The first person I talked to about having an unassisted birth, of course, was Ryan. I asked him what he thought of the idea, trying to feel out if he was going to be supportive of my increasingly hippie ways. He was the one, afterall, that pointed out that we “could have totally done that by ourselves” after Chloe’s birth. He was immediately on board…or so I thought.
After getting his initial support, several weeks later I found out there was a miscommunication. He was under the impression we would be having a midwife attend the birth. When I clarified what an unassisted birth was, he was suddenly unsure and uncomfortable with the idea. He asked me to hire a doula at the very least (and I reminded him that he is a trained EMT). As much as I wanted to make him comfortable with an unassisted birth, I was uncomfortable with inviting someone I did not know to participate in my birth experience. Each of my previous birth experiences taught me that I am the type of person that needs to be left alone during labor and not have anyone unfamiliar around me. During Tucker and Chloe’s labors, any time a change was introduced or a new person came in, my labor would slow and stall out. I knew if I kept the number of people to a bare minimum, the easier and faster my labor and birth experience would be. If I was going to do this, it was going to have to be my way, and that meant just Ryan and my sister, Jill, who was going to come and take pictures for me.
I also ‘fessed up to my Mom. I had asked her to check out some library books for me (she is a library addict and goes weekly) and with my requested titles, it was obvious what I was up to. She was also supportive but as my due date got closer, she expressed concern. I could understand where my parents were coming from. Not only were they concerned about me and my health, but they were also considering how I would cope if, God forbid, things went wrong and there was a bad outcome for the baby. I reassured her as much as I could; I emphasized that I was prepared and willing to go to the hospital at the first sign of trouble or even if I had a gut feeling that I needed to go in at the onset of labor. I was not trying to prove any kind of point by birthing this way and of course a healthy outcome was of utmost importance to me.
The few friends I divulged my secret to were 100% supportive, which was so awesome! It was nice to have some people I could talk to, as the original plan was to never publicly discuss this. I knew if I did, I would be opening myself up to a crap storm of criticism and judgment, and really, who wants to deal with that? Certainly not me! So, why then, am I blogging about it? Well, mostly because we live in the day of social media, coupled with the fact that I live in a small town. I was “outed” on Facebook before I knew it and word spread like wildfire. I figured if I was going to be talked about (and I was), I might as well tell it from my perspective.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Austen's Story Part I: Answered Prayers
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt
Okay, here’s the thing; I have received a lot of different reactions from people when they find out I had Austen at home, unassisted (meaning without any medical professionals). People are shocked, quite possibly horrified, and very curious. I thought I would write a post explaining how and why I came to this decision. I do want to preface this by saying that I made this decision as an informed, educated “birth junkie” and the decision was soley mine and I was willing to own the outcome. I believe that in the majority of cases, birth is safe, especially when not interfered with by the medical community (in other words every intervention opens the door to a possible complication that then needs to be managed). I view pregnancy, labor and birth as an honor and miracle rather than an inconvenience or disease.
For those of you who think I am off my rocker for having an unassisted birth, I understand where you are coming from. When I first encountered someone who was planning an unassisted birth, I thought she was nuts, not to mention playing Russian Roulette with her and her baby’s lives. Add to that, I have been a huge natural birth advocate since college so I can only imagine the reactions of those of you who do not share that passion! That’s the great thing about growing as a person….you get to learn from others and educate yourself and you hold the power to change your philosophy and mind, and possibly even your life. That is one of the biggest blessings I’ve had since becoming a mother; many of the things I originally scoffed at have been the things I have come to love and accept. I feel very differently about many things in the four years since becoming a mother and I am so grateful for the changes I’ve seen in myself. I used to describe myself as a stubborn person who only saw things in black and white with absolutely no room for grey. Today, although still very much stubborn, I am a much more positive and open-minded person and I am happier because of it. Grey is good.
So, how did I go from planning a birth attended by an obstetrician in a birth center to deciding to take the road less traveled and give birth at home with just Ryan and my sister present? Well, let’s just start at the beginning.
