Week 31 Update

Finally, a pregnancy update!

Today (Friday) I'm 31 weeks and 1 day pregnant . We're getting close! Somedays (like today), I feel really ready to meet Beckett, and watch Colt and Cash interact with him, and other days I feel like, "WHOA, whoa whoa! Time is slipping away from me!" By this time in my pregnancy with Cash, everything was done. The room was painted and decorated, the baby gear was all put together, and my hospital bags were actually packed. Weird, right? Like I was expecting to go into labor any minute, at 31 weeks. Haha! I wasn't going to be caught off guard, that's for sure.

This time is a bit different. Cash's big boy room is the one we are really focused on renovating. Beckett is going to inherit Cash's old room, complete with all the decor except we are buying a new crib bumper (as Cash had destroyed his old one), and a new picture for his wall to replace the one that says C-A-S-H. I have all of Cash's big boy room decor sitting in a corner in that room, but we are planning on getting new carpet for that room, and the office, and new wood flooring for the guitar room (aka the living room), and dining room. We have been "planning" on getting the new flooring installed for several weeks now but have frivolously squandered our time away on Colt's days off by doing fun things like going to the aquarium or Busch Gardens, or running to the mall, Target, etc. I don't regret the seemingly wasted days though, as I know our days as a family of three are numbered now. The three of us have so much fun together. I can't wait to see how much fun another boy thrown into the mix will be. Cash and Beckett will be the terror of the Busch Gardens water park. Anyway, our renovations are on hold until we get the flooring installed.

Another reason we have been slow to get things done is I have been SO TIRED. The third trimester wasn't that much different than the second when I was pregnant with Cash. I was a little bit more uncomfortable because of my size, but other than that, nothing really different. This time, I feel A LOT more uncomfortable. My back has been killing me, in part because I'm carrying a lot lower with Beckett than I did with Cash, and also because I am toting Cash around everywhere. Its really my own fault. I need to put him down and let him walk more often, but I love kissing on him and if he doesn't want to sit in the buggy at the store, I'll hold him on my hip as I shop. I pay for it later though. Tonight is one of those nights. As I type I'm sitting in my glider, lazy-boy style chair from Babies-R-Us, feeling like I've melted into the seat. I told Colt, I feel like my back has been hurting forever, but I remember when I wasn't pregnant, my back never hurt. Finding a comfortable position to sleep in is very difficult. I have been sleeping with a pillow half way under my back, another one half way under my belly, two under my head, and one between my legs. Sometimes I feel like I have just gotten comfortable when I realize I have to get up for one of the 2 or more bathroom breaks during the night. Colt and I usually put Cash down between 9:30pm and 10:30pm, and he sleeps until around 9-10am. We go to sleep around 2am and wake up when Cash does. Lately, our sleep schedule has been off. Ever since we came back from our cruise (with a few exceptions), Cash has been getting up usually once a night. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but when you're waking up to go to the bathroom a couple times, and tossing and turning to get comfortable, on top of waking up with Cash, it can be difficult to feel rested. Stupidly, we keep going to bed around the same time thinking that Cash will sleep until his normal time (9:30am-ish). Today he woke up at 6:20am. Thankfully after some coaxing he went back to bed around 7am, and I fell back asleep at 7:30am, only to be awoken again at 9am to start my day. Add that in with the back pain and its a perfect storm.

Other complaints...well the nausea has started back up occasionally. Not nearly as bad as the first trimester, but it resurfaces every once in a while. Heartburn is a daily occurrence which I have been combating with Tums when its tolerable, and Pepcid AC when its not. Last week the OB's office called me to tell me they were putting me on an iron supplement that I was to take twice a day along with my prenatal vitamins. Apparently I'm a little bit anemic. They said this was normal in the third trimester, but I still needed to take the supplements. The directions say to take it several hours before a meal, or an hour afterwards. I have discovered that if I don't take it with a pretty good amount of food, immediately after a meal, that I will violently throw it back up. If I take it with food, I'm good to go.

