Happy Due Date, One Year Ago!

One year ago, I was due! But as you all know, Declan decided he was way too comfy in there to come out on the 15th. Actually, I'm grateful that he stayed in. Here's why:

His birthday is special. Even before he was born, October 19th was special, because it's St. Aaron's day! I didn't find this out until my induction date was already set, but that just sealed the deal in my mind. Of course he wasn't early or on time, because he was meant to come on his daddy's feast day! And even better, St. Declan's day is my birthday. That's how I knew we picked the right name, too.

If I had gone into labor on my own, it probably would have lasted a lot longer than it did. I know a lot of people hate it, but I think Pitocin is a wonder drug. I had a nine hour labor! I've heard that with first babies, to expect 12-24 hours of labor. Nope! Going in pain-free, not having to second guess "should I go to the hospital?" "are these contractions?" etc. was totally worth the i.v. drip.

Sniffles

Noooo... I think Declan may be sick for his birthday. We're on the mend from a cold we got a couple of weeks ago, I'm totally better, Declan was just dealing with the last of his runny nose... Then all of a sudden today Declan is hacking up a lung and totally miserable. Aaron made him a doctor's appointment for tomorrow, we're crossing our fingers that it's not bronchitis AGAIN.

I love that Declan looks just like Aaron. But I hate that he has obviously inherited his breathing / lung / sickness troubles. Aaron was in and out of the hospital as a baby with bronchitis, asthma attacks, etc. Declan is way, way healthier, but I think that if put in the same situations as baby Aaron was (milk allergy, born in the dead of winter, colic, reflux, blah blah blah) he'd probably be in and out of the hospital, too.

Anyway, looks like we're gonna have a sickie on the big b-day. Best case scenario, he'll be feeling all better tomorrow morning and the doctor's appointment will be a regular ol' one-year check up. I don't even want to think about the worst case scenario, because God knows I have a wild imagination.

We have two competing ideas about why his cold suddenly threw in in reverse and came back with a vengeance.

1. We just had a cold front come through, Aaron thinks he got cold in bed last night because *I* didn't put pajamas on him (usually he sweats like crazy and cries because he's overheated, 99% of the time he goes to bed in just a diaper.) I suppose this could be a contributing factor, so he'll be wearing pjs from now until next summer.

2. Aaron insists on sleeping with a fan on. This irritates my throat under regular circumstances, not to mention when I have a cold. Why it would have suddenly made the cold worse when it's *always* on, I don't know. Mostly I just wanted to bitch about waking up with windblown hair.

A Year Ago Today

This was me:

I remember how that felt. Heavy.

I still find myself resting my hand on my stomach sometimes. Not that it's anywhere near as big as it was last October, but it's still a little bit... there. But it's empty. Every once in a while, I'll have a gas bubble that feels just like a baby squirming and it is so cool.

For all I complained, I can't wait to be pregnant again. A friend at work is trying to conceive, and I am on the absolute edge of my seat every day that I see her. We're close enough that she lets me know if she started her period / got a positive ovulation predictor test / is having some weird symptoms etc. I am living vicariously through her until I finish my degree and can TTC myself. I think that it will be awesome to have a baby on purpose! Seeing that positive pee stick and being excited, hearing the heartbeat and feeling nothing but joy, making the big announcement to family and friends without shame or fear... Must be nice!

Seven days until my baby turns one. Yipes! I have to go tomorrow and buy some paper plates, napkins, streamers, etc. We're having THREE separate dinners, in order to keep them small and conflict-free. Saturday is Lindsey and her kids, Allyson, Randy and Reid, Holly, Chad, and Spencer, Pete, and possibly some other friends that Aaron has invited that I don't know about. Sunday is the pumpkin patch, then dinner with the Smith family - Kevin, Ronette, her grandkids Kaiden and Braelyn, Tricia, Hawkeye, Logan, and Lauren, Grandma Patsy, and probably more. Then the next Saturday, we're doing a barbecue at the Phipps's. We were going to have another one at our house, but they were already planning a family dinner since Melodee will be in town, so we just combined events. I'm way glad, because our house is kinda little. And by kinda I mean really.

Okay, being way distracted by the new hottie on Glee. Am I getting too old to say that about guys portraying high-schoolers? I'm going to go look up his real age to make myself feel better. .... Oh thank God, he's 21. I don't feel bad at all now.

One-Year Postpartum Body Check

So it's been just about a year since my body went through a major trauma - childbirth. I'm running a systems check. And whenever I feel like I want another baby in the next 3 or so years, I can ready this, and motivate myself to hold off.

