Coming Out of the Storm

I feel better! Last Friday was 13 weeks for Baby Number Two (BNT), and I'm feeing so much better. Only very occasional icky-feeling and MUCH more energy! Yeah! On this side of a very tough period, I can see how much the first trimester affected me. It was a lot like going through depression. I didn't want to do the things I usually enjoyed doing (such as playing with Baby Z or getting out of the house). I felt tired and hopeless and sad a lot of the time. I didn't have a lot of excitement or joy about BNT. And then I started to feel better. I feel more like myself. I have a sense of humor again. I like being around Baby Z.

I'm sharing all of this so that perhaps other pregnant Moms won't feel bad when they start to not like their other kids. Even my OB/GYN said the same thing, which was reassuring. And it is especially reassuring that this phase didn't last. (Although, from what I can tell, it pops back up again for a little while after the second child is born.) It's so nice to enjoy Baby Z again. We're back to having fun and I'm more patient with his toddler-ness.

I've started making lists (a sure sign I'm feeling better) and thinking about life with two kids. It looks like Baby Z is finally ready for one nap a day and now the thought doesn't make me want to cry. So, we're test driving that schedule adjustment now. I give him two naps when it suits my schedule for the day and especially on Mondays (he's always tired on Mondays) and switch to one when it makes sense.

I always said I would keep a "quiet time" for Baby Z when the morning nap dropped away, so I'm strategizing about that now. I think I'm going to buy a portable play yard fence. I think he might like the space and newness of it more than his crib. And, I can take it outside or to other people's houses when I need it. This is probably one of those products I should have bought months and months ago, but a recent endorsement from Oh Cripe finally sealed the deal. It will come in handy when I can put Baby Z in his special place (Note to self- think of cool name to give it appeal) while I feed BNT or clean up a mess or whatever. It's all about containment. Why didn't I get it sooner? Ah, well. Live and learn. I'm off to buy it right now. Seriously.