I realize that I have complained a lot in this post, but this pregnancy really has been a lot more easy going in that I haven't had to worry about my blood pressure or protein spillage this time around. I feel like I've been a lot more relaxed about everything, even though I wasn't "not relaxed" with Cash. I told Colt last night, even with all the complaining I do at times, I really enjoy being pregnant. Sometimes I feel like I'll be sad when this pregnancy is over because I won't be pregnant anymore. Other times, I can't wait to unstrap this boy from my abdomen. I hope I come to a point one day when I can say to myself, "I'm done being pregnant, and I don't want to have any more kids." I love the whole process of finding out that you're pregnant, the thought that you have a baby growing inside you and watching your body change (for better or worse), then finding out the baby's gender, and feeling him or her move around. Its all so magical to me. For a woman to say that in her third trimester, with 9 weeks left, she must really like it. Unless different circumstances arise, or I completely lose my mind with the work load of two young children, I would love to have a whole slew of kids, Lord willing.

I have my 32 week doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I think its a routine, no-fun, in and out appointment. They may take my blood again to make sure my hemoglobin is up from the iron supplements, but other than that I don't think they'll be any new testing done. I'd love to have another ultrasound before he's born, but I don't know if they'll do one or not. At my last appointment, they said I wouldn't have another one unless there was a problem. I think I'm going to ask if they'll give me one just so we can see the baby one more time, and get an idea of his size. I'd love to see him now that he's gaining a little weight and chubbier than at 20 weeks.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading!!!

Our "Year-and-a-Halfer"

Cash is almost 18 months old. Its hard to fathom that he'll have been on this earth for a year and a half next week. Colt and I always joke that, "This is the best stage yet," because we've said that so many times over the last 18 months. When he was a newborn, we couldn't wait to see that first smile. A few weeks later, we found ourselves sitting on the edge of our seats, many evenings, watching him ALMOST roll over. Looking back, its funny to think THAT was entertaining for us, but it was uncharted territory!

Cash was always a very sweet, VERY laid back baby. I never wanted to be the kind of parent that was tied down to a strict sleep schedule, or based where we could and couldn't go on "where can we take the baby". That philosophy worked well for us, because Cash is comfortable in basically any environment, and is usually well behaved when we're at a restaurant or in public. USUALLY! He adapted to our gypsy lifestyle pretty well.

When he got to be closer to his first birthday, his personality really started to develop. For the first several months we joked that he was, "Colt's baby". Sharon always said that Colt was a very easy, laid back baby and child. He was carefree, happy, and didn't require a lot of spankings. I on the other hand was the perfect storm of manipulativness (is that a word?), stubbornness, and charm. Basically I needed a lot of spankings, but I could probably talk you out of giving me one (although was not always successful). I was a very independent child, and I wasn't super cuddly. My mom said I was very observant, and was always trying to figure things out for myself. Over the last few months, Cash has morphed into "my baby". He is ALWAYS on the go and doesn't have a very long attention span with any of his toys. In fact, he would prefer to play with household objects such as my broom, mop, Swiffer, vacuum, laptop, cell phone, remote control, drum heads, guitars, etc. etc. etc. I spend most of my day cleaning up after the tornado toddler that is my son. The thing is, I really love that about him. No, not the cleaning part, but the fact that he is so interested in learning everything he can about his environment. Of course, every mother thinks that their child is a genius, but I am astounded sometimes when I watch him try to complete a task that requires overcoming an obstacle. He has very good problem solving skills. From as little as 6 months old he was escaping from various seats that were meant to keep him occupied while I showered or dried my hair.

Cash at 6 months old

From there he learned how to escape out of his Bumbo, Exersaucer, high chair, pack-n-play, and the bucket seat tables at church. There's no holding him back! If he sets his mind to something, he can usually make it happen. Lately, if he can't, he has taken to throwing a temper tantrum. This topic deserves a new paragraph.

