My Love for Georgie, Separation Anxiety, 2-Word Sentences, Canines Broke!

So first of all, the last few days, Georgie has suddenly had this HORRIBLE separation anxiety like never in his life, and we've had to do 'cry it out' almost like never before in his life! We thought we were out of the woods for both! Anyway, in general he's been SOOOOOOOOO sweet and back to his normal self, now that ALL FOUR OF HIS CANINES HAVE BROKEN! (in the last week the last four broke - halleluiah!). Anyway, that has been a HUGE relief, and it really shows how much of the 'brattiness' WAS in fact teething. Anyway, 5 nights ago (and another night and 3 naps since then), he would seem relaxed and almost asleep in our arms, then we'd lay him down and he'd sit up, then stand, then just sob 'mama' and/or 'dadda'. It is sooooo sad. Then eventually he'd stand there long enough to where he'd drop the binky on the floor (which he absolutely CAN'T fall asleep without), and so we'd have to go in there are give it back. It got to the point where we'd actually take like 2 or 3 more binkys in and set them in the crib, and say "more dees", and he would even go through ALL of them a couple times so we'd have to go back in. On Sunday he never fell asleep for his nap (after over 1 /12 hrs), so I eventually had to just get him up and he didn't nap that day. We rule out pain, hunger, anything else, and we just KNOW it's just that he wants to be around us. It's soooo sweet, and soooo incredibly sad. It was so bad when I took him to the nursery during music theater workshop, that I just ended up keeping him because I COULDN'T bear to see him so sad. He literally looks at me with the most exaggerated 'brave' face, like "Mom, I'm trying to be brave, but I just love you so much, and I want to just be with YOU", then his face slowly turns red, puffs up, lips quivering like "mommy, PLEASE don't abandon me", and then tears start streaming down in an incredibly SAD cry (not anger, not pain, just pure sadness). I tear up even thinking about it. I just want to hold my baby tight forever and ever. Which leads me to - I just love him SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much. I have always loved him so much, but it's funny how your love just grows and grows and grows. Especially now that the love is so reciprocated. It's funny bc I will admit (just to be honest), that I was SLIGHTLY disappointed when I found out he was a boy. But MAN, did God know how much I would love having a boy, LOVE being a mom to a boy, LOVE LOVE LOVE that bond that mommy and son have. I had know idea, but God, OF COURSE, in His perfect plan (DUH!!!), knew the experience I would have, having Georgie as my son. I simply wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING, EVER. I am soooo in love, and at this point, to be honest, I'm almost feeling like I'm not going to bond as well with a girl. I feel like boys is all I know now, and a girl scares me a little (which, of course, the Lord will prove wrong when she's born!!!!). I trust completely His plan. I NEED His plan. I don't know what I need, or want, or what will teach and help me grow. But God knows what will make me do those things perfectly! Anyway, I'm just so incredibly in love with my son, and he will always be mommy's little love. I am SO grateful God gave me a boy. And now a girl - which He will reveal to me how I can equally love a girl (and a different person), in an equally strong way. I can't wait! Georgie's talking is just snowballing, and now he's saying two word sentences, and learning more everyday!!! He says "Hope (help) ________ (fill in the blank - like "car" - meaning "please help me with this car", he says "all done ______", "Daddy's duck ("truck") (ALL the time!), "Momma's car", "Ma ("more") ______", "ree ("read") book", and others that I can't think of right now. It's sooooooooooo stinking cute, and he's just learning at the speed of light! I'm so proud of him. He's getting more into cartoons, esp. Thomas, and he'll watch the video while mommy is making dinner (I finally just sat him down and said "Georgie, mommy really needs to make dinner (in peace!). Can you watch Thomas while I do that?" And he does! He keeps himself occupied and it's been SUCH a relief to me! Anyway, just so much learning going on all the time. I love him. Can you tell! ;)

