December Recap- bye bye 2014

Wow. 2014 is almost gone. What a crazy, crazy year it's been. This time last year neither Joe nor I would have ever guessed, dreamed or imagined that we would be living in WI with completely new jobs. We had a twinkle in our eye about #2 being on the way, but we didn't think he'd be born in a different state than his brother!

Moving has been hard. We really love River Falls and our new jobs, but it's definitely been hard to be away from our friends, especially with another baby on the way. It's always hard to make new friends, and we're struggling with that a little just because we've been so hectic and busy the entire time we've lived here that it's been hard to make time to connect with other people. Our resolution for the new year is to make that time. I'm joining a book club and possibly some sort of mom's group if I can find one that falls during a time we can make it. Joe's got some people he's started connecting with. We can do it! We've got a babysitter now, too, that we feel comfortable with so we can get out for an occasional adult night.

So, December.

Z still doesn't really care all that much about Christmas or presents under the tree. He doesn't care much about bows or wrapping paper, He would like to chew on the Christmas lights. Much to his chagrin, I do not allow this activity due to the potential death by electrocution.

This was our first Christmas spent without seeing our immediate families, and that was a bit of a tough pill to swallow, though it was the best choice. We really needed this time to regroup and get ready for the new year, new semester, new child, etc. We spent the 24-26th with the extended Blum family in the Madison area, and that was a complete delight. I am often thankful that I married in to such a wonderful family and this was another of those moments of complete thankfulness.

The highs of Christmas:
- I had the best Chinese food of my life. I am not exaggerating.
- Spending time with all the family. So nice!
- I finally, finally kicked the stupid month long cough a couple days before we left!
- The staff of the hotel we stayed at were really, really kind and helpful.

The lows...
- The first night we tried Z out in a toddler air mattress because he's really too long for the pack and play. It... did not go well. We all got very, very little sleep that night. Z just couldn't seem to settle, no matter what we did. It was very exhausting and frustrating for all involved. We saw that the hotel had cribs and requested one of those the next morning. They brought it up right away and Z slept in it without a single problem. The moral of the story is Z is not ready to move into a big boy bed. Noted, Z. Noted.
- Z also had a rough adjustment the first night we were there and he met everyone. There was a lot of flinging himself on the floor and crying. Toddler's lives are very difficult apparently.
- We missed our immediate families.

The other big news of December was of course learning that Bebo is a boy and getting to work trying to choose a name. It will probably take us until he is born to choose one so we've got to get going on this. After not knowing Z's gender, it's definitely a different experience knowing this time around. I had Z's newborn clothes out last night and boy am I excited to dress another little boy in that freaking adorable navy blue dinosaur romper!

Sara's Opinion Ramblings - Cloth Diapering

A lot of people have asked me about cloth diapering. Here are my succinct feelings in the form of self Q&A.

Q: Why did you want to cloth diaper?
A: To save money. And the environment (aka less trash in the landfills). And save money.

Q: How does this work?
A: Completely depends on which diapers you choose. There are all-in-ones that most closely resemble a disposable, pocket diapers that you can stuff with inserts (trimmer option) or prefolds, or prefolds in a cover. We chose the last option because it's the cheapest. (see point one about saving money)

Q: Is it disgusting?
A: Sure, but so is parenthood. Parents get pooped, peed, vomited, drooled, and snotted on. That's just the facts. Shaking some poop into the toilet or swishing it around doesn't really bother me, but I'm not squeamish. Look into your heart and realize there are other options too - diaper sprayer, flushable liners to catch the poop, etc.

Q: Does it add to your laundry a TON?!
A: Meh. 2-3 more loads a week (I do 1 load every 3 days)

Q: Are you glad you did it?
A: Totally!

Q: Favorite brands?
A: I love Blueberry covers. Initially I thought I didn't like them because they felt so bulky when he was little, but once he got bigger, I loved them. When he was smaller I loved the Thirsties Duo Wrap covers. I personally prefer snaps to velcro because it stays on better, they don't stick to each other in the wash, and they have more longevity (I want these to last for all the Blum babies). Econobum covers are cheap and work. Not my favorite but great bang for your buck.

Also, if I had known about bamboo/cotton prefolds when I was building my stash, that's all I would have gotten because they are gloriously soft. They are more expensive but not horribly more and, like I said, they wash wonderfully and feel like a soft, comfy t-shirt. I just feel good about life when I put those soft prefolds on my boy's little baby tush. Unfortunately, I didn't discover them until I was buying the toddler sized prefolds so my infant and "premium" size are the standard cotton, which is fine, don't get me wrong, I just like the bamboo better.

My final musings: remember, you can cheat! I have disposables on hand at all times. Z wears disposable overnight diapers. I never travel with cloth because, in my opinion, it's too much work. If we're going out for a whole day, I'll often put him in a disposable. Do what works for you.

That's all she wrote.

*Here's my disclaimer about not being an expert. K? :)

It's a.....

human!! Pshew! We've managed to dodge fulfilling Joe's dream of having a dinosaur baby twice now. What a relief.

