The Incubation of Baby Sweet Pea

Oh man do I feel like a terrible mother.  Last time I was so good, taking pictures every week, drawing cute little fruit on the chalkboard, updating every little part of pregnancy.  This time...it's not that I care less, it's just that pregnancy has a "been there, done that" feel now and I questioned whether anyone else would want to read about all my little observations/feelings so soon after the first one.

Now I'm thinking this kidlet may actually be curious one day, and I'll have to awkwardly explain that I had a few less f*cks to give about my second pregnancy.  Not my second kid, mind you, because I'm super excited for there to be another little person in this house, but pregnancy is just not something I particularly enjoy.  But I can still go over the important stuff.

So, on August 19, I woke up for the third day in a row STARVING.  Even though I wasn't late at all, I just knew something was up.  Sure enough, positive test.  Can I just say, (and I'm really not trying to sound like a jerk here) that twice now I've started a few months before I was ready, thinking it might take a while to get pregnant?  Both times I have been wrong.  I'll have to keep that in mind.

The first thing I had to do was find a new doctor.  We had moved since Waylon was born and I knew that I would do anything to avoid having another C-section anyway, so I started researching.  A lot.  I contacted ICAN, I found VBAC websites and support groups, and I decided to go to three different care providers for my first trimester; an OB-GYN, a midwife who worked in a hospital, and a midwife practice who only does home birth.  After three months of seeing all three of them, I decided to go for a home birth.

Let's talk about this a little, because I was woefully ignorant of how this works before I went down this road and I'm sure some of you reading this are too.  Let's start with the fact that I'm not exactly a crunchy Earth-mother type.  I vaccinate my kids, I enjoy a good aerosol hair spray when necessary, and I eat non-organic fruits and vegetables, sometimes without washing them *gasp*.  However, I do believe that birth is a natural life process, not (usually) a problem requiring medication/surgery and I hate being in a hospital for any reason.  So that was kind of my starting point.  The more I learned, the more I was intrigued.  I could be in my own bed (or bathtub, or floor), wear my own clothes, my midwife would stay with me the whole time so there was no worry about shift changes, I could eat whatever I wanted during/after the birth, and I wouldn't be confined to a hospital for a set number of days.  So appealing!  I also really liked the style of my appointments with the midwives.  During my hour long sessions, we talk about what's going on with me physically and emotionally, and I am impressed by how committed they are to the total wellness of me as a woman, not just as a baby oven.  For instance, at my last appointment, I had a mini-meltdown over how sweet and perfect Waylon is and now I'm going to screw up his universe by dividing my attentions between him and his little brother/sister.  I know in my head this is silly and that the kindest thing I can do for Waylon is give him a sibling, but I had a moment.  And we talked about it for 35 minutes before they even took my blood pressure or examined me.  I can't see my old OB doing that.

Let's get something straight though.  This is not a situation where I will be birthing at home come hell or high water.  I have been having my lab work/ultrasounds at a nearby hospital so they already have my records and a relationship with my midwives and doula should something come up that requires me to be transported.  I want to do this and believe I can, but some things are beyond my control and I'm not putting myself or my baby in jeopardy because I want things to go a certain way.  Just for clarification.

Okay, anyway, back to my pregnancy.  It's really crawling along.  Today, I'm 26 weeks and 4 days and I feel like I've been pregnant forever, and oh my God, how am I still in the second trimester?  I know at some point this will change, but right now it's the worst.  I feel fat, gross, irritable and bored.  Let's just get this kid here so I can start working out hardcore again.  Working out has been much harder on me this time.

I don't really know how to prepare Waylon for the new baby.  I feel like he is too young to really understand what's going on, but I do try to tell him that "he" is getting a new baby, especially as I was setting up the new crib in his room this weekend.  Yes, my house has 5 bedrooms but I'm making my kids share a room.  I like the idea of having one nursery that each kid graduates from when they start pre-school (I think I got this idea from watching Peter Pan as a kid) and I don't like when kids feel territorial about their room or things.  Sharing is caring and we're going to start that early.  They can deal.

Okay, what else...Baby Sweet Pea is due May 1.  Waylon was born 9 days early.  If this baby is born 9 days early, we will share a birthday!  When I was pregnant with Waylon, I really really wanted him to come early because of all the birthstones, November's is the ugliest and October's I can deal with.  Thank God he did because I found a really pretty opal necklace while we were in Cabo this summer that I wear every day. This baby will either be an emerald (which I love) or a diamond (which is already my birthstone).  This baby wins!  Oh, we didn't find out the sex at the anatomy scan because we like the surprise.  Another plus of the home birth:  After Scott catches the baby (or not, whatever he feels like, I don't care) he will be the one to tell me "It's a....."  I think that will be a really cool moment.  I think that's all the important info.  Here are a few of the ultrasound shots before we get to the usual update stats:

This child doesn't really look like Waylon to me.  I know it's really early, but still.  Anyway, here is the creepy 3-D pic they took.  I don't know why they act all excited when they show you like you are supposed to fawn all over the blobby alien creature in there but someone must be into them.  I think they're the stuff nightmares are made of.