I found out I was pregnant with our third baby just a couple of weeks before my 33rd birthday. This pregnancy was not planned and I was extremely surprised to see the line appear on the pregnancy test. Our previous pregnancy had ended in miscarriage so I was quick to call my obstetrician’s office the next day to set up my first prenatal appointment. My first appointment was in early June and I was relieved and excited to see the flickering heartbeat on the ultrasound I received that day.
Early pregnancy was easy on me, I had about 2 weeks of mild nausea as my only symptom. I had to constantly remind myself I was creating a life, I felt so good I actually worried if the pregnancy was progressing normally. Around September, I started to have a nagging feeling about my upcoming labor and delivery. I couldn’t pinpoint what I was uneasy about, but it was a feeling I just couldn’t shake and the anxious feelings I had needed to be addressed before they negatively impacted me and my baby. I had a great birth experience with my doctor when I had Chloe, I fully trust him and I know he respects birth and my decisions regarding how I want things to go. But something was telling me that delivering at the BirthCare Center was not what I was supposed to do for this birth. I considered switching my care to a midwife but that didn’t feel like the right fit either.
“The Will of God will not take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.”
One night I prayed before bed about what I should do and asked God to show me what His plan was for me. That night I had a dream that I had the baby at home with only Ryan present. I woke up feeling more peaceful than I had felt in weeks! I truly believe this was my answer from God and who was I to argue with that? I am not sure I’ve ever had such a clear answer from Him before and I was not about to question it. I started making my plans to have an unassisted birth at home, which involved a lot of research, reading, and preparation.
In my third trimester, I ended up being diagnosed with borderline gestational diabetes. My fasting numbers were a little bit high, in pregnancy the goal is to have the fasting number 90 or less and I was routinely in the mid-90s in the mornings. My after meal numbers were always on target at less than 120 two hours after eating, so I honestly wasn’t very concerned about it. In fact, my doctor even said that I could still deliver at the BirthCare Center because my numbers weren’t bad at all; if I had required insulin he would have had me deliver at the hospital because it would have classified me as high risk. The diagnosis didn’t shake me, I still planned on delivering at home, but it was nice to know that if I did decide to go in, I could go where I delivered Tucker and Chloe and not be forced to go to the hospital.
The last part of my pregnancy did not go as swimmingly as the first part. I started to become very physically uncomfortable toward the end battling sciatica and terrible pubic symphysis pain. There were days that just moving my legs was excruciating for me. Because of that, I stopped working in early January, which was much earlier than I had planned. I had somehow convinced myself that I would have the baby early, but he was determined to prove me wrong! Stubborn, just like his Mama!
January held many days of prodromal labor, more commonly known as “false” labor where the contractions are painful but they never lead to an active labor pattern. I would have hours of intense, regular contractions only to have them peter out eventually, leaving me disappointed and tired. I even had one night in particular that brought with it a constant contraction that lasted four hours without letting up! I tried everything I could to get it to go away; I took a bath, I walked around, I laid down, I drank water. I considered drinking some wine but decided against it. It finally went away around 5am, just in time to get a couple of hours of sleep before the kids woke up.
As my due date approached, I started to get more and more impatient and more and more depressed that the baby hadn’t come yet. I was receiving many texts, phone calls and messages asking me where the baby was, which only made me focus on the fact that he wasn’t here yet. At my 39 week appointment, my doctor asked me if I would like him to sweep my membranes (gently separate the amniotic sac from the cervix, which can help labor begin). Wanting to fully trust God’s plan for the pregnancy and birth, I decided against it. I knew that the baby would come when he was ready and I needed to trust my body and my baby for the perfect timing, despite how impatient I was getting. This, afterall, was not about ME.
At my 40 week appointment, I was 3 centimeters dilated, 70% effaced and a -1 station. My doctor told me he predicted I would go into labor anytime in the next two days. Then he told me that if I didn’t have the baby by Friday afternoon, I would have a different doctor delivering me because he was going on a medical missions trip for the next two weeks. Is that what God was telling me months ago when I couldn’t figure out why I felt so unsettled? Was it because my trusted doctor would not be the one attending my birth and I would be left to the doctor on call for their practice, who may or may not be respectful of my wishes? I had always maintained that if at any point before or during labor I felt it was necessary to go to the birth center, I would not hesitate to do so, but when I heard that my doctor would not be attending, I was further determined to have my baby at home.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Family Update!
