G's Big Girl Bed...

Our little baby girl has graduated to a big girl bed. Well, it's day 2, so I suppose I shouldn't speak too soon. It's been quite a new experience, lots of highs and lows in the past 48 hours. Paul and I had everything in position by the time I brought her home from daycare on Friday night. We recorded her reaction on my camera, which I'll try to post, but needless to say she took to the idea of a toddler bed right away. She kept thanking Paul and I (tank you....mom, tank you....dad) and was all smiles. We thought "hey this is going to be a piece of cake!". Even that first night she climbed up on the bed, on top of the duvet cover I had made especially for the bed (we'll introduce "covers" later) and then we laid her blankie on top of her, said sweet dreams, and our princess slept the entire night through until 7:30am the next morning (which was Saturday). Lots of praise, love, and kisses came next- she got to jump in bed with us, watch cartoons, drink some milk, and generally be spoiled as she was such a big girl!

Well, that afternoon, I can't say that naptime was the same experience. I made the mistake of giving her manderin oranges at lunch, which must have wired her because she was in NO mood to take a nap. And this is a girl who walks herself to her crib each and every naptime/bedtime, and tells US that it's time for her to go to bed, like clockwork. Paul and I both worked on stroking her back, comforting her, rocking her in the chair, but she wanted NOTHING to do with napping in the toddler bed. I had read a recommendation to use a pack-n-play as a backup option for the first few days of transition, so we pulled it out and set it up, but by then she had no interest in napping anywhere.

I can't even remember the last time Ginger hasn't napped during the day. Um, never. She has always liked (and needed) her rest. So, by 6:15pm that evening, on our way to the Olive Garden to grab some dinner, Ginger fell asleep in the car and there went dinner :) We grabbed takeout, came home, and put her to bed in the big girl bed where she slept soundly until 8:10am the next day when I went in to wake her up.

It is now 3pm, and we have had a (what I would call!?!?) successful nap transition today. I served a no-sugar lunch, no tv or cartoons after lunch, just books in her room with a dim light and lots of snuggle. Thankfully I had purchased a book called "Elmo and the Big Bed" and we read that about 3 times along with her "I'm a big sister" book. Lifesavers, I tell you. Upon putting her in her toddler bed, she did run off and opened the (cracked) door and jumped in daddy's arms. He rocked her and walked her back to her room, where he laid her down and put her blankie over her. She protested as he left and closed the door, but no screaming or crying, just a whimper.

She must have realized her new found freedom because for abouut 25 minutes she played, sang, whimpered, and jumped around her room. But then, after a few whimpers, it was suddenly quiet. That was 1:45pm. And now it's after 3. So I call that a success. I WISH for anything that we had a video monitor, as I don't know where she is actually sleeping at this moment (and I don't dare poke my head in, for fear that she wakes and I kill this naptime) so suffice to say that whether she is on the floor, in her big chair, or on her bed- she is sleeping.

This is a bittersweet feeling for me. I am thrilled that with persistence, she will hopefully transition nicely in these next 6 weeks before baby girl comes along. We've hidden her crib behind closed doors in baby girl's nursery so it is out-of-sight, out-of-mind. But I am a bit sad to think that I will never go and pick up Ginger from her crib anymore. I didn't cherish that last night the way that I should have- we kind of spontaneously put the new bed together and I never had that "last crib night" moment with her.

But, the show must go on. Ginger will be growing out of this toddler bed in no time, probably just in time to give it to baby girl #2, and then our plan is to bring the girls in a room together with the crib which converts into a full sized bed. So Ginger will get it back again in the future, but in a very different form!

Big moments at our house these days...

**EDIT** When she woke and cried out for me, I went in to find her laying on the cushy rocking chair. Oh dear...looks like this is going to take some time! :)

City Slickers...

Remind me to never, ever go to a "off the side of the highway" pumpkin patch the weekend before Halloween! No, it wasn't that bad, at least we didn't have to pay admission or parking. But it was nothing like our visit to Peltzer Farms last year. We had big plans to visit Peltzer two weekends ago, but Ginger got sick the night before and we thought we'd make it down sometime before now. Turns out my mom and dad went out of town, and we decided to try something local this year. We made the best of it- Ginger had just as much fun and we laughed, visited the petting zoo, watched big kids bungee jump and slide down inflatable (and questionable) huge contraptions, and took a few token pumpkin patch shots. It was WAY too crowded for nice, quiet, family pics so it just didn't happen. But here are a few of the cute ones.

