22 months

Ok for the sake of publishing this I am going to be lax on pictures- sorry about that. I will try to catch up on the weekly pictures even though I'm really behind and there are some weeks we just don't have many pictures.

Neil is now 22 months old. It's hard to believe how quickly time passes.

We are dealing with full on temper tantrums at this point. We still alternate between ignoring, trying to get on his level and ask him what's wrong (telling him we can't understand when he's crying), and giving him a hug to see if it helps. I'm not sure if it's bad to use different techniques based on different situations. Honestly, a lot of how I am personally handling it is how patient I am feeling at the moment. And my patient can be pretty thin at times.

I'm not sure if it's the fact that I'm pregnant, or the holidays, or maybe even the fact that I don't have him eating as well (or it could always be the age of course) but Neil has stepped up wanting me and only me. Not all of the time but wow when he only wants me, cue the temper tantrum. I am still carrying him but there have been times I have put him down and let him scream. He will need to learn how to share me somehow. Oh these terrible twos. And yes I've heard three is worse.

Neil really wants to help us, including me cooking, which is nice but not helpful at all. He is getting an independent streak and wants to do things by himself and for himself, or help us out.

Neil still loves music and sings along to everything. I swear he knows lyrics better than I do! And he sings entire songs where sometimes it's not until halfway or most of the way through the song that we finally realize what he's singing. He seems to sing somewhat in tune, which makes me happy! Neil also likes to count. He doesn't get the concept of stopping (Neil, how many dogs are there- if there are three, he counts to three pointing at each one and then just keeps going pointing in a repeat again). He still skips 5 all the time though.

He also counts in Spanish, thanks to daycare. They apparently do count in Spanish. As far as I can tell he knows the first ten numbers but not always the order. He skips around there more than he does in English.

Neil is obsessed with puzzles and we have one meant for kids ages 4 and up. We let him play with the pieces and my mom and I have both been trying to show him how to put it together, knowing it's too early for that. Now he flips them all so you can see the color side and there are two pieces that he actually pulls out and puts together himself. I was surprised at that.

I'm nervous about colors but I think I'm too used to Neil picking things up quickly. I think his favorite color is green but if you ask him to get green he picks random colors. He doesn't associate the name of a color with an item of that color. I should see if he can group things together being the same.

I think Neil is going to be an engineer or something like that. He is very precise. He loves to put blankets on the floor or on stuffed animals and needs them "just so". He is meticulous about stretching them out, making them even, etc. And when he plays with megablocks he tends to line them up and match them to the extent that he can (in even lines etc).

Neil is getting more active- jumping up and down and spinning around in circles. It makes me tired just watching it haha. He also closing the doors of rooms but for the most part can't open them. So if we hear a door close we go see if he got "stuck" in that room. And we try to leave doors open; the way the heat is in our house, if you close a door then the heat doesn't circulate in there. Neil doesn't seem to care about that even though I've tried to explain it to him. He also has mastered steps although he either holds onto the bannister or slides on his butt. Either way though he's not insisting on holding our hands as long as he's inside on carpet.

We haven't gotten to the wanting to be naked phase but Neil in general is fascinated with zipping and unzipping everything, including his pajamas. We thought maybe he was saying he needed a diaper change, but nope, he just gets a satsified smile when he zips and unzips. Crazy kid! He also unzips his backpack and puts thing in it to carry around. Speaking of that, he is getting to the point that he loves putting things in and out of other things, like the pumpkin we let him carry to collect candy when we went trick or treating. Now if we're missing something we have to look in anything he can reach.

Neil loves magnets on the refrigerator and we (oops finally) used up the last of his gift certificates from his 1st birthday on a little alphabet magnet thing for the refrigerator. You can put a letter in the actual device and it says the letter along with the sound it makes. Neil seems to like the letter "D" best so far. We have no idea why.

