I had just been thinking the other day about why the last few weeks of pregnancy are so difficult. Up until just hmmm, maybe 2 weeks ago or so, I had been feeling pretty good. My body wasn't too terribly sore, I was managing just fine, so I had kinda lost sight of how difficult those last 2 months or so of pregnancy can be. Well it has hit. I am exhausted. I'm dealing with restless legs syndrome and having a hard time falling asleep at night...and ya know, when you're this far along, you have to get up to use the potty fairly regularly...so between potty breaks and child/husband wakings, I'm up an awful lot at night...and falling back to sleep can be quite an effort. I'm trying to cut back on afternoon coffee, but of course, that doesn't help my TIREDNESS, but it does seem to help me sleep better.
The aches and pains have set in. My back is sore, my pubic bone is sore...I'm big and heavy and tired...and having a 21lb baby stuck to me (going up and down stairs regularly) and a husband who works WAY too much is NOT helping anything. Thankfully, Aaron has had a few good nights again (he had some illness, I'm thinking it was Roseola) where he had 4 nights of being up for HOURS with a really high fever (103ish) and was really, really fussy, but he's back to his wonderful self again and has been sleeping like a dream--both night AND day. What a blessing.
Getting through the days is very, very tiring. Really, tiring just doesn't describe it at all...I think profoundly exhausted sounds more like it. There is so much I'd like to do (like have a CLEAN HOME!!), but I just don't have the energy for after taking care of everything that HAS to be done--dishes, school, etc. Speaking of which, I'm trying to avoid cooking dinner...but Jeremy will probably be home late again tonight, so I really need to do that...so I must go. Please pray for energy...and a baby that sleeps like a dream!!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Today is your birthday, happy, happy birthday....
How cool, I actually logged in to write this at 9:16pm, exactly 2 minutes before the time Luke was born, 4 years ago today. What a wonderful night. My first son. What a blessing.
Luke has been a blessing to this family from the second we found out we were expecting him. We were so excited to be adding a third baby to our family, after a very, very lengthy, wishy-washy debate about whether we should have a third (complete with a Pros and Cons list--which I still have, by the way). I'm so glad the Pros won!!
When I had my ultrasound and found out he was a boy, I was SO excited! How blessed could we be, after 2 girls to be having a little boy?!?! We had the name "Luke" since my first pregnancy. I LOVE the name Luke and wanted to use it so badly...and we were finally going to be able to. I remember when I went to the hospital on the day he was born, and my doctor said that he'd admit me since I was 5 days overdue and was already having SOME contractions (and of course, my mom kept making threats that "you know, I have to work tomorrow"), I started crying because my girls weren't going to be my "only babies" anymore. Everything changed when a couple of hours later, this precious little boy made his appearance! I remember hearing his cry for the first time and praising God that it was so quiet. He slept for 4 hours at a time IN THE HOSPITAL and was a wonderful sleeper from the get-go. He slept thru the night at 10 weeks old and was a very easy going, adaptable blessing of a baby. Nothing changed as he hit toddler-hood. He has always been a easy baby. Well, now that he's older, he's a challenge...but he's still such a blessing and has such a sweet heart. He's obedient (in general) and as sweet as sugar--and SUCH A BOY! I enjoy him so much, he's definitely MY boy.
Today we went to the toy store (what he really wanted to do) and then had ice cream at Baskin Robbins. He said he didn't like ice cream, so he only ate about half of his, which is fine with me. Then we went to Chevy's for dinner. He kept going back and forth about whether he wanted to have them sing to him or not. Finally he got brave and told our waitress that today was his birthday. When the were getting ready to come over to sing, he said, "I'm just going to ignore them" -- and he did! :) But it was cute to have that experience...and the free ice cream was wonderful too (he didn't eat it, I did!).
Tonight was going to be his first night with no pacifier. He's been hooked on the thing for a very long time...but so was Abby. Abby gave it up at 4 with NO struggle. Well, at that time Luke was my only baby and he was a dream...so dealing with sleepless nights would have been no problem, had they occurred. Well, guess what? It didn't go so smoothly tonight. He cried and cried...and he shares a room with his 2 sisters and Aaron is right next door. Not to mention my being pregnant and tired and NOT wanting to lose any more sleep. I caved. So yes, my 4 year old takes a pacifier still. It's not my dream come true, but it's my reality...at this point, sleep takes precedence over most other things...soon we'll have to bite the bullet and throw the stinky thing away, but right now I'm not going to worry about it...if it were his thumb, what options would I have?
Anyhow, I'm so blessed to be the mommy of a wonderful 4 year old sweetheart.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tomorrow....
....my big boy turns 4! Oh my, where has the time gone? I have so many other things on my mind, but I will refrain from posting because I have so many other things that NEED to be done. I'll be back.
Monday, March 21, 2011
A Real Crawler!
Just needed to note: Aaron is officially crawling like a "real" baby now. He still scootches around on his tummy part of the time, but he can get up and get around on his knees now, and he can effortlessly go from crawling to sitting. And he can climb all of our 17 stairs like a pro--Lord have mercy!
