Last night I gave Noah a time out. He hadn't had one in a LONG time, and I felt like we were having to say "Do you want a time out?" before he would behave a little too often. He would then obey, but not until we asked him if he wanted a time out.
So I decided last night, between bath and bed, when he wasn't obeying, to actually give him a time out. He screamed harder than he had ever screamed before, and within 15 seconds we heard a huge thud.
Noah had flipped himself out of his crib.
Then he did it this morning as soon as he woke up. Then he did it as soon as I put him in his crib for nap today.
Then when Justin and I were in his room with him, we saw exactly how he was accomplishing this. He gets a little leverage with his feet, and then literally bends in half over the railing and somersaults out. Head first.
This is a nightmare for me. Seriously. Noah is nowhere near ready to be out of a crib, and yet I can't keep him in it for the life of me. I wanted to keep him in a crib until he was at least 3 years old. However, we don't want a 2 year old with a broken neck. Therefore, we have had to take the railing off his crib and put an old queen mattress on the floor of his bedroom.
He is so not going to sleep tonight. It's a toss up between whether he will jump around on the huge bed excitedly for awhile before he starts screaming and crying, or whether he will just go right to the screaming.
I can tell you that I already tried having him sleep on a mattress at naptime, and he wouldn't even stay on it, much less stay in his room. So we are also going to have to gate him into his bedroom, which will fuel the screams.
Did I mention this is my nightmare?
(For better Noah news, check out my post from earlier today on potty training, which is basically a done deal now!)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Potty Trained!
Well, I haven't been a very faithful blogger lately, but it's not for lack of things going on! There are so many things happening, and I feel like they all deserve their own posts. However, my child doesn't sleep very much, and therefore I don't get much computer time. I was going to do bullets, but instead, I'm going to do shorter, separate posts.
Potty training is going FANTASTIC. I barely consider myself to be potty "training" him anymore. We can bring him anywhere. He doesn't have accidents, he pulls down his own shorts, he poops in the potty without telling me first, and then brings the little bowl to me and dumps it in the toilet (the diaper sprayer sure comes in handy for cleaning that thing out!).
The majority of his naps since we started potty training a week ago he has woken up dry (we cloth diaper, so this is very easy to know for sure). Night time diapers have gotten progressively less wet, and he asks to go pee in the potty in the morning when he gets up. AND, this morning he was COMPLETELY DRY. No pee in his diaper whatsoever. He did his biggest pee on the potty to date when I took his diaper off, so he was holding it all night! Man alive, I can't even not pee overnight! (on the toilet, of course).
I bought him some tiny boxer briefs to wear when he has to wear pants that are scratchy on the inside. I think briefs would feel too much like a diaper.
Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness. You don't know what "cute" is until you see your skinny little 26 month old wearing a pair of the world's smallest boxer briefs. I pretty much died.
Our next little hurdle to cross in potty training? Getting him comfortable going on a big toilet. I've only put him on the big toilet (with a potty seat on it) once, and he begged to pee on the little potty instead. I didn't make an issue of it, because it was very early in the diaper-free period. That will come. For now, I am fine toting a little Baby Bjorn potty everywhere we go.
Honestly, I was not looking forward to potty training at all. I thought diapers were just so much easier than having to worry about taking him to pee and poop on the potty all the time. Especially when we were in town running errands (since we live 25 minutes outside of town). But I find no diapers SO much easier! I don't have to worry about finding a place to change his bum so he won't leak onto his clothes; I don't have to worry about having enough diapers and a wetbag with me. I just have the potty in the car, and we're golden. He would never poop when we're out in public anyway, so that's not even an issue.
I love having next to no diapers to wash, dry, fold, and stuff. In fact, there's no stuffing anymore because he wears fitteds at night and a flat in a cover for his nap. My diaper loads are tiny, since he's barely wetting one diaper in a 24 hour period. And I don't have to spray out poopy diapers anymore!!
So, in short, I have loved potty training and I LOVE having a potty trained kid now. I thought it would be a struggle, but I honestly think potty training is one of the easiest things I have faced in my 26 months of parenting so far. And my life is so much easier in that area, now. Especially now that my sore, pregnant self doesn't have to lift a 30lb toddler onto a change table 6 or 7 times a day.
I guess this post wasn't that short, was it?
Potty training is going FANTASTIC. I barely consider myself to be potty "training" him anymore. We can bring him anywhere. He doesn't have accidents, he pulls down his own shorts, he poops in the potty without telling me first, and then brings the little bowl to me and dumps it in the toilet (the diaper sprayer sure comes in handy for cleaning that thing out!).
The majority of his naps since we started potty training a week ago he has woken up dry (we cloth diaper, so this is very easy to know for sure). Night time diapers have gotten progressively less wet, and he asks to go pee in the potty in the morning when he gets up. AND, this morning he was COMPLETELY DRY. No pee in his diaper whatsoever. He did his biggest pee on the potty to date when I took his diaper off, so he was holding it all night! Man alive, I can't even not pee overnight! (on the toilet, of course).