Oh and I'm blaming Dave but Neil has taken to calling me "Jen" instead of "Mommy". It caught me off guard at first and I ask him what he calls me and he will go back to Mommy. It's cute but kinda weird at the same time.

Neil seems to have manners although he doesn't understand. Please can be hard to get out of him without some prompting but he says thank you fairly regularly and if he realizes he hurt one of us he is quick to say that he's sorry. I'm not sure he really knows what it means though because it doesn't teach him to be more gentle or stop...

Finally, Neil has both pooped AND peed on the potty chair/toilet!!! He peed one day after I peed myself. He asked to go potty and I said sure figuring yeah right. I wasn't paying attention and he sprayed all over. Doh. Then he actually started to poop in the bathtub one day so Dave caught him and put him on the potty chair and he finished pooping on the toilet. I'm not sure we can call that a success. And these are the only times he's done it but finally he's done it for us, not just daycare. I'm wondering if we need a better seat though so he doesn't spray. We still aren't pushing this but when he asks for the potty we put him on as fast as we can.

Stats:
Clothing - I only put away the light 18 month pajamas. It's been cooler so he's been in heavier 18 months pajamas. I think by next month I will move him to 2T in pajamas though. Everything else is 18 months. Pants are still falling down but he could and does wear some 2T shirts. When I get enough time to go through clothes again and find the 2T box, I might just get out all the 2T shirts we have and put away the 18 month ones. Some of them seem short even though they fit.

Diapers – size 4 
Shoes - size 5.5. His boots are 6 but he hasn't worn them yet.

Weight - 26.5 pounds

Height -  34 inches (If that's right he's grown 2.5 inches in a month. I either screwed up last month or this month... I did double check this month and had my mom look so I think 34 is correct.)

20 weeks

Alright I have been lax on my blog so it's time to catch up so these will start posting live.

We had our anatomy scan at 19 weeks, 3 days. Everything looks great and we got a nice video of the baby. We didn't get as many pictures as we did with Neil and I have to admit I'm disappointed about that. It all depends on the technician taking the pictures and I guess this one just didn't print any out. She even got some good views of the baby looking at us but nope, not printed out. I guess pictures are a bonus so I should just remember that.

I asked about the position of the placenta because I've been feeling movement a lot more (and earlier) and the doppler has seemed louder when I've used it... It turns out I do have an anterior placenta but it's to one side. That might actually explain early on that I was able to easily find the heartbeat and then couldn't for about a week after that. Where I found it was the side the placenta is not on, so maybe after that the baby moved and it was harder to find that early on.

How many weeks: 20 (11/4/14)

Size of baby: A banana and measures 18 cm or 7 inches.  The baby also weighs 300-350 grams or 10.5-12.3 ounces. A banana is an interesting fruit choice- not as round as the rest of the fruits/vegetables have been so far.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I gained 2 pounds in the last week. The last two weeks I've gained quite a bit, which is consistent with last time, but also not something I should be maintaining (gaining at this rate). I'm not going to to do anything to try to change things, though, because it's taken me half the pregnancy to get back to my starting weight anyways. So I still have 25-35 pounds to go in 20ish weeks (about 1-2 pounds a week on average).

Maternity Clothes: I went through my clothes this past week and put away my tighter work clothes. Mostly I wanted to get out the work pants I bought for after maternity leave with Neil when I realized I wasn't back to my pre-pregnancy waist/butt size. I will be wearing these until I move to actual maternity clothes. I can definitely feel myself getting bigger now, although reactions from others is mixed. I still mostly get "What?! You're pregnant? You're not showing at all" but have gotten a few people saying they can see a bulge in my stomach area.

Gender: Boy

Movement: This baby is moving around like crazy. Maybe it's partly to do with the fact that I've been munching on candy but I swear in general he moves a lot more than Neil used to. At the ultrasound he didn't stop moving.

Sleep: I am always tired anymore. I love naps. Too bad I can't take them at work. ;)

What I miss: Beer?

Cravings: Nothing.

