For various reasons I've decided to move this blog to WordPress.  This blog will stay for awhile, but I will now be posting at:
http://familyaustin.wordpress.com/

Thanks!

1.  That Joe didn't have range all week, rather it was just Tuesday and Wednesday.  He was home Thursday night.
2.  The 3 day weekend Joe has!
3.  The free prenatal massage I get on Monday.  Joe will watch Evan and it's free!  It's a gift certificate I got from the doula.
4.  That the backaches are on the lower side today.  I've been getting a lot of backaches recently, they come with braxton hicks or alone.  It's uncomfortable.  Yesterday was bad though and I started to wonder if I would be going into labor shortly. 
5.  The nice weather we've had!  Today was perfect park weather.
6.  That my strawberry plants survived the winter.  They are starting to bud very very nicely!
7.  Knowing that Joe starts clearing here soon and won't be doing all the night training coming up.  Meaning, he won't be working nights and sleeping days for the week or 2 that happens.
8.  Heating pads, they do help some with that back pain.
9.  That Joe finally got the transcripts he needed so he can apply for the federal jobs he wants to apply to.
10.  The extremely clean floors we have.  I got the urge to get down on hands and knees and thoroughly clean our wood floors, then use a swiffer wet jet over to pick up any remaining soap residue and dirt.  I don't think they've been this clean in a very long time, they practically gleam!  Nesting is sure interesting.  My next goal is to clean the balcony door windows, they need it.
11.  The gifts I got from the baby shower.  I'm still surprised the church threw me one, it was so nice!

Evan had a tummy ache Saturday night, he was clingy all Saturday and didn't have much of an appetite.  I didn't think much of it, after all he has a fluctuating appetite and he goes through clingy bouts, especially now that I'm pregnant.  It happened again last night.  Only this time he had an upset stomach with it.  I've dealt with a couple stomach bugs in the past, but they all presented in the other way.  This was vomiting and I have really dreaded that since becoming a mom, it's just gross.  Spit up is one thing, gross diapers are another, but vomit...At least with spit up it's just milk and gross diapers, well it's all contained in the diaper (at least I hope it is for others, I've only had 1 poosplosian and that was with disposables).  So needless to say it was a long night with only a couple episodes, most of it was just crying off and on, kicking, saying hurt, tummy hurt, and affirming that he felt sick.  I think it was a first that he recognized he truly felt sick.  He's had colds and all, but he plows through those with just a little less energy.

I learned that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be though.  Part of it was fatigue, but over all I was more concerned about him and making sure nothing got on the bed.  I felt so bad for him and was just making sure he got cleaned up and then would hold him until it happened again.  This was very minor though...but at least I know now I can make it through another one of those nights someday.  I'm very grateful for wood floors.  In fact, I want all future houses to have wood floors if at all possible.  I'm also thankful for really thick waterproof mattress covers (a little did get on the bed). 

He seems to be doing much better today, so who knows what was up.  Joe vowed to never give him a cupcake and milk before bed again since he thinks that was what caused it.  It could have contributed to it, but All I know is today we will eat simple food like toast with a bit of butter and honey, bananas, and applesauce.  I'm going to pick up some probiotics too.

Parenting is certainly full of...joy...at times.  LOL!  I'm just glad he's feeling better today and slept ok after awhile.

You can find it HERE

FOR TODAY:

Outside my window...It's Sunny and Warm!!  I even have windows open!

I am thinking... about the pizza in the oven and how much longer it has.
I am thankful... that I am trading the fleece lined covers for a different style.  I hate how they start to retain smell unless you do a complicated wash routine to keep them stink free.  I've never been a fan of synthetic fibers...

A few plans for the rest of the week: Maybe a playdate or 2.  Enjoying the warmer weather.  Trying to stay sane doing a form of single parenting since Joe will be at range Tuesday through Friday.
A Peek into my Day:
My very cute boy slowly waking from his nap!