I bought him some tiny boxer briefs to wear when he has to wear pants that are scratchy on the inside. I think briefs would feel too much like a diaper.
Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness. You don't know what "cute" is until you see your skinny little 26 month old wearing a pair of the world's smallest boxer briefs. I pretty much died.
Our next little hurdle to cross in potty training? Getting him comfortable going on a big toilet. I've only put him on the big toilet (with a potty seat on it) once, and he begged to pee on the little potty instead. I didn't make an issue of it, because it was very early in the diaper-free period. That will come. For now, I am fine toting a little Baby Bjorn potty everywhere we go.
Honestly, I was not looking forward to potty training at all. I thought diapers were just so much easier than having to worry about taking him to pee and poop on the potty all the time. Especially when we were in town running errands (since we live 25 minutes outside of town). But I find no diapers SO much easier! I don't have to worry about finding a place to change his bum so he won't leak onto his clothes; I don't have to worry about having enough diapers and a wetbag with me. I just have the potty in the car, and we're golden. He would never poop when we're out in public anyway, so that's not even an issue.
I love having next to no diapers to wash, dry, fold, and stuff. In fact, there's no stuffing anymore because he wears fitteds at night and a flat in a cover for his nap. My diaper loads are tiny, since he's barely wetting one diaper in a 24 hour period. And I don't have to spray out poopy diapers anymore!!
So, in short, I have loved potty training and I LOVE having a potty trained kid now. I thought it would be a struggle, but I honestly think potty training is one of the easiest things I have faced in my 26 months of parenting so far. And my life is so much easier in that area, now. Especially now that my sore, pregnant self doesn't have to lift a 30lb toddler onto a change table 6 or 7 times a day.
I guess this post wasn't that short, was it?
Monday, May 28, 2012
He Did It!
Noah pooped on the potty!!!
Obviously this post talks about poop. You've been warned.
I honestly thought this would take weeks or months. In the first 4 days of potty training he pooped in his shorts 3 times. By the third time I started to get the feeling from him that he was understanding this was not okay, and might be right around the corner from actually pooping on the potty.
Well, today after we got inside from playing in the pool I changed Noah into dry, loose shorts. I went to my bedroom to change out of my bathing suit, and while I was in there I heard him yell "OH NO!" I came running out and met him as he was awkwardly walking toward me. He looked really distressed, and I asked him if he pooped in his shorts. He said "Yes!" in an upset voice. I felt his bum, and it had a very small poop in it, so I knew there was more to come. I told him "Remember, we don't poop in our shorts. Poop goes in the potty. So I'm going to put you on the potty and give you some privacy so you can finish your poop." I did that, and went to my bedroom. I felt like there was a 50/50 chance he would actually poop.
Within a minute he called "I pooped on the potty!" and appeared in my bedroom door. I was very excited (but wondered if he actually had pooped on the potty, since 2 year olds aren't incredibly reliable about telling you the absolute truth about something). I followed him back to the potty and sure enough there was a big poop in there!
If I wasn't 21 weeks pregnant I swear I would have done a cartwheel.
I made a huge deal about it, obviously. He was proud, but he was also very distressed after the fact, and I'm not totally sure why. I think maybe he didn't like that his bum was dirty and needed to be wiped, because he equated that with having the accidents he's been having the past few days. He also may have been freaked out when he saw his poop sitting in the potty. But I just kept calmly telling him that he did such a good job, and that everybody needs to wipe their bums after they poop to make sure that they're all clean. He was happy once he was all cleaned up and had a clean pair of shorts on.
After we got everything cleaned up we called Granny (my mom) and Noah told her that he pooped on the potty. She made a big deal about it too. He's pretty proud of himself!
So, to recap, we are on Day 5 of potty training, and doing extremely well. In 5 days he has only had 2 pee accidents; both times he was very distracted by trains, but the second time he realized what was happening while he was peeing and stopped and finished on the potty. And it was a big pee on the potty, so I was impressed he had been holding it and not at all surprised he had the accident, since it was his first time playing with the new train we had just bought him (which, ironically, was a reward for not having any accidents - haha).
He also had 3 poop accidents, but after pooping on the potty today I think we have turned a major corner, and those will soon be a thing of the past!
Yesterday we even went on a shopping trip in town. We spent 40 minutes in the van on the way there, about an hour in the store, and 40 minutes in the van on the way home. No accidents! We put a potty in the van and used that while we were in town.
I am so proud of Noah. Only 26 months old, and I can't believe how well this has been going. I have a feeling that in about a week it will be "He's potty trained," instead of "He's potty training." And it's actually been fun. I'm in the right frame of mind for it this time, whereas I wasn't in the wintertime. This was clearly the right time for us to make this change!
