We moved

I haven't blogged in forever!! It was for a good reason, though. We have moved, not far away from our condo in beautiful Annapolis, but we moved just the same.

After going and going like the energizer bunny like an idiot (I am 30+weeks pregnant), for four days, I finally took a chill pill and forced myself to take it easy. Taking it easy for me pretty much meant 30 minutes of running around, unpacking, hanging pictures etc, then 60 minutes of sitting, with my feet up. It was nice to finally take it easy, something I never do. But now I am looking around, after being in the new house for a week and a half, and I am slightly amazed that it took me this long to get things settled. I finally hung the last few pictures today, I am done!

Now the fun things begin! I get to get my baby girls room ready, wash clothes, prep diapers and prepare for her arrival. We have already set up the pack and play in our room, and put the swing in the living room. Danny is a mess, he wants to sit in the swing and sleep in the pack and play. I am really hoping that the poor kid gets it out of his system before his sister arrives!

Packing

We haven't even moved yet, but the verdict is in.

We moved from Arizona to Maryland when Danny was five-weeks-old. It was kind of a big deal, it was very stressful, and it made it impossible for me to give myself six weeks to recover. I mentioned recently (several times, actually), that I wonder what would be worse, moving across country with a newborn, or moving about 20 minutes away while 30 weeks pregnant, with a two year old.

This is so much worse than the cross country move!!

Not only are we just coming off a heat wave which damn near took everything out of me. I have a crazy two-year-old running around, and a husband who is not able to help much because of his work schedule. I really had no idea how much Stephen was around to help me while he was in the Marines. He was either in a different country, or available to help me with anything. It is an odd adjustment, having him here, but not available.

It does NOT look like this in my home right now

I am so exhausted, and anxious. I just want to be moved in and settled. I want to work on the baby's room, I never did that with Danny because we were moving around so much when he was an infant. What I really want to do is not feel like a ticking time bomb, with a thousand things left on my to do list.

Just a few more days and I get to do one of my favorite things--set up my home and make it all, well, homey.

Lets just hope I make it till Sunday!

Snow

What a week. . .

My home is spotless

 

Exhaustion

Rainy Days

"Cheep Cheep"

The Hurricane/ Hurricane Party

My son. . .

Really wants to injure himself!

*Aside* I might not be able to write again for a few days, apparently there is a hurricane on the loose and it is headed in my direction. Our electric company actually called us to tell us that our power is definitely going out and it will be out for several days.

Back to what I actually want to write about. Danny, my 16 month old tank is determined to hurt himself. Every day. After the earthquake the other day he climbed onto the couch at my Grandma's house and did a nose dive right off, right into a plant that was given as a gift when my aunt passed away. Crap. Aunt Brook probably would have thought it was funny, but I sort-of feel like I'm going to be struck by lightening at any moment. As I carried my crying child outside to brush the dirt out of my hair I had to laugh in-spite of myself. I was a very mellow child, very calm and quiet. I was a girly girl who didn't like dirt and would get stuck in trees after climbing them. I was always got picked on by my siblings (my sister and YOUNGER brother once tied me to a tree and left the leave blower turned on in front of me, it wasn't until our neighbor got home from school that I was rescued). Danny is the anti-me. I love it, I must say. I never knew what I would do with a little boy if I had one, but I think I am doing just fine. I now wrestle all day long, I get bit, I play with hot wheels and read stories about trucks and dirt instead of princesses and makeup. I love it. I do feel like I am raising my husband though, from what I am told he was just like this.

You can't pick your child's personality and if you could I don't know if I would have picked for my son to have the personality that he has, but I sure am having fun and I wouldn't trade him or his rambunctiousness for anything in the world!

East Coast Earthquake

When not to listen to your instincts.

Question: When shouldn't you listen to your instincts?
Answer: When your child is choking.

Yesterday while visiting my Grandma I overlooked her giving Danny a small peanut butter pretzel sandwich (I should have listened to my instinct when I wanted to say "no!"). About two minutes later Danny tripped and fell, began to cry and as I picked him up to console him I realized he was choking. Really choking. His face was white and he couldn't breath, just a pathetic attempt to cough it out. My first instinct was to pry his mouth open and do a quick finger swipe-then my knowledge kicked in and I remembered what I learned in the CPR/First Aid class that my husband and I took when I was pregnant.

A little back story.

My husband was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (Yuma, Arizona) while I was pregnant with our son. One of the benefits of being a poor enlisted couple is the opportunity to take tons of pre-baby prep classes. When I was 36 1/2 weeks pregnant we took an Adult/Child CPR/First Aid class.

Just for fun imagine this with an additional four weeks attached giving CPR to dummies and pretend Heimliching my husband:

It wasn't pretty. Anyway, the class, taught by two wonderful firefighters/emts from the MCAS Yuma firehouse taught me the proper way to save a choking baby. Five pounds on the back, flip, five compressions on the check repeat as necessary. The class was about six hours long, but probably one of the best things I've ever done because I knew exactly what to do in a scary situation thanks to the awesome teachers (and thanks to LINKS for offering the class for free).

So, I Heimliched Danny. I was lucky enough to only have to do the five back pounds (probably not the proper term) before he started to breath again. He was hysterical (probably thinking why the !@#$ is Mommy hitting my back when I am choking), it took about five minutes to calm him down, but he is ok. Thank God.

There are so many classes, books and stories that claim to help prepare you for parenthood. None of them do, they might, if they're really good make you feel a little less scared, but you'll still be terrified when the hospital discharges you and you and your partner realize that "they're letting you take the baby home-by yourselves" like my husband and I thought. The CPR/First Aid classes can prepare you to handle a scary situation and save your child's life. If you do nothing else to prepare for parenthood, this is what you HAVE to do.

If you already have children and haven't taken the class, it isn't too late. It is never too late to learn how to save your child. Take the class with your baby sitter, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Make sure anyone who might be left alone with your child is prepared for a common, yet dangerous situation.

If nothing else, at least check out these links and share them with your friends.

Quick INFANT CPR instructions

An illustrated guide to infant CPR and Heimlich

Find out where you can take a from the American Red Cross

I have. . .

A sick kid who has two bruises on his forehead, a scratch on his chest and a mouthful of dirt.

This is going to be a very long day. . .