Introducing- Captain Midnight!!!

It's been a whole month since our newest baby arrived. Where does the time go? The newest member of the Super Family entered the world in the usual way (for Tired Mom, via c-section), with only a little trouble when his giant head got stuck on the way out. He grabbed the doctor's hand and held on for dear life until he was free. He was 9 1/2 lbs with a 15inch head, so quiet the load for Tired Mom to carry.

He was an instant hit with all the rest of the Super Crew. Danger Boy enjoys holding him all the time.

Kid Catastrophe is not as confident in her baby holding, but she still considers him to be the cutest baby ever. She exclaims at least once a day lately, "he's just so cute!"

Miss Mayhem being 2 years old, does not hold him, but she is very curious about everything about him. She likes to point out all his body parts when they take a bath together (Captain Midnight in his baby bath, with Miss Mayhem sitting in the big bath alongside him).

He is still pretty sleepy most days, but still manages to keep us up until midnight to 2 am some nights. Hence the nickname "Captain Midnight".

We love our Sun Bear and hope to have many more blog posts about all his baby adventures in the near future!

Perks & Pains of Pregnancy (According to Tired Mom)

I'm pretty sure this is my last pregnancy (unless God decides to undo whatever it is exactly that the doctor is going to do to my insides with this last c-section that will hopefully prevent pregnancy). So, I've been waxing nostalgic about all the things I will miss, and all the things I won't miss about being pregnant. I'll break it down into two categories for easier reading and all that:

Perks:

I love food, it's no secret. But, when I'm pregnant food tastes about 10 times better, especially if I happen to be craving that food that week. I also love the way food smells when I'm pregnant since I can smell so much better. I give myself treats every day, and I just love them. Eating while pregnant is like eating after you have been hungry for a long time, and finally get to eat, except it is like that almost all the time for me while pregnant. I seriously don't know how I've only gained 23 lbs (so far) with this pregnancy. Food tastes and smells so good! (hold on, I"ll be right back, I need to eat something).

Alright, I'm back. Mmm mmm food, one moment again. Alright, I'm really back! I love also that I crave different foods at different times, and that they are mostly healthy foods with this latest pregnancy (kiwi, cantaloupe, strawberries, fresh salad greens, etc.).

I love the joy I feel when I can start feeling the baby move. It's the most magical feeling in the whole world to me. It's like I suddenly become Gandalf or Dumbledore and I have this wonderful new ability. I'm using those two wizards because they were not just magical, they were the ultimate in magic. This kind of magic is how I feel when the baby starts kicking. There's a baby growing in me! What could be more wonderful?

The Second Trimester! They don't call it the honeymoon trimester for nothing. Energy, happiness, the morning sickness goes away (for me), feeling the baby; it's all a wonderful life at that point.

Of course, the big finale at the end where I get a baby is the best part.







Pains:

Morning sickness is the worst feeling in the world for me. Being sick for about 8 weeks straight is my own personal version of hell. I would rather do just about anything rather than be nauseous, and it just seems to drag on and on (gradually getting worse). This time, it went on for two more weeks because of the severe summer heat. Every day it would get over 95 degrees (which was all summer practically) I would feel sick as a dog. I was getting pretty ticked toward the end of the morning sickness. this time, but, as usual, it did eventually subside.  I don't even get it that bad! I rarely puke, just have the all day nausea and weakness. I really feel sorry for the 7 times a day pukers!

The mood swings/weird hormones/ and sensitivity in general. I hate the days where I feel like the hormones are in control and there's nothing I can do to stop them. I also can't watch scary or violent movies because that stuff just bothers me to the extreme when I'm pregnant. We are talking PG-13 and TV stuff people! I don't know why I only have this when I'm pregnant.

The last 2-3 weeks are the worst, but the last trimester can get uncomfortable, to the extreme. Especially when I "over do it". Which, can be very subjective when I'm pregnant as I never know what is the tipping point between getting lots done, and doing so much that I can barely move without feeling like my whole body is going to fall apart the next day. This week was a prime example. I did all my usual exercise, except I replaced one day of exercise with raking leaves, and I did 3 hours of stock up shopping (for things  we like to stock up on for after the baby is born) the next day. I was so sore! Words cannot describe the full body soreness I had. Which leads me to the next part.

"Uncomfortable" is usually a word people use when their shoes are too tight or they have been sitting too long and their bottom goes numb. Pregnancy takes "uncomfortable" to the highest degree and leaves you there. It can be a whole body, 24/7, never ending feeling for the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy. I will never use the word uncomfortable again without thinking of the last few weeks of pregnancy. It was more so with Danger Boy, and not nearly as bad with Miss Mayhem for some reason, and Kid Catastrophe was somewhere in the middle. I think Miss Mayhem having a smaller head (although still a 9 pounder like the others) may have helped.

