So, the uber productive surge has passed and I find it hard to scrape myself out of bed in the morning. I'm starting to wake up all the time and for long chunks of time at night with no hope of getting sleepy anytime soon. I forgot this lovely phase of pregnancy.

Ainsley has started to really try my patience, and parenting skills. I wasn't prepared for this stage to hit yet but it has so here we go. Her new antics include climbing up onto the dining room table, dropping utensils into the heating vents, and in general being incredible destructive with anything she can get her hands on. I'm hesitant to say that she's really testing me yet, although I'm sure that's some of it. Sadly, I think she's bored. This child needs stimulation 24/7.

Its not like I sit around and do nothing with her all day. I make a point to get around other babies and moms once a day, whether at musikgarten or the library or parks. And we get outside now to play and garden and go for walks. Sadly my body's attention span for physical activity is dwindling fast. Today a 3.5 mile walk left me in excruciating pain for the rest of the afternoon. Sad isn't it.

I've started to try to do more crafts and "calm" activities with her, and they go over well for oh, about 3 minutes and then she's had it. She loves play dough (eating and sculpting) and like to draw for a few minutes. I'm excited for the day when we can bake together and garden without her trying to eat the flowers or dirt.

Someday!

The Most Productive weekend EVER

We just wrapped up a great, and exhausting weekend. Ainsley must have felt it too because she signed "sleep" to me this morning at 8:30 and is still down and hour and a half later. I finally caved last night after having terrible allergies for days and took 1 benadryl before bed (don't worry it's safe while pregnant) and KONKED out. It's nice to have a lazy morning this morning.

In the aftermath of the crazy weekend we have two freshly painted rooms (I'll take pictures when the decorating is finished) a half eaten banana cream pie in the fridge, a new grill on the deck, and a surprisingly clean house.

The weather is mild and lovely. I am looking forward to going grocery shopping with Ainsley later this morning (my favorite errand) and continuing to get organized around the house. The combination of spring fever and the nesting instinct is CRAZY but good for productivity.

Happy Monday!

I said DOCTOR!

Title meant to be sung to the tune of "Put the Lime in the Coconut" Ainsley's new favorite song (thanks Pops!).

Both Ainsley and I had successful doctors appointments today. She grew a whole inch coming in at a whopping 30.5 inches jumping her from the 30% to the 70%! Her weight still hangs on in the 16% at 20lbs. 9oz. I wonder whose genes she has? Hmmmm. No really, I'm happy that there's a good possibility she'll be one of those 5'9" 125 lb. beauties who stuff their faces with burgers and fries. I just hope she doesn't mind a short chubby mom in comparison!

Baby Vaagenes v. 2.0 is growing right on track. Strong heartbeat. I gained back the weight I'd lost at my second appointment and then some bringing the grand total of weight gain to 3 lbs. This sounds like nothing but considering I weighed 5 lbs more than I wanted to at the start I'm not quite jumping for joy.

Perhaps there are those women out there who just melt away the baby weight like they say. For me about 25 lbs came off no problem and the last 10 just hung on there. I eventually went down 5 but without time, or energy to devote to any kind of regular workout regimine it felt impossible to lose the weight short of starving myself.

I'm trying to get past this mid pregnancy wall of feeling huge and dreading getting huge-r but it's tough. And I have to say the most obnoxious response to my fears is "it's all for the baby." I beg to differ. Yes the baby weighs something as does all the extra blood and enlarged organs and other "stuff" but the fat is all mine. There's nothing like giving birth to a beautiful healthy baby only to waddle out of the hospital still looking 6-7 months pregnant.

Somehow I thought the second time around I would relish in the flub and just enjoy having the pressure taken off me to get my body back. I think it may be worse this time around because, again, I know what's coming. Whats more I will soon have 2 babies to take care of meaning even less time to try and get back in shape.

I woke up this morning feeling a bit down about the whole situation and decided to try and do something about it. Once Ian left for work and I changed a disgusting diaper (thank you Ainsley) I popped in my favorite pregnancy workout tape (courtesy of Acacia and Erin O'Brian) and worked away. Ainsley actually did really well. She stayed in the general vicinity of the makeshift play mat I set up for her, "reading" her books and working on her stacking cubes and blocks. About 20 minutes in she got antsy and started mimicking the moves with me. If I wasn't so focused, and sweaty, I would have stopped to take a video. It was pretty darn cute.

(quick aside: speaking of being cute last night when Ian asked Ainsley to say goodnight to me she leaned down right by my face and gave me a voluntary kiss. My heart melted a little bit)

The main issue with this "early" morning workout regime is the exhaustion later on. Uber productive and active mornings tend to equal lazy restless afternoons for me in my current state. This is so hard to deal with especially since I have a to do list a mile long and what feels like mere weeks to get it done in. I've been trying to let myself have some free time and not feel guilty for it (when Ainsley is napping of course) but it's easier said than done.

I've also entered the eat-everything-that's-not-nailed-down phase of pregnancy. I wake up starving in the middle of the night and about 2 hours after eating I need something NOW or I think I might die. It's hard to constantly make good snack choices when one side of me is saying "you're pregnant let it slide" and the other says "think how fat your butt is going to look in a swimsuit this summer". Oh the joys of a huge appetite.

While it may sound like life revolves around my growing body, I mean belly, it really doesn't. I am relishing in the spring weather, yes even in the April showers. Ainsley gets cuter and more animated every day. She said "hat" for the first time the other day which caught me off guard as she wasn't wearing a hat but her blanky that I put on her head. Life gets increasingly easier as we've found a rhythm to our days. I am looking forward to a playdate tomorrow afternoon with good friends and a full weekend of activities. Keeping busy does definitely help me stay positive and productive, if only it weren't so exhausting!

Easter Weekend

Ian's dad came to visit us for the weekend and we had a blast, Ainsley in particular. After the initial "who are you?" look she warmed up quickly. We ate a lot of good food, bought some lawn furniture which we promptly put to use with the nice weather, took walks, played at the park. The only real bummer of the weekend, for me, was Easter Sunday as I got some weird stomach bug Saturday night and was basically out of commission all day. While Ian, Dan, and Ainsley had fun and I eventually made my way out to the backyard where we let Ainsley loose with her Easter basket, it wasn't the day I had pictured. I am looking forward to dying eggs with her next year and doing a proper egg hunt.

Today we are spending the morning waiting around for the repairman for our broken washing machine. The time frame is 8-12 so I won't expect them before lunchtime I guess. What a bummer to wake up all motivated to get things done and then have to be housebound with an antsy toddler on a beautiful sunny day.

Ainsley and I both have doctor's appointments tomorrow. She goes in for her 15 month check up and I for my 16 week appt. I'm looking forward to hearing the baby's heartbeat and curious to see if I've gained weight (last time I'd lost 2 lbs.). I definitely feel bigger. It's getting harder and harder to find pants that fit comfortably. I'm going to have to invest in some maternity capris pretty soon here as all I have are pants or shorts.

I'll post pictures from our weekend soon. I think Ainsley hid my camera somewhere. Happy Easter!