Questions, Questions, and I'm afraid to Answer!

Two questions I frequently get nowadays are, "How much longer?" and "Are you ready?"... these are to be expected as a pregnant woman's due date quickly approaches.  I don't mind the questions--it's the answers I dread giving.

As of today, I'm roughly 4 weeks away from my due date.  If our little "Maybe" decides to do what Reagan did, that means we have that plus 2 days till she'll be here.  I'd love for her to come on her actual due date, Mother's Day, for sentimental reasons (I was born on Father's Day).  However, I'm pulling for her remaining in-utero for another 9 months!

My feelings about this pregnancy/upcoming birth have been all over the place.  I remember being thrilled beyond belief when we first got the results back that I was expecting... and a few days later, crying because I was terrified and thought we'd made a mistake having kids so close together!  Now, I'm feeling those same things all over again.  While I'm excited that we're having another sweet baby (and a girl at that), I still have these lingering fears that I'm incapable of caring for a newborn and a toddler.

I remember being absolutely exhausted the first few weeks home with Reagan.  My family helped out the first week by rotating whoever came to stay with us, and then Richard went back to work in the middle of the second week.  Those early days on my own with Reagan weren't so bad because if I didn't get enough rest at night, I was able to rest during the day when he napped (and he napped A LOT).  This time, I'll be sleep deprived and in charge of entertaining/disciplining a busy toddler.  That's what I'm mostly worried about.  At least when Richard's home, we'll be able to divide and conquer. 

Looking on the positive side, though, Reagan has matured so much since my initial fears of having kids roughly 22 months apart set in.  He's become much more independent, obedient, can communicate his wishes even better (which helps us avoid a lot of unnecessary frustration), and is still really great at entertaining himself.  This last piece of goodness is what I'll be relying on a great deal at the beginning (until I get the hang of things).  I also think his love for babies will help us out.  The last few times we've been around babies, he's tried holding their hands, playing with their feet, tickling them, and (alas!) pick them up.  I think he's got a sweet, nurturing personality (something I found super attractive in his daddy, who loves kids) and this will also help us through those early months. 

Aside from all of this, I still have a pretty long to-do list.  One of those items has been on our list since we moved in almost 2 years ago--cleaning out the garage.  Richard and I have boxes sitting out there that haven't been unpacked since I moved into his apartment when we married almost 4 years ago!  Obviously, they're super important items we can't live without!  We've also got some cleaning, organizing, and decorating on the list. 

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated over the next few weeks and months.  Specifically, I am requesting prayers for 1) a continued healthy pregnancy, 2) a safe delivery of a healthy baby, 3) our strength as a couple as we go through some sleep deprived days with two kids, and 4) our parenting of these two precious children, that we do what is expected of us to raise faithful followers of Christ.

Also, any tips for those first few days of having two children would be awesome!

Vrrrroom Changes

A casual pose showing off his cool factor after his first night in a big boy bed.

Friday night was Reagan's first time in his new race car bed.  Richard got off from work early, and while Reagan napped, we brought the bed in from the garage to wipe it down in preparation for the big night ahead.  When Reagan woke up from his nap, we excitedly showed him the bed (which he'd seen in our garage over the past few weeks) where it sat in our entryway.  His reaction was FAR from what we expected.  He began crying, screaming, pulling at, and even hitting the bed.  He kept saying, "No, no, no.  Car, car, car."  He could not be calmed down.  I asked Richard to move the bed while I tried to help Reagan sort through his emotions... hard to do with a child who literally cannot be reasoned with.  Putting it in Reagan's room made matters far worse.

Going to the zoo for an hour helped calm him down and he returned to the house a bit more cheerful.  I showed him his bed again, offering to let him eat a cookie and watch "Herbie" on it.  That went great!  He was jumping up and down, repeatedly saying "car", and seemed thrilled about his new bed.  Then I started moving furniture around while he continued sitting on the bed.  Bad idea.  This started a new wave of erratic behavior.  Richard got him out of the room and distracted with a remote control car, but that only helped for a little while.  I came in and set up a few videos for him to watch on Youtube, and then came time for our first night of him sleeping in the bed.
 

We have a regular routine we go through at bedtime, and I think doing everything like usual, with only a different bed (but same mattress, sheets, stuffed animals, etc.), really helped us out.  Reagan was reaching for his car bed at the end of our nightly routine!  His first night was an amazing success!  Since then, he has spent 3 nights and 3 afternoons in his bed (and is currently adding another night onto that track record).  I've reminded him each time that he is to stay in his bed, and he has obeyed except for the beginning of his first nap.  However, having a two-way monitor fixed that quickly.  Just telling him to "get back in bed" over the microphone worked the two times he was out of bed that day.

I am amazed at how successful this change-over has been for us.  Since his crib is going to the new baby girl, I thought it was important for us to do the bed switch at this point so he can have time to adjust to one big change before another one arrives.  He has done splendidly.  We've been blessed with a wonderful first born.  Can't wait to see what's in store for us in the next 7 weeks!

Registering and Doubts

Today I pre-registered at the hospital where we plan to have our little "Maybe".  Strange... since I keep forgetting I'm pregnant until I happen to see my belly as I pass by the mirror.  Everything was so new and different with Reagan.  I'm loving this pregnancy just as much as the first, but it's refreshing not to be counting the days till delivery anywhere near as often.  Someone asked me the other day if I was ready to have the baby.  At this point with Reagan, I think I was... this go-round, I'm not quite as anxious.  Maybe I'll be singing a different tune in the final weeks, but I'm actually okay with the pregnancy lasting as long as it needs to because we still have so much to get done.  I'm just grateful we're not moving like we were with Reagan! 

