Still Waiting (18.5 months and 38.5 weeks)

Last week, I was having a lot of cramping.  There was a point we thought Sydney would be coming sooner than later but things have calmed down now.  The false alarm was good because it got us to finish packing and to get everything ready.  We are all ready for her! Now we are just waiting.   She is mostly active at night especially after I eat my nightly cereal.  Sleeping is becoming more and more difficult.  Which is unfortunate because I know once Sydney arrives I really won't be getting any sleep.

Brian and I have talked a lot about what we have learned after having Austin.  We are hoping that Sydney will be a little "easier" just because we have become a little smarter.  When Austin was born we would both stay up and care for him.  It was like we needed each other because we were so clueless!  With Austin, I had trouble breastfeeding (like most new moms).  That made the first week probably the worst week ever!  We learned a lot about breastfeeding.  First of all, when my milk comes in either Sydney will drink it or I will pump it.  I won't let it dry up at all like I did with Austin.  I did not understand the supply and demand philosopy at first with Austin.  I totally get it now.  For me, it's better to milk and stay ahead than get behind at all.  There was one point with Austin we were feeding him 10cc of breast milk from a syringe and thought that would fill him up.  Boy were we clueless!  No wonder why he kept crying!  He was hungry!

We know how to feed, change, and care for a baby now.  Now we understand it's going to be more of a challenge because we have Austin and Sydney to care for but hopefully we will be smarter this time. Austin will continue to go to daycare part time.  That way it will give me some time with Sydney and maybe a little bit of time to rest.  It will also let Austin keep his routine.  I have also learned it's not worth trying to be "Super Mom".  I can't do everything and I have learned my limits.  I like a clean house, chores always completed, and children well cared for.  When Austin was first born, whatever he needed I gave him.  We never allowed him to cry it out.  You cannot spoil a baby so we made sure every need was met.  With Austin, I would go without eating, sleeping, or peeing because I felt I had to do other things first like a load of laundry.  At times, that did not work out so well.  I have to care for myself too.  If the floor doesn't get clean for one more day, it's okay.  If a child cries for a minute, it's okay.  I remember staying awake at night just in fear that I would not hear Austin cry.  I was already sleep deprived and that was not a good idea.

Brian and I have also learned roles.  We each do things with Austin and that allows the other one to have a break.  Brian always give Austin a bath at night.  Brian puts him to bed at night.  I always put Austin down for a nap in the afternoon.  I usually get Austin up in the morning.  (I always use to get him up but now that we switched daycares, Brian takes him to daycare and I go into work early - that way I can pick him up early.)  Austin and I always make dinner.  I am in charge of meal planning for Austin.   All of us go for a walk around the block at night.  We really enjoy that.  Brian and I get to talk and Austin gets to play in his stroller.   We got a new double stroller last week.  Hopefully Austin will like his new stroller once Sydney arrives.  Right now things are going very well for us.  I am very grateful for our family.

Since Austin's ear tubes, his speech has improved.  His new favorite word is bus. He even thinks that trucks are buses.  Austin can now say: bubbles, bees, water, bus, daddy, doggy, ball, ducky, bye bye, hi, baby, and otter.  I am very glad we went ahead with the surgery.  It was scary sending Austin to surgery but I was confident it was a good choice.  And now I am really glad we did.

The news is now reporting that July was the hottest month in U.S. history.  Not exactly the best month to be 8 months pregnant!  When I was pregnant with Austin, we took a weekly photo to show my pregnancy progress.  With Sydney we were not able to do this because it was too crazy with Austin running around.  Instead Brian and I did a pregnancy photo shoot last week.  Some of the photos are included in this post.


Now we will anxiously await Sydney's arrival!