I've recently decided to stop naps for Evan.  Before I did this, his bedtime routine was something like this despite having had his nap around 12.  His nap was always around 2 hours so he'd be up by 2 at the latest:
-Around 6:45 to 7 we'd pick up toys and then start the battle of getting him to his room to change into PJ's and all.  This was all met with a regular fight even if he was tired.
-Around 7 to 7:15 we'd finally have him ready and then would start another way of putting it off.  Having to put daddy night night.  We started that routine because before he'd want to hug daddy for a very long time but wouldn't go to sleep.  No no, he just would squirm and kick and he knew daddy wouldn't try to stop the squirms because he thought it was normal, I knew it was his way of staying awake.  We tried the letting daddy put him to sleep method, it didn't work.  It was just a way to not go to sleep. 
-After putting daddy night night he'd come in and demand milk.  If milk was on hand he'd want juice.  If we had both he'd want something else sometimes, either way he found a way to stay awake. 
-From this point on he'd take about an hour or more to finally give in to sleep.  He'd come up with random "owies" that weren't really there.  The most interesting one was on his tongue and he'd want me to rub it for some reason (I never did, but it upset him when I didn't).  Strange kid.  Then he'd start the squirming when just about to fall sleep fight.  This was when he'd just start dozing off.  He'd be really still have rhythmic breathing, but then start squirming.  Or he'd has for milk or juice or whatever we didn't have or have on hand.

All in all he was usually asleep by 8:30.  From this point on he'd wake at least 3 times with one being 30 minutes to 2 hours or more.  He never fell back to sleep easily at these wakings.  I especially hated it when he was awake for an hour or more because I got tired of patting his back (he'd panic if I left and thus ruin an almost to sleep state) so I'd bring him into the bed with me but that drove me up the wall to because he was so squirmy.  He'd then start his day around 5:30 to 6.  Never later and usually around 5:30.  Sure, we had our occasional night with only 1 or 2 wakings, or the wakings that were really really brief, but they didn't happen often.  It's not like I didn't try pushing back his bedtime.  I tried that for quite some time with the pushing back time starting around 7:30.  Only what resulted with that was an overtired boy who fought sleep even harder and would then proceed to wake up more often and even earlier.

After a night with a 2 hour waking (his nap that day had been 2 hours) I decided to drop naps.  I just got fed up with the night wakings and he was already fighting naps as it was.  He apparently really hates sleep. 

Right now, since he starts his day around 6:30 we start his bedtime routine around 6:20.  He is asleep by 7 most nights since he usually takes a while to calm his body down enough to fall asleep.  He's a very high energy boy...

Night 1:  He fell asleep really really fast.  That was following a night with maybe 9 hours of sleep.  He was up for 2 hours that previous night.  He didn't sleep as well like I expected since he was over tired.  However he didn't start his day until 7.  But since he was so over tired he woke up several times and just joined us in bed (easier for me).

Night 2:  He slept better and was asleep within 20 minutes.  He did wake up with tummy problems though, but there was a reason for that.  He only woke a couple times and fell asleep with no assistance that second time too!  He was up by 7 and joined me in bed around 3.

Night 3: Fell asleep within 20 to 30 minutes again and slept even longer in his bed, until 4 I believe!

Night 4: Very very similar only didn't join me at all until the time he was waking up around 6 and dozed for a bit with me.

Night 5: Again did very well!  Only that day he fell asleep for a nap within 10 minutes so I let him sleep for an hour.  That night he fought sleep really hard again despite being tired.
 
Today he was a little off since he didn't sleep as late into the morning due to the nap he had yesterday.  Because of that and fell asleep decently fast again tonight.  We'll see how he does tonight, but I'm hoping it will be good. 

Either way, he's sleeping so much better at night and not fighting bedtime.  I'm so so glad.  While I'd prefer a nap for him because I like the break, he just didn't do well at night due to naps.  It's just who he is.  We now just do a rest period on the bed.  I'll hold him for a bit (his "hug") and then provide him with a few toys, juice or milk, and some books to play with quietly for an hour or longer if he wants (I'll ask if he wants up and he'll say no).  He does ask for "night night" if he's a little tired, but I'd rather have a peaceful fight free night routine than him going down for a nap.  Afternoons can be a tantrum prone time now and I can always tell if he's over tired because he's even more impulsive and more rough than normal at times.  They say it takes a week or two to adjust to no naps so hopefully this adjustment phase will pass soon. 

While pregnant with Evan I rarely got random comments on my belly size.  But lately I get a lot of them, well a lot in my opinion.  It's certainly not every day, but either way it gets annoying to hear all the different opinions on how big or how small I am.  Fortunately this time I have had less talk on Horror Birth Stories (very glad for that), but oddly enough I've gotten asked by someone I barely know if I'm going to breast feed.  So here are some general rules when interacting with pregnant women and sharing "tips" and opinions.

