Thursday, January 20, 2011
the sickies
Just cannot win with this pregnancy and health. At 18 weeks I caught a nasty stomach flu bug and now at 25 weeks I am battling a terrible head cold. Seems like I caught it from E4 as he came down with it on Sunday and I woke up Tuesday with congestion. We are both coughing and blowing snot out of our noses. This is day three of not leaving the house. Ugh.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
school days
It has been a monumental, busy week for E4. He started baseball on Monday and then "school" on Tuesday! He was very tentative at baseball, and would have preferred to just watch the three year olds bat or run around exploring the huge fieldhouse, but he did a fairly decent job at moving from drill to drill and following the coach's directions with assistance from Mom. On Tuesday he went to his school, Creme de la Creme, from 8:30 - 11:30; today, Thursday, I picked him up at noon. He will go there 2 days a week from 8:30 - 12:30. It is a day care/pre-school that operates on an intense, rotational curriculum. This means that he changes classrooms and activities every half hour. For the next few months his schedule is as follows:
8:30 -9 Creative Movement (everything from parachute to yoga to dance; they wrote on his summary sheet "Eddie is really good at throwing a ball and catching.")
9 - 9:30 Computer Lab (today they worked on the letter "o" and they said he repeated the word "ox!")
9:30 - 10 Snack and Free Play
10- 10:30 Outside Playground
10:30 -11 Music/Drama (today they wrote "Eddie enjoyed playing with musical instruments.")
11- 11:30 Gym
11:30 - 12 Lunch/Math Concepts (they were impressed that he ate all of his cucumber and tomato salad and asked for more!)
His teachers are Ms. Jamie and Ms. Courtney, young and energetic women, plus he sees special instructors for classes like Creative Movement and Music. There is a tremendous amount of staff there. Every day I get a written report of what he learned/did, ate and if he had a diaper change or tried to use the potty. Today they also wrote on the sheet "Eddie is a great helper!"
On his first day I stayed in his first class for about 15 minutes and then snuck out and he didn't even notice. Today I tried to do the same and he saw me leaving and ran over to the door and started to cry, so I stayed for another 5 minutes and then snuck out and he did fine. The teachers said he has been doing really well. Today when I went to pick him up he ran over to me right away but then he didn't want to leave. He showed me the bathroom and how he washed his hands, then he proceeded to climb on the cots they were getting ready for the other kids' naps and even laid down on one for a bit and then I told him I was going to leave but he could stay if he wanted, and of course he joined me at the door. He likes drinking from the water fountain/bubbler. And he loves the pond in the lobby with all the fish; has to say goodbye to the fish every day. Then as we leave we pass the TV monitors in the lobby (this is a cool feature for parents to observe their children) and he points out all the rooms with the "babies." As we drove home today, he fell asleep. Busy days for my growing boy!
As for me, the separation has been way easier than most, including myself, would have anticipated. I find myself driving away smiling, knowing that he is adjusting well and seems excited to go there each morning. The time goes quickly and I find I cannot get all the things done I would have hoped. Today I went home and got to take a long shower and meet a friend for coffee. It is a nice break, but in general, I prefer being a full-time mom and it makes me feel like a fish out of water to be with out him and have time to myself. I feel like he is in good hands, although I do worry about illnesses on the horizon; I swear every kid in there either has a cough or some secretions coming from nose or eyes. There are about 10 or so kids in his class, although the number seems to vary since some kids are there all week and of course there are always kids out sick. A little girl named Cora seems to like him...let's hope she doesn't have the cooties.
8:30 -9 Creative Movement (everything from parachute to yoga to dance; they wrote on his summary sheet "Eddie is really good at throwing a ball and catching.")
9 - 9:30 Computer Lab (today they worked on the letter "o" and they said he repeated the word "ox!")
9:30 - 10 Snack and Free Play
10- 10:30 Outside Playground
10:30 -11 Music/Drama (today they wrote "Eddie enjoyed playing with musical instruments.")
11- 11:30 Gym
11:30 - 12 Lunch/Math Concepts (they were impressed that he ate all of his cucumber and tomato salad and asked for more!)
His teachers are Ms. Jamie and Ms. Courtney, young and energetic women, plus he sees special instructors for classes like Creative Movement and Music. There is a tremendous amount of staff there. Every day I get a written report of what he learned/did, ate and if he had a diaper change or tried to use the potty. Today they also wrote on the sheet "Eddie is a great helper!"
On his first day I stayed in his first class for about 15 minutes and then snuck out and he didn't even notice. Today I tried to do the same and he saw me leaving and ran over to the door and started to cry, so I stayed for another 5 minutes and then snuck out and he did fine. The teachers said he has been doing really well. Today when I went to pick him up he ran over to me right away but then he didn't want to leave. He showed me the bathroom and how he washed his hands, then he proceeded to climb on the cots they were getting ready for the other kids' naps and even laid down on one for a bit and then I told him I was going to leave but he could stay if he wanted, and of course he joined me at the door. He likes drinking from the water fountain/bubbler. And he loves the pond in the lobby with all the fish; has to say goodbye to the fish every day. Then as we leave we pass the TV monitors in the lobby (this is a cool feature for parents to observe their children) and he points out all the rooms with the "babies." As we drove home today, he fell asleep. Busy days for my growing boy!