Back Pain

So a few days after my 'fall' before our first ultrasound, I definitely felt sore on that left lower back. But now, over the last few days, general lower back pain has started (pretty sure it's just the pregnancy). It's not terrible yet, but I fear this is the beginning of the same pain I had with Georgie. That was my worst symptom in that pregnancy. I don't remember what it felt like exactly, but this pain seems to be a little lower. I think it's just the weight of my belly, counterbalancing with my back. I expect this to continue, and probably worsen, for the rest of the pregnancy. :( (I'm 24 weeks tomorrow - which, btw is exciting bc there's a good chance she would survive if she was born now!!!!) Anyway, I'm thinking about going to the chiropractor when it gets bad. Today my left hip hurts and I'm actually a little numb in my left upper leg. I think it's because I carry so low bc of my long torso. Anyway, I'll keep updating on this :)

Daredevil

We're at the park right now and Georgie is SUCH a daredevil! Which is hilarious bc neither G nor I are daredevils at all! He wants to go down all the tallest slides, and doesn't even like the 'toddler' section (he's barely 2)! Sooo funny!


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Enunciation!!!

So Georgie last week all of a sudden one day started saying 'eaT' instead of 'eee' for the word eat. He does that with lots I words - he won't say the final consonant. Then a couple days ago he all of a sudden started saying 'walK' for 'walk' instead of 'wal'!!! So exciting!!!


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Baby GRETTA is Coming!

So, here's the story on the gender reveal! We had our ultrasound on Thursday March 21st in the afternoon. We were preparing to leave, and I was trying to hurry, running through the house, tripped on a box, and took a HARD fall, that knocked the wind out of me! It hurt. I was so focused on avoiding hitting my belly, that I contorted my body, bending my right arm back really far (hurt my elbow and shoulder), and twisting my lower back so that it really hurt my left tailbone. I was lying in a pile, hyperventilating because I felt like I just COULDN'T catch my breath. Because of the hyperventilating, after a minute or so I started getting really lightheaded, and knew I was about to faint (it's happened a few times now, so I know when it's coming!). I was just REALLY lightheaded and when I would even attempt to stand (or even move really), I would start to blackout, so I had to lay down and stay really still. It was SOOOOOOOO frustrating, because I wanted to get up sooooooo bad so we could leave. We were already running SLIGHTLY late (like always). G was frustrated bc I fell, and worried, and trying to get g packed up and loaded. I felt so trapped and sad and frustrated. I knew there was nothing I could do, but wait it out. After a few minutes, I finally got up and went to the computer to do something (can't remember?), and that distracted me enough (I do think it was the distraction that helped), to where I was feeling better. We finally all got in the car, and then ran right into a road closure on 7th St. (bc of a gas leak that happened a couple days before). Uggggghhhhh! I was SOOOOO sooooo frustrated and sad. We were so late. I was like shaking, trying not to cry. So we had to go all the way around (a pretty far detour), and FINALLY got to the dr. My mom and Ted and Janae were there already, and luckily I had talked to my mom on the phone and explained everything, so she was able to tell the front desk why I was running so late. They were nice and understanding. We went right upstairs to the office that Mesa Midwives works with (an OB office) and got in pretty quickly. We all piled in the room and they 'prepped' me. I was just nervous and distracted. A fairly unfriendly Dr. Tracy Simms walked in. She was pretty dry and didn't say much. Not rude, just kindof rushed (probably bc I was late) and 'routine'. Ruth Ann came in shortly after she started. She was going through all the body parts and routine stuff. It was hard to pay attention to all that, bc I really just wanted to know the sex. Tracy said "I save that for last, because otherwise no one would really listen to the other stuff I'm saying". I was thinking "If you would just tell me the sex first, then I would actually LISTEN to everything else you're saying!" I couldn't really focus, and was trying to see if I could see a 'pee-pee'!!!! Anyway, she finally got to that and was looking around. I could tell it was the legs, and I didn't see anything between them, but I didn't really know. I said something like "so can you tell yet, or is it hard to tell?" She said - "I'm pretty sure - just making sure". She said "what do you have already?" I said "a boy". She said "I'm pretty sure it's a girl." I was pretty much in shock and honestly didn't really feel like I believed her! I was just so shaken up from all the lead-up. There was other small talk, and I thought we were still gonna do more (and I wanted to ask about the 'hamburger', but didn't really think of it), and she just shut the machine down and wrapped up. She then walked out. I confided in Ruth Ann what a horrible last hour I had had, and started crying. She was sweet and very understanding. We didn't get to hear the heartbeat like with Georgie. Before Dr. Simms left, I asked her what percentage she was sure it was a girl, and she said "oh 90-95%". RuthAnn said "you never really know 100% Tara until they're born". Anyway, I was just nervous and unconvinced. It was so different than with Georgie - I could see his 'pee-pee' really well, and there was really no doubt or question! It was so much less 'for sure' with this one! I was cautiously sooooooo happy that it was probably a girl though. So after we left, I just felt a little disappointed and unsatisfied. I remembered that my friend Jayme Weldon and Kristen Latham said they had taken an over-the-counter pee test that came out right for all 4 pregnancies (two each) they had done it for. I had decided not to do it before the ultrasound, bc I knew that would be more reliable, and I didn't want to spend the money on it since I was getting the ultrasound. But now, since I was unsure, I revisited the idea. I decided to do it on that next Sunday morning. (looked for it at walmart, then finally found it at Rite-aid - $40!) When I did it, it came back clearly 'BOY'!!! So now I was really unsure, frustrated, and sad. So I told George "I just want to pay and get another ultrasound, that's less rushed, and with a different tech". He said that was fine. So Monday I called RuthAnn and told her my feelings and about the test. She seemed a little annoyed, and I felt bad, but I didn't care because it was worth it to me. So we scheduled it for that Friday morning, with Dr. Hackett (RuthAnn suggested him in the first place - that's all he does, and she said he was really good). So we went there Friday, and Janae was able to meet us so she could watch Georgie in the lobby. My mom was out of town, so it was just G and I in the room, which was actually really nice. Janet Grant was the midwife on call, so RuthAnn wasn't there (which I was a little grateful for, bc I didn't want her to be annoyed). Anyway, Dr. Hackett was really calm and cool, but nice, and very thorough. He knew it was our second ultrasound and we weren't very pleased with the first, so he was very thorough. It was so much better of an experience. He took better pictures, let us hear the heartbeat, and showed us the 'hamburger' (well, the best view he could get of it anyway!). Him and Janet were pretty much 100% it was a girl - I was SOOOOOOOOO RELIEVED!!!!! I was so grateful to get this second opinion and have a better experience (be it $200 later!). Anyway, at first and even still sometimes, I doubt it being a girl. For some reason I feel like it's too good to be true that everything went 'as planned' for us. But God is good and faithful, and this was His desire for us. I think I will still have a small amount of doubt until she is born, but for now we refer the baby as HER, and usually Gretta (we weren't 100% about the name, just in case she absolutely doesn't look like a Gretta, but now we usually call her Gretta, so it will probably be Gretta no matter what!). We are keeping it off facebook and only telling friends (although I've told pretty much any friends that have asked me in person! We thought it would be a little fun to leave at least SOMETHING a LITTLE bit of a secret (since EVERYONE knew what Georgie's name would be!). Anyway, I'm soooooo elated to have one of each! Praise God!