Aversions: Nothing.

Symptoms: The 2nd trimester is definitely the best one. I'm not super big yet, but feel my stomach growing. I still get light headed easily but I just have to pause when I stand up quickly. I'm tired, but if I go to sleep early usually I can deal with that as well. My gums haven't been bleeding quite as much although I know they're more sore than usual. I feel kind of achy in general but I'm also getting old. Haha.

Best moment this week: Our ultrasound appointment. I will never get over how amazing it is to see the baby that is actually inside of me, growing! It's surreal and unbelievable.

Looking forward to: We're getting closer to holidays and I always like this time of year (other than it being cold). With that said, though, it has been cooling down and the first snowfall is always pretty. No I'm not REALLY looking forward to snow yet but I know it's coming.

Same this time: We took a vacation around the same time in the pregnancy without even planning that out. This trip was planned before I was pregnant. I can't remember if our trip last time was planned before I was pregnant or not... It's really nice in the middle of this to get away, relax, and just sleep. I came back so refreshed. This kind of overlaps with last week this pregnancy but I'm going with it.

Different from last time: I still forget I'm pregnant although now feeling the baby move and my growing stomach is making that harder. Looking at pictures (and I had some of me in a bikini that I never shared) I think I was actually slightly bigger last time than I am this time. I thought the 2nd time you're supposed to get bigger faster, not the opposite? What has everyone else's experience been?

Announcement outtakes

I found a neat idea to announce our pregnancy online and posted here. It took awhile to get the picture right and I figured I would share some funny outtakes of me trying to get the shot we finally came up with.

The first time I tried this the wording on my sign was too small (other than "Eviction notice"). I got some great pictures but I decided I needed a different sign.

Then I had a hard time getting Neil crying. The first time he had been throwing a temper tantrum so I just moved him to the crib. The times he was crying after that were because he wanted me, so when I would pick him up and put him in the crib he stopped because he was getting my attention. (Yes Dave jokingly told me this was child abuse although I wasn't ignoring him to make him upset, I was just doing things like making dinner and couldn't pick him up while doing that.) And it was so bad he actually was smiling in the pictures. I tried to tell him to look upset but he didn't listen haha. This did show me though that my new sign was going to work better.

One of the pictures I decided not to use for the actual announcement. Poor kid was crying pretty hard. I did hug him after and tell him I love him.

Air travel with a toddler

We have traveled two other times on a plane with Neil and each time I've been nervous but have found it hasn't been quite as bad as I was anticipating. This time I was even more nervous- at least the other two times Neil wasn't walking and was content to sit in our arms during the flights, for the most part. Now he is not only walking but running, and seems to want his own seat. We have a hard time sitting still when we go to Pirates or Penguins games and don't get to see much of the game.

We loaded up with toys- taking advice to bring new things for Neil to do. I even made a last minute trip to Target to buy some things. This turned out to be way more than we needed to do. I do get that Neil is a pretty laid back kid and we're lucky so we'll see how things go with the next kid.

We let Neil have one stuffed animal and his blanket. That might have been a bad idea, because the blanket was just dragged all over the place. And he kept setting both down in random places so they are probably both really dirty right now.

Both flights on the way out we just kept him busy with books, an empty cup, and he dozed off briefly.

On the way back, we had a little bit of time in the Savannah airport, so we let him run around. It wasn't crowded at all and I could follow him and let him go wherever he wanted to. I figured it was good to let him get as much energy out as possible.

He loved the big rocking chairs, and we had some muffins at Starbucks.

There was another kid a little younger than Neil and Neil was fascinated with him.

On the first flight we let Neil watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We were trying to keep him awake because it was before naptime and I was hoping he would take his nap on the 2nd flight.

We stopped in Charlotte and Neil was literally falling asleep in my arms. I tried carrying him on my shoulders but he was even falling asleep there so I finally let it happen (put him in the stroller and pushed him through the airport). Thank goodness he stayed asleep most of the flight, waking up towards the end of it. This was the most peaceful flight for us.

