3 more days

We are down to our last days being Pregnant me and Only Child Noah.

Baby #2 is coming fast, and it looks like Thursday will be the big day. I'm being induced a few days before my due date. My doctor is going out of town on Friday and will be gone until a few days after my due date. He has no problem with early inductions for non-first time mothers who have nice ripe cervixes :) (As of last Thursday, I was dilated to 3 and 90% effaced, so I'm getting there. And I have had a few noticable contractions, although I'm sure they are a wimpy disgrace to the word contraction!) Inducing was kind of a hard decision to make, because I like the idea of waiting for nature to do its thing. But nature didn't really kick in for Noah, so we'll go ahead and give it a little push in the right direction again. I kind of know what to expect with an induction, but labor and delivery isn't exactly predictable, even with that set dose of pitocin, so when Thursday comes around I guess we'll just have another story to tell.

I just keep looking at Noah and thinking "Oh man, you have no idea what is coming." I can't help feeling sorry for him. I guess that's ridiculous because siblings are good things. But just look at him, how happy and unsuspecting the little guy is.

Also I've been thinking a lot about the second time mom fear: "I can't imagine loving another child as much as I love my first". But from what I hear it works out alright so I'm not too worried about this one, just amazed that it isn't true, and interested in finding out by my own experience.

So we are looking forward to what's ahead. We are happy to add another little person to our family! Here's a picture of the 3 of us, before we become 4.

Our little 18 month year old

In addition to getting a new brother, Noah has a big week because he turns 18 months. I can't believe how fast he is growing. He is learning so much, and he's hilarious to watch. When he's doing his thing, it's way better to watch than TV. He loves jumping, especially climbing on his rocking horse and standing up on it and then jumping off it onto the couch. It reminds me of Wild Horses Can't Be Broken. The whole thing is probably not that safe, but it's just so fun to watch and he seems to be having the time of his life, so we'll just be sure to watch him very closely.

And I have been watching him pretty closely, because I just am hanging on to the fact that he's not going to be my baby anymore. I get all emotional just thinking about it. So while he's still my main focus, here's my list of some things Noah loves:

Blue and Glue. When you ask him what his favorite color is, he answers "Blue". Not that he really knows what favorite means, but oh well, it's still cute. He likes coloring, especially with markers, and he loves gluing things. So we spend a lot of time each day with the glue bottle.

Easter Egg hunts. He will cover his eyes while I hide them, but of course the eye covering is only an act, he sees everything and then finds the eggs in a matter of seconds. It slows him down a little if I put a fruit loop in every egg.

Sesame Street. He's gotten into the habit of watching some every morning while I fix him breakfast and pick up the house. He loves growling like cookie monster, and of course, Elmo really impresses him. The other day he was singing to himself, and I realized he was singing the "Hands" song from Elmo's world (you know, the song that repeats "hands hands hands over and over again to the tune of jingle bells). I went to Target with Noah and realized that Sesame Street is taking over the world. Every single aisle we went down, Noah kept gasping excitedly and saying: "Elmo!" because he kept seeing Sesame Street products.

Parks. Anytime we drive by a park or even a grassy field that looks nice, Noah will chant "Park. Park. Park." And usually he will keep talking about it until we give in and take him to the park.

Church, Jesus, and Nursery. He knows church and Jesus are two things that go together, and so when we drive by churches, he will point them out and say: "church. Jesus." He is good at recognizing pictures of Jesus. But gets a little carried away sometimes, and so he becoming a little too liberal in his application of the concept of Jesus. The other day at Zions National Park, we saw a big bronze statue of a Native American wearing a loin cloth and carrying a spear, and of course Noah's eyes lit up with recognition and ran up to it saying: "Jesus!"

He's been going to nursery for a few weeks, and he's doing pretty well. Last Sunday was the first time he stayed alone in there the whole time (except for the one messy diaper changing incident), and we were proud of him. But I kept sneaking out of Sunday School and Relief Society to peek in on him. There was actually something very heartbreaking about it--he just seemed so grown up and babyish at the same time. I can't even imagine what it will be like to send him to real school!

Helping Mommy. For a while he has been interested in what I do in the kitchen, but lately, he has taken it to a new level. He has started pushing a kitchen chair next to me, and he will climb up on it so he can see, and "help". He knows the drawer for utensils and will pull one or more of them out and go to town on whatever I am cooking.

Cuddling. He still has had a little trouble sleeping on his own all night. Some nights he will sleep all the way through, but other nights, he will wake up and want to be held. For a while we got in the habit of letting him come into bed with us, and as annoying it was to get kicked in the head (usually Kyle's problem) or smothered, he was just so cute and cuddly that we put up with the little inconveniences. We started teaching him to be nice, by gently rubbing Dad's face and saying "Nice". So now he will put his little hand on our faces and say "nice. nice. nice." He's just so lovable.

Help, please.

36 weeks of pregnancy, 4 more left (give or take a couple :) and I don't know what to do to get ready for this baby. When I was pregnant with Noah, I seem to remember adhering to exhaustive pre-baby to-do checklists. This time around, I haven't had the energy to search out such lists from baby books or websites, and I'd just rather ask real mothers what I could be doing these next few weeks. So a little help here would be welcome. Especially any experiences or advice related to having a 2nd child, if there are any different preparations to consider. I'm torn between spoiling the first child before #2 comes to steal the spotlight, and starting to wean him from my undivided attention. Also, I have forgotten a lot about having and caring for a newborn. So, I'm soliciting advice. Anyone who has any good ideas about what to do before a baby comes, please let me know! I'm sure my babies will be thankful!

Nah Nah

A couple weeks ago, Noah started saying the word "Nah Nah". He would say it at the most random times that I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Each time he said it, he said it so matter-of-factly, not like the little babbles he throws out for the fun of it, but like he meant something by the use of this word. I was thinking banana or night night, but I was wrong. We just nailed down the true translation: "Noah." Every time he sees a picture of himself or his reflection in the mirror, he smiles big and points and says "Nah Nah."

There's something that makes Noah a little more human (and less baby) now that he knows who he is :) Sometimes I catch these glimpses of him saying or doing random things, and I realize that he's losing his baby-ness. I can't believe how fast that happens!


Doesn't he seem like he's saying "Mom I'm getting big, and you can't stop me!" Yikes. Oh well, babies are fun while they last, and then I guess you just go ahead and have another one. :)