Does Lightning Strike Twice?

I don’t write this post to be boastful; it’s just something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, especially as we prepare for baby #2.

I think that Chris and I probably hit the baby jackpot with Averie. 

She was a great eater – didn’t care where it came from; if it was food, she was good.  

  

Her only health problem as an infant was a bout of bad jaundice, which is pretty common, and we got through that. 

  

She slept through the night when she was two weeks old, and before that, slept 4 to 5 hours at a stretch.  She took marathon naps in the day – regularly 3 to 4 hours as a newborn – and still slept at night.

  

She met all her developmental milestones on time, if not early.  The only one we’re behind on is speech, and even then, we’re starting to see some big improvement.

  

When I decided to stop nursing and weaned her at 9 months, she went right to formula with no difficult transition period.  

  

We were done with bottles before 1 year.  

  

She almost never gets sick.  There’s been plenty of times that I thought she had an ear infection (thank you, otoscope, for saving us all those trips to the pediatrician!), but she’s only actually had one and a cold in two years.

  

She is so independent!  I’ve noticed this particularly over the last 4 weeks as I’ve been battling the sinus-infection-that-wouldn’t-die.  She can almost dress herself completely (some of her shoes require a little adult help), she feeds herself, shampoos her own hair in the shower, and helps put away her toys.  And as much as I love playing with her, I love watching her play by herself just as much.  She is so imaginative!      

  

As a 2-year-old, of course there are days that she makes me want to pull my hair out.  But generally?  I don’t think we could have gotten any luckier if we tried. 

  

I just wonder if we’ll be so fortunate with our little boy.  Will he be a perfect sleeper, too?  A great eater?  I'll admit I'm especially crossing my fingers for another good sleeper -- Averie has certainly spoiled Chris and me.  Will he struggle with development?  Will he have major health problems?  I hope not, of course.  I do kind of think that there's just no way two parents can get this lucky more than once and that makes me a little nervous for the future, but we'll see!

  

We’re less than 3 months away from D-Day now – let’s hope he is more punctual than his big sister! ;-)

Pregnancy Post: This Kid is Gonna Kill Me

It could be amnesia but I’m quite certain my pregnancy with Averie was NEVER this difficult.  The discomforts were mild and didn’t last long.  Maybe it’s because I was working at the time and it kept me from dwelling on things too much. 

But this little guy is really putting me through the wringer.  Splitting headaches.  All-day sickness that lasted into the second trimester.  Placenta previa.  SPD pain.  And now – heartburn.  Oh gosh, the heartburn.  It makes swallowing difficult, keeps me up at night, and makes me nauseous.  I’ve never had heartburn before – ever! – so maybe it’s not even THAT bad by normal people’s standards, but this is downright miserable.  I wonder if the old wives’ tale will hold true and he’ll come out with a full head of hair :P.

OK, venting aside, I’m honestly in good spirits and feeling fine the majority of the time.  This cold/sinus and lung infection/whatever it is knocked me flat on my back and it seems it’s been one thing after another.  However, after two rounds of antibiotics, I am on the mend and am looking forward to having energy again!

I’m just over 26 weeks now and at my last appointment (2 weeks ago), I was at a net loss of 3 pounds!  Since I could’ve stood to lose a few (or more) before I even got pregnant, I’m happy about that, since our baby boy is still growing right on track.  As long as I don’t go on a junk-food binge, I should walk out of the hospital weighing less than when I started which makes me a happy girl. 

The gestational diabetes test is in about two weeks.  I didn’t have GD with Averie, but – silly as it may be – when I was clipping my coupons on Sunday, I clipped the ones for the blood glucose meter and test strips…just in case.  Hopefully I won’t need it though! 

I am starting to get the nesting urge, but there’s not as much to do here as there was when we were at our own place.  Maybe that’s good since I’m so exhausted :P.  This guy isn’t getting the luxury, tricked-out nursery treatment that Averie did and even though I know that was more for Chris and me (I DID love decorating that room), I know he won’t care as long as he has a comfy place to sleep. 

We’ve got his car seat, bottles, all the baby gear, and even a stash of clothes and diapers to start us off.  We have just about 3 months to go, but I can’t help but feel ready for him now!

Happy New Year!

Martinelli's, of course ;-).

I've never been more ready for a new year and a new start!  2012 is going to be great for us.