Cervix schmervix

For all those wondering on the exact dates of the pregnancy, I am 9 weeks today. When I went for my first appointment, which included a nice baseline measurement of my cervix at 6 weeks (dildocam!) it was 3.9 cm and looking good.

Just to review, for those who have forgotten my lessons from Cervical Abnormalities 101 back in 2005, normal cervixes (cervixi?) measure between 3-5 cm during pregnancy. Hot damn! I'm average!

But of course, that is all well and good. Except I am not average. We know it will happen again with almost 100 percent certainty. Isn't my previous employer glad I am no longer there now? And their insurance company -- whoo doggie, they just dodged a $100,000 pregnancy bullet.

So another cerclage is in my very near future. I have my surgery consult with the same perinatalogist who did my first cerclage on July 11. He was not in the day I was ultrasounded, but his colleague told me we'll stitch this puppy up between 14 and 16 weeks. Since we'll have a lot of length to work with, things should not be nearly as dire this time around.

I am going to request my surgery for week 15. We have Pearl Jam tickets the weekend before, and nothing ruins Lollapalooza like a stitch in the ole cervix, so I'd like to wait.

So there you have it. If anyone out there has any experience with second-time cerclages, please drop a comment. I am looking for as many stories as possible about bedrest or no bedrest the second time around.

Who feels nauseous?

So. Wasn't that exciting?

That's about how I felt a month ago, excited. And then at exactly 5.5 weeks, the sickness kicked in. And then I was not so excited.

And yada yada yada, here we are in the constant hell of all-day sickness.

F-you, anyone who says morning sickness. HA! Ha, I say. More like morning, noon and night sickness. It sucks, nothing helps, and it's about 25 times worse than it was with Jack.

From all accounts, I am in the thick of it right now. It should start to ease off, looking back at my pregnancy with Jackson, in about five more weeks. Wheeee.

Until then, I do a lot of lying around moaning. Other people have to feed Jack, because I can't look at the food he eats. I have to think verrrry specifically about what I want to eat, and then eat it RIGHT THAT MINUTE. And when I am finished with it, I can not speak of it or look at it ever again.

So that about sums up my life for the last month. Now you see why I am not blogging as much. Looking at a computer screen makes me nauseous, but hey, what doesn't? So bear with me.

Coming next week: cerclages, bedrest possibilities and holy shit -- we're going to have TWO children in diapers. God help us all.

Let the fun begin

Due in January.

Sick as a dog.

Excited.

Nervous.

The dog says woof

This is a conversation I now have approximately four times each day.

Mommy: What does a dog say?
Jack: Woof!

Mommy: What does a kitty say?
Jack: Meeee

Mommy: What does a duck say?
Jack: Ack! Ack!

Mommy: What does a birdie say?
Jack: Twee

Mommy: What does a horse say?
Jack: Day!

Mommy: What does a cow say?
Jack: Woof!

Mommy: What does a frog say?
Jack: Woof!

Mommy: What does Daddy say?
Jack: Woof!

As you can see, he's mastering his key animal sounds. Or not.

I have a blog?

So sorry to up an disappear for a week. It's been a busy few days and we went to Michigan with Josh this week and we have a family wedding this weekend.

But never fear! I plan to return with MUCHO material next week. You'll love it, I promise.

In the meantime, a short tidbit about the boy. This morning, I was putting his shoes on to go to breakfast downstairs in the hotel and he was making a fist and looking at it. So I made a fist and bumped it into his. He giggled and did it again and again. So now he walks around fist-bumping waiters in the restaurant.

Pushover

So I need to know what the hell is wrong with parents?????

At Jack's little play class, there are two girls who are both 2 and are big pushers. Not a class has gone by where he has not been pushed -- and I am talking two-handed to the ground -- by one of these little brats.

Today, the two pushers were having a celebrity deathmatch on one of the crawling towers during open play and I took that opportunity to speak quietly with the teacher. I asked if we could talk about the pushing and she said, “You mean (let's call them X and Z)?” Ding ding ding. I said I didn’t want to parent other people’s kids, and I didn’t want her to have to either, but that every class Jack has attended this session, he got pushed. She said she had already spoken with X's mom and Z's nanny about it, but would make an announcement in general about not pushing and watching your child.

Not even two minutes later, we’re putting the toys away and X gives Jack a two-handed push to the head. The mom was RIGHT THERE and says “Hey! You don’t push you big bully. Say excuse me.” Notice, not sorry, excuse me. WTF? So I don’t say anything, the kid does it again a second later. I pick Jack up and the mom says “Here he can play with it" and I say, “Just forget it.” She looks at Jack and says, “He’s fine.” Really? Thanks for the update.

So after class the teacher makes an announcement that she has noticed a lot of pushing today and that it’s really important to talk with your kids and let them know that it’s not OK to push at Bubbles (the name of the place we take the class) and that everyone should feel safe in this class.

X’s mom busts out, to the entire class, “Well, we’re all 2 years old here and that’s what 2-year-olds do. If you don’t want your kid pushed, then you shouldn’t come to class.”

I’m sorry, what???? The teacher says “Well this is a class about socialization and kids do sometimes push, but your kids need to know that pushing is not OK anywhere, not just at Bubbles.”

At that point class was over anyway, so I left. But hellooooo X’s mom: not all the kids are 2. They sang happy birthday to X today and she was 2. Jack is 16 months, so he’s a full 8 months younger than her. I think that’s a big difference at this age. And as I told Josh, I don’t want him learning to be defensive or aggressive from this class. He’s supposed to be learning to play and interacting with other kids.

Am I the only parent who would remove my child if he was a bully? And make him apologize? I am telling you, it starts like this at 2, and by the time they're in school, these are the parents who always blame the teacher for everything and think their child can do no wrong.

Rainy Monday

Well didn't today just suck?

It rained all day. That means no playground and no walks and generally, much fussiness in our house. On Mommy's part. Jack was fussy too, though, in my defense.

We have gotten so used to nice weather this spring that we don't even know what to do with ourselves when it's crappy outside. At one point today, I laid on the hardwood floor in the kitchen and sang songs while Jack straddled my ribcage and patted my face, frantically signing "more" each time I dared to stop.

I think by the time his nap rolled around, we were both sick of looking at each other. But apparently, he missed our boring interaction so much he cut his nap short by an hour. Let's hope he never does that again.

Tomorrow's forecast is rain-free. I plan to get back to the business of removing sticks from his hands when he is on the slide and watching him chase the "Buh buhbuhbuh BUH" (translation: Bird! Birdbirdbird. BIRD!) near the picnic tables at the park.