Bebo is perfectly healthy with all great measurements and properly formed organs. I was vindicated by the ultrasound tech who agrees that my due date should be later: May 12 instead of May 4. I was also relieved to discover that my suspicion was correct- I have an anterior (front) placenta this time instead of a posterior (back) placement like I had with Z which is why I've not been feeling much movement from Bebo. There's a big ol' placenta between us that's muffling all the baby kicks and squirms.

Joe and I are thankful and relieved that Bebo is healthy. The ultrasound made this all more real for us since, to be honest, we both forget sometimes that we're really, truly having another baby. If it wasn't for the emails from babycenter I would never remember how many weeks along I am. So different from Z! Now that Bebo seems like a real person I feel like I can start mentally preparing for this big change. We're pretty anxious about adding another kid to the mix when one feels like so much work already, but my logical brain tells me that we'll figure it out and adjust, just like we did when we added Z to our family.

Z and I were working on saying "baby brother" this morning. He was doing pretty well.

Already an individual

There is one thing I have learned about myself and pregnancy- it makes me crazy. I worry SO MUCH while I'm pregnant. I'm constantly imagining worst case scenarios. It's a miracle that I am not certifiable. 

My latest worry has been about Bebo's lack of movement. I was pretty sure I could attribute it to the fact that I have had a pretty constant, hacking cough for the last 2 and a half weeks. I have spent about 70% of my day coughing. It's completely ridiculous. I've talked to my doctor about it twice and both times it was basically, "Sorry, it sucks, wait it out unless you start to die." While the coughing is crappy, the worst part was not being able to sleep because for some reason every time I enter a state of rest my coughing increases like 200%. Since I'm only about 19 weeks along, a state of rest is pretty much the only time I could feel the movement a 19 week old baby can dish out. I figured they were getting buried under all the body racking coughing. 

Over the last two days I've finally started coughing less and that's when I started to get paranoid. Why wasn't I feeling Bebo!? BEBO! WHERE ARE YOU!? By this point with Z, I was already getting walloped. Last night I had almost worked myself up into a respectable panic when, bomp, there was Bebo. Just two little bomps and that was it. Then, today, Bebo was all like, "I do what I want!" bomp. Bomp. BOMP BOMP BOMP! ... bomp. And that was that. 

I've had to remind myself that even now, as a little, bitty in utero, the size of an heirloom tomato (which variety? No idea, they didn't specify over at babycenter.com) Bebo is his/her own person. Bebo isn't going to be just like Z. Just because Z spent all of his gestation flinging himself around wildly, pummeling my internal organs, poking at my bones, hiding from the ultrasound, and punching monitors, doesn't mean Bebo is the same. Maybe Bebo is more mello. Maybe Bebo just wants to chill for a bit. Maybe Bebo is a deep thinker or an observer. 

Can't wait to get my first look at this little scooter on Wednesday! (I've only mentioned this twice before, can you tell I'm excited?) 

It's just a phase... it's just a phase...

Z is trying to kill me. I'm pretty sure. That, or I'm being punished for boasting about his great sleep a couple weeks ago to my mom. I was all haughty and like, "Oh, he's a perfect sleeper! 2-3 hours naps and at least 11 hours at night." (preens feathers).

I should have knocked on wood.

12/10 - The child awoke at 11 PM, coughing. I applied Baby Vicks and cuddled him for a bit while the coughing calmed down. I put him back in the crib feeling assured he would now fall asleep peacefully because he seemed so tired.

Nope! He fell asleep at FOUR AM! FOUR AM!!! from 11 - 4 AM, I was up and down with him (mostly up) to keep him from screaming and waking up everyone in hearing distance, particularly his father who is still recovering from being sick and desperately needed sleep. I went through the 5 stages of grief.

1. Denial - There is no way he's going to stay awake much longer. He can't possibly. He'll fall asleep any minute now. 

2. Anger - "WHY are you DOING THIS!? WHY? I'm SO TIRED!! Z, stop. Stop! Stop smiling, this is not funny!! Go to sleep!!"

3. Bargaining - "Z, just go to sleep and tomorrow we can play. We can play whatever you want and read whatever books you want and cuddle all day. You can watch Frozen while I make dinner. We can go to Shopko and you can run around. But we can't do any of this if you don't go to sleep."

4. Depression - "Please sleep (sobs). Please. I'm so tired."

5. Acceptance - I'm just going to rock him and not talk or look at him forever if I have to. Forever and ever. It's fine, it's just a phase.

Last night I waited in dread to see what would happen. Happily he spent his yakking hours before I went to bed, so I was able to get some decent sleep. I have no idea what his deal is. I did spend about an hour making up explanations that he would give me if his verbal skills were advanced enough (as a sidenote, I feel pretty convinced that the main reason he felt he needed to be awake was to practice talking. At one point he just laid in my arms for about 20 minutes making the "P" sound "puh, puh, puh" over and over, then progressing to "Papa, papa, papa" for another 10 minutes):

"Mama, if you leave the room, you will probably disappear and never come back so you need to stay here for your own safety."
"Mama, I had a dream that the snow monster came and took you away! NEVER LEAVE MY ROOM!"
"Mama, I can't practice talking during the day! Someone might hear me!! Soooo embarrassing!"