And here's my one and only bump photo to date, taken when I had about 100 days to go.  I'm pretty sure that was 3 weeks ago, but what do you know?  I still have 94 days to go.  Gah.

How far along? 26 weeks, 4 days.

Total weight gain:  I stopped looking at the scale at my appointments in mid-October.  I know how to lose weight in a healthy way so I'm trying not to worry about it.

Maternity clothes?  I'm pregnant at exactly the opposite time of year as last time.  Winter clothes in general suck but winter maternity clothes are ghastly.  Why must everything have horizontal stripes?  Who thinks this is cute?  Mostly I wear leggings and Scott's flannels, or workout pants and oversized sweaters.  I feel ugly most days.

Stretch marks?  Nope, and I don't think I've applied my trusty Mederma once.  See what I mean about fewer f*cks to give with subsequent pregnancies?

Sleep?  Not bad right now.  Up until a couple weeks ago, it was terrible.  Between round ligament pain and being punted in some vital organ every time I laid down, there was not much sleeping.

Best moment of the week?  Getting the baby's crib and dresser into the nursery and pulling out all of Waylon's tiny clothes to wash and put them away.

Miss anything?  Going through the holidays sans cocktails kinda sucked but I'm over it now.

Movement?  YES.  So much movement.  Whenever I'm not moving, Sweet Pea is.

Food craving?  Not really.  I have more aversions than I did with Waylon.  Last time I drank grapefruit juice by the gallon but it's really unappealing now.  

Anything make you sick or queasy?  I was pretty nauseous early on.  I still have a crazy bloodhound level sniffer.  When Waylon threw up eggs and cheese on me last week, I promptly threw up.

Gender?  It's not quite as strong as an intuition as last time, but I'm about 85% sure this one is a boy too.  There are 4 other pregnant women in my Mom's group and so far I'm 3 for 3 guessing the sex of their babies.  Some would say I'm a baby oracle.

Labor signs?  Good Lord, no.

Symptoms?  Everything irritates me.  I have a lot more Braxton Hicks action this time.  My hair is growing super fast.  Did I also mention I'm obese?  Seriously, I'm huge.  

Belly button?  Not protruding, but definitely can't call it an innie.

Wedding rings on or off?  About 50/50/

Happy or moody most of the time?  Moody.  Definitely moody.

Looking forward to:  Getting my to-do lists checked off to prepare for home birth, and visiting Chicago family in the next couple of weeks!

O hai

So, it's been a few months.  About 5 to be exact.  I have a few things to catch people up on!  Let's start with the original purpose of this bloggy-blog.  Waylon turned 15 months yesterday.  I can't believe it.  For real, it's crazy to see him now looking like a little boy instead of my little snuggle-baby.  The last photo I posted was 10 months old, so let's see how he's progressed:

Here's his 11 month photo:

Handsome, no?  A few weeks before his birthday, we went to the pumpkin patch with some friends.  I think this is the place that his love of all things Muppets was born (I support this.  I LOVE Muppets.)

My parents came into town to celebrate Waylon's birthday in late October.  We didn't have the big 1st birthday party for him because I'd rather save the time/energy/stress planning something when he can actually remember it or have some input.  So we mostly hung out.  Way made out like a bandit.  Here he is about to dive into his birthday cupcake.

A few days after that was Halloween.  Scooby-Doo was super cute, and it helped to have the Mystery Machine parked on a regular basis in my driveway.

After that, it seemed like Thanksgiving came pretty quickly.  My mother-in-law came to stay with us for that which was really nice.  I think Waylon liked spending time with her and being hammy.  He's kind of a showoff.  Right between Thanksgiving and Christmas, he finally started walking too.  I feel like he probably could have done it a bit earlier but liked how fast he was while crawling.  Anyway, so then Christmas was here before you knew it.  Way is still a little young to really "get" Christmas, but he loved staring at the tree all lit up at night, and he definitely got the idea of presents.  Santa brought him some pretty cool stuff!

He loved this sled.  He was so excited to ride in it but unfortunately, he only lasted like 5 minutes before deciding he hated the cold.  Oh well.  He also got this pretty cool trampoline from his grandma which is worth hours of fun.

There are pretty much 0 pictures of the three of us, but we did manage to get one on Christmas Eve.  Even though it's not the best shot, who knows when we might get one again, so I'm posting it.

