Stubborn babies

Well, it is looking more and more like this baby is going to be like his sisters... stubborn. Unless something changes today, this kid is holding out for a February birthday. My first child was 10 days late. The second, who was also predicted to come early, was two days late. I'm still hoping for slightly early if not punctual for this one. I have had at least two false alarms where the contractions got going and just before we decided to go on in to the hospital, they went away completely for a day or two. I'm starting to think of things I'd like to tell my doctor (but probably won't). I know that the time is short. This baby will come out soon. I'm just really, really tired of waiting. On the bright side, my sinus problems have nearly cleared up. I've even been able to smell a couple of times recently. Being able to breath properly during hard labor will be much appreciated. We'll see if I post again before the birth. My next prenatal appointment is scheduled for Friday. I hope I get to miss it.

Odd things encountered while waiting

I'm still here waiting for a baby to decide to be born. But in the meantime, I thought that I'd share something that made me laugh. Our oldest daughter (4) gave her younger sister (2) a timeout today. It was while I was down for a nap, so I heard it from the grandparents. Child number one was getting frustrated with her sister knocking over a town that she had made. This kept happening until she gave her sister an annoyed look, pointed her arm to the corner, and told her "you get a timeout." Whereupon, little sister dutifully grabbed a kid sized chair, moved it to the appropriate corner sat in it and happily said "timeout." Child number two sat in said chair for a very short time and then announced "all done." It is amazing what a two year old picks up from watching her older sister get punished.

Another thing that amused my husband and me had to do with some potty time success our oldest has been having lately. This child has been fighting pooping in the potty for the longest time, but for some unknown reason lately, she has been successful if given a book to read on the potty about once a day. We have now had eight days of successes. While this was still a new thing this week, Mommy mentions to Daddy at the dinner table that child number one had a successful poop in the potty. So Daddy, in an effort to be supportive and encouraging asks, "So tell me the story of this successful potty time" (expecting Mommy to give bland details). Instead, child number one launches in with "Once upon a time..." whereupon Mommy and Daddy start giggling. She continued on telling a very elaborate story of kids, animals, and dancers pooping, giving lots of circumstances and contexts. Her very sincere rendition, and an utter lack of self consciousness right there at the dinner table, just worked like a battering ram to any pretentions we might have tried to have on the occasion and we just laughed and laughed as the story kept going and getting better and better. We now refer to it as the "Lays of the Potty Times".

As for my health, my sinus problems are still lingering as I am waiting for the baby to be born. However, I seem to be improving slightly. I noticed for instance that I was able to sing some at church today. I have noticed the phenomenon before with colds, that if I can get to the point where I can sing, the singing seems to help the medicine move the gunk out. Do you suppose anyone has done a study on the efficacy of singing in curing sinus problems? My guess is that the singing vibrates the sinuses and loosens things up.

These are a few of the oddities I have encountered this week to lighten my mood. I think I may be getting hysterical at times with all the waiting. My family is accusing me of laughing way too much over really simple things. I think I am just open to the absurdities of life a little more now. I saw a seagull eating fast food garbage in a parking lot this morning and wondered to myself, was the bag there first or did the bird chase off the previous owner, like in Hitchcock's "The Birds"? My husband told me that sometimes you need to unthink the thinkable, and that thought needed to be unthunk.

That's all for now. Hopefully, the next time I post the baby will be on the outside where he belongs.

Waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

I like to think of myself as a patient person. People tell me that I'm a patient person. But, there are times I go through (like now), when I know that I'm not really patient. At least that I'm not patient down to the core. My new baby's due date is February 3rd. I and my medical advisers don't think the baby will wait that long to make his appearance. That's less than two weeks and yet I don't want to have to wait any longer than right now. Both of my older children went past their due dates, so you would think that I would have a handle on the fact that babies can wait past my comfort levels. I have also been fighting cold/sinus problems for 4-5 weeks now which wears me down though I have felt a very slight improvement that gives me hope for better days soon. But what bugs me the most is that Saturday night the contractions were starting to get closer and stronger, all day Sunday and Monday morning they were going strong, but then faded away by Monday night. Today I had very few contractions at all (less than normal even). Sunday I felt like the baby is coming soon. Now, I feel like I did a month ago (except bigger and slower). It is very frustrating and it wears on my patience.

I am reminded of quotes from the Bible that refer to unexpected or sudden events as when labor pains come on a woman. It is unpredictable. You can expect it soon and still be surprised. I always feel like God is giving me another lesson on patience when I find myself in such circumstances. I am not sure that we ever get too secure in our virtues that God doesn't have to give us a refresher course from time to time. So, I'll try to accept the wait as a lesson to learn (especially since I have to wait anyway).

In the meantime, our kids are enjoying time with Grandparents and doing their best to get away with everything while Mommy is big and slow. Child number one is only having light schoolwork right now since Mommy's energy levels are still low. Child number two is learning how to talk very fast. The two girls even have the occaisional conversation with each other. Child number one is making some headway with potty training. She still doesn't want to ask for potty times, but at least we are getting her to do most of the routine herself and discovering ways to encourage her to get the poop in the potty (it involves having books to read while she waits). Child number two is mastering stacking and is finally showing interest in puzzles and being read to. However, she is also a party girl who is always on the lookout for a new game. I had to discourage her from playing the "paper game," as she calls it, in the bathroom. We suspect it involves unwinding the toilet paper, thus the discouragement. However, in mentioning this within her older sister's hearing, I realized later that it doesn't take much to give the older one ideas. I had to correct the older sister later who did make a mound of toilet paper citing the "paper game" as her inspiration. On the whole, our two girls get along well, and they seem to take turns sharing ideas of fun things to do and copy from one another.

