Oh my goodness, a lot has happened since I last checked in! Work was crazy last week and then we went to MD to see MIL and extended family. We took my mom as babysitter because MIL is too impaired and we had a memorial service we couldn't take Miriam to. It was a crazy weekend with two grandmas! Miriam loved it, though. We even got to take her swimming while we were there... it was actually TOO HOT to go to the pool until about 7 pm. And then the water was kind of like bath water. Not the most refreshing, but it was nice when we got out and could feel the breeze as we air-dried. Miriam was a great traveler, so that was nice to learn. This was the first big trip she's been on since she stopped sleeping all the time, so I was worried she'd be fussy in the car seat. She was fine, just stared out the window at the cars passing by and then eventually slept. She did drive us nuts with one toy that plays music, as she kept pushing the same button for the "animal" setting on the toy. We got to hear "animal!" "animal!" "a-a-animal!" about a million times over the round trip as she repeatedly pushed the button!
Rachael and Wanting, thank you for sharing your stories. I'm so sorry to hear of all your losses. Baby dust to you both. I think this is a fertile, lucky thread. I hope it brings you the support you are looking for. I love this group of ladies! I'm not TTC anymore and if we have another, it will be surrogacy or adoption due to my health issues. But neither of those are on our short term radar.
Miki - I had a bleed like you described with Miriam at about 5-6 weeks. It totally freaked me out, but the RE said it was normal and happens all the time with no issues, but even if it was the beginning of a MC, there was nothing they could do. So I just tried to relax and take it in stride and that seemed to work for me. I was so okay with what was going on that I was a bit shocked later in the pregnancy when my OB said that it was a threatened spontaneous abortion and told me I needed to get Rhogam right away. By then, though, I knew everything was fine, as I'd had several scans and LOTS of symptoms. I think it's not so unusual to have bleeding in the early days/weeks, but we naturally think the worst. I'm glad you were able to relax and that your scan provided some reassurances. Yay for cozy embies!
Wish - poor Malcom! I hope that he starts feeling better soon. What a trooper! Also, how cute it must be to see Timothy stroking his brother's arm. Miriam sometimes pats my arm or shoulder when I'm holding her and it's so funny and adorable. She, too, is a bit rough with the cats. She mostly bothers them by screeching so loudly that they cower or run - I'm sure it hurts their sensitive ears. But sometimes she pets them and then it turns into grabbing their fur coats in big clumps or grabbing an ear or tail. Sometimes, the tail gets pulled into her mouth (yuck!!) or just pulled. And then sometimes she just kind of hits at the cats like she's trying to pet them but very, very roughly and without much coordination. She loves her kitties, though! Every time she sees one, she yells "Kii-eee!" and points at him/her. She does the same thing with pictures of cats. I don't think toddlers understand any form of the concept of "quiet" or "gentle" yet, but I'm hoping that by teaching her now, it will eventually make sense to her.
Mum - sorry to hear the sciatica is still bad. I hope that you can manage until the end of August. What a terribly long wait for something that makes time seem to stretch on forever!
TTC, are you out there? Thinking of you...
AFM - Miriam turned 15 months on Friday and is doing well. We took her to her first live baseball game about a week ago and she loved it, until we started winning and the crowd got very loud and enthusiastic. She is close to walking in terms of motivation and effort, but still doesn't have the balance part down. She can stand briefly on her own, but if she tries to take steps when holding on, she leans way too far forward or backward to keep her balance yet. It's very cute to watch, though, because she takes huge steps, lifting her feet up like she's marching! Baby swim lessons end this week and I'll be glad to get our Saturdays back. But it's so fun to see how much she loves the water. I will try to sign her up for another round in the fall, but at our local Y and not the one by my mom (who lives 30 minutes away). Oh, and Miriam figured out how to crawl up the stairs last week. It's the cutest thing to see her little butt wiggle up the stairs!
The visit to MD was good. Very stressful for DW as her mom is losing cognitive abilities and we are getting closer to having to move her into assisted living for safety. But her mom is with it enough to fight us, so this is going to be a tough transition and very sad for DW. Thankfully, MIL is very aware of the baby and since she was a school teacher, she is great with Miriam even when she's confused about other things. They got along great during the visit!
I think I'd better stop writing before this turns into a full-blown novel. Happy Tuesday to everyone.