Sin Nature Revealed
We have 3 special "babies" in this house. Their names are: Puddles, Hedgehog and Puppet. 2 are stuffed bears and one is, well, a hedgehog (can you believe it?). Puppet and Hedgehog belong to Luke and Puddles is Savannah's treasured bear from when she was 2 years old...she LOVES Puddles and I wouldn't be surprised if she sleeps with Puddles when she is all grown up.
What amazes me about these 3 "babies" is that they're really nothing special. In fact, Puppet is one of the cheapest, junkiest stuffed bears that was acquired at some holiday when you can buy those Walmart trinkety stuffed things for like $1 a piece, but for some reason, Luke adopted him/her as his own a while ago (it's pink too!) and he just LOVES it. I don't remember where Hedgehog came from, but he used to be our cat's favorite toy and then he got lost and then found years later and now is GREATLY loved (and one of the world's best hiders, too--always hiding somewhere weird!) and Puddles was given to Savannah for her 2nd birthday by a neighbor of my parents' and was loved mostly because she has a sweet smell to her that still hasn't entirely rubbed off, even after fifteen thousand washes in the washing machine. So, why in the WORLD am I writing about these guys, you ask? And what in the world does this have to do with sin? Well, you see, even though these guys aren't anything to write home about, and even though our home is TEEMING with wonderful toys, there is a very special lure about these 3 "babies". These guys are SPECIAL. Not only to Savannah and Luke, but to AARON! Aaron realizes, at his tender young age, the lure of the forbidden. Out of all of the toys, all of the stuffed critters in this house, NOTHING has the draw of one of these three things.
Today, I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready and I had to leave him on the floor and thought that when I put him down he was going to get fussy. To my surprise, he disappeared and became very quiet. Of course, anyone who has EVER had a child knows what that means: (yeah, sit back with a nice, cool drink and enjoy the silence, right?? WRONG) CHECK IT OUT IMMEDIATELY!!! At first I thought he might be trying to climb the stairs for the 15th time of the day, but no, there he was...next to the step stool that housed (EUREKA!!) both Puppet AND Hedgehog!!! Ohhhhhh man, SCORE!!! He immediately put Hedgehog in his mouth and reached for Puppet. Now, let me just say, NOTHING irritates Luke more than a wet Hedgehog, and right now, Aaron is not only wet...but boogery, this was NOT going to fly. I had to pull them both away and distract him with a different, less adequate toy.
It just boggles my mind that at 9 months old (and even younger, for that matter) a child can recognize things that are forbidden and desire those above all else. Thankfully the things they desire at that age are generally harmless, but the principle is no different...we are sinners, we desire that which we can and should not have...and we need a Savior. It's apparent pretty much from birth...how anyone can say that we're all "basically good" is beyond me. Maybe they need to meet my 9 month old!
What amazes me about these 3 "babies" is that they're really nothing special. In fact, Puppet is one of the cheapest, junkiest stuffed bears that was acquired at some holiday when you can buy those Walmart trinkety stuffed things for like $1 a piece, but for some reason, Luke adopted him/her as his own a while ago (it's pink too!) and he just LOVES it. I don't remember where Hedgehog came from, but he used to be our cat's favorite toy and then he got lost and then found years later and now is GREATLY loved (and one of the world's best hiders, too--always hiding somewhere weird!) and Puddles was given to Savannah for her 2nd birthday by a neighbor of my parents' and was loved mostly because she has a sweet smell to her that still hasn't entirely rubbed off, even after fifteen thousand washes in the washing machine. So, why in the WORLD am I writing about these guys, you ask? And what in the world does this have to do with sin? Well, you see, even though these guys aren't anything to write home about, and even though our home is TEEMING with wonderful toys, there is a very special lure about these 3 "babies". These guys are SPECIAL. Not only to Savannah and Luke, but to AARON! Aaron realizes, at his tender young age, the lure of the forbidden. Out of all of the toys, all of the stuffed critters in this house, NOTHING has the draw of one of these three things.
Today, I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready and I had to leave him on the floor and thought that when I put him down he was going to get fussy. To my surprise, he disappeared and became very quiet. Of course, anyone who has EVER had a child knows what that means: (yeah, sit back with a nice, cool drink and enjoy the silence, right?? WRONG) CHECK IT OUT IMMEDIATELY!!! At first I thought he might be trying to climb the stairs for the 15th time of the day, but no, there he was...next to the step stool that housed (EUREKA!!) both Puppet AND Hedgehog!!! Ohhhhhh man, SCORE!!! He immediately put Hedgehog in his mouth and reached for Puppet. Now, let me just say, NOTHING irritates Luke more than a wet Hedgehog, and right now, Aaron is not only wet...but boogery, this was NOT going to fly. I had to pull them both away and distract him with a different, less adequate toy.
It just boggles my mind that at 9 months old (and even younger, for that matter) a child can recognize things that are forbidden and desire those above all else. Thankfully the things they desire at that age are generally harmless, but the principle is no different...we are sinners, we desire that which we can and should not have...and we need a Savior. It's apparent pretty much from birth...how anyone can say that we're all "basically good" is beyond me. Maybe they need to meet my 9 month old!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Teething?