Went for it!

So, I just ordered baby girl #2's Christmas stocking...with her name on it!! We are in ♥♥♥ with the name we've chosen, just taking a few more days until we decide how/if we'll share before we deliver. Still working on a middle name, which may impact our decision to share if we need more time to come to a conclusion...

But the name has been chosen!

(Side note: I had to order her Christmas stocking as soon as they became available online, as last year they sold out fairly quickly and I want to make sure that baby's stocking matches the rest of ours this year. Plus, I am due on 12/16 so I'm sure these next 59 days or less will be a whirlwind for us- one less thing to think about! ;-)

Yep, I confess....

I am totally, completely, and utterly in love with our daughter. To the point where I post too many pics on FB, tell too many stories in conversation with coworkers, and dream about everything she does that is wonderful (and forget everything she does that is, well, not wonderful).

It's hard even to describe to people who do not have children what this experience is like. For those who do, most of them get it, but possibly have been worn over time with more challenges, obstacles, and multiple children. I can't even imagine every feeling that way, but maybe that happens? Who knows.

But for those without kids, I get a lot of half-smiles, where behind the smile they are questioning "is this girl looney?" when I gush about little Ginger Lauren.

The greatest feeling in the world, though, is not caring how the message is being recieved. Sure, I try to tailor who I'm talking to, but once you get me going I am not bashful in wearing my heart on my sleeve about my love for this beautiful little girl.

Today we tried on her Halloween costume to make sure it fit properly in anticipation of a few fun nights in the next few weeks. It fit like a charm (sized 12-24 months- don't know how this would fit a 12 month old, unless they were huge!) but she looks like a darling little ladybug princess. Ok, there I go again :) But to look at this pic and see how much she's grown in just 12 short months, it's pretty incredible. Paul and I have grown significantly during this time as well. What a journey this is!

31 weeks

Only 9 more weeks (or less!) to go- awho-hoo!!!!! We went to the doctor yesterday for a check-in, and everything is looking just fine these days. Dr. did an ultrasound and I was able to watch as this baby flipped and flopped, punched and kicked, and didn't sit still for a minute! Just like Ginger, doctor was amazed at how much movement was going on, in the visit alone she said some women don't get that all day long! I told her I rarely need to do kick counts because even before 10am I know she's awake, alert, and already given me way more than 10 punches/kicks :)

Dr. also said that baby was measuring a bit larger today than 31 weeks, at 5 lbs 4 oz. typically babies are around 4 lbs at this point, but she also pointed out that ultrasound estimates can be off sometimes as much at 2 lbs. I was also told with Ginger that she would be close to the 9 lb range and she was only 7 lbs 15 oz. so for now she didn't want me to worry. I'll be heading back for visits now every two weeks, my amnoitic fluids look great, everything she said is looking fantastic.

Unfortunately baby girl was moving so much that the ultrasound pic came out rather blurry and indistiguishable. But I scanned it here just to remember. I've also included a scan from the ultrasound 2 weeks ago where you can see baby's (BIG) brain and head front and center!

31 weeks- can't even really make it out, but there's a hand in there!


29 weeks, and that big ol' brain of hers :)

Now this is the kind of news I need to hear...

Well, all the results are in. While we will need to continue to monitor my progress and the situation, all of my labs came back either normal, or just mild at worst, so doc feels very good about these results. She reassured me today that the point of this escalation was for precautionary reasons, that she wants what's best for me and this baby, even if that means going overboard with precaution when there are any, any signs of need.

So I feel good about that. I know I'm in good hands. Her reassurance was helpful. Things could change in a moment's notice, so I am planning on taking it easy, reducing my overextended workload (trying to be the hero before taking my maternity leave, not the right thing to do I'm realizing now) and taking care of myself and this baby first. I have a great support system and I just need to remember that I can lean on them and not try to do everything myself!

Thanks for all of the prayer and encouragement to my faithful blog readers. I'll keep you all informed of how the next 10 weeks (or less?) plays out, I'm sure!

And to my baby girl, thank YOU for kicking me, punching me, and remaining active throughout these past few days. It gave me confidence to know that you're a strong litle fighter in there!