed 'Graham...I missed you sooooo much!' Awwww...so sweet! As with any siblings, they have their moments (G isn't fond of being touched constantly as he toddles around the house, and C doesn't especially like to share ALL of his toys ALL of the time), but the majority of the time, these two are having oh so much fun.

 

THE STATS:
C: 3.5 years
G: 17 months

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY:

C: Has been learning SO MUCH this year. He started three year old preschool in September, and absolutely LOVES every minute. He has made many new friends and really started to open up and become more of an active participant rather than playing his usual reserved observer role. His first question every morning is 'Do I have school today?', and he is constantly telling me that he wants to go to school every day. We are so happy with our decision to send him to preschool, and love getting the weekly newsletters that keep us up to date about what he has been learning every week. In other developments, we started our potty training journey in mid-July, and are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'll be honest, of everything else that T & I have experienced so far in our marriage, this has been by far the biggest struggle. Accidents all over the floor, furniture, and even when we have been traveling or at others homes have been and EXTREME source of stress and frustration as C has been VERY slow to pick up on the new habits. After he snuck up to sleep on the chair in G's room one night, and the couch in our main living space later the following week - - - potty-ing on both while he slept, we resorted back to pull-ups at night in an effort to save at least SOME of our furniture (and yes, FYI, we did end up having to replace the couch...luckily still under warranty!). He has finally started to go to the bathroom on his own, and is just now, five months later, starting to tell us consistently when he needs to go. We are no closer on night training, and since he has gotten pull-ups back I would say he has many more accidents at night than he did before, but we've been accident free during daytime hours for at least the last month. Hallelujah!

G: Has changed so much just in the last six months since my official one year post. He started walking the day before turning 15 months, and hasn't looked back since. Watching him toddle around and see where his mind takes him is fascinating. Usually, it means finding the cupboard in our kitchen that I have dedicated to kid friendly items while I am cooking, pretend grilling, looking for a snack, climbing into the laundry machine (a favorite hiding place), or begging for his milk out of the fridge. Just after turning a year, he started getting his molars, and after a week or so of mediocre nighttime sleeping, he has done pretty well with the rest as they slowly...SLOWLY...come through. He still gets a pacifier at nap and bedtime, but very rarely gets one during daytime hours. I think we will try to break the pacifier habit completely sometime after Christmas before new baby arrives.

Both boys LOVE music, and have had a ton of fun at our weekly Kindermusik classes this fall. We have been participating in the mixed ages group so that both boys are in the same class, and scheduled time for singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments has definitely been one of the highlights of the year.

SCHEDULE:

Our current daily schedule is pretty straightforward. Both boys usually get up around 7:30am, we have breakfast (usually immediately, so I best have something ready because patience is not a virtue around here in the mornings!). On Tues/Wed/Thurs, we are out the door hopefully by 8:10am to get to school drop-off for C across town. He is at school from 8:30am-11:15am three days a week. These days usually mean a quick morning nap is in the cards for G, and gives me a chance to get beds made, laundry started, and breakfast cleaned up. On other days when C isn't in school, the boys generally just play together around the house in the mornings, and maybe watch The Grinch or Frosty the Snowman (G's favorite). Lunch is usually around 12:30pm, then after getting everything cleaned up, it is story time and down for a nap for G, then soon to follow C. Both boys typically sleep from 1:30/2-3:30pm when they are up and on to the next activity. We have been busy this fall, and have had both Kindermusik and swim lessons during the week. If we are home, and it is nice out, we try to sneak out for a quick breath of fresh air and a walk around the neighborhood, maybe visiting the park. Dinner around here is usually not until around 6:30pm, so the boys have a snack after nap time before getting up to some sort of shenanigans. C has a dream that G is big enough to tackle, so usually tries this AT LEAST once per afternoon to test the waters. G is NOT a fan of being tackled, so at some point, I usually find myself calming a meltdown or administering a time out. Anytime C & I are discussing G growing up to be a big boy, the immediate response from C is 'Now I can tackle him!'...I keep reminding C that if he keeps pushing and tackling G, that someday he is going to get it right back, and he better be prepared, because he was the teacher! Bedtime for G is right after dinner, usually between 7-7:20pm. Lately, C and papa T have formed a nightly father-son bonding time before bed. They usually play downstairs after dinner and fly T's drone before getting settled for the night. C's bedtime is around 7:40pm with story time and prayers all finished up by 7:45-8pm. After getting tucked in, he will talk through his day after we leave the room to rehash all of his adventures before going to sleep (it's quite entertaining to listen to on his monitor!). He also likes to sneak out of bed at least once or twice after laying down just to test us and make sure we will notice he isn't still in bed where he should be. Little stinker!

