nursing

E hasn't been feeling well the past two days and both times I've come home from work, he has wanted to nurse. That is something that hasn't happened in a while. I'm definitely ok with it, however, I'm beginning to get a bit more anxious as we get closer to having this other little guy enter the world.

I've already surpassed any "cut off" points that I thought I would reach while breastfeeding. First it was a year, then 18 months, and now it's reaching the two year mark. I kept saying to myself that I would let him wean himself when he was ready. I'm not quite sure about how I feel towards tandem nursing, but it doesn't seem like E is ready to stop soon at any point either.

Why am I unsure about tandem nursing? I don't know. I know there will be enough milk, but will E want to nurse even more now? Will he get frustrated that baby brother gets more than he does? Will it upset him and make him act out because he has to share? Will I be able to handle nursing two kids - one who needs it for survival and one who needs it for comfort?

We (and I say "we" because it's shared effort) are trying to at least wean E from his morning nursing. Paul and I have been making an effort to change his morning routine a bit. Typically after waking, E would come to bed with us to lay for a while and he would nurse. Now Paul has been taking on the morning duties of getting E out of his crib, getting him some milk from the fridge, and then reading some books in the play area. I have been getting up out of bed a little sooner to shower so that I'm not able to nurse him in bed. Sometimes he will ask for me and will come into the room calling "Mama" and signing for "milk". When he does, I will nurse him if I have time before needing to take a shower for work.

He still nurses at night and before naps, but also goes into his crib after a shorter amount of time and with a cup of milk. (He loves having his milk while we read stories before bedtimes.)

I'm a bit lost right now as to where to go and what to do about all of this nursing. At the same time, as much as I want to back away, I don't want to lose it either.

27 weeks (tomorrow)

Well, I'm a day early. Tough.

Paul's sister was so kind to offer to get a 3d/4d ultrasound session for us. She offered a while back and we finally got around to it. I'm so thankful, because if it weren't for her, I don't think we would have done it ourselves!

The technician was having a tough time with the little monster. Baby kept turning his head and body away just at the tech was changing from 2d to 3d. The tech was able to capture some good shots and was also able to reconfirm that we are having another boy.

So here he is...

My good friend, Valerie, has affectionately named this little guy BLT for Baby Lee Tomasik. (His brother was given the name Onion by another friend.) He will have the middle name Lee after myself, my dad, and Grandfather. Little guy still has no first name, but I think we're getting closer!

silly pants

E received some cool new water shoes that he wanted to wear all morning. Daddy thought it would be fun to have him wear some goggles too.

26.5 weeks

I have not been doing so well and keeping track of pregnancy posts. But here is where I am now.

E's pregnancy lasted 41 weeks.
Starting weight: 125
Ending weight: 150

Baby T's pregnancy has lasted 26.5 weeks so far.
Starting weight: 135
Current weight: 160

YIKES!

I think of all the things I'm going to have to do with two kids and on top of that, I will have even more weight to lose with less time to exercise. Oh, I don't like the looks of this...

But on the up side, I'm feeling great most of the time. I get tired often and my belly seems to be getting heavier as the day goes on. In addition, I think that I may be experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions. Every now and again, my belly gets rather tight, but goes away shortly after. (You think that I would know what they feel like being a second time mom, but I never had them with E.)

We also have a 3d/4d ultrasound scheduled on Wednesday! Can't wait!

Friday begins Memorial Day weekend and we will all be heading to San Diego - our last family trip as three. So excited to go and be with my boys!

pool

E loves going into the pool, although I can't say the same for his first swim class. I had to disappear because of his screams/tears/anguish that caused me to cry too. I'm hoping that it gets better, but for now, at least these photos show how happy it makes him.

Paul = 31

My husband turned 31 over the weekend and we were able to do some celebrating.

The morning started off with brown sugar and buttermilk waffles with brown sugar bacon. (The original recipe calls for mixing the bacon into the batter which I didn't do, however, next time I will!)

We then went to visit Paul's grandmother, got E a haircut, and come home for lunch and a nap. While E napped, I cleaned the house a little and Paul cleaned out my car.

Once E awoke, we went to his mom's house for dinner and some swimming. I think Paul had a pretty good day...I know I did!

Happy birthday, love!

24-23=1

That's right. One more month and my little boy will be two years old! I must sound like every other mother out there when I say how "quickly time has passed" and "he's getting so big". But really, they are both very accurate statements.

I've been planning his birthday shindig for some time now and I can't wait for it to arrive. I think he will be able to enjoy himself more than last year, but somehow, I think that me crying will be inevitable when we all sing the happy birthday song.

