16.5 Months

16.5 Months
25 lbs, 31.5 inches
So many changes, it's so hard to know where to begin. He's walking & running now, has an oddly intelligent sense of humor. Knows where all of his facial features are as well as feet, hands, shoes, shirt, etc., says "vroom, vroom" when you say, "car," and "tick-tock" when you say, "clock." He understands seemingly everything, follows simple directions, but still has a limited vocabulary. He eats with utensils & drinks out of a big-boy cup, & has begun to show interest in using the potty.


28 Weeks
Other than a mild annoyance at having to pick things up off the floor all day long because my toddler son puts them there, I feel fine. The doula that we hired is getting us ready for a med-free delivery, and Zach has no idea what's going on. Although he does point to his own belly when asked: "Where is your brother or sister?" We haven't prepared much in any other way, but there isn't much that needs to be done this time around. We have to purchase a bassinet/cosleeper & a few newborn clothing items, but we're otherwise still well-equipped with baby stuff because ... well ... we're still IN baby mode.

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Which leads me to my next thought: Holy crap I can't believe we're going to have another baby in less than 3 months. Steve & I have been walking around the house repeating the same mantra: "We just have to get through the first few years & we'll be OK." If we can survive two in diapers & another year of sleep deprivation & still remain friends when all is said & done, we'll be in good shape. (A little glassy-eyed, maybe, but otherwise OK.)

Fortunately, Zach has been sleeping through the night pretty solidly for 10-11 hour stretches. Even his usual 20-minute naps have become significantly longer. He is, by the way, an absolutely uncontainable toddler. He. Does. Not. Stop. Ever. Keeping him busy from day to day is a feat comparable to most high-wire acts: awe-inspiring if not a little scary.

His energy--can I have some please? It's tough to keep up some days.

But I'm so proud of him. He is so nice to people when we're on play dates. He shares his things & eagerly watches bigger kids as they climb & run, anxiously wanting to get in on the fun. He's entered a hugging phase that involves random acts of embracing other kids, & although is quick to help himself to other people's food (Egads, is this kid food-driven ... anyone surprised?), he's also happy to share his own. And what a good eater. He eats veggies (peas, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, asparagus, carrots) & adores fruit (anything but cantaloupe & pineapple), & given the right mood will consume most fish, although salmon is his favorite. But like most toddlers, on any given day he will decide broccoli is poison until presented to him later--in the same preparation--& it suddenly becomes innocuously yummy once again.

When he's home, Steve has taken over the bedtime routine, which is an enormous gift to me. After over a year of nursing & being the only one who could put him down for the night, I'm thrilled to have some nighttime down time before the next dance begins. The two of them read together, but Zach is still at the age where he just wants to point to pictures and ask: "Dah?" So Steve is often heard improvising the rest of the story because Zach doesn't stay on the page long enough to finish reading it. It's actually pretty funny to listen to from another room.

Steve is still plugging along swimmingly through grad school, & his telecommute schedule means more time at home with us, which is a gift neither of us take for granted.

Being a stay-at-home mom is actually not quite as painful as I thought it may be. Zach keeps me so busy that I barely have time to consider that I'm not working for monetary compensation. I am, however, writing a few articles that I hope to sell to a couple of publications before No. 2 gets here--enough work to keep the wheels greased & my portfolio fresh.

But not too much that I forget why I quit my job in the first place. After all, it's because of my freed schedule that this summer Zach has: Gone to the beach for the first time; got his picture in the newspaper at the local pool; met tons of new friends; gone to the zoo & fed some of the animals; & explored every playground this side of the Eastern panhandle.

Quitting my job to keep that much joy in his life? Priceless.