Appointments

Four month belly (do you like my new haircut?) :)

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and Matthew was pretty well-behaved for it. I didn't bother bringing him in the stroller, cause he'd want to get out immediately anyway, so I just carried him. He was good in the waiting room. He looked at the fishies in the fish tank or pulled out all the brochures from the rack near us. He entertained one guy in particular, making faces at him and being a ham. When we actually went into the office for the check-up, he was a little wary of the nurse doing something to his mommy, but he was fine after I reassured him that it was ok. The nurse had a little trouble finding the baby's heart beat, but she did last time too. I had a friend ask me if I was worried when they couldn't find the heart beat right away, and I really wasn't. The baby is so small still, and the placenta can get in the way. The nurse just had to lay me all the way down, and she found it eventually.

So I am 19 weeks along, and my weight is doing well and I have no apparent problems. Nothing out of the ordinary anyway. I mean, my back gets sore and I get tired, and sometimes I feel a muscle in my belly pull tight, but that's all usual stuff. I am starting to look bigger, which isn't a surprise to me, cause I feel like I've been eating a ton lately. One night, I was so hungry while trying to go to sleep that I had to get up and eat some graham crackers before I could fall asleep :). Oh, and the day before yesterday, I felt the baby move for the first time! I felt it early in the day, and I wasn't sure if that was what I thought it was. Then when I was putting Matthew to bed, I felt it again, so I knew it was Jellybean. It didn't feel like the flutter feeling I had with Matthew. I imagined it was more like a punch from a tiny fist inside me. Very cute, and very fun to feel. I'm looking forward to more of this, and it will be even more fun when Josh and Matthew can feel it too.

There are a lot of things about my first pregnancy that I can't recall, but I happen to remember some as they repeat in this current pregnancy. For example, I am getting so worn out when I go up and down stairs. Of course it seems more severe this time, and that could be cause I have a house with stairs now, instead of just an apartment. And plus, if I'm carrying Matthew on the stairs, I really have to take it slow. I am just winded when I get to the top. Whew! I'm worn out just thinking about it :) Another thing that's similar about these pregnancies is a week of headaches. A couple weeks ago I just had a headache all day every day for a whole week. Tylenol wouldn't touch it, and that's all I'm allowed to take, so I just had to suffer through it. The nice thing was that I knew from being pregnant with Matthew that it would only last a week. One other commonality: sleeping with extra pillows. A few nights ago, I had so much trouble sleeping. Couldn't get comfortable no matter how I twisted and turned. Then my brilliant husband reminded me that I used to sleep with a pillow between my knees when I was pregnant before. And sure enough, that pillow has solved my sleeping problems for now.

I think that's all the pregnancy updates for you. Now I need to update you on Matthew...



He had his 15-month check up a few weeks ago, which included 2 shots. The poor guy whimpered for the first one and screamed for the second one. But once I was holding him he was much better. At home I gave him Tylenol for the rest of the day, cause every time I touched his leg he would almost cry, so I knew he was sore. Then the next day the whole area was red and swollen. They were both common reactions and nothing to worry about (once I looked it up, that is ;)). At least he doesn't need any more shots until he's 2. He weighed 24 lbs. and was 32 in. tall, both in the 50th percentile. The pediatrician thought he was growing and developing well. We had a chat about him not walking yet. I told him he does everything else but that: crawling, climbing, wrestling. I don't think there's anything wrong with him physically, and neither does the doc. He observed him for a few minutes and said he's just not confident enough to try to walk on his own. Just the other day my neighbor commented that he seems like a cautious kid, so his late walking is merely a reflection of his personality. I would like him to walk before we go on vacation in August, though. I've even made it a matter of prayer. Not so much about him walking by August, but that the Lord will give him the confidence he needs to try the whole walking independently thing.


Hey Mom, Dad's home!

As for his tastes in food, he goes in food phases. For the longest time he was eating oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast each morning. But now it's been waffles for I don't know how long. And it has to be waffles. Pancakes don't cut it for him, apparently. I wish they would though, cause kid's menus at restaurants have pancakes more often than they do waffles. He also used to love applesauce, but he doesn't eat that very much anymore. And he refused Cheerios for a while, but has recently taken to liking them again. He loves strawberries and graham crackers (any kind of cracker for that matter), and he would drink milk or juice all day if I let him. I call him a heavy drinker :).


Look at all those teeth!

He takes one nap a day, always in the afternoon. Sometimes he's tired enough to take one in the morning, but if I did that, then he wouldn't sleep for the afternoon, and he'd be miserable by bedtime. It's easier to distract him from tiredness in the morning too, like with errands or grocery shopping or playing outside.


Looking sweet after bath time.

By the way, he loves to play outside. He asks pretty much every day if we can go outside. I don't mind if the weather is nice, but when it's in the 90s and humid, ugh, there ain't no way you'll find me out there. I don't know when I became so sensitive to the heat, but maybe it's cause I'm pregnant. We bought him a new swing recently, but he's only in it for about 10 seconds before he tells us he's "all done." He likes to walk around the yard (with our help, of course), pull at the weeds, play with rocks, and he also likes being up in the fort area of the playset.


Daddy helps him up in the fort.

He's recently getting over a long lasting diaper rash. We even had to get a Rx for it because it was itchy and painful. But finally it appears to be clearing up. And what other not-so-pleasant things can I share with you? Ah yes, Sundays. No no, we love church, and Matthew loves the nursery. But for the past few weeks he's been screaming when we go home. He'll arch his back to keep us from strapping him in the carseat. And the screaming doesn't just last a few minutes. Sometimes half the ride home is tears and howls. I'm sure some of it has to do with being totally tired and ready to nap, and perhaps he's going through a phase of not liking his carseat, but there's also just plain tantrum going on there too. Poor kid, it's tough when you can't get your way all the time.


Just woke up from a nap, so not in the best mood, but he looks so grown up, doesn't he?

Most of the time he's a lot of fun. When I'm cooking he'll get into the cabinets and play with the pans and make lots of noise. He'll also play games with himself sometimes. He'll throw a ball, make some exclamation, and chase after it. The other day I was rocking him before his nap, and he spontaneously started giving me kisses over and over. It's like he was thinking, maybe if I keep being sweet and cute, Mommy won't put me down for a nap. Little stinker. Yes, he was sweet and cute, but no, he didn't get out of his nap. Usually his nap time is my nap time, and I don't voluntarily give that up.

He's getting so smart. He's really good at following directions, depending what it is of course. I handed him some trash and told him to throw it away for me, and he crawled clear across the room to the trash can to do my bidding.

--He signs a handful of words: milk, more, eat, music, play, pray, change

--He can mimic a few animal sounds: monkey, cow, lion, duck

--He can say a lot of words: cook, cracker, done, Daddy, hot, car, ow!, whoa!, waffle, wa-wa (for water), sauce-sauce (for applesauce), cereal (the first syllable anyway), and amen (sort of)

--He can point to a dozen body parts: hair, head, eyelashes/eyes, eyebrows, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, fingers, chest, belly, bellybutton, knee, leg, toes, feet

I'm sorry, does it sound like I'm bragging? I don't mean to. It's just amazing how fast little kids can learn, you know? And I'm so proud of my little boy.


Playing shy.


There's that hammy smile I know and love so much!