Jett at 2.5

I can't say enough about how much fun 2 year olds are.  I LOVE the 2 year old phase.

And for posterity sake I want to write down what Jett was doing at the wonderful age of 2.5.

Talking:  The verbal development over the last 6 months is astounding.  The things that come out of this kids mouth!  He can put full sentences together, he has original thoughts that he can articulate, he asks questions when he doesn't understand something, he repeats things back that you're convinced he shouldn't be able to.  He remembers weird things from days ago that he'll suddenly bring up in conversation.  It's amazing.

Reading:  Last week Jett started reading me his books.  Cutest thing ever.  He grabbed a book, I asked if he wanted me to read it, he said, "No, I read it" and sure enough...he "read" it.  He obviously memorized it (and several others!) but he follows the words with his finger and recites the story.  We now spend an inordinate amount of time with me reading the page first then Jett following the words with his finger and reading it back to me.  I was told the other day by my babysitter (who is also a preschool teacher) that this is the beginning stages of literacy, memorizing books and then "reading" them.

Eating:  Crap eater.  Ha!  He has his good days and his bad.  He's been sick with a cold for the last week and a half and he's always terrible at eating when he's sick but that's what's in my head right now is that the kid doesn't eat!  Yesterday was a fab food day though, he ate all 3 meals plus snacks, by himself with no help.  So, yeah, good days and bad.

Sleeping:  My kid is such a dream sleeper.  He's such a good sleeper that I cringe thinking about having to deal with a newborn sleeping again.  It's the RARE night that he wakes up AT ALL and he sleeps a solid 11-12 hours.  Bedtime is 8pm and he's up somewhere between 7:15-7:30pm.  It's amazing and I hope he continues to a great sleeper even when his little sister or brother arrives.  That would make mommy very happy!

Naps: We're on the cusp of something happening with naps.  We had been at 1pm nap time for over a year when suddenly 1pm naptime wasn't working anymore.  Jett would go 3-4 days with no nap, nap one day then another 3-4 days just playing in the crib for 2 hours, not napping.  So, I moved naptime to 2pm and he's gone back to napping MOST days.  He will still have the odd no-nap day but it's better...for now.  It definitely feels like he's on the verge of dropping that nap and I can only hope he holds out until preschool starts in the fall where I at least have SOME time of the day where I'm only dealing with one kid!

Personality: He's a pretty sweet kid.  He's still very mild-mannered and even-tempered, I'm not saying we don't have our meltdowns but they're nothing compared to many a kid I've witnessed and generally I can calm him down pretty easily. Half the time meltdowns are 100% food related and if you give him a snack he calms down immediately.  He loves other kids and I CANNOT WAIT until he starts preschool (god willing we get in!) because he's such a social butterfly.  Crowds never deter him, lots of kids are not scary, he never looks for mommy...I'm pretty sure he doesn't care if I'm there, so he'll do just fine when he starts school.  He's even pretty good about understanding and accepting waiting in line and waiting for his turn.  But HE'S SUCH A BOY.  If there's something to climb on, we must climb on it.  If there's something that is in the shape of a sword/stick, we must hit things with it.  If there is a ball we must kick or throw it.

This kid was such a nightmare for the first few months, I'm so glad he's turning out ok.  If I could have 10 kids just like Jett I'd do it in a second.

 

He's finding "his baby" with my Doppler =)

Baby #2 Bumpdate - Week 14 & 15

I can't believe how crap I am at this.

I want to remember this stuff!

But I can't find the time or the inclination to sit down and blog these days.

So without further ado:

How far along: 15 weeks 1 day

Weight Gain: Again, this pregnancy is so amusingly different for me MENTALLY.  Who has time to weigh themselves?  And more importantly...who gives a shit?  Oh right, I did, a lot, the first time.  Well, I think I weighed myself a few nights ago and it was 125?  So, that's up 7lbs...i think.

Movement? I'm pretty sure I felt baby already!  Just once, 2 nights ago, haven't felt it since, but it was that same obnoxious fluttery feeling that I really didn't enjoy the first time around.

What's Up with My Body:  Same old, same old.  CONSTIPATION.  Although I do think I've found the miracle cure.  Midwife recommended psyllium husks and OMG they work!  Unfortunately I tried to lower my dosage (always trying to find the minimum I can take) and ended up a bit uncomfortable again, thus we're going back to maximum dosage!

The boobs have finally started growing again.  SO DIFFERENT THAN LAST TIME.  These babies were already up to D's (from B's) during my pregnancy with Jett.  This time they started at A's (so sad my little A cup boobs) and have just made their way into a B after I stopped nursing...now they look (and feel, sore!) like they'll make it into C's in the next few weeks.

