Good--No, GREAT--News

I think it's finally happened, that day we've all been looking forward to for months. That's right; I think the morning sickness is finally starting to ease up. I had a really good day today with only a few bad spells that were short-lived. I feel better than I have in ages, and it feels great.

You want some proof I'm feeling better? I actually took some new pictures of my boys. Check this one out:
Patrick pulled his choo-choo book off the shelf himself, and after reading it on his own for a few minutes, he crawled it over to Daddy and put it on his lap. He wanted Daddy to read to him. How can a daddy refuse? Patrick loved how Daddy did the choo-choo whistle. Don't they look so content together?

Patrick got a St. Patrick's Day card in the mail today from his Uncle Dave and Aunt Jen and totally loved the card. He played with it for ages. I don't know whether it was the wonderful green color or the fact that it was a card, but this is one of his favorite toys right now.

I have one funny story from today to tell. When I went into his room to change his diaper after his afternoon nap, he was standing next to his diaper pail with one hand balanced on it (but standing mostly alone). Curious as to what mischief he'd been up to, I took a closer look at the diaper pail. He laughed right along with me when I saw what was going on. I saw a Gloworm placed in the hole of the pail. He'd been trying to flip the lid to send Gloworm to the diaper graveyard, but Gloworm was a bit too tall to flip over. The best part? When he saw me laughing, he smiled too and said, "Uh-oh," sending me into a hilarious fit of giggles. He couldn't have been prouder of the mischief he'd managed to accomplish during one naptime. (Side note: I think he gets the concept of "uh-oh" quite well. What do you think?)

Where I've Been

Sorry I've disappeared off the face of the earth. I'm really still around, just haven't felt up to blogging lately. Late last week I was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (TMI? sorry). It explains why the nausea wasn't starting to ease up like I expected it to. Then when I started the antibiotics to get rid of it, they didn't exactly help the nausea any. I think it's safe to say they've been kicking my butt ever since. I gave in today and called the doctor. She put me on some new antibiotics that so far seem to be working better. Maybe there's an end in sight to this perpetual nausea.

If I continue to get better over the next few days, you can expect another great post about Patrick. I've been collecting great stories lately and hate that I haven't felt up to sharing yet.

Nothing Extraordinary

Today's doctor's appointment went almost exactly as expected. We waited for a long time to be seen, weighed and took blood pressure, heard the baby's heartbeat (for the first time on the doppler), asked the doctor a few questions, and headed home. Everything is remarkably routine, right down to the morning sickness starting to ease up just a bit. I go back in another month, and probably about a month after that we'll get the "big" sonogram. I don't know if I can wait another two months to find out the gender, but I guess since I don't have a choice, I will. My gut still says boy, but for the first time yesterday, I found myself thinking about the baby as a girl sometimes, too. I'm no longer quite as sure.

By the way, I have guesses for your babies, too, Jen and Ginny. Not that my track record is any good on myself, but I'm pretty good at guessing other people's babies. Jen, I see you with a little girl, and Ginny, I'm getting the boy vibe for you. I can't wait to find out whether my guesses are right--although I might have to wait a bit if your baby continues to be so uncooperative in sonograms, Jen.

Patrick is still doing well. He is finally vocalizing more in words that can possibly be translated into normal talk, not baby gibberish. He's learning the concept of "uh-oh," even though it sounds more like "eh-eh" the way he says it. Tonight he finally also stood completely alone without something to hold at least nearby, and for a good minute before sitting down again. We're really starting to think walking isn't far off; he's quite good at walking while holding our hands finally. He'll be a full-fledged toddler before we know it.

We had some minor pregnancy problems a few weeks ago (which have since been totally resolved), and I was instructed to be careful about my activity level in the meantime. That included much Patrick-lifting. As a way for me to cope, we converted his crib into a toddler bed. It felt foolish to us, with him not even walking yet, but we felt like we had no other options. He took a few nights to get used to the idea, but now he loves having the independence to play in his room until he gets tired. Unfortunately, he can crawl out of his bed but not back into it. Every night I have to sneak into his room late at night to move him back to bed. He has taken a liking to curling up on the feather bed we've placed on the floor next to his bed to cushion his deliberate fall out of the bed every night. It's really cute, even though I wish he would start to understand that he's supposed to sleep in the bed, not next to it.

One of Patrick's new words is "baby," and I think he's starting to understand what a baby is. I had the sweetest moment with him tonight when he was cruising around our bed after sneaking into our bedroom. He kept repeating, "baby, baby," so I asked him where the baby was. He was probably just reaching for me to get me to pick him up, but he happened to touch my big belly right then. Since he got to hear the baby's heartbeat earlier, while watching the nurse hold something to my belly, it is possible he's figured out that somehow Mommy's belly and the new baby are related. Maybe not too likely, but we all know how smart Patrick is after all...

Woo-hoo!

I'm feeling pretty good this afternoon. It dawned on me a few minutes ago that my good spells seem to be coming more frequently and lasting longer. And good spells no longer mean merely not hovering over the toilet but that I am truly not nauseous at all. Even when the bad spells feel overwhelming, I'm starting to have hope that this really will pass. I'm not about to give up my Zofran anytime soon, though!

Patrick astounds me every day by how much he's growing. It feels like he's growing up in leaps and bounds all of a sudden, instead of the baby steps I've come to anticipate. The other day he crawled over to the laundry basket sitting on the floor and voluntarily walked behind it while pushing it. We had been unable to convince him to do that very same thing on his toys specifically for that purpose, so it was amazing to see him do so on his own.