Aaron woke up yesterday, after a very, very lousy nights sleep, a complete wreck.
He had a slight temperature, his nose was running (clear stuff) and he was drooling like crazy. He was so fussy and so tired and so miserable, exactly NOT what I wanted to see on the morning we were having company for Luke's birthday party. He didn't seem sick, his temp went down to normal with a small dose of Tylenol and eventually, after a REALLY good nap, he was a bit more congenial. The party ended up being a good time and everything was great.
I've always been one to assume that my babies are teething for lack of any other reason for their absolute grumpiness (other than the simple fact of just being a baby which, apparently, is as good of an excuse as any for being a grump when you're a baby), but ALL of my babies have been quite old when they got their first tooth.
If I were a really good mom, I'd know exactly WHERE my children's baby books were (hey, if I were a really, REALLY good mom, all of my children would actually HAVE baby books), and I'd be able to tell you the exact age all of them got their first tooth...but being that I'm just a human, struggling mommy who lacks organization above nearly all else, I can only speculate...but from what I remember (which doesn't mean a whole lot these days as my children have sucked every ounce of brain power out of me), they were all somewhere between 10 and 12 months old when they got their first tooth. Aaron is only 9 months, so it seems rather young, but so far he's done EVERYTHING (other than sleep thru the night) earlier than his siblings.
I was thinking, the only sure sign of teething he doesn't have (other than actual TEETH) is the frequent, runny, stingy poops. Well, this afternoon that changed...so I wouldn't be at all surprised if I saw a tooth very soon...at least I really, really hope that is what's causing his issues...his sleep has not been great and I really need sleep. I mean REALLY need sleep.
So for those of you who read this, please pray. Please pray that Aaron's sleep habits would change significantly for the better. Pray that he might start sleeping more independently and peacefully and LONGER. Last night (after Tylenol and teething tablets) he slept from 8ish until 6:20am...I think that was his best night--EVER. He went back to sleep until 8ish too, what a blessing. However, that was after 2 really, really horrendous nights. I could use a good 8-5 sleep on a regular basis. I really do not have qualms with the early morning waking (if he goes back to sleep), but it's the constant wakings that really get to me...as if getting up to pee every 20 minutes isn't enough to deprive me of my much needed rest!!
He had a slight temperature, his nose was running (clear stuff) and he was drooling like crazy. He was so fussy and so tired and so miserable, exactly NOT what I wanted to see on the morning we were having company for Luke's birthday party. He didn't seem sick, his temp went down to normal with a small dose of Tylenol and eventually, after a REALLY good nap, he was a bit more congenial. The party ended up being a good time and everything was great.
I've always been one to assume that my babies are teething for lack of any other reason for their absolute grumpiness (other than the simple fact of just being a baby which, apparently, is as good of an excuse as any for being a grump when you're a baby), but ALL of my babies have been quite old when they got their first tooth.
If I were a really good mom, I'd know exactly WHERE my children's baby books were (hey, if I were a really, REALLY good mom, all of my children would actually HAVE baby books), and I'd be able to tell you the exact age all of them got their first tooth...but being that I'm just a human, struggling mommy who lacks organization above nearly all else, I can only speculate...but from what I remember (which doesn't mean a whole lot these days as my children have sucked every ounce of brain power out of me), they were all somewhere between 10 and 12 months old when they got their first tooth. Aaron is only 9 months, so it seems rather young, but so far he's done EVERYTHING (other than sleep thru the night) earlier than his siblings.
I was thinking, the only sure sign of teething he doesn't have (other than actual TEETH) is the frequent, runny, stingy poops. Well, this afternoon that changed...so I wouldn't be at all surprised if I saw a tooth very soon...at least I really, really hope that is what's causing his issues...his sleep has not been great and I really need sleep. I mean REALLY need sleep.
So for those of you who read this, please pray. Please pray that Aaron's sleep habits would change significantly for the better. Pray that he might start sleeping more independently and peacefully and LONGER. Last night (after Tylenol and teething tablets) he slept from 8ish until 6:20am...I think that was his best night--EVER. He went back to sleep until 8ish too, what a blessing. However, that was after 2 really, really horrendous nights. I could use a good 8-5 sleep on a regular basis. I really do not have qualms with the early morning waking (if he goes back to sleep), but it's the constant wakings that really get to me...as if getting up to pee every 20 minutes isn't enough to deprive me of my much needed rest!!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
A note for myself.
Luke at dinner tonight: "Eeewww, I'm not eating that, that's BE-SKUSKING"! Oh man, I know it'd be a horrible thing if he DIDN'T outgrow that adorable way of talking, but I'm not looking forward to the day when he does...I love little child words!
By the way, telling him, "No, it's BE-LICIOUS" didn't help a bit--but feeding him did. *insert MAJOR eye roll here*
By the way, telling him, "No, it's BE-LICIOUS" didn't help a bit--but feeding him did. *insert MAJOR eye roll here*
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