I got a BFP!

I got a BFP on Christmas Eve! I kind of knew for a few days already, as my cycles are 24-27 and I was already a week late at that time, but I refused to take the test. I guess I didn't really believe that I could get preggo after having sex ONCE(!) last month!!

The good thing is that this way I saved myself a lot of worrying. I know it will come (although it hasn't yet, thank goodness). I just reread the first few post from when I got BFP with Parker and I got it at 3w3d. Now I am about 5w2d so it's almost two weeks later!

The only symptom I have so far is mood swings and tiredness. Although with the <6h of sleep the tiredness is no surprise.

BTW, we have finally moved! Christmas at the new house went pretty smoothly. My sister and her friend cooked for the New Years Eve and my mother in law and cousin cooked for Christmas Day, so I could concentrate on unpacking and cleaning up.

The move itself went all right as well. It was long but the movers were pretty good and didn't charge an arm and a leg. Unfortunately we were left with a few pretty bad scratches on our new hardwood floors.

I have to go now but will try to post every now and then. This reminds me, I still need to do the 15 month Parker update!

Parker: 14 months

It's almost the end of his 14th month, he will be 15 months old in only 4 days. Let's bring a bit more structure tot he monthly update entries.

NAPS: Parker transitioned to one nap a day within about 3 weeks. We were all over the place (putting him down from 11 am to 1.30 pm and anything in between) before establishing that 11 am lunch followed by noon nap most consistently produces naps over 1.5 hours. P can sleep from 1.5 to 3.5 hours now, although he gets tired if the 1.5 naps go for a couple of days in a row.

NIGHT SLEEP: Today is the first night of 3 oz for 1st night bottle (we decrease the amount of milk by 0.5oz every Sunday) and P is starting to drop one of his night bottles again, just like last time. He still wakes up any time between 11 pm and 1.30 am for his bottle, but will usually go back to sleep fairly easily if I you give him a pacifier (and stay in bed with him). He did it twice last week and it looks like tonight will be the third night (last two nights I didn't have the paci ready so it was my fault). On the nights that he skipped the first bottle, he had only the small one (3.5oz) at his usually 2nd night bottle time (4-5am), which is different than what we did a few months ago.

Parker sleeps int he big bed now, including naps when with mommy and daddy. He still sometimes sleeps in the crib when with Grandpa and Lola.

WALKING: P started to really walk on the last day of being 13 months. This is when he first time waled a few steps, stopped, and walked again. Now, almost a month later, he can walk very well now although he still falls quite often. I keep thinking it's his shoes, but I do notice that he does that more when he just wakes up, as if he needs some time to get going. It is a lot of fun to take him to a playground now. He can get up the steps by himself and slide down the slide (he learned to do it on his tummy; I think it's time to start teaching him how to slide sitting up though).

FOOD: P feeds himself all meals now, with a little assistance with breakfast (oatmeal). He does not like to be fed so breakfasts are not his largest meals. Although when Grandpa and Lola feed him, they still entertain him during the meal, so he tends to eat more for breakfast. P doe not like soups anymore, again, most likely because he can't eat them himself. So soups appear on the menu only once a week, if that. I made a whole new batch right before he stopped eating them, so we are covered with the soups for a while. He loves to eat whatever we are eating, tonight it happened to be tacos. He didn't have a taco made in one piece but ate pretty much everything what goes on a taco: meat (like), tomato (like), lettuce (no like), tortilla (like), avocado (like a lot). :) No cheese and sour cream due to the allergy. Here is his usual menu at 14 months:

Breakfast: Oatmeal or rice cereal with almond milk, fruit
Lunch: turkey sandwich or toast with almond butter or jelly, soup once a week (if that), fruit
Snack: Fruit (banana, mango, apple, kiwi, pear)
Dinner: Anything we eat

Parker also has one 4-5-oz bottle of hemp milk a day. I just realized that he is supposed to have almond milk during the day and sometime between the last post and now we switched to hemp 24/7. Good that I am writing this blog! :)

P loves fruit but veggies are hard. He will eat broccoli, and cooked carrots, but that's about it. It's not his fault, really, it's mine. I am out of ideas for veggies rather than those two. Something I need to work on.

