Big Boy

We got Matthew a big boy bed over the weekend. We would have waited a while longer but with soybean on the way we figured it made more sense to buy a bed than a crib. He slept in it great the first night - we put him down just like we did in the crib. He laid down fine at first, I think he ended up getting up twice that we needed to go put him back in the bed, but considering it was the first night I didn't think that was bad.

Naptime was funny because he kept getting out and playing. After a couple of times of David putting him back in bed, he would get out but then when he heard David coming up the stairs he would go climb back in bed. He actually pretended to be asleep so he wouldn't get in trouble. Of course he forgot to drop the toy out of his hand! I think he's learning to be sneaky at an early age.

Second night didn't go as well - he kept getting out of bed and fussing (instead of playing like he did the first night). We finally got tired of getting up with him and put him in the crib. I realize that probably wasn't the right thing to do, but at 2am we all just needed to get some sleep!

Updated 5/30:
The third night was good. Matthew went down fine and stayed for a while, then got up and we heard him shaking the crib. David went upstairs & put him in the crib, but he started screaming in the crib. David asked him where he wanted to sleep and he pointed at the bed. He got up again but just laid on his blanket on the floor :( but David put him back in the bed.

I have to say I think he's adjusting better than I expected.

35 weeks

Had a routine doctor visit today - I haven't gained any weight since my last visit and have only gained 9 total. My doctor thinks this baby will be smaller than Matthew because of my size and weight gain. The doctor says I'm measuring fine so it's not a concern. I also got the Group B strep test done today and had an internal exam. There was "nothing going on" yet, which doesn't surprise me at all. I still have a ways to go.

Fortunately I am still feeling good - I think going to the gym and chasing around after Matthew has helped keep me in good health. I have also had a couple of massages which have been just wonderful. I am going again this Saturday. The lady I see is a nurse in labor & delivery at one of the nearby hospitals (not the one I go to) and she's trained in massage - I think that's a great combination, huh?

Ummm....2 nights to myself?

Well my night to myself Friday night ended up turning into almost 2 nights to myself. David left Chicago with the Bronco around noon and planned to take back roads "just in case". Plus he didn't like the idea of driving on the interstate at high speeds without a seat belt. So it should have been about a 6-7 hour drive, depending on traffic and how often he stopped. Instead it took him 14 hours. Yeah, you heard right...14 hours.

He kept having small issues and met a lot of friendly people along the way who gave him a hand. He had taken his toolbox, "just in case", so he was prepared to do minor work. I think he visited several parts stores along the way too. The problem always seemed to be the battery. He called me around 9pm and was stopped. He thought maybe he should just buy a new battery but there weren't any stores nearby and he had no way to get to a store since the Bronco had shut down. He met a guy who offered to charge the battery for him and called me back around 10pm to tell me he was on the road again and would not turn the Bronco off again. Low and behold, he calls me at midnight & says he had to stop & get gas, and forgot to leave it running. I think it was one of those "duh" moments where as soon as he shut it off he remembered that he needed to leave it running, but that was 2 seconds too late, ya know?

So he's in a small town, at a closed gas station (pay at the pump is wonderful, right, you can buy gas even when the station is closed), with no way to get anywhere. Fortunately he's only about 40 miles from home, but still...Matthew has been in bed for 4 hours and there's no one I would call at midnight to come stay with him. So I get Matthew out of bed, in the car, and head off to find my husband. What an adventure! I get there and he connects the jumper cables so we sit for a while just to let the battery get a good charge. (It won't start just with the cables, we HAD to sit for a while.) Finally it starts and we are on the road. David actually stopped again because it was losing so much power his headlights were not working. I charged it again and that was enough to make it home. (Side note: Matthew was very good this entire trip - I hoped he would sleep but he didn't, he stayed awake the entire time, but was quiet and not fussy. Then he slept in Sunday so we could too!)


The Bronco looks good but after the trip Saturday I am pretty worried about the amount of work that needs to be put into it. David has always been able to do whatever work we needed on our cars but I am afraid this will be a money pit. I guess only time will tell. Now of course the first priority has changed from seat belts to getting it running consistently. I think instead of selling the Jeep this fall it will be next year sometime. Oh well, this gives him a hobby he can do at home.

