Ashton's big boy bed!

We ordered Ashton a big boy bed. Not just because the baby is coming (although we felt it was beneficial to do it now so he's not perceiving her as stealing his crib) and not just because the kid is practically tearing off the bars to the crib. But we thought he was genuinely ready. We just thought it would be harder - and it might be once the novelty has worn off.
Let us first run down how Ashton sleeps. Once he gets to sleep, he's amazing but the going to bed part is something special. When we put Ashton to bed, he's immediately quiet for about 5 minutes or so and then the rumpus begins. On a good night, he just lays there for about 30 minutes sucking his thumb and gently tapping his feet on the wall. Most nights, he spends an hour chatting to himself, screaming happily and doing who-knows-what (what can a toddler confined to a crib really do?) So we were expecting to spend nights sitting by the door, putting him back in the bed every 2 minutes or less.
Two days ago (Thursday), the bed arrived. To be specific, a twin mattress and boxspring. It arrived during nap time and coincidentally, Ashton decided to not nap so the delivery guys were able to put it where I wanted it. To say he was excited as soon as he saw it would be an understatement. He was crawling all over it as I was making it. After it was made, he crawled right in and under the blankets. That night we went to prenatal classes, which we do in my hometown because that is where the baby is to be born. Ashton went to my parents. We stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home to get a bed rail. It was a late night so we put Ashton in his bed, where he sucked his thumb and tucked himself under the covers while I assembled the contraption. We took him out to install the bed rail and then tucked him in and said goodnight. Five minutes later, I made sure the monitor was still working (his room is not really in earshot of ours) and it wasn't so Jesse snuck in to fix it. Amazingly, Ashton was still in bed exactly where we left him. We both woke up at 2am to movement sounds. We were able to determine by his breathing that he was still asleep but just rolling over a bit. Normally I don't wake up to that but my mommy rader was on. After that, the alarm went off and he was still sleeping. Jesse and I showered and while the shower was on, he was definitely awake and still in the bed. Post shower, we checked on him and he was sleeping. When he woke up finally, an hour or two past usual time, he stayed in bed until I came in the room.
Friday afternoon, he had a nap. He had been looking forward to this all day. The question, "Ashton, would you like a nap?" was answered with a very definite nod "yes". So he had a nap with his usual pre-nap babbling but he didn't leave his bed. I know this. I listened very closely. Again, he woke up and waited for someone to come in before he got out of bed. That night, we thought that he wouldn't stay in bed. We figured that the last night was a fluke because he was tired. He won't possibly stay in bed after napping so late, would he? He did...and again, stayed in bed. He was awake for a little bit before falling asleep and this morning, was up close to 8 and didn't leave his bed again until we came to get him. Then he slid himself backwards off the bed in his usual style, ready to start the day. This morning (Saturday), Ashton has been obsessively piling almost all of his belongings on the bed and climbing on. He has indicated to me on several occasions that he wanted a nap. As he normally naps close to 2pm, I said "Ashton, are you sure you want a nap? It's only 10" and he nodded yes. So I figured it was worth a try anyway. So I put his stuff away and put him in bed, where he lay comfortably with a thumb in his mouth. Then I left. Soonafter, I heard a noise..."doiiiiing doiiing", the familiar sound of a doorstop. A sound that indicates that a toddler not in bed. When I entered the room, all the stuffed toys and extra blankets from the shelf in his room were in bed. He was not. I said "Ashton, are you sure you want a nap?" and got the usual answer. So I cleaned up his bed and he climbed in and tucked himself in, thumb in mouth. I left again, heard some noise and realized that the light was on again. I entered the room and as soon as he saw me, he quickly removed all the toys that he had piled on his bed and climbed back in, assuming the thumb sucking position. Five minutes later, the light was on again. I said "Ashton, I don't think you want a nap. It's early for your nap and if you don't want to nap right now, that's fine...do you want a nap?". This time he answered me by running out of his room and in to the playroom. Let's hope we have success when it is actually nap time.

The second time is scarier!!

