NewMerfbaby is 21 weeks today! And about the length of a beer bottle. Cheers!
How I’m Feeling: A little fatigued and run down. It’s probably the warmer weather we’ve been having – and the very active toddler in my life…I took a massive mid-morning nap on Sunday and felt so much better.
Belly/Weight: Not sure on the weight, but my belly is getting bigger! I’m starting to fill out my maternity tops, and finally feeling “cute” pregnant. My belly has started to itch a little – so it’s growing!
Life Changes: Got an awesome gift card to StitchFx for my birthday, and since they do Maternity clothing now I love them even more. I got a cute maxi dress and shirt that I kept. I’ve been much less reserved about investing in maternity clothing this time around. I know I’ll have friends in the future that might appreciate the clothes – and I can always sell them back. A maternity consignment store opened here in Burbank, and ThreadUp also pays pretty well for used Maternity clothing
Movement: Lots more movement! At my Chiropractor appointment today when she was done adjusting my pelvis he started kicking. I moved my hand down to my tummy and my Doctor asked if he was moving more because she gave him some more room! Ha, how crazy is that?
Sleep: Sleeping harder this week. With the time change it’s darker until later in the morning so Riley and I both sleep until about 7:00am/7:30am – it’s heaven. I don’t remember many times in my life I’ve been able to sleep in until 7:00am.
Cravings: Sweet stuff. I’ve been having frosted mini-wheats in the morning for breakfast – such a throwback to Jr High! I’ve also not been super into water. Not sure why, I’ve always been a big water drinker but since I have Dysgeusia (my mouth tastes like I’ve been sucking on pennies) water hasn’t been cutting it so I’ve been drinking flavored water (I heart La Croix!) to kick the taste, it doesn’t fix it totally but it helps a little.
Exercise: Back to my workouts. If it wasn’t for my trainer I probably would easily skip traditional workouts. Playing with Riley and working in my garden keeps me active, but I know it’s good to focus on strength too.
Favorite Pregnancy Moment this week: The Anatomy Scan Ultrasound. Everything looks great, and he’s growing right on track. He wasn’t into having his picture taken so we didn’t get a good keepsake shot – but it’s ok. I sort of think the 3D photos are creepy. Especially since he was moving around, so they look sort of crazy.
On My Mind: This toddler of ours! I’m making more preparations for him, and reading/researching more for him than NewMerfbaby! Normal, right?! I finally had a “duh moment” and ordered Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers and started reading it last night. I wish I would have read it months ago! I gained so much confidence reading her other books, and I’ve recently felt like parenting a Toddler is so much harder than figuring out a Newborn. I hit a breaking point last week and felt like such a Mama failure. I was struggling with losing my patience with Riley, and starting to doubt what I know to be true about his personality. Little background: the Baby Whisperer uses 5 types of babies/toddler personalities and by knowing which personality your child identifies with most it can help you better communicate with them. I LOVE personality quizzes – I think they are awesome! When Riley was little I was sure he was a Textbook baby. So I learned his cues, and with the exception of teething and massive growth spurts we navigated that first year pretty well! Textbook babies hit development milestones on track, and thrive on routine and consistency. They will be social, but he need some time to warm up to a group or new situation. As Riley became a Toddler I started to doubt his personality type, and thought maybe he was more Touchy or Spirited. Last night I took the personality test for his toddler age and 14 out of 20 questions identified him as a Textbook Toddler! Kids can be a mix of 2 types, but they mostly fall into one category. I had been right all along – I just need to amend my skills to adapt to his Toddler personality. I already feel better and I’m excited to read more of the book, she even has a chapter on preparing your toddler to become a big sibling. Eeek!
The Merfett 