Baby Dickens #2--Month 8

8 Months--Oh My!

32 Weeks

I'm told at least every few days that I don't look very big for being 8 months pregnant, which I'm very thankful for, but it feels like I expand more and more every day!  I honestly think it's keeping up with a VERY busy 15 month (almost 16 month) old (notice his hand in the bottom right of the pic??) that's keeping me this small.  I don't have time to think about snacking unless I'm hungry at school!  When I'm home, it's all about Bennett---which I'm glad for since it won't be all about him for much longer!

Riley definitely lets me know that he's a force to be reckoned with!  He is active, active, active!  I get jabbed in the ribs, the cervix, the side, the front, you name it!  He's not particular to one area--he likes to get around!

I got a lovely sinus/allergy infection at the beginning of month 8 and my abs got a workout due to all the coughing I did over a 3-4 day period.  Sadly that's the only exercise I've done--with the exception of taking Bennett to the park at the school up the street!  Sorry Riley--I'm just exhausted!

The key word for this month is EMOTIONAL!  It was going to be "tired", but emotional is definitely a better option!  I've been extremely more emotional during this pregnancy.  I think it has to do with just life in general, but I'm definitely moodier, cry more, and have absolutely ZERO patience!  I'm lucky that Jeff is still hanging around!  Every time he tells me it will get better once Riley gets here I go into "It's not the pregnancy causing this!!!" mode--but dear goodness, I sure hope it is!

Two weeks before Christmas Bennett and Jeff got sick with the stomach bug. I think the only reason it bypassed me was that I was on anti-biotics for my sinus infection that lasted 2 weeks!  I was never so tired of seeing/cleaning up bodily fluids from others than I was that week!  All I wanted was the Clorox fairy to visit for 3-4 days straight and just get our house germ free!

At my 34/35 week checkup we had the last (I'm guessing) ultrasound!  Riley was a movin' and groovin'!  Good news:  due date still the same, fluid levels good, and he's weighing between 5.5 and 6 pounds!  Bad (well...not bad...just not as good) news:  his head is sitting on my right side.  Yep--could've told them that since he stretches quite often and it moves up to my rib cage! So he's breech and I told the dr. that if I have a c-section, I want everything "tied up" while they're in there!  Gotta get those plans started!  Got some great profile pics of him and he looks just like Bennett!  It makes it a little more exciting that he'll be here in a few weeks!

Christmas = Thank. God. It's. Over.  There were no major anythings this year, but I was (and still am) completely exhausted.  That and having B home from daycare for 2 weeks is going to make for a not very restful 2 weeks off.  He'll go one day a week so I can catch up on scrapbooking, but that's about it unless I get a babysitter.  Problem is:  I have TONS to do at home and that means a babysitter can't watch him at home.  Dilemmas, dilemmas!

Hopefully we'll get B moved into his new room by the time my break is over.  That's the plan anyway--fingers crossed!  It takes me an hour to do what Jeff can do in 10 minutes--I'm so tired of being fat and tired!  :)

I Just Don't Know...

...good God, where do I even begin on what I just don't know???  If I was the type of person to simply just take each day as it comes my life would be SO much easier.  Instead, I focus on things I can't change, am not in control of, etc. and it kills me!  I know every single thing on this list will work itself out because even though I have trouble major issues letting go of control, I do realize in my head that it will all come out okay!  (I just can't get my "today brain" to realize that at the moment!)

Here are my "I Just Don't Know's"

• How am I going to have time to shave my legs before delivery if my water breaks at school?  Yes, this is seriously a worry! With Bennett, my water broke at home on a Sunday, so I had time to hop in the shower, make myself presentable, and get to the hospital!  I was also in labor only 7.5 hours, so I'd better focus on a game plan with #2 almost here!
• How are we going to have 2 kids?  I know I thought the same thing when I was pregnant with Bennett and I know it will become a new normal---but it's not here yet, so I wonder...
• I've been a little a hell of a lot more emotional this pregnancy.  Will I make it post-partum without meds?  Already prepped the dr. on this one, so at least I'm not in denial!
• How is Bennett going to react when baby #2 arrives?  The only major thing we're doing is changing his room before then.  I'm not taking away the bedtime sippy cup or anything else major b/c that's enough of a biggie I think!
• Work a full time job with 2 kids under 2???  I only know it will probably be my sanity saver!
• How will I give enough attention to both kiddos?
• How will I ever have a clean house again?  Seriously?  I'm outnumbered here 3-1 when baby #2 gets here!  (Not that a girl would be neater, but maybe she'd have a "dirt aversion"! )
• How will I be able to show the world how crazy I am about all of my boys without sounding like one of those raving lunatic moms?  I am literally THRILLED to have 2 boys, be a mom of boys, etc.  I SUCK at fixing hair (come on...just look at my own hair!) and have no tolerance for girl drama, but on the flip side, I know I'll have more ER visits on my checklist than Barbies!
• How will I ever be able to get enough kisses in before they realize it's not cool to give mommy kisses?  You'd totally understand my reason for asking this if you could see Bennett snuggling on me, ready for bed, looking up at me with pursed lips, ready to give me a slobbery smacker!  Melts my heart EVERY time!

