12.5 Month and 3.5 Months BB Update

It's hard to believe it has already been half a month since Michael's birthday! If time keeps going this fast, Matthew will be here in no time flat!

Let's start with the youngest:

Baby Matthew seems to be doing well. He is kicking away, yet, it seems with a bit less tenacity than his brother kicked. Maybe I'm comparing him to Michael at the end of the pregnancy, but Matthew's kicks are a little less frequent and a little more gentle, at least at this point.

I also haven't had back pain like I did at this point with Michael. Oddly, with Michael, the back pain wasn't at the end of the pregnancy, but it was just one spot, on my right side just under the shoulder blade. One knot formed and each night, Michael Sr., being such a great husband, would always help try to alleviate the pressure, typically, at my request, by pushing his fist in that spot as hard as he could.

But so far, no such spot exists with Matthew. Maybe he just hasn't gotten in a spot yet to strain that muscle, or maybe the muscle got stretched out enough last time.

Other than that, not much to report on him! He seems to be doing well! Poor kiddo, though, I'm not even paying attention to how far along I am. With Michael, I could answer on any given day, "I am ___ weeks and __ days." With Matthew, I'm not even paying attention. Am I 24 weeks? 25? I don't even know.

Regardless, we can't wait for him to come. It will actually be less than 3.5 months...more like 3 months since C-sections are usually scheduled early. That, to me is crazy. Am I really in my third trimester?

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Baby Michael is busy as always. His eating is doing well. He is now in a big fruit phase (still working on those veggies. The occasional corn and broccoli is tolerable at this point), but eating other foods well too. I'm not too worried about his diet. He seems to get all that he needs and just looks so cute doing it. I love it when he takes a whole fistful of food and shoves it in his mouth. It is so cute...though sometimes unnverving because he isn't even done chewing one mouthful before he is cramming more in. I have to moderate every now and again.

His movement is getting very good. He likes to cruise on furniture, and loves holding on to someone's hands to walk. He moves his little legs as fast as they can go, and laughs the entire way. Then, he'll just decide that he's either done walking, or he's arrived at his intended destination and just sit down.

He has these lengthy conversations with things sometimes. Lately, it has been his sippy cup. He'll look at it and go on and on and on, inflecting his voice, raising his eyebrows and making different sounds. It is so funny to watch. I just sit back and imagine what he thinks he is saying.

We're definitely starting to communicate, which is fun. He loves the ceiling fan above the dining room table to be on...pretty much at all times. If it is off, he'll look up, point to it, and say something, I can't really imitate it on a keyboard. Maybe something to the effect of, "Go-gah?" It's a very sweet, questioning sort of voice, like, "Can you turn the fan on, please?" It's not demanding, but it is a clear request. I love it. I turn the fan off a lot just so he'll ask me again.

These beginnings of communication, I think, are so fun, but I can see how it may get frustrating for him. I can tell that he really thinks he is saying something that I'm supposed to understand. The look on his face,and the tone of his voice is clear, and I know he wants something, but there is nothing indicating what that is (unless it's the fan...got that one down). He keeps repeating himself, and all I can do is ask "What?" and try to troubleshoot what he might want. But I don't think I get it. Fortunately, he doesn't get mad. He just either keeps repeating himself, or moves on to something else.

His napping/sleeping are continuing to go well. He only naps in the afternoon now, which means that we have the mornings to do pretty much whatever we want. On the one hand, it is great because we can go to Mass, go to the park, run errands, etc without fear of interrupting a nap...on the other hand, it was nice having a little break in the morning. Now, I don't even have him in his bed for quiet time. I just keep him up until 1 for his one and only nap. Fortunately, that nap is getting pretty long...reliably at least an hour and a half, and has, even gone up to 3 hours. Nice.

Night time sleep is great as always. He regularly gets up after 7 now. It's great. I'll enjoy it while I can until a newborn comes who has no concept of how just plain wrong it is to be conscious before 7.

Lately, he is becoming a bit attached to Michael and I. More so, Michael, but I'll do in a pinch. Even at home, with Michael moving from room to room, baby Michael gets upset if he loses contact with his dad. It's cute but also a bit impractical. Seriously, how is it that he can be held by his dad and eat his breakfast at the same time? That just doesn't work. So we usually just hope the crying will subside quickly in the face of blackberries, eggs, or whatever else is on the breakfast menu.

For the first time today, he actually got a little "clingy" to me too. He has never minded anyone else holding him, but today, for whatever reason, he just latched on to me and made it clear he didn't want to move. It's sweet as the parent, but I can see how it is sad if you are a friend or family member who wants to hold him, and instead are met with a cry, a look, and clinging to Mommy like you are some sort of scary person. Maybe it's just a little phase.

Otherwise, everything is going great in our home. We have fun, try to get out each day to get some fresh air, and take advantage of the cool birthday presents he got, go to a park, etc. We have fun and are trying to stay cool at the same time. He runs around most of the time at home in just a diaper without a shirt. I love it. He's so cute that way, and it gives me ample options to smother him with kisses.