Wow, am I a craptastic blogger, or what? So much has happened in the past two months I'm not even sure where I should begin the update! I guess I will go from oldest to youngest which would start with me!
What have I been up to? I have been working my usual two days a week in the office, helping with getting our house ready for the market (hopefully this weekend, but then again I've said that for several weeks now!), attempting to sleep for more than three hours per night, and baking a baby. Simply put, I am completely and utterly exhausted. All I want for Christmas is a weekend away in a hotel room alone and I can guarantee my butt would not leave the bed for two days. I would order takeout, watch cable tv, and nap at my leisure. Somehow, I don't think Santa will be delivering that. Oh well.
I have also been doing a lot of reading in preparation for my upcoming birth. I am very excited to have this baby, even though I am very nervous about the early days (weeks? months??) adjusting to three kids.
What has Ryan been up to? Working, snoring, procrastinating, creating messes, cultivating his underwear farm. You know, same ol', same ol'. Do I sound hormonal? Sorry 'bout that, can't be helped. On a positive note, he was recognized at work today for having the highest customer satisfaction scores in the local branch! That certainly can't hurt at his annual review next month!
What has Tucker been up to? We have been having quite a hard time with Tucker's behavior lately. He had been throwing tantrums that were downright concerning. They were much like a night terror, a vacant look in his eyes, inability to communicate other than screaming, crying, and jumping around flapping his hands (thoughts of autism surfaced a couple of times), triggered by nothing in particular, and over randomly at the blink of an eye. When the tantrums would end, he was always remorseful and would apologize for throwing a fit but he could never communicate what was wrong or why he was doing it. My heart was breaking. We had tried every method we could think of: ignoring, spanking, being calm and gentle, being firm and strict. Nothing worked, nothing. And sometimes they happened a few times per day, lasting an hour long on average. I was reduced to tears on many occasions...completely exhausted, wondering if something was mentally wrong with him, wishing I could figure it out, wanting to help him deal with his emotions, etc. We had discussed taking him to a play therapist, as we were at a complete loss on what to do next.
I had always been fairly careful with the foods I feed my children. I'm not perfect, certainly not all organic, but I am probably more picky and diligent than your average mom. It suddenly occurred to me that my parents had taken the kids to the Rose Hill Fall Festival in early October and they each got some candy at the parade. I had been allowing them to choose one piece per day (like the equivalent of a DumDum sucker, so we are talking about a minimal amount). At first I thought perhaps the sugar was a factor but when I really thought about that possibility, it didn't seem to fit because the small amount of sugar they were getting should not cause outbursts like he was having. And then the light bulb went off. FOOD DYES!!!
I decided that day, which happened to be Halloween, to take him off any foods that contained any artificial food dyes. That meant no trick-or-treating. He had already lost that privilege earlier in the day from throwing a couple of these "fits". We still let him dress up and go to see his Great Grandmas, but he was not allowed to eat any candy. I honestly felt terrible about the punishment I chose but it was not hard on him at all. He still got to play and dress up and the no candy rule didn't seem to negatively affect him at all.
As the week progressed, I noticed a dramatic improvement but was afraid I was jumping the gun and wanted to make sure it wasn't wishful thinking. By the time Friday rolled around, it was 1,000% clear to me food dyes were causing his behavior issues. My father-in-law, without knowing we made dietary changes, asked if we had medicated him...he was that different! My sweet boy was back! His happy moods are even different now! It makes me so sad that he truly didn't know why he was acting that way and that we had been disciplining him for it. It also makes me sad to think of all of the kiddos out there who are labeled "bad kids" or are even medicated when such a simple dietary change could alleviate their symptoms.
Is Tucker fit-free now? Puh-lease! He is 3, there are still tantrums but he is not going into psycho mode. He is easy to calm now and can be talked through his emotions without drama. I could cry (I am noticing a hormonal theme here with this post) I am so happy that we seem to have found our answer.
What has Chloe been up to? Being a stinker! A cute stinker! Chloe is on the verge of potty training. Actually, I think she's been ready for a while but with all that's been going on, I haven't had the opportunity to commit to being home bound to get-r-done properly. She has started taking her jammies and diaper off at night when she potties in her diaper so I have resorted to backward facing jammies for now and no more water close to bedtime.