David later shared a funny story about while he was at the gas station. It was next door to a package shop and at some point while he was waiting on me some pretty intoxicated guys came of out the package shop, drove over to the gas station, and tried to go in. I guess they saw David out front and assumed it was open, but anyway, they opened the front door, but couldn't actually go in because there was a gate type door that was behind the regular door. After the guy opened the door, David said he ran back to the car and they drove away. Fast forward a few minutes and 2 police cars come racing up. One of the cops immediately starts questioning David while the other goes to check out the store. Turns out the guy opening the front door triggered the alarm. David explained what happened to the police and luckily they believed him. So the cops called the store owner - he had forgotten to actually lock the door when he closed up for the night. Good thing he pulled the gate door thingy closed!

A night to myself

Woohoo! Well, kind of to myself. David is on the train to Chicago, to pick up his "new" truck. I dropped him off a while ago so Matthew & I have the house to ourselves, until sometime tomorrow. I rented some chick flicks and after Matthew goes to bed I'm going to give myself a pedicure, watch some movies, eat some popcorn...who knows what else! Yeah, not too exciting but it will be a nice quiet evening of doing whatever I want to do.

I hope David has a good trip and an easy ride home with the truck. I am excited about the purchase and would have loved to make the trip with him, but it doesn't have seatbelts so first, we couldn't install Matthew's carseat, and second, David doesn't want me riding unbuckled either. I see his logic, but following that shouldn't I tell him he can't drive it until it has belts? Installing them is the first thing on his to do list with it, but still I know he will want to drive it before then!

Signing

I had all these great ideas of what kind of mom I would be, and one of the things I planned was to teach Matthew a good bit of sign language. There are a lot of studies about it, yada, yada, yada. I don't know sign language, but I have a couple of books that have some common signs that are useful in communicating with babies. So I tried a couple but it seemed like Matthew wasn't catching on so I just quit. I haven't used them in a long time, but a few days ago I asked Matthew if he wanted more and I thought he signed it. This morning when he finished the breakfast I had given him, he started signing & saying MORE! It has seriously been 2 months at least since I have signed with him...I can't believe he remembered it & started using it. It's also nice to see he actually knows what it means :)

I guess now I will be motivated to do some more, or maybe not since he's also talking a lot more now. But this probably will motivate me to be more consistent about using signs with the new baby.

Gas boycott

I like a good email as much as the next person but sometimes they drive me crazy too. Today's bother is the gas boycott one. Yes, I would LOVE to see gas prices fall, but I don't think a boycott is the way to go. The email even reminds you to make sure to fill up before the boycott so you don't need to buy it that day. How silly....I've still got to have gas for that day, whether I buy it that day or not. Wouldn't it be more effective not to USE gas that day (that way you actually do buy less gas over a period of time)? Anyway, I am not smart enough to come up with an explanation of why this isn't a good idea, so I'll link to an article that does a pretty good job.

is YOUR betty ready?

A friend of mine posted a link to this and I just had to share. I find it pretty funny, and tempting all at the same time. Funny because I can't imagine taking the time, and what if you had a bad reaction? Tempting because I am curious about David's reaction ;)

Jury Duty

So I had jury duty yesterday. I didn't get picked, didn't even make it into a courtroom to have the chance to be picked, but I have to say it was kind of nice to spend the day by myself. I know, I wasn't really by myself, I was in a room full of all sorts of people, but I was able to lose myself in my book while I waited to see if my name would be called. I think this might be the first "real" book I've read since I had Matthew. I've read several "parenting" books, but nothing that was for pure fun, until yesterday. I guess that's what made it nice.

About jury duty - I really think it would be interesting to sit on a jury, but the timing is never convenient, is it? Right now I'm pregnant, and for the next year I will be breastfeeding. Once that year is up, I'm sure some other "excuse" will come up. But someday, maybe I'll get selected at a time when it is "convenient" for me.