Tomorrow is the Big Day

I can hardly believe that tomorrow we will hopefully be finding out the answer to the boy or girl question. It seems that most of you are guessing girl, and I cannot say that I'm guessing any differently. This pregnancy just seems too much like the last one for me to think otherwise. Well unless you count the whole "spontaneous" thing as opposed to the RE's office thing as different. Jeramy is so adamant that we're having another girl that he has been referring to baby #2 as Jillian's little sister since the test came back positive. I can't say that I would mind since I have fond memories of having a little sister close in age despite the fact that we spent most of the time arguing and punching each other. A boy would be great to, since then we'd have one of each. Either way, I don't think we can go wrong gender wise.

This pregnancy really has flown by in comparison to the last. My day consists of work, chasing Jillian around, and then a precious hour or two of relaxation with Jeramy after she goes to bed. Weekends are more of the same. I love it, but it is busy. I lack the luxury of sitting around and contemplating the wonder that is this pregnancy unlike last time. In a way I almost feel a little guilty that being pregnant at times feels like more of an afterthought rather than my constant focus. But really I think it is more of a function of being busier. It is feeling more and more real though, probably because I have really began feeling movement. I felt flutters earlier this time around since I knew what I was looking for, but the real distinct movements did not begin until a week ago.

Now that Jillian is sleeping like a champ, I have been knitting more in the evenings since I know this will all come to an end again in a few short months. I finished Jillian's Helena sweater. It is a little big (although it is supposed to be long), but I think it should fit well by the spring.


And a sock! I'm now knitting the matching sock. And if I finish that sock it will be the first complete pair I've ever made.

Because I'm a Cruel Mom...

I forced Jillian into another Santa Photo-op. This really never gets old for me!

Jillian's Likes and Dislikes

Jillian turned 14 months old today. Here are a few things that she likes:

• Food. Especially strawberries, cheese, potatoes, cheetos, and beef. And whatever mommy, daddy or Cujo is eating. Dog bones are considered a delicacy in Jillian's book.
• Spinning in circles to get dizzy.
• Climbing over the top of the couch to stand in the window sill.
• Cujo. If only he felt the same.
• Bedtime. Hallelujah!
• Peek-a-boo.
• Saying "mamamamamamamama." Finally!
• Making a mess.
• Spilling her milk onto the ground and then playing in it.
• Showers.
• Turning on the electric fireplace in mommy and daddy's room with the remote.
• Smiling at strangers to make them think she likes them...until they want to hold her.
• Tickles.
• The book Hand Hand Fingers Thumb.
• Songs with motions like the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Little Green Frog

Something Jillian does not like:


Is it wrong to love this picture so much?

By the way I finally, at 19 weeks, got around to adding a ticker for this pregnancy. The 2nd time around is a little different. Not because I am any less excited but rather because time is limited. Typing a post is impossible until after bedtime as Jillian likes to help you type. She has taught us computer commands that we never knew existed.

Also, the anatomy ultrasound is next Tuesday! I'm hoping not only for a healthy and happy baby but to get a glimpse of one particular part of the anatomy in particular. Any guesses as to what I'm having? There is a poll in the upper right corner. So far this pregnancy is just like my last one. Practically no symptoms at all. I keep forgetting that I'm even knocked up, although my growing belly is starting to make that more and more difficult.

Thanksgiving Recap

Only three days to recover from Thanksgiving is not nearly enough. I love that we live near all of our family, but during the holidays I definitely find it exhausting as we end up running from one place to another. Our Thanksgiving started when we left the house at 11:30am and didn't end until we got home at 8:30pm. And when you have a 13 month old in tow whose only naps consisted of 15 minutes here or there in the car, that 9 hour day begins to feel like an endless marathon. To make the day a little more fun, Jillian developed a temporary aversion to all people except for mommy. This was of course only exacerbated by all the unfamiliar relatives eager to hold and hug her, as the end result of such advances was invariably screaming and clinging to my leg.

I guess the only alternative is to host Thanksgiving at our house. The problem is that I don't cook. Well I bake desserts. But I'm guessing my family wouldn't be satisfied by a Thanksgiving feast of pie and cheesecake. (It sounds pretty good to me though).

Speaking of desserts, these were my contributions to the festivities...



