Bittersweet

My baby is such a big boy! It makes me so sad! Ever since he was born, he has been either rocked to sleep, slept with us, or parented to sleep in some way such as holding his hand. We have taken a lot of flack for it, but it has worked for us. It was a labor of love, though, because while we felt like it was good for building his confidence, independence, and self esteem, it took a ton of patience. There were nights where it was so tedious and difficult, and I would sit in his room and wish that he would just go to sleep on his own. Naptime has always been especially difficult. He would take a long time to calm down, and I would either sit in his room for 45 minutes trying to get him to fall asleep or take him for a drive until he fell asleep. So today at naptime, I asked him to lay in his bed while I finished doing something. I went in there a few minutes later, and he was asleep! I was in total shock because that has never happened before. At bedtime tonight, Jon and I each read him a couple of books, gave him hugs and kisses and daddy walked him back to his room. He said goodnight, and asked him to lay in his bed. No more than ten minutes later, he was out! I am just so surprised! I have been wanting this for so long, but now that he is doing it, I'm sad! I can't believe he wants to lay in there and doesn't need me. I know I am hormonal, but my baby is getting too big! I just hope that when the new baby comes, he doesn't feel like he has been banished back to his room to go to sleep alone.

Where has the time gone?

Wow, it has been a long time since I have updated. The days are just flying by! I am just a few days away from being 36 weeks along..... a point at which if you go into labor the doctors won't stop it because they baby is developed and ready to go! I am soooo ready for this kid to be here! I am really nervous about having 2 babies under 2 years old, but at the same time I am ready to have my body and my energy back! It is going to be a lot of fun to see Aiden interact with his new baby brother. I hope that if they learn nothing else from us, it is to always be there for each other and be good friends.

I am getting a little nervous for the actual delivery. I would love for it to happen at like 10 in the morning, that way Aiden can go play at Grama's or Auntie Courtney's for the day, eat dinner, and then daddy can come home and stay with him overnight. I am more worried about it being an easy transition for him than anything else! I guess I'm a little worried about the pain, too. :) Grammy is gonna be out here right around my due date and I can't wait for that! Although, this time it's only for 4 days :( When Aiden was born, it was summer so she was able to take off two weeks, which eventually got extended into 3! Either way, it is going to be good for Aiden to get to spend some time with her and also for her to be my extra set of hands!

Aiden is turning into such a little boy, and it is happening so fast! Everyday I look at him and it is getting harder and harder to see "baby" because he is pretty much all big boy now. He is starting to string words together. Like, "goodnight, mama" and "more milk, please". He tries sooooo hard to talk to us, and I feel bad because sometimes I can tell he is so frustrated trying to get the words out and he just can't! It is slowly coming, though, and it won't be long until he is a little blabbermonster :) With the weather getting better we spend as many afternoons outside as possible. He likes to ride in his little car and blow bubbles and kick his soccer ball. I scored an awesome play gym on Craigslist for $40 (yay) that is waiting to be built by daddy. It is going to be so nice to have that right in our backyard because this summer it is going to be a bit more difficult to get out for trips to the park.

Anyway, I guess that's all there is for now. Chances are, next time I get on here, it will be as a mother of two! Ahhhh!

.... what's next?

Man, this kid needs to live in a padded room and wear a helmet at all times!! I can't handle him hurting himself all the time! We went to the park last week because it was a relatively nice day, and we are both tired of being cooped up inside. He was so excited, just running around and shrieking. This was really the first time he has been able to climb up on this particular play structure by himself, and he was loving it. Well, after about 5 minutes, he decided he wanted to go down the slide. He goes down slides on his belly, feet first, rather than on bis booty. This usually works out best because he can catch himself on the bottom, and I don't have to worry about him falling backwards and hitting his head. Well, we get to the top of the slide (a short one by the way!) and I decide to let him go first, as I didn't feel like squeezing my fat pregnant butt onto a slide made for kids. Right before he went, I just had a bad feeling and knew it was going to happen. I am so mad at myself for ignoring that intuition. Anyway, he pushed off and slid down. I watched his face the whole way, and on it was pure delight. Well, he hit the bottom, but his feet didn't plant, so he flopped off of the end of the slide and landed on his belly. When he did that, his head bounced forward and he basically bit the end of the slide with his top teeth. It broke my heart to watch his face go from so happy, to full of pain. I slid down after him, and picked him up. His bottom lip bled a bit, but other than that, everything looked fine. He only cried for maybe a minute, and then wanted to go play again. This led me to believe that everything was okay. On the way home, he was attempting to eat his snack, but was crying with each bite. By then, it was after 4 pm (on a Friday) and I knew I wouldn't be able to get him in to a dentist. We had to go through the whole weekend with him in pain. Finally, Monday came and I got him in to the dentist. It turns out that his two top front teeth are a bit loose. It is pretty much a waiting game right now. One of three things could happen. One, the teeth could loosen up and just fall out. Two, they might die from the trauma and turn black, and then need to be removed. Or, they might just tighten back up into the bone and be just fine. I am so worried! The dentist said just coming back for his 6 month check up would be fine, so I take that as a positive sign. But, I think I might just bring him back in in a few weeks so they can follow up. I am crossing my fingers for the best!