Potty!!!!

So I wanted to quickly blog about how Georgie has sat on his 'cars' potty (that sits on top of ours) about 3 times now! Sooooo exciting! We've had it for a few months, but whenever I would ask him if he wanted to sit on the potty he would say 'no', or if he did hesitantly say 'yes', he would get scared the second we set him on it and be all done (sometimes almost cry or at least whine). Anyway, G asked him yesterday and he said 'yeah', and when he sat him on it, he stayed there (with daddy holding him) for about a minute! And G sat him on the potty at Dream Cafe as well as Outback today (didn't even have his cars potty), and he sat there for a minute! And again with me tonight right before bed, for probably 4 minutes! He was taking toilet paper and 'wiping' his pee-pee - having so much fun imitating mommy and daddy (well, mommy!). He's definitely acting more interested, and we've really started to talk it up, and talk about it more, and he has a potty book (we're going to get more too). I'm SO excited, as I kindof thought that he might be a slow (or late) potty-trainer, bc he didn't seem interested at all up to this point. But we give him LOTS of praise for sitting on the potty, and are getting my family involved in the praise-giving too! :) This is SO exciting! I've started researching it a little more too, so am getting my 'method' developed! I'm starting to have hope again that maybe it might in fact be possible to potty train him before baby Gretta gets here! Yaaaaaaay! (But I'm still not going to push it, and I'm really not going to try if he's not seeming ready). I feel victory already - YAY!