So I have been thinking a lot about birth this time around and how it will be different. I remember feeling fairly accomplished after birthing Ashton because despite the fact that he was a c-section, I laboured for a fairly long time (as far as I am concerned anyway). I remember so much pain and not being able to ease it. The epidural kind of sucked because it dulled the pain but the pressure was intense! Ashton was posterior so it was excruciating pain for the most part. My prior sense of accomplishment has been turned in to a sense of fear for this one. Over the last few days, I have talked to a lot of people about this. My mother with her 36 (?) hours of labour prior to a c-section, friends who have had one baby, friends who have had 2 babies, and Jesse. I feel a little better now. Last week was a fairly intense baby week. On Thursday, Jesse and I went to prenatal class. We are going again as a refresher and to sort of feel more focused on the baby since we're both so busy with Ashton and life and whatnot. On Friday, I went to the Doctor and found out that I am very likely to be able to have a V-bac. This IS what I want and here are a few reasons:
-If I am scheduled to have a C-section, I will feel less of a sense of accomplishment. I guarantee this...it's just the type of person I am and feeling accomplished is very important to me.
-If I am scheduled to have a C-section, they will not do it until 41.5 weeks, which will be roughly close to the date that they would induce me if they induced previous c-sections (which they don't). At this point, I will probably have one anyway (although my Doctor assured me that they will try to naturally get me to go in to labour first). And if I haven't had this baby by 41.5 weeks, I will probably have exploded.
-Recovery with Ashton AND my newborn. I have a wonderful man, wonderful family and friends but I'm going to have to be on my own at some point. My c-section recovery was ridiculously easy the last time but it is major surgery so I might not be that lucky again.
So V-bac it is, hopefully. I have been referred to an obstetrician so hopefully that will clear things up.

Jesse and I have enrolled Ashton in a sports program for toddlers that will be running from September to December. Jesse will take him and we're really excited for this! We are both really hoping that it will be something nice for him for around when the baby comes. Ashton has shown a lot of interest in kicking and throwing balls (and just running around holding them). Jesse is completely thrilled about taking him to this. Working full time hasn't given him a huge chance to take Ashton to things like this too often.

I absolutely adore my son. Yesterday, I walked in and saw him sitting beside the desk and he had almost completely covered himself in neon pink post-it notes. When he saw me, he passed me one and then assisted in passing them all to me to help me clean them up. He is very willing to clean up usually...we make it fun!
These last 2 days, he has woken up from his nap screaming. Usually he wakes up happy and I can prepare him a snack before I go in to get him because he just plays and chats to himself in the crib. These last 2 days, we snuggle for awhile when he wakes up screaming. When I ask him questions like "Are you hungry/thirsty?", he shakes his head no. He just cuddles me and then he's fine. Today, he cuddled for awhile on my chest and then pointed to his dresser. This indicated that he wanted his comb. So I brushed his hair and then he brushed his hair and he was happy. He also likes to use my hairbrush to brush my hair. We have lots of fun styling hair.

My new dance buddy

Ashton has 3 dance steps, named by his father. There is the "boogie shuffle", which in my head is called "The Maniac" because it reminds me of a certain scene in "Flashdance". There is the "boogie wiggle" and the "boogie dance" as well. He does them on demand, but is usually more willing to do them in the bathtub (when my child baths, he does not sit. He splashes and dances pretty much the entire time except for when we do the cleaning part). Anyone who enters the bathroom at this time is not dry when they exit.
Ashton doesn't watch TV. We have kept him away from it for the most part, more when he was a baby. We PVR most things because we can relax more and watch our shows undistracted and skip commercials after he goes to sleep. If it's on during the day, he will periodically glance at it but will not engage in watching it. I am happy with that. I was raised without TV for the most part and I don't think it's necessary. I don't think it's evil for a child either. I just think moderation is key. I think that some parents may use it for the convenience of it being a babysitter for young children for hours on end, which is extreme. I once babysat 2 children who asked me once when their parents' would be home but rather than "at 5-O-clock" or "In 2 hours", they only understood it as "In 4 TV shows". Anyway, I watched the last 1/2 hour of last nights' episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" today. Ashton sat beside me on the couch and played with maracas and semi-circular stacking balls while paying no attention to the TV. Then the dancing started. As the music came on, the maracas fell to the couch. Ashton stared. Then he started squealing and bouncing, screaming and clapping his hands. The dancing stopped and the judging began. Ashton looked back down to his toys and the TV was forgotten...until the next dance. So when he's older, will he come to watch musicals with me at the theatre? Will he come to the ballet performance of "The Nutcracker" at Christmas? Or is this just a case of an almost-2-year-old perking up to music and movement and a hopeful mother who is hoping that at least one of the males in the house will want to watch musicals with her one day? Time will tell.

