Baby #2 | 19 weeks
We are nearly half way there to meet this little baby, and I really just can't believe it.
Life is pretty blissful right now. I love this point in pregnancy. My bump is out and proud, and I'm happily looking very pregnant (and not fat). I feel gentle baby jabs quite regularly, which make me smile every time. My joint pain is getting a whole lot better, and I feel really good when I'm up and moving around. My only complaint at this point is sleep, as I'm already super uncomfortable sleeping on my sides. Though I will say I have had some big chunks (like 5 hours) of straight sleep where I didn't appear to move a muscle, so I guess I am still getting decent rest.
And thanks to some persistent trial and error, we figured out how to get Carter to sleep until 6am
again, so we are all getting better sleep. Never mind that I'm a bit saddened that it meant he goes to bed at 8pm and I just lost another hour of my precious little free time in the evening. I should be thrilled to get to spend more time with him...but let's face it: evenings with a toddler are often HARD. Not always, but often enough. And especially when he's with me. Lots of whining, begging to be carried, unprompted bursts of tears, and just general displeasure. Dad doesn't get this treatment, so I'm not sure if I should feel special or cursed. And by the time the dishes and clean up and laundry and all the other to-do's are complete, it's close to 9pm and I'm ready for bed. When am I supposed to watch TV??
But then, these snuggles happen every single night, and it totally makes up for the lack of my own personal time. Because really, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but the shoulder for him to lay on.
When we can get outside after dinner, life is good. And when the neighbor boy is also out, it's GOOD. None of the aforementioned hardness occurs. They two boys chase each other around and fall and giggle and hide and wear each other out, while the moms observe and chat. It's quite blissful, really. We are already dreading winter, and planning evening play dates at each other's houses just to stay sane.
Anyway, there's a tangent on Baby #2 topic. In summary? Yes, we are getting better sleep all around. And dealing with the hard evenings.
A newborn just started at Carter's daycare, which is going to be wonderful exposure to him. So far he's not all that phased by her, or his caretaker's new attention-keeper. We shall see what happens when it's Mama who is being pulled away by a baby. I know that it's natural for a child (maybe even going as far as to say 'a boy' specifically) to attach strongly to Mama, but I am really hoping to help Carter learn that Daddy can do almost everything Mama can. (Almost since of course there's no true match for Mama, right?) Right now, he almost always insists I dress him, or read to him, or carry him, or put him to bed. It's all about the playing with Daddy, and all other needs reserved for me. But I know I'm going to have my hands full, at least in the beginning with a newborn probably wanting to constantly nurse, so I'm really hoping Carter becomes willing to let Dad put on his socks, or put him to bed. For goodness sakes. :)
We're also SO very close to finding out if this is a 'she' or a 'he' baby. YAY!!! I'm still so very convinced this baby is a girl, so I'm sure in a week+ when I know the results I'll be reading back on this and laughing. After all, our families have boys. It's what we do. :)
So next up will be the big gender reveal. And by big reveal, I mean, we will have our parents bite into cupcakes filled with pink or blue filling, and I'll take a picture and share. Nothing extravagant, but exciting nonetheless.
Life is pretty blissful right now. I love this point in pregnancy. My bump is out and proud, and I'm happily looking very pregnant (and not fat). I feel gentle baby jabs quite regularly, which make me smile every time. My joint pain is getting a whole lot better, and I feel really good when I'm up and moving around. My only complaint at this point is sleep, as I'm already super uncomfortable sleeping on my sides. Though I will say I have had some big chunks (like 5 hours) of straight sleep where I didn't appear to move a muscle, so I guess I am still getting decent rest.
And thanks to some persistent trial and error, we figured out how to get Carter to sleep until 6am
again, so we are all getting better sleep. Never mind that I'm a bit saddened that it meant he goes to bed at 8pm and I just lost another hour of my precious little free time in the evening. I should be thrilled to get to spend more time with him...but let's face it: evenings with a toddler are often HARD. Not always, but often enough. And especially when he's with me. Lots of whining, begging to be carried, unprompted bursts of tears, and just general displeasure. Dad doesn't get this treatment, so I'm not sure if I should feel special or cursed. And by the time the dishes and clean up and laundry and all the other to-do's are complete, it's close to 9pm and I'm ready for bed. When am I supposed to watch TV??
But then, these snuggles happen every single night, and it totally makes up for the lack of my own personal time. Because really, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but the shoulder for him to lay on.
When we can get outside after dinner, life is good. And when the neighbor boy is also out, it's GOOD. None of the aforementioned hardness occurs. They two boys chase each other around and fall and giggle and hide and wear each other out, while the moms observe and chat. It's quite blissful, really. We are already dreading winter, and planning evening play dates at each other's houses just to stay sane.
Anyway, there's a tangent on Baby #2 topic. In summary? Yes, we are getting better sleep all around. And dealing with the hard evenings.
A newborn just started at Carter's daycare, which is going to be wonderful exposure to him. So far he's not all that phased by her, or his caretaker's new attention-keeper. We shall see what happens when it's Mama who is being pulled away by a baby. I know that it's natural for a child (maybe even going as far as to say 'a boy' specifically) to attach strongly to Mama, but I am really hoping to help Carter learn that Daddy can do almost everything Mama can. (Almost since of course there's no true match for Mama, right?) Right now, he almost always insists I dress him, or read to him, or carry him, or put him to bed. It's all about the playing with Daddy, and all other needs reserved for me. But I know I'm going to have my hands full, at least in the beginning with a newborn probably wanting to constantly nurse, so I'm really hoping Carter becomes willing to let Dad put on his socks, or put him to bed. For goodness sakes. :)
We're also SO very close to finding out if this is a 'she' or a 'he' baby. YAY!!! I'm still so very convinced this baby is a girl, so I'm sure in a week+ when I know the results I'll be reading back on this and laughing. After all, our families have boys. It's what we do. :)
So next up will be the big gender reveal. And by big reveal, I mean, we will have our parents bite into cupcakes filled with pink or blue filling, and I'll take a picture and share. Nothing extravagant, but exciting nonetheless.
Before I even got to the part with your gender prediction, I just had this overwhelming feeling that it's a girl! And I'm only ever wrong when it comes to predicting my own baby's gender. :)
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I totally see you with a girl too! But that doesnt mean that this one is a boy and the next one is a girl :) You look so cute with that bump! As for kids thinking only mama can do things, it doesnt get better! Both my boys were always like that and little has changed, I think kids just feel that moms can do it better for some reason. I cant wait to see Carter as a big brother, he is gonna rock his new role!
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