Baby Bath Time!

As each day goes by, I become more and more encouraged about the transition of our new little one into our family. By no means am I disillusioned to think that there will not be any adjustments that will need to be made -- there will be. But I feel that so many of the fears that I had in the beginning about Samantha feeling left out or the idea that she now had to share her mom are subsiding.

Her interest and understanding about babies is growing tremendously these days. She knows where the baby's room is and that the baby is going to sleep in a crib. She's very familiar with the baby's bouncy seat and I often find a baby doll , a stuffed animal or even Buzz Lightyear in there. Today, she found the baby's bathtub (stored in the linen closet in the bathroom upstairs) and brought it down, with her baby doll, so that the baby could take a bath. I just chuckle over how much she really does grasp in her environment; she doesn't seem to miss a beat.

I can't wait to see the look on her face when she meets her new little brother or sister for the first time. I hope that she is just as excited as her mommy and daddy will be ...

A Battle of Wills ...

Having a 2 year old in the house means that many times a day we have a "battle of wills" that takes place. For the most part, that battle occurs between Samantha and ME because I am the primary caregiver. Last night, that battle actually took place between Samantha and Steve.

It had been a long day for Samantha and she was tired. But nonetheless, we try to stick to routines and it was a bath night for her. At the end of her bath, she knows that she must always pick up all of her toys and put them back on the shelf before she can get out.

Steve was overseeing the bath process last night (I was waiting in Sam's room with the PJs and bedtime story), and they battled over the idea of putting all of her toys away. After a drawn-out, very lengthy amount of time, Samantha ended up in "time-out" and Daddy explained that she would have to pick-up her toys in the morning.

So, that is what we did. After she got up and had breakfast today, I took her back upstairs to pick up all of her toys in the bathtub. She remembered and understood completely why she had to do this. And, she did it easily and without effort. Lesson learned.

Starting to pick-up her toys

Putting the last of the toys back on the shelf

Making a List ... And Checking it Twice ...

On Sunday night, I was filled with contentment. Things are coming together nicely as we are preparing for the birthday of our new little one. We have five weeks (or less) to go until we get to meet this precious baby that has filled my heart with so much joy already. Samantha joined our family a couple of weeks earlier than we had planned and I want to be ready if this baby decides to also make his/her debut sooner than planned.

I checked two more things off "my list" this weekend -- and they were biggies. The baby's room got painted on Saturday and the crib (complete with bedding) was set-up on Sunday. I still have a few more things to do in that room yet, but I feel better knowing that those things are done.

Samantha wanted to be part of the action

... and she was definitely a good helper!

I have good news: At my appointment last week, I found out that the baby had officially flipped and is now "head-down." This is obviously good because it will make birthing a lot easier, but it has also improved my ability to sleep at night (well, kind of). At my appointment next week, we will likely plan an ultrasound for the following appointment to try to gauge a little better what position the baby is in and an approximate size. Plus, we will get another little sneak-peak at our developing little one (not the gender, just the features)!

PlayGroup

For the last 4 months, I have been taking Samantha to a local PlayGroup that meets 2 Fridays a month. The PlayGroup is designed for children,ages 0-5 years, and meets in the preschool classroom. The children are able to play with all of the toys in the classroom and also partake in any of the art activities that the "teacher" has set-up for them.

Samantha really enjoys "going to school" and seeing all of her "riends," and we have not missed a single opportunity since we started going back in October. In fact, when the new little one joins our family, I still plan on taking both of them so that Samantha still has something special to do.

One of the activities that Samantha really enjoyed yesterday was painting:

(Please ignore the flattened hair due to the fact that she had just taken off her hat)

One of the things that I really like about this PlayGroup is that there is some free-time for the children to do whatever activities that they want, but there is also some structure built into the schedule. The children are allowed to play for 40 minutes, but then they must work together to clean-up all of the toys. Clean-up is followed by "circle time," which consists of singing various songs, and then the kids wash their hands before having a light snack. It is just the perfect amount of time; in fact, Sam usually takes a pretty long afternoon nap on the days that we go to PlayGroup.

Playing with all of the blocks

Cookie Time!

Samantha and I made chocolate chip cookies the other day and she had SO much fun helping me. First, she insisted on wearing her apron. In fact, she saw me wearing mine and then said, "match," while running to the pantry to get her own apron. Her own special job was to add the chocolate chips:

Of course, she had to take time out to taste the chocolate chips. Every good cook does this, right?!

When it was time to mix the dough, she was insistent that we needed to keep adding more chocolate chips. I later told Steve that if he thought that the cookies had a few more chocolate chips than normal ... well, that was because my helper was a little over-zealous with her job. He didn't seem to mind!

