I hate how touch-and-go I'm getting with blogging these days. It seems like just when I think I can stand to be on the computer long enough to blog, either Patrick wakes up or the nausea hits again or the laptop's battery dies.
There hasn't been much happening around here. I'm still trying to learn to cope with the morning sickness and taking care of a near-toddler at the same time. It's tough, especially when Patrick's mischievous side comes out. For example, a few minutes ago Patrick was playing in his pen while I lay curled up on the couch, when I suddenly saw him grab at the curtains behind his pen. He knows he's not supposed to touch them; we're worried if he tugs hard enough that he might just pull them down, almost certainly hurting himself. The more I told him no, the more adamant his babbling got. He was talking back to me and testing my limits. He kept grabbing at the curtain, too. I finally got up to give him a light spanking, and instead of getting upset about it, he laughed and crawled towards me. He went right back to pulling on the curtain when I turned around to lie down again (getting up usually brings on the nausea). I warned him one more time, and when he defied me again, I put him in his crib in a short time-out as punishment. I know he's probably too young for time-outs to be effective, and using his crib as punishment isn't a good idea (although for such a good sleeper it doesn't seem to be too bad). Still, I had run out of options. I was too sick to take him out of the pen and chase him around, which would have been a reward to him anyway, and what I was trying obviously wasn't working. The good news is that the punishment seemed to work. He hasn't touched the curtains once since getting out of his time-out.
I love that he's suddenly "talking" all the time. He'll babble in full sentences of baby talk to us, his toys, and anything else around. We hold whole conversations where I have no idea what I've just agreed to. I have a feeling more decipherable words will be following soon. He is definitely practicing his communication skills, and the next step will be to find words that we can understand.
Patrick's balance skills are also improving. Several times lately he has stood completely on his own for a few seconds at a time. I think he could balance longer, but he gets distracted by something nearby and wants to crawl to it right away. He usually stops standing by choice, not by necessity. As balanced as he's getting, though, I don't think he'll be walking anytime too soon. He shows absolutely no interest in it yet. Crawling gets him where he wants to go, so why should he hurry into walking? That's fine with me. He's enough of a handful as it is. He can take his time learning to walk if he wants--as long as he's accomplished at it before this next baby comes. I don't know that I can carry him and a newborn at the same time very easily.
On the baby front, I'm starting to look more like I'm pregnant, even at only eight weeks. I'm losing a little bit of weight (not enough to be worried about), and still my belly manages to pooch out some. If I don't dress carefully, it's pretty obvious already. My one pair of jeans that still fits already doesn't button most days. I have a feeling that maternity wardrobe in the back of my closet will come in handy sooner rather than later.
I vaguely remember someone asking ages ago when we went to the doctor whether there was any plan to try to avoid another premature birth. I forgot to ever answer that. Yes, as soon as we reminded her that Patrick was born at 31 weeks, she asked if we had heard of this particular shot. When I hit 24 weeks, I will go in weekly for a shot that has good results in preventing a repeat premature birth. Matt and I were both relieved to hear that she wasn't worried about repeat problems and already had a plan in mind.
I had my first baby dream the other night. I dreamed that the baby was born incredibly easily and full-term. It turned out to be a girl, too. I hope this dream is a predictor of what will come, not just what I hope will happen. I know it will still be a while until we know anything about the gender, but I'm curious about everyone's early predictions. Matt thinks it's a girl, but I think it's a boy. What about all of you?
There hasn't been much happening around here. I'm still trying to learn to cope with the morning sickness and taking care of a near-toddler at the same time. It's tough, especially when Patrick's mischievous side comes out. For example, a few minutes ago Patrick was playing in his pen while I lay curled up on the couch, when I suddenly saw him grab at the curtains behind his pen. He knows he's not supposed to touch them; we're worried if he tugs hard enough that he might just pull them down, almost certainly hurting himself. The more I told him no, the more adamant his babbling got. He was talking back to me and testing my limits. He kept grabbing at the curtain, too. I finally got up to give him a light spanking, and instead of getting upset about it, he laughed and crawled towards me. He went right back to pulling on the curtain when I turned around to lie down again (getting up usually brings on the nausea). I warned him one more time, and when he defied me again, I put him in his crib in a short time-out as punishment. I know he's probably too young for time-outs to be effective, and using his crib as punishment isn't a good idea (although for such a good sleeper it doesn't seem to be too bad). Still, I had run out of options. I was too sick to take him out of the pen and chase him around, which would have been a reward to him anyway, and what I was trying obviously wasn't working. The good news is that the punishment seemed to work. He hasn't touched the curtains once since getting out of his time-out.
I love that he's suddenly "talking" all the time. He'll babble in full sentences of baby talk to us, his toys, and anything else around. We hold whole conversations where I have no idea what I've just agreed to. I have a feeling more decipherable words will be following soon. He is definitely practicing his communication skills, and the next step will be to find words that we can understand.
Patrick's balance skills are also improving. Several times lately he has stood completely on his own for a few seconds at a time. I think he could balance longer, but he gets distracted by something nearby and wants to crawl to it right away. He usually stops standing by choice, not by necessity. As balanced as he's getting, though, I don't think he'll be walking anytime too soon. He shows absolutely no interest in it yet. Crawling gets him where he wants to go, so why should he hurry into walking? That's fine with me. He's enough of a handful as it is. He can take his time learning to walk if he wants--as long as he's accomplished at it before this next baby comes. I don't know that I can carry him and a newborn at the same time very easily.
On the baby front, I'm starting to look more like I'm pregnant, even at only eight weeks. I'm losing a little bit of weight (not enough to be worried about), and still my belly manages to pooch out some. If I don't dress carefully, it's pretty obvious already. My one pair of jeans that still fits already doesn't button most days. I have a feeling that maternity wardrobe in the back of my closet will come in handy sooner rather than later.
I vaguely remember someone asking ages ago when we went to the doctor whether there was any plan to try to avoid another premature birth. I forgot to ever answer that. Yes, as soon as we reminded her that Patrick was born at 31 weeks, she asked if we had heard of this particular shot. When I hit 24 weeks, I will go in weekly for a shot that has good results in preventing a repeat premature birth. Matt and I were both relieved to hear that she wasn't worried about repeat problems and already had a plan in mind.
I had my first baby dream the other night. I dreamed that the baby was born incredibly easily and full-term. It turned out to be a girl, too. I hope this dream is a predictor of what will come, not just what I hope will happen. I know it will still be a while until we know anything about the gender, but I'm curious about everyone's early predictions. Matt thinks it's a girl, but I think it's a boy. What about all of you?
Labels: Audience Participation, Fun Stories, New Baby
4 Comments:
I think it is going to be a girl...don't know why, but I just do. Either way Patrick is going to make a great big brother. Sorry you are feeling so bad...I hope it gets better. You are in my prayers.
Love, Mel
I predict another boy. Don't ask me why. I hope you feel better really soon!
I kind of think girl, too, but I'm just hoping for healthy! I keep praying for the morning sickness to let up.
I'm not even good at predicting what my own children will be, so I won't even attempt to predict someone else's :)
I had a dream long before I found out that Will was a boy about my baby and in my dream the baby was a girl. So much for that! Let's just see what happens in a few weeks :)
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