21 Weeks

At 21 weeks, Jon can now feel Newbie2 kicking! That's about the same time he felt Caleb, too. I always like the time when Jon feels the baby, because for the most part pregnancy is very one-sided, and this gives Jon a chance to be a part of it. He's certainly a part of it in other ways--dealing with my moods, tolerating my extra naps and extra helpings of food--but this is something he experiences with our baby.

By this time in our first pregnancy, we were able to call our little guy by his name, Caleb. However, we are not quite so on top of things this time. The name discussion has kind of been tabled for awhile. Neither of us feels a huge rush, and we don't have strong preferences for the names on our list. I don't feel bad about that, but I did really like having a name for Caleb. It helped me picture him better.

So Newbie2 our son shall remain, for a little while longer at least. He's 10.5 inches long now. My uterus has grown to above my belly button! I can't believe he's already so big, and that I'm halfway through the pregnancy.

Other things to note: I have very sharp pain in my tailbone when I'm sitting on hard chairs, just like I did with Caleb. Thankfully all the chairs at church are soft, except for the youth chairs, which I think were chosen more for the cool factor than the comfort factor. Not expecting any pregnant people in the youth group, I guess. I've also found it harder to stand up from sitting, and I'm starting to move like a pregnant person (hands on back or reaching for extra support), though I don't feel like I should be at that point, yet! Heartburn has also hit me. I'm not sure when that happened with Caleb, but it seemed to be later on. It hasn't been really bad, and I keep forgetting to buy Tums at the store. Maybe tomorrow.

Caleb hasn't seemed to notice my belly (any more than he noticed my belly before, because he really loves bellies). Jon thinks my belly is cool and always compliments me, which is why I love him.

My sister-in-law just had my second nephew on Monday. The whole day I had an icky, nervous feeling. Not just because I was worried about Karen, but because it made my own impending labor/delivery very real. But when I got to see pictures of baby Seth, it made my own little Newbie2 very real as well. I can't wait to hold him, to see Caleb grow into a big brother, and to adjust to being a bit larger family.

19.5 Weeks

We're almost to the halfway point! I can't believe how quickly this first half has gone, yet Christmas (when we found out) seems so far away.

Newbie2 is about the size of a large heirloom tomato, so says my weekly update from BabyCenter. I think he must be sitting lower than Caleb, because I have to go to the bathroom all of the time, which I didn't have to do with Caleb, even at the very end! My belly is definitely growing, and I officially made the switch to maternity clothes yesterday. I've been wearing them for the past few weeks, but mostly just mixing maternity pants with non-maternity shirts. Now I'm all prego, all the time!

One thing I learned about myself during this switch is that I own 33 pairs of pants. What does that say about me? Granted, I've changed pants sizes since I've gotten married--sized up and then back down recently, and I have the pants I wear primarily when early pregnant or after delivery (an extra size larger), and then there's the pants that people have given me, and the pants that I've had since my college years and I love them. I'm a sentimental pants-owner. What can I say? But I do see a need to purge some pants once I've had Newbie2 and settled back to a normal weight. That's another year from now, or so. Maybe I can look at it more objectively by that time.

Newbie2 is still "Newbie2." No name, yet. We've got some good contenders, but I'm just not quite ready to decide, yet.

I guess I forgot to mention on here that we finally made it to our first appointment with our new doctor! Dr. W seems like a nice lady. She reminds me of Dr. K in a way, though without that "you brought my child into the world" bond. Waiting an hour in the waiting room was a little more of a challenge with a wiggly 1-yr-old, but Caleb did okay. Hopefully that wait isn't typical. The doctor didn't do a whole lot, though we did discuss my pregnancy and delivery of Caleb, and any specific thoughts and wishes I had. She seems pretty open to a natural delivery, though she insisted on a hospital gown and an IV. I asked if I could just have a hep lock, and she agreed, though she said she would require fluids once I'd been in the hospital for 12 hours. I'm okay with that. Last time they started my on fluids right off the bat (because of the induction, I think), and I was huge and swollen by the time all the cameras came out to take pictures of the brand new baby. Not that I cared at that moment, but I'd rather just drink a lot of water.

Speaking of drinking, I forgot to ask about eating during labor. Last time my nurse was set against it, but I snuck Gatorade and peanut butter crackers, anyway, something I'm thankful for since I had such a long labor time! So I'll ask about that next time, or rather inform her that I will be bringing sustenance for myself. We'll see how she takes that bit of information. :)

Otherwise, the visit was typical: blood pressure was great, uterus was where is was supposed to be, baby's heart rate was just right, and we set up an appointment for four weeks later (I think the first week of May...can't remember right now).