How I hope that as we all grow, that I will remember some of the little things he does that I find adorable (or not so adorable). Guess that's why I post on here, so if I forget, I have something to refer back to.

I should probably stop before I get myself to far gone into the world of sappiness.

two (not so) random things

#1 - This has been happening for some time now, but I just actually thought about the fact that I should be posting about it. E draws pictures with meaning. He will "tell" you if it's a dog or bird or Dada. Of course it doesn't actually look like it, but the teacher in me is glad to know that my son makes the connection that pictures (and soon letters) have meaning.

#2 - While I was getting E's bath ready and he was playing in the bathroom, I thought to myself, "Hmm...I wonder if my hair is long enough for a ponytail?" So I pulled all my hair back and just as I finished, E looked at me, began to whimper, and almost started crying. I immediately let go of my hair and reassured him it was still me. It wasn't until then that I realized he's never seen me with all of my hair pulled back because it has always been too short. The next afternoon, I was telling my mom the same story and when I pulled my hair back, he flipped out again. guess that means no ponytails for me. At least not for a while.

Mother's Day

I realize that Mother's Day is only halfway through, but while I had the chance, this post needed some attention.

I woke up this morning to E calling my name and Paul brought him into bed. E wanted to nurse so we laid there for a while just cuddling and nursing. Paul then took E and gave me some time to sleep in. (45 minutes...not too bad!) I finally got out of bed to get E some milk from the refrigerator when I saw my collection of gifts. They were amazing and took my breath away! Paul really put some time and thought into these. I LOVE THEM.

First - donuts. I love donuts. Especially the custard filled ones with chocolate frosting. Yum.

Second - a scrapbook filled with E's artwork from school.

To be honest, I almost started crying when I saw this. I've been mentioning to Paul how I wanted to get them framed so I wouldn't loose them and we could use them to decorate our house. He decided to not get frames because he felt like I should be there to pick out the ones I wanted. But this scrapbook now allows for more of his work and special items to be kept safe. Love, love, love this.

Third - some new make up, meditation/relaxation cd, bubble bath, Baby Grace body lotion, and some scented candles.

I had just run out of my favorite foundation/powder and bought some cheap stuff at CVS. After using what I typically use, the cheap stuff SUCKS. It left streaks all over my face and felt caked on. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I saw my good stuff in the bag! With a natural birth coming in a few months, Paul bought the scented candles, bubble bath, and cd to help me have a more calm and relaxing birth. Amazing, hubby (and son)! Thank you!

Today rings in as one of my two favorite Mother's Day experiences!

24 weeks

Here we go again with the belly pics. I haven't been nearly as good at taking them this pregnancy and I have a valid excuse: my 22 month old son.

Any who...

17 weeks

24 weeks

As a comparison, here I am with E at 30 weeks. I was huge with E at 40, so I can't even imagine what I'll look like with #2!

After some talking last night, I'm pretty sure that Paul and I have narrowed Baby T's name down to three possible choices. I am still not having the "that's it!" feeling, so I guess this time around it will just take some more time.

23.5 weeks

I dreamt the other night that I had a quick labor and lasted about three hours. It was so quick that we didn't have time to call my doula. I was in such a state of relaxation, that my little boy's birth was completely effortless. Now that's what I call an incredible birth! I think these HypnoBirthing classes are getting into my sub-conscience.

I went shopping for some new maternity clothes today. As much as I love my belly and the baby growing inside of it, I did not love the fact that when I put on a medium shirt, it was too tight around my belly. Because of this, I had to purchase large shirts to make room for my growing belly, but they are now too loose around my chest and shoulders. It could be worse.

I had an appointment last week and have gained 19 pounds so far. I told my doctor what my plans are for birth and he is quite supportive of my choices. He has agreed to stay away from any artificial form of induction unless I reach 42 weeks. In addition, he said that if I do go beyond 40 weeks, he'd like to send me to the perinatologist for testing to make sure that the placenta, baby, and amniotic fluid are all right. I will be birthing our little boy at Good Sam and will be requesting a room with a birthing tub. If I test positive for group B, my medication will be administered through a hep-lock rather than IV. Believe me, I will be bringing my yoga ball and wearing my own clothes!

baby boy is growing and getting stronger. He loves to jab and roll in the mornings on the way to work and in the evenings when I lay down to go to bed. He's pretty quite, but you can tell he's there when he moves around! Like I said, he's getting stronger!

I haven't gotten sick in a while either. Woohoo!

Baby still has no name.

His big brother loves to kiss him.

Mommy and Daddy love to love him.

All of us can't wait to meet him!