Whew! That was a lot! I will try harder to post updates so I don't get so behind!
What have I been up to? I have been working my usual two days a week in the office, helping with getting our house ready for the market (hopefully this weekend, but then again I've said that for several weeks now!), attempting to sleep for more than three hours per night, and baking a baby. Simply put, I am completely and utterly exhausted. All I want for Christmas is a weekend away in a hotel room alone and I can guarantee my butt would not leave the bed for two days. I would order takeout, watch cable tv, and nap at my leisure. Somehow, I don't think Santa will be delivering that. Oh well.
I have also been doing a lot of reading in preparation for my upcoming birth. I am very excited to have this baby, even though I am very nervous about the early days (weeks? months??) adjusting to three kids.
What has Ryan been up to? Working, snoring, procrastinating, creating messes, cultivating his underwear farm. You know, same ol', same ol'. Do I sound hormonal? Sorry 'bout that, can't be helped. On a positive note, he was recognized at work today for having the highest customer satisfaction scores in the local branch! That certainly can't hurt at his annual review next month!
What has Tucker been up to? We have been having quite a hard time with Tucker's behavior lately. He had been throwing tantrums that were downright concerning. They were much like a night terror, a vacant look in his eyes, inability to communicate other than screaming, crying, and jumping around flapping his hands (thoughts of autism surfaced a couple of times), triggered by nothing in particular, and over randomly at the blink of an eye. When the tantrums would end, he was always remorseful and would apologize for throwing a fit but he could never communicate what was wrong or why he was doing it. My heart was breaking. We had tried every method we could think of: ignoring, spanking, being calm and gentle, being firm and strict. Nothing worked, nothing. And sometimes they happened a few times per day, lasting an hour long on average. I was reduced to tears on many occasions...completely exhausted, wondering if something was mentally wrong with him, wishing I could figure it out, wanting to help him deal with his emotions, etc. We had discussed taking him to a play therapist, as we were at a complete loss on what to do next.
I had always been fairly careful with the foods I feed my children. I'm not perfect, certainly not all organic, but I am probably more picky and diligent than your average mom. It suddenly occurred to me that my parents had taken the kids to the Rose Hill Fall Festival in early October and they each got some candy at the parade. I had been allowing them to choose one piece per day (like the equivalent of a DumDum sucker, so we are talking about a minimal amount). At first I thought perhaps the sugar was a factor but when I really thought about that possibility, it didn't seem to fit because the small amount of sugar they were getting should not cause outbursts like he was having. And then the light bulb went off. FOOD DYES!!!
I decided that day, which happened to be Halloween, to take him off any foods that contained any artificial food dyes. That meant no trick-or-treating. He had already lost that privilege earlier in the day from throwing a couple of these "fits". We still let him dress up and go to see his Great Grandmas, but he was not allowed to eat any candy. I honestly felt terrible about the punishment I chose but it was not hard on him at all. He still got to play and dress up and the no candy rule didn't seem to negatively affect him at all.
As the week progressed, I noticed a dramatic improvement but was afraid I was jumping the gun and wanted to make sure it wasn't wishful thinking. By the time Friday rolled around, it was 1,000% clear to me food dyes were causing his behavior issues. My father-in-law, without knowing we made dietary changes, asked if we had medicated him...he was that different! My sweet boy was back! His happy moods are even different now! It makes me so sad that he truly didn't know why he was acting that way and that we had been disciplining him for it. It also makes me sad to think of all of the kiddos out there who are labeled "bad kids" or are even medicated when such a simple dietary change could alleviate their symptoms.
Is Tucker fit-free now? Puh-lease! He is 3, there are still tantrums but he is not going into psycho mode. He is easy to calm now and can be talked through his emotions without drama. I could cry (I am noticing a hormonal theme here with this post) I am so happy that we seem to have found our answer.
What has Chloe been up to? Being a stinker! A cute stinker! Chloe is on the verge of potty training. Actually, I think she's been ready for a while but with all that's been going on, I haven't had the opportunity to commit to being home bound to get-r-done properly. She has started taking her jammies and diaper off at night when she potties in her diaper so I have resorted to backward facing jammies for now and no more water close to bedtime.