Before you start thinking this is going to be a full out brag fest about my well adjusted, genius, problem solving child, I should say, YES...believe it or not, my little golden boy can LOSE HIS MIND sometimes. Screaming fits, hitting, biting, pinching, scratching...you name it, he's probably done it, and YES, he gets disciplined for these fits. I remember my mom telling me that she had a book called, "The Strong Willed Child" when I was a little girl, for tips on how best to discipline me. Basically the book gives advice on how to break your child's will just enough to make them obey and respect authority, but not enough that they become little robots, just walking around waiting for their next command. Although I've never read the book, that is sort of my discipline philosophy. I want Cash to grow up being confident and comfortable with making decisions on his own. When he does something wrong for the first time, I will explain to him that its wrong. If he continues in the offending behavior, he'll get punished for it. My main thing is, if for example, he's going to play in Moe's water dish, or mess around with the TV, if its the first offense, he'll be told firmly, "NO". Then I wait to see what his choice is going to be, but I don't stop him if I see that he is going to try again. I want him to make the decision, and then see that there are negative consequences to bad decisions.

Now...that being said...that's what we are trying to do. It may be completely wrong based on different discipline theories, or it may be completely naive. There have been many times in my short parenting career where I have stated an opinion on one thing or another (whether publicly stated or in my own mind) and then later, when Cash got older, thought to myself, "Wow...I had no idea what I was talking about!" That's one of the great parts about parenting. Learning as you go! I suspect it will be much more difficult to consistently discipline when I have two little boys running around my house. I feel like my whole idea of "good" parenting, and child rearing will be transforming here in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

A quick 18 month overview:

- Cash is very verbal these days and says probably 40-50 words on a daily basis. He is also combining words like, "Yes Ma'm" and "Thank You".

- He goes to bed between 9:30pm-10:30pm on most nights and sleeps until around 9:00-9:30 most mornings.

- He loves oatmeal and almond milk for breakfast, a peanut butter sandwich, fruit (fruit usually ends up on the floor--going through a "no fruit" phase), and diluted V8 V-Fusion for lunch. Dinner depends on where we are. If we are at a restaurant, he'll usually have a grilled chicken breast with ketchup and some kind of vegetable side item or rice. Ok, ok...sometimes he has french fries. He loves Coke, and requests it when we are in the checkout line at Target standing next to the drink cooler by saying, "Coke!" Sometimes we ask the waitress at a restaurant if they'll give him a splash of Coke in his water. He feels like he's actually drinking a coke when in reality its about 98% water, 2% Coke. He loves it. He has also tried my mom's coffee and enjoys that as well. Of course, I don't let him have coffee, but I can remember being really young and sneaking sips of my mom's coffee too. And people said it would stunt my growth...Pssssh! (I'm 5 foot 3--HAHA!). If we are at home for dinner, he loves chicken (a recent discovery as he used to hate it), or occasionally hot dogs. He still isn't into red meat. He loves corn, zucchini, squash, wild rice, and pasta, and sometimes broccoli.

- Cash loves to play with Moe, but has recently started trying to rough house with him. Moe isn't into it. He's a lover, not a fighter. Cash gets disciplined for being too rough with Moe, but Moe just licks his face. He's such a sweet dog.

- He loves going to the aquarium and Busch Gardens with our annual passes. They both have a water park area that he enjoys. I'm sure you've seen pictures on Facebook. We recently got annual passes to the Zoo, so we are looking forward to using those.

- He says prayers everynight with me, and when I'm done saying them, he says, "Maymen" (Amen). He has also become quite the little song leader in church. Its so cute to watch him open the song book and wave his hand in the air to keep the time while he "sings". He will also bow his head when its time to pray, although sometimes get pre-occupied with what's going on around him.

- O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with Elmo!!! Every morning when he sees the TV, or sees one of our cell phones (we've shown him Elmo videos on YouTube on our phones), he says, "Elmo!" He can do a cookie monster voice, and he's also quite fond of Big Bird and Abby Cadabby (spelling?).

At (almost) 18 months, Cash is such a ball of energy. He's into everything, he's mischievous, curious, interested in his surroundings, loves learning new things, and is always on the go. On the other hand, he is such a sweet cuddler when he's getting sleepy, he loves to give kisses and hugs, he loves to run his fingers through mine and Colt's hair, and he LOVES his family.

He's really cool. We are so lucky to have him as our son. :)

A pregnancy post will be coming soon. I've become negligent in my posting duties, and there are things to report. Thanks for reading!