The only downside? Some of his pants and shorts are literally falling right off of him now that he no longer has a diaper butt. He is just so tall and skinny! He wears 3T/4T and unless I get the right pair of pants or shorts, they fall right down his butt.
However, I love that adorable little butt, and love not having the cloth diaper covering it up!
Obviously this post talks about poop. You've been warned.
I honestly thought this would take weeks or months. In the first 4 days of potty training he pooped in his shorts 3 times. By the third time I started to get the feeling from him that he was understanding this was not okay, and might be right around the corner from actually pooping on the potty.
Well, today after we got inside from playing in the pool I changed Noah into dry, loose shorts. I went to my bedroom to change out of my bathing suit, and while I was in there I heard him yell "OH NO!" I came running out and met him as he was awkwardly walking toward me. He looked really distressed, and I asked him if he pooped in his shorts. He said "Yes!" in an upset voice. I felt his bum, and it had a very small poop in it, so I knew there was more to come. I told him "Remember, we don't poop in our shorts. Poop goes in the potty. So I'm going to put you on the potty and give you some privacy so you can finish your poop." I did that, and went to my bedroom. I felt like there was a 50/50 chance he would actually poop.
Within a minute he called "I pooped on the potty!" and appeared in my bedroom door. I was very excited (but wondered if he actually had pooped on the potty, since 2 year olds aren't incredibly reliable about telling you the absolute truth about something). I followed him back to the potty and sure enough there was a big poop in there!
If I wasn't 21 weeks pregnant I swear I would have done a cartwheel.
I made a huge deal about it, obviously. He was proud, but he was also very distressed after the fact, and I'm not totally sure why. I think maybe he didn't like that his bum was dirty and needed to be wiped, because he equated that with having the accidents he's been having the past few days. He also may have been freaked out when he saw his poop sitting in the potty. But I just kept calmly telling him that he did such a good job, and that everybody needs to wipe their bums after they poop to make sure that they're all clean. He was happy once he was all cleaned up and had a clean pair of shorts on.
After we got everything cleaned up we called Granny (my mom) and Noah told her that he pooped on the potty. She made a big deal about it too. He's pretty proud of himself!
So, to recap, we are on Day 5 of potty training, and doing extremely well. In 5 days he has only had 2 pee accidents; both times he was very distracted by trains, but the second time he realized what was happening while he was peeing and stopped and finished on the potty. And it was a big pee on the potty, so I was impressed he had been holding it and not at all surprised he had the accident, since it was his first time playing with the new train we had just bought him (which, ironically, was a reward for not having any accidents - haha).
He also had 3 poop accidents, but after pooping on the potty today I think we have turned a major corner, and those will soon be a thing of the past!
Yesterday we even went on a shopping trip in town. We spent 40 minutes in the van on the way there, about an hour in the store, and 40 minutes in the van on the way home. No accidents! We put a potty in the van and used that while we were in town.
I am so proud of Noah. Only 26 months old, and I can't believe how well this has been going. I have a feeling that in about a week it will be "He's potty trained," instead of "He's potty training." And it's actually been fun. I'm in the right frame of mind for it this time, whereas I wasn't in the wintertime. This was clearly the right time for us to make this change!
The only downside? Some of his pants and shorts are literally falling right off of him now that he no longer has a diaper butt. He is just so tall and skinny! He wears 3T/4T and unless I get the right pair of pants or shorts, they fall right down his butt.
However, I love that adorable little butt, and love not having the cloth diaper covering it up!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Potty Training
So, we are giving potty training another try. Noah did really well with the pee part last time I "tried" back in the winter, awhile before his birthday. He didn't have a single accident all day long. But then I just didn't want to continue. I knew the pooping on the potty part would be a struggle, and I wasn't minding the diapers at the time, so I just decided I wasn't into it. Plus his bum got this weird pimply rash from being naked for the whole day, and I didn't like that.
However, I think we're giving it another shot now, and I think I'm going to stick it out this time. This is Day 3 of no diapers (except at nap time and night time). Sometimes he goes naked, sometimes he wears loose pants or shorts. He has had one pee accident in those 3 days. It was yesterday, on Day 2, and it was because he was hanging out with Justin watching videos of train tracks (which is very distracting for him), and Justin hadn't mentioned peeing in the potty for over an hour. Noah was sitting on the bed, and must have forgotten he wasn't wearing a diaper, because he just let 'er loose. Awesome.
The poop thing... I am totally not sure where we stand on that. The first two days he had already pooped when I got him out of his crib in the morning. This is unusual for him - he almost always poops within the first hour of being awake, but not usually in his night time diaper. Then today he popped a squat in his nice loose pants and crapped. I figured it out as it was happening and immediately ran over (he yelled at me for invading his privacy), pulled down his pants (the poop fell through the leg when I did this), and plopped him on the potty (which was literally RIGHT beside him).
I was not very happy, but thankfully it was the most solid poop he's had in awhile, and it was on the hardwood floors, so it was an easy clean up. Noah sat there on his potty with his poop lying on the floor beside him and he was not impressed. He kept asking me to clean it up.