Neglect

I have been neglecting this blog. I can't believe it's been over a year! Between the death of macbook (a temporary death...but thankfully we have a new computer now), going back to work, getting pregnant, chasing a toddler...I really have no excuse so I will stop making them.
I am already 30 weeks pregnant with our little girl. I have been off work since May due to some back and pelvic problems. The time off with Ashton has been amazing but I wish I could do a lot of things with him that I can't do. I would love to put him in a backpack and go hiking and lots of other things like that. But life is about sacrifices. I felt guilty about not being able to do a lot of the things we did last summer but Jesse has reminded me that we still do a lot and I feel better now. I have so much support and help from him and I really consider myself lucky.
Right now it's late and I am tired. I will return to this :)

Summertime...and the livin' is easy

I haven't posted in forever! A and I have been filling our days with tons of activities. We do movies (they have a special day/time where you can bring the babes), playdates (he has a much busier social life than moi), swimming lessons, baby groups, coffee with friends (my friends this time) and stroller workouts. I am in a summer dance class so get out for ballet once a week, which is nice.
The green beans I posted about earlier ended up being an allergy. He was subsequently tested for major allergens and the tests were negative (yay!)
Ashton is 9 months old now. Where did the time go? Some summer pics (more to come)

Picnic!

It's picnic season! I have never been a big picnic person but the weather is gorgeous for it. Ashton is sitting completely by himself and is capable of doing this for an unlimited amount of time so I can slap on the sunscreen, give him some toys and picnic! I came along to the ball field when Jesse had practice, parked a blanket in the shade and laid out a variety of toys. All Ashton wanted was my cell phone (I have New York Times crosswords on it and am somewhat addicted). You give a kid a huge supply of toys and they want the phone!

We also have a backpack for him so we are able to do some hiking. Mom and I went to the falls for a bit of a walk. I also decided that the backpack would be easier to haul up the big hill by my house the other day (as opposed to pushing the stroller). I was totally wrong but it was a good workout!

Ashton is eating more and more solid food. He loves his cereals (oatmeal and rice) but is now eating squash and banana. The banana is new and he's not quite there yet. He's become a pro at holding banana in his mouth and then spitting it out 5 mins later when he's cleaned out. The first time I gave him oatmeal, he blew it in my face. Thankfully he loves his oatmeal now...and hopefully he'll love his banana too! The green beans were temporarily discontinued because of his excema but I have been told to reintroduce them in a few weeks. The excema is gone now so I will reintroduce the beans in a few days. The boy is somewhat of an allergy risk, I've been told but thankfully public health seems to make recommendations based on the assumption that all babies can be at risk of developing food allergies.

I have been busy too! Solids, picnics and workouts! And dance! We had our dance recital this past weekend so lots of practice! I'm stoked on doing dance through the summer too but not until July. Being active has given me such a high. I do a stroller class once a week and afterwards, I go home and clean! It's amazing...the energy I get from that kind of thing.

Last week, I had Ashton down at my parent's because we had a doctor's checkup for him. It was really hot that day and he was cranky so we set up a pool. Ashton's mommy got to go in and cool off too!

Food for thought

Ashton is six months now so we're introducing solids.  We started the week before he turned six months, which was my birthday so we figured that was a day to remember.  We started him on rice cereal.  At first he was kind of indifferent to it and then after a few days he got really excited about it and would start kicking his feet in his high chair and the little hands would get going and he would open his mouth wide.  This is him on day one:

When he got the hang of it, we started giving it to him twice a day.  I am using commercial rice cereal because it's iron fortified but I am making my own other food.  We're leaving several days between new foods and keeping a food journal.  I bought some green beans the other day.  Today I brought them with me to my parents and made them there as I went there to help with some stuff and I wanted to use the beans when they were fresh.  So I steamed the beans and after they were steamed I tried some.  They were delicious.  Then I food-processed them and strained them.  Mom has an applesauce strainer thing that is the best thing ever.  I tasted them after they were strained and it was nasty, which was weird because they were tasty before they were processed...I think it was just the consistency.  So mom took a video when I was feeding him and there are some pics of it below.  He seemed to really love the beans and wanted more.  It was pretty cool!