AND eggs give me gas!  MOTHERFUCKER.  I love eggs.  For the first few weeks of this pregnancy I was craving and eating eggs like it was nobody's business but apparently now, out of the blue, they give me such excruciating gas that I would rather be in labor than dare eat eggs again for fear of the pain!  It was like being stabbed.  So...eggs, off the table for the time being.

Gender: I don't care.  Ha!  I spent almost zero time thinking about this.  I don't know if it's because I'm busy with Jett or what but I literally don't have the brain space to worry about this this time around.  Last time I analyzed this thing TO DEATH and changed my mind every other week.  This time I'm like what?  Sex?  Who cares, it's a baby!

Bumpdate:  I can't even be bothered to set up a photo shoot like last time.  Sad.

 14 weeks, trying on maternity clothes!

 15 weeks.

Baby #2 Bumpdate - 13 Weeks

Yeah...I knew I wasn't gonna do these very well this time around.

Sorry Bebe Deux!

This will be short and sweet.

How far along: 13 Weeks 1 day

Weight Gain:  I think we're still at about 5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes:  OMG YES!  I'm going all in, I don't know how I survived the vast majority of my pregnancy with Jett without maternity clothes, but this time it ain't happenin.  I'm all about the maternity clothes.  Bring on the stretchy belly panels and rouching!

Milestones:  I think this is the end of the first trimester and if it's not well fuck it, I'm pretending it's the end of the first trimester so YAY!

What's up with My Body:  Constipation.  Bane of my existence.  But the fatigue is finally starting to wane!  Can't wait to have my energy back!

Bumpdate: It's there for everyone to see.  I still can't believe this a 13 week belly...it's ridiculous.

And last time at 13 weeks.

And at 22 weeks.  How is this the same body?

Not With a Shout But a Whisper...

...is how nursing ends.

At just a few weeks shy of 2.5 years old, I think Jett and I have ended our nursing relationship.

With no warning, 3 nights ago, he asked for water instead of milk.

And that was it.

He hasn't mentioned milk since that night.

I feel a little cheated out of the experience of the last nursing session.  I don't remember it the way I hoped I would as I didn't know at the time that it was the last.  It was just another night, like any other, nothing special to mark the occasion.

Intellectually I'm extremely happy as this is EXACTLY how I wanted nursing to end.  No fights.  No struggles.  Just one day he'd be done.

But emotionally...I'm a little sad.  I can't put my finger on why exactly other than the fact that my baby is growing up of course.  But I am, I'm sad.  Even 2.5 years later, I'm sad it's over.

This is something we've done together, just him and me, since the moment he came out. It's extremely bittersweet to see it come to an end.

My boobs are happy.  Latching was getting painful on the pregnant boobs.  And the positioning of him across my belly was also approaching uncomfortableness.

I have no idea what caused the sudden disinterest.  Perhaps the milk became salty as I've heard can happen in pregnancy?  Perhaps he just finally decided he was done.

I guess I'll never know.

I thought this day would never come if I'm being honest.  I had started to contemplate the idea of tandem nursing because this kid would just NOT let go of the milk and I didn't want to force it.

But he did it and with that final act of independence by my first born, my body officially belongs to Baby #2.

So I'll take the 6 month boob break and look forward to beginning anew come August.

It's been fun Baby Jett, I'm glad I have these pictures to remember our time together.

Baby #2 Bumpdate - 12 Weeks

I'm undecided how I'm going to go about these bumpdates for Round 2.  I think I would enjoy going back and reading them like I do with Jett's but...do I really have the time to not only do the bumpdates but the pictures as well???

We shall see...let's give it a whirl.

How far along? 12 Weeks
 

Weight gain/loss: +5 lbs. I think I started this time at 118 which is about 5 lbs. less than last time so I'm up to my pre-pregnancy weight before Baby #1.

Maternity clothes? Ugh, I think I need to start jumping into maternity clothes already.  Pants are too tight, loose shirts make me look fat (which is all I wear, apparently I've COMPLETELY changed my style over the last 2 years).  I've dug out the old maternity clothes but since I wore them AT THE END of my last pregnancy they're stretched out in the bump area and really don't fit quite yet.  I'm in a clothing slump!  I hate all my clothes and everything is uncomfortable!

Gender? Both Dom and I were feeling pretty strong girl vibes this time around just because of the whole MS thing that I didn't have before...which I discuss below.  I kind of picture our life with Jett and a baby sister lately too.  AND I had one pregnancy dream where I gave birth to a baby girl.  So...this week is girl.  We are not finding out again!

Milestones: Made it past 8 weeks and now 12 weeks with a heartbeat!  My two milestones.
 

What's up with my body?  Two pregnancies could not be more different.

