Poor Second Kid

I feel like we chronicled every noteworthy (and many a non-noteworthy) moment of Natalie's gestation. Second child gets rare mention here, and has had all of two belly shots taken thus far. For those interested, here's the 10 and 16 week comparison. Apparently there actually IS something happening in there.

We had some moments of terror on Monday as the midwife searched and searched for the heartbeat. We started to breathe a little when she said, "I certainly hear lots of movement," but didn't really exhale until she finally found it. Natalie actually knew what was happening this time, and was pretty fascinated. She sat with Jen and grinned at the sound. (We also took advantage of the visit to weigh Natalie, who can still safely rearface in her carseat! Woohoo!) Jen goes back and forth about whether she's feeling movement yet. I think I can, occasionally, but maybe that's just my pulse.

We visited friends with new triplets yesterday. Wow is about all I can say. I bow to those of you who have had multiples. After our gargantu-child, I have trouble comprehending the size of an average newborn. These guys were just teeny, though certainly not as teeny as some. And then there's the matter of having three of them. Along with a toddler. Remind me of this when things are seeming overwhelming in September, eh?

On a totally unrelated note, thanks to Art-Sweet, Poopsmith is now among Natalie's favorite songs. She has yet to heed its advice, but has been listening to it on repeat. Guess what's stuck in my head today?

One Should Never Post Success Stories...

...unless one is fond of very quickly eating one's words.

Natalie woke from a too-short nap in a funky mood. Within a few short hours, she tested several limits, received multiple reminders about being gentle with her body, and soaked two pairs of underpants. We put her in a diaper, walked to a park far from a restroom, and played quite happily for a while. She returned with a dry diaper and cheerfully peed in her potty upon the diaper's removal. Toddlers are fascinating creatures.

Oh, but our car is back with a new, functional, tire.

Potty On, Dude

This Spring Break may go down in history as the Break of Bodily Functions and Minor Disasters. Thankfully, as of this moment, Jen and I have managed to escape Natalie's stomach bug (god, I hope I haven't cursed us by saying that). And the other bodily functions are much more exciting, as they involve new steps and milestones.

Natalie has been mostly diaperless around the house of late. She either goes bare, or wears training pants, and has become more reliable about telling us when she needs to pee. Within the last few weeks, she has also started asking to pee when we're out, but has been intimidated by big, loudly flushing toilets in public restrooms, so has quickly given up on attempts to pee, and has more often ended up holding it until she floods her diaper so quickly that she soaks her clothes as well.

Yesterday we had a breakthrough. While shopping at the brand new Target (first one in the city--a block from my school), Natalie demanded "pee potty right now!" We made our way to the family restroom, where I held her over the toilet and she peed! She nearly exploded with pride right then and there. Next we went to hang out with some friends, where she did the same thing on their big toilet. Her diaper remained dry all morning.

After her nap, we decided to build on her success and let her wear training pants while we ran a few more errands (a feat not yet attempted in - rather, out of - this household). She peed in two more public restrooms (at her request) and stayed dry. On the way home, I cut a corner too close and flattened our tire. We were convinced that the delay while changing the flat would kill our potty success for the day. Amazingly, it did not.

The flat has killed our plans to go to Baltimore today, but we're on day 3 of no diapers (except sleeping) and no accidents. Apparently the Easter Bunny was right on in adding big girl underpants to her Easter Basket.

Next on the list: handling the pooping fear. Luckily, Natalie picked up some potty reading from her aunt this weekend, so she's up for the challenge. I'm not sure we are, but only time will tell.

There's One!

There's One!, originally uploaded by jrustdc.

Natalie recovered in time to go to church!*, hunt for eggs, eat more chocolate than we'd have liked, and generally have a great time with family. More Easter pics on flickr.

*Natalie was so excited to be going to church! that it almost made me feel bad that we don't take her more often. Almost.

Not Exactly What We Wanted...

Perhaps Jen should have been more specific about what type of jumping she was hoping for in her earlier post. We did indeed spend the night jumping. Jumping to grab towels, jumping at little noises and cries, jumping to add things to the very full washing machine...

Yes, Natalie kicked off spring break by catching a stomach bug. It was not a fun night. We can only hope that the day gets better. I suppose hoping we escape the puking ourselves is futile. Instead, I'll just hope for naps today.

Good Friday. Very Good.

Spring break began for me today at 3:23 pm. Cait still has a half day, but as soon as the kids are gone tomorrow mid-day, she's free too. We are thrilled beyond belief at the prospect of a week off, and the first school break in YEARS where we are not traveling at all (well, we didn't go anywhere for spring break 2006 but we were a little preoccupied).

The pregnancy is so far uneventful and presumably healthy, but it is really taking a toll on me. Both of us, really, as Cait is the one to pick up the slack when I am exhausted and/or cranky. Which is a lot of the time. :( We're also at the frustrating point where there really aren't any symptoms to speak of (other than lingering vague nausea and general disinterest in food irritatingly combined with near-constant hunger) yet neither of us can feel the baby. My waist is definitely expanding, and I had to pull out some maternity clothes recently, but I'd really, really, like to be able to feel this kid so I could have a greater level of confidence that things are going as they should.

Thankfully, Natalie continues to be a delight, and makes us laugh and grin constantly. Things we're enjoying lately:

• She knows that the midwives use the Doppler to listen to the baby's "heartbeep" and for a few days said it sounded like this: "honk honk"! Now, after many readings of Hello, Baby, she says it's "ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom".
• When going down stairs, she counts them in Spanish (thanks to a Chilean babysitter). I think she's related to Bono because she counts, "Uno, dos, trece." My favorite, however, is 4: "cua-te-lo".
• She has finally learned to jump for real. We still get a fair amount of one leg leaving the ground, but she truly can get some air time with both feet. It came in handy after Cait & Natalie went to a frog exhibit at the National Geographic Museum with the Hydrangea crew - she spent the rest of the week jumping, hopping, ribbiting, and eating "dirt" (bugs).

Hopefully we'll all be jumping by the end of this week of vacation: moms, Natalie AND wee Carbo.

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na

... I say it's my birthday.

It is, actually. So far it appears that what I am getting for my birthday is a head cold.

That's not entirely true - I have gotten phone calls from my extended family, hugs and kisses from my immediate family, and the sweetest thing ever... Natalie saying "Happy Birthday." Can't beat that! And a very cool present (scroll down to see the really pretty picture) is on the way.

But really, did I have to get sick ON my birthday? :P

Things Are Looking Up

Our Girl Scout cookies have arrived.