FAVORITE TOY:

C continues to love trains, playing football/basketball/golf, and setting up parking lots for his hundreds of die cast cars all over the house. Typical 'boy toys' are a safe bet for him! In the summertime, both boys LOVED playing with the water table. C has asked about getting it out at least once a week ever since the weather turned colder. G loves to play with balls, and 'ball' is one of the few words that he says. This being said, to him, anything he can pick up and throw is a 'ball', so nothing is safe! After a solid few days of taking ornaments off the tree and throwing them around, I think we've finally broken him of that habit. He enjoys playing basketball with our indoor basketball hoop, throwing around a football, pretend cooking and grilling, and driving his truck (when his brother will let him). G also loves music, and enjoys playing with his music table and drum set.



STORYTIME:

C loves to read, and is great about sitting through entire stories to listen. His current books of choice are all Christmas themed, but outside of holiday books, he gravitates towards books about sports, trains, or anything Dr. Suess. He has formed a recent habit of reading a story to himself after getting tucked in at nap time before falling asleep. G on the other hand is very hard to read to, as his attention span for reading is pretty minimal. This being said, he has some favorites that he likes to read over and over front cover to back. I can't get him to sit through an entire Christmas story to save my soul, but if his favorite A Children's Treasury of Songs, Iowa Hawkeyes 123, or The University of Iowa 101 happen to be sitting out, he will dig through all other books on the table, knocking them to the floor, before dragging the one he wants onto my lap and settling in. Little Mr. Particular!

CUISINE:

Both of our boys have developed into quite the little picky eaters. G has decided he does not like mac & cheese - MAC & CHEESE!, and C pretty much would eat straight peanut butter sandwiches for every meal if I would let him. Of course, if I set a muffin or chocolate or pretzels in front of them you would never know, but veggies? Forget it! Unless, of course, I make steamed broccoli. Of all of the veggies that G could choose to actually eat, he LOVES steamed broccoli. To the point that he will eat most of what I have on my plate in addition to the kid sized portion I get for him. C, well, you can forget about it! He has, however, picked up a love of salad, and if T & I are having a salad with our meal, he almost always wants one too. Other than that, the only real veggies I can get C to eat are usually pureed into a blended pouch, smoothie, or juice. Fruit is generally a different story, and both boys enjoy apples, G loves pears, and C loves kiwi. G is very particular about how he eats his apples, and will typically only eat one if we give it to him whole. This would be true of many of his foods, and he thinks he is much older and has many more teeth than he does, refusing to eat whatever I cut up for him, and demanding to have a full sized uncut portion. Such a picky little eater!

Another new development lately on the cuisine front has been using a sense of imagination. G loves to zoom his food around like a car, and C is always telling me that a certain piece of food on his plate looks like a train, or a dog, or a car. Food should be fun, so I usually go along with this burst of creativeness, but I do wish that more of it would end up in tummies instead of on the floor! I don't know how people do it who don't have a solid surface under their tables when feeding littles! Carpet or a rug? Forget about it!

GENERAL TEMPERAMENTS:

C is our sweet loving thoughtful little man. He has a recently discovered streak of the wild side in him, however, and often finds himself in trouble for pushing or tackling little brother G. He is most definitely a follower rather than a instigator of trouble, and is quick to pick up bad behaviors from his peers...particularly if he sees them being scolded for something. He loves to test the waters to see how T or I will react, and if we acknowledge the behavior or words, they will be repeated...endlessly. We've found the best way to move forward is to reign it in by explaining to him that just because so-and-so acts or says something, it does not mean that he needs to repeat it, or reminding him that we do not act that way at our home and it isn't showing love, or...just completely ignoring it altogether. Overall, when he is in his own element without distraction, C is usually the nicest little guy, and does a good job of listening and following directions. He is great about entertaining himself, and is perfectly content to spend an hour or more arranging his many die cast cars in parking lots all over the house, or 'running touchdowns' at top speeds downstairs. His nightly prayers are just the best, and he has prayed for everyone from the kids in the hospital & Daddy's patients, to his Uncle T who drinks too much soda, to his classmates and their parents, to Gpa & Gma's dog Lucy who lives in God's House in Heaven, to God himself, and usually ends with 'lets pray for everyone'.

G is a completely different kid than C, and is usually a complete wild man. In the last month, he has developed a serious mommy attachment, and is loathe to share my lap with big brother C, or let me leave him to play with friends on Time Out Nursery days. He is adamant that he needs to be held while I am trying to cook dinner, and LOVES to climb up on furniture...often times standing to make sure that it is still a 'no-no'. Since learning how to walk a couple months ago, he has been full steam ahead, and his pace most days is at a run rather than a walk...loving to be chased. As long as he has had a good nap and has food in his tummy, he is a happy little camper, and has the best laugh and smiles around. He is a very affectionate little guy, and loves to give open mouthed sloppy wet kisses...demanding they be right on my lips rather than my cheek. Just this week, he discovered that if he holds my head with both hands, he can direct his kisses exactly where he likes. He has also discovered 'eskimo kisses', and has so much fun crinkling up his nose and shaking his head back and forth.