Sooo, I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen with the poop part. I have read so many stories of kids who take forever to start pooping on the potty, and I have a feeling that could end up being Noah. He has a strong need for solitude while he poops, and he always has to be in a squat.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see. He does so well with the pee part of potty training, though, that I don't want to just give up on that part just because he doesn't want to poop in the potty. I don't want to ignore his ability to control his bladder for so long that he gets older and more stubborn and decides he doesn't want to control it anymore. I've read that if you wait past 28 months it can get harder, and I know my brother and SIL didn't bother trying to potty train my nephew for a long time (they didn't even try to get him to pee on a potty at all, actually), and so when they tried he was incredibly resistant to it. He is now 3 years and 3 months and only recently did his first pee on the potty, but he doesn't seem to have any bladder control, nor does he care. I just don't want to miss a good window, since Noah is so ready for the pee-trained part.
I gave him an incentive: we'll buy him a train table when he starts pooping in the potty. He is train obsessed, and constantly asks to see pictures of the train table he will get. I am perfectly comfortable with the idea of bribing a kid to potty train - sometimes a little extra incentive really works! Bribes worked with 3 out of 4 of my mom's kids (I was the exception - I didn't need to be bribed with anything except wearing pretty underwear), and we were all potty trained pretty early by today's standards (right around 2). Who knows if this bribe will work on Noah, though. The poop issue might be too much for him to overcome, even though he says he is going to poop on the potty so that he can have a train table.
Two year olds say a lot of things.
However, I think we're giving it another shot now, and I think I'm going to stick it out this time. This is Day 3 of no diapers (except at nap time and night time). Sometimes he goes naked, sometimes he wears loose pants or shorts. He has had one pee accident in those 3 days. It was yesterday, on Day 2, and it was because he was hanging out with Justin watching videos of train tracks (which is very distracting for him), and Justin hadn't mentioned peeing in the potty for over an hour. Noah was sitting on the bed, and must have forgotten he wasn't wearing a diaper, because he just let 'er loose. Awesome.
The poop thing... I am totally not sure where we stand on that. The first two days he had already pooped when I got him out of his crib in the morning. This is unusual for him - he almost always poops within the first hour of being awake, but not usually in his night time diaper. Then today he popped a squat in his nice loose pants and crapped. I figured it out as it was happening and immediately ran over (he yelled at me for invading his privacy), pulled down his pants (the poop fell through the leg when I did this), and plopped him on the potty (which was literally RIGHT beside him).
I was not very happy, but thankfully it was the most solid poop he's had in awhile, and it was on the hardwood floors, so it was an easy clean up. Noah sat there on his potty with his poop lying on the floor beside him and he was not impressed. He kept asking me to clean it up.
Sooo, I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen with the poop part. I have read so many stories of kids who take forever to start pooping on the potty, and I have a feeling that could end up being Noah. He has a strong need for solitude while he poops, and he always has to be in a squat.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see. He does so well with the pee part of potty training, though, that I don't want to just give up on that part just because he doesn't want to poop in the potty. I don't want to ignore his ability to control his bladder for so long that he gets older and more stubborn and decides he doesn't want to control it anymore. I've read that if you wait past 28 months it can get harder, and I know my brother and SIL didn't bother trying to potty train my nephew for a long time (they didn't even try to get him to pee on a potty at all, actually), and so when they tried he was incredibly resistant to it. He is now 3 years and 3 months and only recently did his first pee on the potty, but he doesn't seem to have any bladder control, nor does he care. I just don't want to miss a good window, since Noah is so ready for the pee-trained part.
I gave him an incentive: we'll buy him a train table when he starts pooping in the potty. He is train obsessed, and constantly asks to see pictures of the train table he will get. I am perfectly comfortable with the idea of bribing a kid to potty train - sometimes a little extra incentive really works! Bribes worked with 3 out of 4 of my mom's kids (I was the exception - I didn't need to be bribed with anything except wearing pretty underwear), and we were all potty trained pretty early by today's standards (right around 2). Who knows if this bribe will work on Noah, though. The poop issue might be too much for him to overcome, even though he says he is going to poop on the potty so that he can have a train table.
Two year olds say a lot of things.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The Sweetest 2 Year Old Boy Ever
This morning while I was bent over scrubbing the tub, Noah kept hugging me from behind, kissing my back, and saying "Thank you for cleaning my bathtub, Mommy! I love you, Mommy." Then he would blow me kisses.
He sure knows how to treat a lady.
He sure knows how to treat a lady.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Mother's Day 2012
This year was my third Mother's Day (sometimes I find that really hard to believe!), and it was wonderful. I don't have any pictures, because I am just not that perfect person who obsessively makes sure she gets pictures of every single special day in the year (I am usually too busy just living them). But I don't want to make sure that I write down how my day went so that I remember in the future.