Now I will repeat the mantra that keeps all mothers sane: It's just a phase. It's just a phase. It's just a phase. It's just a phase...

When it rains (snot), it pours (illness)

We are sick. All of us. And it doesn't seem to be ending, ever. My crabbiness knows no bounds right now. Pity my students who have to spend the last week of the semester with a sleep-deprived professor who can barely string together three sentences without a coughing fit.

It all started with me. I got a cold that morphed into a cough right before Thanksgiving. Apparently this cough is interested in entering into a long-term, committed and exclusive relationship with me because it has not budged an inch in nearly two weeks. It's just hanging around, getting especially bad at night when it starts to be afraid that I'm getting distant (aka attempting to sleep). I can take, oh, one pregnancy approved medication, run a humidifier, slather Vick's on my chest and hope for the best. That's about it. I've also tried honey, lemon and honey, gallons of tea, netti pot, and basically any thing else I can dream up to help me kick this. It just ain't happening.

Then Joe fell under some sort of illness that attacked quickly and without warning and including a bizarre fever that popped up, disappeared and then popped up again. Bizarre and surprising since Joe rarely, rarely gets sick. But, of course, illness decided to come now, while I was sick and Z...

...

Oh, Z.
He decided it was time to have a sleep regression. It had been awhile, so why not? Two nights of HOURS of talking, squawking, crying, screeching (joyfully, as long as one of us was there. In rage, if we dared to go back to bed). Mercy. The following two nights included a few hours of private partying, which was an improvement but still woke me up. We are still having some random sleep oddities. Epic long or epic short naps. Sometimes night waking. Sometimes just waking up really early. One night he seemed hot, but I thought it was just due to the temperature of the room.

NOPE! He had a random fever. I say "random" because it I had not used a thermometer on that child, I would have had no idea he was "sick." I say "sick" because he was running around like his usual self. One more thing... more bad sleep nights... nooo...

In conclusion, we are all sick. All of us. And we can't seem to get better. I, in particular, am feeling incredibly crabby about this because I feel like I haven't felt even remotely healthy since I got pregnant. As a result, I feel like the Grinch pre-Cindy Lou Hoo (Who? We don't have this book, I'm uncertain of the spelling). I just want one good night's sleep without gag-inducing coughing!

End whine fest. Acknowledge this could be categorized under #firstworldproblems.


On the bright side, I'm really excited about our ultrasound next week! First look at Bebo!!

November Recap

Lord, have mercy. I am tired. Really, really tired. That's what I have to say about myself and the month of November. It's made me really tired and wonder if I'll ever feel healthy again.

Joe is also really tired. The end of the semester bears down upon us like a rushing locomotive and that means a lot of work. Plus, everything is kind of a lot of work for him right now because his job is new and all the kinks are being worked out.

Z is not tired at all. He's full of energy. At our gym playtime last week one of the moms watched him running around and quipped, "If only I could have a tenth of that energy." Seriously, me too. It would be glorious.

I can't believe how fast this child is growing and changing. His legs are getting long and skinnier, he's losing his fat baby tummy. He's finally starting to talk a leeeeeetle bit, which is a relief to me. He's started singing real songs, which is adorable. He makes us laugh all the time with his antics, inventions and goofy facial expressions. He's still very cuddly, which I love. He's got a glorious smile and wonderful smiling eyes.

Not to say he's all roses and sunshine. He tantrums a lot right now. He can't cope with his frustration at all. Not even a little. It's hard since communication is still a big barrier and also, because he's what he is: a young toddler. To him, life is truly difficult and I have to remind myself of that constantly. He doesn't understand that I can't play with him because I need to make dinner. He doesn't understand that we have to wake him up now or we will be late for work. Heck, I'm pretty sure he doesn't understand why we insist on oppressing him with diapers. But, he will, eventually.

A big and unexpected highlight of this month was getting to see my good friend Adam and meet his lovely fiancee, Tanya. One of the things that really made the beginning of this pregnancy not exciting was discovering I was going to have to miss their wedding because I will be too far along to safely travel. Devastation for so many reasons. Of course, there is the obvious- that I very much wanted to be a part of their big day and I was excited about seeing other friends that I rarely see due to distance. But also, I wanted to meet Tanya! We'd never gotten a chance to meet in the time they have been together and it broke my heart a little to think Adam would get married to someone I'd never even gotten to meet. Basically the universe aligned in a magical way and we all ended up in the same Wisconsin town over Thanksgiving. It made me so, so happy and will definitely help with the sadness on their wedding day when I'm stuck in WI, all giant and grumpy, instead of being there with them.