I'm sure there are more, but I have so many things on my mental "To-Do List" that I can't think of any more at the moment.  :)

Bennett--15 Months

Who's the Charlie Brown character who carries a blanket everywhere?  Linus?  Pigsty?  We have our own version!

Growth

• Height/Weight
• Clothing--still at 18 month (some 12-18 month depending on brand)
• Shoes--still at 5.5 (even though they're big)
• Diapers--still at a size 4 for both regular and night time ones.
• Words:  Nothing completely clear except "dada", but the words you consistently try to say are: "shoes", "dog", "uh-oh", "thank you"--which is really just the sound...no word production, and "ohhhh!!!"
• Games:  You now raise your hands when we ask "How big are you?"; can show us "Who's #1?", and point to your nose, ears, mouth, and head. 
• If we ask you to do something like pick up your shoes and take them to the stairs, you'll do it and you start looking around if we ask you where something is.  You may not always get it or do what we are asking, but you'll look!

  
  Getting into things much?  Yep!  Nothing like mommy's lipstick!
  

   

  

  You LOVE putting things in holes or boxes!

  

  Ohhh!!!!

Sleeping/Eating
I've decided to lump these into one category since not much is changing with these.

• Pretty good napper still at daycare.  Sometimes 2 hours, sometimes less, sometimes they have to wake you up!  On the weekends....depends on what we're doing and how exhausted you are, but it's basically the same!
• Eating--you want everything we have and you MUST have the same thing because you notice if you're missing something and point to it until it's given to you.  Not a good habit for us to get into!
• Chicken is apparently NOT a favorite any more--even with BBQ, ketchup, or alfredo sauce.  Apparently you DO have taste buds AND an opinion!

The Land of Bennett

• Bubbles are still a hit!  One afternoon you sat in my lap sticking the wand in/out of the container for a good 15-20 minutes.  You even decided that the bubble filled wand should go in your mouth a bit--and you didn't seem to care about the taste!  Huh!



Bubbles!  Love the expression--he's in the middle of talking to himself!

• Accidentally leaving the changing pad out has worked to my advantage a few times, as you saw it, grabbed it, and made me open it so you could sit on it. This didn't always mean you needed to be changed, but I'll take what I can get!
• If we tell you "let's go change your diaper" now you will actually go to the changing spot in our bedroom.  Whoa!
• I've tried some sensory play with you thanks to ideas I get off Pinterest!
• Right before Thanksgiving you FINALLY learned what it is to give kisses! You'd let us give them to you, but that was about it. Then one day getting out of the car, I caught you and gave you one on your mouth. You thought it was hilarious and we just went from there! There's nothing like a wet Bennett kiss to make my day!  We now get them a lot at night and I LOVE them!
• Books--You are really into your books right now--especially when you're getting your morning or night-time sippy cup of milk.  You LOVE Brown Bear, Brown Bear; A Color of His Own; Baby Night-Night; Baby Colors,  a foam shape book with pieces that come out; Here Comes Halloween (has textures in it); your tractor book that has textures; your truck book that has sliding parts; Ten Little Ladybugs; your prayer book, and a few more that I can't think of at the moment! You like us reading to you as well as just playing and turning the pages yourself!
• First Aggie game was the one against daddy's alma mater--Sam Houston.  Of course, we won, and you had a decent time at the game.  You didn't nap well, so it was a long day...maybe we should've waited til you were a little bit older!  Oh well...live and learn!