Belly Size
No matter how big or small you say they are they will either argue back out loud or in there head.  For example:
1.  "You're so small!" or I can barely tell." 
For starters, the "I can barely tell" statement is essentially saying you look like you have a round pregnant belly even when you're not pregnant and if the woman feels big already it will just really annoy the heck out of them and you don't want to tick off a pregnant lady.  Just don't say that.  Never say that. 
The "You're so small" may be accepted by some, but don't say it.  For one, every time I hear that I say back that I don't feel small.  It's true, I don't feel small.  In fact it has become increasingly difficult to get up or down in squatting positions and out of some chairs, like Evan's rocking chair,  It is now off limits if I am rocking him to sleep because I got catapulted off it trying to get up and carry my sleeping 25ish pound son to his bed and bumped his head into the door across the room after stumbling and trying to catch my balance only to really bruise my knee.  At least I landed on my knee and not my belly or Evan.  Evan never did go back to sleep for long after that incident.  It had taken over 2 hours to get him back to sleep (this was around 4:30am). 
Only the pregnant lady is allowed to say if they are small. 

2.  "You're so big!"  "Are you having twins." 
Again this is off limits.  When someone last said that I was big to me I rolled my eyes.  Really, it's like you can't appease the public with how you carry a baby and you shouldn't have to deal with these comments.  For the record I am measuring spot on due date wise and size wise.  Unless you are carrying this baby you do not get to say how big the belly is.

The best thing you can do is just say "You look great!"  Do not comment on belly size.  If you do that with a calm pregnant woman you will be fine.  But if you do that to a pregnant woman on a hormonal train ride you will either get a verbal lashing (either out loud or in their head) or daggers glared into your back.  Unless you are close to the pregnant woman you just won't know if they are a calm or crazy pregnant person.

Birth Horror Stories
Yes, I get it that pregnancy is a wonderful time.  You are growing another life in you and each month that passes is only one month closer to meeting that fabulous baby that you may have dreamed about for quite some time.  It's also very nice and even therapeutic to share birth stories with others.  But do not, under no circumstances, share those birth horror stories that involve pushing a 10+ pound baby out of you and then having to deal with the bodily repercussions after.  This includes non 10+ pounder birth stories too because every horror story leaves a mark and will affect how the pregnant lady sees the birth and it takes a lot of work to get past hearing the story of a person who was forced into a c-section or delivered a 10+ pound baby vaginally. 

I don't care if you personally delivered that 10 pound baby and are still dealing with prolapsed bladder issues, nerve damage, or hemorrhoids when I myself and pregnant and am gearing up to deliver this baby.  These stories are even more annoying if they are 3rd person hearsay stories. 

That said, I understand that pregnancy can be scary for others too if they dealt with that or personally know someone who delivered a large baby or had some very bad postpartum hemorrhages etc.  So before you share these stories out of fear and concern for the pregnant lady ask yourself a few questions.
1.  Are you related to or very close this lady?  If so, continue on to the other questions.  If not drop the topic.  It is not your place to ask or share the stories.
2.  Do you know her genetic history and the history of the women who have given birth in her family?
3.  Do any of the fears you have exist in her family tree?
4.  Did she herself have any of these issues in her last pregnancy?

If you don't know the answer to any of the last 2 questions and hasn't had the 3rd one yet, you can approach her and ask ONLY if you are really close to her.  But do not share the horror stories, just simply say you are a bit worried and want to be sure. 

If you do know the answer to the last 2 or 3 questions and none of them show the concern you have (ie really big babies in my case for some odd reason despite the fact that no one in our family has had large babies) then you don't need to worry.  Obviously if you still have that fear and it's impacting you discuss it with the pregnant woman, but don't share the stories.  PLEASE don't share the stories. 

Feeding the Baby and other Related Topics
I don't know why people you aren't close with and aren't a health care professional  feel the need to ask how you are going to feed your baby.  Shouldn't they just be glad you're going to?  I mean really, it's tacky.  It's like asking if they are going to have a planned c-section or vaginal delivery, how dilated they are when they are near the end, if they are leaking milk already, how they are going to diaper them, put them to sleep, hold them, feed them when they start solids, parent them, and the list can go on and on and on.  Some of those questions should just never be asked unless you know the woman very very well or are the actual health care professional.  And sometimes the woman just won't know the answer until they are actually in the situation.  You can plan to do one thing but then go down a different path. 

So again, unless you are close to the pregnant lady and she wants to discuss it, just don't ask about it.  You don't need to know the answers or details to every little corner of her pregnancy or thoughts on parenting.

I think it's great when people get excited over a pregnancy, but there are boundaries that need to be kept.  Ask before touching the belly.  Don't comment on how big or small they are, just say they look great.  And you really don't need to know every little detail of the pregnancy either so just stay away from other topics.

Posts will be public a day or 2, then I'll be locking them.  I just feel strange having posts stay public for long periods of time, especially with photos or videos on them.