Another Milestone

Marley had his first playdate today.  Sure we've brought him to friends' houses to play before, but it's always been OUR friends.  This is the first time that he's gone to the home of one of his very own friends to play.  I don't know what I was thinking, I didn't take any pictures of the boys playing together, but Marley and Reid were completly adorable!  Jeff and I had fun, too:)

Other updates:

Pregnancy - I'll be 32 weeks on Wednesday, and I feel great, physically!  I have one more week of school, then a much-needed week off for spring break.  I have big plans to get a massage, a pedicure, and a hair cut that week.  My next appointment with my OB is April 6th.  Let's hope that things remain quiet and uneventful between now and then!

Potty training - Marley had a really good week with very few accidents!  He's doing better with letting us know that he has to go, BEFORE he's already going in his pants.  He's even gotten onto the little potty by himself a few times to go pee.  My favorite moment went something like this:

Marley (playing in his room naked, after a bath): I gotta go pee pee!
Me (running toward the bathroom behind him): Quick!  Let's go!
Marley (already sitting on the little potty): No, Mommy, don't come in here!  I wanna do it myself!
Me (nervously pacing outside of the bathroom): Okay, tell me if you need help.
Marley (standing up proudly): I go pee pee on the potty all by myself!

And sure enough, he did!  That's my boy!

Own room/bed - Marley still loves his room and continues to sleep happily in his own bed each night.  If only we could get him to take naps in there, or anywhere for that matter!  He naps for 2 or more hours each day at school, but on the weekend usually skips his nap at least one of the days (this weekend he didn't nap either day).  I wonder what our schedule will be like when I'm home with him...

Also...

Just wanted to add that Marley's still doing great in his own bed.  He has asked exactly ONCE to come into our bed.  We redirected him back to his own room and there was no further asking.  He does wake up in the night asking for us sometimes, but falls quickly back to sleep after we check on him.

Sister is doing well, too.  She's being very good and staying put so far.  Although, my OB feels that my cervix is softening a little and that I should "take it easy" by laying on my side several times a day.  I'll do what I can.  It's better than having to go on bed rest!  

Bye Bye Diapers!

Marley has been wearing undies for two weeks now (he's still in diapers for nap and overnight, though he usually wakes up dry).  There have been lots of successes and LOTS of accidents.  We were not planning on putting him in undies this soon, but other kids at school were using the potty and Marley seemed interested and capable.  My plan was to do it at the end of the summer, when I'd have time to work with him on it.  Plus, I really have no problem with two kids in diapers. 

But, when I thought about it more, it really came down to two options.  1. I, with my ZERO potty training experience, potty train him *mainly* by myself while taking care of a newborn.  2.  I let Jena, with her many years of potty training experience, do it during the week days and I try not to mess things up too badly over the weekend.  I went for option 2. 

So far, I think things are going really well.  However, I will not lie.  Learning to use the potty is messy.  I've learned that an "accident" can be a variety of things: starting to "go" before being fully on the potty seat, changing positions mid-flow (bad aim, even when seated, is the biggest culprit for pants changes around here), not "finishing" completely before getting up, bumping the little potty when it's full, trying to dump the little potty into the big potty by ourselves, running away from mommy before being fully wiped, etc, etc.   Don't even get me started on public restrooms.  I feel like hosing Mars down with hand sanitizer every time we leave one.  Eww!!

As you can see, I will NOT be one of those moms who tells you that her child was potty trained in 3 days and only had one accident ever.  If you're looking for that method, you'll have to ask someone else.

Pregnancy by the Numbers

28: Number of weeks along in this pregnancy, as of last Wednesday
32: Gestational week Marley was born
30: Week I went on bed rest during my previous pregnancy
4: Current cervical measurement in cm (anything over 3 is really good!)
8: Number of progesterone injections I have left
10: Number of progesterone injections I've had so far
3: Number of hours I'll spend taking a glucose tolerance test on Monday morning
8: Number of hours I'll have fasted before the test
2.8: Baby Sister's estimated weight in pounds
0: Number of visits I have left at the perinatal clinic
8: Number of ultrasounds I've had with this pregnancy
11: Number of teaching weeks I have before I "officially" start my maternity leave (not including spring break)
15: Number of months I plan to take off before returning to work
28: Number of report cards I'm supposed to be finishing right now *sigh*

Update: 3/8/10
Report cards are done! So is my 3 hour glucose test! And I now have only 7 more injections left!

Marley's New Room

The biggest thing I did with my time off this week, was assemble furniture, and buy the finishing touches for Marley's new big boy room. I was really nervous about how the transition from our room to his own room would go, and I wanted him to have plenty of time to get used to it before baby sister's arrival. As with most things, Marley had an easier time of it than I did. As you can see from the video below, he was thrilled to come home from school one day to find his new room finished and ready.

Night One: I slept in Marley's bed with him. It took a little while for him to fall asleep. The noises you can hear from this room are very different than what you hear upstairs, in our room. He kept asking, "Where's that sound coming from?" for every little noise we heard. He was excited to be sleeping in his room, though, and slept comfortably once he actually fell asleep.

Night Two: He fell asleep more quickly. I slept (not very well) on the floor next to his bed. He woke up at 5:30, I got into bed with him, and he fell right back asleep for another couple of hours.

Night Three: I laid with him until he fell asleep (which was very quick because it was kind of late). Then, I cried myself to sleep in my own bed, while my baby slept peacefully in his very own room. He woke up at about 6:30 in a good mood.

Night Four: So far, so good. Marley fell asleep in the car on the way home, and pretty much stayed asleep when we laid him down in his bed. I think I'll do better tonight, too:)

PS: I'm taking the fact that Marley didn't know what a dresser was as a hint that he was, in fact, overdue for his own room. I think he's got it figured out now, but I love how he kept opening the drawers to find this "dresser" I kept talking about!

Out with the old, in with the new

This week we said goodbye to our old friend of 10 years, Dodge Neon. Here's to the next 10 years with our new friend, Subaru Forester!

Long and Closed

That's the description I've gotten of my cervix so far at every one of my perinatal appointments. If things continue to look so good with this pregnancy, I will only have two more appointments at the perinatal clinic! Exciting, but also scary, since I didn't have any problems (as far as I can tell) with my last pregnancy until 30 weeks. The perinatologist has promised me that I will be allowed to come back should any problems arise after my 28 week appointment. Yes, I asked:)

Baby sister is looking good. She's still measuring in the 90th percentile, with an estimated weight of 1 lb 15 oz! Maybe we can give our friends, Tanya and Troy, a run for their money. This past weekend they had a 10 lb 12 oz baby boy!!