Recently, I was having doubts about our financial situation with this baby on the way, wondering how we were going to feed, clothe, and diaper two little people.  Just as soon as the words came out of my mouth, God showed me the answers, and reminded me that I need to continue to lean on Him and stop worrying.  I need to continue to remember what a blessed life I have, what wonderful friends and family I've been given, and that I should not worry!

One-Twelfth

Here I sit, the evening of February 1, 2012... 1/12 of the way through the new year... roughly 3.5 months away from meeting our little lady, and 6 months from celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary and our sweet boy's 2nd birthday!  Where, oh where, does time go?

It's amazing to me how the older you get, the quicker time seems to travel.  I can remember the 8 minutes of time-out when I was 8 years old seeming to last FOREVER.  Now it seems like every time I blink, days, weeks, months, and even years go by.  It just makes me realize how precious time is and that I need to enjoy the seemingly "little" things.

On the days when Reagan wants to be held for the entire grocery shopping trip, I need to remember to take a deep breath and smile because one day he will be too big to carry anymore and may even think he's too "cool" to be seen with me in public.  Those times I get impatient because he repeats the words "car" (cah) and "airplane" (dah-dah) 15-20 times until I acknowledge him, I need to, instead, remember to enjoy the enthusiasm he has and be thankful he can communicate with me.  Life is short and I want to be sure that time's quick passage does not rob me of enjoying it.

I feel so blessed to live the life that I have with Richard, who has the strange ability to make me laugh even when I'm annoyed with him.  He is the most patient, forgiving, and loving person.  He's everything that I'm not and more.  We are a good match because we balance each other and strengthen one another in areas of weakness.  I still feel like we compromise on everything so beautifully.  Arguments never happen and disagreements are dealt with so quickly that it almost seems like they never were there to begin with.  We are a team, as husband and wife, and as parents.  I am blessed.  God brought me to a man who makes me a better woman.

Yet another blessing I can thank God for is healthy children... one running around the house and another doing gymnastics in my belly.  Reagan's been the picture of ideal health from my pregnancy with him up to this very day.  He's growing like a weed--half an inch away from being 3 feet tall and he's only 18 months old!  My grocery bill is growing as fast as he is!  By the time he's in Kindergarten, we may have to take out a loan in order to feed him!  Little "Maybe" is growing just as beautifully.  She is measuring right on target for my projected due date, has a steady heart rate in the 150s, and moves around constantly now.  I loved my pregnancy with Reagan and have been blessed to have another healthy, enjoyable pregnancy with this little girl so far.  We're prayerful that everything continues this way until she arrives sometime in May.  God is good!

Now for a quick update on Reagan's latest developments:

Physical:
• SUPER tall, SUPER big head circumference, average weight.
• Fine/large motor skills right on target for his age... putting small things in containers and taking them back out again, walking backwards, squatting to pick things up,  scribbling with crayons, removing clothing items (found him with no pants on when I got him out of bed yesterday morning), etc.

Speech:
• Growing vocabulary, attempting to repeat words he hears, continuing to build on his ASL vocabulary as well.
• Putting phrases together such as "night night ________" or "bye bye ________" (to whatever toy, person, or room he's leaving behind).

Interests:
We haven't really pushed or encouraged him in any one direction, but have been interested in seeing what things he's been naturally drawn to... which happen to be:
• Methods of transportation (cars, airplanes, and trains specifically)
• Animals (all shapes and sizes, but he's particularly fond of squirrels right now)
• Shoes (wonder where he got that from... maybe my husband who has about 3 times as many shoes as I do?!)  He'll go into our closet, and come out with a shoe on his foot, hobbling around, excitedly shouting "shoe" over and over.
• FOOD (the boy repeatedly requests fruit, cheese, and cookies throughout the day)
• Books (but typically only when he's interested in reading... otherwise, he's constantly in motion)
• Curious George (the TV show)
• Richard's iPad ('nuff said)
• Clocks

Things he does that I love:
• Often puts his finger up to his lip and says, "Hmmmmmm..." when looking for something.
• Hides things and says, "Eee-uh-eee?" while holding his hands up in a questioning way as if to say, "Where is it?"

• Gets into large containers around the house and signs "bath" while looking at me with a huge grin on his face.
• "Argues" with me (through ASL) that a particular star he sees from the church parking lot is an airplane and that my parents' smallest dog is a cat.

And that... is all for now.

Say Whaaa?

I've heard both positives and negatives about the use of sign language with children who are not yet speaking.  So far, my experience with it as a parent has been VERY positive.  I am definitely a proponent of signing with all of our children because of the benefits we have seen come from it with Reagan.  The other day, I noted all of the words he currently can speak and those he can sign consistently.

Speaking Vocabulary:

1. Cookie (sounds like "ccccckie", no "oo" sound)
2. Dada (depending on the volume level, this could mean Daddy or Rubix)
3. Momma
4. NO (even wags his finger and makes a very stern face)
5. Sit (points down at whatever he's supposed to be sitting on, but is actually standing on)
6. Turtle (sounds like "tuttle", no "r" sound)
7. Uh-oh

Signing Vocabulary:

1. All done
2. Baby
3. Ball
4. Bird
5. Bubbles
6. Dog
7. Eat
8. Fish
9. Grapes
10. Help
11. Monkey
12. More
13. Please
14. Squirrel
15. Thank You (though he waffles between signing and speaking this one)

The amazing thing... signing nearly TRIPLES his vocabulary!  It also saves us (Reagan included) some unnecessary frustration due to his limited speaking vocabulary.  We can almost always figure out what he's asking for or talking about and he rarely gets upset because of a communication barrier!