Homestretch

As I near the homestretch of my pregnancy (5 weeks left- give or take), I wanted to document a few things, so that I won’t forget when my daughter is older and asks me about this time.

What I’m feeling (physically) - I love feeling my baby girl move and kick all the time. Sometimes it hurts a little bit, but it’s mostly good. I think it’s funny when I can look down at my stomach and actually see my her moving around. I’m definitely tired, but I feel like it could be worse. Even though some things like bending over are harder than normal to do, I feel pretty lucky to not have any major complaints with such little time left.

What I’m feeling (emotionally) - Scared, nervous, excited, unprepared, surreal. I think that about sums it up. The main thing that I constantly think about is that I can’t believe that I’m going to be a mother of 2 in a matter of weeks. I still look at Cole all the time and say “wow, he’s ours” so having a little girl around all the time is a crazy concept to me. I also feel like we haven’t done anything to prepare for this new arrival in our lives and that she is going to show up, and we won’t know what to do with ourselves. Rationally, I know that’s not really the case and that we will get everything done, but the next few weeks seem daunting with thoughts of washing baby clothes, setting up the bassinet and swing, packing our bags, getting car seat bases in place, etc. I’d like to take a week off to get ready… but I’d probably use the time to nap.

Other stuff-

We finally decided on a name for our little girl, but we are keeping it a secret.

Even if he won’t admit it, I think Kevin likes buying baby girl clothes as much as I do (if not more).

Cole is so good about hugging, kissing and talking to his sister… which warms my heart more than words can say.

I’m really trying to soak up all the one-on-one time with Cole that I can right now. One of my biggest concerns is splitting attention and “mommy time” so I’m enjoying not having to worry about that for now.

Most importantly, all 3 of us are excited about our growing family and meeting our newest member!

Sincerest Form of Flattery

If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then Kevin and I should be feeling beyond flattered these days. Cole has been copying things that we do for awhile now, but it is getting to be even more of a regular occurrence.

One of the first blogs that I ever wrote was about how Kevin and Cole have a morning routine that they go through together- hair, teeth, deodorant, all that. They still do that, and heaven forbid Kevin brushes his teeth without Cole… well, let’s just say my son is not a happy camper. It’s actually come in handy with things like getting Cole to take his vitamin every morning because Daddy is taking his.

But now Cole has taken things to another level. Sometimes when I talk, he repeats everything that I say. Well, not necessarily the entire sentence, but the last word of every sentence. Yeah, that gets annoying pretty fast. And he definitely knows what he is doing, because he laughs and makes faces at me when he does it… like he knows he is up to something bad.

One day as we were leaving for daycare, I said to Cole, “let’s rock and roll.” It isn’t even something that I say very often, but now we are stuck with it. He says it to me all the time. Now he even opens the fridge and sees the bag of rolls and asks to have a “rock and roll.” I’ve tried to explain the difference, but he either doesn’t get it or chooses not to. Another favorite thing to repeat is “knock it off.” When he is acting up, I tell Cole to knock it off, and he says it right back. Hard to maintain any ounce of respect when that happens.

Last weekend, we had the moment that I had been waiting for. As a parent, you do your best to avoid it, but you know that inevitably you will slip up, and it will happen. The three of us were going food shopping, and Kevin was rearranging things in his trunk to make room for the bags. I don’t remember if he hurt his hand or what happened, but he said, “oh, fudge.” Only he didn’t use the word fudge. (Use your imagination.) I looked back at him quickly, as I was getting Cole into his car seat, and just said “language.”  Well, my 2 year old looked right at me and said, “oh, fudge.” (Again, a euphemism here.) I tried my best to do the right thing and correct him, but I started laughing so hard that I had to walk away so he couldn’t see my face. I mean, what do you do in this situation? I composed myself as much as I could, walked back over to him and explained that we don’t use that word. Now let’s just hope that doesn’t happen in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because not everyone would be so flattered by my son’s imitations.

Things We Do

I was thinking today about the things that we do for our kids. Not the run them to soccer practice or cut the crust off the bread types of things. Not the stay up until 2am working on a science fair project or watch the same episode of their favorite cartoon for the 100^th time type of things. But those not-so-often-thought-of, but just as important things. I really experienced that this weekend.

I’m finding more and more that just being able to bring a child into this world is truly a miracle. It’s not what I thought it was when I was younger- you get married, decide to have a baby and 9 months later, out comes your little bundle of joy, no consequences to speak of. It seems that infertility is so common these days (I have a good friend going through it right now), and I can’t say enough about the courage and strength of the women who endure this. Then there are the numerous complications that can occur. I know someone else who is playing the waiting game to find out if there is something wrong with her baby’s heart.... and it breaks mine.

