20 Months: Ending an Only Child Era

This week PDG turned 20 months.  This one is most exciting because, ever since I realized I was pregnant, I've been fairly certain that 20 months would be the age difference between big brother and little brother.  Which means, we are now in the month that MDG arrives!!!

So before all the focus switches over to little brother, let's enjoy a little more of this temporarily-only-child.

For example, he is trying so hard to be just like his da-da and ma-ma.  If we growl, he growls.  If we say "mmm-hmm" he says "mmm-hmm."  If we yawn, he opens his mouth wide to yawn.  If we close a drawer with our feet, he closes (or attempts to close) a drawer with his foot.

His language really is increasing exponentially.  He can say and point to eyes, ears, mouth, nose, teeth, feet, hands, and diaper.  He's tackled milk, 'nana, g'apes, apple, pump'in, doggy, cat, kak-kak (duck sounds), mess, poop poop (without context) and more I can't think of right now.

Speaking of poop poop, quick story.  The other night I had lots of back and side aches from good ol' braxton hicks that won't go away but won't start labor, so I decided to hop in PDG's bath.  We splashed and laughed and wiggled our toes.  Super cute right?  Then I called J-Man to help get him dry while I actually took a minute to wash for real.  J-Man picked him up and what did we see?!?!  That's right - poop poop.  Right there in the tub where he'd been sitting.  Grrr-osss!!!

Luckily, mamas have to have a sense of humor, and J-Man likes to "borrow" gloves from doctor offices, so we had the mental and physical needs to handle the situation.  Oh motherhood....

But back to PDG - he loved his halloween costume but was totally confused by the custom.  He tried to go inside every house we knocked on.  He became obsessed with the Halloween books Mama H brought him.  He discovered how great chocolate is.

Generally, he's given me all the reason in the world to smile.  And on days when it feels like this pregnancy is never-ending and I wonder why I put myself through this much discomfort, I look at him and remember why.  I hope I never forget the sound of his laughter, the look of delight on his face when he discovers something new, the way he whispers "hush" on the right pages of Goodnight Moon, and that goofy little dance of his.  No matter how many million times a day he says "mama no," he's a huge part of the reason I can say "yes" this mama is one happy mama indeed.

So now, MDG, if you wouldn't mind hurrying up, I'm ready to start writing about you too.

Double Doctor Day

You know how I just looooove doctors right?

Ha!

Well last Friday was double trouble doctor day.  First - the easy one.  PDG had his 18 month check up.  Yes, 18 months.

WHERE DID TIME GO?

J-Man took the day off since he was already feeling a little under the weather and it made my life easier, so the boys had a Daddy/Son extravaganza.  If you know J-Man, the answer is yes, crablegs were involved.

So PDG weighs 28 pounds (90%) and stretches 33.5in (87%) with a 75% head.  My big boy with his big appetite just keeps growing.

He's got maybe 20-30 words these days.  I don't know - we don't keep a list.  But I do enjoy the randomness of them.  From "ouch" to "lights" to "trash" to "up" to that ever elusive "mama" that seems to only come out when he's hungry.... they're all pretty cute in my totally mom-biased opinion.

All four molars are in.  He can occasionally put two words together to say "lights on" or "lights off" and, years before I even considered how this works, he's fallen in love with the switch inside a fridge that triggers the inner light to come on when the door opens.

He's obsessed with our park by the new (fantastic) house we live in and gets a kick out of crunching leaves - fall already? - smushing acorns, and collecting mulch and sticks to give to anyone who'll take them.  

He's a charmer, that boy.  It's hard to imagine there's room to love any more G boys in my life, but I guess we'll make room in 9-10 more weeks.

Which reminds me.... so I also had a checkup last week.  I was 29.5 weeks and feeling great.  Yes, the leg cramps have come back.  And the heartburn.  And, ok, my back and hips seem to be realigning from time to time.  But honestly, no issues here.  I was ready for the usual five minute, pee in a cup, weigh in, blood pressure, heartbeat, and fundal measurement like usual.

All was great til the last one.  She measured.  Then measured again.  Then looked at me and asked "were you measuring small last time?"

Nope.

Leaking fluid?

Nope.

Feeling movements?

Tons.

Hmmm...

Ok, I hate when doctors get that worried look.  Like, you're supposed to keep the crazy hormonal lady calm.  That's your job.

Or, well, ok maybe your job is to keep me and MDG healthy.  So off to an impromptu sonogram we went.  Just to be sure.  I apparently hadn't grown the 3cm I should've since the last appointment, so we needed to take a peek.