I got both pie recipes from Martha Stewart. The top is Apple Raspberry and the bottom is Pecan. Both recipes were very easy, especially since Jeramy helped with peeling the apples. I must admit that I used Pillsbury refrigerated crusts rather than baking my own. But hey, I'm a working mom. Cranking out two pies with pre-made crust was hard enough!

I spent the remainder of the weekend recuperating. I thought about putting up the Christmas tree, but I'm not sure where to put it. Really the only feasible placement out of Jillian's reach is where one of our china cabinets currently is. And the idea of moving that and all of its contents to the bedroom seems a bit overwhelming. So we'll see if the tree makes it out of the closet this year. I'm not overly optimistic at this point.

Now its on to the present buying (which at least will be minimal with Jeramy laid-off), the Santa photo taking, even more gatherings, and best of all the holiday baking. I expect to gain several pounds all of which will be promptly blamed on baby #2. Ah, the joys of being pregnant :)

No Fear

My little girl is fearless. I don't know whether it is that she trusts Jeramy and I completely (probably not a good idea!) or whether it is her innate sense of adventure. This past weekend we attended a birthday party at one of those places with the huge inflatable toys you can climb on, bounce on, etc. Jillian had an absolute blast. Her favorite part was this huge inflatable slide. Every time down she'd burst into giggles and when she saw her daddy she'd throw her arms around him wanting to go again. Of course Jeramy would comply no matter how tired and achey he was from climbing up to the top time after time with her in one arm. On the way home she fell asleep and slept for well over two hours.

16 Weeks

If somebody could explain to me how it got to be mid-November 2009 I would greatly appreciate it. I can't hardly believe the date let alone that I'm 16 weeks pregnant with my second child. Pure craziness.

I had my OB appointment today, and everything went great. The heartbeat was a solid 150 bpm, and I had my second blood draw for the sequential screening (NT scan/bloodwork). Then, nonchalantly, my OB said "so are you going to get your H1N1 vaccine today" as if that were some easily obtainable thing that I could easily pick up on the street. Well it turned out that I was in luck as they received the shipment last week. So I got a quick poke and hopefully my flu immunity is complete. Jillian still needs the vaccine, but our family doctor hasn't gotten doses for children under four yet and I don't really feel that it is worth running all over town trying to find a phamacy or doctor that does.

Lately I have finally been finding time to knit again. I took a brief hiatus in August and September because thanks to 1st trimester exhaustion I found myself going to bed just as soon as we got Jillian to sleep each evening. And trying to knit while Jillian is awake is impossible. Pulling on my project and turning my ball of yarn into a tangled mess is one of her favorite activities. In the past month between Jillian sleeping better and reaching 2nd tri and taking up a new project that I'm not completely pissed off at, I have been finding a little time many evenings. Over the past few weeks, I've made good progress on this sweater for Jillian:




It is the Helena pattern from Knitty. So far it is really fun. But of course the finishing looks like it takes forever between the hemming and the placket and the usual sewing in ends and blocking. So we'll see if I'm still as enthused about the sweater in a couple weeks. I'm using Duet DeKAY yarn which is hand dyed by a gal in my knitting group. I'm pretty much falling in love with yarns from indie dyers, but that is another post entirely. The color is a bit deeper than the picture..less hot pink and more burgundy. I really enjoy the veregation in color, but it isn't so overwhelming that it detracts from the lace pattern. It is knit from the top down, which I prefer given my dislike of sewing and finishing. It is somewhat similar to the February Sweater I knit a couple years ago.

In other news Jillian discovered the job of riding on a blanket as her Daddy took her around the living room and up the hall several times. What a lucky girl to have wood floors. And what a lucky girl that she doesn't have to mop them...yet. At what age can I finally put her to work, anyhow?



I also had Jeramy take a belly picture. This is not an attractive picture at all. I must have no shame to be posting this on the internet for all to see. Here is what I looked like at about the same time with Jillian. I don't know if my belly looks bigger than last time, but I certainly look bigger overall. Not exactly what I was going for. I dragged the maternity clothes out this weekend, and I didn't like them nearly as much as I remembered. Of course everything in short sleeved since I was pregnant in the spring and summer last time. So it seems some more shopping is in my future.