What I went through this weekend wasn’t nearly as bad as what other people endure, but it was still a reminder. I wasn’t feeling well most of the day on Friday, but when I ended up with a fever and chills that night, I decided to call the doctor. Never too cautious when you’re pregnant, they told me to come in. After getting checked out, it was determined that I had a kidney infection. (And later said to possibly be a kidney stone, too.) Not a huge deal, right? Unless you’re pregnant. Well, I was told that I was being admitted for an unknown amount of time. That became 3 days. (I was in the same amount of time as when my son was born.) During this time, I was poked and prodded, tested and re-tested. I had to get IV antibiotics for the injection and IV fluids to keep me hydrated. They monitored me. They monitored the baby. My heart rate was high, so they did an EKG. What wasn’t high? My potassium, my iron, my platelets. All low. Along with my amount of sleep. I was happy if I got 2 hours straight during my entire stay.

The good news is that the baby is okay. She is better than me. But because I am pregnant, I get to be on antibiotics for the next 3 ½ months, with the first 10 days taking it 4 times a day. I’m still wondering when I’m going to catch up on sleep. (I guess I have about 2 months before the answer will be never.) But all of the tests and medicine and lack of sleep in the world are worth it… as long as my baby girl is okay.

The Runaway Balloon

Yesterday when I picked up Cole from daycare, he was playing with a green balloon. I was told one of the other kids brought them for everyone and that he was allowed to take it home. Well, Cole loves balloons as most kids his age do, so he was very excited. It didn’t have a string, so he carried it outside. (I tried to take it from him, but Mr. Independent wanted to do it himself.)  Well, inevitably, he dropped it. This wouldn’t have been such a problem if it weren’t for the wind… which was strong. Before I knew it, this little green balloon was flying down the sidewalk. Then it stopped. Then it started going again. I tried to catch it and just as I would reach for it, it would start moving again. Before I knew it, it was down the sidewalk. I started to chase it and then remembered why I was doing this and turned around to look at Cole. Do I really have to go after this green piece of latex or will he let me off the hook?

“Balloon!”

That answered my question. I ran in the balloon’s direction. Cole started to run after me. I told him to wait by my car out front of daycare. I kept running. Almost 7 months pregnant, in heels, I ran down the sidewalk and across the street. I ran up someone’s driveway and across their yard. I dredged through newly laid mulch onto another neighbor’s patio. There I faced the enemy. (Yes, the balloon.) I stalked around it and finally pounced. Caught! I stared down at it and then back at my son waiting for me on the sidewalk. Winded, I walked back, thinking how crazy I must be to have done all that. But when I looked at my son’s happy face, I knew it was all worth it. The things we do for our kids…

The Art of the Tantrum

Cole is learning new things every day. He is able to repeat every word we say. (This will come back to haunt us, I’m sure.) He can climb the stairs by stepping up each one instead of crawling, and he counts them as he goes. He can go into the fridge and show me want he wants to eat or drink. If I read him a book, he will “read” it himself after, and actually remembers some of the things I said. I love each of these new things. But what he has gotten especially good at is throwing temper tantrums. Needless to say, I’m not a fan.

I never know what is going to incite one of these tantrums. Sometimes I don’t fill up his cup with milk fast enough. (I guess I should be happy that he loves milk.) Sometimes I take his jacket off when we get to daycare. (I know, how dare I.) This morning it was because he had to take off his Buzz pajamas and put on real clothes. (Not an attachment to Buzz so much as an attachment to being difficult.) And other times it seems like it is for no reason at all.

It also seems that the older he gets, the more dramatic these tantrums become. It used to just be a whiny thing and a pouty lip. Then he learned the art of throwing yourself on the floor. (I remembered when my niece started to do this and how I hoped that I would never have a child who did the same.) I guess this is a common thing. And now that he is getting older, Cole’s tantrums have taken new heights. He doesn’t only stick out his lip, but the bottom teeth actually come out. He cries, yells, falls on the floor and gives me the most pathetic look imaginable. Today it even graduated to telling me no and pushing me out of his room.

As a parent, I feel like I should know how to handle these tantrums. I usually either get the urge to cuddle him to try and make everything better (if I’m in nice mom mode) or yell at him to get up and knock it off (if I am low on patience). But I guess the right thing to do is probably to ignore him. Of course, sometimes that is easier said than done.