He was tired of traveling by the time we got back to the airport and didn't want to drive home in the car. He whined most of the way in the car and the only way I could get him to stop was to hold his hand. He kept his turtle with him most of the trip as well.

This was probably the last trip we will be able to take him as a lap child (have to be under 2) and I think it's about the right time anyways. I think he would be a lot happier in his own seat at this point although I still think at times he liked being held as well. I'm hoping this was the worst stage for travel because as he gets older he'll be able to communicate and understand more but I am a first time mom with him so maybe I'm dreaming haha.

Tybee Island - beach

Neil's first time at the beach/ocean was a little over a year ago, also at Tybee Island. I posted pictures here.

We of course had to go to the beach again on this trip. I was wondering how Neil would handle it. He loves taking a bath but hates getting his face wet and he was pretty tentative a year ago.

We went first without bathing suits to the pier near the Tybee Marine Science Center (after visiting the museum). Neil was somewhat tentative but ended up having fun piling sand on his feet, thanks to encouragement from his aunt.

Can you see them in this picture?

After Neil took a nap in the motel, we headed to North Beach (still Tybee Island) to spend more time in the sand and took bathing suits to get in the water. Neil did NOT like the waves or the water at all and wouldn't even walk on his own near the waves. He did not want to get wet. I did get my feet wet and although it was unseasonably warm when we were there, the water was a bit cold. I think if I had gotten in, I would have quickly gotten used to it and been fine but I bet there is no way Neil would have gotten in with how cold it was. Aren't kids supposed to be oblivious to cold water?

Collecting sea shells

When we first went to this beach, Neil was very unhappy about removing his shoes, as in screaming unhappy as I forced his shoes off. But then he started walking around with us and getting used to the sand. By the end he sat in a hole my sister had dug, had sand everywhere, and refused to put his shoes back on.

Hopefully by the time we get some beach time again, he'll be more adventurous and maybe even walk into the waves a little bit. But I was hoping that for this year so who knows.

19 weeks

This week was mostly a vacation week- we went to visit my sister in Savannah and stayed on Tybee Island. It was great to get away but I am learning that vacationing with a toddler is NOT relaxing by any means. He loved his aunt though and we had a really good time. Flying also wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'll make separate posts with pictures from our trip (yes, posts plural, we took a LOT of pictures).

How many weeks: 19 (10/28/14)

Size of baby: A mango and measures 16 cm or 6.3 inches.  The baby also weighs 300 grams or 10.5 ounces. Growth isn't quite as fast and it seems to be more in weight than length right now. I read somewhere that the baby's development was devoted to its organs and so far the baby is REALLY skinny so now fat is starting to develop. That makes sense with the numbers. (I left the extra text from my post when I was pregnant with Neil because it's interesting.)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Down 2 pounds overall. I am up 1.5 pounds since last week. Usually vacation is a big weight gain for me so I'm surprised it's not more. And I'm surprised I'm not back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Maternity Clothes: I am starting to look like I've gained weight but it's not an obvious bump. Not in maternity clothes yet but I have two pairs of work pants from returning to work after maternity leave last time. I still couldn't fit in my pre-pregnancy pants by the end of maternity leave so I bought 2 pairs to make do. I think I will be pulling them out again when I get a chance.

Gender: Boy

Movement: I didn't feel it as much this past week but we were also busy. I felt it a little bit at night in bed but previously I had felt it randomly at work and during the day. I think we were just too absorbed so I didn't notice.

Sleep: I am tired but I got a LOT of sleep while on vacation. This is the advantage of having a toddler on vacation who is in bed most nights by 8pm. We did get a suite in our motel but the way it was laid out, once he was in the pack 'n play, we were stuck in our room and couldn't watch television with the sound on or it would disturb him. So (old lady alert) I fell asleep most nights by 8:30pm, slept until 6 or 7am, and it was HEAVENLY. It was so refreshing. And makes me wonder if I'm crazy for getting up for work as early as I do.