Well, that is all that I have for tonight. I will go back to waiting (and trying to get a few things done while I can).

On the cusp of change

Now that I am beginning to feel better, it is time for another blog post. It has been evident to me today that we are on the cusp of change as a family in many different ways. Yeah, the baby is coming soon. That'll be a major change for us all of course, but it is a familiar upheaval to Mommy and Daddy at least. Child number one seems to be much calmer about that one, also (maybe because she's starting to enjoy her time with her sister? Who knows?) It will be a shock for child number two. Hopefully not too bad, since she seems to like babies in general.

Beyond the obvious new family addition coming, I've noticed some other things too. Child number one has been a little more in touch with the world around her than usual. She has quite an imagination and has lots of fun in her own little world in her head. So, this is noteworthy. She still comes up with funny statements that we love to giggle at. Tonight, Daddy mentioned having "shoo'd" one of the cats out of our bedroom. She seemed to mistake the verb for shoot and asked him if he used a cannon. Daddy also tossed a knit hat at her the other day and she said "Daddy, you hit my brow." She has an amazing vocabulary for a four year old. In her homeschooling, we have only one more day of work on her phonics lessons and then we can change gears a little. We will shift to concentrating on having lots of reading time and some writing practice. That will help her get a better grasp of the phonics that she has been learning. I also want to get more Bible reading as a daily thing. That will help when the baby comes, too, if most of her schoolwork is reading so just about any adult available can do it with her, and Mommy is freed up to take care of herself and the baby for a while.

Child number two has been changing before our eyes too. She is picking up language fast now. She can talk in sentences (although short ones). She understands so much of what we say and responds in words we didn't know she knew yet. When she was playing a game with her uncle (involving her being spun in a box) and her uncle was done, she happily stated "Daddy's turn!" The other day she saw one of our cats lie down on the floor and she said "Cat sleepy." On top of that, she has started telling us when she wants a potty time. Half the time it is a delaying tactic on her part, but the other half she needs a diaper change and it is obvious that it is recent. That gives me hope that she won't be as hard to potty train as her sister. She has started to count, stack legos and blocks as high as she can reach, and has shown some interest in drawing. We saw that kind of behavior with her older sister, but until recently this one hadn't been very interested. She has also been wanting to be read to more. This is noteworthy, because up until now she has been our active energizer bunny who couldn't stop long enough to get through even a short book. She is also turning into quite the jokester. She has learned how to make funny faces for entertainment, she calls just about any fun activity a game, and tonight she spent about 10 minutes in the car saying "AAOOOOGAHH!!" and then giggling over and over.

So, it is looking like things are happening on just about all fronts with the kids. Mommy and Daddy are pretty much the same (except Daddy just mentioned that Mommy is going to be losing a bunch of weight any day now). Though somehow, I get the feeling that our family is about to go through some substantial changes in the near future (family dynamics, maturity levels, intellectual abilities, attention spans) so that although the faces are the same, the experience as a family will be different.

Chaos is here before the new baby... uh oh...

Well, half of us are well and the other half of us are improving, so I'll come back for an update. Mommy and child number two seem to have a tougher time recovering from illness. Child number one must have inherited her Daddy's immune system.

I am at 3 1/2 weeks till my due date. At my last appointment, I was told that the baby is in position and just waiting for labor to start. My parents have come to help out, so maybe I have a better chance of getting well before the baby comes. As a result of the household of illness, however, I haven't had much energy to do the last preparations to get ready for the coming baby. Unless, the baby comes early, I think we will be able to get things done eventually.

It is a good thing that I'm improving in health, my oldest was starting to run wild since she was feeling better than the rest of us. I've been having to reign her back in to civilized and polite behavior. It is frustrating to have to retrain and discipline every time a bump in the road of life comes up, but I suppose that is normal for all kids. They like to know where the boundaries are. Child number two is still sick, cranky, and taking full advantage. I suspect that the new baby will be a tough transition for her this time. It'll be tough to retrain her into a new routine in enough time. Yet it must be done. The baby shouldn't have to suffer, because bigger sister is extra demanding lately.

So, with child number three on the way, chaos is still trying to make a foothold in our household.

Sick day

Well, it had to happen on the week that was going to be hardest. I and the kids came down with a cold. My husband usually is last to feel any symptoms and usually fights them off with spicy food and Zicam. So, a tough week became tougher. Ah well.... I remember a bout of the flu earlier this year well enough that this cold is a minor misery. But, being miserable myself, while feeling barely mobile from my pregnancy, and having two clingy, demanding kids, it just feels tougher than I would like to deal with. Thankfully, my husband has only one more workday this week. I guess the bright side of this is that we should be over the cold by the time the baby comes. I have just one more month to go according to the due date. People keep trying to cheer me up by saying that the baby will come early, but so far my kids have all come after the due date. My hopes are simply for a punctual child. I probably won't post much more until health returns to the household. Good night.