And that's about all I can think of right now. I've maintained about 10 pounds of total weight gain the last couple of weeks, but I've really noticed my belly growing this week, so that may be about to change! (Truth check: I weighed just now and it said I'd gained 5 pounds, so I'm discounting that one and I'll weigh again later and hopefully give a better report!)

16 Months: My Child

I feel like there's so much to say about Caleb at this age. To try to keep things short(-ish...), I'll make a list. And I'll warn you, this might turn into a brag list. Like one of those you get in a Christmas letter from a random friend and their perfect children. But, this is my blog. Skip it over if you like!

Caleb likes to:

• Sing! He's started humming this week, and puts a low "happy...happy..." in there, which is his favorite song, "If You're Happy and You Know It." He can clap, stomp, and turn around to the song.
• Read. The boy loves his "boots" (not like the shoes, but pronounced like "book" just with a "t"). He will read them over and over again. His favorites: Frog on a Log, Animals, Colors, and the If You're Happy musical book. Also a shapes book I think is hideous (bad design, bad colors, bad drawing...) but of course Caleb loves.
• Talk! He's always been a big talker, but I've kept track of more than 65 words that he now says on his own. He has a few sentences...maybe.... He says "uh" in place of "I want." So, "Uh bapple" or "uh puppy" for an apple or his puppy dog. I've heard him say "stop it," too, but he was just repeating was I was saying, so I don't think it counts.
• Have blankets. And lots of them! Some kids have stuffed toys, some kids have a favorite blankie. Caleb has 5! I thought I was in luck because I wouldn't have to worry about always keeping the one blanket clean and ready for him. But I'm getting a little worried that each blanket has become precious to him, and he needs them all. He's happiest if his crib is lined with blankets, like a mama bird lines her nest with feathers.
• Hold keys. Keys are magic to Caleb. If he wants to go outside, he stands at the door, reaches for the handle, and pleads, "Teys, teys!" When we leave the house, Caleb wants his own set of keys for the car ride. Correction: Caleb wants Mama's keys. He spots keys from a mile away, in someone's hand, stuck in a filing cabinet lock, in my purse, or in Jon's pocket.
  
• Flush. Give that boy a toilet with a handle he can easily push and he's a happy camper.
• Throw things away. I think he asks for napkins ("nanuts") just so he can go throw them away when he's done. He's not allowed to play in the trash (he's finally learning), so this is his only chance. He lingers and looks to see if there's anything interesting inside the trash can.

Caleb does not like to:

• Get his diaper changed. Jon has better luck than I do, but many times I'm in a full-out struggle to keep Caleb on his back on the changing table. I give him all kinds of distractions to keep him still long enough for the change, but sometimes even that doesn't work.
• Give things back. "Finders keepers" is his motto, especially when it comes to things he really shouldn't have: writing pens, glasses, etc. I get a little stumped about how to handle this. I ask for it back, I tell him to give it to me, and try many other verbal techniques, but end up having to wrench the coveted item away from his little hand. I'm teaching my child that if words don't work, use force. Not sure what to do about it though!
• Take naps. Some days he goes down without a peep, even pointing to his crib and asking for blankets. But others (or another nap on the same day) are hard-won or never happen. We're trying a one-nap-a-day experiment this week. I'm not sure it's the solution, though. It's 1:30, Caleb's been in his crib for at least 30 minutes, and he's still awake. Of course, he did get his leg stuck between the crib rails, which it took me awhile to realize. So we basically started over about 10 minutes ago. So I guess today is a different story than most days.
• Come inside: Like every little kid, the outdoors is a world of wonder, and coming inside almost always leads to a small tantrum.

Speaking of tantrums, Caleb has 'em. When we informed him tonight that it was time to go to bed, he balled up his fists, his face turned bright red, and the corners of his mouth dropped about three inches. He sent up a wail that should have brought us running, but only made us laugh, poor kid. Many times his tantrums come in the form of dropping face-first to the ground. I just walk away from it, and they haven't gotten too bad.

Another thing that doesn't quite fit into the list, but that I want to remember, is his new habit of wanting me to experience what he's experiencing. If he's touching all the different textures in a book, his hand will take hold of my finger and guide it over the textures so that I can feel, too. If he's pushing buttons, he'll press my finger onto the button as well.

Caleb is a precious boy. He's gentle and sweet with enough mix of independence and stubbornness to make things interesting. We enjoy parenting him very much!

Lil' Pooper

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a day for the history books. My proud mama heart couldn't be fuller. Caleb went poo poo in the potty.

I don't have any pictures, you will be sad to know.

Here are the events of the day:
Jon was pulling morning duty when I heard a familiar refrain from Caleb, "Poo poo...." We've been trying to be more diligent about responding to Caleb's efforts, and I was thankful that it was Jon's turn. I went to fetch a clean diaper, and Jon had Caleb stripped down and on the big boy potty by the time I got there. Jon and Caleb talked a little, Jon reminding Caleb of the job he was to do, the job that Caleb himself let us know he needed to do. But Caleb wasn't worried about his intestinal obligations, and blithely stated that he was all done and ready to get down. So goes the general potty saga.