13 Months

Jillian turned 13 months old over the weekend. I would have posted about urgent development sooner, but I was overcome by a lovely GI bug or something similar. At first I thought that it was just an errant wave of morning sickness that decided to pound me at 15 weeks. But then other symptoms developed that made that diagnosis unlikely. Let's just sum the whole thing up by saying Monday was not fun. Today I'm feeling better. Not 100%, but hell I haven't felt 100% since before Jillian was born.

Anyhow, back to the whole Jillian being 13 months old thing. She has become quite the climber these days. She loves to scale tall pieces of furniture, stand on them, and strike fear in the hearts of her parents as we try to prevent her from falling. Sometimes we are successful. Sometimes we are not. And honestly my motivation from saving her from hurting herself is entirely linked to the height of the object upon which she is standing. If it is her kid sized chair, I usually let her deal with the ramifications. If it is the end table, well I'm more cautious.

She has also discovered the downward dog position of yoga. I'm not sure how exactly, given that I have never done yoga. (It's just not my thing you know given that it involves that impossible combination of coordination, flexibility and exercise). But regardless I find her in that position quite regularly. She finds it especially enjoyable if you peek between her legs so that she can see you upside down. That, my friends, can conjure up nearly as many giggles as a good game of peek-a-boo.

Teeth #3 and #4 are on their way in. I must admit that I kind of miss the two bottom teeth only look. It was awfully cute. The new teeth are still at the awkward stage where one has grown in more than the other. She already seems to be able to bite off pieces of food better, so I suppose that functionality takes precedence over looks. I am a bit curious to see how straight these teeth grow in. Between my and Jeramy's orthodontia history, this kid is pretty much guaranteed to wear braces in the future.

Jillian has made great strides in the sleeping department over the past month as well. She had frequently been waking up one or even two times a night needing to be fed and rocked back to sleep. Finally I wised up. At one year old, I had the sinking feeling that what she wanted was to see me or her daddy, and that she was not waking up due to serious nutritional deprivation. So one night after getting back from DC when she started crying, I didn't get up. About ten minutes later there was silence again. Glorious, glorious silence. A few weeks later she'll still sometimes cry a bit in the night, but I haven't gotten up once and she usually sleeps 10 to 12 hours. Some nights I have even put her in bed awake and she feel asleep after crying for just a little while. Then last night I put her down awake, and she just snuggled up and fell asleep. Hallelujah! Let's just hope that I didn't completely jinx this success by writing it down.

The transitions from formula to milk and sippy cup to bottle appear to be complete. We hit a small bump with the milk, because she seemed to be very fussy in the evenings. Since we had her on soy formula, we suspected regular milk might not be sitting well with her. I tried a couple of options and found that she seemed to like Lactaid whole milk okay. By the time she was one I had her on sippy cups full-time during the day, but she was still getting a bottle right before bed. A couple of nights ago, we gave her a sippy instead. She doesn't chug it like she does the bottle, but she still seemed to fall asleep okay and she slept just as long as always. She is a full fledged walking, climbing, sippy cup using, milk drinking toddler these days. Where did my baby go?

Jeramy was gone over the weekend for the fourth weekend in a row. (He best enjoy hunting now, because soon the only thing he'll have time to hunt are the two pint sized child-beasts that will be living in our home). Somehow I manage to schedule all the fun things like vet visits when Jeramy is not going to be around to help. Nothing is quite as much fun as wrangling a 80 pound bulldog and toddler in an overflowing vet's office waiting room. All Jillian could say was "dog!" while Cujo looked around nervously. Jillian was also much more willing to stand on the scale than Cujo was too. Of course getting the bill is always the fun part when you have a high maintenance canine like a bulldog. As we had suspected he had a serious ear infection again. He got an ear cleaning. Pain reliever injection. Antibiotic injection. Ear drops. Eye ointment. Oral antibiotics. Oral pain medication. Ear cleaner. Dewormer. And we're supposed to soak each paw in Epsom salts twice a week for 15 minutes due to yeast infections. All of this is on top of his usual allergy medication. I'm about to purchase one of those daily pill containers just to keep track of the dog's meds. I sure wish I could convince my work to add him to my medical insurance.

Anyhow, I would post pictures of these good times, but I'm out of camera batteries. I meant to buy them over the weekend, but somehow between the vet and the vomit I never got a chance. Next time.