We love these little boys with all our hearts, and can't imagine life without them!




24 Weeks

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Week 24



How far along:
24 weeks

Best moments so far:
Sitting down at the end of the day after finally getting both boys to bed. Annnnd...I could just leave it there. I will say it's been nice to feel baby moving in the evenings when I do finally sit down to relax!

Maternity clothes:
Yes. I picked up this sweater from Gap (HERE), and absolutely love it. It is so soft, a great neutral, and on trend. I also think that the cut it isn't obviously a maternity top, so hopefully I'll be able to wear it after baby comes as well.

Sleep: 
I continue to wish there was more of it! I have been super tired a few days this week, and was lucky that I was able to catch a little nap while the boys were sleeping at T was home over the weekend. Of course, if we weren't on a serious Netflix kick (watched the entire season of new series DARK, and just started season two of The Crown), I'd likely be getting at least an hour of extra sleep per night.

Miss Anything:
The occasional glass of wine would be great. I hosted a Christmas cookie exchange with some other local moms, and while everyone else was able to clink glasses and enjoy a good glass of vino, I resorted myself to a glass of Fre Chardonnay (alcohol-removed wine). Better than straight grape juice, but by no means even a close comparison to the original! Also rubbing in the fact that I am not in a position to enjoy wine, our quarterly wine case from Wall Street Journal Wine Club is in the process of being delivered this week, and since I have to sign for it and have not been home during the first two delivery attempts, I now have to run around to go pick it up all the way across town. So much effort for something I don't even get to enjoy!

Baby Movement:
Lots during the evening. I don't notice as much during the day, but probably a case of being otherwise occupied with the other two loves of my life :)

Cravings & Aversions:
The constant barrage of Christmas cookies leftover from my cookie exchange have been staring at me  all week from the countertop, and have been a serious downfall this week. I could really use some more healthy veggies in my diet to detox from all of the sugar!

Queasy or sick:
Nope.

Symptoms: 
I've had a little bit of back pain again this week, but nothing too dramatic. 

Looking forward to:
T & I are taking a cooking class Wednesday night at the Arts Center, and I can't wait. The theme is New England Classics, so I'm hopeful there may be lobster & chowder involved! Also looking forward to C's first school Christmas program this Friday. Word on the street is that he has a speaking part and gets to talk into a microphone. Can't wait to see how he does! He's been doing a great job of giving me an at-home preview of Away in a Manger (with actions and everything!), so I can't wait to see what else they have been practicing!

23 Weeks

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Week 23



How far along:
23 weeks

Best moments so far:
Feeling lots of movements lately, particularly at night. The kicks have become noticeable from the outside, so hopefully T will get a chance to feel the baby move soon! He's been so busy delivering new babies over the last week or so that it seems like he's barely been home!

Maternity clothes:
Still a mix. Pretty much living in leggings and cardigans/oversized sweaters these days. Cozy is where it's at!

Sleep: 
Wish I had more of it!

Miss Anything:
Warm weather. December 1st was near 50 degrees, and we made the most of it by getting out for some fresh air and a visit to the park. Since then, there has been a biiiig cool down, it snowed, and temps have been hovering around 20 degrees. Brrrr! I think at this point, we are ALL missing any quality amount of time spent outside. Baby 3's due date in early April is going to really throw a wrench in our winter as we almost always leave town for a week sometime in February for a warm weather local. This year, we will be too close to my due date to leave town in February, so I'm not at all looking forward to the LONG winter ahead of us! Here's hoping it will be a mild winter with above average temps and very little snow!

Baby Movement:
Lots!

Cravings & Aversions:
Nothing in particular this week, but planning to mix up some Christmas cookies, so I'll no doubt get my fair share of sugar in the coming week!

Queasy or sick:
Nope.

Symptoms: 
I've had some back pain this week, and suspect it has something to do with walking on a treadmill this week at the gym. 

Looking forward to:
I have a cookie exchange on Friday with some other mom friends, and I'm looking forward to getting all stocked up on sweets for the holidays. C also has his first Christmas program at church on Sunday, so I'm looking forward to seeing if he sticks to his usual performance shy approach of hands in pockets and looking at the ground, or if he'll be more into the spirit and let his voice be heard. Either way, it's sure to be a cute performance that will be fun for all.

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