20 Months

Our Little Man has hit his 20's.  Well, in months that is.  I have learned this month that I might have a problem with the age of "2".  It has hit me a little that he is growing, and fast.  I might shed a few tears in a few months...

He is ornery.  I think I have only myself to blame.  He has figured out that he can "hide" if he closes his eyes.  It's hilarious.  He has come up with new ornery faces and loves to give his daddy some of that "Ankrom Ornery", especially at bath time.  I think daddy is rethinking his decision to be in charge of bath time, so I am taking full advantage of each evening trying to get as much done as possible before I get that duty back.

He adds to his vocabulary everyday and has started to put a few words together.  This is primarily when he wants something: "more blueberries" or "water please".  These are said with much emphasis and he hasn't quite figured out that yelling "please" at your parents doesn't quite have the same effect as asking nicely.  He is learning "thank you" but it's hard to tell as it's still hard for him to say.  If he says anything remotely close to "thank you" after I ask him to I consider it a victory.

We have finally figured out that he is indeed old enough to have a little more structure at mealtimes.  Really, this just means that we are making him sit for longer periods of time.  Well, to be honest, we are just making him SIT, and mealtimes have suddenly taken longer and more seems to go into his mouth.  Weird how that happens.  He only fought us that first afternoon for all of five minutes, so I think he may have been secretly hoping his parents would figure out he likes routine/structure/rules.  Silly parents.  Although, his appetite has taken off anyway, so I'm not too sure it's the new rules about sitting.  He has put on visible weight so I am anticipating a major growth spurt soon.

He still loves cars, legos (the bigger kind), books, and his awesome dog Billy.  This month he started reading books to his stuffed animals.  This afternoon he was reading Elmo's ABC's to his moose and he just kept reading "Elmo Elmo Elmo Elmo" to the mouse.  Awesome.  I wish I recorded it.  But as in all time-recording device (ie cameras) he is a difficult subject to capture.  Maybe I need to invest in a camera with a faster shutter speed...

We have cleaned out the office with the goal of finishing his "Big Boy" room in February.  He hasn't quite grasped that he is A)getting a new room or B)getting a new sibling, but we aren't too worried.  He has let us know when he is ready for whatever the next step is in the last 20 months and I'm sure that will continue long into the future. 

Home birth Vs. C-Section

We had planned on having an ultra-sound free pregnancy this time around.

God had other plans.

We are home birthing people.  Our first was born 3 weeks and 1 day late at home rather quickly.  Baby and Mom were wonderfully healthy and I wouldn't trade that experience for the world.  It was awesome.  Two hours after his birth we were all cleaned, fed, and back in our beds as a family of three.

This pregnancy I am convinced God is using to give me empathy for other pregnant moms.  I had morning sickness and an intense craving for junk food I have battled. I had an aversion to vegetables and I could no longer stomach quinoa.  I am still tired at week 25, although I think I have only myself to blame on that one.  And now we have a second  ultrasound scheduled for next weekend in which we find out if we take the home-birth or highly medical c-section route.  This is a weird place to be.

We are not anti-medical people.  We do think we are overdependent on the medical system in all areas of health care and see this especially in giving birth.  Yes, the hospital is definitely there for many scenarios but we don't believe a healthy pregnancy, baby, and momma are one of them.  We would feel comfortable trying a breech birth at home and our 1st got stuck against my pelvic bone and with a little change of position on my part he was "un-stuck" (actually I would have received an "emergency" c-section twice in our labor with Asher, but that's for another day).  Alas, placenta previa is not something the hubs and I, or our wonderful midwife are about to attempt, nor should we.  So we wait.

I am actually quite content with either way this plays out.  If we need a c-section, so be it.  We would actually be more comfortable knowing ahead of time them to have to leave home after hours of natural labor to enter a hospital where some people would look down on us or treat us differently.  We would be able to go to my OB that I prefer in a bigger city. 

We are pretty excited about this opportunity at a second ultrasound though.  I know I said that we weren't planning on having any, but it sure it nice to see a healthy active baby on that screen and there is no sound more thrilling than a baby heartbeat over the speakers.  I get to hear the heartbeat at every midwife appt, but seeing little squirmy limbs is so cool.  Now to just make it through an ultrasound at 26 weeks without "accidentally" learning the gender...

Potty Time

We purchased a child's potty when the Little Man turned one and set it out in the bathroom.  We thought that we would just expose him to it and he would show interest when he wanted. We talk about going potty and I'm embarrassed to say that I've told the girls at work a time or two that "I'm going to the potty, be right back!". 

Well it was worth it, because we had our first correct use of it last night! After weeks of sitting on the potty before getting in the bath only to watch him pee 5 seconds after getting IN the bath we had success. 

Our initial reaction was lots of clapping and cheering and general hoopla in our small family bathroom.  His initial reaction was pointing and very concerned "uh-ohs".  That kid cracks me up!

Once he figured out that it was a GOOD thing he sat down a few more times to keep us clapping.  It's so funny what phase we are in our lives right now.  I am celebrating going "pee-pee in the potty" but I'd much rather be here than anywhere else.