Whew! That was a lot! I will try harder to post updates so I don't get so behind!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Blue Gravy and Guilt by Dr. Seuss
Not really by Dr. Seuss, but Tucker has decided that every book is written by Dr. Seuss. I can read the title to any book and Tucker will follow it with, "by Dr. Suess."
Me: Tonight's book is Goodnight, Moon
Tucker: by Dr. Seuss
Big Seuss fans in this house, I tell ya.
Where was I? Oh yeah. Just the wee bitty small announcement that baby Gravy is a BOY! I had my sonogram weeks ago and it has taken me this long to post about it (enter Guilt, stage left). It's true. Your first baby, you document every detail with words and pictures. Every single month on the 21st, I would sit down after Tucker was in bed and write in his baby book the happenings of that particular month.
Um, Chloe's name isn't even written in hers yet and we don't have 1/8 of the pictures of her. I have no idea how old she was when she got her first tooth and can't even recall her first word. Terrible! And, apparently this will only get worse for Gravy. The other two kids had blogs of their own pretty much as soon as the pregnancy test told me they were coming and poor Gravy is just lumped into the family blog. And belly pictures? P'shaw! I have taken ONE belly picture, whereas I documented my expanding waistline every two weeks with the other two, starting at 12 weeks.
Observe: Gravy Belly at 18 weeks (and most of this belly is more due to poor choices, like actual gravy, than Baby Gravy. Ironic.)
The sonogram showdown: Ryan missed it. Typical Ryan, he didn't leave work in time and missed the whole thing. So, I"m laying there, feeling like I'm having a girl and am watching Gravy like a hawk trying to get a glimpse of the nether region. I saw what I thought were the 3 lines indicating girl a few times but the sonographer said nothing. Finally, I said, "I already saw what the baby is, so if you're waiting to tell me until my husband gets here, there's no need." She looked surprised and said she hadn't even looked yet and always waits until the very last to make sure she has gotten all the views of the other organs she needs for the report. She then starts investigating gender and points out the scrotum and penis to me. What?!
I was so surprised! Shows how much I know! It was really fun to be so surprised and proven wrong ( you will NEVER hear me say that again, by the way), I seriously could not stop smiling all day! Here are the pictures and a video we got of Gravy...from the profile picture, I think we are going to have another mini-Ryan!
And here is how I told Tucker and Chloe they are getting a baby brother. Please excuse the sing-song preschool teacher voice and inflections, it cannot be helped. ha
It's a Baby Brother!
*disclaimer #1: yes, this video takes place on a bed, which I realize seems totally weird to those who don't know how my parents' house works. Their bedroom is the size of a living room and is kind of Grand Central Station in their house, it's where we all hang out.
*disclaimer #2: I have never taught Tucker that girls and boys should choose certain colors as their favorite, he has determined this on his own and insists that is how it should be. If he loves pink tomorrow, that's A-Okay with me. Oh, and my mom painted his toenails once and I thought it was cute even though he hated it and wanted it off right away. Gender roles, shmender roles.
Me: Tonight's book is Goodnight, Moon
Tucker: by Dr. Seuss
Big Seuss fans in this house, I tell ya.
Where was I? Oh yeah. Just the wee bitty small announcement that baby Gravy is a BOY! I had my sonogram weeks ago and it has taken me this long to post about it (enter Guilt, stage left). It's true. Your first baby, you document every detail with words and pictures. Every single month on the 21st, I would sit down after Tucker was in bed and write in his baby book the happenings of that particular month.
Um, Chloe's name isn't even written in hers yet and we don't have 1/8 of the pictures of her. I have no idea how old she was when she got her first tooth and can't even recall her first word. Terrible! And, apparently this will only get worse for Gravy. The other two kids had blogs of their own pretty much as soon as the pregnancy test told me they were coming and poor Gravy is just lumped into the family blog. And belly pictures? P'shaw! I have taken ONE belly picture, whereas I documented my expanding waistline every two weeks with the other two, starting at 12 weeks.
Observe: Gravy Belly at 18 weeks (and most of this belly is more due to poor choices, like actual gravy, than Baby Gravy. Ironic.)
