Tidbits

1. The crazy nesting has begun. I think it was only last week I was telling Kim that I hadn't had any nesting urges yet. I knew I should have stayed silent. Today I had a full-on panic attack when I realized that I couldn't find any of Zeke's old receiving blankets. We're having a JANUARY baby! I had to get online and tell Josh right away that our baby was going to DIE...it was surely going to FREEZE TO DEATH because we are SO UNPREPARED.

Josh, who is usually an expert in dealing with crisis of this sort, must have been distracted at work, he only answered that we still had almost 3 months (so not true, buster, its like 10 weeks now!) and that the worst case scenario was we would go shopping before then if we cant find the blankets.

Obviously he wasn't understanding so I told him I couldnt talk to him about this anymore.

I could soon be found talking to myself in a quickly escalating tone about the fact that we don't have ANY inside hats at all...not to mention any leg coverings (Zeke, a summer babe, spent his first 3 months mostly in just a onesie...we have about 400 onesies, lol). So now the baby was going to freeze to death for sure. And by the way, why in the heck isn't the baby's moses basket set up next to our bed yet?!?!? That must be done RIGHT AWAY. WHERE IN GOD'S NAME WILL IT SLEEP?

Before I went to the store to buy diapers in size 1 right that second, I decided to sit down and finally make some baby leg warmers at least until Zeke woke up from his nap (I made them out of discount women's knee and crew length socks I've been gathering here and there). I got the directions HERE. It calmed me down a bit but I'll be honest, I'm still freaking.

At least I'm not organizing random closets yet.

2. To counter all of THAT stress I've decided to stop worrying about how Zeke willl do when Blueberry is born. Sometimes he does great when I hold or babysit babies, sometimes not so great. But the fact that I've come to realize is, how he reacts to these temporary stranger-babies is going to be completely different to how he reacts to a permanant sister/brother. There is an ownership, almost, and a familiarity with siblings. It's very different. So there is no point over-analizing every playdate like I've been doing.

Also, and not to sound cruel, but it doesnt really matter how he is giong to do. The baby WILL come, and she WILL stay. Josh and I are going to do our best to help Zeke feel assured about the whole thing but honestly, in the end, he's gonna have to deal.

3. Speaking of Ezekiel, I just love the stage that he is in right now. He is a big boy, and yet a baby, and all at once. Watching him struggle between the two is so bittersweet. Big Boy: the other day when he finished his lunch he got down from his seat, dumped his plate in the garbage, took the plate to the sink, and then proceeded to grab a washcloth to wash his hands, face, and the table. All without a word from me. Sometimes it's like Im not even necessary. Baby: he was tired at our Mindful Mama's meeting and he layed in my lap snuggling his head on my shoulder so sweetly.

4. I've had lots of comments/questions/concerns about how moving our not even 18 month old into a twin bed was going. All I can say is that for our family, it's working great. Zeke tells us when he wants to go to bed by bringing us his blanket and demanding his "baba". (yes, we still bottle at night) If it hits 9 without a word from him we will suggest it but he almost alwasy does before then, his schedule is so regular that he's always genuinly tired by 8. Then either Josh or I lay down with him and we talk quietly or sing a song and he drinks his bottle. When its gone (or sometimes only after an ounce or two) he hands it to us, rolls over, and he's out (if it was Josh then they are BOTH out). Since he got better from the flu, he's stayed there all night, and comes out by himself to join me in our bed sometime between 6 and 7, so we've had a good week run of NO wake-ups. But a lot of nights he DOES still wake up 1 or 3 times needing reassuring. Sometimes he comes to us, sometimes he cries in bed until we come to him, but either way its always just a matter of a whisper and a touch and he goes back to sleep. I think he honestly sleeps a lot better in the bed than he did in the crib because he knows he has the freedom to come and get us if he needs to. And since we always got up when he cried anyways, it doesnt really affect our sleep any.

Yes, he has fallen out of bed. Twice that I can think of but maybe there was a third time in there too. One of the times he didnt even wake up, I heard a thump and then found him sleeping on the floor. The other time it upset him. It hasnt happened in a long time now though so I think he's used to the new invisable boundary.

No, he doesnt get up in the middle of the night to play. (Although once he got up at 6:30 and instead of coming into bed with me decided to go play with cats in the kitchen, I blame Josh leaving a light on in there) Like I said, he's on a really regular schedule. He's gone to bed between 8 and 9 since he was about 3 months old and his naps are also at the same time almost every single day. I think he's too tired at night to play. Either that or the idea just hasnt crossed his mind yet.

5. I've also been getting a lot of questions about hypnobabies. I'm thru week 1 of 5 now but I think I'm going to save a full review until I've finished the program. For now I'll just let you know that it IS a lot of work. A good hour+ a day...even 2 hours.

6. If it EVER stops raining again I need to go out and rake some leaves.