I made a joke on facebook the other day about how it is easier to forget you are pregnant the second time around - so true! When I was pregnant with Grant, I taught boot camp in the mornings and some evenings, and hung out with Toby all day. We had full days of playing at the park, going for walks, taking naps and an occasional trip to go get ice cream (Toby really likes car rides). Basically, you have nothing to do except read articles and become a quasi-expert in everything and nothing all at the same time and watch the calendar.
The second time around, life is busy. I will be the first to raise my hand and say no, I did not have a full-time job while pregnant and I realize that is super duper busy, and I would never compare the two. Apples and oranges. However, with the addition of Ollie to our family and chasing Grant around, life becomes a bit more hectic, a bit more full, priorities change, and WHAM, you look at the calendar and you're 6 months pregnant. At my doctor's office, they see you once a month, then in month 8 it is every 2 weeks, and month 9 every week. Last visit I scheduled all my appointments through month 8 and had a rude awakening - What do you mean we are almost done? When did that happen? I remember this taking a lot longer the first time around. It's also interesting how if this were 50 or even 20 years ago, you may not know you were pregnant right away, so the waiting time may seem shorter. With both of our little guys, we knew at day 8 or 9, which makes 40 weeks CRAWL by.
And so begins the slow-motion panic attack of making a mental list of all the things you have left to do and squeezing them in the time you have left. Funny how for the brain of a pregnant lady, we wish calendar time could slow down just a bit, but the time it takes to get everything on our list needs to speed up and happen NOW. (Thank you to my husband for putting up with this speedy mental project manager who wants everything done yesterday.)
This week is week 26, but for comparison sake I pulled a picture of week 22 with Grant and this time around with little guy #2. Will take more pictures for next time.
22 weeks with Grant
22 weeks with little guy #2
Pretty similar. Feeling good. No complaints. The aches and argues I got after week 30 the first time around started earlier this time, mostly in the round ligaments, but as my doctor (who I adore) pointed out - This is your second time around and you are 2 years older now, of course things are stretchy. Thanks doc! The 5 seconds after I wake up every morning is usually when it hasn't occurred to me yet that I'm growing a human. Then I try to sit up in bed and UGH. Nope. You have to do the old-timer roll over and sit up to get out of bed. My brain is very good at reminding the rest of me when I have aches and pains - when my hips are mad and my skin hurts, my brain says "DUDE, you are growing a human inside your own body, of course things ache a bit." Yup. Makes sense.
Uncle Jason Was Here!
Uncle Jason came out to visit and play with us for a week. We had tons of fun going to parks, playing trains and dinosaurs, drawing chalk train tracks, and of course, the Science Center.
Too cool for school.
There is an indoor bridge over the freeway and you can look down through the floor and watch the cars go by. One of the more popular places to lay on the carpet in public.
Catching the ball out of the air. The tube at the bottom shoots out a stream of air and you place balls above it to watch them "float". We could have stayed at that one exhibit all day long.
Where to look?
If you know the Science Center, this is right next to the huge T-Rex and Stegosaurus. They are huge moving robotic figures where clearly there has been a fight and the T-Rex is about to have lunch on the Stegosaurus. We've been here for 5 years and that poor Stegosaurus has been laying on the grass with huge scratches in his side bleeding, dying and screeching for the past 5 years. We walk up to the dinosaurs, which for a little guy are still pretty big and loud, and I tell Grant the T-Rex knocked the Stegosaurus over and is going to eat him for lunch.
Grant doesn't blink an eye, just accepts info and moves on. The woman next to me walks up with her 5/6 year old daughter and tells her that the big one pushed the other one over and is waiting for him to get up. Funny how different we all are.
Sunny Days
The sun is out, warm weather is here, and we are getting out and about every chance we get! If we plan it right, we can be the first ones at the park, play to our heart's content, have snacks and be home in time for lunch and a well-earned nap. Now that Grant is a little bigger too, the playgrounds aren't as scary or difficult as they used to be, and he is also learning he can do more things. I wouldn't use the word "fearless" just yet, but let's just say we are full-steam ahead with a side of caution.
Write it on the calendar - Friday, April 15th and we pulled out the water toys! Summer here we come.
Last weekend we stopped by a charity fundraising event to benefit the St. Louis Military Officer Support Foundation SLMOSF. They had a Ranger for us to sit in and see (think golf cart on steroids, plus bigger tires, bigger engine, and seat belts), a motorcycle, and a few military weapons and vests to check out. Grant was happy to say hi and make new friends, but not too keen on sitting in the Ranger or motorcycle.
Here we are on a not-so-sunny day. 7:15am and it is raining, and I hear "Shoes? Outside?" Yup. Don't see why not. Rain is not a deterrent from playing with trucks.
New Parks
This week we joined our friends at a new park - well, new to us. I have a friend who blogs about all the parks in the area. If you live here I recommend you check it out and follow it. She tells you where the park is, talks about the playground, and how well her two boys like it. Very useful to the rest of us. You can find her blog at havesnackswilltravel.com, or go to the sidebar on the right and click on the link in "Other Fun Blogs to Read".
This time we went to Sylvan Springs County Park. It is a 70 acre park and part of the St. Louis County of parks. We saw just a smidge of what the park has to offer. There is a good-sized playground, tons of play space, OH, and a river, which is almost the best thing on Earth to stare at when you are 2.
Originally known as Rock Springs, this was the site of the first bivouac at
Jefferson Barracks. A temporary camp was established on July 10, 1826, by
four companies of the First U.S. Infantry Regiment under the command of
Major Stephen Watts Kearny. It was named Cantonment Adams, in honor
of President John Quincy Adams. In September of that year, a more
permanent camp was started upstream along the Mississippi. This new post
was called Jefferson Barracks in honor of Thomas Jefferson, who had died
just six days prior to Kearny’s arrival at Sylvan Springs.
Checking out the barges and tug boats as they move up and down the Mississippi River.
Snacks. We always travel with snacks and water after a fun morning at the park.
Of course, we are also getting ready for our new little guy... more on that later, but I had to show you what we found on one of my new favorite websites.
Yup, a onesie polo. I found a great website that has infant/baby/kids clothes that are normal, don't say anything (like "little slugger" or "shopping princess"), don't have logos, and made of soft pima cotton. Lots of fun to check out: primary.com. That's all for now! More coming soon...
Until next time, keep exploring!
Love and hugs,
M, K, G, T, O and G calls him, "bebe"
