So I've started calling my daughter Double J because her two middle names start with J. So I'll probably just refer to her as that or Double from now on... :-)
So she's getting enormous--a full blown toddler. She only will eat what she can pick up with her hands with VERY few exceptions. She's a little picky, but for the most part, if she can pick it up, she will eat it.
She's learned some sign language and is using words more (yay!). She can say Mama, Dada, and Mow for the cat (like meow hehe).
She's walking so stablely and getting into everything! To the point where we've had to implement timeouts. It's not the easiest, but it has been working. She also hates her diaper changes, which I guess is common at that age.
I've been sick with pnuemonia for over 3 weeks now. I'm (hopefully) mostly recovered at this point and back to work, but still coughing and questionable at times. I've barely moved and certainly not exercised in that entire time. But I don't want to push myself because this sucks. It's unexplainable how tired and unwell I feel even if I look and seem ok. ugh! No fun! Finished Round 2 of antibiotics yesterday.
And... we are moving into our new house on Saturday!!! My in-laws are flying in to help us pack and babysit and unpack and clean and everything and it's going to suck so much less than usual! Hooray!! The movers come Saturday and I'm hoping my inlaws are ok with packing everything in the house because I will be at work and someone will have to take care of Double while the rest packs... We haven't so much as put one thing into a box yet, so hopefully they will get it all done in just 2 days! Ack! Not looking forward to the stress, but thankful they will be helping us!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Thoughts about my fears during pregnancy...
Beyond the normal fears of worrying that the baby might not be okay physically, one of my greatest fears about having a child was that I would not know when she was sick, when to take her to the doctor, when to feed her, what to feed her, how to feed her, etc. I was concerned that I would do things like ignore her symptoms when she was sick and then she'd be suffering and I would just let her without taking her to the doctor until things were really bad.
Or I was concerned that she'd be hungry for solid food when she got older and I'd forget to feed her. Or that I would forget to change her or put her in new clothes and she'd be in gross dirty ones for days. I was concerned I wouldn't remember to bathe her and the list goes on. So I read every parenting book I could and took classes to learn how to care for a baby because I felt completely unprepared for actually caring for another human being.
The classes and books definitely helped me be prepared, but, as it turns out, it wasn't quite as difficult to remember to do all these things as I thought. For one thing, I am a creature of habit who thrives on routine. Once we worked out a routine for bath, bed time, changing clothes and diapers, food, etc. it became easier to remember to do things. Also, having a routine and structure helped me to know what my baby needed. I could deduct since she hadn't eaten in awhile that she was probably hungry when she cried. If she cried at a strange time I could assume she might be sick.
It turns out that mothering and remembering to care for your child is quite instinctual. It's the first thing I think about more often than not. As the routines have changed over time - more time between feedings, switching over to solid food instead of milk - it did take some time to get used to the new routine. For example, when we started to switch her to eating more solid foods we had to really experiment with when, how much, and what to feed her. Now, though, we have a breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner routine. But it took a month or so to get into it (and to remember to do it!).
I'm glad to know that my fears were mostly unfounded. It's pretty easy to tell when your child is sick. It's obvious when she gets red spots all over her body that weren't there before or when she feels warmer than usual or has a cold and snot is pouring out of her nose. And the advice nurses are so helpful at helping you know what to do in those situations--whether you need to bring her in, what to watch for. So you don't have to know everything. We still have a routine and I still read about parenting, but now it's more specific to what we are experience in this new stage of her life and I feel so much more confident that I know what she needs, since now I know my child pretty well and what she is most likely crying about.
Or I was concerned that she'd be hungry for solid food when she got older and I'd forget to feed her. Or that I would forget to change her or put her in new clothes and she'd be in gross dirty ones for days. I was concerned I wouldn't remember to bathe her and the list goes on. So I read every parenting book I could and took classes to learn how to care for a baby because I felt completely unprepared for actually caring for another human being.
The classes and books definitely helped me be prepared, but, as it turns out, it wasn't quite as difficult to remember to do all these things as I thought. For one thing, I am a creature of habit who thrives on routine. Once we worked out a routine for bath, bed time, changing clothes and diapers, food, etc. it became easier to remember to do things. Also, having a routine and structure helped me to know what my baby needed. I could deduct since she hadn't eaten in awhile that she was probably hungry when she cried. If she cried at a strange time I could assume she might be sick.
It turns out that mothering and remembering to care for your child is quite instinctual. It's the first thing I think about more often than not. As the routines have changed over time - more time between feedings, switching over to solid food instead of milk - it did take some time to get used to the new routine. For example, when we started to switch her to eating more solid foods we had to really experiment with when, how much, and what to feed her. Now, though, we have a breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner routine. But it took a month or so to get into it (and to remember to do it!).
I'm glad to know that my fears were mostly unfounded. It's pretty easy to tell when your child is sick. It's obvious when she gets red spots all over her body that weren't there before or when she feels warmer than usual or has a cold and snot is pouring out of her nose. And the advice nurses are so helpful at helping you know what to do in those situations--whether you need to bring her in, what to watch for. So you don't have to know everything. We still have a routine and I still read about parenting, but now it's more specific to what we are experience in this new stage of her life and I feel so much more confident that I know what she needs, since now I know my child pretty well and what she is most likely crying about.
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