The sonogram showdown: Ryan missed it. Typical Ryan, he didn't leave work in time and missed the whole thing. So, I"m laying there, feeling like I'm having a girl and am watching Gravy like a hawk trying to get a glimpse of the nether region. I saw what I thought were the 3 lines indicating girl a few times but the sonographer said nothing. Finally, I said, "I already saw what the baby is, so if you're waiting to tell me until my husband gets here, there's no need." She looked surprised and said she hadn't even looked yet and always waits until the very last to make sure she has gotten all the views of the other organs she needs for the report. She then starts investigating gender and points out the scrotum and penis to me. What?!
I was so surprised! Shows how much I know! It was really fun to be so surprised and proven wrong ( you will NEVER hear me say that again, by the way), I seriously could not stop smiling all day! Here are the pictures and a video we got of Gravy...from the profile picture, I think we are going to have another mini-Ryan!
It's a Baby Brother!
*disclaimer #1: yes, this video takes place on a bed, which I realize seems totally weird to those who don't know how my parents' house works. Their bedroom is the size of a living room and is kind of Grand Central Station in their house, it's where we all hang out.
*disclaimer #2: I have never taught Tucker that girls and boys should choose certain colors as their favorite, he has determined this on his own and insists that is how it should be. If he loves pink tomorrow, that's A-Okay with me. Oh, and my mom painted his toenails once and I thought it was cute even though he hated it and wanted it off right away. Gender roles, shmender roles.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Dear Chloe,
Today you turned two years old! I can't believe how the time has flown by and you suddenly look like a little girl. You have red hair, brown eyes with a touch of hazel, a little bow mouth and teeny button nose. You weigh a whopping 22 pounds fully clothed, such a tiny peanut! You are full of personality and spunk and you have a really great vocabulary as well. You speak in full sentences and have a little elf voice that is like Alvin and the Chipmunks on helium. So cute!
You have started to ask to sit on the potty and the past several times you have been successful! Go Chloe! You insist on climbing up on our hugely tall old person toilet by yourself and even though we have a potty seat that sits on top, I am still scared to death you are going to fall in. You are probably little enough to even be flushed!
Your favorite foods are bananas, Goldfish crackers, chicken, beef, applesauce and broccoli. Your favorite colors are pink and purple. You love to act like a doggy and crawl around the floor panting and even licked me this week! You love your big brother soooo much and imitate him at every opportunity. We ask you if you are a copycat and you either reply with a "meow" or "no, I not copycat."
I can't even describe what joy you bring to our family. When I was pregnant with you, and I've heard this time and again from other women, I secretly wondered how I could love another child as much as I love Tucker. Well, it was easy. You make it easy. You give the best snuggles and make me smile and laugh every single day.
I am so excited to see who you become. I am so proud of who you already are and I know you are destined for greatness! Always, always, always remember you are loved!!! Love you so much it hurts, sweet baby!
Love,
Mommy
You can read your birth story here.....the day that changed my life (in many ways!) forever.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tucker Update
Tucker is really starting to develop his imagination. The other day we were driving in the car and for the first time he saw shapes in the clouds. "Mama! A dinosaur in the clouds!" He was so excited and then just a minute or so later he saw an airplane shape. It totally reminded me of my childhood, I remember laying in the yard looking at the clouds for what seemed like hours finding different shapes.
He is also big into pretending to be a dinosaur, and let me tell you, he can be pretty scary when he does it! He curls his toes under, makes his hands into claws, stomps loudly and gets a very convincing grimace on his face. And lest I forget, a growl that often petrifies his sister! I will try to get it on video (and be better overall about posting pics and videos!).
He channels that dinosaur attitude on occasion when he is unhappy with me. Yesterday he dared to point his finger in my face while scowling and talking very sternly to me. Mama don't play that game. I told him to sit in time out, that I would not be talked to that way. When he refused, I calmly picked him up and started carrying him to his room for time out. That is when he decided it would be a (not so) wise decision to hit/slap me three times in the face. Um, no sir. He earned himself a few well-deserved spankings and came out the other end much more pleasant and agreeable. Nothing wrong with a little attitude adjustment delivered via hand to the bottom.