MDG cooperated though, and twisted and turned so we could see his 100% healthy little body.  He's just decided to be a burrower like his big brother was.  Over ten weeks to go and he didn't realize he can be stretching.  Nah, he's tucked down super low, long with a skinny little abdomen, all pressed together with his foot in front of his face.

29.5 weeks

If I didn't know that PDG had done the same thing, I'd think this is a sign for an early arrival.  But I'm not going to get my hopes up.  I mean, I'm not ready now.  Heavens no.  But by 37wks I'll probably sing a different tune.

Until then, every time someone gawks at how "small" I am and asks if I'm sure about how far along I am (seriously, folks?), I can rest assured with this most recent sono that MDG and I are doing just fine thank you. 

Our Cozumel Adventure

J-Man and I decided we should do another vacation.  A 5-year wedding anniversary celebration.  And a babymoon.  And, it was summer.  So.  Yeah. Vacation.

 The timing was kinda terrible.  We were about to move, we'd just been really busy with the H's in town, I'd be going back to work a few days later.....  but whatever.  We deserved it gosh darn it!

That's just how we roll I guess.  We never shop.  (Did I mention when he forced me to buy a new purse because it was embarrassingly falling apart? Or how he still wears those $20 DKNY sweats from when we lived in Harlem?) We spend our non-essential money on food, doctors, and annual beach splurges of some sort.  Even if maybe we should save more for a house and such.  Next year?

Anyway, we packed up and headed back to Cozumel.  We'd been there briefly once on our cruise a few years back, and were excited for that blue, blue water.

The resort was practically empty, so it was lots of time for just the two of us.  There was some volleyball, lots of virgin pina coladas and plenty of stares at my growing belly.  I could see the wheels churning as others wondered "is she pregnant or is she one of those girls with the unfortunate body type where only the belly  sticks out?"

24 weeks

Overall, it was fantastic.  Of course, we spent much of our time talking about what PDG was probably up to, back home with Mama and Papa H, but we knew he was safe.  And thanks to gmail, we were able to call home through the laptop at $.01/min so he could hear our voices.

There was this one moment, when we were on our beach party excursion (party of 8 - oh well) that everything seemed perfect.  We were speeding back on the catamaran after having snorkeled and played on the giant floating Wipe-Out style slides and obstacles.  I remember curling into J-Man's arms, sea salt on my lips, water splashing over the side of the boat, wind indecently blowing my cover-up, Mr. Jones and Me on the radio, and no worries in the world.  Those moments, when everything feels just so, so right, never last, you know?  But for the precious seconds that they do, they're worth everything and anything else.

It was exactly the vacation we wanted/needed before life picked back up to its hectic and unpredictable self.

In fact, we entered the US and immediately returned to chaos.  A lightning storm that lingered right over the Dallas airport took us from a 6pm departure to an hour stuck in customs limbo waiting for them to risk unloading luggage and then another 5 hours of incremental delays and gate changes.  Only to end up well after midnight with a canceled flight, rescheduled for 6am, no hotel rooms available, not enough hours to make a hotel worthwhile, and instead airport cots, florescent lighting, and a bunch of angry, tired folks all flabbergasted at the airport's incompetence.  After all, our plane had landed, but had not had a gate to pull into because the gates were full of other boarded planes without flight crews, so by the time it did finally pull up, our pilot would've overworked the allowed hours.

We got home the next day at 10am, exhausted beyond belief, excited to see our little PDG, and forced to face the reality of packing up everything to move the following day.

What a vacation!  But worth it.

Next year, however, I think we'll go somewhere driveable.  Or we'll use our selective memory and fly off to sip frozen drinks by blue waters and gorge on all-you-can-eat buffets again. Time will tell, I suppose.

1st Belly Photo

Last pregnancy I didn't take many belly pics.  I remember thinking I would remember what it felt like to be "huge" forever, so why document it.  I have a few that I look back and enjoy - mainly the Christmas card ones, and the delivery day one.

Anyway, maybe I'll do better about documenting it this time?  It very likely will be my last pregnancy.  (Some future version of myself may read this and laugh uncontrollably while surrounded by a whole litter of offspring - but we really are thinking two might be it.  At least, two in daycare at a time).

So this is me last Tuesday at 13 weeks exactly.  My pants buttons are starting to pop.  I broke out maternity jeans on Friday and while my belly is mostly in my head, the pants are exactly as amazingly comfortable as I remember.

