Month: March 2011

last day of the first year

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

What a weekend!

I don’t have much time and there’s so much to post updates on. 

I got the results of my gestational diabetes test back.

I have my 29 week check up today (although I won’t be 29 weeks til Thursday).  How is that possible?

Last week I was thinking about all the milestones we’ve met with Theo this year and all the ones we didn’t…like no trips to the ER, no fevers, no major injuries or illnesses, etc.  Well, we hit one of those milestones head on this weekend.  No. Fun.

We had his first birthday party and I got emotional at the most random moment. 

My best friend‘s little sister successfully gave birth via VBAC (Congrats, S!) to a beautiful baby girl Sunday morning.

Theo nearly stopped eating and drinking altogether and scared me half to death.  Triple M mode, people – major mommy meltdown.

I spent time with my wonderful family and great friends over the weekend.  I’ve been reflecting on how happy I am to be surrounded by the generous, kind, healthy people in my life.  It’s so easy to take those qualities for granted.

Here’s my baby boy on the last day of his first year:

So much more to come,
~C~

12 kinds of random on a thursday

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

1.  I don’t eat crust.  Pizza.  Pie.  Bread.  Chicken Pot Pie.  You name it.  I hate crust.

2.  Theo’s babysitter sent me this picture the other day to show me the monkey he’s been dragging around her house.  My response:  “Cute, but who is that little kid in the picture and where’s my baby?”  He looks so big!

3.  I hate brushing my kid’s teeth.  Maybe not as much as he hates it when I brush them, but I really hate it.  I never feel like I’m accomplishing anything (aside from torturing him).

4.  I like bargains, but I don’t want to dig for them.  I wish I could be a thrift store shopper, but I don’t have the patience.  I almost never pay full price for clothes or shoes, but the deals have to be neatly organized or I get flustered and flee the scene. 

5.  I have always wanted to go to Costa Rica.

6.  Sunshine, blue skies, and the smell of Spring make me happy.  Literally.  It’s like a chemical reaction in my body.  I wouldn’t say I get depressed in the Winter but I definitely get happy in the Spring.  Problems seem smaller, people seem friendlier.  I love Springtime. 

7.  On the sunshine and Costa Rica note, I’m dyyyying to go on a vacation.  I get sick of the same scenery and after so long, I start itching to see something new.  I’m hoping we can squeeze in a trip to somewhere new, but close, while I am on maternity leave. 

8.  I like my job.  I’ve been with the state for almost 4 years (how did THAT happen so fast?) and at my current position for almost a year and a half.  I like it.  I know a lot of people that can’t say the same thing, so I feel really lucky.

9. Baby kicks can be kind of annoying while you’re pregnant, but they are definitely the thing I miss the most about being pregnant.  Weird.  Same thing kinda goes for having this big giant belly.  It’s annoying while it’s here, but it makes me feel special.  I like seeing it in the mirror.  I miss seeing it when it’s gone.  I’m trying to appreciate it more this time around.

10.  I’m done freaking out about Theo’s birthday party.  Whatever happens happens and from here, it’s out of my control.

11. On the birthday party note, two of Theo’s BFFs also turn one this month (how good does it feel to FINALLY say it’s March!?!?  Yes!  The month when Winter ends and Spring begins….hallelujah!) and I’m so excited for what’s ahead for these three little boys.  I hope they’ll be friends for a long, long time.

12.  A final birthday note…my mom got Theo this wagon for his birthday.  We decided to test it out a few days early.  Can you say happy camper?

It’s a big weekend, diabetes test and birthday party…wish me luck!

~C~

this whole unplanned pregnancy thing is not so bad

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I was informed by a couple people that my blog yesterday sounded a little hostile.  It was supposed to be funny(ish).  Eh.  You win some, you lose some.

The misunderstanding made me think and look over recent blogs.  Much to my surprise, I got the whiny-complainy vibe a lot and that’s certainly not what I intended.  With that being said, it’s still my blog and it’s what I want it to be.  Beyond that, I hope it’s something that other people enjoy.  But like I said, you win some, you lose some.