Yeah, whatever, we all look gross.

So now it's the new year and we've mostly been hanging out, working on the house, spending time with friends and playing.  This age is really fun for me because he is becoming more independent and communicative (though still not many words yet) and definitely has things he likes and does not like.  He likes reading, being outside if it's not snowing, petting the dogs, blocks, and Sesame Street.  Oh, and climbing.  Climbing all the time on anything that's higher up than he is.  Look:

He's a very curious kid.  He loves to inspect things to see how they work, especially anything with moving parts.  Scott's thinking he might end up being an engineer.  I have...other hopes.  He's really funny and likes to be center of attention.  No shyness in this little one. (That's my gene, trust.)  Either way, I think we can agree he's super handsome.

So now you're all caught up on my (not so) little Bean Sprout.  More updates in other areas coming soon.

Happy 10 months, Waylon!

Baby boy is 10 month old today.  WHAT IS HAPPENING?!  I just can't believe how fast this is going.  People have been asking me about Waylon's first birthday party and I'm like, "what?  That's a long time from now."  But of course, it's not.

Waylon's newest thing is giving kisses to Scott and me.  It's just about the best thing ever.  He doesn't pucker up but when you ask for a kiss, he leans in and it's the sweetest.  Except when he's not feeling it and shoves your face away.  That's less adorable.  He continues to be an active, happy little thing.  It's amazing to me how much of a boy he is.  He loves climbing on furniture, playing catch, watching big trucks go by in the front yard, and tearing up papers into (apparently) hilarious shredded piles. 

  

It's hard to describe, but he's both really independent and super attached to Scott and me.  He is really happy to play by himself but only as long as he can see either Scott or me.  Also, sometimes when I take him to play dates, he will play for a little bit with the other kids, then make his way back to just hang out next to me and play by himself.  OMG he's a LONER!

The little guy has 8 teeth now!  And the hugest gap known to man.  Thank God they're not permanent teeth because whoa.

What makes Baby Waylon happiest is being in his little walker.  He's getting really fast in it and is also able to maneuver it pretty well.  Getting run over by it is the worst though, and the dogs run in fear whenever he's in it.

  

Here's the official 10 month portrait:

Summer days

When we bought our house in Suffield, I had to come to terms with the fact I was to be a New Englander for the foreseeable future, no matter how unsavory that sounded to me.  So, I had a couple of choices:  stay cranky and complain about my biggest Northeast pet peeves (seriously, no one in their right mind could call that folded piece of Wonder bread a hot dog bun), or make the best of it.  So I joined a mom's group in the hopes that Waylon and I wouldn't die of boredom.

I went in fully expecting to spend most of my time eye-rolling everyone else but bearing it for the sake of my son's socialization.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the ladies (and babies) I met were interesting, accomplished, and fun to be around.  I've been to places I probably would never have found on my own, gotten some pretty good advice when I had questions, and have just had a really good time getting to know some smart, like-minded women and their kiddos.  It's been a real blessing to feel like I have my own life here and to expose Waylon to other kids and adults, especially since I am constantly worried that he leads a sheltered life with our families so far away.  Here is a cute pic of us at one of the Mom's farewell party last night:



As far as home life is concerned, I feel like I'm really hitting my stride as of late.  I feel like we are communicating really well right now and since we haven't traveled in a few weeks, we've been getting into a nice routine at night with Scott that includes a walk around the neighborhood in his little backpack and watching Jeopardy.  I'm telling you, this kid loves Alex Trebek.  Yeah, he gets excited by the Jeopardy music but when Alex appears on screen, he laughs and kicks like a little crazy person.  I must get a video of this.  It's making me hate Alex Trebek a little less.  As I said in his 9-month update, this is the most fun stage I've had with Waylon yet.  He loves running around in his little walker, terrorizing the dogs or pulling open the kitchen cabinets. He is also really into dragging his his stroller around while in his walker, which Scott thinks shows great strength in one so little.  He could do this all day:

Happy 9 months, Waylon!

So we had Way's 9-month appointment yesterday which went well.  He's 29.5 inches tall (88th percentile and weighs 19lb, 14 oz. (50th percentile).  So, he's still a tall, pretty skinny little thing.  He waves hi now, claps his hands and is an old pro at crawling.  The pediatrician doesn't think that  walking is very far off.  

We finally got the sleep thing worked out and he's back to a 12 hour stretch at night and a 1.5 hour nap during the day, sometime between 10:30 and 1:00 (I just can't with a rigid schedule).  He goes right down once he is in his crib, which I am super thankful for.  Yea sleep!

