Two Moms to Be: May

I am very glad to say that the warm weather finally seems to be here to stay. It was a long winter. I am very much ready to put away my coat and boots.

Now that the weather is nice, Sprout and I have been getting out for walks much more often. The Bean has also been requesting trips to the "little park" which is right outside our front door almost every evening when he gets home from daycare. I'm usually pretty happy to oblige. I push him on the swing and he tells me about his day. Two year olds can definitely make you crazy, but they can also be super amazing. (Conversations! Real ones!!)

This post is going to be a little all over the place. I've wanted to update daily, but I seem to run out of awake hours before I'm able to get to it. I've already been up for an hour and half (i.e. since 6am) with Sprout since she is four months old and does not understand about sleeping in. Fortunately she does understand about naps, so I have just a few minutes now. I can hear The Bean starting to stir in his room though, so I better get to it...

First, the photos here are ones I took while walking around after a very nice morning in the park with Ashleigh and her brood. Sprout fell asleep as we were making our way back to our cars, so I walked for another 45 minutes while she napped taking pictures of people's flowers. I love the flowers at this time of year. I've noticed some gorgeous magnolia trees that I want to get out and get some photos of and this weekend the cherry trees are in blossom, so I'm hoping we'll make it out to High Park this weekend so I can capture those too. Maybe even sneak in a few family pics.

Sprout and I finished our Monday music classes. They were pretty good for a free program. I learned a couple of new songs, but tend to stick to my favourites when I sing to her. It made me realize how many kid songs I know compared to your average person. (A lot!) And it also made me wonder what other people sing to their little ones. We do a lot of the kiddie songs, but she also hears a fair bit of Ani DiFranco, Ben Harper, Death Cab, or other songs where I more-or-less know all the lyrics to a couple of tunes.

This week we started what Jen calls "Baby Camp", but what is officially called "Living and Learning with Baby" which is a program put on by public health. It's for new moms, which I'm not, but being a non-gestational mother the first time around seems to be a loophole. The program is supposed to address all sorts of questions and concerns that new mothers (and fathers --there's one in our class, which I think is awesome as it adds a whole other perspective which as a NGP I can relate to, though he seems to be a bit shy) have. I don't have so many of the questions, but sometimes it's just nice to be around people who are going through the same things that you are.

Next up on the baby-related schedule may be some visits to the hospital. I got on the list for some PPD therapy. My doctor referred me after my appointment last week and the nurse from the hospital called this week. My conversation with the her was difficult, but good. Things have been getting better, and I told her as much, but I agreed that it still may be good to talk to someone or meet with a group. She's going to try to find a good match for me. She seemed to think that I have some Postpartum Anxiety symptoms, which I didn't really realize was a thing, but seems to be fitting. I've had (undiagnosed but obvious) anxiety issues in the past, so in a way I feel sort of better, as I know I can get through this.

(Here might be a good place to add that I did not get the kindergarten job I interviewed for and haven't yet been contacted for any other interviews. Discouraging to say the least, but I will keep looking.)

The Bean continues to love daycare, and as I think I've mentioned, he is now going gymnastics on Saturday mornings in addition to swimming on Sunday mornings. We certainly don't want to over-schedule him, but have found he's happier when he's busy and active. Jen and I find the scheduled activities on the weekend to be helpful in giving some structure to that activity, though we still go to parks and the Science Centre quite often.

He often asks during the week if we're going to "nastics" and sings the songs from his swim class and practices in the bathtub, so I think it's fair to say he's enjoying the programs.

Though we are sometimes exhausted by his two-ness, he is a lot of fun and can be incredibly sweet. Here are some of the little things he's been saying that I want to keep track of...
-helicopters are called "hello-copters"
-cupcakes are "pupcakes"
-knives are called "cuts"
-when we're driving he'll call out "Next stop... NASTICS!" (See, he does love it. ;) )
-he used to often say "I sad" (sometimes when he was legitimately sad, but often more as a way of manipulating us into getting what he wanted). He has added "I frustrated" to his repertoire which can actually be quite helpful in opening up conversations about what it is that is frustrating him and working towards a solution.
-he sings all the time. He picks up the lyrics to new songs quickly. I'm pretty impressed by it. He can also carry a tune.
-he is incredibly social and will approach kids in the park to play with them. He's also taking to walking up to people and telling them "I 'The Bean'". Totally cute.