Thursday is my Monday – November 4, 2010

First things first. Beck is two today! I’ve been saying he’s “almost two” for so long that today feels a little anti-climactic, but it is also unbelievable that Beck’s been around for two years. We have his check-up tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure he’s right on track developmentally. His vocabulary is growing faster than I can keep track, and he’s starting to speak in sentences like “where did daddy go?” and “I got you!” He’s becoming slightly less of a picky eater, although we still have plenty of days where every meal and snack feels like a battle in which I’m the loser. When we’re around other kids, he is usually one of the smallest, but I know he’s growing because he’s growing out of his clothes. His sleeping habits are the best they’ve ever been, but he’s developed a fear of the dark. This means that Paul or I have to sit in his room until he falls asleep at bed-time (I also stay with him when he goes down for his nap, and I often sleep for a little while myself). Once he falls asleep, he usually sleeps through the night without problems. If he wakes up, he’s usually able to go back to sleep on his own and he’ll typically sleep for 10.5 to 11 hours. His naps are just under 2 hours. Of course, daylight savings time ends this weekend, which will probably throw a wrench into the sleeping routine.

I don’t think he really gets that we’re going to have a new baby in the house in a few months. We talk about it, and whenever we’re around other babies, I try to point them out and have him take notice. He seems to really like babies, and he likes to blow raspberries on my belly, but that’s about as far as it goes. He does love to read the “big brother” book I bought several months ago, but I’m not sure how else to prepare him. I’m expecting there will be a period of adjustment for him, and that things will be challenging at first, but I’m hopeful that those challenges will be worth it once the two of them can start playing together.

Pregnancy-wise, things are going well. I’m still feeling good. I’ve had a couple of days where I really felt pregnant…with an achy back, and worn out and crabby. Those days are still outnumbered by the days I feel good. I’m 29 weeks, and the internet tells me I will begin to rapidly gain weight for the next few weeks. Um, I’ve been gaining weight pretty rapidly already! It’s getting a lot more challenging to carry Beck, but luckily he’s able to walk and get around independently most of the time. I’m starting to nest a little bit – some days are much “nestier” than others – like yesterday. I cleaned up some areas of the house that had been neglected for a while, ran some errands that had been needing to get done for months, went to toddler yoga with Beck, took Beck to get his first hair cut, went to Target and found a last-minute birthday present for Beck, did dinner, bath, and bedtime, and then put the last-minute birthday present together. I didn’t realize assembly would be required, and I think I almost put myself into labor getting those damn plastic pieces together, but he was pretty happy when he found the new toy this morning.

Paul and I are going to Las Vegas this weekend for our last hurrah before we become a family of four. Neither of us have been there, and we’re looking forward to seeing a show or two, eating at some nice restaurants (toddler-free), and spending some time together without the distractions of parenthood.

So, the title of this post – Thursday is my Monday – references the fact that I have a particularly hard time transitioning from stay-at-home-mom to lawyer on Thursdays. This is especially true now because when I sit at my desk, in front of my computer, my urge is to read about where I’m at in the pregnancy, or about our latest toddler challenge, not to dive into drafting a motion to compel the opposing party’s discovery responses. I’ve been working part-time for a year and it has been the fastest year of my life. I can clearly remember my first day home with Beck as a part-time stay-at-home-mom, and the bit of apprehension I felt about my ability to actually care for Beck more than a few hours a week. I am so thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to be home with him, and that I won’t have to go back to work full-time after my maternity leave this time around.

I’m starting to venture into what should be another post, but I’ve been thinking about what Beck was like during his first year, and I realized I don’t really remember that much. That’s because I really did not spend that much time with him. I’d get us ready in the morning, go to work, and rush home at the end of the day to quickly feed him, bathe him, and put him to bed. I wasn’t around during the day, when all the good stuff happens, except on weekends. I’m sad that I missed out on that time, but I’m very glad that we got to spend the better part of the past year together, just the two of us.