He is also looking for ways to play with his toys other than their intended purposes. For example, he'll put rings on his ring stacker deliberately out of order (he can easily put them on in order now) so that he can try to stack other toys on the top or balance balls in the indentation left by a ring that didn't settle all the way down. His play looks less and less random and more like he knows exactly what he wants to do.

A few of his toys are still somewhat complex for him, but it shocks me just how much persistence he shows in trying to figure them out. It takes him a long time to get frustated when what he tries doesn't work; I'm actually jealous of his patience. We're going to have to graduate to more complicated toys before long. I'm glad the ones we have don't bore him, though.

I love watching Patrick cruise at top speed around his pen, the easiest place for him to pull up and cruise. He is getting so incredibly flexible, balanced, and mobile. He loves hanging on and bouncing up and down. I think he thinks he's dancing. He does it more when music is playing and especially when he gets excited.

Unfortunately, he's growing up in some other ways too. He is almost certainly moving to a one-nap-a-day schedule. I'm sad about that. While I'm still sick from the pregnancy, I'll probably keep encouraging him to take two naps (I need the rest desperately), but as soon as I start feeling better, I think we'll be tweaking his schedule yet again. He will usually still rest during both naptimes and usually falls asleep after a little while. He just doesn't sleep quite as long each time as he used to. He's also been waking up earlier in the mornings. I'm not so fond of him turning into a morning baby again (although he probably needs to eventually), so maybe re-working his schedule so that he plays more during the day will encourage him to sleep later in the morning.

The other way I've seen him mature in the last week or so is his sudden insistence on showing symptoms of the terrible twos. He has started demanding things and making sure we know he's upset if he doesn't get what he wants right away. He can actually produce real tears in a short-lived temper tantrum. We don't usually see tears when he has a real reason to cry, so this is amazing. Obviously, these tantrums are frustrating, but Matt and I are learning to keep our calm about them. We just pay him no extra attention and do our best to not give him exactly what he wants right away. If it's something he would have gotten anyway, like lunch, he still gets it, but we don't jump to accommodate his wishes. He won't starve if we make him wait another minute or two to eat. Our theory is that if we cater to his tantrums, giving him what he demands, it will only encourage the tantrums. We want to teach him early that there are better ways to ask for things. Experienced moms, what have you found to work to suppress tantrums early on?

I hope everyone else is enjoying the beautiful springlike weather we are here. If so, take advantage of the early spring while you still can. If not, maybe thoughts of us basking in the 80-degree weather will help you feel a bit warmer in your typical February weather.

Having a Good Day

What? Two new posts in one week? I'm on a roll!

I'm having a good day. I feel pretty good for once, and I hope this holds for the three-day weekend. With any luck, I should only have three to four weeks of this left. I can't wait for the second trimester!

By the way, keep those guesses coming. It's very interesting to see what you think this next one is going to be. For the record, I kind of hope it's a girl, just for the change, but I still have the gut feeling that it's a boy. I did have a dream that it was a girl the other night, but as Lauren said, dreams aren't necessarily accurate.

Patrick is continuing to show how flexible he is, especially on the days when I don't feel as good and have to find different ways to take care of him than normal. He seems to welcome the change instead of fighting it. I'm proud that he continues to be a champion sleeper, something I always assumed was a side effect of the medicine that he is no longer on. He will still sleep about 13 hours every night and take two naps a day. The naps are slowly but surely starting to shorten, and I suspect he'll be down to one nap in the next few months. Until then, though, I'm taking advantage of the breaks I get during the day. I usually nap during at least one of his and rest during the other. I'm very glad to be able to stay at home and get all the rest I need during the day. Working moms, I don't know how you do it!

My favorite time of day, though, is shortly after Matt gets home from work. Most days that signals when I start to feel better. Matt also takes advantage of the time he gets to spend with Patrick and me, and the three of us will sit and watch TV together for a few minutes. Patrick usually sits comfortably on Matt's lap during this time, content to just be near his daddy. He'll lean back into his chest and play distractedly with the hair on Matt's arm or his fingers while he cuddles with Daddy. Emotional as I am these days, that sight always brings a lump to my throat.

Prayer Request

I want to apologize for not blogging for so long. I start every day with the best of intentions, and then I just can't make myself do it. The computer aversion is starting to kick in, but fortunately not as seriously as last time. I'll try to keep blogging every couple of days if I can't every day until the worst of this is past.

On that note, that's what I need prayers for. Even on the medicine, I'm struggling with the morning sickness. I'll spare everybody the gory details, but mornings are killer. Sometimes I'm afraid the only way I'll make it through this is on the wings of all the prayers that are being sent up for me. So anybody out there who can send up a prayer for me, I would appreciate it.

I have lots more I'd like to blog, including Patrick's sixteen-month letter, but those will have to wait. Start those prayers, and maybe I'll feel up to blogging something with substance later.

By the way, thanks in advance for thinking of me.

Just...Yuck

It was a particularly bad day with the morning sickness. Even when the nausea mostly dissipated this afternoon, I was left feeling wiped out, like I had been sick for weeks, not just this morning. Because of feeling so sick, I didn't spend the individual time with Patrick that I normally do (thank goodness he's so happy playing alone in his pen), so I don't have all the usual funny stories from the day. Instead, here are a few more of the best pictures from the last few weeks.