Tough Decisions

Yesterday was my moms birthday, and as I mentioned, we were having a dinner for her with all my siblings. This means I got to see my sister, who recently found out she was expecting, so I could chat with her about mommyhood (my favourite subject!).

Last week she had her IPS testing (outlined here) done, and we were talking about it. When I was offered it, I refused, and actually switched doctors because the one I was seeing was very adamant that he could not give me proper care without having it done.

My sister said if the tests came back with a 1 in 1 chance her baby would have Downs Syndrome, or any other genetic disorder, she would abort, claiming it would change her life too much (can you tell she's a first time parent?). I didn't want to be faced with that decision. I'm not judging her, or anyone, it is their choice... I just felt for me, being in one of the low-risk groups (young, healthy, no history of such in my family) and knowing that my life would change drastically after delivery anyways, opted not to do it... and I find myself explaining my choice more and more... for test thats optional, not demanded, more and more low-risk women are having it done. I'm not judging, but I just find it fascinating.

Knowing I'm pretty easy-going and can roll with the punches, I was sure I would be able to handle (as well as any other parent) a high-needs child. Knowing I was very low-risk, and having an intuition that everything was ok, I really dug in my heels and refused that test.

It makes me wonder about all the choices women have to make when they are expecting, finding out terrible news, and having to decide how to proceed, or if to do so. The toughness of pregnancy goes beyond the changing body and goes way into the change in mindset.

When you look at it, pregnancy is way more challenging than it seems.

Avoiding Chores

Yup, that's right, I'm avoiding chores. I hate them. Partially because we just moved and everything is a huge mess anyways, cleaning seems pointless... and, well, they're chores and no one wants to do them.

I spent the morning out and about. It's my moms birthday today, so I had to go to brunch with her (and some of my) church friends this morning, and then I had errands to run to get ready for birthdya supper tonight, which my sister and I are hosting... hence all the chores.

And it's not going too well. I mushed up my finger in between two pots in the dishwasher, then burnt the cake, and then spilled a whole bunch of the batter from cake number two down the front of my pants.

Altogether not one of my most chef-worthy kitchen attempts, but I'm working on it.

So, in lieu of messing anything else up, I'm sitting in my chair trying not to get frustrated. Working so far.

Best part about all this is, H. slept right through it (I couldn't post something without mentioning him at least once!)

All Quiet on the Home Front

Not every post can be exciting, brimming with news.

H. is back up to 10 hours of sleep at night. Eating around 7 or so, he usually is asleep by 8pm. And lately we haven't had any night-time wake ups. Awake at 6am (must work on that) and happy, as usual.

Unpacking is going. Not overly fast, but going. The kitchen is done, save for two half boxes.

And the Great Solids Adventure, featuring H., has been going along amazingly. Squash was great, and a few days ago we tried strawberries. And they went as well as the squash. MY kitchen is mad at me thought, for attempting my own baby food puree. I also made some other foods to freeze, while I was already messy... there is currently a very happy looking row of strawberry, peas, squash, and cauliflower purees on my freezer door. I'm very much looking forward to trying those out! I'm having so much fun with solids, and I think H. is too.

And, finally, H. rolled over! Both ways! Back to tummy yesterday morning, and then tummy to back yesterday afternoon! My little man is getting to be a big man! Sad but exciting!

And that's all. As I said, all quiet on the home front!

Sleep Update

So, as I said yesterday, H. and I were having problems sleeping... well, H. was, but I can't sleep if he isn't.

To update... Las night was the first night in a week that H. didn't end up in my bed at some point last night. He did wake up at 3:30 for his soother, and was awake at 6:15, but it was still the best sleep I've had since we've moved.

Baby steps. We'll get back to a full 12 hours with no wake ups. I'm sure of it.

Busy Week!

MY goodness, I never thought I'd get a minute (or a few) to update you on my busy week!

Firstly, Saturday was moving day, and it was intense. I'd never done an entire move, with furniture and everything, so I was in for a surprise. It wasn't too bad though, all things considered. My mom agreed to watch H. for Friday night so I could help my sister pack, and Saturday while we actually moved. One less thing for me to worry about, but I missed him like mad!

So, we started loading the truck at about 11:30, and we were done everything (except unpacking) at about 3 or so. I was so tired at that point, but the best was yet to come...

H. didn't sleep... like, barely at all. Our new house is brighter and louder, and smells different, so neither of us got much sleep. He would only sleep in my arms, and when he sleeps in my arms, I can't sleep... I'm too worried about rolling onto him or pushing him off the side of the bed. So, he didn't sleep much, and I barely slept at all.

So, the last few days have been pretty iffy. We've both been pretty grumpy and tired. But, every night he sleeps more and more. Last night was one wake up at around midnight, and he went back to sleep right away. He woke up again at around 5, so I brought him to bed with me because he wasn't going back to sleep by himself. And we slept until around 7, which was ok.

The other cool thing that happened this week was H. started eating veggies! We have been doing the cereal thing for about 3 weeks now, and he was doing so well with that. I decided to try some butternut squash. I cooked it, and pureed it, and then last nigh gave him some. There were no funny faces or anything, but I have a video just in case. He really liked it. He had some more today and ate it again with no problems.

In a few days, once I know he isn't allergic to the squash or something, we're going to do bananas! I'm excited for that!

So, all in all, a busy week!

Sleeping Wiggle-bottom

H. wiggles. All the time. When he's awake, or asleep, or eating, or even playing on his playmat.

It's not uncommon for me to put him down right in the middle of his crib, and in the morning to find him sideways pressed into the top. Which is funny, it makes a good story... but lately, he's been waking up in the middle of the night (where before he was sleeping 12 hours at night) because he's wiggled to a side, and can't move anymore.

Well, I love my sleep, and therefore, this needed to stop. He doesn't like being wrapped up, so swaddling him wouldn't work... Putting him farther down in his crib so he's got less wiggling room didn't work, and putting him right at the top so from the start he'd have nowhere to go didn't work either.

And then I got a brilliant idea... a GroBag, which is essentially a sleeping bag that has armholes. So, I am kind of cheap, and wasn't really wanting to pay like 60 bucks for is, especially since he is going to grow out of it so fast.

But, lo and behold, I found one for 15 bucks at my favourite consignment store. And it was cute. It's white, with adorable little blue tractors all over it. So cute!

And we tried it last ight. H. still moved a little. But only a few inches. He didn't touch any side of the crib, and stayed asleep all night!

Yay! We're back to an uninterrupted 12 hours night of sleep!

Starting Cereal

About 2 weeks ago now, I decided to try feeding H. cereal. Most people are told to wait until 6 months, but at H.'s 4-month check-up, my doctor (who is amazing, while we're talking about her) said it was fine to start trying cereal.

I have read possibly every article on the internet available about starting solids, so I thought I was prepared, but not so much. H. is not a big fan, even 2 weeks later. He hasn't had an allergic reaction, he just doesn't like it. He has started eating more at each feeding, and hopefully soon we'll start doing veggies.

It's exciting. My little guy is growing so fast. He also had his first bath in the "big-boy tubby" today, not his baby tubby (which he had grown out of quite a while ago).

He's getting to be so big, so fast. Scary. Soon he'll be crawling, and soon after that, walking, and talking... I'm not sure I'm going to be ready for that!