1st Aggie Game

Helping Mommy sweep the kitchen--sad to say I actually DID put a swiffer cloth on so he could really help!

Baby Dickens #2--Month 7

Welcome to Month #7!

Just the other night I told Jeff that I didn't feel like this pregnancy is lasting as long as Bennett's did.  His response?  "Well, since you were almost 3 months pregnant when we found out, you've technically only known for 4 months!"  THAT definitely puts it in perspective!

My Halloween shirt!  I love it and will have to make sure it gets lots of wear!

27 weeks 5 days (close enough to the 28 week mark!)



Maternity belt note:  not sure if Riley is sitting differently than Bennett did or if I'm just hooking my belt differently due to the velcro issue I mentioned last month, but dang!  That belt is pressing on my belly more and making it more uncomfortable.  I'm going to have to look into this b/c I definitely need the support!

I officially started feeling bigger this month.  Tying my shoes, shaving my legs, bending to get laundry out of the dryer---yeah....they're harder now!  My legs are always feeling like I need to stretch them, but actually sitting and being able to do the stretching depends on the day!  Other than these minor things, I'm feeling great! 

Bennett still loves to tackle me if I'm lying down somewhere, and I think Riley's getting done with it!  B better watch out--Riley may take some revenge one day!

My doctor's appointments are now every other week and while it's annoying simply to go in, get weighed/measured, tell the dr. how my blood sugar readings are, it's always fun to hear Riley's heartbeat!  I really would love another ultrasound to check him out, but I'm fortunate that because we're both doing well I don't need one.  Count my blessings, right?  Definitely will!  :)

Although I forget to check my blood sugar half the time because I'm so busy, I'm doing well on the times when I do monitor it, so yeah! 


I love this pic that we took when we took B's 15 month/Christmas card pics: Bennett really is just pointing at my belly, but we'll just pretend he's pointing at his little brother! I like the other one of me too and am so glad to have a few more prego pics since I haven't taken as many this time around due to the sheer busy-ness that is life!  Nothing says "normal" like the pic of all of us--sums up life sometimes!



Halloween 2012

Bennett--14 months old--Skeleton

We wanted to go to the fall festival at church for Halloween this year, and now that we have....we shouldn't have!  We should have just stayed at home, handing out candy instead of frustrating you with limitless options of play that you a)either couldn't do since you were too little, or b)you didn't want to wait in line for!  Oops!  Our bad!

As it was, we had a pretty decent little Halloween.  B was most happy walking around, playing in the ball pit, or eating pizza--the little skeleton could've demolished an entire piece if we'd let him!  I think we got a whole 3 pieces of candy while walking around--but of course that wasn't our goal anyway!

When we got home, we visited the neighbors, who'd set up a creepy entrance on their front porch.  Then it was lights out for our little skeleton, who was worn out from all the extra stimulation from the festivities!  Love our little guy--frustrations and all!

Baby Dickens #2--Month 6

Hello month #6!

Hello end of the 2nd trimester!  Wait!  Say WHAT?!?!  Oh dear goodness, it's getting close!

24 weeks (and a few days!)

I'm tying this literally 4 days after month 6 ended and I feel like I have no clue that the month even passed!  That's how busy we've been here in the Dickens household!  I think this is why...

I'm still feeling great!  I brought out my maternity belt and have been wearing it religiously since it definitely helps keep my posture better and the back pain isn't as bad when I do.  The only problem...I really wore it down last pregnancy and the velcro has started to curl on the right side where I close the belt, so it rubs during the day.  But it's minor!

I had and failed (again!) my glucose test.  I didn't just fail.  I failed with flying colors.  Apparently the # to get is 135 and I surpassed it with 176.  I'd already told my dr. that if I failed the first one, I didn't want to do the 3 hour test and that I'd follow the diet and monitor my blood sugar levels.  It's worked great so far and had helped again on the weight gain.  In the 2 weeks since I failed I haven't gained any weight (don't worry...baby has b/c I've changed shape again!), which is the reason I like monitoring my blood sugar--it keeps me and my eating in check!

I'm feeling heavier and Riley is definitely a mover!  He's so different from Bennett.  Bennett would roll around and my belly would make waves.  Riley uses my uterus as a punching bag!  One night Jeff and I just sat and watched the punches come for a few minutes!  I truly can't wait until he's here because I wonder how much the boys will be alike, and pray how they'll be different!