I was recruited for morning duty while Jon got ready for the day. Caleb and I were sitting at the table for breakfast when Caleb announced, "Poo poo...." This time the announcement was accompanied by a few grunts and a reddening face.

I considered my options. The most obvious was to leave things as they were and wait until Daddy was on duty again. The second scenario was that I would peel off Caleb's diaper just in time for something stinky to happen. The third was that Caleb would actually be successful at using his potty (and not just for reading and singing, as it has been so far), thus cementing in his mind what the potty is actually for.

Sighing, and hoping for the third scenario, I confirmed with Caleb his need to poop. Then I asked if he needed to go to the potty, to which he responded with his sing-song, "No..." that lilts up and sounds like he's laughing. I love that no, and ask him funny questions just to get him to say it. But that's off topic.

I was in a hurry by this time, realizing Scenario Two would be coming sooner than I wanted. I undid his booster clasps and swooped him into the bathroom. Off came the diaper (no poop so far, whew!) and on Caleb went to the big boy potty. I handed him a book in case things got boring, and reminded Caleb why we were there.

But he didn't need much reminder. Within the first minute, his job was done! I was a little incredulous and waited a bit longer. Then I yelled to Jon for help, because I wasn't sure what to do next! I forgot to bring wipes with me...Jon reminded me that I could use toilet paper. Oh, yeah.... Caleb popped up from his seat and I cleaned the cleanest heiney I've ever cleaned for having just pooped. Amazing how much nicer it is without a diaper to squish it all up!

On with the new diaper, flush the toilet and wave bye bye to the poop (a tradition we started when we started flushing the poop from his diapers), and then a triumphant hand-washing. All the while Jon and I are congratulating Caleb on his accomplishment.

Later in the day, I hear Caleb give a little toot. I ask, "Caleb, do you need to go potty? Do you need to poo poo?" Immediately, Caleb stands up from his play and heads to the potty. He lays down on the floor for me to pull his pants and diaper off. For a kid who hates getting his diaper changed, it was a little surprising! I plopped him onto the toilet seat and....nothing. Within seconds Caleb was done, in his opinion. We waited a little longer, but sometimes a toot is just a toot and nothing more. I thanked Caleb for his willingness and let him flush the toilet, anyway, for his efforts.

And that was that! Three tries today, and our first success. I have no idea if it will progress, or if we'll still be stuck potty-training a year from now (when I had expected to start potty-training). Maybe he'll catch on. I gotta admit it would be really nice to not have two in diapers, but on the other hand I don't want to pressure Caleb at all, and I'm sure a newly-trained toddler would be as much hassle as one still in diapers! But there's the story for the record-books nonetheless. If it doesn't happen again for awhile, we'll know when it happened first. Because this day and age is all about information. There is no such thing as Too Much Information.

Am I right?

Hello?

Another PJ pic

A little boy in PJs and his blanket...what could be more irresistible?

Easter Egg Hunt

Bright and early this morning was Caleb's first Easter egg hunt! We got there right at start time, and saw children spread from under the pavilion like ants, baskets in hand and parents cheering them on. Jon and I quickly caught the spirit of the race for eggs, and coaxed Caleb: Let's go! Let's find all the eggs and fill your basket! Come on!

But Caleb, being the relaxed boy he is, was more content to saunter toward the action.

Once he found his first egg, he caught on pretty quickly, but was still in no hurry.

I realized that he had the better approach, especially as I saw parents yelling (in a nice way, but still could be disturbing to a small child) for their one-year-old to run, run, run for all the eggs!! Seriously, what was he going to do with them all anyway? We had to turn the eggs back in, and most of them were empty. The candy Caleb did find, we weren't going to let him eat! So, we sauntered.

We bumped into our friends Zach and Beth and their son, John. John is only two weeks older than Caleb, so they get along really well together. John--also not affected by the frenzy of the hunt--seemed to think it was more fun to put eggs in Caleb's basket than his own.

Adding more eggs.

Our family

My wonderful husband who makes my life so great.

And my wonderful son who makes my life so silly!

Reason #248 for why I like having a kid: I get to go down the slide!

Why we're not keeping this toy

None of this actually belongs in here. The toy was given to us, but I don't think it came with the right balls at all. The green ball is permanently stuck in the tube, along with a red one you can't see up in the yellow shaft of the toy. I had to take the entire thing apart to get all of Caleb's toys back. He was glad to see his magnets for his fridge toy, and we put his dollar in his piggy bank. He would have loved to have stuffed the balls back down the hatch, but I would not let him! The toy? As much as he loved it, it's going back to the ones who gave it to us.