He is starting preschool at the end of the month and I don't know who is more excited, me or him! I am so excited for him to interact with other littles and make some friends in our new town. I know he is going to flourish in school, as was evidenced today by his interaction with a few other kids at a store. This store has a play area for kids and he was so friendly and polite to the others, he introduced himself and asked their names and then played cooperatively. I was so proud of him for being outgoing and friendly. I am so pleased that he doesn't seemed to be plagued with the shyness that Ryan and I have/had.
He loves the baby soooo much! Every day, he tells me he loves the baby (well, he also tells me he loves his peepee every day, already penis obsessed at the ripe age of 3!) and gives my belly a hug and a kiss. He insists the baby is a girl, he won't even entertain the thought that it may be a boy. He also tells me how much he loves me every day and gives me multiple kisses, hugs and tickles throughout the day, which I soak up as I know this stage won't last forever! He is such pure joy, I am so very lucky to be his Mommy.
He is also big into pretending to be a dinosaur, and let me tell you, he can be pretty scary when he does it! He curls his toes under, makes his hands into claws, stomps loudly and gets a very convincing grimace on his face. And lest I forget, a growl that often petrifies his sister! I will try to get it on video (and be better overall about posting pics and videos!).
He channels that dinosaur attitude on occasion when he is unhappy with me. Yesterday he dared to point his finger in my face while scowling and talking very sternly to me. Mama don't play that game. I told him to sit in time out, that I would not be talked to that way. When he refused, I calmly picked him up and started carrying him to his room for time out. That is when he decided it would be a (not so) wise decision to hit/slap me three times in the face. Um, no sir. He earned himself a few well-deserved spankings and came out the other end much more pleasant and agreeable. Nothing wrong with a little attitude adjustment delivered via hand to the bottom.
He is starting preschool at the end of the month and I don't know who is more excited, me or him! I am so excited for him to interact with other littles and make some friends in our new town. I know he is going to flourish in school, as was evidenced today by his interaction with a few other kids at a store. This store has a play area for kids and he was so friendly and polite to the others, he introduced himself and asked their names and then played cooperatively. I was so proud of him for being outgoing and friendly. I am so pleased that he doesn't seemed to be plagued with the shyness that Ryan and I have/had.
He loves the baby soooo much! Every day, he tells me he loves the baby (well, he also tells me he loves his peepee every day, already penis obsessed at the ripe age of 3!) and gives my belly a hug and a kiss. He insists the baby is a girl, he won't even entertain the thought that it may be a boy. He also tells me how much he loves me every day and gives me multiple kisses, hugs and tickles throughout the day, which I soak up as I know this stage won't last forever! He is such pure joy, I am so very lucky to be his Mommy.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Saturday.
I met a friend for an impromptu lunch on Saturday at Panera. I had both kids with me and my little Coco did not eat her turkey sandwich. Knowing she would surely want to eat it later, I wrapped it up neatly in a napkin and placed it in my purse.
On Saturday.
I also have a habit of leaving my purse in my vehicle at all times (thieves, please ignore this last sentence and please don't bash my windows in...I don't have any money).
Did I mention this happened on Saturday? Oh, I did.
And that is has been well over 100 degrees outside? Which would translate to Hotter Than Hell inside of a car?
Since Saturday.
A turkey sandwich has been sitting inside of my purse, which has been inside my car, in over 100 degree weather since Saturday.
The smell that wafted from my purse today was enough to make me pass out. Best described as a cross between swamp ass and stinky feet, I do believe my beloved purse is headed for the dumpster.
And one more time for emphasis: Since Saturday.
On Saturday.
I also have a habit of leaving my purse in my vehicle at all times (thieves, please ignore this last sentence and please don't bash my windows in...I don't have any money).
Did I mention this happened on Saturday? Oh, I did.
And that is has been well over 100 degrees outside? Which would translate to Hotter Than Hell inside of a car?
Since Saturday.
A turkey sandwich has been sitting inside of my purse, which has been inside my car, in over 100 degree weather since Saturday.
The smell that wafted from my purse today was enough to make me pass out. Best described as a cross between swamp ass and stinky feet, I do believe my beloved purse is headed for the dumpster.
And one more time for emphasis: Since Saturday.
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