To start, I had gotten my mother's day gift a little early. Noah and Justin made me an adorable card (I should take pictures and upload them to this post, but if I do that I won't post this for many more days). Noah made a bunch of his own drawings, but everything Justin put on the card was a direct instruction from Noah. Therefore, the front of my card has a sun, a blue shirt, an orange shirt, and the number 7 on it (among other things). On the inside Justin asked him what he wanted to say to me, so Noah told him to write "Mommy I love you." I pretty much melted.
My present was a nice, roomy zero-gravity lounger for beside the pool. That chair is so freaking comfortable, I told Justin that I might actually sleep in it at night at the end of my pregnancy. To be honest, I went and bought it myself. We needed a lounger for by the pool, and Justin wanted to get me a Mother's Day gift, and since we're definitely not rolling in the dough as a single-income family, I figured we'd kill two birds with one stone. And he's so busy it's hard for him to find the time to go buy me a present, so I told him I would do it myself:) And then I ended up buying one for him, too, so... Happy Early Father's Day? Haha.
Moving on to Sunday... we went to church in the morning. Then right after church we went down to the bridge (we live near a major bridge that crosses into the US) to watch the boats, eat bridge fries, and get ice cream. It was so simple and wonderful just the three of us; I loved it. Noah had his first "ice cream" experience (strawberry frozen yogurt), and he loved it. He sat on the bench holding his little cup of frozen yogurt and just kept taking careful spoonfuls and eating them so neatly. He continually made comments like, "This is so yummy!" and "Mmm, deLIcious!" Watching him enjoy his strawberry frozen yogurt seriously made my whole day.
We drove home and put Noah down for his nap. Justin and I went out to sit by the pool while Noah slept... except Noah never did sleep. He was falling asleep in the car on the way home, so right when we got in the house I changed his bum, nursed him, and put him down. But he just woke up too much and couldn't settle back down. He wasn't screaming or being bad, but after an hour of being awake he started crying, so I took him out.
We let him play with his trains for awhile (I actually think the fact that he hadn't had an opportunity to play with his trains was part of what made him not nap), and then we headed in to my parents' house for dinner. The dinner was actually more for my sister's birthday than for Mother's Day, but it doesn't matter. It was nice to spend time with 3/4 of my family.
After that it was home for a somewhat early bedtime for Noah (8:30), and a very late bedtime for me (11:30), since it was the series finale of Desperate Housewives.
All in all, a very good day! Nice, simple, and enjoyable. The way it should be:)
Saturday, May 12, 2012
18 Week Ultrasound!
Sorry for not posting this yesterday - I know some people were waiting and "stalking":). It was such beautiful weather and I didn't want to be stuck inside uploading pictures and writing a post. And then I didn't have time after Noah went to bed past 9.
So, the big news:) We are expecting...
This picture is sort of looking down from above. You can see his fontanelle/soft spot (the black area on the top of his head), and he has his fist curled up in front of his nose.
In the next picture you can see his whole, cute little body. His right hand is fisted in front of his face, and his little legs are in front of him, crossed at the ankles and around his umbilical cord:
The ultrasound went well, as far as I know. She wouldn't tell me anything, which really surprised me. I got the ultrasound done at my RE's clinic, and I thought they'd be a little more... "free" than if I got it done at the hospital in the city where I live. Where I live they won't even tell you the gender at your ultrasound! Well, I found out the gender at this one, but not anything else. She wouldn't even tell me where my placenta was! I asked her if it was anterior or posterior, and she said, "Well I can't make a diagnosis, but I can tell you that the placenta is right here, and this is your front, and this is your back." So I figured out I have a posterior placenta (it was anterior with Noah). But I thought it was totally ridiculous she wouldn't even come out and tell me the location of the placenta. Even the hospital where I live doesn't have a problem with doing that! I mean, it's just a location, not telling me if there is anything wrong with it!
I do know he is measuring 4 days ahead (the measurements put my due date at October 6 instead of October 10, but obviously we will not be changing my due date). And he has all his fingers and toes. She seemed to take a TON of pictures of his heart. I'm trying not to read too much into that. During my 20 week ultrasound with Noah I didn't even get to see the screen until the last 10 minutes or so of the ultrasound, so maybe it's just normal. I mean, the heart is pretty important, so maybe the doctors reading the ultrasound want a ton of pictures.
I just had a midwife appointment on Thursday, and my next one isn't until June 7. I may have to call her next week and see if she got the results of the ultrasound so I can know if everything looked fine. Waiting 4 weeks doesn't seem like something I want to do. There's a longer story behind that, but this post is long enough. I need to write a post about my midwife appointment, and that's where that information really belongs.
So, that's all there is to say about the ultrasound!
So, the big news:) We are expecting...
A little...
BOY!!