Sorting Clothes with My Helper

I am slowly starting to cross things off of my list entitled, "Things to Do Before the Baby Arrives." Of course, to be honest, as soon as I cross one thing off, it seems like I think of two more things to add to the list. But knowing me and how much I like a list, I can guarantee that everything WILL be done before our little one comes.

One of the things on the list was to sort through the baby clothes and try to group them based on "neutral clothing" or "girl clothing." Since we don't know if we are having a boy or a girl, I need to have all of the "neutral clothing" items grouped and ready by size. If this baby is a girl, we are fully prepared with all of the clothes that we have left-over from Sam.

I started this task this morning and my little helper was more than eager to join in the fun. She immediately thought that all of the clothes were for her baby doll and she set to work trying to dress the baby. She started with a hat:



Then she found the bibs. While Samantha hasn't worn a bib for a long time now, it really surprised me that she had no recollection about how to wear a bib or what it is for. She chose one for her baby doll (it happens to be the one that says, "My First Valentine's Day") and I helped her put it on. Then she proudly posed for a picture with her baby:



I am getting more and more excited each day to see how Sam is going to interact with her little brother or sister. In the beginning, I admit that I had some feelings of guilt because I worried that Sam would resent the time that I would need to spend with the baby (especially nursing), and that she would become jealous. Afterall, she is used to having me all to herself every day.

But, as the time draws closer and I see how much she LOVES babies and her dolls, those feelings that I had before are disappearing. Instead, I feel that she is going to be eager to please and want to help as much as possible. I am thinking of ways now that I can still spend special time with her and include her in activities, even when I am busy with the little one. It will be an adjustment for all of us here, but I am so looking forward to expanding our family and meeting this little one that I have had all to myself for the last 8 months.

Baby Update

I went last week for my 32 week doctor's appointment (less than 8 weeks to go before we will meet our new little one ...). Everything is progressing nicely -- my blood pressure is perfect, my weight gain in on-track and the baby's heart rate is consistent. My belly is measuring a few weeks ahead of schedule, but this has been the case for the entire pregnancy simply because of the position that the baby prefers to be in.

The baby is currently residing in the breech position. Both the doctor and I are hoping that he/she will decide to flip to the head-down position by 34 weeks (which is my next doctor's appointment). If the baby continues to stay in the breech position, then we will definitely be scheduling a c-section. Otherwise, we will monitor the baby via ultrasound in another month or so, and depending on the baby's size, we will determine whether it will be possible to have a normal delivery or if I will need to have a c-section. (Samantha was only 6 lbs. 11 oz. at birth, but she was a struggle to deliver simply because of my bone structure. If the baby is much bigger than that, it will just be better to have a c-section and avoid the same difficulties as before). Only time will tell ...

In the meantime, we continue to take "belly pictures" every week so that we can watch as my belly continues to expand. Samantha knows that this is a weekly occurrence at our house and last week, she decided that she wanted to have her OWN belly picture taken. Here she is, posing with her shirt up in the same spot that I always have my picture taken:

"Is my belly getting bigger too, Mommy?"

Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!

Samantha has taken a real liking to the Toy Story movies lately. For whatever reason, Steve had both of the first two movies in his collection (long before we were even married), and whenever Samantha would see them, she would refer to them as "Daddy's movies."

A couple of weeks ago, Steve sat down with her to watch them and since then, she has been totally transfixed with the movies ... more so with Buzz. In fact, whenever she wants to watch one of the movies, she always says, "watch ... Buzz?"

Knowing about her small "obsession," Aunt Deb stumbled upon some Toy Story bath bubbles after Christmas and presented them to Sam. She was hooked!

Holding her Buzz, Woody and Jessie bubble bath characters

Then, after seeing another little girl with a Buzz toy at a restaurant last night, I told Steve that I wanted to go and get one for Sam. She has been such a good girl lately and she would LOVE to have her very own Buzz. Needless to say, he is quite the hit in our house!

Playing with Buzz for the first time last night

Our Little Baker

Samantha really seems to like helping in the kitchen (hence the reason for Mommy getting her her very own apron for Christmas this year). One of her favorite things to help us with is making pancakes for breakfast.

The other morning, she went to the drawer and got out the whisk and brought it to us while saying, "pancakes." Then she went to the pantry and got out her apron, bringing it to me and saying, "help." We got her all set up and she went to work, mixing all of the ingredients:


After adding the liquid, Daddy made sure to hold the bowl tightly because she can be quite aggressive with her mixing:



She is such a great helper and I am amazed these days at how much her verbal vocabulary has grown (in just the last couple of weeks). She has always had a high level of comprehension, but she is now mimicking most of our words. She responds with "yes" and "no" when we ask her questions (more "no" than "yes" because of her age and wanting to control things), but nonetheless, she is learning quickly that she can communicate with us. This brings satisfacation to both her and us.