So I just wrote a blog, and walked away for like 2 minutes forgetting that my son was obsessed with anything with a screen. Came back, and of course everything was gone and my computer needed to be restarted. Smh. So… that’s what Alvin likes now. lol. He likes to play the PlayStation, or at least play with the controller and wear some headphones like his dad, watch music videos on tablets, and pretend that he’s typing. Right now his hands are on the side of my keyboard and he’s fake pressing buttons. lol. He is a lot like my hubster with electronics.
Anyway, Alvin has been a handful; he has soooo much energy. I swear he gets sweeter everyday. He’s always giving me hugs, and when I lie down he’ll get in bed and get under the covers with me. 85% of the time he is the sweetest baby ever, but he has his random days when he is a stereotypical baby in his terrible twos. It mostly only happens when we’re out in public and strangers start talking to him. A few months ago I was anxious for him to learn that strangers were not his friends. He would see a stranger and run up to them and hug them. Now when strangers talk to him, he throws his bottles or my keys, and slams his hand down in anger. The child has no balance. lol. For the most part though, he is very sweet and I think he’s going to be a really good big brother.
Speaking of his little sister, I had an appointment with my OBGYN last Thursday and I was referred to see a perinatologist. I was 30 weeks and 5 days, but my baby was measuring at 27 weeks in size. When I was pregnant with Alvin, he measured 35 weeks when I was 37 weeks along. But this time it’s much earlier, and she is further behind than Alvin was so I was pretty nervous. I don’t ever want my kids to have any serious health problems. It’s the worst.
So our perinatologist looked at our scans and when she walked in she said she wasn’t surprised that our baby was small because we’re both very small. lol. Alvin was 6 lbs and 8 ounces when he was born, I was 5 lbs and 13 ounces, and Al was 5 lbs and 8 ounces. Our baby is measuring small, but she looks perfectly healthy so our doctor said that she will probably just be small like us, which was such a relief to hear.
The normal growth rate for babies is between 25 and 70%, SGA (small for gestational age) is 24% to 11%, and IUGR (babies that don’t have enough room to grow in the uterus) are 10% and below. Our baby measured at 17%, and even though they believe her to be healthy and have the ability to be carried full term, I have to see a perinatologist every week because she is not in the normal range. If she reaches 20%, then I can stop going and just see my OBGYN. I am praying that the percentage continues to climb because I don’t want to have her early. I want her to have all the time she needs to grow and be healthy.
I had my baby shower last month, and it was really nice. It was Harry Potter themed, and we got a lot of cute clothes for our baby girl. My friend Brittany threw it for me, and the next day she also took our maternity pictures. They are soooo nice. I’m so sad that she moved away. She was the closest friend I had here in DFW π I’m hoping that we make a trip to Austin/San Marcos before we have the baby so we can hang. Anyway, we don’t need much for our baby girl. My mom is buying a bed for Alvin, so our daughter can have his crib. And we have to buy a stroller and a changing table/dresser. I am really back and forth about the stroller, but I think I’ve decided on the one that I want. We’ll see. lol.
I started saving and planning for Christmas last month, and I ordered the first of Al’s Christmas presents this week. I’m really excited for Christmas this year. I think every year I become a little more obsessed with the Holiday Season. lol. I’ve already picked out what I want to buy to decorate for fall and Thanksgiving. And I found a fall picture that I want to paint. Will probably start next week or something. Christmas is going be really cool this year. It’s our first Christmas in our house, our moms are coming, Alvin is going to love ripping wrapping paper and getting toys, and our sweet baby girl will be here.
Aside from planning for Christmas and our babies, I’ve also been practicing photography. I have’t practiced as much as I would like. There is a park right next to our house, but I never walk there because I’m already super hot from being pregnant, and it’s been like 104 degrees with 50% humidity everyday for the past month. I can’t put myself through that. lol.
I got some good pictures while we were in New York- which was awesome by the way. Small detour in conversation. New York was a fun experience. Al actually got a job offer there a few months ago, and I was thinking that’d be fun to live in a suburb in CT or something and work in NY. We are so glad we went. We would never want to live there. It smelled like poo and pee everywhere, and it was ridiculously expensive. We went to breakfast one morning, and it was $70. I think the cheapest meal we had was $49, and that was just for 2 burgers and one side of fries. And the food wasn’t even good. lol. But it was still fun. The Subway was confusing, and not as well structured as DC Metro (our big city of choice to visit). The best part of our trip was the Broadway shows. We saw Matilda (best one), Something Rotten (great singing), and half of The Book of Mormon. The singing in The Book of Mormon was AMAZING, but we left during intermission. It was incredibly offensive, not only to Mormons but to Christians in general. Wasn’t really up for that.
Anyway, back to photography. I’m planning to take my daughter’s newborn pictures and our Christmas family pictures. I ordered a remote for my DSLR this week so that I can take my own pictures, and I’ll order a tripod next month. I’m pretty excited to take them. Here are some of the pictures I have taken so far.
Flower from my grandmother’s garden in Port Orchard. Flower from my grandmother’s garden in Port Orchard. Flower from my grandmother’s garden in Port Orchard. My son playing with rocks in my grandmother’s backyard. Picture at Central Park. Took this one on my point and shoot, and realized afterwards that this camera sucked lol.
So yeah, that’s pretty much been life. The norm. After I finish this blog, I’m either going to practice the guitar or watch a photography video. I’ve gotten better at photography, but still have a lot to learn. At least my pictures are in focus now. lol. It’s so nice waking up to a clean house and having no errands to run. And Alvin pretty much just hangs out with me. He’s a really easy baby. All he requires is attention and food. lol. And it’s time for his nap, so I really have some time to practice doing what I love. Going to try to enjoy this as much as possible over the next 7 weeks before my daughter gets here and I potentially have two children who sleep at different times, which means I sleep never. lol. Adios!