 C-sections suck and I have had to them with all four. Enough said.

Here's hoping baby #4 is more like Miss Mayhem for the final weeks! Hey, feel free to share your own perks and pains.

Adventures in Pregnancy

 

30 weeks already!! This photo is actually from 28 weeks pregnant, but Tired Mom (me) is now at 30 weeks. Teague is a calm little baby so far. He reminds me more of how Kid Catastrophe was in the womb. Danger Boy and Miss Mayhem were similar (super active) pregnancies as well. I have had many adventures so far with this pregnancy. Including: an abnormal ultrasound, that then turned out normal when a Level 2 Ultrasounds was performed. I have also had sciatica and pelvic pain (re-occuring since this is the third pregnancy I have had it) which is mostly cured by pregnancy yoga. Yay for healthy ways of dealing with pregnancy pains!  I have declared this my healthiest pregnancy so far since I have also been able to keep running so long! 30 weeks and still running 2-3 times a week. I was only able to last until 28 weeks with running with Miss Mayhem. I attribute it to keeping more fit overall with 3 strength workouts a week, plus gaining less weight this time around due to the doctor putting me on the diabetic diet right away (although I my blood sugar is testing normal for now). Everyone keep their fingers crossed that my blood sugars keep testing normal!

SUPER BUSY

We've been very bus lately! Getting ready for Halloween  has been fun. We already picked out all their costumes, but I have not gotten pics of Miss Mayhem in her clown costume yet. If you can't tell, Danger Boy will be Batman and Kid Catastophe will be a cheerleader. The older kids decided to decorate for Halloween too. That was really fun. We just headed to the dollar store, picked out a bunch of fun stuff, and the older kids did almost all of it on their own. Yay for a fun day off from school activity!

Miss Mayhem is potty trained now, with only occasional accidents. She has become quiet the nudist since she learned to take off her clothes though. Demon Cat #2 is protecting her from all nudity related dangers in the above picture. Today she got very angry and kept yelling "STUCK!" because I put her in a button up dress that she can't remove. That's right Miss Mayhem! The clothes are supposed to be stuck on your body!

Miss Mayhem VS The Pottty

My baby girl is becoming my big girl, and one more step in that journey is learning how to use the potty. She loves to sit on her Blue's Clues insert for the toilet, but she is not as enthusiastic about the potty chairs.

Another one of her favorite parts is using the sink to wash her hands afterwards!

We mostly use the bare bottom method for potty training, which means some days Miss Mayhem just chills out naked! We are slowly transitioning to her Dora panties (she loves Dora!) and hopefully then on to pants and everything (with colder weather coming).

The best part of this adventure is how much Miss Mayhem likes the process! She has very few accidents after 3 weeks of training, and she is still so happy each time she goes to the bathroom on the toilet. Her only problem area seems to be outside. She does not like to use the outside potty chair, so accidents happen more often outside.

Tired Mom especially loves how she claps and says "yay"! each time she goes. Such a happy potty training experience for everyone!

News on the Newest Adventurer- It's a Boy!

The baby is doing well at 19 weeks AND we found out its a boy! Vance has named him Thing 4 for now.

Miss Mayhem and Tired Mom have been left to their own devices this week as the older kids go back to school. Miss Mayhem has adjusted really well to the new schedule!

A toddler and her bear off to see the world!

It is a little harder to play on the seesaw without brother or sister :(

But the zebra is no problem! 

The End (of the summer reading program)

Babaloo was the last show put on by the summer reading program. The program went out with bubbles and music this year! All the kids got in on the bubble action, before the music started.

I actually got a side picture of Danger Boy smiling too!

Kid Catastrophe had more fun with the bubbles than the music, but it was all good fun!

Miss Mayhem even got in  on the bubble action, although she did hang back from the crowd of kids.

Miss Mayhem actually sat still for parts of the music!

Then, Babaloo did something really surprising, and gave 2 year old Miss Mayhem a pair of sticks and let her bang on the bucket drums with all the other kids! Tired Mom was a little  worried about them at first, but Miss Mayhem did fine.

 

He threw bean bags into the audience to get the kids to participate in one of the songs.

At the end, he brought out a machine that flung toilet paper all over the kids! This was also silly willy fun fun for all the kids

This was a great last show for the summer reading program!

 

 

 

 

 

Tired mom forgot her camera for the "finale" which was when they give out two prizes for all participants, feed everyone pizza, and have a drawing for more prizes. KC and DB both won one of the drawings, and brought home an extra prize for doing double the required reading! Good job Danger Boy and Kid Catastrophe!