Offspring Update

Jamie is doing really well. He was sleeping in his new toddler bed for the longest time, and even started using a pillow. He had almost 2 months of teething his molars which caused some serious sleep issues. Nobody ever told me it could cause such problems! I was worried it was something we were doing. But for the last 3 days he's gone for a daily nap and to bed at night pretty much voluntarily and didn't cry at all! It makes life so much easier. He hasn't demanded to play in the middle of the night either, and last night he woke up and put himself back to sleep.

A couple of weeks ago, he decided he didn't want to sleep in his bed anymore, and moved his pillow and blanket to the narrow space between the foot of our bed and the wall/corner of the room. The mattress fits perfectly there, so we moved his mattress, got a new mattress for the bed (convertible crib/toddler bed) to see if he wanted to keep using his bed, and he hasn't looked back. He likes the floor. So we'll use the crib for Renna and when we move we'll get a twin bed for Jamie. He should be ready by then.

Jamie crawls up and down stairs by himself, and will walk up and down them if holding someone's hand. He walks like a pro and thankfully has stopped falling down from being uncoordinated. He also runs, which is highly cool. He can just barely reach doorknobs now, but can't turn them yet.

We're already potty training him. He tells us when he has to pee on a pretty regular basis, but doesn't tell us about the other yet. This is the only way to solve his diaper rash since it's because of his super sensitive skin and not from the poo itself. I'm very impressed with him that he's done so well and really taken to this potty training business.

Renna is growing well and I have only 7 weeks until my due date. We've decided to do a home birth. I found a midwife, and Louise will still be my doula even though now she'll have to drive an hour and a half to get here. I'm looking into getting a pool and laboring in the water, and maybe doing a water birth. All of this came about after a bad visit with the OB. She said some things that were completely counter to what she had been saying before. I know sometimes she gets crabby if she feels like she's not being given the proper amount authority and recognition. I just didn't need to worry about her mood when in labor and didn't want to have to fight with her about not doing unnecessary interventions. A vbac is healthiest and safest for both Renna and me and the safest place to labor and birth is in the home whether it's a vbac or regular vaginal birth. When Michael found out I wanted to go to the hospital only because of insurance and cost reasons, he was not happy with me. He wanted a home birth just like I did, but thought I wanted to be in the hospital just in case there was a need for an emergency c-section. And since the time it would take to get me into the OR is the same whether I'm laboring in the hospital with a surgeon on call or coming in from 5 minutes away is still a minimum of 20 minutes, it doesn't help to be in the hospital. I'm really very comfortable with this decision and I like the midwife. I am so much healthier and more comfortable in this pregnancy than I was at this point with Jamie. I really look forward to being able to give birth without extensive interference from impatient doctors.

Knitting Miscellany and a Ewe-Nique Store Found

I've finished four sweaters since December, two for Renna and two for Jamie. Now I'm working on a pair of socks and a scarf for Janessa for Christmas. Soon I'll be starting Renna's blanket which will be in a lace weight held double. I'll also be starting (over) another pair of socks. I'll also be starting another sweater, this one for Renna, then one for Jamie.

I got the KnitPicks options interchangeables and I love them. I also got the fixed circulars in the smaller sizes. The wires of the KnitPicks needles are the best I've ever used, very soft and pliable (even without boiling!). I also like their yarn. I've made both of Jamie's sweaters and one of Renna's from KnitPicks yarn. It's inexpensive but still excellent quality.

I've also found a new favorite yarn store in Goshen called Ewe-Nique Knits. I heard of it from someone in a knitting group I've started going to that meets once a month. I also met the owner online through Ravelry. So Mama and I went one Saturday, and I got some great yarn. I found two that I made into a sweater for Renna, and one was the lace weight for Renna's blanket. I also got the sock yarn there on another trip. I love this place! We even made the 45 minute drive for a knitting night, which we'll be doing again soon.

Daddy Needs to Be Here Right Now

My husband had me peeing my pants today. But let me start at the beginning. A Red Robbin restaurant opened up last week, so we went to lunch there today. My mother had never been to one, so it was totally new to her. The fries are awesome, btw. My son was playing with his balloon and he knocked it into my drink, which landed square on my lap and I was soaked. I wasn't terribly upset, because, what can you do? I had to sit through lunch in wet pants, but that's okay. It was a little funny. Now, you may be thinking that if I find something like this so funny, perhaps I have some mental problems, or some weird pregnancy hormonal thing going on, and you maybe right. But I digress. We got our food and Mama's fish was rubbery and just not good at all, so she sent it back and got the chicken strips instead. After they took that away, I bit further into my burger and found that part of it was mostly raw in the center. So I sent it back to get cooked some more. By the time Mama's chicken arrived Michael had finished his burger. A few minutes later my burger arrived. The chicken was much better and my burger was much better, although I did find parts of it were still pink in the middle, but at least it wasn't raw. Now, you'd think perhaps I'd be annoyed or at least tense at this point, but no. Not a big deal really. Michael took Jamie out into the car because he was tired and ready for a nap and getting overstimulated and cranky in the restaurant. Mama and I finished eating shortly thereafter. The manager comped our entire bill, which was very generous, and of course we'll be back to give them another chance. It's newly opened afterall, so not all of the kinks are worked out yet. So we leave a tip, and the waitress was thrilled. I remember when I used to wait tables that usually fully comped tables didn't usually leave a tip even if the reason for the comp wasn't my fault at all. Anyway, she was a great waitress, so of course we left her a tip based on what we thought the bill would have been. She earned it. So we go out to the car and head home. Jamie was feeling better but still cranky, so I put on his classical music and he went straight to sleep. On the drive home, Michael started telling us about how Jamie is learning to try to communicate more complex ideas. Michael was in the bathroom, but had the door open so he could still hear Jamie and be accesible if Jamie needed/wanted him, and Jamie came in and had his train controller and pointed to it then pointed out into the living room. This has happened often when the train runs into a wall or obstacle and stops moving. He then wants you to "fix" the train so it moves again. But he has learned to do this himself, so Michael was confused as to why Jamie would come to him about this again, so he told Jamie to bring him the train. Jamie then went back into the living room and returned without the train and made the same gestures as before. Again Michael told him to bring him the train and again Jamie returned without it and repeated the same gestures. Michael then said that he told Jamie he couldn't go get it right now. He said he "had to be in the bathroom right now", and couldn't do what he was doing anywhere else. I found this to be enormously hilarious and laughed until I cried and peed. All I could think of was "Daddy needs to be here right now" and imagining him on the toilet. And since I was driving, I had to try to not laugh, which only seemed to make it worse. Oh, and to finish the Jamie story, he couldn't bring Michael the train because it was stuck partly under the couch and caught on some thread. So Jamie was trying to say he couldn't get his train. Such a smart boy.