Today, I’m not whinin’ or complainin’.  I’m gonna be thankful, because I have a lot to be thankful for. 

I guess unplanned pregnancies are always going to knock the knocked-up person’s socks off, but unplanned doesn’t mean unwanted.  Initially, I was terrified.  I was scrambling around so hard to get my socks back on that I didn’t even see the beauty in the timing for awhile.  If ever in my life I was going to have an unplanned pregnancy, this is the time.  Other alternatives would have been when I was 19…definitely wasn’t ready then.  Or when I was in college…there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have graduated.  Or right after we got married…we’d been in a long distance relationship for almost 4 years when we got married.  We needed that time to spend alone.  We took a few vacations.  Bought a house.  I finished school.  The timing of our first baby was just right. 

When I got pregnant this time, we knew we wanted to have another baby (at some point).  I’m glad that we hadn’t decided we were done when I got knocked up.  With Theo, it took us a while to commit to the idea of having a baby.  It was hard to say “now’s the time,” because we knew that everything would change.  We didn’t have a clue what it would feel or look like, other than it wouldn’t be just the two of us anymore.  The same goes with baby number two…I think we would’ve had a hard time saying “now’s the time.”  We’re comfortable as a family of three.  Theo has certainly changed our lives, but life is manageable with one baby.  It’s fun.  Life has a whole new purpose.  We learn as he learns.  Experiencing every first with him and through him is amazing.  It might have taken a long time to switch focus.  We might have stressed over whether Theo was ready or the right age, etc.

All of that is great, but there’s a bigger bonus. 

I.  Got.  Pregnant.  Without even trying.  Hello?  If that means nothing to you, you must not know anyone who had to try to get pregnant.  It’s something easily taken for granted until it doesn’t happen.  I, for one, know to some extent how lucky that makes me.  It wasn’t as easy with Theo.  There were months of hopes and wishes followed by disappointment and heartbreak.  And we were still within the normal range for how long it takes for most couples to conceive.  I can’t imagine trying for years without success.  I don’t think I could do it.  It’s too emotionally draining when it’s all you want.  With this baby, I never had to wait and hope and wish.  It was a gift that was handed to me unexpectedly. 

I was lucky to get pregnant without trying this time…what’s more is that I’ve managed to stay pregnant thus far.  While I am thankful I have never had the misfortune of experiencing a pregnancy loss, I’ve had enough people who are close to me go through it to know that it’s more than just a pregnancy loss.  It’s the loss of a child.  The loss of hopes and dreams and a person you’ve already come to love.  I won’t pretend to know how it feels to lose a baby, but I know how helpless I’ve felt as I watched when people I care about deeply have gone through it. 

I know I whine and complain a lot about being pregnant.  That’s the nature of the beast.  But it doesn’t make me love the fact that I am pregnant right now, that I could get pregnant, or that I’m still pregnant any less.  It doesn’t mean that I will value or appreciate the familiarity and the uniqueness of this precious child any less.  I can’t wait to watch my kids grow up together.  It’s my (and every parent’s) wish that they will be the best of friends.  I expect them to fight.  I will probably complain about it a lot, but it would be unrealistic to expect otherwise.  At the end of the day, at the end of vacation, at the end of elementary school and high school and graduate school (if they choose to go)…at the end of their 20s and 50s and 80s, I hope they are still the best of friends.

Now that I’m a mom, it doesn’t take much to make me happy.  I’m happy when my kid goes to bed easy.  I’m happy when he loves a new toy.  I’m happy when he takes a step or gets a tooth or smiles at me.  I’m happy that he has feet to walk on and arms to hug with.  I’m overjoyed that he’s still here with me, so full of life, and that I’ve had the chance to know him for almost a year.  I love every second of being his mommy and I can’t wait to multiply that by 2. 

No sarcasm here today.  Just gratitude and honesty.

~C~