Mama Tried

Zevon News

This is kind of an old picture, but Jeff wanted me to scan it in because he is very worried that Zevon will grow up, look back on the baby blog, and say, "Hey, how come you never put up any ultrasound pictures of me, Mama? Did you not love me as much as Nathan?"  

Not only do I love him, but I helpfully labeled the ultrasound so he can see what he was doing- he does not stay still for one second, and there were no good pictures of his feet because of the constant kicking. He also has waved at me at every ultrasound.  I love him so much I did NOT scan in the picture where the Ultrasound Tech labeled certain parts with "It's a boy!!!" So there, Zevon. (And Jeff.)

Amendment

Jeff was quite annoyed with me for saying that Nathan was not spirited in my last post.  Jeff would like you to know that Nathan has PLENTY of spirit. Which is true.  But Jeff does not read as many parenting blogs/forums as I do and didn't realize that in that world, "spirited" is code for an undisciplined pain in the rear (that may be my editorialized opinion there) which Nathan is not. 

Although it may be hard to believe after the past few days- Nathan had a cold that he started to come down with on Sunday.Yesterday I thought he was feeling better and took him to playgroup where he proceeded to scream for 30 minutes straight over not being able to go outside and play basketball (it was raining).  I kept thinking, "we should just leave" but the host mom was so nice and insisted she had a blow up basketball hoop and she dug it out and was inflating it in the living room for most of the screaming, and then I felt obligated to stay since she was doing so much work, but eventually it became clear that nothing was going to calm him. Then I took him home and he coughed the whole ride back and immediately went down for a nap.  

He was feeling cruddy again today and I was also feeling cruddy so we mainly just hung out on the couch watching Wonder Pets. (I read a book during most of that and Nathan also read some. And felt sort of guilty but I did take him outside and have him play cars and even do a craft, he just kept lying down after a few minutes of it, so I figured him lying down with a book in front of the TV was not the end of the world.)  I even let him have his binky all afternoon, after months of successfully limiting the binky to crib use only. Hopefully tomorrow we'll both feel better.

Oh, and I'm still pregnant! I feel like I never mention that here unless I'm agonizing over how to stroll with my unborn child, but I'm in the mostly really boring stage, so there's not much to say. Except I have a new symptom this time around, round ligament pain. And when they say pain, they mean, pain. It is annoying having stabby pains, and more annoying that they are apparently normal and there is nothing to be done about them (per both my OB and What to Expect.)  But boy are they stabby.

Almost Two

We saw Nathan's friend Nathan, who is six months older, this week, and the other Nathan is talking in full sentences now. "Nathan Spector, do you want an apple bar?" Just a little while ago I would have the other Nathan over and we'd watch Buster chase a squirrel and then play twinkle twinkle little star on the keyboard and the next day he'd summarize it to me thus: "Buster? Kirrel? Buster? Winkle Winkle?"  

Which means Nathan could well be talking like a person in six months. Earlier this week he got up from his nap and went to our bedroom, and got up on the bed and looked around. 'Dada? Dada? Car! Woun and Woun.' Which meant, "Where's Daddy? We took Daddy in the car. He got on the bus. The wheels on the bus go round and round," and which alone seemed like a big step forward in communication.

Not only has his talking gotten more specific- he does not just shout the words he knows when he sees things, but talks about them when they are not there, if that makes sense (for example: if you ask him if he wants to go to the park, he says, "Ball?" and if you tell him you are going to the library he thinks and says, "No ball.").  And when he plays with his kitchen he actually puts things in his pots and stirs them instead of just opening and shutting doors. 

Also he seems suddenly much taller, but I think it's just that he's lost most of his baby belly.  A few months ago I stopped giving his age in months and just said "He'll be two in March" when people asked, and now I just say, "He's almost two." It's hard to believe how much he has grown- at the Y this week he was running around doing his own thing, and one of the other moms said, "My son was just like that, so spirited and independent." Mellow and clingy were the words I normally think of when I think of as Nathan, but that was Baby Nathan. Almost two Nathan is probably not, on average, "spirited," but he is curious and active.  And while his independence ends the second he thinks I am not in the room, he is much more independent than he was six months ago. I wonder what he will be like once he is two.

Examples of Really Cute Things Nathan Has Done Lately

He pulled "Chicka Chicka ABC" off the shelf. We haven't read it in a long time, but he opened it up and said, "Boom Boom!" He also now blows air out of his mouth whenever the Mama Bunny in Runaway Bunny turns into the wind, even though I stopped doing that when I read it to him ages ago. He also knows almost all the words in Bright Baby First Words and is VERY proud of his ability to "read."

He totally can't read. He thinks every letter is "D!"

He has totally decided where the baby is going to sleep. We left the swing in his room, and every now and then he goes and pushes it or puts a toy in it, and I always say, "That's for a baby."  Now when he gets up from his nap he points to the swing and says, "Baby?" 

He pitched a massive tantrum after supper tonight because I wouldn't let him watch basketball. He just sat on the couch, screaming, "Ball? BALL! BALLLLLLL!!!???" That's only cute because the tantrum was short lived once Music Time started.

He chose a little girl baby to be his Valentine. (By picking her picture off the fridge when I asked him who he wanted to send the Valentine he was coloring to.)  He has good taste but I think it's a little early for him to be developing crushes.

The first thing he does in the morning is put his hands up in the air in the "Where did it go?" sign. He is asking where Buster is. As soon as Buster comes in he falls down on his crib mattress laughing.

Anxiety Level Down to the Usual Manageable Angst

We decided against preschool for sure and joined the Y, which I am excited about. I'd be more excited about it if I thought there was a chance Nathan would be willing to stay in the child care anytime soon and I could take a yoga class (he will cheerfully run into the childcare and then race back out the second he realizes I am not following him- separation anxiety is back with a vengeance, and while I am mostly confident he'll be back out of it by September, it was a factor in the preschool discussion), but in the meantime we're taking a class there together which I think he will love. (He tried to join a friend in a tumbling class that was in session when we went on the tour, and every time we go we see half a dozen people we know.)

I have decided FOR the double stroller, and stopped at the schmancy stroller store to check out all the options and am in love with the Bob Duallie (Nathan was also in love with the Bob Duallie and was quite ready to stroll on out the door in it) but they did not have the Mountain Buggy Urban Double (or MBUD as the cool kids apparently call it).  No one appears to have a floor model of the MBUD, but someone I know is quite enthusiastic about it, as are these internet people, but I didn't think I'd like the Bob so much until I pushed it, so I want to try the MBUD in person for sure. On paper I think I'll like it more than the Bob- lower to the ground, narrower, etc., but you never know. 

The whole who moves when to what room is still very up in the air. I think what bugs me there is that I just wish there was one clear, right answer. I think Nathan would do better if, when it's time to move him to a toddler bed (which I don't think we're going to rush to do and may not happen until after the baby is here), we move him into a new room altogether so he can help decorate it and make it his "big boy" room. (Plus then I can just keep the nursery the way it is.) Jeff thinks Nathan would do better staying in the same room with all the same stuff.  I think we'll have to wait and see what feels right based on how Nathan is when he's ready to make that transition (I figure the new baby is not going to know or care how long he is in the pack and play for) but would rather know now.

But I am trying to put all this aside or I will spend all my time worrying and not enough time enjoying the fun times with just Nathan. Things are easy now- I'm feeling good, Nathan's cheerful- and if I waste all this time stressing out I will be missing out.