Probably The Final Shot...

I wanted to title this post "What Miserable Looks Like," but I am trying to be more positive so I opted for the other title.  This is me today.  36 weeks, 3 days pregnant.  If I make it to my scheduled c-section (which it looks like I will), I will be 37 weeks 6 days when I deliver my little girl.  To sum up the belly shots, I had my mom measure my waist today to see how I compared to when I had The Boy.  The night we left for the hospital with The Boy my waist measured in at 44 inches.  Tonight my waist measured 45 inches.  So pretty close.  But considering we are a little over a week ahead of last time, it has the potential to get bigger.  I haven't talked much about weight gain during pregnancy on here because fortunately it isn't a big issue for me.  I am not someone who subscribes to the "eating for two" analogy.  I am lucky enough to not get horrific cravings and therefore during my previous pregnancy and this one, I actually eat a lot healthier during pregnancy than I do when I am not knocked up.  Not to mention that under normal circumstances I get a lot of my calories from wine (boy do I miss my wine...sigh...), and obviously that isn't happening during my pregnancies.  So with The Boy I actually ended up weighing about 15 pounds LESS after I had the baby than I did before I got pregnant.  I was quite a bit chunkier going into the pregnancy with The Boy so I had more to lose, but it wouldn't surprise me if after having The Girl, I end up a little less than I started.  To date I have gained 21 pounds with The Girl.  Not too shabby.  So 21 pounds and a 45" waist.  People who know me well point out that I am all belly.  That is how I feel.  Like a big, fat, baby holder.  Only 10 more days to go...only 10 more days to go...

In other news, my boy is still growing up.  No, I didn't expect this to stop, but it seems like since he turned three things have just been changing so much, so fast.  He is such a little person all of a sudden.  His speech is insane (although we are still having major issues with pronunciation, the maturity of the phrases he is attempting are hysterical) and he cracks me up on a daily basis.  

Today when we were in speech therapy I got totally NAILED by his speech therapist.  The Boy has a bit of a lisp so one of the things we work on every week is saying our "S" sounds while making sure that his teeth are closed shut so that his tongue can't come out to form the lisp.  Today his therapist casually mentions to me, "He doesn't use a pacifier, does he?"  She says this like, I am SURE he doesn't because you are usually such the model parent and there is no way you could be making the STUPID decision to allow that to still be going on...  Or at least that is what I felt like.  Because, yes, I haven't made him give up the Binky yet.  I wanted to let him keep it up until the transition into the Big Boy bed so that he would still have his comfort item to help him go to sleep.  Well, he has officially transitioned into the Big Boy bed and I haven't made him give it up.  How come?  I don't know really.  Hadn't really thought about it.  Perhaps my brain is elsewhere...  But she called me out on it.  Now I told her, and I feel I should defend myself here as well with the fact that he ONLY has his Binky in his bed when he falls asleep.  He isn't one of those kids that walks around with it.  It stays in his bed.  Period.  And when he goes down to bed he puts it on his pillow while he farts around in bed and only sticks it in his mouth when he is about to fall asleep.  Then once he is asleep, when I go in to check on him before I go to bed, I take it.  So he literally uses it maybe 20 minutes a day.

Time to put an end to it.  I talked to my mom about it tonight and wondered if RIGHT before a new baby comes home is really the best time to take it away...  But really it is all just excuses.  I can always come up with a reason as to why I can put things off.  I thought that maybe next week before the baby comes would be good.  And then, when I was brushing his teeth I wondered why I am setting some random date in the future to make it happen.  I looked at him and I said, "[Boy], when we went to see S (speech therapist) today, she told me that it is time for you to stop using your Binky to go to sleep."

"Why Mommy?"

"Because it is bad for your teeth and it is making it harder for you to talk.  It isn't good for the sounds we work on with her.  You know how we have to practice with putting your teeth together and making our sounds without our tongue coming out?"

Boy nods head in understanding...

"Well part of the reason that is hard for you is because of using your Binky.  So we aren't going to use it anymore, okay?  Plus, you are a BIG boy now and really, Binky's are just for babies."

"Binky's for baby [Girl]?  Not for me?"

"No.  You don't need it.  You're a big boy.  But tonight, since it is the first night, you can take one of your cars to bed with you along with your Lambie.  But no Binky tonight."

"You not gonna take da Lambie Mommy, right?"

"Right.  I will never take your Lambie from you.  Ever.  And tonight, since it is the first night without your Binky you can take one of your special cars to bed with you."

"Hooray!"

And I put him to bed for the first time without his Binky.  He seems to understand.  He is in there right now laying down quietly but he hasn't actually fallen asleep yet.  He might start to get upset right as he is about to fall asleep, but then again he might not.  He is a big boy and he understands things.  I think he might actually get it.  And he might actually go to sleep for the very first time in his whole little life tonight without his Binky.  He is SUCH an amazing kid my Boy.  I love that little dude more than I could ever express.  And all of this growing up stuff is just too much for my pregnancy hormones...