DAY CARE: The schedule is the same - Grandpa and Lola 2xweek, Mommy and Daddy the rest with some help from Miriam, who is our on call babysitter from Bright Horizon Back-Up Care. Miriam stayed with Parker twice on my telework day and when I had my implant done. She will be coming next Friday on Marc's telecommute day and I have to schedule her for Mon for my telecommute (again, thank you, blog, for making me realize that).

NEW THINGS: Parker understands a lot now, even though he doesn't say much. Actually, he says A LOT, we just don't understand. :) He will bring anything you ask him to, he knows to give something to someone, he understands that he should point to a toy on a Xmas tree and wait until we give it to him, etc.. The first time we realized how much he understood was about a week ago. I noticed that he was chewing on something and tried to take it out of his mouth, worrying that it was something not edible. He didn't like me doing that and made it impossible. I started asking "Parker, what is it that you are eating, show mommy" and he went to the stroller and pointed at a cup with his little star snack in it.

Parker enjoys time with Daddy much more now and most of the time doesn't cry when mommy is not there any more. This is probably thanks to the fact that Marc spends more time with him and... my attitude. When P cries, I give him a hug and explain that it's ok to stay with Dada. I think he learned that mommy no longer will give in to his cries and he doesn't bother.

BOOKS: I am still waiting for the time when he will sit on my lap and listen to a story. He looks at books himself a lot (The Very Hungry Caterpillar is still his favorite although closely followed by Furry Friends and a couple of other books) but won't sit still to listen and look at pictures. So reading to him is still just as reading to yourself :) with him looking at other books or playing with other toys.

TOYS: P discovered how to throw a ball. He enjoys putting stuff in his little bucket and carrying it around the house. He still loves to un/screw tops on bottles. He absolutely loves his Zebra and sleeps hugging it. The blocks are not as big of a hit at the moment but he played with them a lot just a week ago. Loves "baba w babie" and ring stacker (his new toy). Still absolutely loved his cardboard nesting stacking blocks.

MOMMY'S READING: I am done with the "Easy to love..." book and have to say that it changed my life. I used to get frustrated when P wouldn't do what I ask or want him to do. I know think differently, for a different perspective. I feel that I have more respect for him and his choices, and it make me calmer. I also have more patience because I no longer expect that he will understand (and comply) immediately. I now know that sometimes I have to repeat what I want 3 or 4 times and then show him what I mean, and it's not because he disrespects me or doesn't want to listen. I also see how I can help him learn how to interact with other kids. My life is much easier because of this book. :)

I am currently reading "What's Eating Your Child" by Kelly Dorfman. My conclusion is that we are feeding Parker right for the most part. Reading the book encourages me to stick with natural rather than processed food, and I am starting to cook more (made two batches of meat balls for the whole family last week, and backed muffins from scratch this morning!).

I am also reading "The Wonder Weeks" by Hetty Van De Rijt and Frans Plooij on per need basis. :) His next to the last stormy period just ended so I won't be reading it for the next few weeks.

I also downloaded "Bed Timing, The Parent's Guide to Getting Your Child to Sleep at Just Right Age" by Marc Lewis and Isabela Granic. I used their guidance when P started falling asleep on his own around 5-6 months and I want to learn what they suggest as far as making toddler's sleep better. I haven't started reading it yet but I will report back once I do.

Just a quick update on the new place front. Our closing is scheduled for Thursday, December 20! Yay! We are hoping we can move in that Saturday (or even Friday!) and spend Christmas at our new place. They is still a lot to do int he house; dehumidifiers are still running (which worries me) and appliances and floors/carpets are not there yet, in addition to some cosmetic touches that need to be done, so I am not entirely confident we will close on time. Although I still have hope. :)