I am really excited about this. I would have been really excited about a girl, too, but I am equally excited about having another boy. I just love Noah to pieces, and having him as my little boy has just been the most amazing experience, so I can't wait to add another little boy to our family. Plus I was hoping this baby would be a boy, because then Noah and his little brother are only 2.5 years apart (as opposed to more than 5 years if baby #2 was a girl and baby #3 was a boy).
And then there are all the baby boy clothes that I loved that Noah grew out of so quickly and I really wanted to be able to use them again:) Being able to reuse a lot of the clothes (not everything, since the babies will be opposite seasons from each other) will save us a lot of money. And I won't "need" to buy any girly blankets or burp cloths or bedding or cloth diapers - another huge money saver!
We got to see some 3D, which was lots of fun. I immediately thought he looked just like Noah did in 3D at this age... but that might be because they have very little fat at this point, so they all kind of look like skinny old men. We got 5 or 6 minutes of video footage of the 3D, as well, which is nice to have (although I have to admit, the last time I watched Noah's 3D ultrasound video I was about 25 weeks pregnant).
In this picture his cheek is resting on his hand:
This picture is sort of looking down from above. You can see his fontanelle/soft spot (the black area on the top of his head), and he has his fist curled up in front of his nose.
In the next picture you can see his whole, cute little body. His right hand is fisted in front of his face, and his little legs are in front of him, crossed at the ankles and around his umbilical cord:
The ultrasound went well, as far as I know. She wouldn't tell me anything, which really surprised me. I got the ultrasound done at my RE's clinic, and I thought they'd be a little more... "free" than if I got it done at the hospital in the city where I live. Where I live they won't even tell you the gender at your ultrasound! Well, I found out the gender at this one, but not anything else. She wouldn't even tell me where my placenta was! I asked her if it was anterior or posterior, and she said, "Well I can't make a diagnosis, but I can tell you that the placenta is right here, and this is your front, and this is your back." So I figured out I have a posterior placenta (it was anterior with Noah). But I thought it was totally ridiculous she wouldn't even come out and tell me the location of the placenta. Even the hospital where I live doesn't have a problem with doing that! I mean, it's just a location, not telling me if there is anything wrong with it!
I do know he is measuring 4 days ahead (the measurements put my due date at October 6 instead of October 10, but obviously we will not be changing my due date). And he has all his fingers and toes. She seemed to take a TON of pictures of his heart. I'm trying not to read too much into that. During my 20 week ultrasound with Noah I didn't even get to see the screen until the last 10 minutes or so of the ultrasound, so maybe it's just normal. I mean, the heart is pretty important, so maybe the doctors reading the ultrasound want a ton of pictures.
I just had a midwife appointment on Thursday, and my next one isn't until June 7. I may have to call her next week and see if she got the results of the ultrasound so I can know if everything looked fine. Waiting 4 weeks doesn't seem like something I want to do. There's a longer story behind that, but this post is long enough. I need to write a post about my midwife appointment, and that's where that information really belongs.
So, that's all there is to say about the ultrasound!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Fun in the Spring Sun
(I've been awake since 5:45am. I couldn't get back to sleep because I'm too nervous/excited about my ultrasound this afternoon. I'll be glad when it's over! Because of the early wake up, I decided to get a blog post done before Noah wakes up.)
Besides that one incredibly hot day a couple of weeks ago, the weather here has not been very summer-like. The temperatures most days are in the teens (I always have to look up conversions since the majority of my readers are American... that's in the 50's or low 60's, fyi). However, when it is sunny, our backyard is a lot warmer than any temperature reading you'd find online. For one thing, the little town where I live is almost always 5 degrees warmer than the city where our parents live 20 minutes away. They have the lake, which cools them down. And then our backyard is usually at least a few degrees warmer than our front yard, simply because it's so sheltered. This is exactly why I wanted a pool, by the way. In summertime our backyard is absolutely unbearable. In fact, our whole town is pretty much unbearable. But my backyard is worse.
I digress. The point is that despite the still coolish temps we've been getting, our sheltered backyard has allowed us to pretend it's already summer! And boy, have we been busy pretending!
Those last two are iPod pictures, hence the poorer quality.
Anyway, days like we've been having are one of my very favourite parts of being a stay at home mom. Having no "schedule" I have to follow, going outside when Noah wants to go outside, running around in the grass in bare feet because we had no shoes by the back door, getting about 10 sunburns already by May 11 (man that sun has been strong!)... I am loving life lately! I am looking forward to a long summer growing our baby and hanging out with the most awesome toddler ever created. Cherishing my last days as a Mom of One.
Besides that one incredibly hot day a couple of weeks ago, the weather here has not been very summer-like. The temperatures most days are in the teens (I always have to look up conversions since the majority of my readers are American... that's in the 50's or low 60's, fyi). However, when it is sunny, our backyard is a lot warmer than any temperature reading you'd find online. For one thing, the little town where I live is almost always 5 degrees warmer than the city where our parents live 20 minutes away. They have the lake, which cools them down. And then our backyard is usually at least a few degrees warmer than our front yard, simply because it's so sheltered. This is exactly why I wanted a pool, by the way. In summertime our backyard is absolutely unbearable. In fact, our whole town is pretty much unbearable. But my backyard is worse.