I think Waylon eats a ton.  I'm not complaining, I'm just saying I thought boys were a little older before they started eating all the food in your house.  He likes fruits, veggies, meat, cheese, fish, pasta and waffles, and I've decided to start giving him eggs and nuts now too.  I know some people say wait a little longer, but I think he will like them, there are no allergies in my family and I actually am of the school of thought that withholding certain food groups makes it more likely that kids will be allergic in the future.  So bring on the omelettes and peanut butter!

Month 9 was an exciting time for young Waylon.  He and I traveled to Chicago because little Way is not the littlest on the Brizzolara side of the family any more!  Little cousin Vinny arrived July 8 and we were so excited to meet him.  I forgot what it's like to be around a tiny little baby and he is really cute.  Waylon also got to spend some quality time with Gino, Tio and Coco this trip while I went to a party.  Waylon loves his cousin but he hasn't really been away from me a lot (the disadvantages of having no local family) so he had a hard time.  He did like going for walks with Tio and Gino though (and Coco and Vinny probably needed the rest)

We also got a chance to go up to Milwaukee to see some dear friends.  We were hoping to meet their newest addition as well, but baby Graham decided not to arrive until 2 days after we visited!  Waylon loved playing with Avery though.  Look how sweet they look together:

Dara was also able to get a couple really good pics of Waylon by himself.  Here is standing:

And here is his handsome smile!  Well, I guess handsome might be in the eye of the beholder :)

I have to say, this is my favorite of Waylon's ages.  He's just so FUN now.  He's really expressive and joyful and it feels like he masters a new skill almost every day.  It's so amazing to watch him learn something new or interact with other people, especially kids who are a little older.  He has such a sweetness about him that warms my cold black heart.  I also think he's really observant and can't wait to hear what he has to say once he starts talking.  I know I'm his mom, but damn if this kid isn't awesome!

The 9 month photo, still no chalkboard.

Happy 8 months, Waylon!

This was a pretty exciting month for all of us!  I feel like Waylon was learning something new every day and it was so crazy to watch.  The most exciting, of course, was when he learned to say "Mama."  True, he thinks it means "more food," but it is still the cutest thing ever.  Look:

Did I mention that baby bear loves to eat?  We can add pasta, meat, olives, enchiladas and caviar to his list of favorite foods  (for the record, his father gave him caviar, not me.  ::eye roll::)

Waylon finally started crawling this month and I love it.  I know a lot of people kind of despair when their kids start moving around but I actually really like it.  It's like having a third little dog in the house, haha.  Well, except that Josie and Belle were easier to potty train.  In addition to saying Mama, he also started pulling himself up to stand.  He especially likes doing this in front of the mirror so he can see himself.  I love this:

He also got his first passport stamp when we went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a friend's wedding!  Waylon just loved swimming and learned to kick pretty quickly.  He also really liked getting to eat chilequiles and beans every day.  We all had such a nice time relaxing in paradise.  It was a great family vacation and so fun to celebrate with our friends.

Look how much he loved swimming!

Here are a couple of my other favorites from this month, Waylon showing off his teeth, and chilling in yard with his cool kid hat on.

Happy 7 months, Waylon!

Well, I guess I can't really say that I do it all at once if I'm not blogging about it.  Yeah, I've been busy.  But I wish I was better about this and I am going to make more of an effort to post once a week.  Luckily, I have been keeping up with Waylon's baby book, so at least I have all the information I need.

By 7 months, we started having nap problems.  As in, this kid decided he didn't want to nap anymore except occasionally in the car.  This was not convenient for me.  Luckily, this never effected how he slept at night, which would have been a way bigger deal.  It's just hard because I'm not really a scheduled person so it's difficult to say "okay X o'clock is nap time every day."  I realize this is my fault, not his, but at the same time I figure that this is our life, so maybe it's better that he doesn't get too attached to a rigid routine in the day if I can't commit to it.  I am thankful for my sweet adaptable baby.

This baby loves to eat.  Anything, everything, in large amounts.  He became particularly fond of salmon and cheese right around this time.  It's so fun to give him new foods and see what is his favorite.  I'm pretty sure he eats way more than average.

Waylon is a social little fella too.  He loves to make noises back and forth with me and "chats" and laughs all day long.  I think once he starts talking he may never quiet down.  He is really cute giving little pets to our two dogs and they have been really good with him thus far too.  He also really loves when we go on play dates!  I've had a lot of fun meeting other moms and their babies near our new house and it is the cutest thing to see the kiddies play together now that they are becoming somewhat mobile.

My mom came to visit for Mother's Day and we all had a really nice weekend together.  Way just loves more people to pay attention to him!

Love my little blue-eyed baby.

SEE?  He used to be able to pass out anywhere.  I miss this.

New favorite game:  starting at that handsome boy in the mirror.

Look at my men.  Aren't they the cutest?

The actual 7 month picture.  I really wish I could find that damn chalkboard.