My favorite moment being pregnant and teaching elementary:  I had a random kindergartener at Nottingham see me walk by, touch my belly and say "Hey!  You have a baby in there!".  I looked at her and straight faced said "No, I'm just fat!".  Well, I didn't fool her at all because she looked at me and just plainly said, "No, it's a baby!" and kept on walking!  All the adults around just laughed!  It was a classic kid moment!

Bennett--14 Months

14 Months:  Personality & Independence Reign Supreme!

Heeeyyyyy!  Howdy to Halloween month!

HUGS to Chip!

HUGS to Queso!

HUGS to Baxter (neighbor's cat)!

Can you tell that mommy's been working with me on hugging and being gentle?  She's trying to make my spurts of hitting change course and I love practicing my hugs on animals!  (I'm learning some bad skills apparently from the girls in my daycare room!!)

Growth

• Height--up about 1/2 an inch from last month...but that depends on how wiggly I am on my growth chart!
• Weight--stable at around 24 pounds--give or take the day of eating!
• Clothing--18 month (some 12-18 month depending on brand)
• Diapers--still at size 4 for regular and night-time

Eating

• You want whatever is on our plate--even when you've got the exact same thing on your plate!
• Restaurants are much more work for us since you're so active, so we're not visiting them as frequently as we were.  We'll still go to them because we want you to know how to behave in public (as much as possible), but boy, is it exhausting!
• You're apparently using your spoon more at daycare, but we still struggle with it at home.  You do like to bang the table with it and then drop it to the floor though....is that progress???  :)  (Once again, our "pick it up once" rule has come in handy with this action!)
• Right after your 14 month birthday we completely quit all bottles.  You now just have a sippy/straw cup.  I still haven't tried to change the bottle routine--it's been a rough month of teething and the two nights I lessened the amounts of milk you got at bedtime you "told" me you weren't happy!

Sleeping

• You are napping GREAT at daycare and getting better at home just taking one nap.  It's hard because so often you're ready for a nap before lunch, but we try to keep you on your daycare schedule, which is a nap only after lunch!  Sometimes you sneak one in though--and that's okay with us!
• You had a few nights where you woke up from around 12:30-2:30ish, but we think (and were hoping) that it was due to teething.

The World of Bennett

Getting better at going down the slide!

You're hilarious in the tub now and LOVE to splash and "GO" from one end to the other! You love putting your Little People boat captain in his spot on the boat, bring the boat to your mouth, drink the dripping water, and then bite off the captain!  Silly boy!  You also love putting the drain stopper back in, as well as putting it on the side of the tub when I ask  you to.  It's a rush to get the toys out of the drain so you can put it back in!

 

*You love bubbles.  HOWEVER....the day you stuck the bubble wand into your mouth multiple times instead of trying to blow on it (even after me saying "No, no, no!!!") that washing your mouth out with soap when you get older probably will have the opposite effect!  (Not that I'd actually do that...but it's good to know now that it might backfire!   The day you sat on my lap for literally 20 minutes dipping the wand in/out of the container was such a great time with you.  Love you sweet boy!

*Your molars are now coming in--yikes!

*You taught yourself how to open the back door at the end of October--so now it's dead bolted if we're inside!

*Started giving good hugs (arms around neck) at night when you're not so ready to get into bed!

*Brought me my shoes one morning because you knew they went on my feet--that was a pretty funny move!  You definitely see/learn more than we think you do!

*You can move yourself backwards a little bit in your car.

*Gilbane Picnic, Pumpkin Patch, Turkeyfest (blog to come), and Halloween (blog to come).  Whew!  It has been a busy month!

Petting the animals at the fall festival in Will's neighborhood.  You loved giving all of them hugs!

Yep--you now can make it onto the couch on your own...when you're not whining about being put up there!

Halloween skeleton

Playing in the sprinkler with Chip!  Gotta love November weather in Texas!

What?  The stick was just sitting in the yard waiting for me to pick it up!

Playdate fun with Violet, Will, Rory, and Carly

This is my favorite.  Somehow he decided that he liked to eat on this rug by the back door.  We only have afternoon snack there, and he will sit if he just sees me with the container!  Love it!

Taking after mommy and using my Chic-fil-A dipping sauce for everything!

Sensory play with pom poms.  Thank goodness mommy uses Pinterest to find ideas!