I suspect most of you know this by now, but we are expecting our second baby! We are extremely excited and happy. The children will be about 19 months apart, and while we are aware that this presents challenges, we are also excited about the potential blessings that can come with close spacing. Because Ben is so young, we have made the decision to allow him to continue nursing (he is not ready to wean, and I don't want to traumatize him, so as long as I have milk, I intend to let him continue nursing). I am due January 21st-Ben came exactly 3 weeks early to the day-so we will see if this baby comes in December or January!
So far, this pregnancy has been pretty different than my pregnancy with Ben.
For one thing, I am far more tired. I suspect that is because when I was pregnant with Ben, I was just working full time. Now I work full time, come home and chase/play with a toddler, work on my second job (small business to try to finance a trip to Texas and have a little extra money for all the expenses that come with us paying for Josh's education ourselves due to the changes in the GI bill), and then wake up several times at night to pee/nurse. It's pretty tiring, and I suspect a point will come soon where I have to simplify something, though for the life of me I am not sure what! Maybe if I can just hang in there for the rest of the first trimester, it will get better.
Morning sickness has been less wretched this time. I am absolutely still nauseated, but I am able to eat. By 9 weeks into my pregnancy with Ben (where I am now) I was eating AT MOST once per week, and sometimes far less frequently than that. I never threw up, but I felt horrific anytime I ate anything, so mostly I just didn't. That would not work as well this time since I am still nursing Ben. So far, I have only had to skip a few meals and have only lost 5 lbs (last time I had lost almost 20 by this point). Also, I have been able to eat moderately sweet things (fruit mostly) this time, and actually that is often what has sounded appealing. With Ben, anything even a little bit sweet sounded utterly awful and wasn't going to happen! I cannot eat greasy things this time (cheese and meat), where with Ben if I could force myself to eat something, that was probably what it was going to be.
This pregnancy I have been extremely cold. I don't remember that with Ben.
I have also had a lot of dizziness this time. I did not have that in the first trimester with Ben, though I did in the second trimester. I often have black dots floating in my vision. I'm going to ask our doctor about that, as I'm not sure what it could be from (as I said, I am actually eating most of the time, and I am very conscientious about staying hydrated).
It will be interesting to see if things stay very different, or if they will be more similar later on in the pregnancy! It almost doesn't feel real, even though we have known for over a month. However, my symptoms are real enough!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Happy birthday, Beniah boy!
Yep, I'm a week late in posting this...we've been busy and sick, so that's my excuse. But better late than never, right?
There might also be a teeny tiny bit of denial at play here-I truthfully still feel like I should have a newborn in my arms, but my bouncing boy is indeed a full year old!
In a year of motherhood, I have learned that the moments are precious, nights can be very long, sleep is not to be taken for granted, the smiles are priceless, the hugs and laughter are beautiful, and my sweet son is growing more loved day by day!
He can walk now, meaning he can take a few steps across the room. He mostly does this if he isn't paying attention and wants something. He also will let go of support and stand on his own if he sees something he is interested enough in (there has to be proper motivation!). He has yet to take off on his own. He also doesn't really crawl. He CAN army crawl and get to what he wants, he just usually doesn't bother. He LOVES to charge around the house holding one or both hands, he loves to push his walker toys (while still holding onto us by at least one hand), and I think he is really close to walking on his own.
He still isn't talking much. I am positive he says "Daddy" and sometimes he says something that sounds like "mamama" (but I'm kind of thinking that means "milk" more than "mama"). He is very expressive despite the lack of words, though, and I'm sure those will come soon!
He waves and claps. He loves to play peekaboo.
He has also started patting us on the back while hugging us, which is super sweet. I realized we often do that to him. Sometimes I think he does it as a sign of affection-at other times it seems he is doing it because he wants us to do it to him.
He enjoys playing in water (in the tub or in his new baby pool that Grandma and Grandpa got him for his birthday!). He also loves drinking water, but doesn't usually try to drink the water he is playing in.
He typically is only waking 1-3 times per night now, which is very nice! He's been sick the last week, so that has changed things quite a bit (read: he spent 3 nights in a row either screaming all night or not sleeping much, and only in the upright position) but I am hopeful we will return to the status quo as soon as he is better.
He loves fruit, especially strawberries, nectarines (only if he takes bites though, not if they are cut in pieces), and pineapple. He is less crazy about vegetables. And he is his father's son-meat and chees are still amazing in his book!
We do have occasional tantrums, I think usually caused by lack of communication/understanding, but overall he is a pretty mild natured little boy!
Happy birthday, sweet son. I have so enjoyed being your mother during your baby year, and I look forward to watching you as you enter toddlerhood!
There might also be a teeny tiny bit of denial at play here-I truthfully still feel like I should have a newborn in my arms, but my bouncing boy is indeed a full year old!
In a year of motherhood, I have learned that the moments are precious, nights can be very long, sleep is not to be taken for granted, the smiles are priceless, the hugs and laughter are beautiful, and my sweet son is growing more loved day by day!
He can walk now, meaning he can take a few steps across the room. He mostly does this if he isn't paying attention and wants something. He also will let go of support and stand on his own if he sees something he is interested enough in (there has to be proper motivation!). He has yet to take off on his own. He also doesn't really crawl. He CAN army crawl and get to what he wants, he just usually doesn't bother. He LOVES to charge around the house holding one or both hands, he loves to push his walker toys (while still holding onto us by at least one hand), and I think he is really close to walking on his own.
He still isn't talking much. I am positive he says "Daddy" and sometimes he says something that sounds like "mamama" (but I'm kind of thinking that means "milk" more than "mama"). He is very expressive despite the lack of words, though, and I'm sure those will come soon!
He waves and claps. He loves to play peekaboo.
He has also started patting us on the back while hugging us, which is super sweet. I realized we often do that to him. Sometimes I think he does it as a sign of affection-at other times it seems he is doing it because he wants us to do it to him.
He enjoys playing in water (in the tub or in his new baby pool that Grandma and Grandpa got him for his birthday!). He also loves drinking water, but doesn't usually try to drink the water he is playing in.
He typically is only waking 1-3 times per night now, which is very nice! He's been sick the last week, so that has changed things quite a bit (read: he spent 3 nights in a row either screaming all night or not sleeping much, and only in the upright position) but I am hopeful we will return to the status quo as soon as he is better.
He loves fruit, especially strawberries, nectarines (only if he takes bites though, not if they are cut in pieces), and pineapple. He is less crazy about vegetables. And he is his father's son-meat and chees are still amazing in his book!
We do have occasional tantrums, I think usually caused by lack of communication/understanding, but overall he is a pretty mild natured little boy!
Happy birthday, sweet son. I have so enjoyed being your mother during your baby year, and I look forward to watching you as you enter toddlerhood!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)