With Jett's pregnancy I felt pretty damn good for the vast majority of my pregnancy.  I did not suffer from any morning sickness other than a random bout of nausea here and there.  This time around I spent weeks 7-10 feeling like I was about to throw up at any moment ALL DAY every day.  The only time I felt ok was when I was eating and for about an hour after eating.  The problem was forcing myself to eat as who wants to eat when they're feeling nauseous?! 

BUT amazingly it went away just as quickly as it appeared several weeks shy of the first trimester, so I will once again count myself lucky that I
a) was not throwing up and that
b) my MS was short-lived.

Though I'm not gonna lie, the nausea gave me a HUGE sense of comfort because if I was nauseous I was pregnant!  No nausea = me questioning whether I'm still pregnant basically every day.

And constipation and hemorrhoids have already reared their ugly heads!  This early???  Come on body, that's WAY too early to start dealing with this stuff!!!  Last time I was well into my 2nd trimester before having to start researching constipation remedies!  Luckily I remember all the tricks from last time, but DAMNIT!

Bumpdate: 

The other ridiculously different thing this time around is that HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THIS???

 I am trying to hold my sweater back not stick my bump out I swear.

I'm already looking so so pregnant and I'm not even out of the first trimester.

My uterus has just barely begun to pop out from behind my pubic bone, so I ask you, what the hell is this?  Bloat?  Water retention?  My body just "remembering" how to be pregnant???

Last time around I was pushing 20 weeks before I looked like this.  I think it was somewhere around 19 weeks before my husband was like "hey...you look pregnant!"  This time around he's already told me he thinks I'm going to be big because I already look pregnant.

THANKS HUSBAND!

Here's 19 weeks last time to compare:

And because I just love comparison photos, here's 12 weeks with #1.

Anyone else finding they're much bigger with #2???

The Early Christmas Present...Again.

There are so many similarities between 2011 and 2014.

We spent most of the year trying to have a baby...again.

We had one miscarriage...again.

One of our grandparents died...again.  Obviously not the same one.

We had a failed round of Clomid...again.

And...

We had a successful 2nd round of Clomid...again!

We got pregnant in November...again.

We announced the pregnancy at Christmas...again.

And last but not least, I'm having an August baby...again.  Ok technically my due date is July 30, but come on...I'm clearly destined to have all my babies birthdays clustered around my own.

So, here we go again!  On to Baby #2...FINALLY.

Weaning PROGRESS - 28 Months

What can I say, this kid loves the boob.

But FINALLY at 28 months we're down to once a day AND sometimes we skip that too!

I can see the end in sight!

Sometime earlier this month I decided to offer up something else rather than milk in the mornings.  What I ultimately decided on was CARTOONS!

Honestly I feel kind of bad letting him watch cartoons every morning but you know what?!  Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

The older he gets the more I've come to realize that it's best if he agrees to something rather than if I  try to sneakily take it away.

For instance, if you remember a month or two ago when my RE told me that nursing might be ultimately keeping me from getting pregnant Dom just sort of took over and he and Jett would leave the house when Jett and I would normally be nursing or I'd just leave the room and let dad put him to sleep.  Hoping that if milk wasn't there he'd just sort of accept it and move on.

But ultimately that backfired and we ended up with a sobbing mess of a baby screaming for milk and mommy by Sunday morning and we had a very upset mommy who felt awful for abandoning her baby when he clearly needed her.

So, I changed tactics and OFFERED him something else in return for an agreement that accepting the offer meant no milk.

An agreement from him also meant I could remind him that he GOT something in return for not having milk.

It worked like a charm.

For probably a week every morning when I came down and he'd ask me for milk I'd ask him if he'd rather watch cartoons instead of do milk.  Five out of the 7 mornings he said cartoons and only twice did he say milk, which meant no cartoons.  After a week he quit asking for milk and instead asks me for cartoons!  For the moment I am giving in and letting him have his cartoons in the morning but I know somewhere down the line we're going to have a new habit to break!

Baby steps.

Now as we've got the morning session out of the way we've started to work on night time.  We've developed a similar tactic as the morning minus the TV where he gets to stay up an extra 10 minutes and play with daddy if he agrees that daddy is putting him to bed and that means no milk. 

Works some nights, others it doesn't.

Last night I could hear him up there saying "Play sand with daddy and no milk!"  So...HE GETS IT!  And that's what apparently needed to happen at this point...28 months.  He has to be party to the decision, which...I'm cool with.

So, we're almost there folks!  I swear we'll be done by the time he's 3 ;-)

 Officially the last time we nursed in public at the World Series Game in October.  Bittersweet that this part of our relationship is ending but I look forward to whatever comes next!