Weight:

- Difference in pounds between February 2009 (8 weeks pregnant) and now: +10.

- Difference in pounds between October 2009 (40 weeks pregnant) and now: -25.

Height:

- Same.

Boobs:

- Have returned to pre-baby size, but a vastly different shape. At least all of my cute bras fit again!

Stomach:

- Looks like Freddy Kreuger's face. Also saggy. But better than a few months ago. I'm hoping in another year it will bounce back even further.

Feet:

- 1/2 size bigger. Stupid.

So that's that. Still feeling anxious / sad / resentful about this big birthday that's coming up. Of course I'm excited, too, mostly for Declan - he's learning so much, walking so well, having so much fun. I know that the next year is going to be a big hilarious adventure.

Homecoming

Today Declan and I joined his Aunt Lulu and cousin Delana at the Grinnell homecoming parade! I swear, the entire town was there. It was very quaint.

Here's the psychological mystery of the day: why do marching bands make me cry? They don't make me sad, or nostalgic, or any other strong emotion. I was never in one, nor do I particularly *adore* their music, I mean, it's alright, but nothing to cry about... And yet, every single time I'm within 20 feet of a marching band, I tear up. I was lucky that today I could just blame it on my cold. Actually, now that I think about it, the same thing happens with large choirs. The mystery deepens.

Okay, anyway. Our colds are getting a little better, but last night was the worst sleep I've had in months. Declan woke up screaming every half hour or so. When Aaron came home from work at 2:30, he took Declan for a drive so that I could get a little bit of sleep before work. Ugh. It was like having a newborn again! Except harder, because now the magical boobies have run out of magic. Plus he's like 15 pounds heavier, louder and super strong, so when he thrashes around, hits, bites, screams, etc, it actually hurts.

On that note, it's off to bed with us. Wish me luck.

End of the Road

Our days of taking long walks, playing at the park in the evening, and hanging out in the yard with the neighbors are numbered. I feel it in my bones. There's a cold breeze at night, and even during the day, it's not exactly shorts-and-t-shirt weather.

I know it's super early to start whining about this, but I just hate winter. I hate not being able to comfortably spend time outside. I hate having to think about my outfits more than "Is this sundress clean? No? This one? No? Well does it smell okay? Yes? Okay. On it goes."

Declan and I both have bad colds right now. Between that and PMS, I woke up the worst mood EVER. It's a good thing I was off today, because I would have been useless at work. My head is throbbing and full of snot, and my tonsils are rubbing against each other and feel like sandpaper. I can't blame Declan for being fussy, if he feels how I do. I'm fussy, too.

Aaron was kinda sick yesterday, but he felt much better today, and he was such a good sport while I was wallowing in self-pity / kleenex / fleece blankets and being extremely lazy this morning. He definitely had plenty of ammo to start an argument, but he was super nice and kept Declan mostly entertained so that I could vegetate on the couch.

So in return, I got off of my ass this afternoon, went to the grocery store, cleaned out the fridge, and did like five loads of laundry. There are still dirty dishes in the sink, but hey, I have to leave something for him to do, right?

I'm about ready to brush my teeth and crawl into bed next to my snoring snuggle bug. Tomorrow I will try to upload the video I took of him tonight - right after he got out of the bath, we were playing patty cake (he usually just claps the whole time, while I do all of the other motions) and he decided to join in on the "roll it" part! So cute. The video also has him making out with Bruce, and some walking. Yay!

Number Two

No, not poop.

Although I wouldn't be surprised if I did blog about poop one day.

But today, I'm talking about baby number two.

I've been asked about 1,763,245 times when we're planning on "giving" Declan a brother or sister. And I always answer, "It'll be a while!"

I want Declan to be potty trained. I want him to be able to grasp the concept of sharing his parent-time / toys / space with a sibling. I want to be finished with my schooling. I want to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight or below. I want to be financially stable. I want to be older.

Basically, we are looking at 3-4 more years.

While we're on the subject of the next baby, Aaron and I have been discussing names more lately. I hate to ruin the surprise so early, but here are some that we're thinking of:

Archer (almost certainly our next boy name - no stealing!)

Sawyer

Jonah

Leo

Beckett (middle name only, to avoid confusion with cousin Becky.)

Annabelle

Everly

Isla

Rosemary

Violet

Hadley

Scarlett

Just felt like putting those out there. We're totally open to commentary and/or suggestions, since we have tons of time.

And number two won't be our last. Three is my minimum. Five is Aaron's maximum. We're pretty settled on three, but I might be able to squeeze a fourth in there (out there?) once he sees how fun three is. :)