What I miss: Not really anything. I had a non-alcoholic beer on vacation (forget the name offhand, but one I hadn't had before and it was still eh).

Cravings: Not really anything. I haven't been craving anything this pregnancy.

Aversions: Nothing. I'm not really hungry in general either, other than in the middle of the night.

Symptoms: I'm getting lightheaded extremely easily. My stomach is getting bigger so that I can tell. I'm tired.

Best moment this week: Our trip to Savannah/Tybee Island (even though that's more than a moment). If I had to pick a moment, I would say watching Neil play in the sand on the beach with his bucket and shovel. He loved it.

Looking forward to: Our anatomy scan (ultrasound) in 2 days. I can't wait to see this baby!

Same this time: I'm feeling the baby move and excited about the upcoming ultrasound. Last time I got it at 19 weeks 1 day and this time I'm getting it at 19 weeks 3 days. I love, love, love seeing the baby.

Different from last time: I still forget that I'm pregnant pretty frequently. I think this will happen less and less as my belly grows though. And weight, by now I was back up to pre-pregnancy although I'm so close (2 pounds below) that maybe this isn't really a difference.

Also, pictures. I forget to take them. I was going to have Dave take one this time but since I'm not posting these live yet it will probably be a picture from a day or two later in the work bathroom again. Haha. (Update, picture added to the top but I left what I originally wrote in.)

Tybee Island

We spent most of our time on Tybee Island, where our motel was. We got a suite, which was nice, but the layout was a bit weird and we were still stuck when Neil was napping or sleeping. During naps we put him in our room and couldn't use the bathroom because we'd have to go through where he was to get to the bathroom. At night, once Neil went to sleep we were stuck in our room and the bathroom and couldn't really watch television unless the sound was off. I think a suite is the way to go but I said to Dave next time we should really consider renting a house, especially if we go in the off season again.

We went to the Tybee Lighthouse and museum. We had to carry Neil up the stairs but once we got to the top (with a lot of stop breaks) he showed that he does not recognize why heights can be scary, as he literally ran around the top of the lighthouse and shoved his feet in between the bars of the fence. Way to give Mommy a heart attack.

Battery Garland of Fort Screven, where the museum is located

We bought Neil some sand toys knowing we would on the beach and he loved playing with them even in the motel room.

There was a park that was between a quarter mile and half a mile away, that we went to several times. Neil especially loved to swing, which is no surprise.

One of my personal favorite places on Tybee Island is Huc A Poos. It's really a bar but they have pizza, seating outside, lots of tvs to watch sports, etc. We went to Huc A Poos to grab pizza and watch the Steelers game.

The restaurant my sister used to (and kind of I guess, still, although she got another job) work at is called Coco's and has a monkey called Coco. There is a travel version of Coco that people sign out and take pictures with. My sister signed him out to get pictures of Neil and traveling Coco together. She can then enter a picture into a contest and win points towards a football contest for gift cards, etc. at the restaurant. This is really good marketing for this restaurant, especially in the off season in a beach community.

We rented a few bikes and trailer for a day or so and Neil loved riding around in them. I thought he might fall asleep at some point but he never did. I have more pictures scattered through posts- weekly posts, etc.

We also visited the Tybee Marine Science Center, which is an aquarium that specializes in turtles. It's fairly small but cheap and Neil really liked it. We also walked away with a stuff animal turtle thanks to his aunt.

I took Neil on a bike ride and ended up riding by A-J's Dockside Restaurant at one point. My sister used to work there and I had never seen it before. They had some pretty neat Halloween decorations outside, so I mentioned it to my sister and this is where we we ended up eating dinner the last night we were on Tybee Island. Neil loved the Halloween decorations even though some were actually pretty creepy, and we saw a beautiful sunset our last night there.

We also went to the beach of course but that will be a separate post.