What a horrible night

Christmas Eve was supposed to be so fun, instead it turned out to be one of the worst nights ever. We went to Jon's parent's house for Christmas Eve dinner and gifts. Aiden was starting to get antsy fairly early, so we decided to let him open a gift to play with. He went running to the tree and started to tear into the first gift he saw. It happened to be a gift for Charlie, so I grabbed shand, trying to prevent him from tearing it further. He was not happy about this, and proceeded to stand up and then throw himself backward, in true toddler tantrum style. I didn't let go of his hand because I didn't want him to smash his head into the ground. He ended up landing all twisted and not very happy about it. He has done this several times before, and I didn't feel anything wierd when he fell, so no one was concerned. He laid on the ground and stomped his feet and screamed, just like he always does when he throws a tantrum. Lately, after getting that upset, he just wants to be held and sit quietly with me. So, I took him into a dim bedroom and let him cuddle on my lap for awhile. He calmed down, but I noticed that every time I moved he would start to whimper. At first, I thought he was just tired and not wanting to be social, but then when I tried to hand him off to Daddy, he started screaming. We sat him on the couch and noticed his left arm pretty much hung limp. That's when I called the on-call doctor, and she said to take him into the ER. He was such a little trooper. He didn't cry at all, except for when his elbow was touched. I can't even imagine how much it probably hurt. When they took him in to do an xray, I had to stay out of the room because I am pregnant. I could hear him screaming from the hallway because they had to bend him arm. It is a sound that makes my stomach turn. Not long after, the doctor came in and said that his elbow had been dislocated. She did a quick little move where she held his elbow and bent his arm, bringing his hand up to his shoulder. He cried for a second, but then you could tell he felt immediate relief. The nurses brought in Christmas cookies and juice to entice him to move his arm. He was more than happy after that to snack on his cookies and flirt with the nurses. He spent the rest of the time there waving and "ho ho ho-ing" to everyone in the halls. I was so glad to see him better, but the guilt I felt from the entire thing was so horrible. No one wants to see their baby hurt, especially by their own hand, accident or not.

Too smart for his own good!

This kid amazes me every day, he is so smart! I know we are going to have our hands full as he gets older. Here is just one example. We baked cookies the other day for Aiden to give to his little friends. Every time I opened the oven, I asked him to stand back because it would be hot. I know that he is observing and taking everything in as he is watching me. Later on in the day, he was playing on the kitchen floor and decided to try and open the oven himself. I told him "no", and reminded him that the oven gets hot and he is not to touch it. Well, I watched the light bulb go on in his head. He proceeded to open the drawer next to the oven, put on the oven mitts, and then try again to open the oven!! I was just amazed! Now, tell me, how do you argue with that logic? I was trying not to laugh as I told him yes, mommy uses oven mitts, but the oven is still too hot for Aiden. I don't know many 18 month olds, but I think I have a pretty bright one on my hands!

My little buddy

What a nice day we had. Aiden has been really getting into learning the art of tantrum throwing lately, and needless to say, it has been wearing on me a bit. So today, I had a bunch of errands and last minute Christmas shopping to do. Aiden was a trooper, being so patient as we went from store to store, and of course, wooing all the sales ladies. After I had gotten everything on my list, we went down to the food court in the mall for some lunch. He sat so sweetly and ate his lunch and just babbled to me about everything he saw. He talked about Christmas lights and Santa and neighed at the horses on the carousel in the play area. I just looked at him and was so amazed at how lucky I am. I can't believe this sweet little monster is mine. It is so amazing to watch him grow from a tiny infant to a smart, fuuny, sweet, playful little boy. Sometimes staying at home all day can be very tedious and exhausting, but moments like that are what make it so worth it. I am so lucky to get to be able to spend all day, every day with him, and to never miss a moment of him growing up.

Sick baby

It has been one looooong week. Aiden wasn't acting like himself last Monday and Tuesday, then woke up around midnight Tuesday night absolutely on fire. His fever ranged from 101 to almost 103. The poor kid was so miserable. That lasted for a couple of days, and we decided to take him to the doctor when his chest started to sound rattley. The doctor agreed that his chest sounded bad, and thought he might have pneumonia! She ordered a chest xray!! (Gasp!) I was so nervous because he has never had anything like that done!! We went into the radiology room and saw this crazy looking contraption. They had him sit on what looked like a bicycle seat in a hole in a table, with his legs dangling through. I had to hold his arms up over his head as they strapped this hard, plastic tube around him. I thought he was going to freak! I would have! His arms and body were totally confined in this tube, and all he could move was his fingers. He got really quiet, and I thought something was wrong! The technician swiveled the table so that he was facing me, and he was smiling behind his pacifier!! Then he waved by wiggling his fingers because that was all he could move! We were just hysterical. He is the goofiest kid, and some things just tickle his fancy. Anyway, turns out that he has finally gotten his first ear infection. The xray looked fine, and now we are just waiting for the antibiotics to work so we can all get back to sleeping at night.