Adjustments

It seems like the beginning of this new year is bringing with it a whole lot of newness, which translates to a whole lot of adjustments happening around the Watson household. We'll be glad to get ourselves into a workable routine soon.

First, we are still adjusting to the idea of bringing a baby girl into our family in just 19 weeks. I have mildly panicked a few times when I've realized just how very little I am prepared for a little lady. I'm not so much a pink person. Really, I don't like much pastel pink at all. Regardless of its shade, there is zero pink around here, and that needs to change soon! Otherwise, our daughter will be wearing the baby boy blues we already have in mass amounts.

In addition to the small "no pink clothing" issue, Danny and I are also a little stressed about bringing home a baby and then moving six weeks later. We've decided not to prepare a nursery but to, instead, work a make-shift system in our bedroom with a pack-and-play and a changing table. That will be fine, but then when we move, I'll have the added work of buying for and decorating a whole new room that I've never seen before. I kind of like that idea, actually. I just hate to have to wait on furniture once we're there. I'll be really ready to settle her in by then. Alas, this is not even close to a crisis and it will work out fine. We still have about seven months before that dilemma anyway.

Secondly, Tyler started school this week. That's right. My one year old is going to school. It's actually more like a Mother's Day Out. He goes on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. The whole point of him beginning this new part-time care is so that I can be home preparing for the aforementioned move. There are so many closets that need to be cleaned out and boxes in the garage that could probably disappear, and I can't downsize efficiently with a curious little boy nipping at my heels. So, he's getting a little socializing in while I get some things done.

He started school on Monday and I was so sad (no, I didn't take any pictures because I thought they'd think I was a freak). I haven't been without him for very long since he was born. In fact, he's never been left with any babysitters his entire life. So, this felt like a HUGE step, but it turned out to be really great for us both. He did an excellent job playing and eating both days this week; we just have to work on his napping while he's there. He just doesn't rest well away from his own bed. Maybe that will get better.

Third, since Tyler turned one this past weekend, it was time to wean him from his bottle and formula. This has been a huge adjustment for me because I really enjoyed the convenience of handing him a bottle instead of dealing with the high chair and the mess and the clean-up. It's also been a little frustrating because he's not taking to whole milk as well as I expected. He's drinking it, kind of, but he's certainly not enthusiastic about it. Granted, he's never liked anything in his sippy cup except water. He's probably the only kid in America who doesn't even like juice. I am concerned about his calcium intake, certainly, but my husband is pretty close to OCD about it. He all but becomes a drill sergeant when he tries to get Ty to drink his milk. I think the child's consumption of yogurt and cheese is enough to meet his daily calcium needs, but I cling to the hope that he will one day guzzle that sippy cup of milk as if it were the last liquid on earth. We shall see...

Without bottles to rely on and with new activities on our agenda, our fourth adjustment comes into play: scheduling. This one was tough to work through in my mind because it was up to me to figure out. All the wanting of Danny's help in the world didn't matter because he doesn't run the daily ship. Asking for his input only led to frustration on both ends, so I finally had to work it all out in my brain all by myself. I think I've about got it under control.

The main thing was that we were having problems in the evenings. Tyler religiously takes a morning nap of about an hour and a half to two hours. Then, he takes a really great afternoon nap of somewhere around two hours (even up to three some days). But, we have been noticing him getting super tired again around the time that we were ready to eat dinner. We saw this as a great convenience for a while because it allowed us the time to eat and relax and clean up before getting him up for his bath, bottle, and story time (the late third nap never messed up his bedtime routine or his ability to go to sleep for the night). Well, those days are ending because there's no bottle anymore, and, frankly, I'm tired of his late nap making me go to bed later. So, I have instituted the new schedule that puts him to bed for the night a little bit earlier instead of allowing those third naps. We tried the schedule for the first time today and it worked really well. I hope we can keep up the success.

Finally, our last adjustment is really just my adjustment. You see, I hate maternity clothes. Specifically, I hate maternity pants. So, when I found out that I was pregnant in September, I quickly made a goal for myself that I would make it to the end of 2008 without wearing maternity clothes and without gaining any weight (after all, I still had 19 pounds of my own fat to lose when I got the positive results). Holding steadfast to my plan, I made it to the end of 2008 without gaining any weight and I only wore two maternity shirts on two different occasions when I felt particularly obese in the mid-section. I call that a win.

However, somewhere in the last couple of weeks, some weight has crept on (certainly from all the holiday foods and goodies) to the tune of five pounds. I'm not too thrilled about it, but I think I can hold steady here, if not lose some of that, for another month or two. But, what I can't deny is the roundness of my belly. My little girl is beginning to make herself known, and, while all my regular pants still fit me, they sit in such a way that they make me look like I have a tire around my waist. I'm just not cute at all. And, with a healthy baby on board, who cares how cute I look? Unfortunately, I am afraid that maternity pants are in my near future. Oh, how I loathe them. I will save you my dissertation explanation of this fashion distaste with the assumption that you will just trust me that I am justified.

There you have it. The five adjustments being made at the Watson house. We are like a serious chiropractic appointment around here! We are thankful that we have the opportunity to make these changes because it means we have each other, we have a healthy baby boy, we have a little girl on the way, we are provided for, and we are really blessed with so much more than we deserve.

HUGE milestone:

The Little Gym resumed classes this week after the holidays. Today, Tyler took five of his own steps during class. He shuffled around with a few other steps during class, as well, but the five steps were a big deal!! I think we'll have a walker by month's end.

Poppy (Mr. Fred) is Tyler's favorite playmate. You'd think Ty had been with Poppy every day for his entire life! Notice Mr. Fred's hat--Tyler thought it looked better that way!