Mad that I was leaving him with a sitter

Late Days

Once a week, I work a later shift from 11:30-8. It’s not my favorite thing to do, because by the time I get home, all I want to do is eat something and go to bed, but I do get to spend the mornings with my favorite little man. There are usually stories to tell from this time together, and today was no exception.

1. Being that it was my late day, it was dark and rainy out, and I haven’t been feeling well this week, I fully intended to stay in bed when I heard Kevin get up at 6. However, Cole had a different idea as he jumped on my head and grabbed me around the neck saying, “Get up!” Thanks to my husband for bringing him into our room.
2. Cole’s breakfast food of choice today- marshmallows. This is what he asks for every morning. And he must know it’s wrong, because he asks in this dastardly little voice with an evil look on his face and what “scheming villain hands.” Today he had applesauce and strawberries. Then I gave him marshmallows.
3. I had laundry that needed to be folded, but as Cole is obsessed with lacrosse lately, he didn’t understand why I couldn’t drop everything to play with him. He would hand me the stick and throw me the ball and then I would put the stick down while he chased the ball (because he kept missing me). But if I didn’t pick that stick right back up, he would freak out. Fun.
4. I’m trying to give my son choices in life to give him the opportunity to decide for himself. I’m not really sure if this fosters independence or decisiveness or what, but it seems like something that I should be doing. So, today, I gave him a choice of a lacrosse shirt or a Diego shirt- currently his 2 favorite things. It took a good 30 seconds of contemplation. But in the end, lacrosse won!
5. Since I have to work late tonight, Cole will be going to lacrosse practice with Kevin. (Noticing a theme here?) Well, he loves going, so I told him about it. Then I said that it was time to go to school. “No, crosse,” he told me. Oh, man, I confused him. “Yes, Bud, you have lacrosse, but not until later when Daddy gets home.” This was followed by crying and yelling and throwing himself on the floor. Bad Mommy.
6. When we walked outside, I had no idea just how nice it would be. We both had on jackets, but as soon as I got in my car, I took mine off. Which Cole naturally questioned. “Jacket off?” I told him that yes, I had to take off my jacket because his baby sister was making me hot. A few minutes later when we got to daycare and I went to get him from the car, he said, “Baby sister hot. Let me check.” Then he proceeded to lift my shirt, stare intensely, and then kiss my belly. My sweet boy.

Just another day in life with a 2 year old.

Magic

Being a mother, especially of a little boy, I know that I will have to get used to the fact that Cole is going to get hurt.  But, of course, it’s never easy. We have been lucky so far, with only minor cuts and bruises (except for one lacrosse stick injury last spring that left him with a scar over his eye). So when I got home on Thursday night from work, I wasn’t happy to find my little guy sitting on the kitchen table crying, while his daddy fed him candy to try to make him feel better. They had been at lacrosse practice all night, playing around in the mud with no issues. But when they got home, Cole was walking up the steps and fell as he reached the top, scraping his chin and hurting his thumb.

I hated seeing him so upset and it took a few minutes to calm him down, but it wasn’t anything too major. I was definitely more affected than he was. And when he said to me, “Fall. Steps. Boo boo,” it took everything in me not to cry. But my kid is pretty tough and got over it fast.  

The next night, though, we were out shopping, and I noticed that the fingernail on his injured thumb was barely hanging on and thought that it would probably hurt more if he got it caught on something. So in my infinite wisdom, I decided to get it over with and rip it off. Not such a good idea. It was lower than expected and started bleeding. Now, luckily, I had already let Cole pick out some band-aids. (They had Care Bears and Bratz, so I steered him towards Care Bears.) Now, how to get him to let me put it on. I pushed the cart carrying my crying son into an empty aisle and opened the box. I explained how Mommy had “magic” that was going to make his boo-boo all better. He cried louder and tried to hold his hand away from me, but I finally managed to (sloppily) get the band-aid around his thumb. He cried and yelled more, and I soon found myself walking around the store, carrying my 2 year old as he buried his face into my neck.

For the rest of the night, Cole treated his hand as if it was broken. He refused to use it and held it out, away from his body, as though it was on fire. Kevin tried to get him to pick things up with it, but he wouldn’t do it. He even held his good hand while giving him books and toys to hold with the injured hand, but he acted like he couldn’t hold on to anything. We were actually pretty amused but wondered how long it would last.

By Saturday, things were relatively back to normal with Cole using both hands. I think he is still somewhat fascinated by the band-aid, but in a good way now. His thumb is almost completely healed, but he still came to me this morning and asked for magic. And I happily gave it to him.

Proudly displaying his Care Bears "magic"