Now the game is waiting for the students to awkwardly guess and ask me if I'm pregnant.  My money is on my 5th period - my least favorite class, because they are the most outspoken and rude already.  (Did I say that?)

I'm pretty sure my CSSJ kids would've guessed by now though.  They thought anyone who had too much to eat for lunch was pregnant.

So here we go.  Second trimester, bloated little belly, and 16 school days left til summer vacation!

Eight Thankful Weeks

Every week I get more and more shocked by how soon this little guy will be here.  I mean, I can feel it's getting close.  The midnight leg cramps, the back discomfort, the hitting myself with the car door because I can't slide where I used to.  All that says "coming soon to an empty nursery near you."

exactly 32 weeks

Speaking of empty nurseries though, I am so amazed by the generosity of our friends and coworkers.  I shouldn't be, because J-Man and I like to think we surround ourselves with pretty fabulous people, but still.  I have bags and bags of hand-me-downs already.  I'm pretty sure this kid will be better dressed and with more options than I have and we haven't even had the shower yet.

And speaking of the shower - super psyched to get to see some of my favorite people tomorrow.  I even had a dream about it two nights ago and woke up as disappointed as a 5th grader who erroneously dreamt of a snow day in May.

Every time I look at the pile of baby gear in the nursery, only one tiny item of which has been purchased by us, I get all teary.  Then I start going through all these blankies and onesies and I ooh and ahh and imagine.  I try not to look at the rest of the emptiness of the room, but soon enough there will be furniture and shelves and places for a baby to exist.  At least, I think that'll happen...  Otherwise PDG will grow up to be more like his parents than expected, with lots of piles that make sense to pile people.  Fingers crossed for a more organized future. Come on nesting, work your magic on this third trimester, insomniac, mama-to-be.

Christmas Card 2011

Ok, friends, I disappeared for the holidays because they are crazy.  Suffice it to say that the next week or two will be a good bit of backtracking to share snip-its of Christmas trees, nephews, fancIphones and candy cane umbilical cords.

Thanks to M and her lovely lady friend for making J-Man's and my belly art dreams a reality

The Blueprints

A work in progress

Everybody gets a belly

Finished product!

The innie and the outtie

Yeah, we're doing this

and we're still tough

Love

What have I done?!?!

Are you seeing this?!?!

Yeah, I did that.

We do still wear real clothes

Lots of belated holiday love from the G's. 

And yes, plans are already in the works for next year's card, featuring PDG.  Let the yearlong suspense begin

Tires and a Belly

I'd like you to take a moment to close your eyes and paint this picture.  (Don't really close your eyes, silly, you won't be able to read what's in the picture!).  It's a dreary rainy day.  A big ol' Pathfinder is pulled to the edge of the busy road.  A pregnant woman bends alongside to investigate the dilemma.  A tire is flat.

Pretty pathetic, right?  And sad?  And makes you think, gee I'm glad that isn't me.  I hope someone helps her out.

I'm glad it wasn't you either.  In fact, it was me.  Not all too pitiful, as I was able to get to a close by gas station, read Bossypants warm in my car, and wait for the slow-but-sure arrival of AAA to get things moving again.

It's just funny because only 15 minutes prior I had been happily standing in my bathroom posing for this

You see, I was celebrating 27 weeks.  According to various sources, that means I have reached the third trimester.  It's the final countdown...  Ok, so there are still somewhere between 10 and 14 weeks before this little guy kicks his way all the way out, but it still feels like a countdown can begin soon.

Even if people continue to try to tell me I don't "look" pregnant (which, I gotta say, is starting to be a little offensive.  how did I look before?  like I just hid random round objects under my shirt to practice what life as a kleptomaniac might be like?) I feel pregnant.  It's glorious and exhausting but hey, not nauseating anymore.  Except when I overeat, but that's my own fault.

So there I waited with my temporarily out of service SUV, my bladder that PDG confuses for a soccer ball, my book that makes me laugh out loud now and again, and daydreams of March.

The AAA guy was pretty useless, unable to assemble the tools to release my spare, and instead having me follow him to a tire place whose compressor was broken, from which I would later need to drive to yet another tire place.  My work morning was shot. But in the end, the best part of the day was picking out a shirt to take a picture of my little PDG and marking yet another milestone that a year ago felt like something I would never be blessed to know.

As J-Man put it recently, there used to be a sadness that, even on my happiest days, couldn't fully be squelched.  Now there's a happiness that even on my roughest days, can't be overshadowed.