As for me, the separation has been way easier than most, including myself, would have anticipated. I find myself driving away smiling, knowing that he is adjusting well and seems excited to go there each morning. The time goes quickly and I find I cannot get all the things done I would have hoped. Today I went home and got to take a long shower and meet a friend for coffee. It is a nice break, but in general, I prefer being a full-time mom and it makes me feel like a fish out of water to be with out him and have time to myself. I feel like he is in good hands, although I do worry about illnesses on the horizon; I swear every kid in there either has a cough or some secretions coming from nose or eyes. There are about 10 or so kids in his class, although the number seems to vary since some kids are there all week and of course there are always kids out sick. A little girl named Cora seems to like him...let's hope she doesn't have the cooties.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Baby A and Baby B: 24 weeks
Things are just happening too fast now...there doesn't seem to be time to blog about everything going on in our lives and I know it is only going to get crazier. I will try to blog about both E4 and the babies, mostly as separate posts. A friend of mine asked if I was keeping a journal throughout my pregnancy like I did for Eddie, and I felt bad because the answer is of course, no.
So, here is a start: the babies are 24 weeks now and weigh 1 lb. 6 oz and 1 lb. 8 oz, for Baby A and Baby B respectively. I was very excited by this news yesterday because it is quite common for monozygotic twins (identical) to vary in size and if the discordance is drastic enough then they might induce labor prematurely; up until this point Baby B has been remarkably larger and so to see that Baby A is catching up is a good sign. Baby A is by far more active; I feel movement on the right side of my womb throughout the day, all day. But during yesterday's ultrasound Baby B's feet were actually on the right side of my body, so maybe I have been mistaking Baby A's movement for Baby B's kicks! Baby A is head down...let's hope she/he stays that way and I can attempt a vaginal birth...the reality of a c-section is starting to sink in as I mentally prepare for a very different labor experience than I had with Eddie. This is ultimately what led me to selfishly decide that we were not going to find out the sex of the twins; if I end up having a scheduled c-section and we knew what we were having, then it would feel like just a surgery to me. But by not knowing, then no matter what, it will feel like a birth. I am still not feeling great. I still have a strong gag reflex and will dry heave in the morning or really any time that I get hungry and do not eat. Still eating for four (yes, E4 is still nursing, but thankfully weaning). And our Whole Foods bills are reflecting this surge in appetite. The worst part about the throwing up/dry heaving is that it also makes me pee simultaneously, which means having to change my clothes. (I had to add this gross detail because I know some day I will laugh at it!) The heartburn isn't as bad as it was with Eddie, but it is there. The other differences in this pregnancy are the extreme hunger (of course), constipation and more of a sexual interest. There are things I am eating this time around that I couldn't go near last time and vice versa: this pregnancy I am eating a ton of red meat (last time abhorred it); cannot eat or see chicken; nuts and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are in this time around and last time I avoided them; and I don't seem to have a problem with mayonnaise this time around either. Had to buy a new winter coat today because I was getting sick of stuffing myself into my other one. Also made my doctor's appointment for my 32 week visit (march 7), which sounds oh so close in terms of potential delivery and also the date itself...scary. We are not ready yet, you hear that Baby A and Baby B? Stay in there as long as possible!
So, here is a start: the babies are 24 weeks now and weigh 1 lb. 6 oz and 1 lb. 8 oz, for Baby A and Baby B respectively. I was very excited by this news yesterday because it is quite common for monozygotic twins (identical) to vary in size and if the discordance is drastic enough then they might induce labor prematurely; up until this point Baby B has been remarkably larger and so to see that Baby A is catching up is a good sign. Baby A is by far more active; I feel movement on the right side of my womb throughout the day, all day. But during yesterday's ultrasound Baby B's feet were actually on the right side of my body, so maybe I have been mistaking Baby A's movement for Baby B's kicks! Baby A is head down...let's hope she/he stays that way and I can attempt a vaginal birth...the reality of a c-section is starting to sink in as I mentally prepare for a very different labor experience than I had with Eddie. This is ultimately what led me to selfishly decide that we were not going to find out the sex of the twins; if I end up having a scheduled c-section and we knew what we were having, then it would feel like just a surgery to me. But by not knowing, then no matter what, it will feel like a birth. I am still not feeling great. I still have a strong gag reflex and will dry heave in the morning or really any time that I get hungry and do not eat. Still eating for four (yes, E4 is still nursing, but thankfully weaning). And our Whole Foods bills are reflecting this surge in appetite. The worst part about the throwing up/dry heaving is that it also makes me pee simultaneously, which means having to change my clothes. (I had to add this gross detail because I know some day I will laugh at it!) The heartburn isn't as bad as it was with Eddie, but it is there. The other differences in this pregnancy are the extreme hunger (of course), constipation and more of a sexual interest. There are things I am eating this time around that I couldn't go near last time and vice versa: this pregnancy I am eating a ton of red meat (last time abhorred it); cannot eat or see chicken; nuts and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are in this time around and last time I avoided them; and I don't seem to have a problem with mayonnaise this time around either. Had to buy a new winter coat today because I was getting sick of stuffing myself into my other one. Also made my doctor's appointment for my 32 week visit (march 7), which sounds oh so close in terms of potential delivery and also the date itself...scary. We are not ready yet, you hear that Baby A and Baby B? Stay in there as long as possible!
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