I digress. The point is that despite the still coolish temps we've been getting, our sheltered backyard has allowed us to pretend it's already summer! And boy, have we been busy pretending!
The water was 57 degrees this day, but that didn't stop Noah!
This picture slays me:
I love the way he blows bubbles:
"Look at my bubbles!!":
"I wanna feel it...":
"It's cold!":
On another day I decided to bust out a kiddie pool, as I'm not too fond of going in frigid water (although it is up to 64 degrees now!):
Noah still thought it was pretty cold:
Those last two are iPod pictures, hence the poorer quality.
Anyway, days like we've been having are one of my very favourite parts of being a stay at home mom. Having no "schedule" I have to follow, going outside when Noah wants to go outside, running around in the grass in bare feet because we had no shoes by the back door, getting about 10 sunburns already by May 11 (man that sun has been strong!)... I am loving life lately! I am looking forward to a long summer growing our baby and hanging out with the most awesome toddler ever created. Cherishing my last days as a Mom of One.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Feeling it on the Outside... And 18 Week Update
I'm 18 weeks today, and last night I felt the baby kicking from the outside! It was awesome. I just checked, and I felt it on the outside at the same time in my pregnancy with Noah. I thought I felt it a couple of weeks later with him, but apparently not!
K maybe I'll try and do a pregnancy update now, really quickly before Noah wakes up. He happens to be sleeping in (it's almost 8!).
How far along: 18 weeks
Stretch marks?: Just what I have from Noah. No new ones.
Sleep: It's not terrible. My pubic bone is starting to really hurt at night, and I'm waking about about 8 times a night and peeing at least 3 times, but it could be a lot worse.
K maybe I'll try and do a pregnancy update now, really quickly before Noah wakes up. He happens to be sleeping in (it's almost 8!).
How far along: 18 weeks
Stretch marks?: Just what I have from Noah. No new ones.
Sleep: It's not terrible. My pubic bone is starting to really hurt at night, and I'm waking about about 8 times a night and peeing at least 3 times, but it could be a lot worse.
Movement: For the past month or so the level and strength of movement has remained about the same. I was waiting for it to become stronger or more frequent (some days it would be more than others, but for the most part I felt movement 10-20 times a day) , but it was taking awhile. But as of 17 weeks 6 days I can feel it on the outside! I have to have impeccable timing and hand placement, though.
Best moments this week: Feeling the baby move from the outside. Last night s/he kept kicking my hand in the same place almost 10 times in a row. By the time Justin got there, though, s/he had stopped. Of course. Also awesome this week was opening the pool and hanging out back there with Noah. It's going to be a great summer!
Food cravings: Nothing specific.
Sex: We find out in 2 days (Friday)!!
Labor signs?: Lots of braxton hicks. I had many of them all throughout my first pregnancy, too. As my uterus gets bigger (it's over an inch above my belly button now at 18 weeks) they become more uncomfortable.
New Symptoms: Nothing new so far. For the most part I am feeling pretty good. I am trying to be as active as possible, considering the condition of my pubic bone. I've been working out almost every day (only doing things that don't irritate it, since going for a walk makes it hurt worse for many days), and eating incredibly well, so I think that's why I'm feeling pretty good. But I'm finding my body gets sore really easily. It doesn't take much for my back and pelvis to get sore and prevent me from wanting to move.
Belly Button: Almost fully popped. It's been popped for a long time already.
What I miss the most: Eating whatever I wanted because I was actually producing a full milk supply and not gaining any weight.
What I am looking forward to the most: Finding out if it's a boy or a girl on Friday! I'm excited!!
Milestones: In my mind, 18 weeks is a milestone.
Best moments this week: Feeling the baby move from the outside. Last night s/he kept kicking my hand in the same place almost 10 times in a row. By the time Justin got there, though, s/he had stopped. Of course. Also awesome this week was opening the pool and hanging out back there with Noah. It's going to be a great summer!
Food cravings: Nothing specific.
Sex: We find out in 2 days (Friday)!!
Labor signs?: Lots of braxton hicks. I had many of them all throughout my first pregnancy, too. As my uterus gets bigger (it's over an inch above my belly button now at 18 weeks) they become more uncomfortable.
New Symptoms: Nothing new so far. For the most part I am feeling pretty good. I am trying to be as active as possible, considering the condition of my pubic bone. I've been working out almost every day (only doing things that don't irritate it, since going for a walk makes it hurt worse for many days), and eating incredibly well, so I think that's why I'm feeling pretty good. But I'm finding my body gets sore really easily. It doesn't take much for my back and pelvis to get sore and prevent me from wanting to move.
Belly Button: Almost fully popped. It's been popped for a long time already.