Pregnancy Updates and Gender Reveal!

So I feel really bad that I haven't hardly blogged about this second baby nearly as much as I did with Georgie! :( I'll try to touch on major things. I'm feeling great now! I was a LITTLE more sick in the first trimester than I was with G, but not bad. I felt definitive baby movement on March 10th, though I think I felt a LITTLE before that (I wasn't quite sure). I thought I would feel it sooner with this pregnancy, but it was right around the same time I felt it with Georgie. It's gotten stronger and stronger in the last week and a half. Lots of wonderful flutters! I feel like I'm showing about the same as I was with the first pregnancy (I think!). It's hard to tell and remember. I had my first stranger ask when I was due on Wednesday March 6th (almost 18 weeks), so I guess it was pretty obvious then! :) I am at a horrible 'nothing fits' stage. I don't remember it being this bad with Georgie (though I may have just forgotten!). I think it's because the first pregnancy changed my body shape. When I wear my non-maternity pants (with the bee-band of course), they start riding down bc my belly is portruding - they want to sit 'below' my belly. So I'm constantly having to pull up my pants (and there's only two that I can still wear). And my maternity pants are just still pretty big. It's getting better and better as I grow, but a lot of them were a little big for me to begin with (bc they're hand-me-downs). What's most comfortable are my brown leggings (non-maternity, which were a LITTLE big to begin with), and this gray stretchy skirt I have from Old Navy (non-maternity) - sooooooooo incredibly comfortable! I wore it for 3 days in a row!!! Something that's nice is that Janae was due in June, so I inherited some cooler-season maternity clothes from her. It's already too warm to wear a lot of the maternity sweaters that I wore last time. I'm hoping to wear a lot of dresses, and get a couple more skirts too! I'll want to stay cool, especially when June, July, and August approach! I am remembering the annoyance that it is to sleep on my sides only. Misss back sleeping! I'm sleeping pretty good in general. It helps if I go to bed really early (like sometimes 8:30!), so I don't miss my window (yes, sleep training Georgie taught me this about MYSELF!). So, today I find out what we're having. Here's a post I put on facebook last night, that kindof sums up how I feel: "Tomorrow I get to (hopefully!) find out whether I will not only have a boy or a girl, but whether I will have a son or a daughter. :) Kindof life-changing when you think about it. I feel as though I'll mourn the loss of whatever it ISN'T. I am nervous and excited to see how it feels to love another boy as much as I love Georgie, or to experience a different kind of love for a girl. Crazy! Whatever it is, I trust that it is in God's perfect control - He ultimately has the perfect plan to prosper me - however that looks. I am grateful for another child, period. Feeling so blessed and happy." I really have not feeling either way (I learned that from Georgie, since I SLIGHTLY thought he was a girl!). And I definitely learned not to listen to ANYONE'S opinion about it - even people that say they're NEVER wrong! A lot more people thought I was having a girl last time. So I'm going in with a completely open mind! George thinks we're having a girl! We both would love a girl, just because we both wanted one of each (at least). I personally think we would both be good at parenting both sexes. But I know that God knows abundantly more than me! And who knows, if we have another boy, maybe we'll have a third, and it will be a girl! God knows what our family should look like! A third baby is still up in the air. George wants to be finished if we have a girl next. I'd love a third either way, but especially if we have another boy! The only thing I'm nervous about, is them not being able to tell what it is, or be WRONG!!! If it's a girl, I should probably change this blog's template to something a little more neutral! I am just so excited to find out either way, so I can start bonding with the baby more, and making plans for decor/clothing/equipment etc.! Obviously, it'll be easier if it's a boy! The baby and Georgie are going to share a room. If it's a girl, we'll have to re-decorate to be more neutral. A lot of my friends have had their kids share rooms, and it seems like in the end they actually PREFER it - they like each others company! And it's my hope that they'll BOTH sleep better, because they have to sleep through each other! We'll see....! Gosh, I know there are probably other pregnancy updates, but I can't think of any right now! I'll try to post if I think of other things! And I'll blog about the result of our appointment today!!!