What I miss the most: Eating whatever I wanted because I was actually producing a full milk supply and not gaining any weight.
What I am looking forward to the most: Finding out if it's a boy or a girl on Friday! I'm excited!!
Milestones: In my mind, 18 weeks is a milestone.
This is my most recent belly picture. It's not that recent though, since I am 16.5 weeks in it. I'll have to take another one soon.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Pool Is Open!
We finally opened the pool today! "Finally" sounds ridiculous, because it's the first weekend in May. But considering I was dying to open it already in the middle of March because of that hot weather, I feel like I've been waiting for 2 months.
Originally we were going to get Steve, our pool guy, to come open the pool. But after the shenanigans with the $1800 electrical bill that we shouldn't have had, I have not been very keen on contacting him, nor have I wanted to give him any more of our money. So we had to completely figure out how to do this on our own. We got a couple of tips from our electrician, who has a pool, but other than that it was just me using my common sense and ordering Justin around (nicely).
We spent a good 6.5 hours working on the pool today. The big problem was the winter cover. Right after it got closed in October we got SO MUCH RAIN. The cover was covered in water, and the weight of the water made it so that parts of the cover kept falling out of the sides, so that the actual pool water was exposed. The water level in the pool was way high than it should have been because of that, and there was extra crap in the pool because of it too.
Also, back in October, Steve (so not my favourite person) was supposed to come pump the water off the cover and out of the pool, since it was about a foot higher than it should have been, but he never did. Of course. So we've had all this water sitting on top of the cover for the past 7 months, and the cover was disgusting because of it. Totally covered in murky brown scum and tons of water.
Before we could open the pool we had to deal with that cover. If we took it off without cleaning it first, all that crap would go directly into the pool, and would make it much harder for us to clean and balance the pool water. A couple of weeks ago I bought a submersible pump to pump the water off. It was a very long process, but to make a long story short, we were out there for 3.5 hours pumping off the water, cleaning off the cover, and finally using buckets to get the last amounts of water off the cover before we could actually take it off.
That was the most difficult step.
After that we had to fill the pool a little more (using the garden hose). When the water level was high enough we managed to get the pump and filter running. This is more complicated than it sounds when your lines have all been drained and everything was winterized. You're not supposed to run the pump when there's any air in the lines. Plus we certainly didn't become pool pros in the one month our pool was open last year.
Justin vacuumed the pool and dumped some more salt in it, along with some shock (although I'm thinking we should have put more shock in than we did, because the water is fairly murky). For some reason we never received any salt test strips last year when we put in the pool, so we have no idea what the salt level is. And you're not allowed to turn on the salt water system (which creates the chlorine for the pool) until your salt is at the appropriate level.
I think we may be skipping church tomorrow morning. There is just too much to do, and the whole afternoon after Noah's nap is going to be spent at my inlaws'. Justin needs to wash off the winter cover thoroughly, we need to power wash the concrete around the pool, and we may or may not need to vacuum the pool again tomorrow (although I'm not sure if anything will settle to the bottom, since the pump is going to be running all night). Also, if the pool place is open, I'd like to go in, get some supplies, and get our water tested so they can tell us what we need to do to to it next.
Sorry for the super boring post. But this was the excitement of my day, and I'm really proud that we managed to figure out how to open our pool all on our own! Saved us the $150 we would have had to pay someone else to do it!
Now I need to get off the computer. I have had a massive headache since 5:30 today. I don't think my body enjoyed being out in the sun for 3.5 hours while drinking no water. I also have a nasty sunburn. Yuck.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Hot as H...
I'm getting a taste of what I'm in for this summer.
Our weather has been so ridiculous this spring. While we often get snow in April, this year we were treated to two beautiful weeks of weather in mid March. It reached over 80 degrees some days, and I was dying to open the pool. And dying to turn on the air conditioner, which I just couldn't bring myself to do in March.
Then BAM, the warm weather left and we were back to the cold. And the windy. After wearing shorts and tank tops, we were back to winter coat weather. We'd have a random day of decent 55-60 degree weather, but it never lasted longer than a day.
Today it is suddenly friggin roasting out. My furnace was still needed two days ago, and today it is over 100 degrees with the humidex. It's soooo hot. And I still can't make myself turn on the a/c, because I'm quite sure we're not done with needing the furnace for the season.
I really really wish the pool was open. This pregnant lady is so hot. I can't even tell you how happy I am that we do have a pool for this summer, the entirety of which I'll be in my third trimester of pregnancy.
On a side note, I'm 17 weeks and some change, and my body is rebelling on me. My pubic bone is increasingly painful, especially at night when I'm lying on my side and it loses its alignment, and my back is starting to hurt. I need a chiropractor and a massage. Stat. Unfortunately, those things might help my back but they will do nothing at all for my pelvis. I am incredibly nervous about dealing with this for the next 22-23 weeks.
I need to do a pregnancy update. The status of some things have changed.
Maybe later.
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